Cross-cultural generalizability of the Personality and Role Identity Structural Model (PRISM): Implications for trait and cultural psychology

The cross-cultural generalizability of the Personality and Role Identity Structural Model (PRISM; Wood & Roberts, 2006) was tested in the United States, Mexico, Malaysia, China, and Japan. Participants rated their general and role identities, as defined by the PRISM, using Big Five trait adjectives, then rated their personality states (i.e., role experiences) in various roles in multiple daily interactions for 14 days. Structural predictions based on the PRISM were supported in all five cultures. Cultural differences were limited and did not reflect cultural differences in individualism–collectivism, dialecticism, or cultural tightness. The results supported the cross-cultural generalizability of the PRISM and the merits of contextualized trait measures in the prediction of role experiences. Implications for trait and cultural psychology are discussed.     

Post‐Traumatic Symptoms Among Victims of Workplace Bullying: Exploring Gender Differences and Shattered Assumptions

The aims of the present study were twofold: assessing the prevalence and intensity of post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in victims of bullying, and exploring whether victims of bullying differ in their basic assumptions compared to a control group. A total of 183 victims of bullying and 183 control group participants took part in the research. The results showed that 42.6% of the total sample met all DSM‐IV‐TR criteria for PTSD, whereas 54.1% did not fulfill the A1 criterion. Post‐traumatic symptoms were more prevalent among women (49%), as compared to men (35.3%). Furthermore, victims showed significantly more negative beliefs about the world, the people, and themselves, compared to their non‐bullied controls. These results fit well with cognitive theory of trauma.     

Parent-school relationships and children's academic and social outcomes in public school pre-kindergarten

Two dimensions of parent-school relationships, parental school involvement and parents' perceptions of teacher responsiveness to child/parent, were examined in state-funded pre-kindergarten classrooms in a large urban school district. Children's social and academic outcomes were individually assessed in the fall and spring. Hierarchical Linear Modeling analyses revealed that parental school involvement positively predicted children's social skills (d = .55) and mathematics skills (d = .36), and negatively predicted problem behaviors (d = .47). Perceived teacher responsiveness to child/parent was positively related to children's early reading (d = .43), and social skills (d = .43), and negatively to problem behaviors (d = .61). All analyses controlled for quality of teacher interaction with children in the classroom, parental home involvement, parental education level, and child race/ethnicity.     

Outcome-specific transfer between predictive and instrumental learning is unaffected by extinction but reversed by counterconditioning in human participants

Three experiments were conducted to explore the effects of different interference treatments upon outcome-specific transfer from predictive learning to instrumental responding. A computer game was designed in which participants had to defend Andalusia from navy and air-force attacks. Participants learned the relationship between two instrumental responses (two keys in a standard keyboard) and two different outcomes (destruction of the ships or destruction of the planes). Then, they learned to predict which of two different cues predicted either outcome. Finally, participants were allowed to give either of the two instrumental responses in the presence of each cue. Outcome-specific transfer was shown as a preference for the response that shared the outcome with the current cue. Extinction of the cue before the transfer test had no effect upon transfer, regardless of the level of extinction (Experiments 1-3). However, pairing the cue with the alternative outcome (counterconditioning) reversed the outcome-based transfer effect (Experiment 3). The implications of these results for the contents of extinction in human predictive learning are discussed.     

Hurlbert Index of Sexual Assertiveness: a study of psychometric properties in a Spanish sample

The study analyzed psychometric properties of a Spanish version of the Hurlbert Index of Sexual Assertiveness in a Spanish sample of 400 men and 453 women who had had a partner for the last 6 mo. or longer at the time of the study. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses suggested a two-factor solution with the factors Initiation and No shyness/Refusal. Internal consistency values for total scores were .87 and .83 for the factors, respectively. Convergent validity tests were also satisfactory. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that the Spanish version of the scale has appropriate psychometric properties.     

