Meaning and relational well-being: a reflection on the state of the art and a way forward

This paper provides a brief overview of facets of meaning and relational well-being highlighting the foci of current research on meaning, relationships as sources of meaning, contextual relevance and meta-theoretical assumptions. Lacunae in knowledge are indicated and a model proposed as framework for further research on meaning and relational well-being which was the focused topic of this special issue.     

Psychometric Properties of the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System in The Netherlands

Abstract

The current study explored the psychometric properties of a parent-child interaction observation system, the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System (DPICS) in the Netherlands. Participants included 31 Dutch mother-child dyads and 86?U.S. mother-child dyads for a community sample (2–7?years; 50% boys). Good one-week test-retest reliability was demonstrated among the Dutch sample. Similarities were found between Dutch and U.S. samples on most interaction codes, but mothers in the U.S. sample used more directive behaviors (e.g., commands) in some situations. Findings suggest that the DPICS is a reliable measure of mother-child interactions in the Dutch population. Cultural issues regarding the use of the DPICS are discussed.     

Follow-up effects of social comparison information on the quality of life of cancer patients: The moderating role of social comparison orientation

Objective: To examine how social comparison orientation (SCO) moderates the effects of three types of social comparison information on the global quality of life of cancer patients 2 weeks and 3 months later. Design: Cancer patients (n?=?226) were provided with social comparison information just prior to undergoing radiation therapy, using audiotapes. Each participant was confronted with one of three tapes: (1) focusing on procedural aspects, (2) focusing on emotional reactions and (3) focusing on coping strategies. Main outcome measures: Quality of life as measured with the Cantril self-anchoring scale [Cantril, H. (1965). The pattern of human concerns. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press]. Results: With increasing SCO, a lower quality of life was reported after listening to the emotion tape, while a higher quality of life was reported after listening to the coping tape. These effects were found 2 weeks as well as 3 months after the radiation therapy had ended. Conclusion: Social comparison information may have longitudinal effects on quality of life, but these effects are to an important extent dependent on the nature of the information and individual differences in SCO.     

Self-efficacy,Work, and Psychological Outcomes in a Public Service Context

The study examined the prediction of psychological outcomes (conceptualized as psychological well-being and engagement) by general self-efficacy (GSE) and work context (conceptualized as job demands and job resources). The role of GSE as a moderator between work context and psychological outcomes was also examined in a cross-sectional survey of a sample of public sector employees (N = 459: males = 151, females = 273, and age ranging between 25 and 55). Multiple regression analyses showed that job demands and resources and GSE significantly predict both psychological well-being (positive affect, negative affect and satisfaction with life) and engagement (vigour and dedication). GSE moderated the relationship between work context and psychological outcomes. Work contexts characterised by a preponderance of job resources appear to facilitate both satisfaction with life and dedication.     

Age-Related Change in Shifting Attention Between Global and Local Levels of Hierarchical Stimuli

The focus of this study was the developmental pattern of the ability to shift attention between global and local levels of hierarchical stimuli. Children aged 7 years and 11 years and 21-year-old adults were administered a task (two experiments) that allowed for the examination of 1) the direction of attention to global or local stimulus levels; 2) the susceptibility to interference of the global or local stimulus levels; and 3) the flexibility in directing attention to global or local stimulus levels. The results revealed a global advantage effect that decreased with age when the task required level shifting from trial to trial. The abilities to resist interference and to flexibly shift attention also improved during childhood, but quickly leveled off during adolescence. The ability to shift attention was found to be unrelated to processes contributing to global advantage. The results suggest that the ability to flexibly shift attention to and away from local detail, to provide the most adaptive response, continues to develop during childhood into adulthood.     

Investigating medical decision‐making capacity in patients with cognitive impairment using a protocol based on linguistic features

A critical question is whether cognitively impaired patients have the competence for autonomous decisions regarding participation in clinical trials. The present study aimed to investigate medical decision‐making capacity by use of a Swedish linguistic instrument for medical decision‐making (LIMD) in hypothetical clinical trials in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Three comparable groups (age, education) participated in the study: AD (n = 20; MMSE: 24.1 ± 3.3) and MCI (n = 22; MMSE: 26.7 ± 2.4) patients and healthy controls (n = 37; MMSE: 29.1 ± 1.0). Medical decision‐making capacity was operationalized as answers to questions regarding participation in three hypothetical clinical trials. Answers were scored regarding comprehension, evaluation and intelligibility of decisions, and a total LIMD score was used as the measure of medical decision‐making ability. Groups differed significantly in LIMD with AD patients performing worst and MCI poorer than the control group. A strong association was found between all LIMD scores and diagnosis which supported the assertion that LIMD as it is designed is a one‐dimensional instrument of medical decision‐making capacity (MDMC). The results indicate that a fundamental communicative ability has an impact on the competence for autonomous decisions in cognitive impairment.     

Linguistic and neuropsychological deficits in crossed conduction aphasia. Report of three cases

This study describes the linguistic and neuropsychological findings in three right-handed patients with crossed conduction aphasia. Despite the location of the lesion in the right hemisphere, all patients displayed a combination of linguistic deficits typically found in conduction aphasia following analogous damage to the left hemisphere. Associated cognitive deficits varied across the three patients. In addition, all cases showed deficits classically attributed to non-dominant hemisphere damage (visuoperceptual deficits and reduced figural memory). As a result, lesion-behaviour relationships in our study sample indicate both dominant and non-dominant qualities of the right hemisphere.     

Cross-cultural investigation of the Questionnaire of Smoking Urges in American and Spanish smokers

This study evaluated the factor structure of the Questionnaire of Smoking Urges (QSU) across American and Spanish smokers. Using confirmatory factor analyses, the fits of one-, two-, and four-factor models of smoking craving in American and Spanish data sets were compared. The two-factor model provided the best fit in both samples. However, negatively worded items confounded the interpretation of the two-factor structure in both the American and Spanish data. The first factor had positively and negatively worded items, whereas the second had only positively worded items. The two-factor structure was reexamined, removing either the positively or the negatively worded items. Using only positively worded items resulted in a loss of fit, whereas using only negatively worded items improved model fit substantially. Thus, the results supported the generalization of smoking craving across Spanish and American smokers and suggested that negatively worded items play a larger role in the two-factor structure of the QSU than originally thought.