Age and sex differences in the mental health of older persons.

Administered the Trait Anxiety scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, a depression scale, and a general well-being scale to 2,051 respondents (aged 55+ yrs) to explore the age and sex relationships in the scales and the effects of age and sex when other correlated variables are considered. Results show that mental health was curvilinearly related to age with high symptom scores obtained in both 55–59 and 85–89 yr olds and lowest in 60–69 yr olds. Sex interacted with marital status, with higher symptoms among males in the never-married category and in females among the widowed and the married categories. When data were adjusted for correlations among these and other variables, the relationships between mental health with age and sex changed. In males, symptoms were unrelated to age, and in females, symptoms decreased with age down to the 80–84 yr old group. In the adjusted data, married females had lower symptoms than males. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuropsychological performance and positive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia.

Examined cognitive functions in 11 positive-symptom (mean age 36 yrs), 10 negative-symptom (mean age 33.8 yrs), and 23 mixed-symptom (mean age 31.4 yrs) schizophrenics; 15 bipolar patients (mean age 34.7 yrs); and 12 normal controls (mean age 34.8 yrs) to explore the relation between symptoms and performance. Ss were administered a neuropsychological test battery including the Purdue Pegboard, the Revised Visual Retention Test, and the Block Design subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS—R). Group comparisons revealed generalized deficits in schizophrenics. Positive-symptom schizophrenics scored below normal Ss and negative-symptom Ss on 2 measures tapping verbal memory. Multiple regression analyses revealed that negative symptom ratings were inversely associated with performance on visual-motor tasks, whereas positive symptoms were inversely associated with verbal memory performance. Findings are not consistent with the notion that cognitive deficits are uniquely associated with negative symptoms. Instead, results suggest that there may be specific cognitive correlates of both the positive and negative symptom dimensions. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A factor-analytic study of childhood symptoms antecedent to schizophrenia

45 child guidance clinic patients who received an adult diagnosis of schizophrenia were followed through recorded sources into middle adulthood. The mean age for Ss at initial guidance clinic contact was 10 yrs, 10 mo; the mean age at followup was 43 yrs, 81/2 mo. The determination of within-sample differences in long-term adult outcome provided predictive criteria. Childhood symptoms were combined into rationally derived symptom scales that were included in a 15-variable matrix. Factor analysis yielded 4 orthogonal factors: Unsocialized Aggressiveness, Low IQ/Poor School Achievement, Neurotic, and Schizoid. Clusters of types were derived from factor scores and related to adult outcome ratings. The schizoid type was related to poor outcome, as was the neurotic/low-IQ type. Unsocialized aggressive and neurotic types were associated with more favorable outcomes. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of adult attachment styles on the association between marital adjustment and depressive symptoms.

This study tested the hypothesis that attachment styles moderate the relationship between marital adjustment and depressive symptoms among husbands and wives. In a sample of 91 married couples, ratings of the anxious-ambivalent attachment style moderated the relationship between marital adjustment and depressive symptoms for both husbands and wives. Additionally, ratings of the secure attachment style moderated the relationship between marital adjustment and depressive symptoms for wives, with a trend for husbands. These findings suggest a relationship between insecurity and a predisposition to depressive symptoms in marital relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Carlson Psychological Survey with adolescents: Norms and scales reliabilities.

Examined psychometric properties of the Carlson Psychological Survey by K. A. Carlson (1981) in a sample of 410 male adolescent offenders (mean age 15 yrs). The test's 4 content scales (Chemical Abuse, Thought Disturbance, Antisocial Tendencies, and Self-Depreciation) were found to be internally consistent; reliable over time; moderately intercorrelated; and generally unrelated to age, IQ, or scores on the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. The Carlson Psychological Survey is recommended as a personality screening test for young offenders. (French abstract) (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between depression and marital maladjustment in a clinic population: A multitrait-multimethod study.

Took depression and marital maladjustment measures of all 154 couples attending a clinic. Average age for men was 38 yrs, for women 35 yrs; average length of marriage was 19 yrs. A significant correlation between depression and marital maladjustment was found for self-report data and was replicated by therapists' ratings. Women were significantly more depressed than men though similar in average ratings of marital adjustment. Women's depression ratings were minimally related to their own their husbands' marital ratings. Men's depression ratings were related to both their own and their wives' marital ratings. Convergent validity was demonstrated for the Locke and Wallace Marital-Adjustment Test and the Beck Depression Inventory. Clinical implications of findings concerning both depression and marital maladjustment are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rating scales for the identification and treatment of hyperkinesis.

