Stability in optimism-pessimism in relation to bad news: a study of women with breast cancer

In this study, we investigated the stability of optimism-pessimism in relation to receiving bad news (i.e., positive lymph nodes, more advanced cancer stage) after breast cancer surgery and in comparison to the stability of anxiety and depression level. The women (n = 165) completed the Life Orientation Test-Revised (Scheier, Carver, & Bridges, 1994) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (Zigmond & Snaith, 1983) at time of diagnosis, 3 months, and 12 months after surgery. Overall, women's optimism-pessimism levels remained stable over the follow-up period whether they received bad news or not. In contrast, women's anxiety and depression level decreased significantly over the same time period with 1 exception. Women's level of depression remained fairly stable among those who received bad news. Optimism-pessimism appears to remain stable over situations as well as time and regardless of negative affects.     

The Adolescent Life Goal Profile Scale: Development of a New Scale for Measurements of Life Goals Among Young People

In this study we developed and psychometrically tested the Adolescent Life Goal Profile Scale (ALGPS). This scale provides a new approach to the measurements of personal goals, meaning, structure and direction in adolescent lives—a focus that falls in line with the increasing awareness of the prospects and benefits of congruent living. The objective is to measure the perceived importance of four life goal categories (Relations, Generativity, Religion and Achievements) and the perceived attainability of these goals. The ALGPS is a psychological tool that can be useful for general adolescent research and as an approach to individual mental health care. Pilot study 1 consisted of focus group interviews as a methodological approach to better understand the culture and language of young people in Norway. In pilot study 2, we tested out a preliminary version of the ALGPS on a high school sample (N?=?140) based on the results from pilot study 1. In the main study, we used the ALGPS and an accompanying test battery for validation purposes. All tests were administered to a new high school sample (N?=?244). Exploratory factor analyses supported a 16?+?16 item version of the ALGPS (16 life goals and 16 attainability ratings). The four life goal categories were reproduced with low intercorrelations among the factors. This model was cross-validated in a new sample (N?=?294) using confirmatory factor analysis. Further evidence for reliability and convergent validity is presented and applications are discussed.     

Reconstructing Interactive Argumentative Discourse

When analysing and evaluating discourse, the discourse itself, the speech event and the activity type it represents, forces the analyst to search for a theoretical and methodological framework which is suitable for analysing the activity exposed in the data. Interactive political argumentation demands both a theory of argumentation and a theory of spoken language to fully grasp what is going on in the discourse. The pragma-dialectical argumentation theory offers both analytical and evaluative tools, but rests upon a reconstruction of the argumentative discourse which is hierarchical and static. If applied to interactive argumentation this kind of reconstruction will not reveal interactive aspects of the parties' argumentation. On the other hand, conversation analysis, which concentrates on interactive aspects of the discourse, does not offer a tool for the evaluation of the quality of each party's argumentation.     

Psychopathy and the ability to read the “language of the eyes”: Divergence in the psychopathy construct

The capacity to interpret others people's behavior and mental states is a vital part of human social communication. This ability, also called mentalizing or Theory of Mind (ToM), may also serve as a protective factor against aggression and antisocial behavior. This study investigates the relationship between two measures of psychopathy (clinical assessment and self‐report) and the ability to identify mental states from photographs of the eye region. The participants in the study were 92 male inmates at Bergen prison, Norway. The results showed some discrepancy in connection to assessment methodology. For the self‐report (SRP‐III), we found an overall negative association between mental state discrimination and psychopathy, while for the clinical instrument (PCL‐R) the results were more mixed. For Factor 1 psychopathic traits (interpersonal and affective), we found positive associations with discrimination of neutral mental states, but not with the positive or negative mental states. Factor 2 traits (antisocial lifestyle) were found to be negatively associated with discrimination of mental states. The results from this study demonstrate a heterogeneity in the psychopathic construct where psychopathic traits related to an antisocial and impulsive lifestyle are associated with lower ability to recognize others' mental states, while interpersonal and affective psychopathic traits are associated with a somewhat enhanced ability to recognize others' emotional states.     

