Finding Spirits in Spirituality: What are We Measuring in Spirituality and Health Research?

Journal of Religion and Health - What are we asking when we ask about spirituality? When research subjects check survey boxes for “religiosity” and “spirituality” measures...     

Assessor cognitive processes in an operational assessment center

The purpose of this study was (a) to provide additional tests of C. E. Lance, Newbolt, et al.'s (2000) situational specificity (vs. method bias) interpretation of exercise effects on assessment center postexercise dimension ratings and (b) to provide competitive tests of salient dimension versus general impression models of assessor within-exercise evaluations of candidate performance. Results strongly support the situational specificity hypothesis and the general impression model of assessor cognitive processes in which assessors first form overall evaluations of candidate performance that then drive more specific dimensional ratings.     

There’s More Than Catastrophizing in Chronic Pain: Low Frustration Tolerance and Self-Downing Also Predict Mental Health in Chronic Pain Patients

Among the potential range of irrational beliefs that could be used as predictors of physical and mental health, catastrophizing is the process that has received most attention in chronic pain research. Other irrational processes such as demandingness, low frustration tolerance, and self-downing have rarely been studied. The goal of this study was to explore whether this wider range of beliefs is associated with health in chronic pain patients beyond catastrophizing. A total of 492 chronic pain patients completed a measure of irrational beliefs, a measure of physical and mental health, and a numerical rating scale designed to assess pain intensity and interference. Irrational processes were more strongly associated with mental than with physical health. Low frustration tolerance and self-downing were found to be significantly related to mental health even after controlling for the effect of catastrophizing. Processes other than catastrophizing appear to have potentially important relationships with the mental health of people with chronic pain. These results may offer new intervention targets for practitioners.     

Relation between coping and posttrauma cognitions on PTSD in a combat-trauma population

Individual differences in cognitive processes and coping behaviors play a role in the development and maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Given the large numbers of combat-exposed service members returning from the Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), and Operation New Dawn (OND) conflicts, exploring individual differences in cognitive-affective processes is important for informing our understanding of PTSD etiology and early intervention in military samples. The present study examined the unique main and interactive effects of negative posttrauma cognitions (i.e., negative beliefs about self [NS], the world [NW], and self-blame [SB]) and coping strategies (i.e., positive behavioral, positive cognitive, avoidant coping, and social and emotional coping) on PTSD diagnosis within 155 (M_age = 30.7, SD = 4.48) OEF/OIF/OND combat trauma-exposed Veterans recruited from an ongoing study examining the effects of combat trauma and stress reactivity. In the final, stepwise logistic regression analysis, avoidant coping, but no other coping strategy, was significantly positively related to PTSD diagnosis in the initial step. Higher levels of NS, but not NW, were significantly associated with having a PTSD diagnosis, whereas SB was associated with decreased likelihood of PTSD, above and beyond coping strategies. A significant interaction effect was found between NS and positive cognitive coping, such that greater positive cognitive coping weakened the relationship between NS and PTSD. Examining and addressing coping behaviors and negative thoughts of self jointly may benefit assessment and intervention approaches in a combat-trauma population.     

Review and Comparison of Electronic Patient-Facing Family Health History Tools

Family health history (FHx) is one of the most important pieces of information available to help genetic counselors and other clinicians identify risk and prevent disease. Unfortunately, the collection of FHx from patients is often too time consuming to be done during a clinical visit. Fortunately, there are many electronic FHx tools designed to help patients gather and organize their own FHx information prior to a clinic visit. We conducted a review and analysis of electronic FHx tools to better understand what tools are available, to compare and contrast to each other, to highlight features of various tools, and to provide a foundation for future evaluation and comparisons across FHx tools. Through our analysis, we included and abstracted 17 patient-facing electronic FHx tools and explored these tools around four axes: organization information, family history collection and display, clinical data collected, and clinical workflow integration. We found a large number of differences among FHx tools, with no two the same. This paper provides a useful review for health care providers, researchers, and patient advocates interested in understanding the differences among the available patient-facing electronic FHx tools.     

Linkages between Interparental Conflicts and Adjustment of Adolescents in Hong Kong: The Mediating Role of Locus of Control

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Interparental conflicts have long been recognized as a risk factor for maladjustment in adolescents. Many studies have been conducted to examine mediators that...     

predicting job decisions in tomorrow's workforce

The Job Decision Factors Survey used policy capturing to measure the influence of 7 factors on job decisions. Data from 400 undergraduate students at a large university, 88% 18–25 years of age, 12% 25–65 years of age, 82% female, 54% White, 21% Asian, 10% Black, 10% Hispanic, 1% American Indian, were included in a regression analysis. Hypothesis 1, the significance of the 7‐factor model, was supported (R² = .02). Hypothesis 2, opportunities to learn accounting for more variance than compensation, was supported (β = .11, β = .06, respectively). Job counselors should consider highlighting learning opportunities when counseling or interviewing similar populations.     

Psychological Strengths and Cognitive Vulnerabilities: Are They Two Ends of the Same Continuum or Do They Have Independent Relationships with Well-being and Ill-being?

Research programs examining psychological strengths and vulnerabilities have remained largely separate, making it difficult to determine the relative contributions of strengths and vulnerabilities to well-being. Two studies (241 normals, 54 depressed outpatients) compared certain psychological strengths (Transcendence subscales, Values In Action Inventory of Strengths) and cognitive vulnerabilities (Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale). In multiple regression, strengths usually related more to positive well-being—life satisfaction, positive affect, vitality, meaning, elevating experience—though vulnerabilities also related to the first three variables; vulnerabilities related more to illbeing—negative affect, depression—though hope, humor, enthusiasm, and forgiveness sometimes also showed relationships. Pre-treatment strengths (hope, spirituality, appreciation of beauty and excellence) predicted post-treatment recovery from depression; cognitive vulnerabilities did not. Strengths and vulnerabilities sometimes interacted, with strengths weakening the relationship between vulnerabilities and well-being. Our findings indicate that strengths and vulnerabilities are not mere opposites (correlating at most moderately) and deserve study as distinct contributors to well-being.