The impact of defibrillator discharges on psychological functioning of implantable cardioverter defibrillator recipients

A lag exists with respect to our understanding of the psychological demands and rehabilitation needs of individuals who have undergone implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation. The ICD is designed to transmit an electric shock to the heart to treat a potentially life-threatening arrhythmia. This study specifically examined the impact of defibrillator discharges on the psychological functioning of ICD recipients. A questionnaire was self-administered to 33 individuals who have been living with the ICD for at least 6 months. Results revealed that levels of anger and depression were significantly higher in those subjects who reported a lower discharge rate, while sense of well-being was significantly higher in those subjects who reported a greater discharge rate. Possible explanations for our findings were proposed as well as implications for clinical intervention were discussed.     

双作业的信息编码方式对作业绩效的影响

采用单作业和双作业操作,探讨了不同信息编码方式对双作业操作绩效的影响。实验结果证明：若采用相同的信息编码方式,同时操作的两种作业就会产生相互干扰,降低双作业操作绩效;相反,若同时操作的两种作业采用不同信息编码方式将有效地减小双作业操作的相互干扰,使双作业操作的绩效得到提高。     

规则多边图形的离散度与图形信号认知绩效的关系

用实验方法研究规则多边图形的离散度与图形信号认知绩效的关系。实验的自变量是图形的离散度参数,因变量是单位时间图形信号的视觉通道信息传递量。实验的刺激材料是２５个离散度为０．３～０．７的规则多边图形。刺激材料的呈现与被试的反应记录都由计算机控制。结果表明：离散度适中（０．５左右）及偏小的图形信号认知绩效较高,离散度从０．５增大到０．６,认知绩效迅速下降,离散度继续增大,认知绩效仍有下降,但趋势平缓。     

Personal warmth and psychological health at midlife

Personal warmth, arguably a strong trait in the makeup of psychological health, seems to fade in conceptual importance at midlife. In contrast, ideas of interiority and androgyny appear to gain conceptual importance at midlife. The present study sought to rebalance these foci by determining the predictive power of personal warmth for psychological health of men and women at age 50: first, by developing separate California Psychological Inventory (CPI) scales to assess personal warmth; next, by joining these warmth scales with the 20 standard CPI scales to predict psychological health. Without the personal warmth scale, the standard CPI scales do not significantly predict psychological health for men; for women, the standard scales do. For both genders, the personal warmth scales add significantly to the predictability of psychological health. The results point to an amendment of current theoretical formulations of interiority and androgyny to better understand optimal psychological development in men and women at midlife.     

How Much Jungian Theory Is There in My Practice?

This non-clinical paper consists of the author's subjective and personal value judgements on theory and practice. He discusses nine topics: I) What is analysis and why do people seek therapy? 2) Dangers of reification and hypostatizing: reinforcement of narcissistic defences and schizoid unrelatedness. 3) The problems of archetypal psychology and amplification. 4) The cultural and political aspects of the unconscious psyche, and the value of studying the philosophical background to the psychodynamic approach. 5) Criticism of the classical Jungian over-emphasis of the intrapsychic at the expense of the interpersonal. 6) Psychosomatic healing through experience and interpretation of psychosomatic identity in the transference/countertrans-ference; idea of the ‘animating body’. 7) Dangers of theoretical hndamentalism and crusading among Jungian schools: envy and intolerance. 8) The need for the analyst to have enough good objects. 9) An acknowledgement of theoretical influences other than Jung on the author's practice; although Jung's ideas facilitate a personal pluralism - the spirit of Jung.     

Impact of the JOBS intervention on unemployed workers varying in risk for depression

Reports the results of the JOBS II randomized field experiment that included a sample of 1,801 recent job losers, 671 of which participated in a modified version of the JOBS I intervention for unemployed workers (Caplan, Vinokur, Price, & van Ryn, 1989). The intervention focused on enhancing the sense of mastery through the acquisition of job-search and problem-solving skills, and on inoculation against setbacks. JOBS II was intended to prevent poor mental health and to promote high quality reemployment. The study tested whether the efficacy of the intervention could be increased by screening and oversampling respondents who were at higher risk for a significant increase in depressive symptoms. Results demonstrated that the intervention primarily benefited the reemployment and mental health outcomes of the high-risk respondents. This suggests the feasibility of enhancing the efficacy of this preventive intervention by targeting, it for high-risk unemployed workers who could be identified prospectively. This research was supported by National Institute of Mental Health Grant No. P50MH38330 to the Michigan Prevention Research Center (Richard H. Price, Principal Investigator).     

Reported prevalence of attentional difficulties in a general sample of college students

The present study investigated the self-reported prevalence of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)symptoms in 770 college students using the Adult Rating Scale and the Wender Utah Rating Scale. Psychometric properties of these scales were explored. The study also investigated the performance of students with ADHD symptoms, relative to students without ADHD symptoms, on a battery of neuropsychological tasks. Results revealed that 7 and 8% of the students reported significant symptoms (i.e., 1.5 SD above the mean) on the Adult Rating Scale and the Wender Utah Rating scale, respectively, and 2.5% reported significant symptoms on both the Adult Rating Scale and the Wender Utah Rating Scale. Using more stringent criteria (two standard deviations), fewer (i.e, 4, 3.8%, and 0.5%) subjects reported significant symptoms associated with ADHD. Between-group differences were found on one of the neuropsychological tasks. The construct validity of the rating scales was supported. Limitations and implications for future research are advanced.Presented at the International Neuropsychological Society's Sixteenth European Conference, Angers, France, June 1994, and the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Los Angeles, CA, August 1994.