Development of a measure of symptoms in chronic fatigue syndrome: The profile of fatigue-related symptoms(pfrs)

Abstract

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a disorder of uncertain aetiology which attracts increasing research interest. This paper describes the development of a multidimensional measure incorporating the diverse symptoms associated with the illness. The Profile of Fatigue-Related Symptoms (PFRS) has four scales: emotional distress, cognitive difficulty, fatigue and somatic symptoms. These showed good convergence with comparison measures, high reliability and high internal consistency. CFS patients had markedly elevated scores compared with a student comparison group, and these scores correlated with indices of illness severity. The PFRS is a short and easily administered measure which, it is suggested, may be used to assess patients in terms of the severity and pattern of their disorder, to relate subjective symptoms to immunological and other findings, to evaluate the effects of treatments, and to compare the symptomatology of CFS with that in other fatiguing illnesses.     

Increasing calcium intake in young women through gain-framed,targeted messages: A randomised controlled trial

Background: Adequate calcium consumption during early adulthood can help prevent osteoporosis in women.

Purpose: The effects of gain-framed, targeted messaging on calcium intake were examined over 12 months.

Methods: Young women (18–19 years) not consuming sufficient calcium were randomly assigned to receive standard care materials (control) or gain-framed, targeted materials (experimental). Health belief model (HBM) constructs, calcium intake and markers of bone formation, resorption and bone mineral density were assessed at various time points throughout the year.

Results: Calcium intake increased significantly more in the experimental versus the control condition (p?<?0.01). Self-efficacy was the only HBM construct to improve significantly more in the experimental condition versus control (p?=?0.05). The HBM did not mediate changes in calcium intake. Measures of bone health did not differ between conditions by the end of this nonpharmacological intervention (p's?>?0.05).

Conclusions: It is possible to increase young women's calcium consumption through gain-framed, targeted messages.     

Studies of Rorschach Content; A Review of Research Literature Part II; Non-Traditional Uses of Content Indicators

This paper deals with the extension of research on Rorschach content to new modes of scoring and classifying test reponses that lie outside of the conventional classification scheme. Four avenues of going beyond the traditional content categories are presented and reviewed: study of subdivisions within the units of the generally used scoring system, exploration of the symbolic meaning of Rorschach responses, investigation of constellations of content signs, and development and validation of content scales. Little systematic work has been done in the first two areas of endeavor. As far as the latter two research topics are concerned, the evidence accumulated suggests that, at best, scales and signs derived from content yield overlap, and not correspondence, with their respective real-life referents. The study of mediating variables that act to magnify or reduce the extent of this relationship has merely begun and remains the major unfulfilled task in Rorschach content research.     

Departures From Sensible Play in Computer Blackjack

Gambling has been viewed as irrational, and even though blackjack offers rational strategies (i.e., Basic [E. Thorp, 1966] and card counting), people exhibit departures from rationality (e.g., “Never Bust” strategies). To determine whether departures from rational behavior reflect ignorance or fatigue, university students were provided with on-line Basic advice while playing a simplified computer blackjack. Although the on-line advice initially affected the totals these players sat on, it was eventually discarded for higher risk strategies. Irrational play did not reflect ignorance or fatigue and was not necessarily conservative. Real fluctuations of odds in blackjack may lead to situations in which Basic is not perceived by players as effective. Because Basic is not a personalized strategy, it seems less likely to be maintained in the face of losses. Players were more optimistic that they might win when utilizing their personalized strategies.     

Dynamic Selective Exposure during Decision-Making

To understand dynamic changes in the likelihood that people would access and selectively expose themselves to information online, the present study examined the checking of account balances during simulated gambling. Sixteen participants played 120 hands of computer Blackjack for points, at higher or lower levels of risk (different point multipliers), and after each win or loss the computer recorded if participants checked their account balances. There were individual differences in checking rates. Participants who were more likely to check balances exhibited a selectivity of exposure to decision consonant information after a win at low risk. Although it was expected that people would seek to maintain positive mood, data were better explained in terms of Cognitive Dissonance. The effects of Cognitive Dissonance are liable to extend beyond single static decisions into dynamic online environments.     

