The Experiences in Close Relationship Scale (ECR)-short form: reliability, validity, and factor structure

We developed a 12-item, short form of the Experiences in Close Relationship Scale (ECR; Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998) across 6 studies. In Study 1, we examined the reliability and factor structure of the measure. In Studies 2 and 3, we cross-validated the reliability, factor structure, and validity of the short form measure; whereas in Study 4, we examined test-retest reliability over a 1-month period. In Studies 5 and 6, we further assessed the reliability, factor structure, and validity of the short version of the ECR when administered as a stand-alone instrument. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that 2 factors, labeled Anxiety and Avoidance, provided a good fit to the data after removing the influence of response sets. We found validity to be equivalent for the short and the original versions of the ECR across studies. Finally, the results were comparable when we embedded the short form within the original version of the ECR and when we administered it as a stand-alone measure.     

Avoidance of Counseling: Psychological Factors That Inhibit Seeking Help

How do counselors reach out to individuals who are reluctant to seek counseling services? To answer this question, the authors examined the research on the psychological help‐seeking barriers from counseling, clinical and social psychology, as well as social work and psychiatry. Specific avoidance factors that have been identified in the mental health literature; important variations in the setting, problem type, demographics, and cultural characteristics that can influence the degree to which avoidance factors affect professional help‐seeking decisions; and suggestions for overcoming these avoidance factors are discussed.     

„Schicksalsklüfte“

The present paper deals with the derivation of the fate concept and its application in psychotherapeutic theory and practice. Conclusions for an extension of the practical therapeutic view on existential themes, such as meaning, freedom, loneliness and death are drawn and effects on the therapeutic relationship are presented.     

Event-related potential studies of attention

Over the past 30 years, recordings of event-related potentials (ERPs) from normal individuals have played an increasingly important role in our understanding of the mechanisms of attention. This article reviews some of the recent ERP studies of attention, focusing on studies that isolate the operation of attention in specific cognitive subsystems such as perception, working memory, and response selection. Several conclusions are drawn. First, under some conditions attention modulates the initial feedforward volley of neural activity in intermediate visual processing areas. Second, these early effects can be observed for both the voluntary allocation of attention and for the automatic capture of attention following a peripheral visual transient. Third, these effects are present not only when attention is directed to a location in 2-dimensional space, but also when attention is directed to one of two spatially overlapping surfaces. Fourth, attention does not modulate sensory activity unless sensory systems are overloaded; when sensory systems are not taxed, attention may instead operate to influence memory or response processes. That is, attention operates to mitigate information overload in whichever cognitive subsystems are overloaded by a particular combination of stimuli and task.     

Auditory disturbances promote temporal clustering of yawning and stretching in small groups of budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus)

Yawning may serve both social and nonsocial functions. When budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) are briefly held, simulating capture by a predator, the temporal pattern of yawning changes. When this species is observed in a naturalistic setting (undisturbed flock), yawning and also stretching, a related behavior, are mildly contagious. On the basis of these findings, we hypothesized that a stressful event would be followed by the clustering of these behaviors in a group of birds, which may be facilitated both by a standard pattern of responding to a startling stressor and also contagion. In this study, we measured yawning and stretching in 4-bird groups following a nonspecific stressor (loud white noise) for a period of 1 hr, determining whether auditory disturbances alter the timing and frequency of these behaviors. Our results show that stretching, and to a lesser degree yawning, were nonrandomly clumped in time following the auditory disturbances, indicating that the temporal clustering is sensitive to, and enhanced by, environmental stressors while in small groups. No decrease in yawning such as found after handling stress was observed immediately after the loud noise but a similar increase in yawning 20 min after was observed. Future research is required to tease apart the roles of behavioral contagion and a time-setting effect following a startle in this species. This research is of interest because of the potential role that temporal clumping of yawning and stretching could play in both the collective detection of, and response to, local disturbances or predation threats.     

