Development and initial validation of the Multicultural Counseling Self-Efficacy Scale--Racial Diversity Form.

Drawing upon social-cognitive theory and the multicultural counseling competency literature, the Multicultural Counseling Self-Efficacy Scale-Racial Diversity Form (MCSE-RD) was developed to assess perceived ability to counsel racially diverse clients. Data were collected from 181 graduate students in counseling-related programs, 41 undergraduate psychology students, and 22 graduate students enrolled in a prepracticum course. Results of an exploratory factor analysis retained 37 items and identified three underlying factors: Multicultural Intervention, Multicultural Assessment, and Multicultural Session Management. MCSE-RD subscale and total scores produced adequate internal consistency and test-retest reliability estimates. Initial validity findings indicated theory-consistent relations of MCSE-RD scores with general counseling self-efficacy, multicultural counseling competency, social desirability, therapist demographics, and educational/training variables. Participation in prepracticum was associated with positive change in MCSE-RD scores. Implications for training and future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rating group therapist interventions: The validation of the Group Psychotherapy Intervention Rating Scale.

The present study seeks to establish the validity of the Group Psychotherapy Intervention Rating Scale (GPIRS), an observer-rated measure of the quality of group leader interventions. Concurrent validity was tested by comparing GPIRS results to 2 group gold standard process measures, the Hill Interaction Matrix and the Group Climate Questionnaire. Significant correlations between leader intervention scores and group member perceptions of group climate, as well as verbal interaction scores, were found. In addition, results indicated correlations between interventions aimed to gain balance between confrontation and warmth and member-rated levels of cohesion. Results lend support for the concurrent validity of the GPIRS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Training related changes in the ways that group trainees structure their knowledge of group counseling leader interventions.

Pathfinder Network Analyses (Schvaneveldt, 1990) was used to examine changes and convergence in the knowledge structure of group counseling interventions, for 33 group counseling trainees and three experienced group therapists. The similarity of each pair of 19 group interventions was obtained by examining the co-occurrence of these interventions across 21 situations depicted in the Group Therapy Questionnaire (GTQ; Wile, Brown, & Pollack, 1970). The Pathfinder analyses of these similarity matrices were used to infer the knowledge structure of group counseling interventions of the trainees (pre and post group practicum class) and the three experienced group therapists. Analyses of the structural features of the pre- and post-training knowledge structures suggested that prior to the practicum class, novice group counselors’ knowledge structures were linear and simplistic and contained fewer circular patterns among the interventions compared with the knowledge structures of the experienced group therapists. As hypothesized the novices’ maps became more complex, hierarchical, evidenced more circular patterns, and were more similar to the experienced therapist’s knowledge structure after the practicum class. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing paraprofessional competence with the Suicide Intervention Response Inventory.

This article reports the development and validation of the Suicide Intervention Response Inventory, a self-administered questionnaire designed to assess the paraprofessional's ability to select an appropriate response to the self-destructive client. The Suicide Intervention Response Inventory demonstrated the ability to discriminate among three groups of 28 respondents known to differ in suicide counseling skills, and it detected enhancement of such skills in 127 volunteers over the course of crisis intervention training. As predicted, the Suicide Intervention Response Inventory also showed moderate convergence with the Counseling Skills Evaluation technique, an instrument devised to tap more general capacities for facilitative responding. These preliminary indications of the validity of the Suicide Intervention Response Inventory, coupled with its high internal consistency and test-retest reliability, suggest that it may be a useful adjunct to more general indices of counseling effectiveness in screening, evaluating, and researching paraprofessionals who deal with potentially suicidal clients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of a feedback intervention on group process and outcome.

The effects of a feedback intervention directed at both members and leaders was examined in psychotherapy groups held in a university counseling center. Feedback consisted of group climate information using scores from the Group Climate Questionnaire, completed by members after each group session. The direct effects of the feedback intervention were assessed using scores on the Curative Climate Instrument as well as Group Climate Questionnaire subscales. These instruments were administered after each group session. Distal effects of the feedback intervention were examined using member symptom improvement (Outcome Questionnaire) and group attendance. Members and leaders in the experimental condition were given weekly written and graphical feedback and contrasted against comparable groups receiving no feedback. Results indicate the feedback intervention had little impact on the therapeutic factors and outcome. However, for members who reported that the group was high in conflict, the feedback intervention had a significant negative effect on outcome. Implications and directions for future research are examined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preliminary development and validation of a measure of relationship authenticity.

