Reading Between the Lines: A Comparison of Responders and Non-responders to a Family History Questionnaire and Implications for Cancer Genetic Counselling

Family history questionnaires (FHQ) are useful tools for cancer genetic counseling, providing an informational basis for pedigree construction and individualized cancer risk assessment. Reported return rates of mailed FHQs amongst familial cancer clinics that utilize them are lower than desired however, and it is unknown whether patients perceive required completion of a FHQ as a barrier to access of cancer genetics services. This study critically evaluated the use of a mailed FHQ for all routine new patient referrals to a single hereditary cancer clinic in Quebec, Canada. Reasons for response/non-response to a FHQ and the effect of administration of a questionnaire on patients’ self-reported level of motivation to pursue genetic counseling, were examined. Of 112 eligible individuals referred during the study period, 86 completed a semi-structured telephone survey; of these, 45% had returned the mailed FHQ prior to the telephone survey (Responders) and 55% had not (Non-responders). Overall, the majority of participants indicated a FHQ is an acceptable and understandable method of collecting family history information. Most prevalent reasons for not returning the FHQ were (bad) timing (56%), and difficulty accessing family history information (46%). Non-response was significantly associated with difficulty in asking relatives for the requested information (p = 0.011), and Non-responders cited fewer overall perceived benefits of cancer genetic counseling as compared with Responders (p < 0.0001). One quarter of Non-responders returned the mailed FHQ following administration of the telephone survey, suggesting implementation of a follow-up prompt is a cost-effective way to increase response.     

Vocational and overall identity: A person-centered approach in Italian university students

Establishing a vocational and overall identity involve defining life altering plans and associated commitments to pursue and achieve them and are, therefore, among the most central aspects of the developmental tasks of late adolescents and emerging adults. In the Italian context, young adults' opportunity to develop coherent and fulfilling future plans are strongly threated by the current distressed economic climate in Italy. Assuming these features of the Italian context can produce specific identity patterns, the present study aimed to contribute to the understanding of overall and vocational identity processes in Italian emerging adults and to explore the relationship between the two domains of identity using a person-centered approach. The study is composed of two parts. The first study assessed the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Vocational Identity Status Assessment (VISA) in a sample of university students from Italy (N = 560). The second study included a cluster analytic approach in order to explore the configuration of both vocational and overall identity domains. The findings suggest that the Italian version of the VISA is a promising tool for assessing vocational identity dimensions in the Italian context. Furthermore, unlike the previous literature, we found different patterns of vocational and overall identity in Italian university students. The findings suggest that the current socio-economic Italian situation may be hindering students' progress toward achieving a vocational identity, especially for freshmen.     

Creativity as Identity Skill? Late Adolescents' Management of Identity,Complexity and Risk‐Taking

The link between identity and creativity has received surprisingly little attention from developmental psychology researchers, although flexibility and the ability to generate multiple solutions to problems are key competences for contemporary society based on continuous innovation and de‐standardization of development trajectories. These competences are critical for identity formation processes, mainly during late adolescence when young people have to explore and commit to defining themselves. This study was concerned with exploring the relationships between creative and identity processes to identify typologies of ‘creativity‐identity interplay’ in late adolescence. The participants comprised 315 late adolescents attending the last 2 years of Italian high schools. Two self‐report measures were used: Utrecht‐Management of Identity Commitments Scale and Test of Divergent Feeling. Participation was voluntary and anonymity was guaranteed. Our findings confirm the relationship between identity and creativity, identify six identity statuses (moratorium, critical exploration, achievement, early closure, diffusion, and searching moratorium), and they describe differences in terms of creativity processes involved in identity formation. Suggestions for future research and limitations are discussed.     

Grounding person memory in space: Does spatial anchoring of behaviors improve recall?

In two experiments, we examine and find support for the general hypothesis that memory for behavioral information in the context of an impression formation task depends on where that information is located in vertical space. These findings extend earlier work showing that memory for location and shifts of spatial attention are influenced by the “good is up” metaphor. Specifically, we show that person memory is better for behavioral information in metaphor compatible locations (positive in upper space and negative in lower space) than in metaphor incompatible locations (positive in lower space and negative in upper space). These findings show for the first time that person‐specific information, and person memory in general, is structured spatially. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Visuospatial attention lateralization in volleyball players and in rowers

In the present study, differences in visuospatial attention lateralization were evaluated in athletes engaged in open-compared to closed-skill sports and sedentary nonathletes. 23 volleyball players (open skill; Italian national level and regional level), 10 rowers (closed skill, Italian national level), and 23 sedentary participants responded to a computerized line-length judgment task. Five lines, differing in the length of their right and left segments, were randomly presented; the respondent made a forced-choice decision about the respective length of the two segments. Volleyball players responded significantly faster; those at the higher competitive level were also more accurate, making a statistically significantly lower number of leftward errors as compared with rowers and controls. If such responses are due to training rather than self-selection of ability, then the results may suggest the possibility of changing the distribution of visuospatial attention by training in open-skill sports.     

Attitudes Toward Colonialism,Political Dependence,and Independence

Preliminary studies done by Poe on the Psychological Effectiveness Scale (PES), which he introduced, indicate that when it is administered to college students, the instrument has considerable validity and internal consistency reliability. The aim of the present study was to explore further the psychometric attributes of the PES in Ss of a different socioeconomic status. One hundred Ss on a methadone maintenance program were asked to rate themselves and two abstract concepts: “abnormal person” and “typical person.” The findings included coefficient alphas in the .90s, high average item-correlation (total minus item), and a significant difference between the means of the three ratings. These findings confirm that the PES has sufficient reliability and construct validity to justify further use.     

Therapeutic reactivity to confidentiality with HIV positive clients: bias or epidemiology?

Therapeutic reactivity among psychology trainees (N=68) was ascertained by their response to 10 clinical vignettes depicting clients with HIV who are sexually active with uninformed partners. This construct accounts for the relative change in decisions to maintain the confidentiality of clients who acknowledge safe versus unsafe sexual behavior. As anticipated, an analysis of variance revealed a significant main effect for safety and a significant 3-way interaction (Sexual Orientation X Safety X Gender). Subsequent analyses revealed that trainees exhibit the highest level of therapeutic reactivity toward heterosexual male clients, and the lowest reactive stance toward heterosexual female clients. Although the decisional pattern evidenced toward heterosexuals seems congruent with epidemiological estimates of risk, the decisions toward lesbians and gay males appear more likely a function of bias. The ethical implications of these findings are discussed.