The irregular discharge as an unobtrusive measure of discontent among young psychiatric patients.

Describes a study in which the treatment practices of 4 relatively autonomous units of a large psychiatric hospital were rated and found to differ significantly (p     

Interpersonal types among psychiatric patients.

The aims of the study were to isolate some of the main interpersonal behavior types within a sample of nonpsychotic psychiatric patients in psychotherapy, to determine the constancy of the isolated types across the 3 subsamples of 150 cases, and to identify any systematic differences among them. Each patient was described by his therapists on the 15 factors of the Interpersonal Behavior Inventory. The 4 replicated types were (1) inhibited, submissive, abasive; (2) agreeable, nurturant, sociable; (3) hostile, mistrustful, detached; (4) dominant, competitive, exhibitionistic. Some diagnositc and occupational differences were found. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender IQ differences among psychiatric patients.

Provides evidence against the hypothesis that adult male psychiatric patients are more intelligent than their female peers. 1,187 patients were administered either the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scales, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised (WISC—R), or the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised. Analyses revealed no significant sex differences except on the WISC—R. Explanations that have been suggested to account for previous observations of discrepant IQ test performance are discussed, and the possibility of regional or institutional biases is noted. (French abstract) (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validity of the Wonderlic Personnel Test as a brief IQ measure in psychiatric patients.

100 male psychiatric inpatient referrals (mean age 41.18 yrs) for psychological testing were administered the Wonderlic Personnel Test and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS—R) in a counterbalanced order. In this clinical context, the Wonderlic proved not to be an acceptable alternative to the WAIS—R. The tests correlated only moderately (.75), differed in mean IQ level, and agreed in IQ classification in only 40% of the cases. Efforts to improve these results by devising new IQ correction factors resulted in only slight improvements. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Avoidable mortality among psychiatric patients

Avoidable mortality is a selection of causes of death considered to be amenable to health care and thereby used as an indicator of the quality of health care. In this study avoidable mortality for more than 30,000 psychiatric patients discharged from any hospital of Stockholm County between 1981 and 1985 has been followed up in the Cause of Death Register for the period 1986-1990. Standardised rate ratios were calculated for different groups of psychiatric disorders compared to the general population of Stockholm County for indicators of avoidable mortality, suicide, other mortality ("unavoidable") and causes possibly related to treatment with psychotrophic drugs. As expected, the psychiatric patients had the most pronounced elevated risk for suicide. i.e. 6- to 24-fold compared to the general population, and noticeably more elevated for women. It is also noteworthy that the relative mortality risks for diagnoses amenable to medical interventions and potential side-effects of psychotrophic drugs are higher than for other causes of death ("unavoidable"). The relative risks for avoidable mortality were 4.7 for men and 3.8 for women and for diagnoses possibly related to side-effects of psychotrophic drugs, 7.2. The relative risks for "unavoidable" mortality were 3.4 for men and 3.2 for women. The excess avoidable mortality rates for psychiatric patients and the elevated suicide risk, especially for female patients, are warning signals of shortcomings in psychiatric care that warrants further investigation.     

Prevalence of firesetting and related behaviors among child psychiatric patients.

This study examines the prevalence, characteristics, and continuity of firesetting among psychiatrically disturbed children. A 7-item firesetting history screen was independently administered to 164 outpatients and 136 inpatients and to their parents. Based on the reports of both sources combined, the prevalence rates of firesetting and match play, respectively, were high among outpatients (19.4%, 24.4%) and even higher among inpatients (34.7%, 52.0%). Parents and children in each sample reported comparable prevalence rates and acknowledged significantly more interest in fire and match play among firesetters than nonfiresetters. Such findings highlight the prevalence of firesetting among patient populations and the need for systematic assessment of firesetting in children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reward discounting as a measure of impulsive behavior in a psychiatric outpatient population.

Impulsivity has been operationalized as a choice of an immediate smaller reward over a larger delayed or uncertain reward. This study examined a procedure that measures reward preference under these contingencies in psychiatric outpatients considered either at a high or low risk for engaging in impulsive behavior depending on their psychiatric diagnoses. The participants' rates of delay and uncertainty reward discounting were compared with their performances on a behavioral inhibition task and responses on a self-report personality impulsivity measure. The high-risk participants discounted delayed rewards more sharply and scored higher on the self-report impulsivity measure relative to the low-risk participants. Delay and uncertainty discounting were modestly correlated, but no other relationships were found between the other measures. Results from this study indicate that delay-discounting tasks may be sensitive to at least one form of impulsive behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of a measure of workplace deviance.