Intersecting cultural identities and help-seeking attitudes: the role of religious commitment,gender, and self-stigma of seeking help

ABSTRACT

The current study (N?=?404) used a moderated moderation model to examine how gender, religious commitment, and self-stigma toward seeking psychological help may interact in the prediction of help-seeking attitudes. Bivariate zero-order correlations indicated that help-seeking attitudes was negatively associated with self-stigma of seeking help (r?=??.55) and positively associated with religious commitment (r?=?.14), and self-stigma was not significantly associated with religious commitment. Men reported more negative attitudes than women (ΔM?=??.18). Furthermore, multiple regression results revealed a three-way interaction such that the relationship between gender and help-seeking attitudes was moderated by both self-stigma and religious commitment. Specifically, men with high religious commitment and high self-stigma endorsed the most negative help-seeking attitudes, suggesting that religious men’s help-seeking attitudes may be particularly susceptible to the influence of self-stigma. Implications for research and the development of targeted interventions are discussed.     

F?rderung der Gesundheit und der psychosozialen Selbstwirksamkeit bei Langzeitarbeitslosen

Background

The development of appropriate preventive measures aimed at the promotion of psychosocial capabilities and health behavior is based on the recognition that unemployment is associated with many physical, psychological and social problems.

Objective

A group program ??promotion of health and psychosocial self-efficacy in long-term unemployed?? was developed and investigated with respect to the effectiveness by a study group at the Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine of the University of Rostock. The study was part of a project funded by the European Social Fund (ESF).

Methods

During the period from October 2009 to April 2010 the group program was implemented in 5 different groups and the sample included a total of 35 persons. To examine the effectiveness of the program the participants had to complete standardized questionnaires at the beginning and at the end of the program. Information as to what extent the unemployed suffer from mental stress was collected via the brief symptom inventory (BSI; Franke 2000). The questionnaire on resources and self-management skills (FERUS; Jack 2007) was applied to analyze the capabilities and the self-management skills of the participants.

Results

The unemployed subjects reported lower levels of aggressiveness and paranoid thinking (distrust) after their participation in the program. Regarding the self-management skills the participants improved their coping skills, self-instructions skills and also felt more hopeful with regard to their current environment and the future.

Conclusions

A systematic support of unemployed people regarding coping with the psychosocial problems associated with unemployment seemed to be important. The use of low structured group programs is a good possibility to implement them in different contexts with relatively few resources.     

Predicting Training Success with General Mental Ability,Specific Ability Tests,and (Un)Structured Interviews: A meta‐analysis with unique samples

Several meta‐analyses combine an extensive amount of research concerned with predicting training success. General mental ability is regarded as the best predictor with specific abilities or tests explaining little additional variance. However, only few studies measured all predictors within one sample. Thus, intercorrelations were often estimated based on other studies. Moreover, new methods for correcting range restriction are now available. The present meta‐analyses used samples derived from a German company in which applicants for different apprenticeships were tested with an intelligence structure test, specific ability tests as well as a structured and an unstructured interview. Therefore, intercorrelations between different assessment tools did not have to be estimated from other data. Results in the final examination, taking place at least 2 years after the original assessment, served as criterion variable. The dominant role of general mental ability was confirmed. However, specific abilities were identified that can be used as valuable additions. Job complexity moderated some of the relationships. Structured interviews were found to have good incremental validity over and above general mental ability. Unstructured interviews, on the other hand, performed poorly. Practical implications are discussed.     

Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Help for an Eating Disorder: The Role of Stigma and Anticipated Outcomes

This study examined the relationship between self‐stigma, anticipated risks and benefits associated with seeking counseling, and attitudes toward seeking counseling among college students with disordered eating attitudes and behaviors. The results of hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that self‐stigma and the anticipated risks and benefits significantly predicted attitudes toward counseling for people with disordered eating. In addition, self‐stigma had a stronger relationship with men's attitudes toward counseling than with women's, and anticipated benefits had a stronger relationship with women's attitudes toward counseling than with men's.