Exploring own-age biases in deception detection

The present study explored own-age biases in deception detection, investigating whether individuals were more likely to trust those in their own-age group. Younger and older participants were asked to detect deceit from videos of younger and older speakers, rating their confidence in each decision. Older participants showed an own-age bias: they were more likely to think that deceptive speakers of their own age, relative to younger speakers, were telling the truth. Older participants were also more confident in their judgements of own-age, relative to other-age, speakers. There were no own-age biases for younger participants. In a subsequent (apparently unrelated) task, participants were asked to rate the trustworthiness of the speakers. Both age groups of participants trusted younger speakers who had previously told the truth more compared to those who had lied. This effect was not found for older speakers. These findings are considered in relation to the in-group/out-group model of social cognition and common stereotypical beliefs held about younger and older adults.     

From Radical to Banal Evil: Hannah Arendt against the Justification of the Unjustifiable

Two central strands in Arendt's thought are the reflection on the evil of Auschwitz and the rethinking in terms of politics of Heidegger's critique of metaphysics. Given Heidegger's taciturnity regarding Auschwitz and Arendt's own taciturnity regarding the philosophical implications of Heidegger's political engagement in 1933, to set out how these strands interrelate is to examine the coherence of Arendt's thought and its potential for a critique of Heidegger. By refusing to countenance a theological conception of the evil of Auschwitz, Arendt consolidates the break with theology that Heidegger attempts through his analysis of the essential finitude of Dasein. In the light of Arendt's account of evil, it is possible to see the theological vestiges in Heidegger's ontology. Heidegger's resumption of the question concerning the categorical interconnections of the ways of Being entails an abandonment of finitude: he accommodates and tacitly justifies that which can have no human justification.     

The role of decision influence and team performance in member self-efficacy, withdrawal, satisfaction with the leader, and willingness to return

This study examines team performance as a moderator of the relationship between decision influence and outcomes relevant to team effectiveness in hierarchical teams with distributed ex pertise. In this type of team staff members have unique roles and make recommendations to the team leader, who ultimately makes the team's final decisions. It is suggested that the positive rela tionship between decision influence and favorable outcomes (e.g., satisfaction) consistently described in the literature is dependent on team performance in this type of team. Specifically, team effec tiveness outcomes are proposed to be consistently more favorable in higher performing than in lower performing teams. Decision influence is proposed to relate positively to member satisfaction with the leader, willingness to return, and self-efficacy and to relate negatively to withdrawal in higher performing teams. The opposite pattern of relationships is expected in lower performing teams. A laboratory study was conducted with 228 undergradu ates performing a computer task as subordinates in 76 four-person teams with a confederate leader. The results generally support the hypotheses and illustrate a dilemma for leaders attempting to manage team effectiveness.     

Parental Influence on Children during Educational Television Viewing in Immigrant Families

It has been suggested by researchers that educational television programmes may support the language and literacy development for children, especially those in immigrant families. In an immigrant family, many family characteristics appear to be related to educational television programme viewing of children at home, for example, parental acculturation (the process of adapting to the new culture) and parental mediation (supervision and guidance) of television viewing. In the present work, the parental influence on children during educational television viewing was studied quantitatively, based on a sample (n = 171) of immigrant families with children aged 3–6 years collected across the U.S. The results have revealed that significant differences existed between Asian and Hispanic groups in coviewing mediation and in their children's educational television viewing. Furthermore, language in parental acculturation significantly predicted instructive and restrictive parental mediation, and parental occupation significantly predicted language in parental acculturation. This study initiates the attention to the topic of educational television viewing in immigrant families, which warrants further investigations in the future as the Asian and Hispanic immigrant population increases rapidly in the U.S. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.