The purpose of this research was to develop broad, theoretically derived measure(s) of deviant behavior in the workplace. Two scales were developed: a 12-item scale of organizational deviance (deviant behaviors directly harmful to the organization) and a 7-item scale of interpersonal deviance (deviant behaviors directly harmful to other individuals within the organization). These scales were found to have internal reliabilities of .81 and .78, respectively. Confirmatory factor analysis verified that a 2-factor structure had acceptable fit. Preliminary evidence of construct validity is also provided. The implications of this instrument for future empirical research on workplace deviance are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of a measure of intrapersonal empowerment.

This article reports the development of a self-report instrument that measures 4 components of intrapersonal empowerment for people with disabilities. Subscales are Personal Competence, Group Orientation, Self-Determination, and Positive Identity as a Person With a Disability. Psychometric data indicate that subscales are reliable and support trait validity of the instrument. All 64 items with scoring key and preliminary norms are included so that interested readers can use the instrument in research studies and assessment applications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived efficacy and interpersonal impact of impression management among psychiatric patients.

100 hospitalized male psychiatric patients listened to 1 of 4 audiotapes on which an interviewed patient revealed his intentions to engage either in healthy or sick self-presentation. The taped patient also reported his psychiatrist to be either in favor of or opposed to early discharge. Ss predicted longer lengths of hospitalization for the taped patients, and found him to be less interpersonally attractive, when he intended to fake psychopathology. Predicted length of hospitalization was also longer when the taped patient's psychiatrist was reportedly opposed to early discharge. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subtypes of partner violence perpetrators among male and female psychiatric patients.

The goal of this naturalistic study was to examine heterogeneity among female and male civil psychiatric patients with a history of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. Participants were 567 patients drawn from the MacArthur Violence Risk Assessment Study (J. Monahan et al., 2001). The authors examined subtype composition among 138 women and 93 men with positive histories of IPV and compared these groups with 111 women and 225 men with no histories of IPV. Findings for men and women were consistent with reports from studies of male perpetrators in forensic and community settings in that generally violent/antisocial, borderline/dysphoric, and family only/low-psychopathology subtypes of perpetrators were identified in both men and women. This study provides preliminary evidence for the generalizability of typologies derived from nonpsychiatric partner violence perpetrators to psychiatric populations and suggests that typologies derived from studies of male IPV perpetrators may provide useful guidance for the investigation of female IPV perpetration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aggressive behavior of psychiatric patients among geriatric population

The effects of protein supplements and culture dish type on in vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo development in culture were examined in the domestic cat. In Experiment I, follicular oocytes were fertilized and cultured in either 1) modified Earle's balanced salt solution, designated MK-1, supplemented with one of the following: 10% human serum (HS), 10% FCS or 0.4% BSA, or 2) Medium 199 (M-199) supplemented with 10% FCS. Fertilization rates were lower (P < 0.01) in MK-1 + BSA (74.4%), MK-1 + FCS (56.1%), and M-199 + FCS (51.4%) than in MK-1 + HS (94.7%). A greater (P < 0.01) percentage of blastocysts was obtained in MK-1 + HS (50.0%) than in other treatment groups (range, 4.3-17.2%). In Experiment II, the effect of dish type (tissue culture dish, TCD, versus suspension culture dish, SCD) on embryo development was evaluated in MK-1 supplemented with either HS or BSA. Significantly higher proportions of IVF-derived embryos developed to blastocysts at 120 and 144 hr post-insemination, respectively, when cultured in HS/SCD (47.2 and 71.7%) than in BSA/SCD (11.4 and 27.3%) or BSA/TCD (10.4 and 25.0%). At 120 hr post-insemination, there was a lower (P < 0.01) percentage of blastocysts in HS/TCD (22.2%) than in HS/SCD. In Experiment III, six embryos per cat were transferred to the uterine horns of 17 recipients at 144 hr after hCG treatment. Five of 7 recipients which received late morulae cultured in MK-1 + BSA (SCD) for 120 hr became pregnant (71.4%). Eight of 10 recipients which received early blastocysts cultured in MK-1 + HS (SCD) for 120 hr became pregnant (80.0%). We conclude that MK-1 containing HS is highly beneficial for overcoming the in vitro developmental block of IVF-derived feline embryos and increasing the success rate of IVF/ET.     

