<p>Quality of life is an important aspect of the assessment of medical and psychiatric disorders, such as eating disorders. Eating disorders affect both the emotional and physical wellbeing of individuals who suffer from them and presumably impact quality of life. The purpose of this study was to assess the quality of life of individuals seeking inpatient treatment for an eating disorder using the Quality of Life Inventory. This assessment is unique because it considers both the importance and satisfaction of life domains and it is also very comprehensive, assessing 16 life domains both quantitatively and qualitatively. This is the first study to report on the use of the Quality of Life Inventory in an eating disorder sample. It was hypothesized that patients with eating disorders would have significantly worse quality of life than non-clinical groups and similar quality of life compared to other clinically impaired groups. This hypothesis was confirmed. It was also predicted that individuals with anorexia and bulimia nervosa would have statistically equivalent quality of life global scores but differences on domain scores, and this was confirmed as well. Finally, it was hypothesized that treatment history, number of co-morbid disorders, body mass index, and eating disorder symptoms would be related to quality of life, which was not supported. These results contribute to the literature about quality of life of individuals with eating disorders by supporting existing findings based on other quality of life measures and add information about life domains not previously assessed by other measures.

<p> Diabetes is linked to behavior and requires patients to engage in complex self-management practices to attain glycemic control and prevent complications. Group medical visits (GMVs)&mdash;which are shared medical appointments used in primary care&mdash;provide a model of care to help patients adhere to self-management behaviors. Developing, implementing, and translating this model of care in a clinical setting has proven challenging, and the underlying mechanisms related to improved outcomes found in participants of GMVs are undetermined. The purpose of this study was to implement and evaluate GMVs for diabetes care in a primary-care and residency-training facility and explore changes in behavioral intentions, self-management behaviors, and blood HbA_1c levels. The study also explored whether behavioral intentions and self-management behaviors functioned as mediators of changes in HbA_1C levels. </p><p> A repeated measures design with 37 participants examined the behavioral intentions to diet, to exercise, and to adhere to medication; self-management behaviors (i.e., diet, exercise, and adherence to medication); and HbA_1C levels of participants with Type 2 diabetes during and after the GMVs. Behavioral intentions and self-management behaviors were measured through self-report instruments at baseline, posttreatment, and 3-month follow-up; HbA_1C values were measured at baseline and 3-month follow-up. Self-reported adherence to diet changed significantly from baseline to posttreatment and remained at 3-month follow-up. </p><p> Self-reported exercise changed significantly from baseline to posttreatment; changes were not sustained at 3-month follow-up. Clinical and statically significant changes in HbA_1C levels were seen at 3-month follow-up. A reduction of 0.7% in blood glucose levels was observed; the majority of the participants (59.5%) attained diabetes control at 3-month follow-up. No mediation relationship was found between behavioral intentions, self-management behaviors, and HbA_1C levels. </p><p> This study is the first reported examination of GMVs that found significance in biophysical outcomes without research-based funding. GMVs focused on health-behavior change can be executed and sustained in primary care and residency-training facilities. This program modality is a promising model of care for motivated patients and may help patients reach self-care goals and diabetes control. Future research with a larger sample size and a control group is needed to enhance the current findings.</p>

<p> This study explored the relationships among master's level counseling trainees' level of training, ability emotional intelligence (EI), and psychophysiological correlates of emotion regulation recorded during a video-simulated client interaction. Agreement exists among counselor educators, researchers, and theorists that counselors' emotion regulation is foundational to the competent delivery of counseling treatment. The literature further suggests that counselors and trainees experience frequent emotional challenges that overwhelm emotion regulation skills, interfere with competent delivery of service, and affect client outcomes. However, little research in counseling training and supervision has investigated trainees' emotion regulation or factors that support adaptive emotion regulation while trainees interact with clients who are experiencing emotional distress. </p><p> Participants were 66 master's level counseling trainees from counseling programs accredited by the Counsel for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. Participants' EI was operationalized as scores on the Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (Mayer, Salovey, Caruso, &amp; Sitarenios, 2003). Emotion regulation was operationalized as electrodermal activity (EDA), high-frequency heart rate variability, and the standard deviation of normal heartbeat intervals (HRV-SDNN). Correlation and regression analyses indicated that psychophysiological correlates of trainees' emotion regulation were not significantly correlated with training. However, HRV-SDNN significantly correlated with total EI, and the EI subscale Perceiving Emotions, while EDA significantly correlated with the Managing Emotions subscale.</p>

