Relationship of severity of dementia to caregiving stressors.

In studies of individual differences and longitudinal changes in stress and coping among dementia caregivers, assessing severity of patient impairment is critically important. It is proposed that with the progression of dementia, cognitive impairment may steadily increase, but other stressful behavioral symptoms peak at various stages of dementia. Cross-sectional data from 49 caregiving families and longitudinal follow-up data from 48 families suggest that instrumental self-care deficits begin early in dementia, and basic self-care deficits increase with dementia severity, but that many distressing behavioral symptoms decrease in late dementia. Assessments of dementia patient severity should be multidimensional, and increases and decreases in various dementia patient stressors over time should be considered as factors influencing caregiver coping. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stressful situations in caregiving: Relations between caregiver coping and well-being.

We examined ways in which caregivers cope with stressful caregiving situations and the relations between coping strategies and caregivers' psychosocial well-being. Respondents were 58 family caregivers to patients discharged from a rehabilitation hospital. Caregivers identified a recent stressful event in caregiving and indicated strategies used to cope with this event. After controlling for patients' impairment level, analyses indicated that caregivers engaging in more escape–avoidance coping reported greater depression and more conflict in their personal relationships. Those using more positive reappraisal demonstrated greater positive affect. Younger caregivers, many of whom were women, used more avoidance strategies. Results have implications for therapeutic interventions with family caregivers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of selected psychosocial variables to prognostic judgments.

Assessed the way in which 4 clinicians used selected cue variables in making prognostic judgments of the postrelease adjustment of 152 institutionalized delinquents. Cue variables (concepts commonly used in clinicians' reports, typically with some prognostic significance) were correlated with prognostic judgments of postrelease adjustment and also with actual ratings of postrelease adjustment. The clinicians were reasonably accurate, as a group, in estimating the prognostic significance of the cue variables. Cue variables more readily inferred from behavior (institutional adjustment, hostility, home environment, and maturity) were related most consistently and accurately to postrelease prognosis, while those less easily inferred from behavior (anxiety, dependency, and guilt) showed a less clear-cut relationship. More communication among clinicians, particularly in their usage of concepts describing intrapsychic processes, is thus recommended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Willingness to express emotions to caregiving spouses.

This study examined the association between care-recipients' willingness to express emotions to spousal caregivers and caregiver's well-being and support behaviors. Using self-report measures in the context of a larger study, 262 care-recipients with osteoarthritis reported on their willingness to express emotions to caregivers, and caregivers reported on their stress and insensitive responding to care-recipients. Results revealed that care-recipients' willingness to express happiness was associated with less insensitive caregiver responding, and willingness to express interpersonal emotions (e.g., compassion, guilt) was associated with less caregiving stress. There were also gender differences, such that caregiving wives, in particular, benefited from their husband's willingness to express vulnerable (e.g., anxiety, sadness) and interpersonal emotions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of psychosocial and background variables to older adults' end-of-life decisions.

Aims were to determine acceptability of a full range of end-of-life decision options and identify related variables; 388 Black and White older adults ages 60–100 responded to 17 decision situations depicting terminal and nonterminal conditions with a very low quality of life, rating the acceptability of 7 end-of-life options per decision situation, and completed demographic, health, and psychosocial measures. Despite low quality of life, maintaining life (striving to live and seeking treatment) was the most acceptable option, but a significant minority of participants wished to end life (suicide, assisted suicide, or euthanasia) and a moderate number wished to defer the decision to others. In hierarchical regressions, psychosocial variables (religiosity, values, fear of death, etc.) contributed significantly (p?     

Relationship of student self-concept and selected personal variables to participation in school activities.

Explored the relationship between various aspects of student self-concept (Tennessee Self-Concept Scale) and student participation in the extra- and cocurricular activity programs of several Pennsylvania high schools. The study was a departure from previous studies because it combined psychological with personal variables in its examination of student participation. Known and hypothesized indicants of participation were explored. Results indicate that self-concept variables as well as personal variables are differential in the nature of their contributions to different activity classifications. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A measure of caregiving daughters' attachment to elderly mothers.

