Attachment dimensions in adolescence: an adaptation of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) into Basque / Dimensiones del apego en la adolescencia: adaptación al euskera del Inventario de Apego de Progenitores y Pares (IPPA)

Abstract

The aim of this study was to develop a short Basque version of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA), as well as to test its factor structure and analyse other psychometric properties. Two studies were carried out. In the first study a confirmatory factor analysis conducted on a sample of 1037 adolescents did not show an optimal model fit of the three-dimensional structure of the original instrument. A subsequent analysis of principal components revealed a one-dimensional structure. The analysis of items led to the elaboration of short forms. In the second study, carried out on another sample of 2129 adolescents, the one-dimensional structure was confirmed, further external validity evidence was provided, and good reliability indices were obtained. A single dimension is concluded, attachment security, as well as the validity and reliability of the short forms of the IPPA in Basque scales.     

The effect of repetitive saccade execution on the attention network test: Enhancing executive function with a flick of the eyes

The simple act of repeatedly looking left and right can enhance subsequent cognition, including divergent thinking, detection of matching letters from visual arrays, and memory retrieval. One hypothesis is that saccade execution enhances subsequent cognition by altering attentional control. To test this hypothesis, we compared performance following repetitive bilateral saccades or central fixation on the revised attention network test, which measures the operation of three distinct attentional networks: alerting, orienting, and executive function. The primary finding was that saccade execution increased the subsequent operation of the executive function network, which encompasses attentional control. Specifically, saccade execution decreased response time to target stimuli in the presence of response-incongruent flankers. A secondary finding was that saccade execution decreased response time to targets when an invalid location was cued prior to target onset. These findings suggest that saccades are an effective means of improving attentional control. Of greater theoretical importance, the study establishes attentional enhancement as a potential mechanism by which saccades enhance other aspects of cognition. Although some saccade execution effects have been found to depend on consistency of handedness (i.e., the consistency with which an individual uses one hand over the other), saccade-induced enhancement of attentional control occurred independently of handedness consistency.     

2008 Revision of the Chinese Code of Ethical Use of Psychological Tests and Its Implementation Status

In response to the rapidly increasing application and abuse of psychological tests in China, the Psychometrics Division of the Chinese Psychological Society published the 2008 revisions of the Chinese Code of Ethical Use of Psychological Tests. We investigated the implementation status of the code 2½ years after its promulgation. Sample included 284 psychological professionals and psychology graduate students. The average accuracy rate for the appropriate use of psychological tests was 67.1% (range = 25.5–97.5%), with 10 items having accuracy rates below 45%. Participants remained uncertain about the clients' rights to information about the purpose, psychometric properties, and scores of the tests. The most frequent violations involved “using psychological tests without psychometric information for entertainment purposes” and “using SCL-90 to measure mental health of normal people.”     

Is academic buoyancy anything more than adaptive coping?

Abstract

Academic buoyancy refers to a positive, constructive, and adaptive response to the types of challenges and setbacks experienced in a typical and everyday academic setting. In this project we examined whether academic buoyancy explained any additional variance in test anxiety over and above that explained by coping. Two hundred and ninety-eight students in their final two years of compulsory schooling completed self-report measures of academic buoyancy, coping, and test anxiety. Results suggested that buoyancy was inversely related to test anxiety and unrelated to coping. With the exception of test-irrelevant thoughts, test anxiety was positively related to avoidance coping and social support. Test-irrelevant thoughts were inversely related to task focus, unrelated to social support, and positively related to avoidance. A hierarchical regression analysis showed that academic buoyancy explained a significant additional proportion of variance in test anxiety when the variance for coping had already been accounted for. These findings suggest that academic buoyancy can be considered as a distinct construct from that of adaptive coping.     

Theoretical Orientation and Therapists' Attitudes to Important Components of Therapy: A Study Based on the Valuable Elements in Psychotherapy Questionnaire

The authors describe the inception and subsequent testing of a questionnaire on attitudes regarding how psychotherapy ought to be pursued: the Valuable Elements in Psychotherapy Questionnaire (VEP-Q). A sample of 416 Swedish therapists (161 psychodynamic, 93 cognitive, 95 cognitive behavioral, and 67 integrative/eclectic) responded to the 17-item VEP-Q. A factor analysis of these items resulted in three subscales: PDT, CBT, and Common Factor, as validated by analyses of covariance. The internal consistency and test–retest reliability of the scales were excellent. In addition to theoretical orientation, variables such as gender and basic professional training influenced how respondents answered the VEP-Q. The authors conclude that the VEP-Q seems to be an appropriate instrument for describing similarities as well as differences among practitioners of various schools of psychotherapy.     

