Locating eating pathology within an empirical diagnostic taxonomy: Evidence from a community-based sample.

Existing structural models of psychopathology need to be expanded to include additional diagnostic constructs beyond mood, anxiety, substance use, and antisocial behavior disorders. The goal of this study was to locate eating disorders within a hierarchical structural model of psychopathology that is anchored by broad Internalizing and Externalizing factors. Participants were female adolescent twins (N = 1,434) from the Minnesota Twin Family Study. The authors compared the fit of 4 models in which eating disorders (a) defined their own diagnostic class, (b) represented a subclass within Internalizing, (c) formed a subclass within Externalizing, and (d) were allowed to cross-load on both Internalizing and Externalizing. In the best fitting model, eating disorders formed a subfactor within Internalizing. These findings underscore the value of developing more comprehensive empirically based models of psychopathology to increase researchers' understanding of diverse mental disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family images of the adolescent: An empirical method for clinical assessment.

Describes a method for the assessment of family members' individual and collective images of the family's adolescent. The Q-Sort of Adolescent Images is a 36-item Q sort that assesses these images along 6 clinically salient, bipolar dimensions of adaptive and maladaptive functioning. It is administered to the adolescent and to both parents individually and to all 3 together. Results reveal each individual's image of the adolescent (including self-image), the family's collective image of the adolescent, and levels of correspondence among the 4 images. Psychometric analyses from 2 studies involving 116 families show encouraging internal consistencies, intercluster correlational structure, and construct validity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of grandparenthood meaning: Deductive conceptualization and empirical derivation.

Discusses the development of a multidimensional conceptualization of grandparenthood meaning. On the basis of an initially deductive conceptualization, data were collected in a life-history study involving semi-structured interviews with 6 grandmothers and 5 grandfathers (aged 53–84 yrs) and in a quantitative study involving questionnaires administered to 286 40–90 yr old grandparents. Analysis of these data yielded 5 dimensions of grandparenthood meaning: (a) Centrality—grandparenthood as central to grandparents' lives; (b) Valued Elder—passing on tradition and being valued in that role; (c) Immortality through Clan—patriarchal or matriarchal responsibility, identification with grandchildren, and family immortality; (d) Reinvolvement with Personal Past—grandparents' reliving their own earlier lives and identifying with their own grandparents; and (e) Indulgence—attitudes of lenience and indulgence toward grandchildren. As part of a larger study, these dimensions provided a conceptually and analytically useful basis for subsequent consideration of the impact of grandparenthood throughout the life cycle and for the evaluation of the connections between grandparenthood and mental health. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Functional turnover: An empirical assessment.

Proposed that the traditional method of categorizing employee turnover as voluntary or involuntary has the effect of overstating the gravity of turnover on the organization. A recently suggested taxonomy was used to identify the extent of functional/dysfunctional and unavoidable/controllable employee separations. Analysis of data on employees (N?=?1,389) of Western bank branches, which considers both the replaceability and quality of departing employees, indicated substantial levels of functional (71%) and unavoidable (52%) turnover. Results suggest that the traditional dichotomy may in fact substantially overstate the impact of voluntary turnover. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of internal versus external control.

Explored the tenability of the assumption that Rotter's Internal-External (I-E) scale measures a undimensional trait by factor analyzing the 23 I-E item responses given by 159 male and 157 female undergraduates. 2 factors were identified: a belief concerning felt mastery over the course of one's life, and a belief concerning the extent to which the individual citizen is deemed capable of exerting an impact on political institutions. It is suggested that predictions involving the I-E scale might be refined by separate considerations of the 2 factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavior-based versus trait-oriented performance ratings: An empirical study.

23 US Navy officer raters evaluated the performance of subordinate officers using (a) behaviorally anchored scales, (b) scales containing the same dimensions and definitions but without behavioral anchors, and (c) a series of scales involving trait-oriented dimensions, also without anchors. Comparisons of the formats' psychometric properties indicated that the behaviorally anchored scale format was somewhat superior to the other 2 on 3 of 4 dependent variables (involving estimates of leniency, halo, interrater agreement, and degree of differentiation among ratees). However, the magnitudes of the differences due to formats were small, in no case exceeding more than 5% of the variance on the dependent variable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An empirical assessment of meta-analytic practice.

In the three decades after the publication of the first meta-analyses in the behavioral sciences, hundreds of articles and a number of technical guides have emerged concerning meta-analytic practice and reporting standards. The purpose of the present study is to review the practice and reporting standards of a random sample of published meta-analyses (n = 100) in psychology and related disciplines in the decade from 1994 through 2004. We focus on practice and reporting at each stage of the meta-analytic process and explore differences between psychological subdisciplines. These findings suggest that the practice of meta-analysis in the last decade has not yet converged on a set of common standards, though some expert recommendations are beginning to be heeded. Authors should be attentive to proper procedure and reporting in light of the numerous threats to the validity of a meta-analysis. Ironically, even though meta-analysts often struggle with incomplete or inconsistent reporting in primary research they are themselves not entirely consistent in reporting their methods and results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Negative factors in brief psychotherapy: An empirical assessment.

