Testing a Four-Factor Model of Psychopathy and Its Association With Ethnicity, Gender, Intelligence, and Violence.

Although a 2-factor model has advanced research on the psychopathy construct, a 3-factor model was recently developed that emphasized pathological personality and eliminated antisocial behavior. However, dropping antisocial behavior from the psychopathy construct may not be advantageous. Using a large sample of psychiatric patients from the MacArthur Risk Assessment Study (J. Monahan & H. J. Steadman, 1994), the authors used confirmatory factor analysis to test a 4-factor model of psychopathy, which included interpersonal, affective, and behavioral impulsivity dimensions and an antisocial behavior dimension. Model fit was good for this 4-factor model, even when ethnicity, gender, and intelligence variables were included in the model. Structural equation modeling was used to compare the 3- and 4-factor models in predicting proximal (violence) and distal (intelligence) correlates of psychopathy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"The psychologist as expert witness": A correction.

Asserts that E. Loftus and J. Monahan (see record 1980-09551-001) omitted H. Münsterberg's (1908) essays on psychology and crime in their overview of psychological research as legal evidence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Premature dissemination of advice undermines our credibility as scientists: Reply to Brown (2011) and to Collins, Martino, and Elliott (2011).

In our reanalysis of data from the Brown et al. (2006) study (Steinberg & Monahan, 2011), we found no support for the contention that adolescents' exposure to sexy media content hastens their sexual debut. In their critiques of our article, Brown (2011) and Collins, Martino, and Elliott (2011) both questioned some of the decisions we made with respect to how our propensity score analyses were conducted. We point out that the way in which we conducted our analyses is consistent with standard practice in the field. More important, we argue that when small variations in data analytic strategies make significant findings appear and disappear, it is premature to issue advice to parents, practitioners, and policymakers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in structured risk assessment: Comparing the accuracy of five instruments.

Structured risk assessment should guide clinical risk management, but it is uncertain which instrument has the highest predictive accuracy among men and women. In the present study, the authors compared the Psychopathy Checklist—Revised (PCL–R; R. D. Hare, 1991, 2003); the Historical, Clinical, Risk Management–20 (HCR-20; C. D. Webster, K. S. Douglas, D. Eaves, & S. D. Hart, 1997); the Risk Matrix 2000–Violence (RM2000[V]; D. Thornton et al., 2003); the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG; V. L. Quinsey, G. T. Harris, M. E. Rice, & C. A. Cormier, 1998); the Offenders Group Reconviction Scale (OGRS; J. B. Copas & P. Marshall, 1998; R. Taylor, 1999); and the total previous convictions among prisoners, prospectively assessed prerelease. The authors compared predischarge measures with subsequent offending and instruments ranked using multivariate regression. Most instruments demonstrated significant but moderate predictive ability. The OGRS ranked highest for violence among men, and the PCL–R and HCR-20 H subscale ranked highest for violence among women. The OGRS and total previous acquisitive convictions demonstrated greatest accuracy in predicting acquisitive offending among men and women. Actuarial instruments requiring no training to administer performed as well as personality assessment and structured risk assessment and were superior among men for violence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Second Generation of Mental Health Courts.

Mental health courts (MHCs) generally began to appear in 1997. Today, more than 80 courts exist in the United States. In the present article, the authors argue that the 2nd generation of MHCs has arrived. The authors compare 8 previously described courts (P. A. Griffin, H. J. Steadman, & J. Petrila, 2002) with 7 newer courts that have not been previously described in the psycholegal literature. The authors identify 4 dimensions distinguishing 1st- from 2nd-generation courts: (a) the acceptance of felony versus misdemeanant defendants, (b) pre- versus postadjudication models, (c) the use of jail as a sanction, and (c) the type of court supervision. The 4 dimensions are interdependent in that the acceptance of more felony cases contributes to the rise in processing cases postadjudication, using jail as a sanction and more intensive supervision. Potential reasons for the evolution of a 2nd generation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cross-lagged links among gambling, substance use, and delinquency from midadolescence to young adulthood: Additive and moderating effects of common risk factors.

