Characteristics and VA health care utilization of U.S. Veterans who completed suicide in Oregon between 2000 and 2005

Oregon Violent Death Reporting System data were linked with Veterans Affairs (VA) administrative data to identify and describe veterans who completed suicide in Oregon from 2000 to 2005 (n = 968), and to describe their VA health care utilization in the year prior to death. Twenty-two percent had received health care in the VA system. Of these, 57% did not have mental health diagnoses and 58% had not seen mental health professionals. A larger proportion of those who accessed care were VA-enrolled and received service-connected disability benefits. Fifty-five veterans were hospitalized during the year prior to death. Of these, 33% completed suicide within 30 days of a hospitalization. Further development of suicide prevention strategies for veterans in the community, including general medical treatment settings, is indicated.     

Measuring Context-Specific and Cross-Contextual Components of Hierarchical Constructs

Rating scales are often used to measure behavioral constructs. Yet, different informants’ ratings may not necessarily agree. The situational specificity (SS) perspective postulates that discrepancies between ratings by different informants are primarily attributable to contextual behavior of the people being rated. The multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) perspective, however, attributes discrepancies between informants to rater bias, i.e., each informant provides a systematically distorted picture of the person being rated. Similarly, the Attribution-Bias-Context (ABC) perspective also attributes informant discrepancies to systematic biases. Within the context of measuring hierarchical constructs, we proposed a hybrid perspective that takes account of variance attributable to the behavior of the person being rated in a particular context from the perspective of a specific informant. We then provided a parametric representation of this perspective and analyses of mother, teacher, and self-ratings of Rule-Breaking and Aggressive Behavior to illustrate features of the model. Strengths and limitations of the SS, MTMM, and hybrid perspectives are discussed.     

But Affirmative Action hurts Us! Race-related beliefs shape perceptions of White disadvantage and policy unfairness

Drawing on social identity theory, we examine how Whites’ race-related beliefs drive their reactions to race-based Affirmative Action Policies (AAPs). Across laboratory and field settings, we find that Whites with relatively high modern racism (MR) or collective relative deprivation (CRD) beliefs perceive greater White disadvantage in organizations that have race-based AAPs, than in organizations that do not. Alternatively, race-based AAPs do not lead to perceptions of White disadvantage among Whites with relatively low MR and CRD beliefs. We also find that White disadvantage mediates the relationship between the combined effects of race-based AAPs, MR beliefs, and CRD beliefs and the perceived fairness of the organization’s selection and promotion policies. Our findings suggest that race-based AAPs do not necessarily lead to perceptions of White disadvantage, but are contingent upon the interpretive lens of Whites’ MR and CRD beliefs, and also offer practical insights for preventing negative reactions to race-based AAPs.     

Content Analysis of 32 Years of American Counseling Association Convention Programs

A content analysis of American Counseling Association convention sessions offered from 1977 to 2008 was conducted. The intent was to identify changes and trends in the counseling profession. Content of more than 15,000 sessions, including educational programs, keynote presentations, and training sessions, was assigned to 1 of 86 categories. A shift from a career and school focus to clinical and mental health, as well as an increasing emphasis on multicultural; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender; and spirituality issues, was noted.     

Ironic effects of antiprejudice messages: how motivational interventions can reduce (but also increase) prejudice

Although prejudice-reduction policies and interventions abound, is it possible that some of them result in the precise opposite of their intended effect--an increase in prejudice? We examined this question by exploring the impact of motivation-based prejudice-reduction interventions and assessing whether certain popular practices might in fact increase prejudice. In two experiments, participants received detailed information on, or were primed with, the goal of prejudice reduction; the information and primes either encouraged autonomous motivation to regulate prejudice or emphasized the societal requirement to control prejudice. Ironically, motivating people to reduce prejudice by emphasizing external control produced more explicit and implicit prejudice than did not intervening at all. Conversely, participants in whom autonomous motivation to regulate prejudice was induced displayed less explicit and implicit prejudice compared with no-treatment control participants. We outline strategies for effectively reducing prejudice and discuss the detrimental consequences of enforcing antiprejudice standards.     

Three Students with Developmental Disabilities Learn to Operate an iPod to Access Age-Appropriate Entertainment Videos

Students with developmental disabilities may not have the necessary skills or the same opportunities to access multimedia-based leisure materials as their typical peers. Portable multimedia devices such as the iPod Touch® may provide them with a useful tool for accessing age-appropriate leisure material. The present study examined the feasibility of teaching 3 students with developmental disabilities to independently operate an iPod to watch age-appropriate entertainment videos. A delayed multiple-probe design across participants was implemented with baseline, intervention, fading, and follow-up phases. Video modeling and least-to-most response prompting were successfully used to teach these 3 students to operate an iPod Touch® to watch preferred videos without adult assistance. The results complement previous findings supporting the use of video modeling as an instructional strategy and add to the literature by using portable multimedia devices as assistive technology for teaching an age-appropriate leisure skill.     

The Family Alliance Assessment Scales: Steps Toward Validity and Reliability of an Observational Assessment Tool for Early Family Interactions

We present the first steps in the validation of an observational tool for father-mother-infant interactions: the FAAS (Family Alliance Assessment Scales). Family-level variables are acknowledged as unique contributors to the understanding of the socio-affective development of the child, yet producing reliable assessments of family-level interactions poses a methodological challenge. There is, therefore, a clear need for a validated and clinically relevant tool. This validation study has been carried out on three samples: one non-referred sample, of families taking part in a study on the transition to parenthood (normative sample; n = 30), one referred for medically assisted procreation (infertility sample; n = 30) and one referred for a psychiatric condition in one parent (clinical sample; n = 15). Results show that the FAAS scales have (1) good inter-rater reliability and (2) good validity, as assessed through known-group validity by comparing the three samples and through concurrent validity by checking family interactions against parents’ self-reported marital satisfaction.     

The Brief Family Distress Scale: A Measure of Crisis in Caregivers of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Parents of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often experience stressors associated with caring for their child. These stressors can cause considerable distress for families, which at times can develop into full blown crisis, and it is important that professionals be able to quickly identify when families are approaching or are in crisis to respond appropriately. The current study presents an initial attempt at measuring the subjective experience of crisis in 164 caregivers of people with ASD through a single item instrument, the Brief Family Distress Scale. The BFDS was negatively correlated with helpful coping mechanisms (family hardiness, and parent empowerment), and positive adjustment (caregiver quality of life and positive parenting experiences), and positively correlated with known stressors (severity of aggressive behavior, negative life events) and problematic coping and outcomes (caregiver burden, worry, mental health problems). As expected, caregivers at Marked levels of distress (approaching or in crisis) were significantly different from caregivers at lower levels of distress in nearly all of the dependent variables. Having a quick way of measuring where families are in terms of distress and crisis can be helpful for researchers and clinicians alike.