On the psychometric properties of the Maudsley Marital Questionnaire (MMQ): Evaluation of self-ratings in distressed and ‘normal’ volunteer couples based on the dutch version

The current preliminary study presents data on reliability and validity of the Maudsley Marital Questionnaire (MMQ), a short 20-item scale which was designed to assess degree of favourableness of attitude towards one's own marriage. The MMQ contains three scales related to marital, sexual and general life adjustment, whose composition was initially based on those of analogue scales of the Structured and Scaled Interview to Assess Maladjustment (SSIAM). In addition to providing substantial support for an almost perfect similarity between hypothetical and empirical MMQ dimensional representations, findings, based on self-ratings of 125 volunteer couples from the community and 50 distressed couples, demonstrated that the MMQ scales have high internal consistency, sufficient test-retest reliability and validity and are only slightly correlated with social desirability.     

Peripheral visual changes and spatial attention.

Three experiments are reported investigating the attentional effects of peripheral visual changes. In agreement with previous work, experiment 1 demonstrated facilitatory and inhibitory effects of a peripheral visual change on the latency of peripheral target detection. However, after a few minutes practice the facilitatory effect disappeared entirely. The inhibitory effect, though slightly reduced in later blocks, remained significant. Hence, the two effects are dissociable and not inter-dependent as argued by Maylor (1985). In experiments 2 and 3 the perceptual salience of the peripheral cue was manipulated. With a low energy, barely noticeable cue there was no reduction in either facilitation or inhibition as a function of practice. In contrast, the attentional effects of cues higher in energy tended to diminish with practice. Theoretical implications of these data are discussed.     

Book Reviews

F ordham M ichael , The self and autism.
M oreno , M ario . Vend argomenti per un seminario di psicoterapia.
K raemer , W illiam ( ed. ); G ordon , R osemary ; W illiams , M ary ; L ambert , K enneth , The forbidden love.
M ahler , M argaret S.; P ine , F. and B ergman , The psychological birth of the infant.
H olbrook , D avid , Gustav Mahler and the courage to be
R oazen , P aul , Freud and his followers
L ayard , J ohn . A Celtic quest
V on D er H eydt , V era , Prospects for the soul
S hapiro , K enneth J oel , and I rving , E. A lexander , The experience of introversion
V an der P ost , L. Jung and the story of our time
K ahn , J. H., Job's illness. Loss, grief and integration.
F romm , E., S uzuki , D. T. and de M artino , R. Zen Buddhism and psychoanalysis     

Methodological considerations in the evaluation of differential components of supplementary education programs

Details procedures to be followed in analyzing multiple program options and time allocation for significant effects. A multiple-option supplementary education program was evaluated by the application of multiple regression analysis as a general data analytic system. One analysis reports the relative merits of supplementary education components when more than one type of program was operated by the same school system and when the criteria for evaluation were end-of-year achievement tests. A second evaluation demonstrates that an analysis of program input variables such as aide time allocation did produce significant improvement in achievement when an analysis of the differential effect of the input variables was considered. An incidental outcome of this study was that significant improvement in reading and mathematics achievement for children in supplementary education programs was more likely to occur with second- and third-grade pupils than with thise at later grade levels.     

Challenging anxious cognitions or accepting them? Exploring the efficacy of the cognitive elements of cognitive behaviour therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy in the reduction of children's fear of the dark

Anxiety is highly prevalent in pre-adolescent children. Distorted cognitions are characteristic for dysfunctional levels of anxiety. However, applying cognitive elements in pre-adolescent children cannot be fully ascertained, as it is not until adolescence before children can apply logical and abstract reasoning in a sophisticated manner. Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) both target distorted cognitions. Whereas CBT encourages children to change the content of negative cognitions by applying cognitive restructuring, ACT stimulates youth to have a more accepting attitude towards these thoughts by applying cognitive defusion. The current study examined the efficacy of applying cognitive elements and compared the cognitive elements of CBT and ACT in pre-adolescent children. We included no behavioural elements to specifically study the developmental appropriateness of the cognitive elements in this age group. Highly anxious children, aged 8–12 years were randomised to a 30-minute cognitive restructuring (n = 21) or cognitive defusion intervention (n = 22). Subjective fear of the dark levels, behavioural darkness toleration, and comprehension and fun associated with the interventions were assessed. Both interventions had a significantly positive impact on children's fear of the dark. Cognitive restructuring led to more favourable results on subjective fear than cognitive defusion, no differences were found for darkness toleration.     

Stability and factor structure of the Jackson Personality Inventory--Revised

The Jackson Personality Inventory--Revised comprises 15 bipolar scales and five cluster scores concerning an individual's interpersonal patterns of interaction, cognitive styles, and value orientation. Recent reviews of this revised version raise questions about test-retest stability as well as the factor structure on which cluster scores are based. 74 men and 33 women (29-63 years of age, M = 42.3) completed the inventory while participating in a continuing education program. Of these 45 participated in a second session 13 wk. later. Test-retest correlations are significant, with 12 of the 15 scales having correlations > or = .75. Intercorrelations among all subscales indicate that the Jackson subscales for the most part remain distinct from each other ranging from .01 to .59. A Principal Components Analysis with a varimax rotation yielded three factors that parallel the NEO big five, i.e., Openness, Neuroticism, and Extroversion and replicated previous factor structure found for both versions of the Jackson inventory. The fourth and fifth factors here were labeled Trustworthy and Organization; however, the composition of these factors across several studies appears to be unstable, suggesting optimal certainty when interpreting the clusters of subscales associated only with Openness, Neuroticism, and Extroversion. Further research may help clarify the instability associated with the other factors of this inventory.