The authors examined cross-lagged links among gambling, substance use, theft, and violence from midadolescence to young adulthood and whether behavioral disinhibition, deviant peers, and parental supervision as common risk factors explain or moderate those links. In 2 community samples, male Caucasians were assessed for gambling participation and problems with the South Oaks Gambling Screen—Revised for Adolescents (K. C. Winters, R. Stinchfield, & J. Fulkerson, 1993) at age 16 years and the South Oaks Gambling Screen (H. R. Lesieur & S. B. Blume, 1987) at age 23. Other problem behaviors were also assessed both times. Risk factors were measured at age 16. Adolescent substance use was related to subsequent theft and violence but not gambling. Gambling problems were linked to subsequent gambling participation. For adolescents with deviant peers, gambling problems were linked to subsequent theft; this was not the case for adolescents without deviant peers. Only for individuals high on disinhibition did stability of gambling problems resemble moderate stabilities of other problem behaviors. Each risk factor was related to each problem behavior (exception: parenting unrelated to gambling). These risk factors partly explained the cross-lagged links among behaviors and thus may be useful targets of prevention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integrating stage and continuum models to explain processing of exercise messages and exercise initiation among sedentary college students.

Concepts from the transtheoretical model (J. O. Prochaska, C. C. DiClemente, & J. C. Norcross, 1992), theory of planned behavior (I. Ajzen, 1985), and the elaboration likelihood model (R. E. Petty & J. I Cacioppo, 1986b) were used to examine how exercise readiness impacted processing of exercise messages and exercise initiation. Sedentary college students (n?=?147) were assessed for exercise attitude, intent, behavior, and stage of change. Students also listed their thoughts after reading messages with either strong or weak arguments for exercise. Attitude predicted depth of message processing, but stage of change did not. Stage of change and intent at baseline predicted exercise adoption at 1- to 3-month follow-up (n?=?134), with baseline activity moderating the effect of intent. Tailoring messages to recipients' depth of processing and interactive effects of intent and behavior on exercise adoption should be considered in future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological Adjustment of Children With Sickle Cell Disease: Family Functioning and Coping.

Objective: Using a risk and resistance model (J. L. Wallander, J. W. Varni, L. Babani, H. T. Banis, & K. T. Wilcox, 1989) to determine the effects of coping style and family functioning on children's adjustment to sickle cell disease (SCD). Participants: A sample of 73 caregivers and 23 children (ages birth to 18 years) admitted to a hematology acute care unit for pain or fever associated with SCD. Setting: A children's hospital on the East Coast of the United States. Outcome Measures: Disability stress, disease severity, child and parent coping, family functioning, and child adjustment were assessed with standard paper-and-pencil measures. Results: Results provide partial support for J. L. Wallander et al.'s (1989) risk-resistance model. Disability stress did not mediate the relation between disease severity and child adjustment, and severity of medical condition and medical stress did not predict adjustment. Child gender and child age predicted family functioning and child adjustment to SCD. Child or parent coping strategies did not moderate the association of disability stress and child adjustment. Conclusions: Individuals working with patients should be aware of other factors that may affect child outcome above disease severity; specifically, concerns of boys and girls with SCD and their caregivers should be assessed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prediction of obligatory exercise by exercise-related imagery.

Obligatory exercise is a compulsive behavior pattern in which exercise dominates daily life at the expense of other activities and lack of exercise produces withdrawal symptoms. This study examined the hypothesis that obligatory exercise is motivated similarly to eating disorders (cf. S. P. Coen & B. M. Ogles, 1993) and would be predicted by appearance-related imagery. Obligatory exercise (J. K. Thompson & L. Pasman, 1991) and exercise imagery (H. A. Hausenblas, C. R. Hall, W. M. Rodgers, & K. J. Munroe, 199) were assessed before and after a 10-week exercise program in 243 adult exercises. Regression analyses revealed that imagery accounted for 20% of the variance in obligatory exercise. Appearance-related imagery did not predict significantly obligatory exercise. Energy-related imagery was the strongest predictor. Obligatory exercise may not be as associated with appearance-related concerns as eating disorders, suggesting different motivational bases for these 2 behavioral patterns. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychometric properties of the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool–Criminal Adjudication.

This article describes the development of a new clinical instrument for use in assessments of adult criminal defendants' competence to proceed to adjudication, the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool–Criminal Adjudication (MacCAT-CA). The MacCAT-CA was derived from a more comprehensive research instrument (MacArthur Structured Assessment of Competencies of Criminal Defendants; Hoge, Bonnie, Poythress, Monahan, & Eisenberg, 1997) on the basis of considerations of face validity for use in legal contexts, psychometric analyses, and advice from mental health experts who reviewed an earlier prototype. This article presents the results from an National Institute of Mental Health-sponsored validation study that investigated the psychometric properties of the MacCAT-CA. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Turning up the Noise or Turning Down the Volume? On the Nature of the Impairment of Episodic Recognition Memory by Midazolam.

