No description available.

No description available.

The PDQ-39 is a health-related quality of life questionnaire with 39 items describing eight dimensions in Parkinson's disease (PD). The original English version of PDQ-39 showed excellent psychometric properties. The present study was aimed at assessing the construct validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability of the PDQ-39 French version as well as the degree of agreement between PD patients and their proxy respondents when completing the scale. One neurologist and two psychologists using standardized clinical scales of PD severity and depression rated 126 PD non-demented patients, attending a neurological clinic. Then, patients and their 110 proxies completed the PDQ-39 and MOS SF-36 during the psychological interview on two occasions, during the same day. All PDQ-39 dimensions showed evidence of construct validity. Internal consistency was acceptable for most dimensions and test-retest reliability was generally excellent. Agreement in patient-proxy pairs ratings varied from poor (ICC < 0.40) to good (ICC > 0.60) across dimensions.

<p> Homelessness in the United States is recognized as a grave societal problem with longstanding and pervasive implications. A substantial body of research has shown that substance use disorders occur at higher rates among homeless adults than among housed persons. Mental disorders, particularly depressive disorders, are also known to occur at substantially higher rates among the homeless. Given the prevalence of these conditions, it is important that clinicians working with homeless adults have access to reliable and valid assessment tools. The purpose of this study was to examine the usefulness of the Drug Abuse Screening Test-20 (DAST-20) in a sample of treatment-seeking, homeless men engaged in a residential substance abuse recovery program. Other goals included analysis of the relationship of the DAST-20 to the Beck Depression Inventory, Second Edition (BDI-II). The participants were 86 males with a mean age of 43.08 years. The sample was ethnically diverse, tended to be single, and most participants had at least a high school education. This was an archival study. All participants had voluntarily sought psychological services in a university-affiliated clinic at the inner city mission that provided the substance abuse recovery program. In addition to the DAST-20 and BDI-II, the instruments included an intake application form for psychological services and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Mean scores on the DAST-20 and BDI-II were 10.07 and 21.94, respectively. Internal consistency reliability was .862 for the DAST-20 and .91 for the BDI-II. There were no statistically significant differences across ethnic groups in mean DAST-20, BDI-II, or AUDIT scores. As predicted, DAST-20 scores were positively correlated with intake form-based measures of drug abuse, supporting the validity of the DAST-20 as a measure of substance-related concerns. The DAST-20 also correlated significantly with the BDI-II, consistent with other research findings. There was a trend (p = .083) for the DAST-20 to be correlated with the AUDIT. Other findings, clinical implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are also explored. The results supported the reliability and validity of the DAST-20 as a measure of problematic substance use among treatment-seeking homeless men.</p>

Seventy-two subjects participated in this study of the relative importance of various types of verbal and behavioral information in the rating process. The levels of individual performance for two football players and the level of the performance of the team on which they played were manipulated using written descriptions so that subjects believed that the players and team were either good or poor. Subjects then viewed one of two films of these players which featured either good or poor objective performance for the players and, following the film, evaluated the two players on two forms of rating scales and a questionnaire. It was found that the subjects tended to link the performance of the individuals with that of the team so that good team performance led to higher rankings for the two players.

<p> In Therapeutic Assessment individuals are given feedback based on questions developed prior to administration of psychological testing. It is hypothesized that feedback delivered in this manner results in greater therapeutic outcomes than standard feedback administration. This study compared the therapeutic outcomes of individuals who received Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory Second Edition &ndash; Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF; Ben-Porath &amp; Tellegen, 2008) feedback based on personally-developed questions to the outcomes of individuals who received standard MMPI-2-RF feedback. The study utilized a two (group) by three (time) design; the sample consisted of 39 undergraduate university students (17 men, 22 women). Nineteen participants received feedback based on their questions, while 20 participants received standard feedback. Symptoms of distress and self-esteem were assessed prior to MMPI-2-RF administration, immediately after MMPI-2-RF feedback, and two weeks after feedback. Participants also rated their perceptions of the assessment process at the final two time points. Results indicated that all participants, regardless of feedback style, experienced statistically significant decreases in anxiety and depressive symptoms two weeks after feedback. There were no differences in self-esteem or perceptions about the assessment process between groups or across time. This study provides further evidence of the therapeutic utility of feedback, but does not suggest that basing feedback on client-developed questions results in a greater magnitude of therapeutic benefits than standard feedback. An additional finding was that all participants were engaged in the assessment process as evidenced by a 100 percent valid MMPI-2-RF profile rate, which speaks to the importance of making individuals aware they will receive feedback prior to testing as it may lead to increased engagement in the assessment process. </p>

No description available.

Stress plays a significant role in the initiation and continuation of drinking. Furthermore, epidemiological studies have shown a higher incidence of alcoholism in males than females. Objective. The current studies aimed to investigate the presence of gender differences in the interactions of ethanol and stress with the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis. Methods. Participants included 12 males and 10 females with no previous personal or familial history of alcoholism. Plasma levels of ACTH and cortisol were estimated following a placebo drink, a low and a high dose of alcohol and a psychological stress task performed 30 minutes after the ingestion of the placebo, the low and the high alcohol drinks. Results. Male participants presented a more pronounced response of the HPA-axis to both alcohol and psychological stress. Prior ingestion of the low and to a lesser extent of the high dose of alcohol induced a more pronounced and longer lasting attenuation of the HPA-axis response to stress in males than females. Conclusions. There are gender differences in the interactions of ethanol and stress with the HPA-axis, which may contribute to the gender differences in alcohol consumption.

Thesis (M. Nurs.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 1993. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-06, Section: B, page: 3385.