Axis I and axis II disorders as predictors of prospective suicide attempts: findings from the collaborative longitudinal personality disorders study

This study examined diagnostic predictors of prospectively observed suicide attempts in a personality disorder (PD) sample. During 2 years of follow-up, 58 participants (9%) reported at least 1 definitive suicide attempt. Predictors that were examined include 4 PD diagnoses and selected Axis I diagnoses (baseline and course). Multivariate logistic regression analyses indicated that baseline borderline personality disorder (BPD) and drug use disorders significantly predicted prospective suicide attempts. Controlling for baseline BPD diagnosis, proportional hazards analyses showed that worsening in the course of major depressive disorder (MDD) and of substance use disorders in the month preceding the attempt were also significant predictors. Therefore, among individuals diagnosed with PDs. exacerbation of Axis I conditions, particularly MDD and substance use, heightens risk for a suicide attempt.     

The Influence of Regulatory Fit on Persuasion Under Different Military Operations: The Moderating Effects of Need for Cognition

On the basis of regulatory focus theory (Higgins, 1997 Higgins, E. T. 1997. Beyond pleasure and pain. American Psychologist, 52: 1280–1300. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), two experiments were conducted to explore the effects of regulatory fit on persuasion under different military operations. It is proposed that appeals presented in promotion focus frames are more persuasive in promotion focus military operations (e.g., offensive), while prevention focus–framed appeals are more persuasive in prevention focus military operations (e.g., defensive). In study one, 99 military personnel were randomly assigned to either of 2 (messages: promotion vs. promotion focus frame) × 2 (operations: offensive vs. defensive) conditions. No significant results were found. In study two, 53 military cadets were randomly assigned to either of 2 (messages: promotion vs. promotion focus frame) × 2 (operations: offensive with superior forces vs. defensive with inferior forces) conditions. The results indicate that need for cognition (NFC) moderates the effects of regulatory fit on persuasiveness. For high-NFC subjects, promotion focus–framed appeals are more persuasive in numerical superiority attacking operations, whereas prevention ones are more persuasive in numerical inferiority defending operations. This interaction effect was not found for low-NFC subjects.     

Spirituality,religiousness, personality as predictors of stress and resilience among middle-aged Vietnamese-Born American Catholics

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to examine the predictive power of spirituality and religiousness in terms of well-being. Spirituality and religiousness were measured by the ASPIRES Scale. Participants in this study were 171 middle-aged Vietnamese-born American Catholics. Results indicated that both resilience and stress significantly related to Prayer Fulfillment, Religious Involvement, and Religious Crisis, and Universality related significantly to resilience. A series of hierarchical multiple regressions examined the incremental predictive validity of spirituality and religiousness over gender, religious status, and personality. Results demonstrated that spirituality and religiousness incrementally predicted stress overload and resilience in midlife over these other variables (Δ R² scores ranged from .02 to .06). These findings provided further support for the hypothesis that spirituality and religiousness are important resources for managing stress and maintaining resilience for middle-aged Vietnamese-born American immigrants.     

Costs and Utilities Perspective of Consumers' Intentions to Engage in Online Music Sharing: Consumers' Knowledge Matters

Online music sharing, deemed illegal for invading intellectual property rights under current laws, has become a crucial issue for the music industry in the modern digital age, but few have investigated the potential costs and utilities for individuals involved in such online misbehavior. This study aimed to fill in this gap to predict consumers' intentions to engage in online music sharing and further consider consumers' online music sharing knowledge as a moderator in the research model. The results of repeated measures analysis of variance of costs and utilities of online music sharing not only give more detailed information to grasp empirical implications but also provide some suggestions to the music industry in Taiwan.     

Organizational Citizenship Behaviors and Organizational Effectiveness: Examining Relationships in Taiwanese Banks

Organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) describe actions in which employees are willing to go above and beyond their prescribed role requirements. Theory suggests and recent research supports the notion that these behaviors are correlated with indicators of organizational effectiveness. Studies have yet to explore whether relationships between OCB and organizational effectiveness are generalizable to non-United States samples. The present study examined relationships between OCB and indicators of organizational effectiveness—employee-level customer-service behavior; and unit-level measures of profit, efficiency, and customer perceptions of service quality—for bank branches in Taiwan. The results suggest significant relationships between OCB and a number of the indicators of effectiveness. Implications and limitations of these results are discussed.     

Clarifying the convergence between obsessive compulsive personality disorder criteria and obsessive compulsive disorder

In this study we examined the convergence between obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) criteria and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Baseline assessments of 629 participants of the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study were used to examine the associations between OCPD criteria and diagnoses of OCD. Three of the eight OCPD criteria--hoarding, perfectionism, and preoccupation with details--were significantly more frequent in subjects with OCD (n = 89) than in subjects without OCD (n = 540). Logistic regressions were used to predict the probability of each OCPD criterion as a function of Axis I diagnoses (OCD, additional anxiety disorders, and major depressive disorder). Associations between OCD and these three OCPD criteria remained significant in the logistic regressions, showing unique associations with OCD and odds ratios ranging from 2.71 to 2.99. In addition, other anxiety disorders and major depressive disorder showed few associations with specific OCPD criteria. This study suggests variability in the strength of the relationships between specific OCPD criteria and OCD. The findings also support a unique relationship between OCPD symptoms and OCD, compared to other anxiety disorders or major depression. Future efforts to explore the link between Axis I and Axis II disorders may be enriched by conducting analyses at the symptom level.     

Thanking in the times of the plague: The role of holistic thinking in meaning-making and gratitude

Two studies examined the role of holistic thinking in meaning-making and gratitude during the COVID-19 pandemic. Correlational and mediational evidence showed that participants with high holistic thinking tended to construct more meaning from the pandemic and feel grateful, compared to participants with low holistic thinking (Study 1). Experimental manipulation of holistic thinking elicited behavioral choice for books on life meaning, which predicted gratitude (Study 2). These results cannot be explained by individual differences in the perception of threat (Study 1) or distress (Studies 1–2) associated with the pandemic. They cannot be explained by demographic factors such as age or gender, or cultural constructs such as ethnicity, educational level, or religiosity (Studies 1–2). These findings push understanding forward. They strengthen interdisciplinary links, fusing positive psychology with the social cognition of thinking styles. We discuss promising directions for future research with cross-cultural implications.     

Increasing item complexity: A possible cause of scale shrinkage for unidimensional item response theory

When the three-parameter logistic model is applied to tests covering a broad range of difficulty, there frequently is an increase in mean item discrimination and a decrease in variance of item difficulties and traits as the tests become more difficult. To examine the hypothesis that this unexpected scale shrinkage effect occurs because the items increase in complexity as they increase in difficulty, an approximate relationship is derived between the unidimensional model used in data analysis and a multidimensional model hypothesized to be generating the item responses. Scale shrinkage is successfully predicted for several sets of simulated data.The author is grateful to Robert Mislevy for kindly providing a copy of his computer program, RESOLVE.