Psychiatric comorbidity among hospitalized AIDS patients vs. non-AIDS patients referred for psychiatric consultation

This study evaluated the clinical performance of a new resin modified glass ionomer cement, Geristore (Den-Mat Corp., Santa Maria, Calif.), for the bonding of orthodontic brackets and its effect on certain caries-associated microorganisms. This cement has been shown to possess increased mechanical properties and long-term fluoride release. There were 716 brackets bonded in 40 patients (17 males and 23 females), with a split-mouth technique and a composite resin, Phase II (Reliance, Itasca, III.), as a control. Bond failures were recorded up to 1 year. Plaque scores and plaque samples were taken from the area of the bonding adhesive in 20 patients, before, at 1 week, and 5 months after the placement of brackets. The plaque samples were investigated for the presence of Streptococcus mutans and lactobacilli. The overall bond failure rate was found to be 8.9% for Geristore and 3.1% for Phase II (p < 0.05). Labially, there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in bond failure rate: 3.8% for Geristore and 1.7% for Phase II. The proportions of S. mutans and lactobacilli in plaque taken from around Geristore cement were reduced at 1 week and 5 months, when compared with Phase II resin, and this reduction was statistically significant (p < 0.05) at 1 week. Results of this study suggest that Geristore may be of use in the labial segments, especially in caries prone patients, in whom demineralization at debond may present an esthetic and restorative problem several years after treatment.     

Associations among major psychiatric diagnoses.

The frequency and associations of multiple diagnoses were examined in 205 psychiatric inpatients. The Washington University research criteria assessed past and current episodes of illness. Over half the sample received more than one diagnosis. Correlations and factor analysis suggested that alcoholism, antisocial personality, and drug dependence form one group; primary depression, primary mania, and secondary affective disorder form another. Schizophrenia was not associated with any of the other six diagnoses. The findings suggest that multiple diagnoses occur frequently, and the presence of one diagnosis should encourage the diagnostician to search for others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social competence and posthospital outcome among schizophrenic and nonschizophrenic psychiatric patients.

Although E. Zigler and L. Phillips (see 37:1 and 38:6) contend that an identical relationship between premorbid social competence and prognosis is found in both a schizophrenic and nonschizophrenic hospital population, supporting data are not presented. To test this hypothesis, the 3-yr posthospital outcomes of 81 schizophrenic and 85 nonschizophrenic previously hospitalized patients were separately related to the Zigler and Phillips' Social Competence Scale. The results indicate that among schizophrenics social competence is positively related to 2 out of 5 indexes of posthospital outcome: incidence (p     

MCMI-III as a treatment outcome measure for psychiatric inpatients

The Million Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III) recently was introduced to replace and update the MCMI-II. A sample of 97 psychiatric inpatients were administered the MCMI-III shortly following admission, and again 7-10 days later. Changes in the personality and symptom scales generally paralleled those found in previous work with the MCMI-II, although the mean retest interval was considerably shorter than in the earlier study. However, some differences between the two instruments were observed, confirming the need for ongoing cross-validation work on the MCMI-III as an instrument that is distinct from the MCMI-II.     

Development of a scale to measure intense ambivalence.

Developed a 45-item true–false scale to measure intense ambivalence using a procedure that ensured high internal consistency with minimal method variance. It has been argued that intense ambivalance is characteristic of Ss who are genetically predisposed to the development of schizophrenia. The scale was first validated by interviewing 72 (of 759 Ss who completed the scale) college students who scored high and in the normal range on the scale. Ss who scored high on the scale spontaneously reported feeling ambivalent and behaved ambivalently more often than low-scoring controls. The scale was then given to 85 schizophrenics (mean age 35.6 yrs), 30 hospitalized depressives (mean age 35.5 yrs), 192 psychology clinic patients (mean age 27.1 yrs), and 139 normal controls (mean age 31.3 yrs). As predicted, schizophrenics scored higher than controls; clinic clients scored in the middle range. Depressives scored the highest of all the groups. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of a measure of negative attitudes toward masturbation.

Describes the development of a new, 30-item measure of negative attitudes toward masturbation and the relationships between negative attitudes toward masturbation, sex guilt, and frequency of masturbation in 96 male and 102 female undergraduates. 4 male and 4 female Es administered the Sex Guilt subscale of the Mosher Forced-Choice Guilt Inventory, a measure of sex experience by Brady and Levitt, and Abramson's measure of masturbation experience. Results provide validational evidence of the predictive usefulness of the measure. The item content, item analysis, factorial structure, and adequate split-half reliability (.75) attest to the psychometric soundness of the measure. Both guilt over sex and negative attitudes toward masturbation are suggested as 2 constructs with theoretical significance and usefulness in research in human sexuality as well as in treating some forms of sexual pathology. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)