<p> The purpose of the current study was to assess a model of college completion at a 2-year community college based on Tinto's Theory of Student Drop Out and current factors known to impact college completion. A freshman cohort (<i>n</i> = 2,846) that attended a large-urban community college was assessed. Logistic regression analysis found student age and math proficiency when entering college were significant factors in the model. The older the student was when first enrolling, the lower their likelihood of completing college. The more remediation a student needed in math skills, then the less likely she or he was in completing college. Placement into developmental (remedial) English writing courses did not seem to suppress completion, and was a non-significant finding in the model. Reading proficiency and participation in a student success course (first-year seminar) were not significant factors in the model, though estimated coefficients aligned with research literature.</p>

<p> The social self preservation model posits that threats to the social self result in a unique and coordinated psychobiological response that evolved due to its adaptive benefits. Stressors that threaten the social self elicit feelings of shame and other negative self-conscious emotions, as well as increased hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity. The current study sought to test this model by exposing individuals to an acute stressor, and determining if they exhibit the emotional, physiological, and behavioral components proposed by the self preservation model. In addition, the physiological and emotional reactions of an observing participant were assessed to determine if they too exhibited a physiological and emotional reaction to observing an individual under social stress. Results supported the social self preservation model in that participants undergoing the acute stressor task exhibited significantly greater cortisol response and self-reported personal distress, as compared to observing participants. The social self preservation model was also extended by the current findings in that participant submissive nonverbal behavior, particularly gaze aversion, was related to their physiological response. Observing participants exhibited a significant salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) response, demonstrating the physiological effects of observing an individual experiencing social stress. In addition, observing participants with greater trait empathy levels exhibited significantly greater physiological reactivity as well as self-reported personal distress. These findings suggest that nonverbal behavior may be a mechanism of physiological resonance of stress.</p>

<p>This project provides a broad exploration of factors that can enhance or inhibit creative performance in professional artists, including writers, visual artists, and musicians. Potential causes of the difficulties creative clients contend with are surveyed, as well as a range of interventions to address them. The first section reviews six major factors that can impact artistic creativity (also called <i>Big C</i> or eminent creativity) both positively and negatively, including the relatively stable and enduring factors of artists&rsquo; personality traits, cognitive makeup, and psychopathology. This section also reviews more malleable elements of creativity that the therapist may be able to affect directly, namely, motivational orientation, mood, and environmental influences. The second section is an investigation of creative block: its antecedents, phenomenology, and proposed classifications of different types of block. The final section focuses on interventions to facilitate creative performance in artists, both those who are suffering from artist block and those who are seeking to boost their creative achievement more generally. Interventions reviewed include cognitive-behavioral, Gestalt, psychodynamic, meditative, and compassion-focused approaches. In addition, field interviews conducted with psychologists with expertise in the clinical treatment of professional artists are summarized. The project concludes with a discussion of possible reasons for the scarcity of empirical literature on the subject of creative block and potential avenues of exploration for future research. </p><p> Keywords: Arts, artists, musicians, writers, creativity, psychotherapy, self-compassion, perfectionism, self criticism. </p>

