The Conners Parent Rating Scale: Psychometric properties in typically developing 4- to 12-year-old Belgian French-speaking children

IntroductionThe Conners Parent Rating Scale – 48 items (CPRS) is one of the most widely used behavioral scales in clinical and research settings with children.ObjectiveThe principal aim of this study was to validate the five-factor structure of the French version of the CPRS in 4- to 12-year-old Belgian French-speaking children. Secondly, a sample of children with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was assessed and their ADHD CPRS profile was examined.MethodsA total of 382 typically developing children from 4 to 12 years old were included in this study. Furthermore, 15 children (aged 6 to 12 years old) diagnosed with ADHD participated in this study.ResultsConfirmatory factor analysis shows that the CPRS presents good psychometric properties and has a factor structure similar to the original version. Furthermore, the CPRS shows high rates of sensitivity and specificity when the ADHD and control group scores are compared.ConclusionsThis study confirms the original five-factor structure of the CPRS when used with French-speaking children. Our results highlight the fact that the CPRS is a reliable measure of parental perception of their children's disruptive behaviors, and encourage the use of culturally adapted normative data for 4- to 12-year-old children.     

A narrative evaluation of a psychoeducation and a therapeutic alliance intervention for parents of persons with a severe mental illness

Most attempts to study the impact of psychosocial interventions on parents of persons with severe mental illness (SMI) are quantitative. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the subjective experience of parents of persons with SMI who participated in either a psychoeducational intervention which emphasized providing information on the illness and support, or a therapeutic alliance focused intervention (TAFI) which emphasized the alliance between the group members and group leaders. Ninety-three parents, who participated in either one of these two interventions, were interviewed using the Narrative Evaluation of Intervention Interview. Results show that participants found both interventions to be beneficial with no statistical differences in the level of perceived change. Themes describing change in relating to illness were significantly more frequently mentioned by participants in the TAFI group, whereas significantly more participants in the family psychoeducation interventions reported that implementation and information provided contributed to positive change. Also participants in the TAFI reported significantly more often that group regulation contributed to change. As both interventions were perceived as contributing, the findings support the relationship orientation to psychosocial interventions, which stresses the quality of the social support and interpersonal interaction as the source of positive outcomes of intervention.     

Étude des comportements-problèmes de 148 adultes atteints de troubles du spectre autistiques institutionnalisés

Objectives

We studied adults with autism spectrum disorder living in a specialized residential care home (n = 148). The participants’ behavioral problems were assessed using the French-language Scale for the Observation of Behavioral Problems in Adults with Autism (Échelle Pour l’Observation des Comportements-problèmes d’Adultes avec Autisme, EPOCAA; Recordon-Gaboriaud & Granier-Deferre). The study's main objectives were to (i) replicate the data from the EPOCAA reference group in a new sample of institutionalized adults, and (ii) study the impact of intellectual disability and medication on the EPOCAA scale. Our first hypothesis was that the severity of intellectual impairment would be associated with a greater likelihood of major behavioural problems. Our second hypothesis was that treatment (or the absence of treatment) with psychotropic and/or anti-epileptic medications would interact with the behavioural problems evaluated on the EPOCAA.

Analytic attitude – focus or embodiment? Subtle communications in the transference/countertransference relationship

The paper considers a ‘befallment’ that occurred in the course of analysis at a time when the focus of work was too much at a conscious level, dissociated from the patient’s embodied and visceral depths. A rigidly held attitude of focal attention is considered as potentially a defence against embodied experiences of overwhelm and vulnerability that may haunt shadowy realms which remain unlit by the narrow beam of conscious awareness. Rather as a dream drifts in from the unconscious, an enactment by the analyst brought neglected aspects of the transference and countertransference relationship into the room. Later, the patient’s own dreaming mind offered images that suggested an underlying dynamic. These subtle communications, alongside the patient’s attitude toward the analyst’s lapse, are considered as factors in the achievement of greater embodied integration. The analyst’s difficulty in arriving at a formulation of such events is discussed, along with the necessity of holding such ‘befallments’ in mind over long periods of time before any explanation can be adumbrated.     

A structural equation model of intuitive eating with adolescents

IntroductionThe tendency to eat by paying attention and respecting the body's hunger and satiety cues is called intuitive eating. This eating behavior has been linked to positive health and well-being outcomes.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to test a global model linking intuitive eating with self-esteem, body esteem, media influence and including fear of negative appearance evaluation in adolescents’ boys and girls.MethodIn total, 740 adolescent high school students (51.5% girls; M age = 14, SD = 1.5) completed self-report questionnaires with measures of intuitive eating, body esteem, self-esteem, media influence and fear of negative appearance evaluation.ResultsStructural equation modeling revealed an overall excellent fit for the final four-variable model excluding the fear of negative appearance evaluation variable. Mediation analyses showed an indirect relationship between intuitive eating and body esteem via media influence, for girls but not for boys. Body esteem mediated the relationship between intuitive eating and self-esteem, for girls and boys.ConclusionA new model is proposed where intuitive eating is associated with self-esteem through body esteem and media influence. These findings suggest that regulating attitudes and behaviors toward food may be related to higher psychological well-being.