Personality, gender and violent criminality in prison inmates

The Antisocial Personality Questionnaire developed by Blackburn and Fawcett (1999) has shown adequate reliability and validity in studies of male offenders interned in psychiatric hospitals. This paper provides data on the APQ collected from a sample of offenders (males and females) without any diagnosed mental illness. The sample was made up of 216 offenders (108 males and 108 females) confined in Spanish prisons. We analyzed the psychometric properties of the instrument and we also examined differences in personality as a function of gender and type of crime (violent vs. non-violent). Results support the reliability of the APQ scales as well as the structure proposed by Blackburn. Additionally, we selected items that discriminate between offenders convicted for violent and non-violent crimes; when these items are factorized, a three-factor structure emerges, resembling Eysenck's model.     

Affect‐as‐Information about Processing Styles: A Cognitive Malleability Approach

Over the past three decades research has overwhelmingly supported the notion that positive affect promotes global, abstract, heuristic information processing whereas negative affect promotes local, detailed, and systematic processing. Yet despite the weight of the evidence, recent work suggests that such a direct relationship may be highly tenuous. In line with the affect‐as‐information account, we maintain that affective cues are adaptive and serve to provide individuals with information about their current psychological environment. We argue that these cues do not directly produce specific processing styles, but instead confer value on whatever processing inclination is dominant at the time. Positive affect (e.g., happiness) tends to promote reliance on currently dominant processing inclinations, whereas negative affect (e.g., sadness) tends to inhibit such reliance. Thus the impact of affect on processing is highly malleable and depends on both the type of processing that is currently active and the information provided by affective cues.     

Amitriptyline administered after consolidation of inhibitory avoidance does not affect memory retrieval

In Experiment 1, the effect of the administration of the antidepressant amitriptyline (30 mg/kg) for 21 days on the acquisition and consolidation of the inhibitory avoidance task was studied in male and female mice. In Experiment 2, it was evaluated whether amitriptyline administered after the consolidation of this task would block the memory retrieval. Anxiety and spontaneous activity in the elevated plus maze were also assessed. When amitriptyline was given before the training phase of inhibitory avoidance it blocked learning in males and there was a tendency in the same direction in females. However, the drug administered between training and test phases did not affect conditioning. These effects of amitriptyline seem to be independent of its actions on anxiety and locomotor activity. It may be that the effects observed are related to the therapeutic effects of antidepressants.     

‘Comparisons of traumatic and positive memories in people with and without PTSD profile’

According to most post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) theories, memory mechanisms are involved in its development and maintenance. However, the specific memory characteristics responsible for this disorder are still not well known. In the present study, 210 participants having reported at least one traumatic experience were assigned to a PTSD or to a non‐PTSD symptom profile group. Both groups rated their memories for their most traumatic and intense positive life events. We observed that the traumatic memories of PTSD profile participants were more clear, detailed and judged as significant compared with those of the non‐PTSD profile group. However, participants in the first group acknowledged having more difficulties putting their traumatic memories into words and controlling these remembrances. These differences were absent in their positive memories. Additionally, clear relationships emerged between memory ratings and PTSD symptoms measures. Results are discussed according to fragmentation and superiority views of traumatic memories in PTSD. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigating the Links Between Cultural Values and Belief in Conspiracy Theories: The Key Roles of Collectivism and Masculinity

Research suggests that belief in conspiracy theories (CT) stems from basic psychological mechanisms and is linked to other belief systems (e.g., religious beliefs). While previous research has extensively examined individual and contextual variables associated with CT beliefs, it has not yet investigated the role of culture. In the current research, we tested, based on a situated cultural cognition perspective, the extent to which culture predicts CT beliefs. Using Hofstede's model of cultural values, three nation-level analyses of data from 25, 19, and 18 countries using different measures of CT beliefs (Study 1, N = 5323; Study 2a, N = 12,255; Study 2b, N = 30,994) revealed positive associations between masculinity, collectivism, and CT beliefs. A cross-sectional study among U.S. citizens (Study 3, N = 350), using individual-level measures of Hofstede's values, replicated these findings. A meta-analysis of correlations across studies corroborated the presence of positive links between CT beliefs, collectivism, r = .31, 95% CI = [.15; .47], and masculinity, r = .39, 95% CI = [.18; .59]. Our results suggest that in addition to individual differences and contextual variables, cultural factors also play an important role in shaping CT beliefs.     

