Predictive Validity of the MMPI–2 Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales in a Batterers' Intervention Program

Summary: The test-retest reliability of the Hutt Adaptation of the Bender-Gestalt Test was explored with a population of 40 process schizophrenics over a two-week interval. The total Psychopathology Scale Score was found to have high retest reliability for both male and female patients (rho = .87 for males and .83 for females). Moreover the three major components of the Scale were found to have high reliability, and fairly high reliabilities were obtained for patients scoring high as well as low on the Scale. Interjudge reliability was also found to be very high (rho = .895), confirming previous studies in this respect. On these grounds, the Scale offers promise both for clinical and research purposes.     

Development and Validation of a Child Version of the Obsessive Compulsive Inventory

Surprisingly, only 3 self-report measures that directly assess pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have been developed. In addition, these scales have typically been developed in small samples and fail to provide a quick assessment of symptoms across multiple domains. Therefore, the current paper presents initial psychometric data for a quick assessment of pediatric OCD across multiple symptom domains, a child version of the Obsessive Compulsive Inventory (the OCI-CV). Data from a sample of over 100 youth ages 7 to 17 with a primary DSM-IV diagnosis of OCD support the use of the 21-item OCI-CV. Results support the use of the OCI-CV as a general index of OCD symptom severity and in 6 symptom domains parallel to those assessed by the revised adult version of the scale (OCI-R). The OCI-CV showed strong retest reliability after approximately 1.5 weeks in a subsample of 64 participants and was significantly correlated with clinician-rated OCD symptom severity and parent and child reports of dysfunction related to OCD. Significantly stronger correlations with self-reported anxiety than with depressive symptoms provide initial support for the divergent validity of the measure. Finally, preliminary data with 88 treatment completers suggest that the OCI-CV is sensitive to change.     

Studies of the Startle Pattern: IV. Infants

Individual versus group risk taking was examined by using a novel set of industrial product purchasing situations as stimuli. The set incorporated situations that varied along a dimension called “normative risk.” Situations represented either low-normative risk, medium-normative risk, or high-normative risk. Normative risk was defined in a decision theoretical context. The set was administered to introductory business students at a large university in the United States. The results of the study showed that groups were not invariably riskier than individuals; rather the amount of risky shift following group discussion was negatively related to the level of normative risk. This overall conclusion held true also in relation to the degree of perceived riskiness of the situations, since a positive relationship between normative risk and perceived risk was established. The theoretical implications of the results are discussed.     

Disfluencies of 3- and 5-year old Spanish-speaking children

This study examined the disfluent speech of 32 normally fluent monolingual, Spanish-speaking children from Puerto Rico. The total frequencies and types of speech disfluencies were examined in 15 children (8 girls and 7 boys) aged 3;5-4;0 years (M=3.76) and 17 children (8 girls and 9 boys) aged 5;0-5;5 years (M=5.18). When examining the total frequencies of speech disfluencies, results revealed no main effects for age or gender as well as no interactions. Moreover, no differences were observed between the age groups in most of the disfluency types, including the rank orders of the types. Revisions, interjections, and single-syllable word repetitions were the most frequently observed speech disfluencies for both age groups. Broken words, blocks, and repetitions of more than one syllable were the least frequent. Overall, results revealed both similarities and differences when compared with the reported speech behaviors of English-speaking children. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: The reader will learn about and be able to describe: (1). the influence of age and gender on the total frequencies of speech disfluencies in 3- and 5-year old Spanish-speaking children from Puerto Rico; (2). the amount and type of difluencies in these young children; and (3). how the speech disfluencies of these Spanish-speaking children are similar to and different from those reported in the speech of English-speaking children.     

Parameters of Aggressive Behavior in a Treatment-Seeking Sample of Military Personnel: A Secondary Analysis of Three Randomized Controlled Trials of Evidence-Based PTSD Treatments

Aggressive behavior is prevalent among veterans of post-9/11 conflicts who have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, little is known about whether PTSD treatments reduce aggression or the direction of the association between changes in PTSD symptoms and aggression in the context of PTSD treatment. We combined data from three clinical trials of evidence-based PTSD treatment in service members (N = 592) to: (1) examine whether PTSD treatment reduces psychological (e.g., verbal behavior) and physical aggression, and; (2) explore temporal associations between aggressive behavior and PTSD. Both psychological (Estimate = -2.20, SE = 0.07) and physical aggression (Estimate = -0.36, SE = 0.05) were significantly reduced from baseline to posttreatment follow-up. Lagged PTSD symptom reduction was not associated with reduced reports of aggression; however, higher baseline PTSD scores were significantly associated with greater reductions in psychological aggression (exclusively; ß = -0.67, 95% CI = -1.05, -0.30, SE = -3.49). Findings reveal that service members receiving PTSD treatment report substantial collateral changes in psychological aggression over time, particularly for participants with greater PTSD symptom severity. Clinicians should consider cotherapies or alternative ways of targeting physical aggression among service members with PTSD and alternative approaches to reduce psychological aggression among service members with relatively low PTSD symptom severity when considering evidence-based PTSD treatments.     

