Self-report measurement of type A behavior: toward refinement and improved prediction

Self-report measures of Type A personality receive wide research usage despite mounting evidence that they are poor predictors of coronary heart disease. It was proposed that the limited prediction results in part from the failure to restrict measurement to only those Type A characteristics that are demonstrably related to excessive stress. The first study in this article reports a factor analysis of all items on the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS), the most popular Type A questionnaire, along with 25 stress symptoms. Self-ratings were obtained from both male and female college students. Only one stress-related factor emerged including 12 JAS items out of 44. These were relevant to (a) hard-driving and competitive, (b) time-urgent, and (c) hostile/irritated characteristics. Study 2 reports correlations of +.50 and +.43 between the stress-relevant JAS items and stress for new samples of female and male college students. Study 3 considers the broader personality correlates of scores on the stress-relevant Type A items and reports markedly different patterns for male and female college students. Predicted correlations were found on new samples between these personality correlates, considered as scales, and stress-relevant Type A scores and stress.     

Differentiation of death-row murderers and life-sentence murderers by antisociality and intelligence measures

Prior studies of dangerousness have confirmed that the combination of high antisociality and low IQ is associated with male criminal violence and that the same combination can discriminate within a group of violent male criminals by level of severity. My study continued the validation of this two-component measure by showing that men convicted of murder and given the death sentence for their more heinous crimes were more dangerous than murderers who received life sentences. Men who had been extended the death penalty, who selected female victims, and whose murders were judged to have been especially cruel received extraordinarily high dangerousness scores relative to all other murderers. The assumption that high antisociality and low IQ would lead to serious violence because of the criminal's inability to deal with complications that arise in confronting the victim received some support. The murders of more dangerous men followed stronger victim resistance than the murders committed by less dangerous men.     

Distorted body image as a risk factor in anorexia nervosa: replication and clarification

This study replicated the results of an earlier one in which college women showing psychological similarities to anorexics indicated an unrealistically larger body-image relative to controls but only if they were relatively thin. This kind of perceptual enhancement was not found when inanimate objects were rated. The proposal that an enhanced body image plays a dynamic role in motivating food restraint (and may increase the risk of becoming anorexic) was supported by an analysis of dieting strategies.     

Attention and disordered eating behavior: II. Disattention to turbulent inner sensations as a risk factor in the development of anorexia nervosa

The Slade model for development of anorexia nervosa proposes that the female may seek success and control in her life by pursuing a thin body through dieting when faced with serious personal problems. Extending upon this model, the present program of research has sought to identify those characteristics of women generally at-risk for anorexia nervosa that would make dieting behavior especially successful, permitting the progression from food restraint into food aversion. The present studies considered whether heightened and stress-related inner stimulation could interfere with the at-risk woman's sensitivity to hunger sensations, thereby decreasing her motivation to eat. A series of analyses conducted within two studies indicated: (1) a relationship between elevated daily stress, concern over being over-whelmed by inner feelings, and a loss of discrimination regarding sources of inner feelings, (2) a tendency to narrow attentional focus when overloaded with excessive internal stimulation, and (3) diminished sensitivity to hunger sensations for women generally at-risk for anorexia nervosa given a narrowed attentional focus.     

An MMPI-based empirical model of malingering and deception

The empirically-based model of malingering and deception described by Rogers (1984b) was operationalized using MMPI and clinical interview data. Subjects (N = 159) were patients committed to an inpatient forensic hospital as ‘Incompetent to Stand Trial’ or ‘Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity’. Inter-rater reliability was acceptable for the 11 criteria used to define response styles. Each subject was categorized into one of five response style groups: ‘Reliable’, ‘Malingering’, ‘Defensive’, ‘Irrelevant’, or ‘Unclassifiable’. Factor analysis of the rating criteria yielded four factors, three of which are comparable to the assigned groups, providing some validation for the constructs underlying these groups.     

The influence of defensive styles upon the predictive validity of the Thematic Apperception Test

This study investigated the extent to which defensive styles of individuals influence the predictive validity of their responses to a projective test. College subjects (n = 34) were exposed to laboratory procedures which provided the basis for identifying preferred style of dealing with aversive self-relevant information. Those who demonstrated the tendency to deny negative information about themselves and attribute it to others (projectors) gave responses to selected Thematic Apperception Test cards which were positively correlated with dependency and achievement criteria. In contrast, those who tended to deny negative information by selective forgetting (repressors) provided projective test responses which were negatively correlated with the two behavioral criteria. Although statistical significance was not consistently achieved, the trend of results supported the validity of Thematic Apperception Test performance of projectors or nonrepressors and inverse prediction from the responses of repressors or nonprojectors.     

Sex-role identity and male and female homosexuality

The incidences of sex-role outcome within homosexual and heterosexual male and female young adult samples were compared using a fourfold typology (both masculine and feminine, masculine, feminine, neither masculine nor feminine). Sex-role identity disparities between the female groups were more clear-cut; the most striking difference was the high incidence of masculinity (60%) within the homosexual female group. No significant differences for males were found, although a trend was noted toward higher incidence of femininity and lower incidence of masculinity in homosexuals. The second purpose of the study was to search for possible developmental antecedents to heterosexual deficit in unselected college samples. The same key pattern of psychometric indices was identified for males and females. Low heterosexuality and the closest approximation to the modal sex-role identity among homosexuals of their sex were found in females primarily identified with masculine fathers and low in role consistency and in males primarily identified with feminine mothers and low in role consistency.     

The practice of forensic psychology. A look toward the future in light of the past

In a 1987 American Psychologist article, Tom Grisso summarized the state of forensic psychological assessment, noted its limitations and potential, and offered suggestions for researchers and practitioners interested in contributing to its future. Since that time, there have been many important developments in the field of forensic psychology, as well as in clinical psychology more generally, some of which were anticipated and recommended by Grisso, and some of which were not. Forensic psychology is now at a crossroads, and the specialty must make an effort to respond to current challenges if it is to aid in the administration of justice by assisting legal decision makers. The need to distinguish between and identify levels of forensic knowledge and practice, establish guidelines for practice, educate legal consumers, and devote more attention to treatment issues in forensic contexts is highlighted.     

Collecting Informed Consent with Juvenile Justice Populations: Issues and Implications for Research

Researchers must provide participants with opportunities to make informed decisions about whether to participate in research studies. Investigators conducting research with youth in the juvenile justice system face unique ethical, legal, and practical challenges to obtaining informed consent. Juvenile justice researchers must navigate multiple legal and ethical standards for collecting informed consent, take into account youths’ dual vulnerabilities as children and prisoners, and overcome practical limitations to obtaining parental/guardian permission. Given the challenges and complexity of obtaining standard informed consent of youth in juvenile justice facilities, this paper provides suggestions for overcoming obstacles to recruiting these youth for research participation. It offers guidance for fostering the enrollment of juvenile justice youth in research studies using procedures that comply with ethical and legal standards for research with this dually vulnerable population. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.