The authors describe the preliminary development and validation of the Authenticity in Relationships Scale. An initial pool of 37 items addressing various elements of the proposed definition of "relationship authenticity" was administered to 2 independent samples of undergraduates (N = 487) who acknowledged being in a current romantic relationship. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed that 2 interpretable factors (Unacceptability of Deception, Intimate Risk Taking) effectively represented the data in both samples. Retest data over a 3-month interval were also gathered from a separate independent sample of 121 participants. Subscale scores composed of factor-unique items demonstrated good reliability and test-retest stability, correlated in expected directions with scores on several measures used to establish construct validity, and made unique contributions to the prediction of relationship satisfaction after gender, self-esteem, commitment level, and adult attachment orientations were controlled. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The behavioral inhibition system and the verbal information pathway to children's fears.

The behavioral inhibition system (BIS) is the neurological substrate of trait anxiety and is linked to the development of anxiety disorders. Three experiments are reported that investigate the moderating influence of the BIS on 1 pathway to fear: threat information. In all studies, children were given verbal information about a set of novel animals, and their BIS sensitivity was measured. The results suggest that BIS sensitivity (a) facilitates attentional biases to stimuli associated with threat information and (b) facilitates behavioral avoidance of novel stimuli associated with threat information. This suggests a possible mechanism through which the BIS may promote the acquisition of animal fears. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The development and validation of a test of creativity in engineering.

"Two forms of a 20-item test of creativity were developed through analyses of item response data of 345 engineering students at Purdue University. Three scores were developed for the test: Fluency score, Flexibility score, and Originality score. Investigations of the validity, reliability, interscorer agreement, relationships with other tests, and 'face validity' of the Creativity scores were made with 64 product development engineers and process engineers in a large automobile accessories manufacturing company." Significant validity was found (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development and validation of a measure of interpersonal strengths: The Inventory of Interpersonal Strengths.

An Inventory of Interpersonal Strengths (IIS) was developed and validated in a series of large college student samples. Based on interpersonal theory and associated methods, the IIS was designed to assess positive characteristics representing the full range of interpersonal domains, including those generally thought to have negative qualities (e.g., introversion, coldness, submissiveness). The 8 subscales (octants) of the 64-item IIS demonstrated good circumplex features and reliability. Tests comparing Big 5 interpersonal factors, Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP), Battery of Interpersonal Capabilities (BIC), and other interpersonal measures demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity and shared interpersonal structure. The IIS accounted for significant additional variance in life satisfaction and quality of personal relationships beyond the IIP and the BIC. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Team Role Test: Development and validation of a team role knowledge situational judgment test.

The main objectives in this research were to introduce the concept of team role knowledge and to investigate its potential usefulness for team member selection. In Study 1, the authors developed a situational judgment test, called the Team Role Test, to measure knowledge of 10 roles relevant to the team context. The criterion-related validity of this measure was examined in 2 additional studies. In a sample of academic project teams (N = 93), team role knowledge predicted team member role performance (r = .34). Role knowledge also provided incremental validity beyond mental ability and the Big Five personality factors in the prediction of role performance. The results of Study 2 revealed that the predictive validity of role knowledge generalizes to team members in a work setting (N = 82, r = .30). The implications of the results for selection in team environments are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The development of preschool children's (Homo sapiens) uses of objects and their role in peer group centrality.

The ways in which objects were used by preschool children (Homo sapiens) was examined by directly observing them across one school year. In the first objective we documented the relative occurrence of different forms of object use and their developmental growth curves. Second, we examined the role of different types of object use, as well as novel and varied uses of objects, in predicting peer group centrality. Results indicated that noninstrumental object play was the most frequently observed category, followed by tool use, exploration, and construction; sex moderated the growth curve of children's exploration. Noninstrumental object play, not other types of object use, was significantly related to novel and varied object uses and only the latter category predicted peer group centrality. Results are discussed in terms of the social transmission of novel object use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development and validation of a modified version of the Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire.

This article reports results from 3 studies conducted to develop and validate a modified version of the self-administered form of the Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire (PDEQ; C. R. Marmar, D. S. Weiss, & T. J. Metzler, 1997). The objective was to develop an instrument suitable for use with persons from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. In Study 1, the original PDEQ was administered to a small sample (N=15) recruited from among men admitted to the hospital for physical injuries stemming from exposure to community violence. Results led to modifications aimed at improving the utility of the instrument. In Study 2, the modified PDEQ was subjected to structural equation modeling and item response theory analyses to assess its psychometric properties in a larger, primarily male, sample of community violence survivors (N=294). In Study 3, the reliability and validity of the modified instrument were further assessed in a sample of female survivors of sexual assault (N=90). Results attest to the psychometric properties as well as the reliability and validity of the modified 8-item PDEQ. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring group processes: A comparison of the GCQ and CCI.

