The Perfectionism Cognitions Inventory: Psychometric Properties and Associations with Distress and Deficits in Cognitive Self-management

Two studies were conducted to examine the psychometric properties and correlates of the Perfectionism Cognitions Inventory (PCI) when administered to clinical samples. The PCI is a 25-item measure of automatic thoughts with themes involving perfectionism and beliefs that perfection should be attained. Analyses indicated that the PCI is unidimensional and it has adequate internal consistency. Correlational analyses confirmed that the PCI is associated with psychological distress and deficits in cognitive self-management, including lack of self-reinforcement, lack of a positive self-focus, and perfectionistic inflexibility. Moreover, tests of incremental validity revealed that the PCI accounts for unique variance in levels of anxiety and depression symptoms after removing variance attributable to trait perfectionism dimensions. Overall, the findings suggest that automatic thoughts involving perfectionistic themes can be assessed in a reliable and valid manner in clinical samples. Moreover, it is important to assess perfectionism cognitions as a supplement to trait perfectionism measures when evaluating the role of perfectionism in psychological distress and associated deficits in cognitive self-control. This research was supported by major research grants from Health Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada to the first two authors, and a Canada Research Chair in Personality & Health awarded to the first author. The fourth author, Thomas Martin, is now deceased and this paper is dedicated to his memory.     

Career transitions in times of social change. His and her story

Drawing on data collected from two longitudinal Cohort Studies following the lives of over 20,000 individuals born in the United Kingdom 12 years apart in 1958 and 1970, respectively, this paper examines antecedents and outcomes of educational and occupational aspirations of young men and women, covering the transition from dependent childhood into independent adulthood. Two analytical models, a Social Reproduction Model and a Developmental-Contextual Model are tested to assess the processes by which family background and the wider socio-historical context influence work and family related careers. The findings demonstrate the persistent role of gender, social origin and individual agency processes as well as the influence of a changing socio-historical context on career development. Results are interpreted with regard to biographical agency processes linking individual lives with social contexts across the life course.     

Group cohesion in cognitive-behavioral group therapy for social phobia

Cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) for Social Phobia is effective in both group and individual formats. However, the impact of group processes on treatment efficacy remains relatively unexplored. In this study we examined group cohesion ratings made by individuals at the midpoint and endpoint of CBT groups for social phobia. Symptom measures were also completed at the beginning and end of treatment. We found that cohesion ratings significantly increased over the course of the group and were associated with improvement over time in social anxiety symptoms, as well as improvement on measures of general anxiety, depression, and functional impairment. In conclusion, findings are consistent with the idea that changes in group cohesion are related to social anxiety symptom reduction and, therefore, speak to the importance of nonspecific therapeutic factors in treatment outcome.     

The Pique Technique: Overcoming Mindlessness or Shifting Heuristics?

An unusual request can increase compliance in situations in which the typical response to the request is refusal. This procedure, called the pique technique, is said to be effective because the unusual request causes people to give mindful consideration to it. We tested this explanation in 2 studies. Passersby were asked for either a common amount of change or 37 cents. Participants who inquired about the unusual amount were given either a specific or an uninformative reason. The pique technique increased compliance, but only when participants stopped to ask about the request. These participants gave more money, regardless of the reason provided. The findings failed to support the notion that an unusual request leads to a mindful consideration of it.     

Social isolation, psychological health, and protective factors in adolescence

This study investigates the relationships among social isolation, psychological health, and protective factors in adolescents. Feelings of social isolation may influence psychological health in adolescents, but protective factors such as family connectedness, school connectedness, and academic achievement may also play a key role. The sample included 4,746 adolescents from 31 middle and high schools. Participants responded to 221 survey questions regarding peer relationships, psychological health, school connectedness, family relationships, and academic achievement. The findings revealed that social isolation was associated with an increased risk for depressive symptoms, suicide attempts, and low self-esteem. Protective factors influenced associations between social isolation and psychological health. Implications for prevention such as building healthy peer relationships, promoting family connectedness, and developing school-based interventions are discussed.     

