Cognitive therapy for depression: Conceptual issues and clinical efficacy.

Cognitive therapy has emerged as one of the most promising psychosocial interventions for the treatment of depression. It appears to be at least the equal of alternative interventions (including pharmacotherapy) with respect to acute treatment. In addition, there are indications that it may reduce risk of symptom return after treatment termination. Nonetheless, design limitations reduce the certainty with which such conclusions can be drawn. Furthermore, tests of its efficacy have largely been limited to nonbipolar outpatient (or subclinical) samples. At this time, cognitive therapy is best considered a promising, but as yet not adequately tested, intervention for the treatment of depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring parental attributions: Conceptual and methodological issues.

A selective review is offered of current issues and new developments in the measurement of parental attributions for social behavior. Attributions have alternatively been conceptualized as involving (a) memory-dependent knowledge structures (i.e., interpretive styles that are dependent on the parent's history) or (b) stimulus-dependent appraisal processes (i.e., interpretations that are dependent on information available in the immediate context). Consideration is given to the theoretical underpinnings of different types of attributional measures and the implicit models within attribution research (e.g., attributions as mediators, attributions as moderators). Finally, psychometric issues within different attributional approaches are discussed, including consideration of the factors that optimize or constrain the utility of different measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship between individual proficiency and team performance and efficiency.

Using 64 pairs of college students doing jigsaw puzzles, team and individual performance was compared. They could work the puzzles better alone than when doing it in pairs cooperatively, however, relatively poor prediction is obtained from measures of individual proficiency. The performance of the most efficient member of a team, however, predicted slightly better both team performance and team efficiency. "The more similar the two members of a team were in individual proficiency, the more likely they were to form a proficient and effective team." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Specialty designation in psychology: Conceptual issues.

Argues that specialties already exist in the discipline of Canadian psychology and that this subdivision of special knowledge base and skills is the sign of a healthy, maturing discipline. The advantages and disadvantages of establishing a specialty designation system in Canada are reviewed, and comparisons are made with the disciplines of law and medicine. It is concluded that if such a system is decided to be desirable, it should be national in scope and should employ a certification for advanced expertise, which recognizes extra qualification related to additional training, experience, and rigorous direct evaluation of competency. Such a system of specialty designation more closely approximates an excellence-based competency model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping with health problems: Conceptual and methodological issues.

Reviews and critiques the recent literature on the study of coping and health problems. Although coping variables now figure prominently in various health psychology models, the coping literature continues to be plagued by a variety of methodological weaknesses. These include the questionable reliability and validity of available measures, a failure to address coping issues specific to medically-ill samples, and lack of attention to potential age and gender differences. These problems, which are reviewed and critically discussed, have seriously restricted the development of a systematic body of theory and empirical knowledge about coping and health problems. The discussion concludes with a review of some recent research attempting to overcome some methodological problems in the coping and health area. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Outcome research on cognitive-behavioral marital therapy: Conceptual and methodological issues.

Comments on an article by P. M. Emmelkamp et al (see record 1989-16433-001) comparing communication skills training with cognitive therapy in treating distressed couples. Issues related to the scope and methods of cognitive-behavioral interventions are addressed, including development of assessment instruments, standardization of treatment, therapist training and expertise, and matching treatments to client needs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reading level design: Conceptual and methodological issues in reading research.

Researchers have recently begun to use the reading level design, in which reading-disabled children are compared with younger normal children at the same level of reading achievement, in an attempt to overcome some of the interpretational problems in the field. The potential of this design for testing hypotheses is explored by using examples from current research, and a more general design is introduced that extends the utility of the design from studying reading disability to investigating normal or superior reading acquisition. Limitations and practical problems associated with this approach are discussed, and methodological issues in the implementation of reading level designs are considered in terms of the choice of a criterion of reading achievement for matching the groups, the question of whether groups should be matched on IQ, and the identification of subgroups of reading disabled children. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived team and player efficacy in hockey.