Although attachment to a parent in adulthood remains a controversial topic, a measure is needed to assess the strength of adult daughters' current attachment to their elderly mothers. Representing 4 domains of the attachment concept (seeking security or comfort, distress upon separation, joy upon reunion, and feelings of love), a 16-item Adult Attachment Scale was developed and field-tested. Internal consistency reliability (alpha) was .95, and 1-year stability was .73. Some evidence for the validity of the measure is presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of employment status to mental health and family variables in Black men from single-parent families.

Reinterviewed, at a 6-yr follow-up, 90 Black males (mean age 23 yrs) reared in female-headed, single-parent households and initially interviewed at ages 16 and 17 yrs (C. B. Wilkerson and W. A. O'Connor, 1977). At interview Ss completed the SCL-90, the Life Experiences Survey, a social adjustment scale, and an ecologic assessment record. They were grouped in employment categories of superachievers, average, underemployed, and unemployed. Employment status was related to social adjustment and current life experiences ratings. Superachievers felt more competent, had higher aspirations, and were more satisfied with their lives than members of other groups. Longer father presence in the home was associated with more successful employment, as was a highly educated mother. Socioeconomic differences between the groups were slight and did not account for any direct or indirect effects. Strongest predictors of employment status were high school grades and length of father presence. Age, mother's age, and family income during the preschool and high school years also entered into the predictive equation. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship between behavioral marital therapy outcome and process variables.

This study was conducted to identify therapist and client behaviors with a positive response to social learning-based behavioral marital therapy. A sample of 32 couples receiving treatment was examined. Immediately after each therapy session, the therapist, husband, and wife independently completed process ratings forms that measured therapist and client behaviors during the session. Composite scales, derived from these ratings, were entered into multiple regression equations to examine their relationship with posttherapy marital satisfaction. After controlling for pretherapy marital satisfaction and the other predictor variables, therapists', husbands', and wives' ratings of positive client behavior (i.e., collaboration, active participation, and homework compliance) were positively associated with therapy outcome. Implications for marital therapy and suggestions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's belief in photographic fidelity.

Photographs give the impression that they capture reality more truly than other pictorial forms such as drawings and paintings. This study, conducted with 100 operational children ( 5 yrs 10 mo to 7 yrs 3 mo old) and 100 pre-operational children (5 yrs 10 mo to 7 yrs 2 mo old), was concerned with the child's belief as to whether a series of photographs and a parallel series of drawings that depicted illogical or logical outcomes to a conservation of liquid procedure more truly represented reality than directly perceived logical and illogical referent events. Results show the significant influence of the representational medium on fidelity judgments. Six-year-olds treated photographs as having greater fidelity to the reality they depicted than drawings had, but both forms of representation were in general less compelling than real materials themselves. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotional responses to other persons in everyday life situations.

Several times a day over a 4-wk period, 24 West German housewives recorded (a) characteristics of their momentary situation (place, activities, other persons present), (b) their mood states, and (c) their subjective explanations of those mood states. In addition to this time-sampling diary, Ss completed the 16PF twice. The type of social situations and the frequency with which they occurred to the Ss were significantly related to personality measures. Mood states, causal attributions of mood states, actualization, and satisfaction of motives were dependent on characteristics of the person and the environment. Results are discussed in terms of interaction between a person and the social situation. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assisted suicide in dementia. Ethical considerations between paternalism and autonomy

This article discusses the problem of euthanasia presenting the case of an 82-year-old man with progressive dementia. Difficulties encountered during daily clinical work are described and analysed, in order to clarify decisions on ethical, legal and professional medical grounds. General decisions concerning life-sustaining measures may be qualitatively improved if the situation of the individual is constantly assessed and considered within the treatment process.     

Psychology's ethics of belief.

Comments on S. L. Jones's (see record 1994-29392-001) attempt to steer away from conventional habits of discourse toward a discussion of metaphysical and moral issues in general and of the relationship between religion and psychology in particular. Hoshmand contends that what Jones failed to address fully are individual differences in the epistemic styles, and personal–developmental and cultural influences on the ethics of belief. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anxiety in academic achievement situations.

