Validation of a new multidimensional health locus of control scale (form c) in asthma research

Abstract

This study developed and validated an Asthma Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (AMHLC) scale using 186 asthmatics aged 13 to 55 years recruited from 46 pharmacies in the Hunter Valley, Australia. The construct validity and internal consistency of the scale were demonstrated using principal components factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha respectively. Although correlations were modest, findings indicate that asthmatics with higher “Powerful Others” locus of control perceived they had a better quality of doctor-patient relationship; the opposite was found for those with higher “Chance” scores. Powerful Others orientation was also associated with expectations and valuation of services doctors' provide. Knowledge of asthma was not related in the expected direction with the new scale, nor were clinical indices of asthma severity. Younger asthmatics had higher Chance scores while older asthmatics tended toward higher Powerful Others orientation. Overall, the AMHLC instrument achieved suitable measurement properties to allow further investigation of health care behavior in people with asthma.     

Methylphenidate improves some but not all measures of ATTENTION,as measured by the TEA-Ch in medication-naïve children with ADHD

The Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA-Ch) is a reliable neuropsychological assessment of attention control in children. Methylphenidate (MPH) is an effective treatment to improve attentional difficulties in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Previous studies investigating the effects of MPH on attention performance of children with ADHD have produced mixed results and prior MPH usage may have confounded these results. No previous study has tested the effects of MPH on the entire TEA-Ch battery. This study investigated the effects of MPH on attention performance using the entire TEA-Ch in 51 medication-naïve children with ADHD compared with 35 nonmedicated typically developing children. All children were tested at baseline and after 6 weeks: The children with ADHD were medication-naïve at baseline, received MPH for 6 weeks and were tested whilst on medication at the second testing session. A beneficial effect of MPH administration was found on at least one subtest of each of the three forms of attention (selective, sustained, and attentional control) assessed by the TEA-Ch, independent of practice effects. MPH aided performance on the TEA-Ch tasks that were inherently nonarousing and that might require top-down control of attention. It is recommended that the TEA-Ch measures—Sky Search Count (selective attention),Score! (sustained attention), Creature Counting Time Taken for older children (attentional control), and Same Worlds (attentional control) be prioritized for use in future pharmacological studies using MPH.     

Domestic Workers' Experiences of Power and Oppression in South Africa

This study examines the work experiences of domestic workers in the context of socio-economic-political legislation promulgated to protect their social rights in the new South Africa. It gains insight into the power relations and embedded tensions between employers and domestic workers with the aim of identifying forms of oppression affecting domestic workers. In-depth interviews were conducted with nine female domestic workers employed in African households and analyzed using thematic content analysis. Results indicate that despite inclusion in labour legislation, domestic workers remain a vulnerable group. They experience oppression in the form of exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, violence and some class-based cultural imperialism. Despite this, agency and resistance in the face of oppression was a key finding. Although some gains may have been obtained through inclusion in legislation, the asymmetrical power relationship with employers remains problematic.     

Who? What? When? Using a timeline technique to facilitate recall of a complex event

Accurately recalling a complex multi-actor incident presents witnesses with a cognitively demanding retrieval task. Given the important role played by temporal context in the retrieval process, the current research tests an innovative timeline technique to elicit information about multiple perpetrators and their actions. Adopting a standard mock witness paradigm, participants were required to provide an account of a witnessed event. In Experiment 1, the timeline technique facilitated the reporting of more correct details than a free recall, immediately and at a two-week retention interval, at no cost to accuracy. Accounts provided using the timeline technique included more correct information about perpetrator specific actions and fewer sequencing errors. Experiment 2 examined which mnemonic components of the timeline technique might account for these effects. The benefits of exploiting memory organization and reducing cognitive constraints on information flow are likely to underpin the apparent timeline advantage.     

Memory conformity: can eyewitnesses influence each other's memories for an event?

The current study investigated memory conformity effects between individuals who witness and then discuss a criminal event, employing a novel procedure whereby each member of a dyad watches a different video of the same event. Each video contained unique items that were thus seen only by one witness. Dyads in one condition were encouraged to discuss the event before each witness (individually) performed a recall test, while in a control condition dyads were not allowed to discuss the event prior to recall. A significant proportion (71%) of witnesses who had discussed the event went on to mistakenly recall items acquired during the discussion. There were no age‐related differences in susceptibility to these memory conformity effects in younger (18–30 years) as compared to older (60–80 years) participants. Possible social and cognitive mechanisms underlying the distortions of memory due to conformity are discussed. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The five factor model of personality: Openness a distinct but related construct

It has been argued that the Openness (O) dimension from the five factor model (FFM) of personality may in fact be an associate of the ability domain more than the personality domain. This paper explores this hypothesis using a sample of 101 managers. Participants completed the NEO-FFI and a measure of ability assessing the construct as typical performance. This measure was an occupational specific measure of typical intellectual engagement (TIE), termed the “problem solving through challenge” PSC scale. A combination of LISREL CFA and hierarchical multiple linear regression (HMLR) indicated that in fact O was a distinct but related construct to the other four dimensions of the FFM (N, E, A and C), but that O was more strongly correlated with PSC than the other dimensions. These results are taken to indicate that O, while associated with personality, assesses something to do with problem solving as a personality trait. Further the results suggest that E linked O to the other personality scales.     

Nature vs. nurture is nonsense: On the necessity of an integrated genetic,social, developmental,and personality psychology

The field of behavioural genetics unambiguously demonstrates that heritable individual differences exist and are important in explaining human behaviour. Despite this, some psychological perspectives ignore this research. If we wish to comprehensively understand the impact of parenting, the environment, or any social factor, however, we must engage with genetics. In this article, I review research that reveals that genes affect not only our personalities, but the way that we understand and react to the social world. Studies further reveal that notable life events are in part explained by genetic variance. I detail how this could be the case through active, evocative, and passive genetic correlations, and go on to argue that all complex psychological traits are likely the result of multifaceted gene by environment interactions. A mistaken belief that genetic influence implies genetic essentialism, and is therefore tantamount to prejudice, is raised as possible reason why heritability is often ignored in the social sciences. The article concludes with practical suggestions for how we can embrace behavioural genetics as our methods struggle to match the divine complexity of human existence.