This study was designed to examine both the pattern of team and player efficacy across a season of competition and the relationships among player efficacy, team efficacy, and team performance in collegiate ice hockey. The team and player efficacies of hockey players from 6 teams in a midwestern collegiate hockey league were assessed prior to 32 games. Official game statistics were factor analyzed to produce one useable performance measure, performance outcome. A consensus analysis demonstrated that players held homogeneous beliefs regarding their own and their teams' abilities to perform successfully. A meta-analysis of the regression equations for each team confirmed the homogeneity among teams and the predictive superiority of team efficacy in predicting team performance. Also, when team wins and losses were analyzed across the season, team efficacy significantly increased after a win and significantly decreased after a loss, but player efficacy was not affected. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validity of the Sheltered Care Environment Scale: Conceptual and methodological issues.

The Sheltered Care Environment Scale (SCES) was developed primarily to measure social climate as an attribute of a setting. As such, the SCES was designed to maximize differences between facilities and minimize differences among individuals within a setting. However, G. C. Smith and S. K. Whitbourne (see record 1990-27263-001) assessed the validity of the SCES as a measure of individual differences in perceptions of a shared environment. Moreover, they redefined the content coverage of 2 of the SCES subscales (Independence and Physical Comfort) to encompass attributes the SCES is not intended to measure. In general, preliminary evidence indicates that the SCES subscales provide reasonably reliable and valid indices of the social climate of group residential facilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Diversity training: Conceptual issues and practices for Canadian clinical psychology programs.

Conducted a systematic survey of Canadian clinical psychology programs to examine the extent and nature of diversity. Diversity was defined broadly as reflecting the vast number of possible individual differences (e.g., culture, nationality, ethnicity, colour, race, gender, religion, sexual preference, disability, economic disadvantage) that can affect clinical psychology knowledge, research, and practice. 20 Directors of Clinical Training (DCTs) at Canadian clinical psychology programs were asked about the extent to which various aspects of diversity training were deemed important or essential to their program, what training activities were required, and how effective different methods of training were viewed. The results revealed that DCTs varied widely in their opinion of how important diversity materials were, and that few programs require many different methods of training related to diversity. Further, the training methods more commonly adopted did not generally relate well with those that were seen as being most effective. Implications of the survey for training in clinical psychology are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pain assessment and management in older adults: Conceptual issues and clinical challenges.

This article reviews clinical pain assessment and psychological pain management in older persons through the lens of a Communications Model of Pain (Craig, in press; Hadjistavropoulos & Craig, 2002; Hadjistavropoulos, Craig, & Fuchs-Lacelle, 2004; Prkachin & Craig, 1995). The Communications Model of Pain has the advantage of drawing attention to a variety of important factors that come into play when selecting assessment instruments and when making decisions concerning intervention. The authors examine a variety of assessment methodologies (including both self-report and observational approaches) that are suitable for older persons with and without dementia. The authors also review psychosocial pain management methods (e.g., cognitive behavior therapy and applications of behavioral approaches within long-term care facilities) that have potential applications with older persons. The role of psychological service providers is emphasized. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sociocultural and cognitive factors in aging and sexual expression: Conceptual and research issues.

Delineates the importance of investigating sexuality in aging, summarizes aspects of current knowledge about sociocultural and cognitive factors influencing problems with existing sex research, and offers recommendations for future research on sexuality in aging people. A study describing the behavioral, cognitive, and affective aspects of sexual expression in a sample of aging married couples (50–80 yrs) is presented to illustrate how some previous methodological difficulties might be addressed. Findings identify some of the realities of sexuality in aging individuals and illustrate the complexities in the definition and evaluation of sexual expression and experience. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conceptual issues in developmental screening and assessment

Effective screening requires an understanding of underlying conceptual issues and their relationship to pragmatic concerns. Pragmatic concerns include the concepts that there are many underlying reasons for an "abnormal" screening result; that sensitivity and specificity should be combined with relative risk when considering developmental outcome; and that patterns of congruence among motor, language, cognitive, and adaptive/personal social areas of development should be considered. Important conceptual issues include the following: there is continuity of underlying processes or functions in development; canalized behaviors might give the appearance of discontinuity; integrated functions are more predictive of later developmental levels than are individual functions; the "window" of assessment and the developmental emergence of a specific function will affect screening results; one must consider biologic and environmental risks and their specific effects; and different types of neural structures and their relationship to environmental input help to explain why screening results vary over time.     

