Two studies on the language behavior of schizophrenics.

Tested L. J. Chapman's hypothesis that contextual constraints are less salient, and stronger meaning constraints more salient for schizophrenics than for normals, as was the hypothesis drawn from the works of K. Salzinger and of R. L. Cromwell and P. R. Dokecki that schizophrenics are overly constrained by immediate cues relative to distant ones. Ss were 3 groups of males at a VA hospital: 25 normal controls, staff members; 22 hospitalized controls, nonschizophrenic patients; and 71 schizophrenics. The Chapman hypothesis was supported only for disorganized schizophrenics and only when the ambiguous element being considered was lexical. The immediacy hypothesis was supported with regard to semantic constraints. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychiatric symptom-provoking studies: an ethical appraisal

This study investigated perceived social support, emotional as well as instrumental, from family members and friends, and examined their stress-buffering effects on depression in college students and middle-aged adults in Japan. For both samples, family members were relatively more important sources of instrumental support, whereas friends were primarily perceived as emotional support providers. No gender differences were found for the middle-aged adults, but as in previous studies, women in the college sample perceived more support for them than men. A series of hierarchical regression analyses with support by stress interaction terms revealed distinctive patterns of support effects on depression for men and women of each sample. Characteristics of perceived social support in each sample were described, and overall results suggested that it is essential in social support research to take the meanings of supportive relationship into consideration, in the context of social and developmental factors of the samples under study.     

Psychiatric Middlemen.

If only because this is still a period when psychologists are trying to emancipate themselves from the professional yoke of the psychiatrists, it is interesting to note how many authors of texts in abnormal psychology and mental hygiene perceive psychology to be ancillary to psychiatry. One can note this trend, but college professors do not have to use texts which provide for their own professional execution or domination. One can use selected materials, or one can, with greater directness, use standard psychiatric texts. The latter procedure would at least eliminate the middlemen. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two studies examining the negative effect of self-efficacy on performance.

Although hundreds of studies have found a positive relationship between self-efficacy and performance, several studies have found a negative relationship when the analysis is done across time (repeated measures) rather than across individuals. W. T. Powers (1991) predicted this negative relationship based on perceptual control theory. Here, 2 studies are presented to (a) confirm the causal role of self-efficacy and (b) substantiate the explanation. In Study 1, self-efficacy was manipulated for 43 of 87 undergraduates on an analytic game. The manipulation was negatively related to performance on the next trial. In Study 2, 104 undergraduates played the analytic game and reported self-efficacy between each game and confidence in the degree to which they had assessed previous feedback. As expected, self-efficacy led to overconfidence and hence increased the likelihood of committing logic errors during the game. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychiatric hospitals in the USSR.

Comments that V. J. Bieliauskas's (see record 1978-01638-001) article on mental health care in the USSR is so "objective" that it ignores significant features of Soviet psychiatry (e.g., special hospitals where dissidents are beaten, drugged, and terrorized). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Nutrition Attitude Survey: Associations with dietary habits, psychological and physical well-being, and coronary risk factors.

Developed a nutrition attitude survey (NAS) to measure attitudes pertaining to the adoption of a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet. Factor analysis identified 4 primary attitudinal factors: (a) Helpless and Unhealthy, (b) Food Exploration, (c) Meat Preference, and (d) Health Consciousness. For a community sample of 357 healthy men and women, relationships were examined among these attitudinal factors and dietary habits, family food patterns, medical and psychological symptoms (as assessed by the Cornell Medical Index and SCL-90—Revised), and traditional coronary risk factors. Findings provide initial support for the reliability and predictive validity of the NAS and underscore the importance of addressing the attitudes and preferences of participants in dietary intervention programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychiatric comorbidity and length of stay in the general hospital. A critical review of outcome studies

The authors critically reviewed 26 international and American outcome studies that assessed the effect of psychiatric comorbidity on length of stay for medical/surgical inpatients. Three generations of American studies were defined according to the rigorousness of the methodology. Eighty-nine percent of all studies with sample sizes greater than 110 and 75% of the prospective, rigorously controlled, American studies found a significant association between psychiatric comorbidity and increased length of stay. The findings lead to the conclusion that impaired cognition associated with delirium and dementia, depressed mood, and other personality variables contributes to prolonged hospital stays and greater utilization of hospitals and other health resources after discharge. Recommendations for future research are suggested.     