E. Hirshman, J. Fisher, T. Henthom, J. Amdt, and A. Passanname (2002) found that Midazolam disrupts the mirror-patterned word-frequency effect for recognition memory by reversing the typical hit-rate advantage for low-frequency words. They noted that this result is consistent with dual-process accounts (e.g., R. C. Atkinson & J. F. Juola, 1974; G. Mandler, 1980; A. P. Yonelinas, 1994) of the word frequency effect for recognition memory (S. Joordens & W. E. Hockley. 2000; L. M. Reder et al.. 2000). The present authors show that this finding is also consistent with a variety of single-process, retrieving effectively- from-memory (REM) models (R. M. Shiffrin & M. Steyvers, 1997), the simplest of which assumes that Midazolam decreases the accuracy with which memory traces are stored. These findings therefore do not discriminate between single- and dual-process models of recognition memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Propensity scoring and the relationship between sexual media and adolescent sexual behavior: Comment on Steinberg and Monahan (2011).

Longitudinal research has demonstrated a link between exposure to sexual content in media and subsequent changes in adolescent sexual behavior, including initiation of intercourse and various noncoital sexual activities. Based on a reanalysis of one of the data sets involved, Steinberg and Monahan (2011) have challenged these findings. However, propensity score approaches—especially the version of this method used by Steinberg and Monahan, which lacks covariates—do not necessarily result in more accurate estimates of treatment effects than does the regression with covariates approach employed by prior research. There are also a number of problems with the specific set of analyses presented by Steinberg and Monahan and the conclusion they draw from them. In contrast to Steinberg and Monahan's claim, there is substantial evidence of an association between sexual media exposure and adolescent sexual initiation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Purpose in life as a mediator of adjustment after spinal cord injury.

Objective: Determine how purpose in life influences adjustment after spinal cord injury (SCI). Study Design: Cross-sectional survey with mediation analysis. Subjects: 1,391 adults with traumatic SCI 1 or more years prior. Main Outcome Measure: Ladder of Adjustment (N. M. Crewe & J. S. Krause, 1990). The Purpose in Life scale (PIL: .J. C. Crumbaugh, 1968), the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (M. Zuckerman, D. M. Kuhlman, J. Joireman, P. Teta, & M. Kraft, 1993), and the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control scale (K. A. Wallston, B. S. Wallston, & R. DeVellis, 1978) were assessed. Results: PIL mediated between most measures and adjustment. Conclusions: Logotherapy is effective in strengthening purpose in life. Its use with persons with SCI may improve their adjustment and quality of life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validation of measures of condom and other contraceptive use among women at high risk for HIV infection and unitended pregnancy.

This study assessed the applicability of the transtheoretical model of behavior change (J. O. Prochaska & C. C. DiClemente, 1983, 1984) to the measurement of contraceptive use among 296 women at high risk for HIV infection and transmission. Structural equation modeling suggested that a measure of general contraceptive use could be used to assess use of oral contraceptives and hormonal implants but that measurement of condom use required separate assessments for main and other partners. Self-efficacy (SE) and decisional balance scales were internally consistent for general contraceptive use, for condom use with main partners, and for condom use with other partners. Consistent with research on other health behaviors, SE scores rose significantly across stages, from precontemplation to maintenance, and a shift in decisional balance was observed for 2 of 3 behaviors. This measurement strategy may enhance the ability to evaluate prevention programs for women at risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Numerical estimation in blind subjects: Evidence of the impact of blindness and its following experience.

Vision was for a long time considered to be essential in the elaboration of the semantic numerical representation. However, early visual deprivation does not seem to preclude the development of a spatial continuum oriented from left to right to represent numbers (J. Castronovo & X. Seron, 2007; D. Szücs & V. Csépe, 2005). The authors investigated the impact of blindness and its following experience on a 3rd property of the mental number line: its obedience to Weber's law. A group of blind subjects and a group of sighted subjects were submitted to 2 numerical estimation tasks: (a) a keypress estimation task and (b) an auditory events estimation task. Blind and sighted subjects' performance obeyed Weber's law. However, blind subjects demonstrated better numerical estimation abilities than did sighted subjects, especially in contexts involving proprioception, indicating the existence of better mapping abilities between the symbolic representations of numbers and their corresponding magnitude representations, obeying Weber's law (e.g., J. S. Lipton & E. Spelke, 2005). These findings suggest that blindness and its following experience with numbers might result in better accuracy in numerical processing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A dual read-out model of word context effects in letter perception: Further investigations of the word superiority effect.

