A brief reminder about documenting the psychological consultation.

The documentation of clinical services has taken on unprecedented importance for practicing psychologists. Structuring quality care, decreasing liability exposure, and fulfilling requirements for reimbursement are primary objectives in pursuing thorough documentation practices. As a practice aid and a brief reminder, the authors review the basic structure for documenting an initial evaluation, highlighting content areas that are felt to be important for attaining the objectives noted above. The authors suggest that psychologists use the term psychological consultation to specify this procedure, designating it as a distinct process from psychological testing or psychological treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological effects of severe burn injuries.

Severe burn injuries provide researchers with an opportunity to study the effects of painful but usually transient trauma on psychological functioning. To that end, this article presents a review of the 3 main areas of this body of literature: (1) premorbid characteristics of people who sustain severe burn injuries, (2) psychological reactions during hospitalization, and (3) long-term adjustment. The general implications of these studies are discussed and then used to illuminate the circumstances under which individuals suffer the most from this type of trauma, the effects of such injuries on personality function, and how meaningful units of measurements can be defined. Potential clinical applications are also described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

New directions for research on the psychological maltreatment of children.

This article identifies several research directions for psychologists interested in studying the psychological maltreatment of children and youth. The field of child maltreatment in general has been criticized for its isolation from psychological theory and for compartmentalizing each of the various forms of maltreatment. In order to organize research on psychological maltreatment and on its relationship to other maltreatment forms, two conceptual perspectives are suggested: ecological and developmental. These perspectives are then used to discuss the following three research areas: definitional issues; ecological processes and child outcomes; and protective factors and child outcomes. Attention is also given to policy issues that emerge in our efforts to understand psychological maltreatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological aspects of mind-body medicine: promises and pitfalls from research with cancer patients

Research in psychosocial oncology has grown considerably. In this article, psychological interventions for cancer patients are reviewed. The following four areas are examined: (1) adjustment and quality of life, (2) symptom control, (3) immune function, and (4) disease progression. In each area, psychosocial dimensions of risk and resilience, the efficacy of current interventions, and the trajectory of future developments are considered.     

Award for distinguished professional contributions to applied research.

The American Psychological Association 2010 Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research is given to a psychologist whose research has led to important discoveries or developments in the field of applied psychology. To be eligible, this research should have led to innovative applications in an area of psychological practice, including but not limited to assessment, consultation, instruction, or intervention (either direct or indirect). Research involving the original development of procedures, methodologies, or technical skills that significantly improve the application of psychological knowledge and provide direct and immediate solutions to practical problem areas will be considered, as will research that has informed psychologists on how better to observe, define, predict, or control behavior. Original integration of existing theories or knowledge is also eligible for consideration. The 2010 winner is Catherine E. Lord. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological correlates of obesity: Moving to the next research generation.

Studies comparing obese and nonobese persons have generally failed to find differences in global aspects of psychological functioning (e.g., depression, anxiety). The resulting conclusion, that obesity does not carry risk for psychological problems, is inimical to clinical impression, reports from overweight individuals, and a consistent literature showing strong cultural bias and negative attitudes toward obese persons. The often-cited notion that obesity has no psychological consequences may be an inevitable byproduct of the manner in which the first generation of studies in the field has been conducted. The authors propose a second generation of studies that begins with a risk factor model to identify the individuals who will suffer from their obesity and the areas of functioning most affected. Recommendations are also made for a third generation of studies that will establish causal pathways linking obesity to specific areas of distress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

2006 Award Winners: Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research.

The Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research is given to a psychologist whose research has led to important discoveries or developments in the field of applied psychology. To be eligible, this research should have led to innovative applications in an area of psychological practice, including but not limited to assessment, consultation, instruction, or intervention (either direct or indirect). Research involving the original development of procedures, methodologies, or technical skills that significantly improve the application of psychological knowledge and provide direct and immediate solutions to practical problem areas is considered, as is research that has informed psychologists on how better to observe, define, predict, or control behavior. This document lists the winners of this award from 1979 to 2006, and provides the citation, brief profile, and bibliograpy for the 2006 recipient, Stephen M. Weiss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Award for distinguished professional contributions to applied research.

The Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research is given to a psychologist whose research has led to important discoveries or developments in the field of applied psychology. To be eligible, this research should have led to innovative applications in an area of psychological practice, including but not limited to assessment, consultation, instruction, or intervention (either direct or indirect). Research involving the original development of procedures, methodologies, or technical skills that significantly improve the application of psychological knowledge and provide direct and immediate solutions to practical problem areas will be considered, as will research that has informed psychologists on how better to observe, define, predict, or control behavior. Original integration of existing theories or knowledge is also eligible for consideration. In previous years, this award was called the Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Knowledge. The name was changed in 2003 to better describe this award. In 2008, the recipient of this award was Richard Rogers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

2008 award winners: Distinguished professional contributions.

The Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research is given to a psychologist whose research has led to important discoveries or developments in the field of applied psychology. To be eligible, this research should have led to innovative applications in an area of psychological practice, including but not limited to assessment, consultation, instruction, or intervention (either direct or indirect). Research involving the original development of procedures, methodologies, or technical skills that significantly improve the application of psychological knowledge and provide direct and immediate solutions to practical problem areas will be considered, as will research that has informed psychologists on how better to observe, define, predict, or control behavior. Original integration of existing theories or knowledge is also eligible for consideration. In previous years, this award was called the Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Knowledge. The name was changed in 2003 to better describe this award. The 2008 recipient of this award if Richard Rogers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

It is past time: Moving psychology into primary health care.

It is past time for psychologists to expand their services into primary health care. For too long, psychological work has been limited to mental health care. Psychology also has much to offer in primary health care. One of my major initiatives during my tenure as president of the American Psychological Association (APA) was to focus on psychologists' contributions to health care in general, particularly on what psychologists are doing to help cancer patients. A great need exists for professional psychologists to expand into these areas. To illustrate the value of psychological interventions in primary health care, I focus on two major health care problems: heart disease and cancer. Both are particularly important areas for health care. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Financial support for research in psychology and related areas.

"Financial support for psychological research has increased as psychologists have demonstrated their capabilities of contributing significantly to developments on a broad front ranging from the biological to the social sciences." As an aid to persons seeking information on agencies and foundations providing financial support for research in psychology and related areas, the American Psychological Association's Board of Scientific Affairs has compiled a list of sources; these are listed in 2 general sections—federal agencies and private foundations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Permanency and ephemerality of psychological measures with application to organizational commitment.

The constancy or change of an attribute is important to most substantive areas of psychology. During the past decade, 2 independent methodological schools have developed statistical models for the depiction of longitudinal research. One, which might be called the European school, has created latent state-trait models. Alternatively, the American school has formulated models that go by the rubric of latent curve analysis or latent growth models. In this article, the authors integrate both approaches into a detailed unified latent curve and latent state-trait model (LC-LSTM) that includes the significant features from both schools. From the LC-LSTM framework, the permanency and ephemerality of psychological measures are discussed and the concepts of stability and reliability are reformulated. In addition, a comprehensive illustration on organization commitment is presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological well-being and job satisfaction as predictors of job performance.

The happy–productive worker hypothesis has most often been examined in organizational research by correlating job satisfaction to performance. Recent research has expanded this to include measures of psychological well-being. However, to date, no field research has provided a comparative test of the relative contribution of job satisfaction and psychological well-being as predictors of employee performance. The authors report 2 field studies that, taken together, provide an opportunity to simultaneously examine the relative contribution of psychological well-being and job satisfaction to job performance. In Study 1, psychological well-being, but not job satisfaction, was predictive of job performance for 47 human services workers. These findings were replicated in Study 2 for 37 juvenile probation officers. These findings are discussed in terms of research on the happy–productive worker hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Specialization within psychology.

Utilized the competencies reported by a random sample of 2,900 (20%) of psychologists who responded to both the National Register of Scientific and Technical Personnel and to an American Psychological Association (APA) questionnaire dealing with qualifications to consult on public policy and social problems in 1968. The Register questionnaire allowed Ss to specify a maximum of 5 specialities, while the APA questionnaire respondents could check as many public policy or social problem areas as were applicable. A correlation matrix of psychological specialities with social problems and public psychological specialities were developed which revealed definite patterns of relationships, as well as many isolated but reasonable correlations. The 31 factors observed had a possible use for program planning in that they show the actual clustering of specialities for working psychologists rather than a traditional or theoretical grouping. Discussion of the matrix centered around 2 approaches: (a) examination of a particular social problem and the factors related to it; and (b) the specialty factor, its relationship to problems and the transferability of psychological skills to problem areas. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individuation: Conceptual analysis and assessment.

