The influences of stage of leaving school on vocational maturity and realism of vocational choice

Cross-sectional data were provided by 1484 male high school pupils drawn from grades seven to twelve. All subjects completed either the Otis Intermediate Test or the Otis Higher Test, Crites' Vocational Development Inventory (VDI), and the author's Student Survey. Major findings were that: (1) subjects' anticipated stage of leaving school was significantly related to realism of vocational choice-those boys who expected to leave school prior to grade twelve showed higher levels of realism than those going on, in spite of the fact that they tended to be lower in both maturity of vocational choice attitudes (VCA) and intelligence; (2) IQ exercised a complicated mediatory effect on both VCA and realism; and (3) in general, both VCA and realism were linearly related to grade. Taken together, these findings indicated the need to distinguish carefully between VCA and realism as aspects of vocational development. Implications for further research in vocational development are discussed.     

Applying an occupational classification to the work histories of young men and women

Holland's occupational classification was used to analyze the work histories of a national representative sample of young men and women ages 14 through 24. Hypotheses tested were concerned with the psychological orderliness of occupational changes, the relationship between occupational experiences and aspirations, and the relationship between consistent occupational codes and the stability of work histories. The analyses supported the usefulness of the occupational classification for organizing the work histories of both young men and young women. For both sexes, the classification reflected regular patterns of job changes. The category of a person's earlier job was an efficient predictor of a person's subsequent jobs; likewise, the category of a person's current job forecasted the category of his vocational aspiration. The consistency of an occupational code was also related to job stability for whites but not for blacks.     

Accuracy of respiratory symptom perception in persons with high and low negative affectivity

Accuracy of respiratory symptom perception was investigated in different contexts in participants (N = 56) scoring high or low for negative affectivity (NA). Within subject-correlations were calculated between minute ventilation (frequency per minute × tidal volume) and the subjective symptom ‘faster and/or deeper breathing’ across 10 subsequent breathing trials of 2?min with varying air mixtures, containing fresh or foul smelling odours and/or 5.5% CO₂. Half the participants were given a positive information frame for the sensations (‘some air mixtures may induce a pleasantly arousing feeling, like when being in love’), whereas the other half was given a negative frame (‘some air mixtures may induce feelings of being anxious and distressed’). Interoceptive accuracy was overall fairly high (r = 0.56–0.74), but it dropped considerably (r = 0.27), when bodily sensations were induced in high NA persons in a negative information frame (interaction, p < 0.005). Interoceptive accuracy appears low when persons with high NA are in situations characterised by negative affective cues.     

Defective stimulus set attention in generalized epilepsy

This study examined auditory selective attention in primary generalized and complex-partial (temporal lobe) epileptics using binaural and dichotic versions of the Continuous Performance Test. The patient groups did not differ from normal controls when only one channel was presented or when divided attention (simultaneously monitoring two channels) was required. However, generalized epileptics had significantly depressed hit rates when directed attention (responding to critical stimuli in only one channel) was required. These results suggest a contribution of brain stem “arousal” mechanisms to stimulus set attention. In addition, right ear perceptual advantages were found on these dichotic monitoring tasks, lending support to the contention that short-term auditory memory and verbal report are not required for the dichotic ear effect.     

The status of hoarding as a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder

Hoarding is considered by many to be a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Yet although it is observed in people with OCD, hoarding symptoms also appear in a number of other psychological and psychiatric conditions. The present studies were conducted using samples of OCD patients, patients with other anxiety disorders, and a non-clinical sample to further elucidate the relationship between hoarding and OCD. Across two investigations, we found that (a) whereas OCD patients had higher scores than the other groups on non-hoarding symptoms, this was not the case for hoarding symptoms; (b) hoarding tended to correlate more weakly with other OCD symptoms (e.g., washing, checking) than these other symptoms intercorrelated; (c) items measuring hoarding had the weakest factor loadings when a measure of OCD symptoms was submitted to factor analysis; (d) hoarding symptoms were not correlated with global OCD or anxiety severity, whereas other OCD symptoms were; and (e) hoarding did not show consistent relationships with OCD-related cognitive variables. These results do not support a specific relationship between hoarding and OCD; and they call into question hoarding's status as a specific symptom of OCD. Results are also discussed in terms of the importance of functional assessment of hoarding and OCD symptoms.     