Predicting the duration of emotional experience: Two experience sampling studies.

The authors present 2 studies to explain the variability in the duration of emotional experience. Participants were asked to report the duration of their fear, anger, joy, gratitude, and sadness episodes on a daily basis. Information was further collected with regard to potential predictor variables at 3 levels: trait predictors, episode predictors, and moment predictors. Discrete-time survival analyses revealed that, for all 5 emotions under study, the higher the importance of the emotion-eliciting situation and the higher the intensity of the emotion at onset, the longer the emotional experience lasts. Moreover, a reappearance, either physically or merely mentally, of the eliciting stimulus during the emotional episode extended the duration of the emotional experience as well. These findings display interesting links with predictions within N. H. Frijda's theory of emotion, with the phenomenon of reinstatement (as studied within the domain of learning psychology), and with the literature on rumination. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychiatric symptomatology in persons with organic solvent exposure.

Investigated psychiatric symptomatology, self-concept, locus of control, and daily events in persons with a history of exposure to mixtures of organic solvents. Exposed Ss were more likely than controls to report depression, anxiety, fatigue, confusion, and somatic concerns, which in turn were associated with certain exposure-related variables (e.g., cacosmia). There were no differences between the groups in self-concept, locus of control, or ratings of daily hassles and uplifts. Exposed persons may be able to accurately identify what they perceive as changes that are due to the exposure (e.g., anxiety) without attributing these specific adverse outcomes to dispositional variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-awareness and transgression in children: Two field studies.

Two field studies explored the relationship between self-awareness and transgressive behavior. 363 Halloween trick-or-treaters (children) were instructed to take only 1 candy. Self-awareness induced by the presence of a mirror placed behind the candy bowl decreased transgression rates for Ss who had been individuated by asking them their name and address but did not affect the behavior of Ss left anonymous. Self-awareness influenced older but not younger Ss. Naturally occurring standards instituted by the behavior of the 1st child to approach the candy bowl in each group were shown to interact with the experimenter's verbally stated standard. The behavior of 349 children in the 2nd study replicated the findings of the 1st study. Additionally, when no standard was stated by the experimenter, Ss took more candy when not self-aware than when self-aware. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitude variables associated with patient response to hospitalization.

Administered the CPH Factor Attitude Scale to 51 male veterans before and after treatment in a psychiatric ward, to assess the effects of patient attitudes toward hospitilization. A direct relationship was found between negative attitude and length of hospitalization. However, Ss' attitudes did not (a) change from admission to discharge, (b) predict response to treatment as measured by therapist ratings, or (c) correlate with educational level. In addition, Ss viewed the hospital as more authoritarian than ward personnel. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two case studies of child-centered play therapy for children referred with highly disruptive behavior.

This article presents two cases with strong evidence measures in which child-centered play therapy (CCPT) was provided for children referred for highly disruptive behavior, including attention problems and aggression. Apparent progress was evidenced on the Teacher Report Form (TRF) of the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001). One client had a waiting period equal to his treatment period in which ratings were stable before change across his treatment period. The cases provide opportunities to consider how CCPT may work differently for similar behavioral difficulties in individual children. Researchers conceptualized each client's areas of difficulty and apparent treatment effects as an expert panel, aided by indications from the TRF. Individual discussions are provided regarding rationales for apparent progress and why CCPT seemed to have been effective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychiatric morbidity among adults in The Netherlands: the NEMESIS-Study. II. Prevalence of psychiatric disorders. Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in non-institutionalised Dutch adults. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: Trimbos Institute, Utrecht, the Netherlands. METHODS: A representative sample of 7076 adults (18-64 years) in the Netherlands' population were interviewed in 1996 to determine the prevalence of mental disorders ever, in the previous 12 months and in the previous month. Objectives and study design are described in the previous article (1997: 2448-52). The 'Composite international diagnostic interview' (CIDI) was used to assess the following mental disorders according to Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 3rd revised edition (DSM-III-R): affective disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, schizophrenia and other non-affective psychoses, substance dependence and substance abuse. RESULTS: Mental disorders were common in the general population: the prevalence 'ever' of all disorders was 41.2%, the 12-month prevalence 23.5%, without sex differences. Depression, anxiety disorders and alcohol abuse and dependence showed high prevalence and comorbidity. The prevalence 'ever' of schizophrenia and other non-affective psychoses was low (0.4%).     

