Measuring Anhedonia in Adolescents: A Psychometric Analysis

Anhedonia—the reduced capacity to experience pleasure—is a trait implicated in mental and physical health. Yet, psychometric data on anhedonia measures in adolescents are absent. We conducted an in-depth psychometric analysis of the Snaith–Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS; Snaith et al., 1995 Snaith, R. P., Hamilton, M., Morley, S., Humayan, A., Hargreaves, D., & Trigwell, P. (1995). A scale for the assessment of hedonic tone: The Snaith–Hamilton Pleasure Scale. British Journal of Psychiatry, 167, 99–103. doi:10.1192/bjp.167.1.99[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar])—a self-report measure of anticipated pleasure response to 14 pleasant experiences—in adolescents. Adolescents (N = 585, M age = 14.5) completed the SHAPS and other paper-and-pencil surveys. Item response theory models were used to evaluate the psychometric performance of each SHAPS item. Correlations of the SHAPS with other personality and psychopathology measures were calculated to evaluate construct validity. Results showed that (a) certain items (e.g., reported pleasure from basic experiences like “seeing smiling faces” or “smelling flowers”) provided more information about latent anhedonia than others; and (b) SHAPS scales exhibited construct-consistent convergent and discriminant validity (i.e., stronger correlations with low positive affect constructs, weaker correlations with negative affect). Reporting diminished pleasure from basic pleasant experiences accurately indicates adolescent anhedonia, which is important for future scale development and understanding the phenomenology of anhedonia in teens. These data support using the SHAPS for assessing anhedonia in epidemiological research and school-based universal prevention programming in general adolescent populations.     

On becoming textually active at Youthline,New Zealand

The phones hardly ring at Youthline New Zealand anymore; youth still have problems and seek help, but it mostly happens silently. This article reports on experiences of texting at a 24-hour crisis helpline for young people. To date, there has been no formal evidence base for this practice; however, for new practice, there never is. In prompting discussion, this article attends to the tight constraints that texting imposes, returning to the necessary and sufficient conditions of any effective therapeutic relationship particularly in regard to working with young people. New possibilities are demonstrated with emotional support being demonstrated even in the tightly constrained space of a text-based medium.     

Evaluating the Psychometric Properties of the Teamwork KSA Test

The Teamwork KSA Test has been a welcome addition to the practitioner's selection toolkit as well as a useful measure for teamwork researchers. We analyzed the psychometric properties of the Teamwork KSA Test and recognized correlates of the construct using three samples of working individuals recruited through a university (N = 241, N = 230, N = 332) and found slim evidence for a factor structure of the underlying constructs. Furthermore, classical reliability estimates did not meet traditional psychometric standards. Total TKSA scores predicted self‐ratings and instructor ratings of teamwork in two of the samples; effect sizes were small.     

The Suicidal Narrative and Its Relationship to the Suicide Crisis Syndrome and Recent Suicidal Behavior

In this study, we introduce the construct of the suicidal narrative, a hypothetical personal narrative linked to imminent suicide, and explore its relationship to near‐term suicidal risk and the suicide crisis syndrome (SCS). Psychiatric outpatients (N = 289) were administered the Columbia Suicide‐Severity Rating Scale (C‐SSRS), Suicide Crisis Inventory (SCI), and Suicide Narrative Inventory (SNI), a novel instrument combining the documented risk factors of Thwarted Belongingness, Perceived Burdensomeness, Humiliation, Social Defeat, Goal Disengagement, and Goal Reengagement. Dimensional measures of past month, lifetime, and past suicidal phenomena, incorporating ideation and behavior, were calculated from the C‐SSRS. Structural equation modeling was used to explore the interaction among variables. Factor analysis of the SNI yielded two orthogonal factors, termed Interpersonal and Goal Orientation. The former factor was comprised of Perceived Burdensomeness, Social Defeat, Humiliation, and Thwarted Belongingness, the latter of Goal Disengagement and Goal Reengagement. The Interpersonal factor correlated with both SCS severity and suicidal phenomena in each time frame and the Goal Orientation factor with no other variable. As hypothesized, the proposed model was significant for the past month only. Our findings support the construct of the suicidal narrative and its function as a near‐term suicidal risk factor.     

Residential mental health assessment within Dutch criminal cases: a discussion

In Dutch criminal cases in which doubts arise about the defendant's mental health, a forensic assessment will be requested. This is provided either by the multidisciplinary staff of residential clinics who conduct forensic evaluations for the court, or by mental health professionals contracted on a part-time basis by district courts. This article discusses the procedures applied in such cases as well as the relevant legal provisions. It focuses particularly on the clinical observation, evaluation, and reporting that is carried out over a number of weeks in the residential setting of the Pieter Baan Centrum. Specific attention is paid to procedures applied in this clinic. It is suggested that Dutch procedures for the use of mental health expertise can best be characterized by three aspects: multidisciplinary observation and reporting, the use of a sliding scale for indicating degree of responsibility, and, finally, the involvement and payment of experts by the state as such, rather than by the prosecution and/or the defense. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Children's use of frequency information for trait categorization and behavioral prediction

Two experiments examined young children's use of behavioral frequency information to make behavioral predictions and global personality attributions. In Experiment 1, participants heard about an actor who behaved positively or negatively toward 1 or several recipients. Generally, children did not differentiate their judgments of the actor on the basis of the amount of information provided. In Experiment 2, the actor behaved positively or negatively toward a single recipient once or repeatedly. Participants were more likely to make appropriate predictions and attributions after exposure to multiple target behaviors and with increasing age. Overall, children's performance was influenced by age-related positivity and negativity biases. These findings indicate that frequency information is important for personality judgments but that its use is affected by contextual complexity and information-processing biases.