Aggressive adolescents in residential care: a selective review of treatment requirements and models

This article presents a selective inventory of treatment methods of aggressive behavior. Special attention is paid to types of intervention that, according to research, are frequently used in Dutch residential youth care. These methods are based on (1) principles of (cognitive) behavior management and control, (2) the social competence model, and (3) influencing the peer culture. Suggestions are made as to how the treatment of aggressive adolescents may be realized in residential settings. The article concludes that more attention should be paid to the involvement of parents and to the part played by the peer group in the treatment of aggressive behavior.     

Maintaining readiness for mental rotation interferes with perceptual processes in children but with response selection in adults

Previous work revealed that mental rotation is not purely inserted into a same-different discrimination task. Instead, response time (RT) is slowed to upright stimuli in blocks containing rotated stimuli compared to RT to the same upright stimuli in pure upright blocks. This interference effect is a result of maintaining readiness for mental rotation. In two experiments we investigated previous evidence that these costs depend upon distinct sub-processes for children and for adults. In Experiment 1, the maintaining costs turned out to be independent of the visual quality of the stimulus for adults but not so for children. Experiment 2 revealed that the maintaining costs were greatly reduced for adults when they performed mental rotation as a go-no-go task, but not so for children. Taken together, both experiments provide evidence that whereas perceptual processes seem to be important for school-age children to maintain readiness for mental rotation, response selection is relevant for adults.     

Are we there yet? A review of gender comparisons in three behavioral journals through the 20th century

Despite overwhelming evidence that gender plays a significant role in the course of numerous psychological disorders, researchers have historically neglected to address gender similarities and differences in their research. Previous reviews of the psychological literature have indicated that personality, psychotherapy, and behavioral psychology journals have published few studies that focus on gender comparisons. The current review examined published articles in three prominent behavioral psychology journals—Behavior Therapy, Behavior Modification, and Behaviour Research and Therapy—from their inception through 2001. Raters coded each article (N = 4,635) for gender content in the title or abstract, analyses of gender differences, and discussion of gender. Overall, very few articles focused on gender content in the title, abstract, or discussion or analyzed data by gender. Implications of these results and suggestions for enhancing attention to gender comparisons are discussed.     

Cognitive-behavioral therapy versus temporal pulse amplitude biofeedback training for recurrent headache

Sixty-four headache sufferers were allocated randomly to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), temporal pulse amplitude (TPA) biofeedback training, or waiting-list control. Fifty-one participants (14M/37F) completed the study, 30 with migraine and 21 with tension-type headache. Treatment consisted of 8, 1-hour sessions. CBT was highly effective, with an average reduction in headaches from pre- to posttreatment of 68%, compared with 56% for biofeedback, and 20% for the control condition. Headaches continued to decrease to 12 month follow-up for CBT. Improvement with CBT was associated with baseline coping skills, social support, and physiological measures at rest and in response to stress, particularly TPA. Changes on some of these measures were correlated with changes in headaches. No significant predictors of response to biofeedback emerged.     

Rumination-focused cognitive behaviour therapy for residual depression: a case series

The treatment of chronic and recurrent depression is a priority for the development of new interventions. The maintenance of residual symptoms following acute treatment for depression is a risk factor for both chronic depression and further relapse/recurrence. This open case series provides the first data on a cognitive-behavioural treatment for residual depression that explicitly targets depressive rumination. Rumination has been identified as a key factor in the onset and maintenance of depression, which is found to remain elevated following remission from depression. Fourteen consecutively recruited participants meeting criteria for medication--refractory residual depression [Paykel, E.S., Scott, J., Teasdale, J.D., Johnson, A.L., Garland, A., Moore, R. et al., 1999. Prevention of relapse in residual depression by cognitive therapy--a controlled trial. Archives of General Psychiatry 56, 829-835] were treated individually for up to 12 weekly 60-min sessions. Treatment specifically focused on switching patients from less helpful to more helpful styles of thinking through the use of functional analysis, experiential/imagery exercises and behavioural experiments. Treatment produced significant improvements in depressive symptoms, rumination and co-morbid disorders: 71% responded (50% reduction on Hamilton Depression Rating Scale) and 50% achieved full remission. Treating depressive rumination appears to yield generalised improvement in depression and co-morbidity. This study provides preliminary evidence that rumination-focused CBT may be an efficacious treatment for medication--refractory residual depression.