Developed parent and teacher rating scales in response to the need for a simple instrument to aid the psychologist, educator, or physician in the identification and treatment of hyperkinesis. Multivariate analysis of the parent ratings of 78 clinical and 82 control Ss (2.5–11 yrs of age) indicated 3 factors: Factor 1, Excitability; Factor 2, Motor Coordination; and Factor 3, Directed Attention. A factor analysis of the teacher form (ratings of 36 clinical and 78 control Ss, 2.5–21 yrs old) yielded 2 similar factors, Attention/Excitability and Motor Coordination. ANOVA of each factor score revealed highly significant differences between clinical and control Ss. Cutoff scores were developed to aid in diagnostic decision making. These scores correctly identified a large percentage of clinical and control Ss. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Durée de séjour au pays et santé mentale d'un groupe d'immigrants.

Studied length of residence in a country as an important factor in the immigrants' adaptation process. A random sample of 480 immigrants from North Africa was selected from 4 successive waves of immigration to Canada. Corresponding lengths of stay were 2-3, 4-5, 7-8, and 14-15 yrs in the country. Mental health was assessed using T. S. Langner's (1962) 22-item psychiatric symptom scale. It was shown that male immigrants acknowledged fewer symptoms than female immigrants, marital status did not influence mental health when age was held constant, and the mental health scores improved with increasing length of residence in the new country. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Symptom severity and diagnoses related to sexual assault history

The current study examines associations between a history of sexual assault or abuse and severity of symptoms and diagnostic categories in an adult clinical outpatient sample. Twelve of 68 men (18%) and 71 of 120 women (59%) reported a history of sexual trauma. Abuse history was associated with mood and anxiety disorder diagnoses. Women were also more likely to receive these diagnoses; abused women were particularly likely to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Abused subjects showed higher scores on every subscale of the SCL-90-R; there were no interactions between sex and history of abuse. Women scored higher than men on subscales indicating anxiety, phobia, and general distress. The results indicate an association between history of sexual trauma and symptom severity across a broad range of psychopathology, and with mood and anxiety disorders. There is no indication of differential gender effects of sexual assault.     

Generalized and specific loneliness in early marriage.

38 husbands (mean age 26 yrs) and wives (mean age 23.8 yrs), married for an average of 35.8 mo and without children, independently completed a set of established measures of loneliness and of aspects of their marital relationship (e.g., UCLA Loneliness Scale). Significant levels of loneliness were reported by some Ss, and only modest correlations were found between the loneliness scores of husbands and wives. General and specific loneliness were related to marital attitudes, particularly less liking, less intimacy, and greater communication apprehension among husbands, and to less liking, less marital satisfaction, less love, and less self-disclosure among the wives. Scores of the spouses and spouse difference scores on several of these variables were also related to loneliness. Findings are discussed as pertaining to loneliness without social isolation and in relation to the quality of relationships. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The personality and family-interaction characteristics of parents of autistic children.

49 parents of autistic children (aged 2.1–9.75 yrs) generally scored in the normal range on the MMPI, and their scores did not differ from normative data on families with only normal children. Ss exhibited the same level of marital happiness on the Dyadic Adjustment Scale as a normative group of happily married couples and showed considerably better marital adjustment than a normative group of divorced couples. Ss did not differ by more than one standard deviation from normal families when assessing interpersonal relationships among family members on the Family Environment Scale. Biological and stepparents of autistic children showed essentially identical results on all of the measures used. Ss showed no higher level of general stress compared to established normative data, although the periodic occurrence of situation-specific stresses remains plausible. Results are all counter to the concept of any general psychological characteristics for parents of autistic children with respect to either a parental cause of the disorder or with respect to a general stress reaction to the disorder. (63 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patient characteristics and outcome in psychotherapy and behavior therapy.

94 psychoneurotic or personality disordered patients received 4 mo of analytically oriented psychotherapy, behavior therapy, or waiting list treatment. The demographic variables included age (early twenties), sex (60% female), marital status (26% married), number of siblings (2), and birth order. Neither active treatment was more effective than the other with any type of symptom (including affective ones), although both were more consistently effective than the waiting list. With psychotherapy, relatively greater success was associated with less overall pathology on the MMPI and higher socioeconomic status. Psychotherapy was least effective with Ss who scored high on the Hysteria and Psychopathic Deviate scales. There was also a strong but nonsignificant trend for more improvement in psychotherapy Ss who were younger, female, married, later born, more intelligent, and from smaller families. Behavior therapy was more effective with those who scored high on the Hysteria and Mania scales and seemed to be effective with a broader range of patients. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role conflict and symptoms of psychological distress in college-educated women.

Studied sex role attitudes, need for achievement, and employment patterns of 136 women's college graduates out of college 10 yrs and 132 out of college 25 yrs in relation to symptoms of mental illness using a 3-wave mail questionnaire technique. Questionnaire returns totaled 71% of the selected sample and established validity of the Twenty-Two Item Screening Score in mail questionnaire studies. Neither employment status nor achievement motivation, assessed by stories written in response to verbal cues, were significantly related to symptom scores. However, Ss with contemporary sex role orientations, as indicated by the Revised Fand Inventory, exhibited significantly higher symptom scores. Also, the class out of college 10 yrs had significantly more members (a) with high need for achievement, (b) with contemporary sex role orientation, and (c) who had advanced degrees and were earning higher incomes. They also had significantly higher symptom scores. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-efficacy and smoking reexamined: Construct validity and clinical utility.