A dual read-out model of context effects in letter perception is described that predicts forced-choice accuracy in the Reicher paradigm and its relation to word reportability. It is hypothesized that a correct choice to a letter in a word context is made when either the correct letter representation or a word representation containing the correct letter in the correct position reaches a response threshold (a criterion level of activation). This hypothesis was implemented using the basic architecture of the interactive activation model (J. L. McClelland & D. E. Rumelhart, 1981) in its semistochastic variant (A. M. Jacobs & J. Grainger, 1992). The model successfully captures the data of J. C. Johnston (1978), otherwise thought to be critically damaging for this type of model, and accurately predicts performance in a series of new experiments using the Reicher paradigm. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory self-efficacy predicts memory performance: Results from a 6-year follow-up study.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between memory self-efficacy (MSE) and a 6-year follow-up assessment of memory functioning in a sample of Dutch older adults. MSE was assessed by a Dutch abridged version of the Metamemory in Adulthood questionnaire (MIA; R. A. Dixon, D. F. Hultsch, & C. Hertzog, 1988; C. Hertzog, D. F. Hultsch, & R. A. Dixon, 1989; R. W. H. M. Ponds & J. Jolles, 1996). The total MSE score predicted memory performance at 6 years, as measured by the Visual Verbal Learning Task (VVLT; N. Brand & J. Jolles, 1985). A separate analysis of the different MSE subscales indicated that the MIA Change score was the most salient domain-specific MSE predictor of subsequent memory performance after 6 years. An extreme groups analysis of the MIA Change score revealed a pattern of performance for those who perceived that their memory was worsening, performing less well on the 3 trials of the VVLT when these were readministered at the 6-year follow-up. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Japanese children's numerical competencies: Age- and schooling-related influences on the development of number concepts and addition skills.

Using a cutoff design (J. Bisanz, F. J. Morrison, & M. Dunn, 1995) to separate school-related influences from those that are age related, the study investigated the development of number concepts and addition skills in Japanese children. Three groups of kindergarten and 1st grade children who differed in age and/or school experiences completed tasks on their numerical competencies 1 and 6 months after school entrance. Children's use of addition strategies, rather than their solution accuracy, changed primarily as a function of schooling, not age. Children's Base 10 number concepts improved with the amount of schooling, as well as with other social and age-related factors. Results suggest that schooling is an important determinant in developing Japanese-speaking children's numerical competencies, which were not explained solely by their language characteristics or by age-related factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship of peritraumatic dissociation and posttraumatic stress: Findings in female Vietnam theater veterans.

This study examined the relationship of dissociation at the time of trauma, as assessed by the Peritraumatic Dissociation Experiences Questionnaire, Rater Version (PDEQ-RV; C. R. Marmar, D. S. Weiss, & T. J. Metzler, in press), and posttraumatic stress symptoms in a group of 77 female Vietnam theater veterans. PDEQ-RV ratings were found to be associated strongly with posttraumatic stress symptomatology, as measured by the Impact of Event Scale (M. J. Horowitz, N. Wilner, & W. Alvarez; see record 1980-26834-001), and also positively associated with level of stress exposure and general dissociative tendencies, measured by the Dissociative Experiences Scale. The PDEQ-RV was unassociated with general psychiatric symptomatology, as assessed by the clinical scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (J. N. Butcher, W. G. Dahlstrom, J. R. Graham, A. Tellegen, & B. Kaemmer, 1989). The PDEQ-RV was predictive of posttraumatic stress symptoms beyond the contributions of level of stress exposure and general dissociative tendencies. The findings provide further support for the reliability and validity of the PDEQ-RV as a measure of peritraumatic dissociation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing the evidence for novel popout.

Between 1990 and 1994, Johnston and colleagues (K. J. Hawley, W.A. Johnston, & J.M. Farnham, see record 1994-35960-001); W. A. Johnston, K. J. Hawley, J. M. Farnham, 1993; W. A. Johnston, K. J. Hawley, S. H. Plewe, J. M. G. Elliott, & M. I. DeWitt, 1990) published 3 articles on a phenomenon they designated "novel popout." The typical interpretation of their findings is that a novel item rapidly and automatically attracts attention when displayed with familiar ones. J. Christie and R. Klein first show that the empirical pattern on which this claim is based can be easily explained in terms of a simple cognitive-load principle and note that effects not subject to this principle (or probability confounds) are rare in the target articles. We then show that these latter effects can be easily explained without assuming visual orienting toward the novel item. Finally, we outline 2 criteria that must be satisfied in order to make claims about the rapid orienting of attention in arrays with familiar and unfamiliar items, neither of which were met in any of the reviewed experiments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)