Psychometric properties of the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale in a clinical sample

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS) in a clinical sample of 513 youth referred for mental health assessment at a university clinic. Internal consistency and factor analysis provided support for the factorial validity of the RCADS. Convergent and discriminant validity tests against both clinical interview and self-report criteria also suggested favorable properties of the RCADS. In comparative tests with traditional measures of anxiety and depression, the RCADS generally showed greater correspondence to specific diagnostic syndromes. Clinical cutoffs are reported for the purposes of future clinical and research applications.     

Role rigidity: a problem of identity misclassification?

When nonstigmatized individuals enact certain role-violating behaviors, they risk becoming "falsely accused deviants" (H. S. Becker, 1963, p. 20). For instance, when heterosexual men perform stereotypically feminine behaviors, they are liable to get misclassified as homosexual. Findings presented here reveal that expectations of identity misclassification fuel nonstigmatized individuals' negative reactions to role violations (Studies 1-2) and that using a disclaimer--that is, informing their audience of their nonstigmatized identity--assuages people's discomfort during a role-violating behavior (Studies 3-4). Moreover, when not concerned about being misclassified, nonstigmatized individuals benefit psychologically from the enactment of a challenging role violation (Study 4). Discussion considers the nature of the threat that misclassified role violators face and compares the plight of the falsely accused deviant to that of the truly stigmatized individual.     

Feeling and believing: the influence of emotion on trust

The authors report results from 5 experiments that describe the influence of emotional states on trust. They found that incidental emotions significantly influence trust in unrelated settings. Happiness and gratitude--emotions with positive valence--increase trust, and anger--an emotion with negative valence--decreases trust. Specifically, they found that emotions characterized by other-person control (anger and gratitude) and weak control appraisals (happiness) influence trust significantly more than emotions characterized by personal control (pride and guilt) or situational control (sadness). These findings suggest that emotions are more likely to be misattributed when the appraisals of the emotion are consistent with the judgment task than when the appraisals of the emotion are inconsistent with the judgment task. Emotions do not influence trust when individuals are aware of the source of their emotions or when individuals are very familiar with the trustee.     

The Effects of Commercials on Children’s Perceptions of Gender Appropriate Toy Use

Sixty-two first and second grade students (28 boys, 34 girls) were exposed to one of three commercial videotapes in which either all-boys (traditional condition) or all-girls (nontraditional) were playing with a toy. Participants in the control condition were exposed to nontoy commercials. After exposure to one of the conditions participants performed a toy sort where they were asked if six toys, including the two manipulated toys, were for boys, girls, or both boys and girls. Participants in the nontraditional condition were more likely to report that the manipulated toys were for both boys and girls than were participants in the traditional condition, who were more likely to report that the manipulated toys were for boys. This effect was stronger for boys than for girls.     

Is Workplace Harassment Hazardous to Your Health?

We examined cross-sectional and lagged effects of sexual harassment (SH) and generalized workplace harassment (GWH) on incidence of self-reported illness, injury, or assault in a sample of over 1,500 university employees. SH and GWH, but not other job stressors, were related to increased odds of illness, injury, or assault. This was true when SH, GWH, and illness, injury, or assault were measured at the same time point, as well as when SH and GWH were measured in year prior to illness, injury, or assault.The data presented here are part of an ongoing longitudinal study of workplace harassment conducted at the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Illinois at Chicago. This research was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (grants AA09989 and AA13332). Portions of this paper were presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, April 2004, Chicago, Illinois. The data were collected by the Survey Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago.     

The effects of outcome expectations and satisfaction on weight loss and maintenance: correlational and experimental analyses--a randomized trial.

This study examines the hypothesis that highly favorable outcome expectations promote weight loss and hinder weight maintenance. To investigate the effects of outcome expectations and satisfaction with treatment outcomes on weight loss, 349 adults were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 weight loss programs that emphasize either (a) an "optimistic" message, focusing exclusively on the positive aspects of weight loss, or (b) a "balanced" message, giving equal time to positive and negative aspects of weight loss. Participants changed their weight loss cognitions in response to the intervention, but there was no significant difference between the intervention treatment groups in short-term or long-term (18-month) weight loss. Independent of treatment message, positive outcome expectations and satisfaction were both associated with weight loss.     

Perceptions concerning college student suicide: data from four universities

The issue of suicide, including prevention, intervention, and postvention, continues to be a problem on college campuses. For this study, data concerning a variety of issues related to college student suicide were collected from 1,865 students at four different universities. Incidence, risk factors, and potential solutions are described, as well as implications for mental health professionals in university settings.     

Progress and innovation: personality disorders and the vanguard of psychopathology research

Important progress in our understanding of the natural course of personality disorders (PDs) is documented in the articles for this special section. This progress could set the stage for ideas developed in the study of PDs to play a central role in research on psychopathology more broadly conceived. The Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study (Skodol et al., this issue), the Children in the Community Study (Cohen, Crawford, Johnson, & Kasen, this issue), and the McLean Study of Adult Development (Zanarini, Frankenburg, Hennen, Reich, & Silk, this issue) reveal the importance of personality in understanding psychopathology, and point toward a dimensional approach to conceptualizing psychopathology that could also frame categorical clinical decision making processes.     

Selective Mutism in Children: Comparison to Youths With and Without Anxiety Disorders

Fifteen children with selective mutism (SM), 15 children with anxiety disorders (AD) without selective mutism, and 15 children without anxiety disorders or selective mutism (CN) were compared to examine the relationship between selective mutism and anxiety. Data were collected from children (age 4–10 years), parents, teachers, and clinicians. Results indicated that children with SM closely resemble children with AD. All children with SM received a diagnosis of social anxiety disorder and 53% received a diagnosis for an additional anxiety disorder. In addition, the SM and AD groups differed substantially from controls with respect to parent- and teacher-rated internalizing behavior problems. No differences among the groups were found with respect to parent-and teacher-reported externalizing behavior problems. The results are consistent with prior research emphasizing the association between selective mutism and anxiety disorders, and suggest that selective mutism may be conceptualized, assessed, and treated as an anxiety-related problem.