Reviews the literature on public individuation, in which people choose to act differently than others, which is an important process in interpersonal behavior that has received little attention from researchers. A new individual difference measure, the Individual Scale, is proposed. The scale is designed to assess people's willingness to engage in behaviors that publicly differentiate themselves from others. Various psychometric analyses demonstrate that the scale is a reliable and valid assessment instrument. The potential utility of this measure for several areas of social psychological research is discussed. (66 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychosocial aspects of selected issues in women's reproductive health: Current status and future directions.

Emphasizing research published in the past decade, this article presents a summary and evaluation of psychosocial investigations of women's reproductive health, with a focus on selected aspects of menstruation, pregnancy and birth, infertility, and menopause. In some areas, studies have focused on negative physical and psychological concomitants of these health issues. However, research reveals substantial individual variability, with most women adapting well to reproductive health changes. Although methodological and conceptual shortcomings have limited firm conclusions, research has advanced our understanding of the multivariate biological, psychological, and social influences on women's reproductive health and associated outcomes. Understanding and promoting women's reproductive health across the lifespan requires biopsychosocial approaches to research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effectiveness of psychological and pharmacological treatments for nocturnal enuresis.

Provides a quantitative integration of research on the effectiveness of psychological and pharmacological treatments for nocturnal enuresis. With the use of experiments that compared treatments with either no treatment or another form of treatment, this article assesses (1) the overall effectiveness of psychological and pharmacological treatments, (2) the relative effectiveness of specific types of treatments, and (3) moderators of treatment effectiveness including investigator allegiance. Findings from the review confirm that enuretic children benefit substantially from treatment. However, more children improve from psychological than from pharmacological interventions. Moreover, psychological treatments involving a urine alarm are most likely to yield benefits that are maintained once treatment has ended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Record Keeping Guidelines.

These guidelines are designed to educate psychologists and provide a framework for making decisions regarding professional record keeping. State and federal laws, as well as the American Psychological Association's "Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct," generally require maintenance of appropriate records of psychological services. The nature and extent of the record will vary depending upon the purpose, setting, and context of the psychological services. Within these guidelines, more directive language has been used when a particular guideline is based specifically on mandatory provisions of the Ethics Code or law. However, some areas are not addressed in those enforceable standards and regulations. In these areas, more aspirational language has been used. This document aims to elaborate and provide assistance to psychologists as they attempt to establish their own record keeping policies and procedures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological interventions with AIDS and HIV: Prevention and treatment.

In the decade since AIDS was first diagnosed, behavioral research has focused intensively on risk reduction change processes and, to a lesser extent, on mental health needs of persons with HIV conditions. Although research to date has yielded important findings for primary prevention efforts and has identified some psychological dimensions relevant to mental health interventions, there is a pressing need for much more systematic intervention outcome research in both the prevention/behavior change and emotional coping areas. Progress in these areas will be facilitated by better linkage of intervention approaches to behavioral theory; identification of intervention elements that produce HIV risk behavior change; evaluated field-testing of promising intervention models; continued focus on populations that remain at risk (such as gay men and iv drug users); and expansion of prevention efforts to urban, poor, and minority populations increasingly threatened as AIDS/HIV enters a "2nd wave." Although AIDS is still a relatively new problem, existing behavioral medicine conceptual models and intervention strategies can be adapted to meet the enormous challenges created by AIDS and HIV infection. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subdoctoral education in psychology: A study of issues and attitudes.

Discusses several psychological conferences and committee's attitudes toward the desirability of "programs to train for psychological service at less than the doctoral level." 7 central areas of contention concerning subdoctoral training are (1) type of training, (2) level of training, (3) responsibility for training, (4) locus of training, (5) degree and/or title, (6) roles and duties, and (7) implications for psychology. The 7 issues served as the basis of the specific questions in a large scale survey. The sample (N = 4308) included American Psychological Association members of the Clinical, School, and Counseling Divisions of Psychology and chairmen of graduate departments of psychology. Results indicate that "the large majority of psychologists recognize the need for and approve the training of people at less than the doctoral level to do psychological work." A consensus as to how this is to be implemented was not reached. (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)