This study verified and compared the factor structures of two frequently used measures of small group climate, the Group Climate Questionnaire (GCQ-S; MacKenzie, 1983) and the Curative Climate Instrument (CCI; Fuhriman, Drescher, Hanson, Henrie, & Rybicki, 1986) at both group and individual levels. Data included third session assessments of 124 group members in 20 university counseling center groups. Confirmatory factor analyses partially supported the GCQ factor structure, but indicated that the Catharsis subscale of the CCI was not independent of the other two CCI subscales. Factor analysis of the six subscales from both measures yielded two higher order factors, representing positive (Engagement, Cohesion, Insight, and Catharsis) and negative (Conflict and Avoidance) group processes. Findings provide guidance for interpreting and comparing group processes using these measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The development of verbal memory in childhood and adolescence: Findings from the Munich Longitudinal Study.

The authors assessed developmental changes in verbal memory from the beginning of elementary school to late adolescence on the basis of data from the Munich Longitudinal Study. Major issues concern the stability of individual differences in strategy use as well as interrelationships among different components of verbal memory and the impact of educational context on verbal memory development. Long-term stability of strategic memory was low to moderate in late childhood and adolescence. Interrelations among the verbal memory components were also moderate and did not change much over time. Unexpectedly, no impact of educational context was found. Overall, individual differences in verbal memory performance develop very early in life and are relatively unaffected by differences in educational experiences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development and validation of the Caregiver Empowerment Scale: A resource for working with family caregivers of persons with traumatic brain injury.

Objective: To use multitrait analysis to determine the measurement structure of the Caregiver Empowerment Scale (CES). Participants: An American sample of 87 adult primary family caregivers of persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Results: A four-factor structure was identified including factor 1 (Advocacy Self-Efficacy), factor 2 (Community Self-Efficacy), factor 3 (Caregiver Self-Efficacy), and factor 4 (Personal Self-Efficacy). Conclusions: The CES provides clinicians and researchers a means to assess self-perceived coping abilities of family caregivers of persons with TBI. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of local and distal landmarks in the development of object location memory.

To locate objects in the environment, animals and humans use visual and nonvisual information. We were interested in children's ability to relocate an object on the basis of self-motion and local and distal color cues for orientation. Five- to 9-year-old children were tested on an object location memory task in which, between presentation and test, the availability of local and distal cues was manipulated. Additionally, participants' viewpoint could be changed. We used a Bayesian model selection approach to compare our hypotheses. We found that, to remain oriented in space, 5-year-olds benefit from visual information in general, 7-year-olds benefit from visual cues when a viewpoint change takes place, and 9-year-olds do not benefit from the availability of visual cues for orientation but rely on self-movement cues instead. Results are discussed in terms of the adaptive combination model (Newcombe & Huttenlocher, 2006). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of expected group longevity and expected task difficulty on learning and recall: Implications for the development of transactive memory.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 15(3) of Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice (see record 2011-14268-001). An error was introduced during the production process. On article page 8, column 1 line 6 through column 2 line 2, the statement “…the main effect of expected longevity was significant only in the same expertise condition…” is incorrect. The effect found was for expected difficulty, not expected longevity.] The ability to effectively coordinate with others is a vital component of group success. It is often useful to base this coordination on expectations derived from perceived expertise (transactive memory; Wegner, 1986). Yet, the value of coordination overall and specific coordination strategies vary by task. We argue that the benefit of applying a task-appropriate coordination strategy increases with the number of trials of the task performed (expected longevity), and that the most beneficial strategy varies by task difficulty. We, therefore, predict that coordination increases with expected longevity and that the form of coordination (increased or decreased duplication) depends on expected task difficulty. To test these predictions we manipulate expectations of longevity and difficulty among individuals expecting to work with a partner on a memory task. The predicted relationships are found for both learning and recall. The implications of these findings for the development of transactive memory are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

第一炼钢厂关键设备监控系统的建立与开发

介绍武钢第一炼钢厂采用计算机技术，建立与开发关键设备的实时报警预警监控系统；重点阐述系统的设计方案与功能描述，提升关键设备动态管理能力。     

The effects of an adapted interactive writing intervention on kindergarten children's phonological awareness, spelling, and early reading development: A contextualized approach to instruction.

Using a pretest-posttest comparison-group design, this 16-week study investigated the effects of 2 instructional approaches on the phonological awareness, alphabetic knowledge, and early reading of kindergarten children. The primary goal was to compare a form of contextualized instruction based on an adapted interactive writing program with a field-tested program of metalinguistic games. For instructional purposes, the children in each treatment group were divided into small intervention classes, with groupings based on children's common strengths and needs. Each week, these classes met with trained literacy tutors for 4 20-min lessons. Pretest and posttest measures provided data on children's phonological awareness, spelling, and reading development. Statistical analyses of the data indicated no between-groups differences with regard to phonological awareness and spelling achievement. In contrast, results revealed statistically significant differences between the 2 groups on word identification, passage comprehension, and word reading development measures, with the adapted interactive writing group demonstrating greater achievement. These findings verify that the children participating in a contextualized program matched or exceeded the achievement of the children participating in a structured program of metalinguistic games. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)