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Biomedical subjects

A Furnham

Publications and source records attributed to A Furnham.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Lay theories of etiology and "cure" for four types of paraphilia: fetishism; pedophilia; sexual sadism; and voyeurism.

The current study set out to investigate the structure, determinants, and relationship between lay theories of the etiology and efficacy of "cures" for four types of paraphilia: fetishism, pedophilia, sexual sadism, and voyeurism. One hundred and five participants completed a four-part questionnaire, which was divided into (a) demographic details, (b) perceptions of the etiology, (c) ratings of cure for each paraphilia, and (d) the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Previous studies of lay theories have demonstrated a clear and interpretable factor structure similar to that of explicit academic theories, as well as a clear and logical relationship between perceived etiology and cure. A similar structure was expected to emerge in this study, together with positive correlations between the various factors and personality type. A factor analysis revealed a clear and logical factor structure for etiology and cure items. Further, etiology and cure factors correlated strongly with each other but only moderately with demographic details and personality differences. These findings are discussed in relation to growing literature in the field.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Perception of body shapes by anorexics and mature and teenage females.

Three groups of females-Anorexic (mean age 28). Teenage (mean age 16), and Mature adults (mean age 27)-were shown four male and four female body drawings ranging from very thin to very fat and asked to rate them on four categories (attractive, healthy, confident, and popular) using a 10-point bipolar scale. A predicted and consistent pattern occurred, namely that the anorexics rated fatter women less attractive, less healthy, less confident and less popular than teenagers and mature females, while at the same time rating male body shapes more attractive than did the two other female groups. Both anorexic and teenage groups rated the thinner women as more attractive, healthy, confident, and popular than the mature females. Both mature and teenage females rated the fat female body shape more positively than did the anorexics. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Overcoming neuroses: lay attributions of cure for five specific neurotic disorders.

This study was concerned with lay beliefs about the importance of 24 different contributors towards overcoming five neurotic disorders. In this study, subjects (n = 113) completed a questionnaire indicating how effective 24 factors were to overcoming five specific problems: social phobia, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. Factor analysis revealed almost identical clusters for each problem, and a factor structure very close to Furnham and McDermott (1994). Three factors emerged and were labeled self-reliance, seeking help, and external control. The perceived relevance of only seeking help differed significantly between problems, with seeking help rated as most important and self-reliance least important overall. Some individual difference factors (sex and religion) were found to predict certain factor attributions for specific disorders. Post-traumatic stress disorder was considered most in need of help and social phobia/panic disorder least. Females believed more in seeking help than males, who stressed external control more than females. Religious respondents rated external control more highly than nonreligious respondents. The clinical relevance of studying attributions for cure is also considered.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

A study and meta-analysis of lay attributions of cures for overcoming specific psychological problems.

Lay beliefs about the importance of 24 different contributors to overcoming 4 disorders that constitute primarily cognitive deficits were studied. A meta-analysis of previous programmatic studies in the area was performed so that 22 different psychological problems could be compared. In the present study, 107 participants completed a questionnaire indicating how effective 24 factors were in overcoming 4 specific problems: dyslexia, fear of flying, amnesia, and learning difficulties. Factor analysis revealed almost identical clusters (inner control, social consequences, understanding, receiving help, and fate) for each problem. The perceived relevance of those factors differed significantly between problems. Some individual difference factors (sex and religion) were found to predict certain factor attributions for specific disorders. A meta-analysis of the 5 studies in this series yielded a 6-factor structure comparable to those of the individual studies and provided results indicating the benefits and limitations of this kind of investigation. The clinical relevance of studying attributions for cure is considered.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

An international validation of the interaction with disabled persons scale.

The Interaction with Disabled Persons Scale (IDP) was devised to measure attitudes in terms of discomfort reported about social interaction with people with disabilities. The Scale has been used in Australia for ten years. This article reports results of an international validation project that was designed to determine whether psychometric characteristics and norms emerging for Australian groups apply elsewhere. A methodological proforma was developed to maximize uniformity of data collection across nine countries: Australia, Canada, Croatia, England, Germany, Hong Kong, Poland, Scotland and the United States. In most countries the Scale was administered in English; however it also was translated into Germany, Polish, French and Croat. Results indicate that across countries mean scores fell within ten points, similar moderate to high levels of item homogeneity occurred and level of prior contact with people with disabilities emerged as the strongest predictor of IDP scores. It was concluded that the IDP Scale is a valid measure that is able to discriminate between respondents within the countries included in the study.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Ethical ideology and the allocation of scarce medical resources.