18 male undergraduates with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and unsatisfying interpersonal relationships were seen in brief therapy by professional psychodynamic and experiential therapists. Judges rated audiotapes of early therapy sessions using the Vanderbilt Negative Indicators Scale (VNIS), which consists of 5 subscales representing factors believed to deter therapeutic progress. The hypothesis that negative factors in therapy, as assessed by the VNIS, would be inversely related to outcome was confirmed. The Errors in Technique subscale was the most consistent predictor of outcome. Subscales tapping deficiencies in Patient Qualities and the Patient–Therapist Interaction as well as Global Session Ratings were also related to outcome, although ratings of Therapist Personal Qualities were not. VNIS ratings were more strongly related to the outcome of psychodynamic therapy than experiential therapy and were more often associated with the therapist's and independent clinician's assessments of outcome than the patient's assessment of outcome. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The politics of clinical judgment: Early empirical returns.

Reviews research pertinent to charges that clinicians' judgments are biased against minority and counternormative persons. Evaluative prejudice is found to be a more circumscribed phenomenon than critics of the mental health establishment have forecast. Clinical analogues in which patient race, sex, and value attributions were systematically varied have generally yielded null or marginally supportive results. Social-class designation has been more consistently found to affect psychological appraisals, but even here the drawing of a bias inference is precluded by the rival interpretation of effective environmental-cue utilization by clinicians. Evidence that practitioner political values or experience moderate patient labeling effects has likewise proved unconvincing. Methodological strategies are suggested for strengthening empirical tests of political bias formulations per se by reducing the logical compellingness of the expectancy-cue utilization explanation for any patient attribution effects obtained. (2? p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Idealized" figures in textbooks versus psychology as an empirical science.

Comments that idealized plots or curves of typical results, as used in certain textbooks, fail to include any of the actual data on which the plotted lines or curves are based. Such figures fail to provide any indication of the variability of the data or any basis for judging whether data are represented adequately. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distinctiveness of behavioral versus insight-oriented marital therapy: An empirical analysis.

The present study determined whether behavioral and insight-oriented marital therapy could be rendered in a distinct and uncontaminated fashion in manual-guided outcome research in which therapists were crossed with treatment condition. Results indicated that therapist interventions could be reliably coded into techniques specific to the respective approaches and into additional interventions not specific to either treatment modality. When provided with explicit treatment manuals and ongoing case supervision, therapists were able to administer both treatment conditions faithfully without contamination from techniques that were inconsistent with that theoretical approach. Behavioral marital therapy (BMT) was shown to be highly structured, with 93% of therapist interventions reflecting techniques specific to that approach. In contrast, insight-oriented marital therapy (IOMT) comprised a large percentage of nonspecific interventions (62%) compatible with but not unique to a psychodynamic orientation. Implications for the two treatment approaches and for future marital therapy outcome research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of subjective well-being after spinal cord injury: an empirical analysis by gender and race/ethnicity

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to identify the underlying dimensions of subjective well-being after spinal cord injury (SCI), and (2) to develop reliable scales based on measurement of these dimensions. DESIGN: A field study was conducted by surveying the subjective well-being of two large samples of participants with SCI. Principal axis factor analysis with varimax rotation was applied to participant responses to 50 subjective well-being items. SETTING: All participants were selected from the outpatient files of two midwestern rehabilitation hospitals and from a large southeastern rehabilitation hospital. PARTICIPANTS: There were a total of 1,032 participants, 435 from the Midwest and 597 from the Southeast. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The Life Situation Questionnaire-revised version (LSQ-R) was used to measure subjective well-being. It included two prominent sections, one for life satisfaction (20 items) and the other for self-reported problems (30 items). RESULTS: Seven subjective well-being factor scales were identified across the full participant sample: Engagement, Negative Affect, Health Problems, Career Opportunities, Finances, Living Circumstances, and Interpersonal Relations. The average alpha coefficient was .86 for the factor scales. Separate analyses of the midwestern and southeastern samples suggested stability of the factor structure, although gender and race/ ethnicity were related to subtle differences in subjective well-being. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that rehabilitation professionals need to pay attention to multiple aspects of subjective well-being after SCI.     

Constructs and assessment center dimensions: Some troubling empirical findings.

