Health practices and hardiness as mediators in the stress-illness relationship

Two stress and illness models that include the joint mediating effects of health practices and hardiness were tested prospectively over a 2-month period. At the beginning of one academic quarter, 60 female and 26 male undergraduate students completed five subscales indexing hardiness. Stress, health practices, and illness for the prior month were assessed at this time as well as 1 and 2 months later. Stress was measured by the number of negatively rated stressors reported on the Life Experiences Survey. Health practices were measured by the Self Care Inventory. In the first model, illness was measured by the severity of physical symptoms reported on the Seriousness of Illness Rating Scale; in the second model, it was measured by the number of symptoms reported. Correlations between all measures of stress and illness were typical for life events research (r = .22 to .29). In both models, path analyses revealed that stress acted directly to affect illness as well as indirectly by changing health practices. Hardiness also had a direct effect on illness as well as in indirect effect through health practices. Hardiness did not appear to have a stress-buffering effect on illness; rather, its effects on illness appeared to be independent of its effects on stress. Implications for life events research are discussed.     

The personality of the Scottish police officer: The issue of positive and negative affectivity

During the past 20 years, interest has arisen concerning the existence of a specific police personality. Much of the early studies had significant methodological difficulties. The present study aimed to examine the personality traits of ‘Positive and Negative Affectivity’ in a group (n = 699) of serving Scottish police officers. The PANAS scale (Watson, Clark & Tellegen, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063–1070, 1988) suggested that the sample did not differ from the norm on either of these indices. No differences were found according to age or length of service, which brings into question previous assertions made concerning the role of the police organisation in the development of police personality. However, the complexity of the issue was demonstrated, as differences in affectivity were observed according to gender, marital status, rank, working location and job satisfaction level.     

A controlled study of effectiveness and patient suitability for short-term group psychotherapy

A controlled, clinical trial investigation of short-term psychoanalytically oriented group psychotherapy (STG) was conducted which included eight psychotherapy groups led by experienced therapists. Patient psychological mindedness (PM) was investigated as a selection criterion and prognostic variable. Seventy-nine psychiatric outpatients experiencing prolonged or delayed grief reactions were matched for level of PM and then randomly assigned to STG or a wait list. There was repeated measurement of several areas and sources of outcome. Results indicated a strong main effect for STG but not for PM on outcome, and minimal evidence for an interaction effect. Benefits were maintained at six-month follow-up. Psychological mindedness emerged as highly predictive of attrition. A clinical discussion is presented wherein the efficacy of STG is considered as reflecting a good patient-treatment match.     

Psychoanalytically oriented short-term groups for outpatients: Unsettled issues

The psychoanalytic approach to short-term group therapy for outpatients has been less prevalent than other approaches. Unsettled issues associated with this approach concern the feasibility of carrying out psychoanalytic work on an ongoing basis, patient selection, group composition, patient preparation, therapist technique, and cotherapy. Recent literature relevant to a conceptual consideration of these issues is reviewed. A vignette from a recent therapy group is presented as part of a clinical consideration of the issues. In addition, practical suggestions for conducting such groups are provided.This article was derived from a paper presented at the Seventh Annual Meeting of the Canadian Group Psychotherapy Association, October 16, 1986, Mont Tremblant, Canada.     

Effects of antipsychotic medication on discrimination learning for institutionalized adults who have mental retardation

Reduction in medication levels of drugs used to suppress inappropriate behavior (chlorpromazine, thioridazine and haloperidol) resulted in increases in performance on a discrimination learning task for seven residents of a state institution who are mentally retarded. After training to criterion on a matching-to-sample task, these participants experienced reductions in medication in an N of 1 AB replication paradigm. Two controls were medication free, and one remained on a stable dosage throughout. Improvement of performance on the first dependent variable (number of trials needed to meet criterion) ranged from 13.8% to 53.3% for the seven participants, while the three controls improved less than 1%. Improvement of performance on the second dependent variable (percentage of correct responses) ranged from 2.7% to 19.7% for experimental subjects; five of the seven subjects exhibited a minimum improvement of 8%. The change in percentage of correct responses for the three controls ranged from ?4.9 to 1.3. Treatment implications are discussed.     

Counselling in organisations: What is the experience of the lone counsellor?

Aims: To explore and understand lone counsellors' experiences of working in organisations, and to indicate means of enhancing this. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine participants and subjected to a qualitative, grounded theory analysis (Glaser, 1992; Glaser, 1998). Findings: Lone counsellors felt lonely, isolated and stressed in the workplace. The ‘lone battling’ behaviour adopted in an attempt to seek acceptance within the organisation and meaningful relationships with likeminded others in the counselling community was only partially successful. The lone counselling experience is understood to be a product of the tension inherent in organisational dynamics. Discussion: The findings help to confirm the belongingness hypothesis proposed by Baumeister and Leary (1995) that states that the need to belong is a fundamental motivation. Implications: The relevance of these findings to the training and employment of counsellors and other lone workers is discussed as well as areas for further research.     

Improving specific autobiographical memory in older adults: impacts on mood,social problem solving,and functional limitations

Older adults have difficulty recalling specific autobiographical events. This over-general memory style is a vulnerability factor for depression. Two groups receiving interventions that have previously been successful at reducing over-general memory in depressed populations were compared to a control group. Participants were healthy older adults aged ≥70 years: memory specificity training (MEST; n = 22), life review (n = 22), and control group (n = 22). There were significant improvements in autobiographical memory specificity in the MEST and life review groups at post-training, relative to the control group, suggesting that over-general memory can be reduced in older adults. Change in social problem solving ability and functional limitations were related to change in autobiographical memory specificity, supporting the suggested role of specific retrieval in generating solutions to social problems and maintaining independence. Qualitative analysis of participants’ feedback revealed that life review may be more appropriate for older adults, possibly because it involves integrating specific memories into a positive narrative.     

Setting the bar: divergent sociocultural norms for women's and men's ideal appearance in real-world contexts

Research suggests that exposure to sociocultural norms for idealized appearance can reduce both women's and men's body satisfaction. Despite comparable effects for both genders in the lab, in the “real-world” women's body satisfaction is chronically lower than men's. Real-world gender differences may arise from discrepancies in men's and women's everyday exposure to norms. Across eight studies using a variety of content analysis, survey, and experimental methods, we examine differences in sociocultural norms for ideal appearance pertaining to women and men in “daily life” contexts. We demonstrate that appearance norms encountered by women in daily life are more rigid, homogenous and pervasive than those for men, and that more messages implying the attainability of the ideal appearance are directed at women. Finally, experimental results show that homogeneous, rigid norms (like those typically encountered by women) are more harmful to body image than heterogeneous, flexible norms (like those typically encountered by men).