Psychiatric diagnosis and symptomatology.

35 symptom formations were isolated through an analysis of the case histories of 793 psychiatric patients with functional disorders. Percentage of patients in 1 of 4 groups (manic-depressive, schizophrenic, psychoneurotic, character disorder) characterized by each symptom was tabulated. The results indicated that there are no particular symptoms which are specific to 1 of the 4 psychiatric groupings, and that these groupings are not described by any unique clustering of symptoms. A symptom classification system (by Phillips & Rabinovitch, 1958) was seen to have a positive, though small, statistical relationship with psychiatric grouping. From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4HI69Z. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Substance misuse and psychiatric comorbidity: an overview of the OPCS National Psychiatric Morbidity Survey

There have been a number of national surveys of psychiatric morbidity which have included questions on drugs, alcohol and tobacco. These surveys have helped delineate the overlap between substance use and dependence and other psychological morbidity. There is a strong association reported between high substance consumption and other measures of psychological problems. This article provides an overview of a national household survey, a survey of institutional residents with psychiatric disorders and a national survey of a homeless population. All three surveys used comprehensive and complex sampling strategies and lay interviewers to conduct structured diagnostic interviews. The household survey included over 10,000 households, the institutional survey interviewed 755 individuals and the homeless survey of hostels, night-shelters, day centres and private-sector leased accommodation interviewed 1,061 individuals. This overview looks at patterns of nicotine, alcohol and other drug use in the different samples and examines interactions with other psychiatric morbidity. The survey reports that substance-related disorders are some of the commonest disorders in the community, with 5% of the household sample alcohol dependent, 7% alcohol dependent in the institutional sample and over 21% in the homeless sample recorded as alcohol dependent. Tobacco, alcohol and other drug use and dependence were dramatically higher in the homeless sample than in either of the other two samples. Substance use was significantly associated with higher rates of psychological morbidity as measured by the Clinical Interview Schedule Revised. Future service planning needs to take account of the striking disparity of prevalence of psychiatric disorders in different subsections of the population.     

Two studies of the clinical effectiveness of the nicotine patch with different counseling treatments

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of transdermal nicotine therapy for smoking cessation and suppression of withdrawal severity in conjunction with two different adjuvant counseling treatments. DESIGN: Two independent randomized placebo-controlled double-blind trials. SETTING: Smoking cessation clinic. SUBJECTS: Eighty-eight (study 1) and 112 (study 2) adult volunteers motivated to quit smoking. INTERVENTIONS: Eight weeks of 22-mg transdermal nicotine therapy with group counseling (study 1); 4 weeks of 22 mg followed by 2 weeks of 11-mg transdermal nicotine therapy with brief individual counseling (study 2). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Modified point prevalence (7 consecutive days of nonsmoking) at the end of patch treatment and 6 months after treatment initiation was assessed by self-report and biochemically confirmed; survival analyses were also conducted for both studies to compare treatment efficacy. Also, we examined the impact of the nicotine patch on specific withdrawal symptoms (anger, anxiety, awakening, difficulty concentrating, depression, hunger, impatience, and craving). RESULTS: Transdermal nicotine treatment produced higher cessation rates at the end of treatment than did placebo with both adjuvant counseling interventions: 59 percent vs 40 percent (p < 0.05 in study 1) and 37 percent vs 20 percent (p < 0.05 in study 2), respectively. Smoking cessation efficacy was maintained 6 months after initiation of treatment: 34 percent vs 21 percent (p = 0.08 in study 1) and 18 percent vs 7 percent (p = 0.05 in study 2). Survival analyses also revealed significant group differences in efficacy in both studies. Nicotine patches also suppressed a variety of withdrawal symptoms, including craving in the first weeks after patients quit smoking. CONCLUSION: Transdermal nicotine effectively augments smoking cessation rates with two different types of counseling treatment. Overall, the nicotine patch approximately doubles the sustained rate of smoking cessation. Additionally, the nicotine patch provides relief from some tobacco withdrawal symptoms.     

