The structure of patient satisfaction with outpatient medical care.

Patient satisfaction data for 2,226 patients (average age 55.8 yrs) in the Medical Outcomes Study were used to determine the dimensions of satisfaction with medical care, the relation between direct and indirect methods of assessing global satisfaction with care, and the extent to which visit-specific and global satisfaction with one's medical care covary. Results supported the multidimensionality of satisfaction ratings but showed substantial covariation among some dimensions. Direct and indirect methods of assessing global satisfaction with care also covaried markedly. Global satisfaction was significantly, albeit modestly, correlated with visit-specific satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anomalous information triggers questions when adults solve quantitative problems and comprehend stories.

Tested whether anomalous information causes an increase in questions generated by college students while they solve quantitative problems (i.e., algebra word problems, statistics problems, analytical puzzles) or while they comprehend stories. Ss were presented different versions of each problem or story: (1) complete original, (2) deletion of critical information, (3) addition of contradictory information, and (4) addition of salient or subtle irrelevancies. Some types of anomalies elicited more questions than did the original versions, and a subset of the questions directly addressed as anomalies. The deletion versions triggered more questions than did the other transformed versions. The results are discussed in the context of an anomaly hypothesis, an obstacle hypothesis, and a model of question-asking that has 3 interactive components: anomaly detection, question articulation, and social editing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Synthesis and Characterization of Ferrocene-Containing Hyperbranched Poly(aroylarylene)s

Ferrocene-containing hyperbranched poly(aroylarylene)s are prepared in satisfactory yields by one-pot copolycyclotrimerization of bis(aroylacetylene)s with a ferrocene-containing monoyne. The ferrocene content of the polymers can be varied by changing the monomer feed ratio, and copolymers with up to 41 mol% of ferrocene moiety can be readily prepared. All the polymers are thermally stable, losing little of their weights when heated to 340 °C. This article is dedicated to Professor Didier Astruc.     

Depression ratings, reported sexual risk behaviors, and methamphetamine use: Latent growth curve models of positive change among gay and bisexual men in an outpatient treatment program.

Although the cessation of substance use is the principal concern of drug treatment programs, many individuals in treatment experience co-occurring problems such as mood disruptions and sexual risk behaviors that may complicate their recovery process. This study assessed relationships among dynamic changes tracked over time in methamphetamine use, depression symptoms, and sexual risk behaviors (unprotected anal intercourse) in a sample of 145 methamphetamine-dependent gay and bisexual males enrolled in a 16-week outpatient drug treatment research program. Participants were randomly assigned into 1 of 4 conditions: contingency management (CM), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT; the control condition), combined CM and CBT, and a tailored gay-specific version of the CBT condition. Using latent growth curve models, the authors assessed the relationship of means (intercepts) and the slopes of the 3 measures of interest over time to test whether changes in methamphetamine use predicted declining rates of depression and risky sexual behavior in tandem. Participants with the greatest downward trajectory in methamphetamine use (urine verified) reported the greatest and quickest decreases in reported depressive symptoms and sexual risk behaviors. The control group reported the most methamphetamine use over the 16 weeks; the tailored gay-specific group reported a more rapidly decreasing slope in methamphetamine use than the other participants. Findings indicate that lowering methamphetamine use itself has a concurrent and synergistic effect on depressive symptoms and risky sexual behavior patterns. This suggests that some users who respond well to treatment may show improvement in these co-occurring problems without a need for more intensive targeted interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of negative moods on self-enhancing cognitions: The role of reflective versus ruminative mood orientations.

This research program examined how self-focused attention to feelings affects the relation between mood negativity and self-enhancing thought. The primary hypothesis was that the particular manner in which people focus on their moods (reflective vs. ruminative) determines whether they reveal positive (i.e., mood-incongruent) or negative (i.e., mood-congruent) self-relevant thoughts in response to negative moods. Studies 1-4 revealed that social comparisons, temporal comparisons, and other self-enhancing cognitions (i.e., attributions, disidentification, relationship evaluations) are more likely to be mood incongruent when people adopt a reflective orientation to their negative feelings and more likely to be mood congruent when they adopt a ruminative orientation. Additionally, moods and mood orientations affected self-enhancing thoughts through the mediating influence of mood regulation goals and intentions (Studies 5 and 6). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of sex guilt on interpersonal pleasuring.

Two experiments (120 undergraduate males) investigated whether conceptualization of sex guilt could be extended to an interpersonal physical pleasuring paradigm. In Exp I, low-guilt (as determined by the Mosher Forced-Choice Guilt Inventory) Ss administered more overall pleasure to a female confederate than did high-guilt Ss. In Exp II, in addition to a main effect for guilt, high-guilt Ss administered significantly lower levels of pleasure when they anticipated further interaction with the confederate than when they did not. Low-guilt Ss administered slightly more pleasure when they anticipated further interaction with the confederate. Results are not consistent with D. L. Mosher's (see PA, Vols 39:9269 and 40:4236) hypothesis that low-guilt Ss are more sensitive to situational cues than high-guilt Ss. It is suggested that the inconsistency was a function of the reinforcement value of interpersonal pleasuring. Although previous research required Ss to make responses that had little apparent reinforcement value, the nature of the pleasuring response did appear to have reinforcement value for both low- and high-guilt Ss, since they increased their levels of pleasuring over trials. A 3rd experiment (24 Ss) that failed to find a relationship between hostility-guilt and pleasuring provided strong support for the relation between sex guilt and interpersonal pleasuring. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comprehensive school-based treatment program for depressed children.

Describes a school-based treatment program for depressed youths that is based on 3 yrs of treatment outcome research in public schools. Discussion focuses on the rationale for choosing each treatment component, a selective review of the relevant research base for each component, and the procedures involved in implementing the program. Five primary treatment components are described, including cognitive procedures, self-control procedures, behavioral procedures, family training and therapy techniques, and consultation with school personnel. The specific steps taken to produce a developmentally sensitive program are described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social behavior of infants and toddlers in a day-care environment.

27 infants and toddlers were observed in a day-care setting, each for a maximum of 50 min, to investigate the relation of the children's social experiences to changes in social behavior as a function of age. Standardized tests of developmental status (e.g., Bayley Scales of Infant Development and Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale) were administered at intervals. Results show that with age the frequency of teacher–child interaction decreased and peer interaction increased. The increase in peer interaction appeared to be related to the toddlers' greater capacity for reciprocating social behaviors and increased use of vocal behavior in interactions. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exploring cerebral asymmetries for the verb generation task.

This study investigated potential right hemisphere involvement in the verb generation task. Six divided visual field experiments explored cerebral asymmetries for word retrieval in the verb generation task as well as in rhyme generation and immediate and delayed word pronunciation. The typical right visual field/left hemisphere (RVF/LH) advantage was observed for pronunciation and rhyme generation. For verb generation, the RVF/LH advantage was obtained only when stimulus items had a single prepotent response and not when there were multiple response alternatives. A semantic priming experiment suggested that activation for less common, related verbs was maintained for a longer time course within the right than within the left hemisphere. The authors suggest that the right hemisphere may play a role in continued activation of semantically related response alternatives in word generation and discuss methodological implications of their findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)