131 clients (mean age 39 yrs) in a smoking cessation program rated their confidence (self-efficacy) in their ability to resist smoking at the end of treatment and throughout a 6-mo follow-up period. Consistent with previous findings, posttreatment scores significantly predicted subsequent smoking status. When concurrent smoking was partialed out, efficacy remained predictive but to a much lesser degree. The partial correlations also indicated that when pitted against concurrent smoking, confidence scores retain some unique predictive power but do not operate as a powerful mediator of the effects of concurrent behavior. Factor analysis of posttreatment scores revealed that efficacy ratings are primarily unidimensional and not situation specific. Efficacy ratings made 2 mo after treatment were quite predictive of future relapse. These analyses suggest that efficacy ratings, although generally not a mediating variable, can be useful predictors of relapse, particularly when assessed during the maintenance phase of treatment. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Revisiting the effect of marital support on depressive symptoms in mothers and fathers: A genetically informed study.

This article uses a genetically informed design to evaluate whether (1) the well-documented association between marital support and depressive symptoms is accounted for by genetic and/or shared environmental selection, (2) gender differences are found after controlling for selection effects, and (3) parenthood moderates any nonshared environmental relation between depressive symptoms and marital support. We used a sample of 1,566 pairs of same-sexed, married twins from the Australian Twin Registry to evaluate our hypotheses that (1) the predicted effect of marital support on depressive symptoms is not fully an artifact of selection, (2) the etiological sources accounting for this effect differ between husbands and wives, and (3) parenthood status moderates the effect of marital support on depressive symptoms adjusting for selection effects. The results support the first hypotheses. However, after controlling for selection, the effect of marital support on depressive symptoms was not significantly different for husbands and wives. Parenthood moderated the effect of marital support, such that after controlling for selection, marital support is more strongly associated with depressive symptoms for full-time parents than nonfull-time parents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire for Older Persons.

Conducted 5 studies to construct and psychometrically evaluate a marital satisfaction questionnaire for older persons. The questionnaire content was generated and refined in Study 1, temporal stability was evaluated in Study 2, and criterion-related validity was examined in Study 3. Norms, factor structure, and construct validity of the questionnaire were established in Study 4. The degree to which scores on the questionnaire predicted observer ratings of marital interactions during an analog problem-solving situation was examined in Study 5. The final questionnaire consists of 24 items with 1 major and 2 minor factors. Factor scores and a total Marital Satisfaction Scale score were found to be homogeneous, temporally stable, and significantly correlated with multiple measures of marital adjustment, life satisfaction, perceived spouse behaviors, and observer ratings of marital communication. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological predictors of parents' sense of confidence and control and self- versus child-focused gratifications.

23 mothers and 16 fathers (age range of mothers and fathers 25–31 yrs) of 1–4 young children (oldest child mean age 3.4 yrs, youngest child mean age 2.3 yrs) completed an interview about their parenting experiences. In addition to gender, measures of psychological differentiation (e.g., the Washington University Sentence Completion Test), perceptions of the marital relationship, and occupational identity status were used to predict the parents' feelings of confidence and control and self- vs child-focused gratifications. Findings indicate that as expected, mothers reported less confidence and control and more self-focused gratifications. Greater marital harmony and more advanced occupational identity statuses predicted more confident parenting; better marital relationships predicted a greater sense of control; and occupational identity status interacted with gender to predict gratifications. Although the direct effects of psychological differentiation were not significant, this variable indirectly affected parenting via its relationship to marriage and work. (48 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Client–practitioner agreement in the assessment of severely psychiatrically disabled persons' functional skills.

Investigated the relationship between practitioners' ratings of 383 psychiatrically disabled patients' (mean age 46.2 yrs) functional skills and the clients' own ratings of their functional skills. Factor analysis yielded 2 distinct factors for both client self-report items and practitioner-rated global assessment items. Intercorrelations among various combinations of factor scores indicated a moderate degree of agreement between corresponding client and practitioner factors. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal study of marital success and failure.

Administered the Bentler Psychological Inventory, the Bentler Interactive Psychological Inventory, the Sexual Behavior Inventory, and a background questionnaire to 77 newly married couples. Four yrs later these couples were followed up to determine their marital status and satisfaction (the Locke and Wallace Marital Adjustment Scale and a rating scale of 19 potential marital problem areas). Findings indicate that (a) correlational similarity as well as mean differentiation between partners was higher in the still-married group than the divorced group; (b) accuracy of self-perception was marginally reflective of marital success; (c) living together before marriage had no apparent effect on the outcome of marriage; (d) divorced couples appeared to face qualitatively different problems than married couples; and (e) longitudinal prediction of marital adjustment was possible. It is suggested that variation in marital outcome is most accurately predicted from personality and not demographic variables, based largely on data from women. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)