Reliability of the Francis Scale of Attitude Toward Christianity among 8-yr-olds

The Francis Scale of Attitude Toward Christianity was completed by 78 8-yr.-olds (40 boys and 38 girls) whose data support reliability measured as the internal consistency of the scale for this young sample.     

Being a mother with anorexia: A phenomenological study of seeking and receiving professional support for white heterosexual women in the UK

Mothers are currently under-represented in the literature on anorexia, including research on treatment, with most research focussed on female adolescents. This raises questions about how adult women and particularly those who are mothers, experience eating disorder treatment. This study provides a phenomenological exploration of lived experiences of seeking and receiving professional help and interactions with health professionals for six white heterosexual mothers who experienced anorexia while raising their children. Four themes are reported that capture the women's diverse experiences of seeking and receiving support for anorexia: (1) conflict between mothering and seeking help; (2) experiences of feeling blamed, poorly treated or misunderstood by health professionals; (3) positive experiences of seeking and receiving support; and (4) the importance of ongoing support. The women's experiences suggest that healthcare professionals should adopt a more holistic approach that acknowledges the subjective reality of the client (including their mother status) when working with mothers experiencing anorexia.     

Social identification and permeability of group boundaries

Two experiments were conducted to investigate some of the factors affecting social identification. In Experiment 1 ingroup identification was measured for subjects who were members of high or low status groups with either permeable or impermeable boundaries, and who received high, average or low ability feedback. The main results are that (1) members of high status groups show more ingroup identification than members of low status groups (2) members of low status groups with permeable boundaries identify less with their group than members of low status groups with impermeable boundaries and (3) in low status groups ingroup identification decreases as group members have higher individual ability. In Experiment 2, in addition to manipulating group status and individual ability, permeability was further differentiated into separate possibilities for upward and downward mobility. The most important results of Experiment 2 are that (1) members of high status groups show more ingroup identification than members of low status groups and (2) group members with high individual ability identify less with their group when upward mobility is possible than when upward mobility is not possible. These results are discussed in relation to social identity theory.     

The nature of irrational beliefs in different personality clusters of spouse abusers

Previous research has shown that a majority of spouse abusers have personality characteristics which are consistent with personality disorder and show symptoms of depression and anger expression. Irrational beliefs have been associated with the same emotions in nonabuser populations. The current study assessed the nature of irrational beliefs in a sample of spouse abusers. The results showed that abusers with personality disorder held more irrational beliefs than abusers without personality disorder. Labile symptoms were associated with three categories of irrational beliefs only in the abusers with personality disorder. The implications for the characterization of spouse abusers and the modification of spouse abuse are discussed.Jeffrey M. Lohr, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville. His research interests are in the assessment of irrational beliefs and their association with dysphoric motivational statesL. Kevin Hamberger, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in the Family Practice Department of the Medical College of Wisconsin. His clinical and research interests are in the cognitive-behavioral treatment of male spouse abusers.Dennis Bonge, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville. His research and teaching interests are in multivariate analysis and the assessment of irrational beliefsPortions of this paper presented at the 33rd Annual Convention of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Atlanta, GA, March, 1987.This research was supported by the Marie Wilson Howells Fund.     

Stressors: Continuous and Discontinuous

DSM-III defined PTSD as a syndrome that follows exposure to a special class of stressors, that is, events that are outside the range of usual human experience. The definition of the PTSD stressor in DSM-III is ambiguous: It is unclear if it depends on a quantitative or qualitative difference. Furthermore, although a body of literature had described psychologic reactions to war and civilian catastrophes, there was at the time little empirical support for a strong and unique association between the PTSD symptom cluster and a special class of stressors. The revised definition of PTSD in DSM-III-R has not clarified the PTSD stressor criterion. However, changes were made in the criterial symptoms. Symptoms of avoidance were moved from the "Miscellaneous" to the "Numbing" category. The change was not based on empirical evidence; it was based instead on an untested psychologic paradigm about traumatic neurosis. Suggestions are made for future research to test the assumptions embedded in the PTSD definition.     

Irrational beliefs and bulimia symptoms

The psychological correlates of bulimia include affective disorder and emotional liability. In addition, emotional liability appears to precipitate binge-purge episodes. It has been proposed that emotional liability is a function of irrational beliefs regarding personal performance, interpersonal relationships and self-control. Irrational beliefs and bulimia symptoms were assessed with psychometrically valid self-report measures. Correlational analyses showed that the irrational beliefs of Anxious Overconcern, Problem Avoidance, Helplessness and Blame Proneness are separately correlated with bulimia symptoms. The implications for the psychological assessment and treatment of bulimia symptoms are discussed.Jeffrey M. Lohr, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Arkansas. His research interests are in the assessment of irrational beliefs and their association with dysphoric motivational states.Donna L. Parkinson, M.A., is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Psychology at the University of Arkansas. Her research interests are in the assessment of eating disorders.     

Psychological disturbance in children with physical disabilities: Continuity and change in a 5-year follow-up

This study measures continuity in behavioral disturbance over a 5-year period among 255 children with physical disabilities who were 6 to 18 years old at first assessment. The pattern of the results differed from that reported previously for a sample of the general population of children. Disabled children showed little stability in aggression, an area in which stability over time had been consistently reported for the general child population. Furthermore, important differences were observed between children with cystic fibrosis and children with cerebral palsy, myelodysplasia, or multiple physical handicaps, all conditions involving brain abnormality. Children with cystic fibrosis followed the trend toward better adjustment seen among the general population of children. In contrast, among children with conditions involving the brain, the majority of those who had been classified as psychologically severely impaired remained at this level of impairment 5 years later. In two behavioral domains, Mentation Problems and Isolation, children with conditions involving the brain maintained, on the average, the same markedly high score they had initially. Among children with physical conditions involving the brain, Mentation Problems and Isolation signify persistent problems that do not subside as the children mature.This study was supported by NIH grant No. HD-16821, by Research Scientist Development Award No. MH-00380 from NIMH, and by grants from the Cleveland Foundation and the Charles S. Mott Foundation.