Narrative retelling in children with neurodevelopmental disorders: Is there a role for nonverbal temporal‐sequencing skills?

Oral narrative retelling is often problematic for children with communicative and neurodevelopmental disorders. However, beyond a suggested role of language level, little is known about the basis of narrative performance. In this study we examine whether oral narrative retelling might be associated not just with language level but also with skills related to nonverbal narrative temporal sequencing. A diagnostically heterogeneous sample of Swedish‐speaking children with a full scale IQ >70 was included in the study (N = 55; age 6–9 years). Narrative retelling skills were measured using the three subscores from the bus story test (BST). Independent predictors included (1) temporal sequencing skills according to a picture arrangement test and (2) a language skills factor consisting of definitional vocabulary and receptive grammar. Regression analyses show that language skills predicted BST Sentence Length and Subordinate Clauses subscores, while both temporal sequencing and language were independently linked with the BST Information subscore. When subdividing the sample based on nonverbal temporal sequencing level, a significant subgroup difference was found only for BST Information. Finally, a principal component analysis shows that temporal sequencing and BST Information loaded on a common factor, separately from the language measures. It is concluded that language level is an important correlate of narrative performance more generally in this diagnostically heterogeneous sample, and that nonverbal temporal sequencing functions are important especially for conveying story information. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.     

Social desirability in personality inventories: Symptoms,diagnosis and prescribed cure

An analysis of social desirability in personality assessment is presented. Starting with the symptoms, Study 1 showed that mean ratings of graded personality items are moderately to strongly linearly related to social desirability (Self Deception, Impression formation, and the first Principal Component), suggesting that item popularity may be a useful heuristic tool for identifying items which elicit socially desirable responding. We diagnose the cause of socially desirable responding as an interaction between the evaluative content of the item and enhancement motivation in the rater. Study 2 introduced a possible cure; evaluative neutralization of items. To test the feasibility of the method lay psychometricians (undergraduates) reformulated existing personality test items according to written instructions. The new items were indeed lower in social desirability while essentially retaining the five factor structure and reliability of the inventory. We conclude that although neutralization is no miracle cure, it is simple and has beneficial effects.     

Using Generalizability Theory to Disattenuate Correlation Coefficients for Multiple Sources of Measurement Error

Over the years, research in the social sciences has been dominated by reporting of reliability coefficients that fail to account for key sources of measurement error. Use of these coefficients, in turn, to correct for measurement error can hinder scientific progress by misrepresenting true relationships among the underlying constructs being investigated. In the research reported here, we addressed these issues using generalizability theory (G-theory) in both traditional and new ways to account for the three key sources of measurement error (random-response, specific-factor, and transient) that affect scores from objectively scored measures. Results from 20 widely used measures of personality, self-concept, and socially desirable responding showed that conventional indices consistently misrepresented reliability and relationships among psychological constructs by failing to account for key sources of measurement error and correlated transient errors within occasions. The results further revealed that G-theory served as an effective framework for remedying these problems. We discuss possible extensions in future research and provide code from the computer package R in an online supplement to enable readers to apply the procedures we demonstrate to their own research.     

Greater efficiency in attentional processing related to mindfulness meditation

In this study, attentional processing in relation to mindfulness meditation was investigated. Since recent studies have suggested that mindfulness meditation may induce improvements in attentional processing, we have tested 20 expert mindfulness meditators in the attention network test. Their performance was compared to that of 20 age- and gender-matched controls. In addition to attentional network analyses, overall attentional processing was analysed by means of efficiency scores (i.e., accuracy controlled for reaction time). Better orienting and executive attention (reflected by smaller differences in either reaction time or error score, respectively) were observed in the mindfulness meditation group. Furthermore, extensive mindfulness meditation appeared to be related to a reduction of the fraction of errors for responses with the same reaction time. These results provide new insights into differences in attentional processing related to mindfulness meditation and suggest the possibility of increasing the efficiency in attentional processing by extensive mental training.     

Visual Imagery Processing and Knowledge of Famous Names in Alzheimer's Disease and MCI

ABSTRACT

The study of memory for famous people and visual imagery retrieval was investigated in patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and in the prodromal stage of AD, so-called Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Fifteen patients with AD (MMSE ≥23), 15 patients with amnestic MCI (a-MCI) and 15 normal controls (NC) performed a famous names test designed to evaluate the semantic and distinctive physical features knowledge of famous persons. Results indicated that patients with AD and a-MCI generated significantly less physical features and semantic biographical knowledge about famous persons than did normal control participants. Additionally, significant differences were observed between a-MCI and AD patients in all tasks. The present findings confirm recent studies reporting semantic memory impairment in MCI. Moreover, the current findings show that mental imagery is lowered in a-MCI and AD and is likely related to the early semantic impairment.