Perceived health: a test of incremental validity in relation to smoking outcome expectancies, motivation to smoke and desire to quit smoking

This study examined the role of perceived health in predicting theoretically-relevant aspects of smoking behavior among 161 young adult regular smokers (67 females; mean age = 21.9 years (SD = 7.2), cigarettes per day (M) = 12.2 (SD = 5.7)) recruited from the general community. Consistent with prediction, results indicated that relative to anxiety sensitivity, gender, number of cigarettes smoked per day and nicotine dependence, perceived physical health uniquely and significantly predicted expectancies for negative affect reduction and expectancies that smoking would lead to negative personal consequences. Additionally, perceived health incrementally predicted motivation to smoke to reduce negative affect. In contrast to expectation, perceived health was unrelated to motivation to quit smoking. Results are discussed in relation to the role of perceived health as a cognitive vulnerability factor for specific types of smoking patterns.     

Detection of feigned memory impairments using a Chinese word task

In this study the detection of feigned memory impairments was investigated using a forced-choice task with Chinese words as stimuli. Task difficulty on accuracy and response time and the faking strategies employed were examined for 85 participants, 42 men and 43 women, who were administered the experimental task. Following a simulation design, all participants performed under control and faking conditions. Their accuracy of performance and response times were measured. Analysis indicated significant differences on both outcome measures for the two conditions. Further, a significant difference in accuracy, but not in response time, among levels of task difficulty was observed. For classification accuracy, using the cut-off score criterion seemed more effective than using the below-chance criterion or response time. Implications for relying on chance criterion to identify deception are discussed.     

Beyond conflict: Functional facets of the work-family interplay

The present paper deals with three positive facets of the work-family interplay, i.e., transfer of competencies, transfer of positive mood, and cross-domain compensation. The latter refers to the experience that engagement in one domain helps dealing with failures in the other domain. In two correlational studies (N₁ = 107 working mothers, N₂ = 146 working men and women), cross-domain compensation predicted domain-specific well-being even when we controlled for work-family conflicts and the two other positive facets (viz., transfer of competencies and positive mood). In an additional experiment (N₃ = 63 working men and women), which exclusively focused on compensation, participants were asked to remember a job-related failure. Then they were instructed to think about a positive job-related experience (i.e., intradomain compensation) or family-related experience (i.e., cross-domain compensation). Compared to a control group, both experimental groups showed faster emotional recovery, with cross-domain compensation being a slightly more effective strategy at the beginning of that recovery.     

Reciprocal relationships between value orientation and motivational interference during studying and leisure

Background. Motivational interference is defined as the amount of impairment in a target activity due to the incentives of a non‐chosen attractive alternative. The amount to which pupils experience motivational interference while studying or while performing a leisure activity in a school–leisure conflict situation is seen as depending on the values they attach to achievement and well‐being. At the same time, values may also be effects of frequent experience of motivational interference in the respective areas. Aims. The study is aimed at investigating the reciprocal relationship between personal value orientations and the experience of motivational interference during studying and leisure. Sample. A total of 363 pupils (sixth to eighth graders at the time of first measurement) completed the same questionnaire twice in a 2‐year interval. Method. The questionnaire included measures of achievement and well‐being value orientation and the experience of motivational interference during studying and during leisure in school–leisure conflicts. For this, two scenarios were created. In regression analyses, achievement and well‐being value orientations as well as their interaction terms were used as predictors for experience of motivational interference at t₂ while controlling for experience of motivational interference at t₁, and vice versa. Additionally in path models, these relations were tested in an integrative way. Results. Pupils' achievement value orientations were connected to differential changes in experiencing motivational interference during leisure and during studying in one scenario but only for pupils low or medium in well‐being value orientation. Conversely, experience of motivational interference at t₁ was related to changes in value orientations 2 years later. High motivational interference during studying led to an increase in well‐being value orientation, while high motivational interference during leisure was followed by a decrease in well‐being value orientation and an increase in achievement value orientation. Overall, path models supported these results. Conclusions. The results are discussed in terms of value change and are linked to self‐control and motivation research.     