Maintains that exercise design alone serves as weak evidence for construct validity due to the complexity of the typical assessment center rating and evaluation process. Evidence that assessment ratings accurately reflect the complex traits they purport to measure has not been provided to date. To explore this issue, the interrelationships among dimensional ratings between and within exercises in 3 assessment centers were examined. 559 candidates for upper-level management from a multinational firm, a civil service commission, and a retailer were assessed on managerial skills (including communication and interpersonal skills). Postexercise ratings of assessment dimensions were correlated and factor analyzed. The resulting factor pattern for all 3 organizations represented exercises rather than dimensions. In 2 of the organizations, the mean correlation among across-exercise ratings of individual dimensions was near zero. These findings suggest that assessment ratings do not measure the intended constructs. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A longitudinal analysis of dysfunctional TMJ pathology: an assessment of a sample of patients undergoing nonsurgical therapy

One the different interpretation of the pathological and clinical evolution of TMJ dysfunctions, the most-common of these pathologies is the condyle-disk uncoordination. This study analyzes the evolution of the treatment on the sample of patients affected by TMJ dysfunction and examined at the maxillo-facial department of the University of Rome "La Sapienza". After the TMJ dysfunction has been diagnosed the patients were informed of the individual therapeutic program which consisted of a temporary and definitive occlusal therapy. The aim of this scientific work is to control the efficiency within this therapeutic program in relation to the uncoordination of TMJ. In order to validate this approach the study was compared with another that considered the evolution of TMJ pathology in patients examined at the first diagnostic, visit but who had not undergone any treatment.     

The success of a clinical librarian program in an academic autopsy pathology service

Residents in pathology must acquire a broad base of knowledge in all areas of medicine and the basic medical sciences. We report our experience with the first Clinical Medical Librarian (CL) program used to aid resident training in anatomic pathology. This program was developed by the Lister Hill Library of Health Sciences (LHL) of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) to test the value of a CL program in filling the clinical needs of medical students and residents by providing key recent references to the wide variety of diseases seen in a busy autopsy service. Use of a CL was accepted completely by both faculty and residents as a method of increasing their efficiency in evaluating the recent literature on diseases seen in the autopsy service. Our use of this program broadened the scope and extent of specific case-oriented medical literature read by both residents and faculty.     

Effects of supportive versus disinterested interviews on perceptual-motor performance in brain-damaged and neurotic patients.

The differential effect of 2 types of interpolated interviews upon the perceptual-motor performance (Stein's Symbol-Gestalt Test) of brain-damaged and neurotic patients was investigated in 2 experiments. Cross-validated results indicate that Ss given disinterested, impersonal, irrelevant information-gathering interviews have a significantly lower rate of improvement over 3 successive administrations of the test than Ss given warm, supportive, anxiety-reducing interviews. Interaction effects were significant in the brain-damaged groups but not in the neurotics. The results support Goldstein's contention that brain damage results in a heightened dependency upon external cues and feedback and emphasize the importance of E variables in the clinical assessment of, and research with, brain-damaged populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of American motives: 1957 versus 1976.

Motives for achievement, affiliation, power as fear of weakness, and power as hope of power were assessed using thematic apperception in 2 representative national surveys of adults by G. Gurin et al (1960), and the other by J. Veroff et al (1976). Comparison of the results indicates changes and stable features of national character over the 19-yr period. Controls for education and age differences were introduced into the year comparisons for men and women separately. Among men, the achievement motive has remained stable, the affiliative motive has decreased, and both power motives have increased. Among women, both the motives for achievement and power as fear of weakness have increased, but there has been no change in the other 2 motives. Results are interpreted in terms of large-scale social changes (e.g., the women's movement, the shrinking opportunity for jobs) that have dominated recent social history in the US. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transrectal sonography in the assessment of vaginal pathology: a preliminary study

PURPOSE: We assessed the value of transrectal sonography (TRUS) in the diagnosis of vaginal abnormalities. METHODS: Six women between 16 and 77 years old underwent TRUS with a biplanar probe equipped with 5-MHz axial sector and longitudinal linear transducers. Sagittal and axial images of the bladder, vagina, and urethra were obtained. Sonographic findings were compared with those from surgery. RESULTS: TRUS showed hematocolpos in 3 patients and cysts in 3 patients. Surgery confirmed the findings. Pathologic examination revealed 2 Gartner's cysts and 1 vaginal inclusion cyst. CONCLUSIONS: TRUS represents a valid diagnostic tool for the assessment of vaginal abnormalities because it accurately visualizes lesions and clearly shows anatomic relationships.     

Projective assessment of object relations: A review of the empirical literature.

This article reviews the empirical literature on the projective assessment of object relations. Most of the significant research is reviewed, with reliability and validity issues critiqued for each instrument or approach. General comments on the state of assessing object relations phenomena are offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)