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.”     

Victim-Defendants in Mandated Treatment: An Ethical Quandary

Battered women are being arrested and convicted of domestic violence-related crimes in higher numbers than ever before. In addition, battered women are being sentenced to treatment as primary perpetrators even though their aggression was in response to the violence perpetrated against them. Many service providers are presently ill-equipped to offer treatment and/or other services that will effectively serve these women in a manner that will truly reduce violence and is not re-victimizing. This article will present key issues surrounding the problem, and provide suggestions for effective advocacy and intervention approaches.     

Parental Bonding and Its Effect on Adolescent Substance Use and Sexual Debut

The purpose of this study was to examine associations among parental bonding factors and the early onset of sexual behaviors and substance use. Significant differences were found in the levels of care among the parental status groups and among the ages of onset for alcohol use.     

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Schizophrenia in Patients with Mild to Moderate Substance Misuse Problems

Rates of substance misuse are high among patients with schizophrenia. Cognitive therapies have been developed separately for both problems but little is known about outcome for this group of dual diagnosed patients. Data from a major trial of cognitive behaviour therapy for psychosis was therefore sub‐analysed to determine whether this therapy is effective in those with schizophrenia and mild to moderate substance misuse. During the original study patients received a brief cognitive behaviour therapy‐based intervention for schizophrenia delivered by trained and supervised nurses. The control group received care as usual. The outcome measures included: total psychopathology using the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale (CPRS) and Health of the Nation Outcome Scale (HoNOS), change in schizophrenic positive symptoms using Schizophrenia Change Scale (SCR), anxiety using the Brief Scale for Anxiety (BAS), depression using the Montgomery‐Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and insight using the Assessment of Insight Scale, at baseline and end of therapy. In the original study, patients who received cognitive behaviour therapy showed improvement in overall symptomatology (p = 0.01), insight (p = 0.00) and depression (p = 0.00) compared with the control group. In the present sub‐analysis, no interaction was found between treatment group and presence or absence of substance misuse. There was a reduction in substance misuse after treatment in both the cognitive behaviour therapy and control groups but this did not differ between them. It appears that mild to moderate degrees of substance misuse did not change the outcome of cognitive behaviour therapy for psychosis in this sub‐analysis.     

Reasons for Entering Treatment Reported by Initially Treatment-Resistant Patients with Substance Use Disorders

Many individuals with substance use disorders are resistant to entering formal treatment, despite the negative consequences that plague their own lives and the lives of concerned significant others (CSOs). Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) has been developed as an effective strategy for helping family members who are concerned about the alcohol/drug use of a loved one who refuses to seek treatment. The present study explored reasons and feelings that played a part in these resistant individuals' (identified patients [IPs]) decision to begin treatment. Written statements and feelings of 36 initially treatment-refusing IPs, who were engaged into treatment via their CRAFT-trained CSOs, were examined upon entering treatment. Self-report forms assessed three complementary domains about entering treatment: (1) feelings about coming for treatment, (2) important reasons for entering treatment, and (3) reasons for entering treatment narratives. It was shown that the occurrences of self-reported positive emotions and statements that expressed a positive wish for change outweighed negative feelings and statements. Although conceivably these CRAFT-exposed IPs may have provided different responses than other treatment-seeking populations, the current study's strong IP reports of positive feelings, reasons, and narrative statements regarding treatment entry nonetheless address potential concerns that treatment-refusing IPs might only enter treatment if felt coerced by family members and while experiencing salient negative feelings overall.     

Anxiety and Drinking: Are Personal Beliefs Regarding Control and Unpredictability Relevant?

Abstract

Anxiety and drinking problems are fairly common, and it is important to know what factors affect these issues. Previous studies document that control beliefs are associated with anxiety and drinking. Unpredictability beliefs correlate with anxiety, yet whether they relate to drinking is unknown. The present study explored these relationships in a sample of adults (N?=?150; 40.0% female; M?=?34.4?years old) and in a sample of college students (N?=?182; 74.7% female; M?=?18.9 years old). Among adults, unpredictability beliefs correlated with anxiety and control beliefs, but not drinking. Similarly, control beliefs correlated with anxiety but not drinking. Furthermore, anxiety and drinking were uncorrelated. Among undergraduates, unpredictability and control beliefs predicted anxiety, whereas unpredictability (pertaining to the self and others) and internality predicted frequency of drinking. Personal unpredictability beliefs emerged as having the strongest association with anxiety across both samples. Future research and treatment should take into account unpredictability beliefs when addressing anxiety problems.     

Aggression in Toddlers: Associations With Parenting and Marital Relations

This study examined the relation among parenting factors, marital relations, and toddler aggression. A structured questionnaire was administered to both parents of 254 2-year-olds. The authors used correlation and hierarchical multiple regression analyses to assess the extent to which certain personality traits, drug use, parenting style, and marital conflicts were related to the toddlers' aggressive behavior. Results showed that the maternal child-rearing and parental aggression domains had a direct effect on toddler aggression. The domain of maternal child rearing also served as a mediator for the domains of marital relations, paternal child rearing, parental aggression, and parental drug use. The findings indicated that maternal child-rearing practices, personality attributes, and drug use were more important than paternal attributes in relation to toddler aggression. Implications for prevention among families at risk are discussed.     

Fear Versus Humor: The Impact of Sensation Seeking on Physiological,Cognitive, and Emotional Responses to Antialcohol Abuse Messages

This study investigates the differences in physiological, cognitive, and emotional responses to existing emotional antialcohol abuse advertisements (fear vs. humor appeal) between high and low sensation seekers. A 2 (Message Type) × 2 (Sensation-Seeking Tendency) × 4 (Message Repetition) mixed-model experiment with repeated measures was conducted with 71 college students. The results, based on self-reports, indicated that fear messages generated more interest and perceived danger of excessive drinking regardless of sensation-seeking tendency, whereas humorous messages were rated as more likeable than fear messages, and the difference was bigger among low sensation seekers than among high sensation seekers. One interesting finding was that for both fear and humor appeals, low sensation seekers showed greater emotional responses (greater corrugators activities and greater zygomatic activities) than high sensation seekers overall. The implications of the current study as well as suggestions for future study were discussed.     

Time use of Hellene 3rd and 4th graders during a school day

Using data from the time diaries of 164 Hellene 3rd and 4th graders interviewed in their homes in March 2007, individual differences in time-use patterns were investigated. The participants rested for 9 hours 10 minutes, and spent 57.0%, 21.7%, and 5.0% of their waking time on school-related activities (attending school, learning languages, doing homework), leisure activities (such as playing and watching TV), and other activities, respectively. Pupils from rural areas rested longer; more boys engaged in play and sports; more girls and more pupils from higher SES families engaged in dance. Overall, the time spent on school-related activities is higher than the times spent on other activities. Regarding leisure, girls spent the most time watching TV, while boys spent the most time watching TV and playing. In line with previous literature, the time schedule of Hellene pupils is directed towards knowledge acquisition, rather than cognitive or socio-emotional development.     

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.