Causal ordering of academic self‐concept and achievement: Effects of type of achievement measure

Background. The relation between academic self‐concept and achievement has been examined in a large number of studies. The majority of these studies have found evidence for a reciprocal effects model. However, there is an ongoing debate on how students' achievement should be measured and whether the type of achievement indicator (grades, tests, teacher ratings) affects the causal pattern found in these studies. Aims. The study aims at clarifying how the types of achievement measures and the way they are modelled can affect the results of causal ordering studies. In that sense, the study will yield recommendations for researchers in this domain and also provide some direction for practitioners seeking ways to enhance their students' achievement and/or academic self‐concept. Sample. Repeated measures of academic self‐concept and achievement (standardized tests and teacher ratings) were examined in a sample of 1,753 students in Grades 7, 8, 10, and 12. Method. Structural equation modelling was used. Several models (with different types and numbers of achievement measures) were compared. Results. Only small differences were found between models using one or two indicators of achievement. All models generally supported the reciprocal effects model. However, the final model, wherein tests and teacher ratings were used as separate latent variables, showed different developmental patterns in the causal relation between academic self‐concept and achievement. Conclusions. Researchers should interpret the results of causal ordering studies discerningly because the type of measure chosen as an indicator of achievement might affect the causal pattern between academic self‐concept and achievement.     

The Dialectics of Relational Psychoanalysis and Group Psychotherapy: Commentary on Paper by Robert Grossmark

In this commentary, I address the question of why so few psychoanalysts become group therapists as I respond to the thoughtful and impressive paper written by Robert Grossmark on his work with a psychotherapy group, now in its 10th year of meeting. Prior to discussing the clinical material, and to set the stage for a discussion of Grossmark's work, I comment on my sense of the prevailing attitudes on group affiliations and group therapy within our culture and field as they have progressed over time. I then discuss my reactions to Grossmark's handling of his group session. Many of his conceptualizations of group treatment are in accordance with my own beliefs. There are some differences, however, in how I view my role as a leader and some ideas I have about group treatment that Grossmark did not address.     

Perchance to Sleep: Minding the Unworded Body in Psychoanalysis

In contemporary relational psychoanalysis, influenced by developmental/attachment theories, infant research, and neurobiology, the effectiveness and transformational potential of “the talking cure” can be thought of as, at times, located in areas of nonverbal engagement. It has become increasingly evident that human experience is born in the body and structured in body-based memory that informs us of what we “know in our gut” and contributes to our relating as embodied beings—experiences that as psychoanalysts we cannot or need not necessarily translate directly into declarative discourse. A detailed case presentation from work with a patient suffering from a severe sleep disorder and other forms of bodily dysregulation will be offered to illustrate and explore the affectively meaningful engagement between patient and analyst of somatically encoded, presymbolic memory within the context of a symbolically rich, verbal treatment relationship.     

Barriers and Supports to Substance Abuse Service Use Among Homeless Adults

Although there is a great need for substance abuse services among the homeless, many homeless individuals do not use those services. This study examined barriers and supports related to service use. Participants recognized a need for treatment and significant barriers to accessing care.     

Projective Tests in Vocational Counseling

In Switzerland, the role of projective techniques in vocational counseling is currently under debate. The author of a recent book on the Zulliger-test — a three card, Rorschach-type instrument — claims to have identified a number of syndromes that reflect vocationally relevant personality characteristics. His results are criticized on methodological grounds, and an alternative approach is proposed that emphasizes the expressive and essentially idiographic nature of projective test records. Their main contribution is to permit a better understanding of client motivations and attitudes, resulting in a more effective counseling interaction. Accordingly, these tests should be validated against attitudinal criteria and measures of counseling progress rather than long-term vocational behavior and success on the job.