A Cluster Analytic Study of Clinical Orientations Among Chemical Dependency Counselors

Three distinct clinical orientations were identified in a sample of chemical dependency counselors (N = 406). Based on cluster analysis, the largest group, identified and labeled as “uniform counselors,” endorsed a simple, moral‐disease model with little interest in psychosocial interventions. A 2nd group, identified as “multiform counselors,” embraced an incongruent moral‐disease‐psychosocial model, and valued a myriad of treatment approaches. The smallest group, labeled “client‐directed counselors,” did not fully endorse Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) principles, valued non‐coercive treatment, and recognized coexisting psychopathology in clients. Results from a discriminant function analysis provided evidence to support the 3‐group cluster solution.     

The 9th annual INDUS-EM 2013 Emergency Medicine Summit, “Principles,Practices, and Patients,” a level one international meeting,Kerala University of Health Sciences and Jubilee Mission Medical College and Research Institute,Thrissur, Kerala,India, October 23–27, 2013

INDUS-EM is India’s only level one conference imparting and exchanging quality knowledge in acute care. Specifically, in general and specialized emergency care and training in trauma, burns, cardiac, stroke, environmental and disaster medicine. It provides a series of exchanges regarding academic development and implementation of training tools related to developing future academic faculty and residents in Emergency Medicine in India. The INDUS-EM leadership and board of directors invited scholars from multiple institutions to participate in this advanced educational symposium that was held in Thrissur, Kerala in October 2013.     

Self-conscious emotions in patients suffering from chronic musculoskeletal pain: A brief report

Objective: The role of self-conscious emotions (SCEs) including shame, guilt, humiliation and embarrassment are of increasing interest within health. Yet, little is known about SCEs in the experience of chronic pain. This study explored prevalence and experience of SCEs in chronic pain patients compared to controls and assessed the relationship between SCEs and disability in pain patients.

Design and measures: Questionnaire assessment comparing musculoskeletal pain patients (n = 64) and pain-free control participants (n = 63). Pain was assessed using the McGill Pain Questionnaire; disability, using the Roland–Morris Disability Questionnaire; and six SCEs derived from three measures (i) Test of Self-Conscious Affect-3 yielding subscales of shame, guilt, externalisation and detachment (ii) The Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale and (iii) The Pain Self-Perception Scale assessing mental defeat.

Results: Significantly greater levels of shame, guilt, fear of negative evaluation and mental defeat were observed in chronic pain patients compared to controls. In the pain group, SCE variables significantly predicted affective pain intensity; only mental defeat was significantly related to disability.

Conclusion: Findings highlight the prevalence of negative SCEs and their importance in assessment and management of chronic pain. The role of mood in this relationship is yet to be explored.     

Development and validation of the Theoretical Orientation Scale for Clinicians: reflecting solution-focused principles

This article describes the development and validation of the 40-item Theoretical Orientation Scale for Clinicians (TOSCsF), an instrument designed to (a) operationalize attitudes towards the principles of solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT), and (b) assess clinicians' endorsement of this therapeutic approach. Participants (N=284) were members of the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC) who responded (63%) to a mail questionnaire containing the TOSCsF. Reliability (Cronbach's alpha = .82) and validity of scores on the TOSCsF are examined in light of the detection of an acquiescent response pattern in 40 respondents. A subsequent three-factor structure derived from a principal components analysis (accounting for 28% of the variance) suggests modest, but positive, support for the construct validity of the TOSCsF. Recommendations for further refinement of the instrument are discussed.     

Acquisition and automatization of a complex task: an examination of three-ball cascade juggling

The learning patterns of 3-ball cascade juggling from acquisition until automaticity were examined in 10 participants. On the basis of outcome measures derived from 26 practice sessions and 4 periodic probe sessions, the authors differentiated participants into 3 distinct learning types: a proficient group, an emerging group, and a single late learner. The proficient group was distinguished by how rapidly they learned and automatized performance. Most interesting, an inverse response cost (i.e., performance boost) on the secondary task was found in the majority of proficient group members during the dual-task condition. The present results are discussed in relation to the P. L. Ackerman model (1987, 1988) of complex skill acquisition as is the significance of the inverse response cost finding.     

Beauty is as Beauty Does?: Makeup and Posture Effects on Physical Attractiveness Judgments1

Recent studies have examined human beauty as a biological, structural trait. This view of beauty is incomplete because it does not consider the amount of variability in beauty judgments attributable to self-presentation strategies. This study was designed to estimate the importance of self-presentation practices on beauty judgments. For women within plus or minus one standard deviation of average facial attractiveness, makeup effect size estimates were comparable to previously published estimates of the importance of structural factors in attractiveness judgments. Similarly, for average weight stimuli, posture was comparable to body build in influencing attractiveness judgments. Implications for personal appearance businesses, health psychology, and counseling practice are discussed.     

Understanding Young Adults’ Reports of Contact with their Parents in a Digital World: Psychological and Familial Relationship Factors

Continued involvement of parents in the lives of young adults is a topic of great interest to both scholars and the lay public. Although young adults’ astounding use of cell phones, texting, video chat, and social media in negotiating their social relationships is well documented, few studies have examined the role of different types of communications technology in facilitating young adults’ involvement with their parents. Researchers have begun to examine familial and psychological correlates of parental involvement for college students, but existing studies offer mixed results. The present study examined college students’ reports of frequency of contact with parents using different types of communications technology and examined familial relationship and individual well-being factors associated with young adults’ reports of frequent parental contact. College students (N = 326) completed measures of frequency of contact with mothers and fathers using seven types of communications technology, the quality of family relationships (felt obligation towards parents and family satisfaction) and individual well-being (self-esteem, depressed mood, and general psychological well-being). Phone calls and texting were the two most popular methods of parental contact reported by college students. Level of self-reported contact with parents was not significantly related to participants’ reports of self-esteem, depressed mood, or general well-being. Results of multinomial logistic regression analyses indicated that higher levels of felt obligation and family satisfaction meaningfully distinguished between young adults who reported frequent and infrequent parental contact. Our results indicate the importance of understanding young adults’ reports of parental contact within the context of ongoing family relationships.