Psychological Hardiness Predicts Success in a Norwegian Armed Forces Border Patrol Selection Course

The present study investigates the effects of psychological hardiness and successful completion of a rigorous 250‐km ski march over 9 days in Arctic winter conditions. This ski march is the final portion of a selection program for border rangers in the Norwegian Armed Forces. Study participants were N = 178 soldiers with a mean age of 19.9 years (range 18–23). Hierarchical regression results showed that successful completion of the ski march was predicted by total hardiness scores, after controlling for nutrition factors, physical fitness and sensation seeking. A second hierarchical regression found that the commitment facet of hardiness was the most significant predictor of ski march success, again controlling for nutrition, physical fitness and sensation seeking. Analyses of daily participant surveys showed that the high commitment group reported the highest levels of positive daily coping, and also evaluated their performance more positively. This group also showed increasingly positive self‐evaluations as the exercise went on. Together, these results indicate that hardiness commitment is a key factor influencing performance in a rigorous and stressful endurance task requiring sustained effort, perhaps by enhancing active coping skills and self‐efficacy beliefs.     

Effect of early intervention on social interaction between mothers and preterm infants at 12 months of age: a randomized controlled trial

In a randomized controlled trial at 12-months of age, the effect of the Mother Infant Transaction Program was tested on social interaction between mothers and moderately and late preterm infants with gestational age ≥ 30.0 and <36 weeks. Ninety-three play sessions were videotaped and coded, 46 mothers-infants in the intervention group and 47 mothers-infants in the control group. The intervention mothers scored higher on maternal sensitivity/responsiveness (p = .05). Being a first-time mother was a moderator that enhanced the effects of the intervention. First-time mothers were more sensitive/responsive to their infant's cues (p = .01), and the dyads evinced higher level of synchrony (p = .02) as compared with experienced mothers. More positive mood was observed among their infants (p = .04). The findings suggest that the intervention contributes to better mother-infant interactions in moderately and late preterm infants of first-time mothers.     

Subjective Well-Being: The Convergence and Stability of Self-Report and Non-Self-Report Measures

ABSTRACT The validity of self-report measures of subjective well-being (SWB) was examined and compared with non-self-report measures using a sample of 136 college students studied over the course of a semester. A principal axis factor analysis of self- and non-self-report SWB measures revealed a single unitary construct underlying the measures. Conventional single-item and multi-item self-report measures correlated highly with alternative measures, with theoretical correlates of SWB, and with a principal axis factor underlying five non-self-report measures of well-being. Comparisons of family versus friend informant reports demonstrated the considerable cross-situational consistency and temporal stability of SWB. Evidence of the discriminant validity of the measures was provided by low correlations of the various SWB measures with constructs theoretically unrelated to well-being. It was concluded that conventional self-report instruments validly measure the SWB construct, and that alternative, non-serf-report measures are useful for providing a comprehensive theoretical account of happiness and life satisfaction.     

Gender differences in negative affect and well-being: the case for emotional intensity

Affect intensity (AI) may reconcile 2 seemingly paradoxical findings: Women report more negative affect than men but equal happiness as men. AI describes people's varying response intensity to identical emotional stimuli. A college sample of 66 women and 34 men was assessed on both positive and negative affect using 4 measurement methods: self-report, peer report, daily report, and memory performance. A principal-components analysis revealed an affect balance component and an AI component. Multimeasure affect balance and AI scores were created, and t tests were computed that showed women to be as happy as and more intense than men. Gender accounted for less than 1% of the variance in happiness but over 13% in AI. Thus, depression findings of more negative affect in women do not conflict with well-being findings of equal happiness across gender. Generally, women's more intense positive emotions balance their higher negative affect.     

Further validation of the Satisfaction with Life Scale: evidence for the cross-method convergence of well-being measures

The structure of subjective well-being has been conceptualized as consisting of two major components: the emotional or affective component and the judgmental or cognitive component (Diener, 1984; Veenhoven, 1984). The judgmental component has also been conceptualized as life satisfaction (Andrews & Withey, 1976). Although the affective component of subjective well-being has received considerable attention from researchers, the judgmental component has been relatively neglected. The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985) was developed as a measure of the judgmental component of subjective well-being (SWB). Two studied designed to validate further the SWLS are reported. Peer reports, a memory measure, and clinical ratings are used as external criteria for validation. Evidence for the reliability and predictive validity of the SWLS is presented, and its performance is compared to other related scales. The SWLS is shown to be a valid and reliable measure of life satisfaction, suited for use with a wide range of age groups and applications, which makes possible the savings of interview time and resources compared to many measures of life satisfaction. In addition, the high convergence of self- and peer-reported measures of subjective well-being and life satisfaction provide strong evidence that subjective well-being is a relatively global and stable phenomenon, not simply a momentary judgment based on fleeting influences.