Empirically supported interventions and school psychology: Conceptual and practice issues—Part II.

In Part II of this 2-part article (Part I, see record 2000-03347-005), the authors present some conceptual and practice issues on the use of empirically supported interventions in school and community settings. Conceptual issues discussed include the foci of effective intervention studies, specification of interventions, and intervention manuals and procedural guidelines. The authors conclude with a discussion of essential practice issues, given a dual goal of advancing research in empirically supported interventions and of producing a knowledge base that has a direct meaning and application to school and community settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Terrorism and hazardous material trucking: Promoting perceived collective efficacy for terrorism prevention.

Hazardous-material trucking has recently been identified as an area of high potential risk for terrorism. Some recent theory and case study papers have argued for the importance of collective efficacy to disaster-response, terrorism prevention, and other rare-but-risky events. Therefore, a study based on the collective efficacy literature was done to test an intervention for increasing perceived collective efficacy for terrorism prevention among Canadian hazardous-material truck drivers. Results supported the impact of the intervention in increasing perceived efficacy for terrorism prevention. Implications for theory, research, and application are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The development of collective efficacy in teams: A multilevel and longitudinal perspective.

The authors developed and tested a longitudinal multilevel model of collective efficacy formation. In 50 self-managing student teams, they investigated the effects of individual-level and team-level factors on observed behaviors and the subsequent development of collective efficacy for mastering a complex team task. Self-efficacy for teamwork, task-relevant knowledge, and collective efficacy predicted individual teamwork behaviors (rated by peers). Aggregated measures of teamwork behavior were related to subsequent collective efficacy, which was significantly related to final team performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping strategies and collective efficacy as mediators between stress appraisal and quality of life among rescue workers.

Fire-fighters, paramedics, and emergency medical technicians routinely confront potentially traumatic events in the course of their jobs. The mediation role of coping strategies and collective efficacy in the relationship between stress appraisal and quality of life was examined (compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue, and burnout) in a correlational study. Participants were 463 Italian rescue workers (fire fighters and different categories of emergency health care professionals). Participants filled out measures of stress appraisal, collective efficacy, coping strategies, and quality of life. The results showed that emotion and support coping, self-blame coping, and self-distraction mediated the relationship between stress appraisal and compassion fatigue. Moreover, collective efficacy, self-blame coping, and religious coping mediated the relationship between stress appraisal and burnout. Finally, collective efficacy, self-blame coping, and problem-focused coping mediated the relationship between stress appraisal and compassion satisfaction. Cognitive restructuring and denial did not mediate the relation between stress appraisal and any of the quality of life dimensions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Suicide attempts among sexual-minority youths: Population and measurement issues.

Two questions were addressed regarding suicide attempts among sexual-minority youths: Who should be classified as a sexual minority, and what constitutes a suicide attempt? Results from 2 studies indicated that sexual-minority youths, broadly defined in terms of sexual orientation and recruitment venue, were slightly more likely than heterosexual youths to report a suicide attempt. To afford a more accurate assessment of suicide attempts, a detailed measure distinguished true from false attempts. This method eliminated over half of suicide attempt reports among sexual minorities because they were false attempts--ideation rather than a concrete act to end life. Furthermore, many true attempts were not life threatening, suggesting that the reports were attempts to communicate the hardships of lives or to identify with a gay community. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conceptual issues in the development of police selection procedures.

Although police selection procedures have been identified as necessary to the development of socially effective and responsive police agencies, the implication that such procedures are sufficient to this goal is criticized in the present article. It is argued that job performance criteria, embedded in the status quo of the prevailing police culture, inherently limit the ultimate utility of selection procedures. Therefore, prior to developing selection and job performance prediction procedures, which are at best palliative solutions to the problems of the police agency, it is necessary to address the more fundamental issues regarding social goals of a contemporary police agency. Such an analysis may suggest alternative ways of providing the services necessary to obtain these identified social goals. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)