Development of a measure of symptoms in chronic fatigue syndrome: The profile of fatigue-related symptoms(pfrs)

Abstract

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a disorder of uncertain aetiology which attracts increasing research interest. This paper describes the development of a multidimensional measure incorporating the diverse symptoms associated with the illness. The Profile of Fatigue-Related Symptoms (PFRS) has four scales: emotional distress, cognitive difficulty, fatigue and somatic symptoms. These showed good convergence with comparison measures, high reliability and high internal consistency. CFS patients had markedly elevated scores compared with a student comparison group, and these scores correlated with indices of illness severity. The PFRS is a short and easily administered measure which, it is suggested, may be used to assess patients in terms of the severity and pattern of their disorder, to relate subjective symptoms to immunological and other findings, to evaluate the effects of treatments, and to compare the symptomatology of CFS with that in other fatiguing illnesses.     

Using online social media,Facebook, in screening for major depressive disorder among college students

This study explored the feasibility of using Internet social networking media in an online program for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) screening and psychoeducation targeting college students. A Facebook advertisement targeted students at five colleges in the United States to complete a mental health research survey that screened for MDD using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Students who screened positive for MDD were offered an eightweek follow-up survey. Of the 259 students who consented to participate in the study, 26.7% screened positive for MDD, while only 14.2% were receiving treatment. The use of Facebook to advertise for online screening for MDD required very little start-up time, and the average cost was $11.45 per subject recruited. It is feasible to use online, commercially available social networking media such as Facebook for online screening for MDD among college students. However, conducting online screening and offering treatment resources alone did not increase treatment rate in this population.     

Resilience as the ability to bounce back from stress: A neglected personal resource?

The purpose of this study was to examine resilience, as the ability to bounce back from stress, in predicting health-related measures when controlling for other positive characteristics and resources. We assessed resilience, optimism, social support, mood clarity, spirituality, purpose in life, and health-related measures in two large undergraduate samples. In Study 1, resilience was related to both health-related measures (less negative affect and more positive affect) when controlling for demographics and other positive characteristics. In Study 2, resilience was related to all four health-related measures (less negative affect, more positive affect, less physical symptoms, and less perceived stress) when controlling for the other variables. None of the other positive characteristics were related to more than three of the six possible health-related measures when controlling for the other variables. Resilience, as the ability to bounce back, may be an important personal resource to examine in future studies and target in interventions.     

How do humility prototypes affect the association between perceptions of spouse’s humility and depressive symptoms and couple conflict?

ABSTRACT

Relational humility (RH) is associated with positive outcomes (e.g., fewer depressive symptoms; less couple conflict). Traditional conceptualizations of RH rely on other-report measures, but do not account for how one’s perception of another’s humility relates to one’s RH prototype (i.e., one’s expectations of how humble others, such as a spouse, should be). The current study (N = 69 couples; mean age = 30.80 years; 71% white) analyzed the effect of RH prototypes on the association between participants’ perception of their spouse’s RH and their reports of depressive symptoms and couple conflict. RH prototype was tested as both a moderator and a mediator to these associations. Actor-partner independence moderation and mediation models indicated that RH prototype functions as a moderator in the association between perceived spousal RH and both depressive symptoms and couple conflict, wherein greater discrepancies between spousal RH and RH prototype was associated with more depressive symptoms and conflict.     

The energization of health-behavior change: Examining the associations among autonomous self-regulation,subjective vitality,depressive symptoms,and tobacco abstinence

Most research on the psychological correlates of smoking behavior has focused on negative indices of wellness, but findings are mixed, contradictory, controversial, and, thus, inconclusive. This study, guided by self-determination theory, examined both positive (viz., vitality) and negative (viz., depressive symptoms) indices of psychological health as predictors of long-term tobacco abstinence in the context of a randomized clinical trial. It also examined autonomous self-regulation and cigarette use as predictors of psychological health. Results supported the proposed conditional indirect effect model in which change in cigarette use mediated the relation of change in autonomous self-regulation for smoking cessation to change in vitality, and this indirect effect was moderated by treatment condition. Further, change in vitality predicted long-term tobacco abstinence. Results for depressive symptoms were largely null. Discussion focuses on the importance of considering positive indices of psychological health for understanding the psychological correlates of smoking behavior.     

