Body images of patients with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and female control subjects: a comparison with male ideals of female attractiveness

Body images of female patients with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa were assessed against females without eating disorders and compared with male ideals of female attractiveness. A computer program was applied to examine body images of 62 patients with anorexia nervosa, 45 patients with bulimia nervosa, and 40 female and 39 male control subjects. Body size overestimation was most distinct in the two patient groups. Self-ideal discrepancy was highest in bulimia nervosa. Estimation of the society's ideal female body in all three female groups did not differ from men's perception of the most attractive female body. Congruence of ideals of female attractiveness in patients, female, and male control subjects and described differences between patients and female controls support the theory that body image disturbance is a problem of processing self-referential information regarding body image rather than a problem of processing body image related information per se.     

Personality for free: Psychometric properties of a public domain Australian measure of the five‐factor model

Fifty items from Goldberg's International Personality Item Pool were compiled to form a public‐domain measure of personality, the Australian Personality Inventory (API). Data from a random community sample (N = 7615) and a university‐based sample (N = 271) were used to explore psychometric properties of this 50‐item measure of the five‐factor model of personality (FFM). In both samples, internal reliabilities were adequate. In the university‐based sample an appropriate pattern of convergent and divergent relationship was found between scale scores and domain scores from the NEO Five‐Factor Inventory. After adjusting for an apparent response set (mean response across items), exploratory factor analyses clearly retrieved the FFM in both samples. It is provisionally concluded that raw scale scores from the API provide reliable estimates of the FFM, but adjustment for mean response across the 50 items might clarify the five‐factor structure, especially in less educated samples.     

Reducing bias in psychometric assessment of culturally and linguistically diverse students from refugee backgrounds in Australian schools: A process approach

The present article examines a process developed within Brisbane Catholic Education to reduce bias in assessment of students from refugee backgrounds when there is a concern about a possible intellectual disability. Several factors impacting upon assessment are described including previous trauma, language, lack of previous schooling and acculturation difficulties. A proactive process (Support Process for the Assistance and Assessment of Students from Refugee Backgrounds) is described involving broad‐based, longitudinal collection of data by the school psychologist as part of a support team. Factors to consider in conducting standardised psychometric assessments are discussed. Strengths and limitations of this process as well as the need for future research into its effectiveness are summarised.     

Loss of control eating and psychological maintenance in children: An ecological momentary assessment study

Objective

Recent research suggests that binge eating is a common experience in youth. However, it remains largely unknown how children's binge eating presents in everyday life and which psychological factors serve to maintain this binge eating.

Methods

Children aged 8-13 years with binge eating (n = 59), defined as at least one episode of loss of control (LOC) over eating within the past three months, and 59 matched children without LOC history were recruited from the community. Following a combined random- and event-sampling protocol, children were interviewed about their day-to-day eating behavior, mood, and eating disorder-specific cognitions using child-specific cell phones during a 4-day assessment period in their natural environment.

Results

LOC episodes led to a significantly greater intake of energy, particularly from carbohydrates, than regular meals of children with and without LOC eating. While LOC episodes were preceded and followed by cognitions about food/eating and body image, there was minimal evidence that negative mood states were antecedents of LOC eating.

Conclusions

The results provide support for the construct validity of LOC eating in children. Maintenance theories of binge eating for adults apply to children regarding eating disorder-specific cognitions, but the association with affect regulation difficulties requires further investigation.     

How to Measure and Explain Achievement Change in Large-Scale Assessments: A Rejoinder

In this rejoinder, we discuss substantive and methodological validity issues of large-scale assessments of trends in student achievement, commenting on the discussion paper by Van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, Robitzsch, Treffers, and Köller (2009). We focus on methodological challenges in deciding what to measure, how to measure it, and how to foster stability. Next, we discuss what to do with trends that are found. Finally, we reflect on how the research findings were received.     

Heart rate variability and drawing impairment in hypoxemic COPD

We studied 54 patients with hypoxemic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The Mini Mental State Examination and the Mental Deterioration Battery were used for neuropsychological assessment. Heart rate variability (HRV) was assessed based on 24-h Holter ECG recording. Mann–Whitney test was used to compare HRV parameters of patients performing normally or abnormally on individual neuropsychological tasks. Spearman’s rho was used to investigate the correlations between HRV parameters and neuropsychological scores, indexes of health status or COPD severity. Patients with defective performance at copying drawings with landmarks (CDL) test (N = 23) had lower very low frequency (VLF) power with respect to patients with normal performance (N = 31) (24 h: median 213; interquartile range 120–282 vs. 309; 188–431 ms², p = 0.043; daytime: 202; 111–292 vs. 342; 194–397 ms², p = 0.039). The CDL score correlated with the VLF power (24 h: ρ = 0.27, p = 0.049; daytime: ρ = 0.30, p = 0.028), and the normalized low frequency/high frequency (LF/HF) ratio (24 h: ρ = 0.27, p = 0.05; daytime: ρ = 0.33, p = 0.015). Sympathetic modulation decreased for increasing severity of COPD. In conclusion, drawing impairment correlates with depressed sympathetic modulation in patients with COPD, and both might be indexes of COPD severity.     

当代客观化人格测验的技术—— 基于实验的行为评估:维也纳研究小组开发的多种计算机化测验介绍

目前多数人格测验(特别是在中国使用的人格测验)基本上都是人格问卷, 基于实验的行为评估类客观化人格测验应用很少; 而后者近来在德语圈国家中则有复苏的迹象。因此, 本文综述了此类客观测验相对于人格问卷来说所具有的特点和优势, 如, 被试很难在这类客观化人格测验中作伪。本文介绍了维也纳研究小组所做的几个测验, 并讨论了这些测验的心理测量学性质和缺点。最后, 还列举了这些测验的实际应用。     

Le jugement clinique en contexte d’évaluation du potentiel et des compétences au travail : Quelle est sa valeur prédictive et peut-il être formalisé ?

This study intends (1) to investigate the predictive validity of clinical (integrative) judgement based on personality data collected in psychological assessment and (2) to verify the capacity of assessors to formalize their judgment in a standardised algorithm. Three psychologists had the task to predict results of 78 managers on multisource assessment measuring two performance criteria (results orientation and relationship building). Results show that the psychologists’ integrative judgement predicts one of performance criteria up to .39. However, it appears that the standardisation of their judgment in mechanic decision rules was less predictive of performance criteria than their global clinical judgement. Overall, this research suggests there is still much to understand in the interpretative process.