Scales of general anxiety (Taylor, Welsh, and Freeman) and of anxiety specific to academic situations (Mandler-Sarason, Achievement Anxiety Test) were administered to college freshmen. Academic achievement included verbal aptitude, the Scholastic Aptitude Test, overall grade-point average, and performance in psychology courses. The 2 tests of specific anxiety were seen to be measuring something different than the more general tests and were differentially related to academic performance. "Facilitating" vs. "debilitating" anxiety was distinguished. Results are related to the general body of knowledge in area. (18 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learned helplessness in social situations.

Conceptualized helplessness in social situations as the perceived inability to surmount rejection, as revealed by causal attributions for rejection, and explored the responses of 130 4th and 5th graders to rejection across popularity levels. Results show that differences in attributions for rejection were related to disruption of goal-directed behavior following rejection. The most severe disruption of attempts to gain social approval (withdrawal and perseveration) was associated with the tendency to emphasize personal incompetence as the cause of rejection, regardless of popularity level. It is suggested that cognitive mediators of overt social behavior and ability to solve problems when faced with difficulties need to be considered in the study of children's social relations. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of mother and child variables to child outcomes in a high-risk sample: A causal modeling analysis.

Children of depressed mothers are at risk for psychopathology, but most studies have failed to examine mediators of the effects, mutual influence of children and mothers on each other, and effects of children's own characteristics. Children, aged 8 to 16, of 64 mothers with recurrent unipolar or bipolar affective disorders, chronic medical illness, or no disorder were assessed on initial and 6-month follow-up measures. Structural equation modeling tested a model in which children's outcomes 6 months later were caused by maternal functioning (including depression symptoms, role adjustment, and observed positive interaction) and characteristics of the child. A reciprocal relationship was predicted between maternal functioning and child characteristics (including quality of interactions with the mother, self-concept, and age). Results supported the model; although maternal functioning is related to symptoms and dysfunction in children, characteristics of the child also contribute to maternal functioning in a cycle of negative mutual influence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting outcome in parent training.

Parents from 103 families with retarded children (aged 3–13 yrs) began a training program in skill teaching and behavior-problem management. Based on posttraining assessments, families were categorized as high or low proficient and compared by discriminant analysis. Low proficient families were of lower SES, had anticipated greater problems in teaching, and had less previous experience with behavior modification. The formula correctly classified 76% of families. A prediction formula based on a 6-mo follow-up indicated that low follow-through families were less likely to have taught their children before training, to have achieved proficiency during training, and to have been from intact marriages. This formula correctly classified 76% of families. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding and overcoming parent resistance to play therapy.

Explores the nature and sources of parent resistance to play therapy, questions the concept of resistance as it is often understood, and suggests ways the play therapist can prevent or overcome it, addressing common mistakes therapists make that actually increase client resistance. It is stated that play therapist's own attitudes and the therapist–parent relationship can be used to overcome resistance that might interfere with therapeutic progress. Showing respect and empathy for parents can go far in creating a trusting collaborative therapeutic relationship that is needed for optimum outcomes. Similarly, helping parents see the connections between their problems and the course of therapy being recommended can make it easier for them to engage as partners in the process of change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On belief bias in syllogistic reasoning.

A multinomial model is used to disentangle the respective contributions of reasoning processes and response bias in conclusion-acceptance data that exhibit belief bias. A model-based meta-analysis of 22 studies reveals that such data are structurally too sparse to allow discrimination of different accounts of belief bias. Four experiments are conducted to obtain richer data, allowing deeper tests through the use of the multinomial model. None of the current accounts of belief bias is consistent with the complex pattern of results. A new theory of belief bias is proposed that assumes that most reasoners construct only one mental model representing the premises as well as the conclusion or, in the case of an unbelievable conclusion, its logical negation. New predictions derived from the theory are confirmed in 4 additional studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)