Attachment style,partner communication,and physical well‐being among couples coping with cancer

Attachment styles may influence interpersonal strategies used to cope with stress. We examined links between attachment style, communicative behaviors, and physical well‐being among 166 couples coping with cancer. Results of actor–partner interdependence mediation models indicated that insecure attachment styles were associated with greater self‐report of two different and seemingly contradictory communicative behaviors (disclosure and holding back), which in turn were associated with poorer physical well‐being. These effects were intrapersonal for both patients and spouses, with the exception of anxious attachment and holding back for spouses. They were also interpersonal in that spouse insecure attachment was associated with poorer patient physical well‐being through spouse communication (greater holding back and disclosure). Couple‐based communication interventions to support adjustment should consider attachment style.     

Nonstrategic Delay in Bargaining: An Experimental Investigation

The practice of bargaining is strongly affected by procedural features. Procedures matter because they affect each party's bargaining power and, consequently, the negotiation outcome. The extent and nature of delay between offers and counteroffers are an example of procedural specification in bargaining. Bargaining models consider delay only as a strategic screening device to build a reputation for toughness, the logic being that the party with the smaller cost of delay obtains all the gain from trade. In reality, however, delay between offers is common because of imperfect player control over the duration of the offers for reasons other than strategic, namely, transactional, timing, and interruptions. This delay, in essence, limits the number of rounds of offers and counteroffers in a fixed-period negotiation compared to when there is no delay and, in turn, is expected to affect negotiation outcome. The objective of the current research is to experimentally explore the implications of nonstrategic delay between offers and counteroffers in a finite-horizon alternating-offer bargaining game with incomplete information but without discounting. Specifically, this study examines the effect of nonstrategic time delay during negotiation on (1) the effect of risk preference on negotiator effectiveness, (2) deadline effect, (3) first-mover advantage, and (4) conflict between the negotiating partners. As hypothesized, the results show that delay dilutes the effect of negotiators’ risk preference, eliminates the deadline effect, negates the first-mover advantage, and enhances dyadic conflict.     

The Sacred Sites of Houston: A Novel Experiential Course for Undergraduate Medical Education on Religion and Spirituality

Journal of Religion and Health - Medical schools are charged to deliver a curriculum on religion and spirituality (R/S), so a novel experiential course, the Sacred Sites of Houston, was developed....     

Worn out relationship? The role of expectations in judgments of relational boredom

This study examined the role of growth and security expectations in shaping people's judgments of relational boredom and conflict (for discriminant validity). In Studies 1 and 2, the type of expectation gaps (growth vs. security) in hypothetical relationships (as well as the occurrence of a gap in Study 2) was manipulated, and people's judgments of relational boredom and conflict were assessed; Study 3 assessed these associations in people's own relationships. Across all studies, people were more likely to diagnose boredom in other people's relationships (Studies 1 and 2) and their own relationship (Study 3) if the expectation gap for growth (vs. security) was greater. People reported more conflict in their own relationship if the expectation gap for security (vs. growth) was greater.     

Feeling Good & Doing Well: Development of a Mental Health Promotion Program for Youth

There is a significant dearth of programs for mental health promotion developed to suit the needs of Indian youth. The paper describes the development of a program entitled "Feeling Good and Doing Well" for enhancement of well being and functioning in college youth. The program development was based on extensive field assessment of stakeholders' perspectives and needs. It is a broad based program that encompasses three inter related themes namely, discovery and application of strengths, pursuit of goals and regulation of emotions. It is delivered in a group format in the form of experiential workshop series comprising of six core sessions, apart from one orientation session at the beginning and a closure session at the end. The program is currently being field tested and has a high potential for large scale applications across colleges in the country.     

