Intrusive and avoidant ideation among females pursuing infertility treatment

Abstract

It was shown that infertility and its treatment constitute a stressful experience for women, reflected particularly in disturbing intrusive ideation about the stress source. Infertility patients reported levels of intrusive ideation significantly higher than routine gynecologic patients and not significantly different from levels of psychiatric outpatients being treated for stress reactions to traumatic events. Intrusive ideation also predicted the degree of self-reported infertility-specific distress and dysfunction, further clarifying the key role of such ideation in the experience. Finally, as hypothesized, the frustration level of the treatment experience (as indexed by the number of infertility treatment methods attempted) predicted avoidant ideation. Implications for managing the psychological distress and disruption associated with the infertility treatment experience were discussed.     

Identification of cognitive profiles among women considering BRCA1/2 testing through the utilisation of cluster analytic techniques

Based on the cognitive-social health information processing model, we identified cognitive profiles of women at risk for breast and ovarian cancer. Prior to genetic counselling, participants (N?=?171) completed a study questionnaire concerning their cognitive and affective responses to being at genetic risk. Using cluster analysis, four cognitive profiles were generated: (a) high perceived risk/low coping; (b) low value of screening/high expectancy of cancer; (c) moderate perceived risk/moderate efficacy of prevention/low informativeness of test result; and (d) high efficacy of prevention/high coping. The majority of women in Clusters One, Two and Three had no personal history of cancer, whereas Cluster Four consisted almost entirely of women affected with cancer. Women in Cluster One had the highest number of affected relatives and experienced higher levels of distress than women in the other three clusters. These results highlight the need to consider the psychological profile of women undergoing genetic testing when designing counselling interventions and messages.     

Children's responses to same- and other-gender peers: an experimental investigation with 8-, 10-, and 12-year-olds

This research compared how participants in the age range of middle childhood (N = 565, approximate ages 8, 10, and 12 years) resppnded to provocation by a same- or an other-gender peer. In a laboratory play session, participants were provoked in two ways: by losing at a computer game and by being teased by a confederate actor. Immediately following the provoking play session, participants were interviewed about their perceptions of the provoking peer, emotional responses, coping strategies, and social goals. For both the baseline and provocation periods, observational data indicated that facial, verbal, and gestural responses to an other-gender peer were more negative than to a same-gender peer. With other-gender partners, participants reported liking the peer less, trying less to get along with the provocateur, and coping with the provocation by trying to play better rather than by verbally confronting the actor.     

Construct validity of the posttraumatic stress disorder checklist in cancer survivors: analyses based on two samples

The measurement of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is critically important for the identification and treatment of this disorder. The PTSD Checklist (PCL; F. W. Weathers and J. Ford, 1996) is a self-report measure that is increasingly used. In this study, the authors investigated the factorial validity of the PCL with data from 236 cancer survivors who received a bone marrow or stem cell transplantation. The authors examined the fit of these data with the clinical model of 3 symptom clusters for PTSD, as proposed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and alternative models tested in prior research. By using confirmatory factor analysis the authors found that a 4-first-order-factor model of PTSD provided the best fit. The relations of PTSD symptoms with sociodemographic and medical variables were also explored.