Analogue Measures of DSM-IV Mood and Anxiety Disorders Based on Behavior Checklists

Although symptom checklists are commonly used to assess childpsychopathology, confusion arises due to differences between empirically derived checklist syndromes and rationally derived DSM-IV diagnostic categories. This paper explores analogue measures of DSM-IV mood and anxiety disorders created using items from the Youth Self-Report and Child Behavior Checklist (T. M. Achenbach, 1991a, 1991b) that parallel DSM-IV symptoms. In a matched sample of clinically referred and nonreferred adolescents, analogue measures demonstrated expected patterns of age differences, sex differences, and comorbidity. Meeting criteria for an analogue diagnosis was also associated with referral for mental health services and poor social competence. Informant effects are highlighted and the potential benefits and limitations of using existing behavior checklists to assess DSM disorders are discussed. These findings suggest the utility of checklists in identifying analogues of anxiety and mood disorders in children and adolescents.     

Algorithm Versus Cut-Point Derived PTSD in Ex-Prisoners of War

This study compared symptom-based algorithm to cut-point scoring of the PTSD Checklist (PCL) in a sample of 504 World War II ex-prisoners of war not seeking treatment. There was relatively high correspondence ( = .80) between the scoring methods; the algorithm identified more participants as having PTSD than the standard cut-point of 50. Receiver Operator Curve analyses revealed that a cut-point of 42 distinguished optimally between the algorithm-defined PTSD and non-PTSD groups. An optimal scoring method might use both cut-point and algorithm, ensuring individuals have the symptoms necessary for a diagnosis and of sufficient severity.     

Acquired sensitivity to relevant physiological activity in patients with chronic health problems

The hypothesis that biased symptom perception toward excessive symptoms is common when relatively normal chronic patients enter symptom-relating situations, irrespective of emotional variables, was tested in 19 women with severe asthma, 18 with somatization-like characteristics, and 18 controls. Each underwent three experimental conditions: mental stress, resting, and physical exercise. Each condition included three breathing conditions: breathing normally, normal compressed air, and 5.5% CO2-enriched compressed air. Results yielded no group differences in physiological measures, e.g. elevated CO2 in exhaled air (end-tidal partial pressure of CO2, PetCO2), or lung function. Asthma patients experienced more breathlessness, and somatization-like participants more breathlessness, miscellaneous symptoms, and subjective stress than controls. Although these differences suggested acquired biased symptom perception, as it turned out, breathlessness in asthmatics was more influenced by PetCO2 and less by subjective stress compared to controls. Likewise, breathlessness in somatization-like participants was similarly influenced by PetCO2 and subjective stress compared to controls, and miscellaneous symptoms were even more influenced by PetCO2 and less by subjective stress compared to controls. It was concluded that acquired sensitivity to physiological activity associated with habitual symptoms may account for excessive symptoms in patients with chronic health problems.     

Life partners’ perceptions of the emotional,speech disruptive,and attitudinal correlates of stuttering

PurposeThe purpose of the current investigation was to explore the extent to which the life partners (LPs) of people who stutter (PWS) perceive their loved ones’ speech-situation specific emotional reaction, expectancy of speech disruption, and speech-related communication attitude.MethodsThree subtests of the Behavior Assessment Battery (BAB): the Speech Situation Checklist - Emotional Reaction (SSC-ER), the Speech Situation Checklist - Speech Disruption (SSC-SD) and the Communication Attitude Test for Adults Who Stutter (BigCAT) were administered to 33 PWS and modified versions were administered to their LPs via Qualtrics Survey Software. Effect of relationship duration on subtest scores was considered. Perceived stuttering severity by the participant and their LP was also queried as part of a demographic questionnaire.ResultsPWS and their LPs rated BigCAT items in a similar way, while they rated certain SSC-ER and SSC-SD items differently. Importantly, between-group agreement was not affected by relationship duration. Among the PWS and LP, perceived stuttering severity influenced all BAB subtest scores.ConclusionLPs of PWS appear to be in tune with the cognitive aspects of their partner’s experience of stuttering. This has important clinical implications as it relates to active involvement of the family in speech intervention targeting fluency.     

Equivalence of mother and father ratings of ADHD in children

Obtaining data from multiple informants provides a more comprehensive diagnostic picture in the assessment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Differences in symptom ratings have been observed between parent- and teacher-report scales, though less information is available regarding differences between mothers and fathers. To address this gap, this study examines the rater agreement between mothers and fathers on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) ADHD Symptom Rating Scale (DSM-ADHD-SRS). The participants consisted of 337 children diagnosed with ADHD who underwent comprehensive neuropsychological assessment. Confirmatory factor analysis indicates that a three-factor model comprising inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity symptoms provides the best fit for both mothers’ and fathers’ ratings. Mothers provided higher mean ratings for the inattention scale. These results suggest that the factor structure for the DSM-ADHD-SRS is the same, regardless of parent gender. However, symptoms of inattention may vary depending upon which parent completes the ratings. This discrepancy could lead to differences in diagnostic impressions in clinical evaluations.