Psychometric properties of Spanish version of the Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale

Background/ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to examine the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale (Mini-MAC) in a large sample of patients with non-metastatic, resected cancer.MethodsProspective, observational, multicenter study for which 914 patients were recruited from 15 Spanish hospitals. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, validity and reliability analyses were conducted.ResultsFactor-analytic results indicated a 4-factor structure of the Spanish version of the Mini-MAC. Three subscales have psychometric properties similar to those of Helplessness, Anxious preoccupation, and Cognitive avoidance of the original the Mini-MAC. The Fighting spirit and the Fatalism subscales were combined on the Positive attitude scale. The four factor-derived scale scores exhibited acceptable accuracy for individual measurement purposes, as well as stability over time in test-retest assessments at 6 months. Validity assessments found meaningful relations between the derived scale scores, and Brief Symptom Inventory depression and anxiety scores and Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy spiritual well-being scores.ConclusionsThe Spanish version of the Mini-MAC provides reliable and valid measures for patients with non-metastatic, resected cancer, and results corroborate the instrument’s cross-cultural validity.     

Who am I?: The influence of affect on the working self-concept

Two experiments investigated the impact of affect on the working self-concept. Following an affect induction, participants completed the Twenty Statements Test (TST) to assess their working self-concepts. Participants in predominantly happy and angry states used more abstract statements to describe themselves than did participants in predominantly sad and fearful states. Evaluations of the statements that participants generated (Experiment 2) demonstrate that these effects are not the result of (1) participants describing positively and negatively valenced information at different levels of abstraction, or (2) valence-based affective priming. Further, half of the participants in Experiment 2 were led to attribute their affect to the manipulation prior to completing the TST. This manipulation eliminated the influence of affect on the working self-concept. Taken together, these results are consistent with theory and research on the informative functions of affect.     

Reputation management of adolescents in relation to antisocial behavior

Recent studies have emphasized the need to consider psychosocial and motivational variables in the study of antisocial behavior in adolescents. Thus, several studies have highlighted the importance of reputation management as a possible explanatory factor. This process of reputation management enables young people to form an image of themselves that they may use in their social interactions. In this study the authors carried out an investigation with data from a sample of 493 adolescents and analyzed (a) the relationships between adolescent reputation management and antisocial behavior and (b) the role of gender in this relationship. The results revealed that a perceived social identity as nonconforming was the best predictor of adolescent antisocial behavior, especially for girls, The data support previous findings on the importance of considering the establishment and management of reputation in the analysis of adolescent antisocial behavior.     

Psychometric properties of the Brief Symptoms Inventory-18 (Bsi-18) in a Spanish sample of outpatients with psychiatric disorders

This study analyzes the psychometric and structural properties of the BSI-18 in a sample of Spanish outpatients with psychiatric disorders (N = 200), with three basic objectives: (a) to study the structural validity of the instrument; (b) to analyse reliability (internal consistency and test-retest stability) and validity (convergent and discriminant) of the instrument, and (c) to evaluate sensitivity to change in a therapeutic context. Using confirmatory factor analysis, two models were tested: the three-dimensional theoretical model proposed by its authors, and the empirical four-factor model obtained by the same authors through exploratory factor analysis. Our results showed that the best structure was a four-dimensional model, with the General Distress index and Somatization, Depression, General Anxiety and Panic scores. These four scales showed good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, validity and sensitivity to therapeutic change. The BSI-18 has been shown to be a reliable and useful tool for psychiatric assessment of patients, with the added advantage provided by its simplicity and ease of application.     

Interactive effects of personality and separation as acculturation style on adolescent antisocial behaviour

The primary aim of this study was to assess the interaction between personality and acculturation variables in predicting antisocial behaviour among adolescent immigrants living in Spain. Previous studies have shown that the acculturation style referred to as separation (rejection of the host country's culture, and a strong desire to preserve the culture of the country of origin) was strongly related to antisocial behaviour among immigrants. A further aim of this study was to examine if the relationship between separation and antisocial behaviour was moderated by personality variables, in particular impulsivity, sensation-seeking, and personal competence. Self-reported data of a sample of 750 adolescent immigrants living in Galicia's and Madrid's regions (Spain) were gathered using previously validated scales. The results revealed that both separation and personality variables were significantly related to antisocial behaviour. Moreover, hierarchical regression analysis with the interaction terms entered found significant moderating effects i.e., the relationship between separation and antisocial behaviour was significantly amplified when impulsivity or sensation-seeking were high. The results underscore the need to examine the effects of personality, acculturation, and the interaction between both on antisocial behaviour among adolescent immigrants.