THE CORE SELF-EVALUATIONS SCALE: DEVELOPMENT OF A MEASURE

Despite an emerging body of research on a personality trait termed core self-evaluations, the trait continues to be measured indirectly. The present study reported the results of a series of studies that developed and tested the validity of the Core Self-Evaluations Scale (CSES), a direct and relatively brief measure of the trait. Results indicated that the 12-item CSES was reliable, displayed a unitary factor structure, correlated significantly with job satisfaction, job performance, and life satisfaction, and had validity equal to that of an optimal weighting of the 4 specific core traits (self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, neuroti-cism, and locus of control), and incremental validity over the 5-factor model. Overall, results suggest that the CSES is a valid measure that should prove useful in applied psychology research.     

Disentangling Listening and Verbal Recall Related But Separate Constructs?

This study examines the relationship between verbal recall and listening, using measures of listening behavior as a criterion. Three possible models of the verbal recall-listening relationship are examined: isomorphic, confounding, and recall ability as antecedent to listening. Seventy-three participants were videotaped while interviewing a confederate, and the videotapes were coded for observable listening behaviors. Participants also completed a conversation-based listening test and a verbal recall test. The results indicated that, although related, listening and the ability to recall verbal stimuli are not isomorphic. The data were also inconsistent with a model specifying verbal recall ability as a confound of listening. A model stipulating verbal recall ability as antecedent to listening provided the best fit to the data. Implications of this model for past and future research are discussed.     

SCHIZOPHRENIA AS DIALOGUE AT THE ENDS OF ITS TETHER: THE RELATIONSHIP OF DISRUPTIONS IN IDENTITY WITH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS

Changes to definitions and theories of psychopathology result less from scientific advances and more from changes in social and cultural values. Herein, the historical and contemporary diversity in definitions and theories of anorexia nervosa is used to illustrate this point. First, we offer a discussion of diachronic diversity (diversity over time) and synchronic diversity (diversity at a given point in time) in conceptions and theories of psychopathology in general. Second, we elaborate a social constructionist perspective on psychopathology in general. Third, to illustrate this perspective, we provide a diachronic and synchronic analysis of definitions and theories of anorexia nervosa. Fourth, we discuss the implications of this analysis for clinical practice. We conclude that whatever view eventually prevails will depend not on which one is better at rooting out some hidden truth about anorexia nervosa but, rather, on which one is viewed as more compatible with evolving social and cultural standards, views, and norms regarding health and illness in general and self-starvation in particular.     

Mental health problems in rural contexts: A broader perspective: Response to Jackson et al. (2007) Mental health problems in rural contexts: What are the barriers to seeking help from professional providers?

The objectives of this article are to expand and comment upon a recent review in Australian Psychologist of the literature in relation to mental health problems in rural contexts by Jackson et al. (2007). In the present article we review recently published qualitative research on the help‐seeking attitudes and experiences of rural Australian adolescents. While we agree on the utility of the Macintyre, Ellaway, and Cummins (2002) conceptual framework based on notions of health and place, we note that this framework specifically emphasises the importance of the collective dimension. We present a broader perspective on health and place than Jackson et al. (2007) by incorporating social geographic research. We argue that rural mental health research has been hampered by a simplistic view of social stigma of mental illness and that a more thorough conceptualisation of the phenomenon is needed. Finally, we make some further recommendations based on a broader perspective of mental health in rural contexts: one that incorporates an in‐depth understanding of the help‐seeking attitudes and experiences of rural adolescents as well as an appreciation of the collective social functioning of rural communities.