The bogus pipeline as lie detector: Two validity studies.

Two studies, using a total of 109 undergraduates as Ss, tested the validity of the bogus pipeline procedure for eliciting truthful responses from Ss in social psychological experiments. Ss were illegitimately informed about how to perform well on an experimental test, were tested, and then were asked whether they had possessed this prior information. As compared to Ss responding to pencil-and-paper questions for face-to-face questioning by the experimenter, those in a bogus pipeline condition confessed more often. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Balancing elder care responsibilities and work: Two empirical studies.

It was hypothesized that workers with elder care responsibilities, compared with noncaregiving workers, would be more likely to suffer physical symptoms of stress and to be absent more days. In Study 1, 67 employees (32 noncaregivers, 35 caregivers) of a financial institution were interviewed. In Study 2, 169 employees (118 noncaregivers, 51 caregivers) of a health care institution completed a questionnaire. In Study 1, caregivers were absent more days than noncaregivers, and caregiver status was related to the incidence of weight loss or gain, drowsiness, and inability to sleep. In Study 2, caregiver status was related to the incidence of weight loss or gain, drowsiness, inability to sleep, frequent headaches, and nervousness. Caregivers were not significantly different from noncaregivers in absenteeism. Results indicate that caregivers' responsibilities may negatively affect work performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factor structure of coping: Two studies of mothers with high levels of life stress.

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to investigate the factor structure of coping in mothers with high levels of life stress. In Study 1, EFA of the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (C. S. Carver, M. F. Scheier, & J. K. Weintraub, 1989) in a sample of mothers of full-term or very low birth weight 2-year-old children yielded 7 reliable coping factors. Each factor accounted for significant variance in at least 1 of 6 outcomes measuring maternal-child well-being. In Study 2, CFA was used to cross-validate the EFA model on the basis of the responses of mothers of 2-year-old children with prenatal polysubstance exposure. CFA results revealed a moderately good fit, confirming the factor structure in a 2nd, independent sample of mothers with high levels of life stress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychiatric morbidity among adults in The Netherlands: the NEMESIS-Study. I. Objectives, design and methods. Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study

OBJECTIVE: To determine prevalence, incidence and course of psychiatric disorders in non-institutionalised Dutch adults. DESIGN: Prospective and cross-sectional. SETTING: Trimbos Institute, Utrecht, the Netherlands. METHOD: A multistage, stratified random sampling procedure was used to obtain a sample of 7076 adults (18-64 years). Respondents were interviewed throughout 1996 in their homes. The main diagnostic instrument was the 'Composite international diagnostic interview' (CIDI), designed to assess lifetime prevalence of mental disorders according to Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 3rd revised edition (DSM-III-R). The diagnostic categories were: affective disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, schizophrenia and other non-affective psychoses, and substance use disorders (dependence and abuse). The sample was weighted towards national census data on sex, age, marital status and urbanicity. RESULTS: The results of the first measurement (1996) will be described in the next article (1997:2353-60). The response rate was 64.2%. There were no indications that the psychiatric morbidity of non-respondents differed from respondents. The same respondents will be interviewed again after 12 (1997) and after 36 months (1999).