Relations Among Children's Coping Strategies and Anxiety: The Mediating Role of Coping Efficacy

The current study tests a model that depicts the relationships among coping strategies (active, distraction, avoidance, and support seeking) and anxiety symptoms. SEM is used to test if the relationship between these variables is mediated by coping efficacy. A large sample of Canadian children (N = 506) aged 8 to 11 years (boys = 249, girls = 245, unknown gender = 12) participated in the study. Results showed that coping efficacy is a partial mediator of the relations between active coping strategies and anxiety symptoms, however support was not found for it to be an effective mediator for other coping strategies. This study contributes to the understanding of childhood anxiety by highlighting the importance of the relationship between anxiety and the methods children use to cope with stress and how perceptions of their coping abilities influence this relationship.     

The Influence of Mothers' and Fathers' Parenting Stress and Depressive Symptoms on Own and Partner's Parent‐Child Communication

This study examines how parenting stress and depressive symptoms experienced by mothers and fathers influence their own (actor effects) and the partner's (partner effects) parent–child communication. Based on the Actor‐Partner Interdependence Model, data from 196 families were analyzed, with both parents rating their parenting stress and depressive feelings, and parents as well as children rating the open parent–child communication. Actor effects were found between parenting stress and open parent–child communication, whereas partner effects were prominent between depressive symptoms and open parent–child communication. The results provide no evidence for gender differences in the strength of the pathways to open parent–child communication. Our findings demonstrate the need to include both parents in studies on parent–child communication to enhance our understanding of the mutual influence among family members.     

Eating Behavior Among Thais and Americans

A cross-cultural analysis of eating patterns was conducted to examine the possible relationship between eating style and obesity. Thai and American students were surveyed about such bad eating habits as eating between meals, eating too quickly, eating when not hungry, and eating in response to external food cues. Contrary to the learning model of obesity, which postulates a causal relationship between eating style and body size, American subjects reported significantly better eating habits than did their much thinner Thai counterparts. A within-culture comparison of the American subjects showed a less significant but similar trend, with obese subjects claiming to have better eating patterns than both thin and underweight subjects.     

Effect of Depressive Symptoms and Sex on the Relationship Between Loneliness and Cigarette Dependence: A Moderated Mediation

Loneliness is a subjective and emotionally unpleasant experience of perceiving insufficient social relationships. Previous research has revealed that loneliness constitutes a psychosocial risk factor for depression, and is also related to unhealthy behaviors such as smoking. This study aims to examine the relation between loneliness, depression, and cigarette dependence, and to explore the role of sex in this relationship. A total sample of 275 adult treatment-seeking daily smokers (Mage = 45.3; 61.5% females) was used. Our results showed a significant correlation between higher scores of loneliness, depressive symptoms, and cigarette dependence. In addition, mediation analysis showed a significant indirect effect of loneliness on cigarette dependence, via depressive symptoms. Regarding the effect of sex, we found that this variable significantly moderated the relationship between depressive symptoms and cigarette dependence. Results of this study extend previous literature by showing that, in treatment seeking smokers, loneliness is a significant predictor of depressive symptoms, and through this relation, it predicts cigarette dependence. Additionally, sex was a significant moderator of this relation. These findings have several clinical implications, and also contribute to the understanding of cigarette dependence, which is a well-known barrier for smoking cessation.     

An Inventory of Affective Tolerance

The two dimensions of personality, extraversion (E) and neuroticism (N) as measured by the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI), were tested for their social desirability response set and their independence. Results from a collegiate sample (N = 282) show that E and N scales were susceptible to social desirability response bias for males and females, respectively. This bias could not be overcome by eliminating Ss who reported higher scores on the lie scale included in the EPI. The dimensionality of the two scales for the male Ss is questionable.