Psychometric Evaluation of the Factor Structure of the Teasing Questionnaire – Revised (TQ-R)

Recent literature has focused on the relation between childhood teasing and adulthood psychopathology, with the majority of this work dependent on a single measure, the Teasing Questionnaire-Revised (TQ-R; Storch et al. Journal of Anxiety Disorders 18:681–694, 2004). However, the factor structure and reliability of the TQ-R requires further examination. The present investigation reevaluated the factor structure of the TQ-R in two large samples. In Study 1, three previous factor models were investigated through confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) in a large clinical sample. Due to their poor fit, exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) were used to investigate alternative factor models. In Study 2, the factor structure of the previous models and new models from Study 1 EFAs were investigated through CFAs and estimates of internal consistency in a large college sample. Together, these findings provided the most support for a new 21-item five factor model, identified in the Study 1 EFAs and supported by the Study 2 CFAs, with the content of the teasing subscales consistent with the constructs of anxiety, appearance, academics, weight, and height.     

An integrated approach to delivering exposure-based treatment for symptoms of PTSD and depression in OIF/OEF veterans: preliminary findings

Combat-exposed military personnel from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan report high rates of PTSD and associated psychiatric problems. A formidable body of research supports exposure therapy as a front-line intervention for PTSD; however, relative to studies of civilians, fewer investigations have evaluated the effectiveness of exposure therapy using military samples. Specifically, barriers to care (e.g., stigma associated with receiving mental health services ) may compromise utilization of evidence-based psychotherapy. As such, researchers have argued that veterans with PTSD may require an integrated and innovative approach to the delivery of exposure techniques. This paper presents the rationale for and preliminary data from an ongoing clinical trial that compares the home-based telehealth (HBT) application of a brief, behavioral treatment (Behavioral Activation and Therapeutic Exposure; BA-TE) for veterans with PTSD to the standard, in-person application of the same treatment. Forty OIF/OEF veterans with PTSD and MDD were consented, enrolled, and randomized to condition (BA-TE in-person, or BA-TE HBT) and symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed at pre- and posttreatment. Participants in both conditions experienced reductions in depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms between pre- and posttreatment, suggesting that HBT application of an integrated PTSD treatment may be feasible and effective.     

Self-informant Agreement for Personality and Evaluative Person Descriptors: Comparing Methods for Creating Informant Measures

Little attention typically is paid to the way self-report measures are translated for use in self-informant agreement studies. We studied two possible methods for creating informant measures: (a) the traditional method in which self-report items were translated from the first- to the third-person and (b) an alternative meta-perceptual method in which informants were directed to rate their perception of the targets' self-perception. We hypothesized that the latter method would yield stronger self-informant agreement for evaluative personality dimensions measured by indirect item markers. We studied these methods in a sample of 303 undergraduate friendship dyads. Results revealed mean-level differences between methods, similar self-informant agreement across methods, stronger agreement for Big Five dimensions than for evaluative dimensions, and incremental validity for meta-perceptual informant rating methods. Limited power reduced the interpretability of several sparse acquaintanceship effects. We conclude that traditional informant methods are appropriate for most personality traits, but meta-perceptual methods may be more appropriate when personality questionnaire items reflect indirect indicators of the trait being measured, which is particularly likely for evaluative traits.     

The Challenge of Pluralism and Peace: The Changing Relationships Among the Churches in Colombia1

When one church predominates in any society, ecumenism is notoriously difficult. Colombia is no exception. The 1991 Constitution disestablished the Catholic Church and subsequent decisions create a new legal situation for the churches together. These changes, along with the particular Protestant bodies in Colombia, the climate of civil conflict, the unique history of the country and the diversity of its peoples create a new context in which the challenge of ecumenism develops. This essay is an outsider's perspective on the contextual development of ecumenism, its hopes and challenges, in the current situation. The time has come for common witness to replace competition.     

Co-Occurring Traumatic Brain Injury,PTSD Symptoms,and Alcohol Use in Veterans

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been identified as a significant health problem among veterans. Recent research demonstrates the potential interaction and magnification of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders (SUD) in veterans with a history of TBI; however, there is very limited research on the co-occurrence of the three conditions. Veterans (N = 115) with comorbid PTSD and SUD completed a baseline assessment for enrollment into a larger treatment study. As part of that assessment, participants completed a TBI screener as well as self-report measures for pain and physical health, affective symptoms, and substance use. Almost half of the sample (48 %) endorsed a history of a previous head trauma with loss of consciousness (LOC). Participants with and without head trauma with LOC were compared across various measures of functioning. Increased severity of physical health complaints and affective symptoms were reported by the TBI group compared to controls. However, the increases in affective symptoms were relatively small. No group differences were observed for alcohol use. Together, the findings suggest that treatment-seeking veterans with a history of head trauma with LOC may present with roughly equivalent symptoms of PTSD and SUD to those without said history.     

Establishing a trait anxiety threshold that signals likelihood of anxiety disorders

Abstract

Evidence suggests that the State Trait Inventory for Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety (STICSA) may be a more pure measure of anxiety than other commonly used scales. Further, the STICSA has excellent psychometric properties in both clinical and nonclinical samples. The present study aimed to extend the utility of the STICSA – Trait version by identifying a cut-off score that could differentiate a group of clinically diagnosed anxiety disorder patients (n=398) from a group of student controls (n =439). Two receiver operating characteristic curve analyses indicated cut-off scores of 43 (sensitivity=.73, specificity=.74, classification accuracy=.74) and 40 (sensitivity=.80, specificity=.67, classification accuracy=.73), respectively. In a large community sample (n =6685), a score of 43 identified 11.5% of individuals as probable cases of clinical anxiety, while a score of 40 identified 17.0% of individuals as probable cases of clinical anxiety. As a result of differences in sensitivity and specificity, the present findings suggest a cut-off score of 43 is optimal to identify probable cases of clinical anxiety, while a cut-off score of 40 is optimal to screen for the possible presence of anxiety disorders.     

联合国教科文组织(UNESCO)国际生命伦理学委员会(IBC)第九届会议报告--关于传统人文价值与生命伦理学、胚胎植入前基因诊断和生殖细胞干预、生命伦理学普适规范及其他

受加拿大政府的盛情邀请,第九届国际生命伦理学会议于2002年11月26～28日在蒙特利尔召开,来自60个国家的200名代表参加了会议.