A short-form measure of loneliness

The revised UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS-20) and a four-item short form (ULS-4) are widely used in personality research (Russell, Peplau, & Cutrona, 1980). In an exploratory factor analysis of the ULS-20, we identified eight items that loaded substantially on the first factor. These items were combined to form an alternative short-form measure, the ULS-8. The results of this study indicate that the ULS-8 is reliable, valid, and a better substitute for the ULS-20 than is the ULS-4. Consistent with the previous research, the loneliness measures (ULS-20, ULS-8, ULS-4) were strongly related to socially undesirable personality characteristics, but loneliness was uncorrelated with the six different health-related behaviors (exercise, meal regularity, alcohol use, hard drug use, smoking, and hours of sleep) assessed in this study.     

Relationship of physicians' nonverbal communication skill to patient satisfaction, appointment noncompliance, and physician workload

A field study of 28 residents in family practice was conducted. Physicians' self-reports of empathy, self-monitoring ability, and affective communication skill as well as their objectively measured nonverbal communication skills were examined as predictors of patient satisfaction, appointment noncompliance, and physician workload (schedule density). Physicians completed the Hogan Empathy Scale, Snyder Self-Monitoring Scale, Affective Communication Test, short form of the Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity, and a nonverbal encoding task. Patient satisfaction with communication, affective care, and technical care was assessed using a 25-item, visit-specific satisfaction scale. Appointment records were used to determine the number of patients seen by each physician and the compliance of patients with scheduled appointments. Results indicated that the three self-report measures were unrelated to the measures of patient noncompliance and patient satisfaction, but self-reported affective communication ability was significantly correlated with physician workload. Objectively measured physician sensitivity to audio communication predicted patient compliance: More sensitive physicians experienced fewer unrescheduled appointment cancellations. Nonverbal encoding skill was significantly related to patient satisfaction with affective care and to physician workload.     

Teaching Partial-Interval Recording of Problem Behavior with Virtual Reality

Journal of Behavioral Education - Virtual reality (VR) places individuals within a simulated experience using an array of visual, auditory, and tactile interfaces. Research suggests VR, which...     

Early childhood mental health consultation: Care providers’ experiences of the consultative relationship

This article presents findings from a qualitative research study exploring child care teachers’ experiences receiving early childhood mental health consultation (ECMHC). As an emerging intervention in early childhood education, ECMHC is already yielding promising results, namely in helping teachers better address challenging behaviors in their classroom and promote a more nurturing classroom environment. However, there remains a lack of personal testimony from teachers who receive this intervention. Considering that teachers are the primary focus of most ECMHC interventions, the purpose of this study was to examine child care teachers’ personal experiences receiving consultation. Eight child care teachers were interviewed for this study. Results from this study illuminate key interpersonal processes in the development of the consultant–consultee relationship, indicate what teachers consider to be the most helpful components of consultation, and speak to the challenges that teachers experience in consultation. By examining the personal testimony of child care teachers who have received ECMHC services, consultants and researchers can consider ways to expand and improve future implementation of ECMHC.     

Psychiatric inpatients' perceptions of written no-suicide agreements: an exploratory study

One hundred thirty-five psychiatric inpatients admitted for suicidal danger were surveyed regarding their views on the benefits/limitations of written no-suicide agreements. A survey instrument developed for this study revealed that these inpatients, for the most part, rated written no-suicide agreements in a positive manner and in ways consistent with clinical opinion expressed in a number of qualitative/expert-opinion articles. Positive views of no-suicide agreements were not materially influenced by social desirability or age, nor were they moderated by gender, presence/absence of Axis II disorders, or admission suicidal danger. However, patient suicide attempt history (no attempts, one attempt, or more than one attempt) exerted a moderating effect on patients' ratings of the helpfulness of these contracts. Multiple attempters viewed written no-suicide agreements as less helpful than those patients with a single or no prior attempts. The methodological problems and generalizability concerns associated with these results are discussed and future research needs are suggested.     

An outcome survey of psychology residency training program graduates of the University of Texas Houston Medical School

A survey of 71 graduates of the psychology residency program at The University of Texas Houston Medical School and the Texas Research Institute of Mental Science indicated that two-thirds of the respondents were involved in private practice, conducting primarily individual therapy, with assessment also playing a major role in their practice. Managed care had the effect of placing limits on the numbers of sessions available to patients, reducing income, and increasing paperwork associated with practice. Implications for training during residency are that individual therapy, using focused short-term approaches, and assessment should continue to be the primary clinical experiences for trainees, and that there should also be training in the business aspect of practice, including marketing.     

The tripartite model of anxiety and depression: symptom structure in depressive and hypertensive patient groups

The structure of self-reported symptoms representative of the tripartite model was examined using data drawn from the Medical Outcomes Study (Tarlov et al., 1989). Participants were persons who had been diagnosed 48 months previously as suffering from either depression (N = 315) or hypertension (N = 403). Results of confirmatory factor analyses were broadly consistent with the tripartite model (L. A. Clark & Watson, 1991). Factors emerged corresponding to each of the 3 posited first-order dimensions of negative affect, positive affect, and physiologic arousal. Nonetheless, some discrepancies were found between the observed data and the hypothesized tripartite model. First, the obtained physiologic arousal factor was best viewed as reflecting nonspecific somatic distress rather than physiologic arousal. Finally, although differentiable in the strictest statistical sense, all three domains were significantly correlated (.36 to.86, absolute value). In particular, contrary to the tripartite model, positive and negative affect covaried markedly (-.81 to -.86). Findings raise issues concerning the utility of the tripartite model as a heuristic framework for enhancing understanding of individual differences in normal mood as well as mood disorders.