Assessing Item Fit for Unidimensional Item Response Theory Models Using Residuals from Estimated Item Response Functions

Residual analysis (e.g. Hambleton & Swaminathan, Item response theory: principles and applications, Kluwer Academic, Boston, 1985; Hambleton, Swaminathan, & Rogers, Fundamentals of item response theory, Sage, Newbury Park, 1991) is a popular method to assess fit of item response theory (IRT) models. We suggest a form of residual analysis that may be applied to assess item fit for unidimensional IRT models. The residual analysis consists of a comparison of the maximum-likelihood estimate of the item characteristic curve with an alternative ratio estimate of the item characteristic curve. The large sample distribution of the residual is proved to be standardized normal when the IRT model fits the data. We compare the performance of our suggested residual to the standardized residual of Hambleton et al. (Fundamentals of item response theory, Sage, Newbury Park, 1991) in a detailed simulation study. We then calculate our suggested residuals using data from an operational test. The residuals appear to be useful in assessing the item fit for unidimensional IRT models.     

Does subgroup membership information lead to better estimation of true subscores?

Haberman (2008) suggested a method to determine if subtest scores have added value over the total score. The method is based on classical test theory and considers the estimation of the true subscores. Performance of subgroups, for example, those based on gender or ethnicity, on subtests is often of interest. Researchers such as Stricker (1993) and Livingston and Rupp (2004) found that the difference in performance between the subgroups often varies over the different subtests. We suggest a method to examine whether the knowledge of the subgroup membership of the examinees leads to a better estimation of the true subscores. We apply our suggested method to data from two operational testing programmes. The knowledge of the subgroup membership of the examinees does not lead to a better estimation of the true subscore for the data sets.     

Reporting Diagnostic Scores in Educational Testing: Temptations,Pitfalls, and Some Solutions

Diagnostic scores are of increasing interest in educational testing due to their potential remedial and instructional benefit. Naturally, the number of educational tests that report diagnostic scores is on the rise, as are the number of research publications on such scores. This article provides a critical evaluation of diagnostic score reporting in educational testing. The existing methods for diagnostic score reporting are discussed. A recent method (Haberman, 2008a Haberman, S. J. 2008a. When can subscores have value?. Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 33: 204–229. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) that examines if diagnostic scores are worth reporting is reviewed. It is demonstrated, using results from operational and simulated data, that diagnostic scores have to be based on a sufficient number of items and have to be sufficiently distinct from each other to be worth reporting and that several operationally reported subscores are actually not worth reporting. Several recommendations are made for those interested to report diagnostic scores for educational tests.     

Limits on Log Odds Ratios for Unidimensional Item Response Theory Models

Bounds are established for log odds ratios (log cross-product ratios) involving pairs of items for item response models. First, expressions for bounds on log odds ratios are provided for one-dimensional item response models in general. Then, explicit bounds are obtained for the Rasch model and the two-parameter logistic (2PL) model. Results are also illustrated through an example from a study of model-checking procedures. The bounds obtained can provide an elementary basis for assessment of goodness of fit of these models. Any opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Educational Testing Service. The authors thank Dan Eignor, Matthias von Davier, Lydia Gladkova, Brian Junker, and the three anonymous reviewers for their invaluable advice. The authors gratefully acknowledge the help of Kim Fryer with proofreading.     

Positive Psychology Interventions for Chronic Physical Illnesses: A Systematic Review

Positive health focuses on enhancing health along with curing illness to bring about well-being. Treatment for physical illness generally involves drug therapy, while the psycho-social aspects, specifically the positive psychology perspectives, are largely ignored; nevertheless, a growing number of investigations are now studying the effects of positive psychology interventions on health outcomes. The objective of this paper is to systematically review positive psychology interventions in chronic physical illness. A literature search through the databases of EBSCO, PubMed and PsycINFO, reference lists of significant papers and grey literature was conducted following four criteria set for this review. The number of studies selected finally that acceded to the criteria was 14. These studies were analysed by focusing on the study characteristics, kinds of intervention and outcomes of positive psychology interventions. Overall findings reveal that different intervention programmes have been devised by combining various exercises, writing is the most commonly used method for administration and positive psychology interventions are considered feasible and acceptable by patients, but findings about their usefulness are inconclusive. Suggestions for future research, clinical practice and application in communities have been provided which may be useful for clinicians, practitioners and caregivers.