Improvements to Suicide Prevention Training for Prison Staff in England and Wales

Suicide prevention training for the prison service in England and Wales has been criticized. STORM is a package emphasizing the practice and review of interactions with suicidal persons and was evaluated in a pilot study for use in prisons. Trainees completed questionnaires immediately before and after training and at 6 to 8 months follow‐up. Training significantly improved attitudes, knowledge, and confidence, and improvements were maintained at follow‐up. Satisfaction with training was very high. STORM was successfully adapted for prison settings, and showed good effects among staff trained. It should be provided to the wider prison estate, with regular refresher training.     

Boosting the Potency of Resistance: Combining the Motivational Forces of Inoculation and Psychological Reactance

The efficacy of inoculation theory has been confirmed by decades of empirical research, yet optimizing its effectiveness remains a vibrant line of investigation. The present research turns to psychological reactance theory for a means of enhancing the core mechanisms of inoculation—threat and refutational preemption. Findings from a multisite study indicate reactance enhances key resistance outcomes, including: threat, anger at attack message source, negative cognitions, negative affect, anticipated threat to freedom, anticipated attack message source derogation, perceived threat to freedom, perceived attack message source derogation, and counterarguing. Most importantly, reactance‐enhanced inoculations result in lesser attitude change—the ultimate measure of resistance.     

A validation of the five-factor model of personality in academically talented youth across observers and instruments

Four instruments—the NEO-Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), the Adjective Check List (ACL), the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the California Child Q-Set (CCQ)—and two data sources—self reports and parental ratings—were used to assess personality dimensions according to the five-factor model of personality in 870 academically talented youth (mean age = 13.77) from the U.S.A. Data from the parents of 565 of these children were also analysed. The factor structure of the self and parent reports, the convergence between the two sources of reports and the correlations of the adjectives in the ACL with the scores on the NEO-FFI were all consistent with previous results obtained from adults. The findings largely support the notion that the five-factor model as derived from data from adults is applicable to academically talented youth.     

Psycholinguistic correlations of academic achievement

This research investigated the relationship of the ITPA subtests to measures of academic performance (i.e., the California Achievement Test). Subjects were 137 9-year old children similar to those used in the standardization sample of the 1968 revision of the ITPA. Two kinds of data analyses were undertaken-1. correlation coefficients among the variables were derived, and 2. the subjects were divided into low, average, and high groups based on their CAT performance, and analyses of covariance were run to determine the significance of ITPA differences. The results failed to support the hypothesis that psycholinguistic abilities, except those which contribute to the Grammatic Closure subtest, are related to academic proficiency.     

Nomnetric scaling of loudness and pitch using similarity and difference estimates

In Experiment 1, nonmetric analyses of estimates of similarity and difference were used to generate a scale of loudness for 1,200-Hz tones varying in intensity. For both similarity and difference estimates, loudness was found to grow approximately as the 0.26 power of sound pressure. In Experiment 2, nomnetric analyses of estimates of similarity and difference were used to generate a scale of pitch for 83.3-dB pure tones varying in frequency. For both similarity and difference estimates, pitch was found to vary with frequency in accordance with the mel scale.     

The relation between angle of display and performance in a prolonged visual task

An experiment is described to test the relation between angle of display and performance in prolonged visual tasks, using the Clock Test in three positions of display surface, vertical, at an angle of 45 degrees to the horizontal, and horizontal. In every case the line of regard was kept at right-angles to the display surface. The results indicate that significantly fewer stimuli are missed in the vertical position of the display surface than in the other two.

The deterioration observed in the second half-hour of the original Clock Test experiments was not found in the present experiment, and two possible reasons for this are discussed briefly.