The Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ) is a self-report instrument designed to measure defensive functioning and coping styles. Originally developed by Bond and colleagues (1983), the questionnaire has been researched extensively. The present investigation sought to determine the factor validity of the newly developed DSQ-60 (Trijsburg, Bond & Drapeau, 2003) in a sample of English-speaking university students (n = 305) and French-speaking university students (n = 212). Using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, three factors, or defense styles were revealed: image distorting, affect regulating, and adaptive. Cronbach's alpha for the three styles was .64, .72, and .61, respectively. Results are compared with prior research on the DSQ.

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Although there are many instruments available to assess patient adaptation to cancer, there are few instruments which can be used to assess family members of cancer patients' adaptation to cancer. The present study was conducted to determine the internal structure and factor reliability estimates of a new instrument, the Family Adaptation to Medical ILLness Inventory (FAMILLI). The analysis of the FAMILLI was conducted using respondents (N=139) with family members of cancer. Respondents' ages ranged from 18 to 70 and many types of cancer, such as lung, breast, colorectal, prostate, brain, and cervical, were represented. The study was conducted in two phases, the pilot study and the major investigation.During the pilot study, respondents from a midwestern university setting and the oncology department at a midwestern hospital (N=28) completed the FAMILLI and participated in feedback groups. The pilot study helped to refine the demographic information sheet and to reduce the number of questions on the FAMILLI from 55 to 35 questions. In addition, interesting demographic questions were added to the demographics forms.The major study (N= 117) was conducted to test the initial factor structure of the FAMILLI and to test convergent and discriminant validity. A principal components extraction yielded a six factor solution which was judged best in terms of statistical structure and theoretical parsimony. The six factors to emerge were 1) factor one, "personal needs," 2) factor two, "attitudes toward leisure and work activities," 3) factor three, "anger and blame," 4) factor four, "receiving support," 5) factor five, "seeking medical information," and 6) factor six, "family responsibilities."Convergent and discriminant validity were tested using the Cancer Behavior Inventory (CBI-B) and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). It was hypothesized that the FAMILLI would demonstrate convergent validity with the CBI-B. Four of the six factors (factors 2, 3, 4, and 5) significantly correlated with the CBI-B. The SWLS was used to test discriminant validity. Five of the six factors (factors 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6) correlated significantly with the SWLS. Thus, the FAMILLI did not demonstrate discriminant validity with an instrument used to measure global assessment of quality of life. Further research is needed to test the reliability and validity of the FAMILLI. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Childhood sexual abuse is a serious problem with potential for long term impact on the victims. A history of CSA is associated with psychological distress in adult survivors (Hund & Espelage, 2005). There are risk factors and protective factors that can mediate these effects. One protective factor that has been found to be the best predictor of outcome is adaptive coping, However, there is no known measure with well-established psychometric properties that assesses for adaptive coping behaviors. The Solution Focus Recovery Scale was developed to assess adaptive coping in adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse and sexual assault. The SFRS has some preliminary data to support the reliability and validity of the measure (Kruczek & Vitanza, 1999; Kruczek & Ægisdóttir, 2005). The current study will help to continue to establish the psychometric properties of the SFRS so that it can be used as an outcome measure for future research and in treatment. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services