Effects of providing advance cues during a soccer penalty kick on the kicker's rate of success

The effect of explicitly providing goalkeeper's movement advanced cue to the kicker during a real penalty kick task was assessed. 32 expert soccer players (M age= 23.2 yr.), who were divided into four groups: an experimental group, a discovery group, a placebo group, and a control group, participated. Rate of success in the task was assessed, as well as goals, decision times, and ball flight times. Providing an advance cue significantly improved the players' rate of success relative to players without the advance cue; this difference was still present after 1 and 7 days without training. The experimental group adapted better to the time range within which the response could be effective, while the discovery group showed adaptations. Explicit instructions about the advance cues available from goalkeepers' actions before the dive during practice can improve penalty kick performance.     

Perceived Church-Based Needs and Assets for HIV/AIDS Prevention in an Urban Nigerian Community

Health intervention programs have the potential to use church-based assets to address a wide range of health issues. This study examined the assets Nigerian church members believed their churches needed, including the assets they thought they had to engage in HIV/AIDS prevention activities. Eight hundred and thirty members from 83 churches completed a questionnaire designed from forum focus group data. Respondents were males and females aged 18 years old and above, with primary, secondary, university, or vocational education, and were more likely to be married than single (never married), separated, divorced, widowed or remarried. The data revealed that church members needed access to health promotion assets, including the expertise of members who are health professionals to engage in HIV/AIDS prevention activities. We recommend an intensive HIV/AIDS prevention reorientation-training workshop for church leaders to ensure a sustainable plan to address HIV/AIDS prevention needs.     

Quality of life in patients with alcohol dependence disorder with personality disorders: relation to psychological adjustment and craving

The purpose of this study is to determine the self-perceived quality of life of abstinent patients with alcohol dependence disorder during the first month of treatment, and how the presence of personality disorders, psychological adjustment, and the level of craving affect this perception. For this purpose, a sample was used comprising 65 participants with mean age of 43.26 years, of whom 70.8% were male and 29.2% female, with a mean duration of addiction to alcohol consumption of 11.83 years. The results show that quality of life is not related to the duration of abstinence or the course of the addiction. Moreover, the patients who present a personality disorder perceive poorer quality of life in areas such as health status, mood, and social relations. Self-perception of quality of life is affected by psychological adjustment and beliefs about craving. These data should be taken into account when considering quality of life as a measurement of the effectiveness of a treatment for drug addicts with personality disorders.     

Relationship between perceived health care quality and attitude toward substance abuse treatment

Despite the considerable investment made in recent years in Spain in substance abuse care, treatment adherence remains one of the aspects that determine the effectiveness of programs. Several authors have noted the importance of perceived service quality in this context. This paper is presented with dual purpose of highlighting the role that management of the quality of care for drug addicts has, both as a modulator of users' attitudes and perceptions about the treatment, and as a work philosophy, typical of an organization committed to continuous improvement. Conducting personal interviews with 670 users of drug abuse care services in Galicia and through the application of covariance structure analysis, the close relationship between two factors (perceived quality and attitude toward treatment) was revealed. This research also provides professionals and researchers with a new scale for service evaluation that is short, easy to use and with adequate psychometric properties.     

Comorbidity between SCARED anxiety factors and depressive symptomatology in 8- to 12-year-old children

The aim of this study was to examine the comorbidity between the SCARED anxiety factors and depressive symptoms in 8-12-year-old children. Participants were 792 girls and 715 boys, who completed: the 41-ítem version of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorder (SCARED), the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) and a Socio-demographic questionnaire. Of the sample, 47% showed anxiety symptoms and 11.5% showed depressive symptoms. Heterotypic comorbidity was 82% in children at risk of depression and 20% in children at risk of anxiety. Homotypic Comorbidity between anxiety factors was 87%. Homotypic comorbidity and heterotypic comorbidity were high; their early detection will prevent the continuity of an anxious disorder and the development of depression.