<p> Newly commissioned officers in the U.S. Army are taught to lead their soldiers from the front and to voluntarily make personal sacrifices in the service of the nation. Although this facet of military culture is seen as critical to the integrity of the force, there are few research studies describing the impact of leader self-sacrifice in the U.S. Army. Research evolving from the transformational leadership literature indicates that civilian leaders who engage in self-sacrificial behavior are viewed as more charismatic than their counterparts and that this perception is particularly pronounced in crisis situations. The current study extended this research to a military population utilizing a quantitative experimental research design. Respondents were randomly assigned to written vignettes that manipulated leader self-sacrifice and the combat environment and then provided assessments of the company grade officer's attributed charisma. Currently serving enlisted and commissioned officers in the California Army National Guard (<i>n</i> = 218) took part in the research, and ANOVA test results indicated that both self-sacrifice and the experience of combat significantly increase perceptions of a company grade officer's attributed charisma. No significant interaction was found between leader self-sacrifice and combat. This study indicated that the self-sacrificial leadership model may have broad applicability across organizations and provides strong support for the Army's emphasis on selfless service. This research can spur positive social change by fostering a more aspirational form of leadership within the Army that builds the psychological resilience of soldiers and results in stronger teams. </p>

<p> Chronic stress and other emotional factors may have relevant impacts on pregnancy outcomes because they are related to neuroendocrine changes that lead to alterations in immunomodulation during pregnancy. In this quantitative prospective cross-sectional study, the relationship of emotional lability, depression, and stress during pregnancy and the development of preterm labor, preeclampsia, placental abruption, and low birth weight for gestational age babies was examined. Additionally, social support scores were compared to levels of stress/anxiety, depression, and emotional lability in pregnant women. Two hundred and forty two pregnant women who received prenatal services at the National Institute of Perinatology in Mexico City were evaluated during the 2^nd or 3^rd trimester of pregnancy and followed until pregnancy termination. Logistic regression analyses showed that being single significantly predicted preeclampsia and preterm birth, and the presence of social support significantly decreased the likelihood of preterm birth development. In the logistic regression model, family income significantly predicted the development of abruptio placentae. MANCOVA results revealed a significant difference among the social support categories on the combined dependent variables (stress/anxiety, depression, and emotional lability). The ANCOVA reported significant differences between social support scores, and stress/anxiety and depression scores. ANCOVA also showed significant differences between the number of pregnancies and stress scores. A 2X2 factorial analysis of variance showed a significant main effect of stress and depression on newborn weight. By promoting awareness of the importance of emotional factors during pregnancy among healthcare workers and pregnant women, this study contributed to positive social change.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to identify meaningful personality differences (and/or personality disorders) between convicted sexual offenders and convicted Internet sex offenders. For the purpose of this study, convicted sexual offenders will include only rapists and child molesters, referred to as Hands-On Adult Victims (HOAV) and Hands-On Child Victims (HOCV), respectively. </p><p> Nine of the 24 MCMI-III clinical scales were used to examine potential meaningful differences: schizoid, avoidant, depressive, dependent, histrionic, narcissistic, antisocial, compulsive, and negativistic scales. Archival data consisting of MCMI-III scores of 75 convicted sex offenders from the three groups were analyzed. Significant differences were found in two of the nine MCMI-III scales: schizoid and narcissistic. Internet offenders displayed higher elevations on the schizoid scale when compared to the HOAV and HOCV offenders; no differences were found between the HOAV and HOCV offenders in this scale. On the narcissistic scale, HOCV and HOAV offenders scored similarly to each other but both had elevated scores compared to the Internet offenders. The general lack of differences in personality profiles among the three offender groups suggests that treatment interventions could usefully focus on dynamic risk factors rather than on personality factors.</p>

<p> The predictive validity of the Displaced Aggression Questionnaire (DAQ) was studied by allowing participants to engage in both displaced and direct aggression. Participants were given the DAQ and the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (AQ), assessments of trait displaced and direct aggression, respectively. Participants were then provoked and given the opportunity to engage in both direct and displaced aggression. Results indicated that both the DAQ and the AQ were positively correlated with both displaced and direct aggression. Furthermore, the type of aggression dependent measure (viz., physical versus verbal) did not moderate these effects. Finally, there was a significant negative correlation between the DAQ and the Differentiation of Self Questionnaire, which measures the process of separating from ones multigenerational family, indicating that higher levels of trait displaced aggression are associated with negative differentiation from one's family of origin. Implications for both predicting and reducing aggressive behavior are discussed. </p>