Gender,Emotions Management,and Power in Organizations: The Case of Israeli Women Junior Military Officers

Through in-depth retrospective interviews with 25 women officers in the Israeli military, we discovered that their experiences with power are central to their military experience even years after their discharge. The interviewees conveyed a dialectical emotional experience of power, interpreting it as a source of pleasure and empowerment and a source of shame at the same time. The women are made to feel ashamed because, according to accepted gendered beliefs, they crossed gender boundaries and used military power preserved exclusively for masculine use. Shame is a disciplinary mechanism through which women learn to obey normative gender arrangements and thus should be understood as an invisible block preventing women’s promotion and mobility. These dual perceptions show the inherent gendered boundaries of military power and women's place in the military power hierarchy. The politics of emotion, in this case, should be analyzed as an intersubjective surveillance and self-regulatory mechanism, which could illuminate hidden corners of organizations wherein masculine authority is preserved and reproduced through indirect and murky methods. Hence, women's perceptions of power are a key tool for understanding gender dynamics and may contribute to identifying and deciphering unspoken practices as well as helping to change them.     

Associations among perceptions of social support, negative affect, and quality of sleep in caregivers and noncaregivers.

The authors used structural equation modeling to examine associations among perceptions of negative affect, social support, and quality of sleep in a sample of caregivers (n = 175) and noncaregiver control participants (n = 169). The authors hypothesized that caregiver status would be related to sleep quality directly and also indirectly by way of negative affect and social support. This hypothesis was partially supported in that caregiving was found to be indirectly related to sleep quality. However, after accounting for the indirect effects of negative affect and social support, the direct effect of caregiving on sleep quality was no longer statistically significant. The structural model accounted for approximately 43% of the variance in sleep quality. The present findings may be useful in the development of successful sleep interventions for caregivers.     

A Tripartite Approach to Right‐Wing Authoritarianism: The Authoritarianism‐Conservatism‐Traditionalism Model

Right‐Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) has been conceptualized and measured as a unidimensional personality construct comprising the covariation of the three traits of authoritarian submission, authoritarian aggression, and conventionalism. However, new approaches have criticized this conceptualization and instead viewed these three “traits” as three distinct, though related, social attitude dimensions. Here we extend this approach providing clear definitions of these three dimensions as ideological attitude constructs of Authoritarianism, Conservatism, and Traditionalism. These dimensions are seen as attitudinal expressions of basic social values or motivational goals that represent different, though related, strategies for attaining collective security at the expense of individual autonomy. We report data from five samples and three different countries showing that these three dimensions could be reliably measured and were factorially distinct. The three dimensions also differentially predicted interpersonal behaviour, social policy support, and political party support. It is argued that conceptualizing and measuring RWA as a set of three related ideological attitude dimensions may better explain complex sociopolitical phenomena than the currently dominant unidimensional personality based model.     

Development of a Patient Adherence Scale for Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy

Exposure and response prevention (EX/RP) is an evidence-based treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). For EX/RP to be maximally effective, it is believed that patients must adhere outside of sessions to the procedures they learn in therapy. To date, there is no standard measure of patient EX/RP adherence, despite the importance of accurately assessing EX/RP adherence in both clinical research and practice. This paper describes the development of the Patient EX/RP Adherence Scale (PEAS), which assesses the patient's between-session adherence to the therapist's EX/RP instructions, and presents initial data on the scale's reliability and validity. The scale was designed to focus on the key procedures of EX/RP and to be brief enough to be used at each treatment session. The scale demonstrates excellent interrater reliability and good face and content validity. The usefulness of the scale is considered in the context of being an important tool to researchers trying to understand and improve outcomes of EX/RP for OCD as well as to EX/RP therapists in clinical practice. Future research will need to test the scale's reliability and validity in a larger sample of patients over the course of treatment.