This study was designed to determine the ethical beliefs upon which both medical and non-medical participants base their decisions when asked to construct a ranked waiting-list for treatment for patients suffering from kidney failure. Participants were given minimal demographic and medical data about hypothetical patients and were asked to rank them in order of priority for treatment. A participant's initial ethical position was determined by the Forsyth (1980) Ethical Ideology Questionnaire which provides a fourfold typology based on two factors (relativism and idealism). Each participant's personal demographic information was also obtained. The analysis yielded a main effect of the 'number of dependents' variable of the patient and its interaction with the 'religiousness' variable of the participants which reflected a utilitarian moral ideology working within an egalitarian framework. Implications of studies of this sort for sociomedical moral decision making and research on ethical and moral issues are discussed. The limitations of this sort of research are also considered.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Ear dominance and telephone sales.

In a field study, three equally sized sales teams used on of three head-sets--left, right, both ears--for a day's selling of insurance by telephone. This had no effect on sales. In a retrospective study of records, daily sales performance including the percentage conversion rate for sales divided by the number of calls and the number and duration of calls was related to preference for type of head-set. Sales were markedly influenced by the choice of head-set. People who chose to wear the left earpiece significantly out sold the others wearing right and stereohead-sets. Neither the number of incoming calls nor the time spent on the telephone were influenced by the choice of head-set. When sales are analysed in terms of individual differences in personal preference for type of head-set, those who chose the left ear had an advantage. Forced use of the left, versus right ear or both ears for one day had no effect.

Commerce↗
PubMed1997

Age and sex differences in health beliefs and behaviours.

200 adults completed various questionnaires about their general health awareness, health locus of control, and the perceived causes of illness. Whereas there were fewer age differences than expected, a number of consistent sex differences appeared. For example, the women relied less on "provider control" of health (doctors being in charge), expressed greater "nutritional consciousness," and believed more than men that psychological factors play an important part in the aetiology of illness.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Job search strategies, attitudes to school and attributions about unemployment

Two-hundred and seventy British final-year school-leavers completed a questionnaire battery looking at attitudes to school, attributions for unemployment, job search strategies and the perceived characteristics of an ideal job. Six varimax-rotated factor analyses were performed on each part of the six part questionnaire. In accordance with similar studies in the area, each of the questionnaire sections yielded a predictable factor structure. Higher-order factor analysis showed five clear factors, which together accounted for nearly 45% of the variance. They were labelled: self-effort strategies, fatalistic, background, extrinsic and alienated. This showed that job search strategies, career advice, employment attributions and the perceived most and least desirable features of jobs are clearly interrelated. The complexity and interrelatedness of these cognitions about work suggest they may be difficult to change.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1996

Psychiatric symptomatology and the recall of positive and negative personality information.

Various studies from the cognitive information processing tradition have shown that neuroticism is particularly associated with the preferential processing of negative information about the self. Just over 60 'normal' subjects completed the Langner (1962, Journal of Health and Human Behaviour, 3, 269-276) 22 measure of minor psychiatric symptoms. Later, they were presented with a list of positive, neutral and negative trait words for self-rating. After 1 hr, subjects were asked to recall all the trait words. As predicted, the Langner (1962) score was associated with an increased probability of recalling negative self-referent information (r = 0.36). Implications for therapy are considered.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Lay theories of heroin addiction.

This study examined the structure and determinants of lay people's implicit theories of heroin addiction. A questionnaire was derived from interviews with lay people about their beliefs and theories of heroin addiction and academic literature on the subject. One hundred and forty-four subjects completed the questionnaire, in which they rated 105 statements about the causes, correlates and cures of heroin addiction. The three parts of the questionnaire were individually factor analyzed and a clear, interpretable factor structure emerged for each. The factors seemed similar to explicit academic theories, but the exception was beliefs about cure, which did not show overall support for the most clinically used models. When the three factor analyses were combined into a single 'higher-order' factor analysis four factors emerged, labelled moralistic, psychosocial, sociocultural and drug treatment, which reflect more or less coherent views on the nature of heroin addiction. Subjects' political beliefs was the greatest (demographic and attitudinal) determinant of lay beliefs in these factors, with experience of addiction, addicts, drugs and age also highly correlated. Vote was the main determinant and best predictor of the four 'higher-order' structured lay theories: right-wing voters emphasizing moralistic and individualistic theory and left-wing voters supporting the psychological and societal ideas. Implications for policy and interventions to addicts of these lay theories are considered.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Why do patients turn to complementary medicine? An empirical study.

Over 250 patients from three complementary medicine practices-acupuncture, osteopathy and homoeopathy-completed a questionnaire rating 20 potential reasons for seeking complementary treatment. The reasons that were most strongly endorsed were "because I value the emphasis on treating the whole person'; "because I believe complementary therapy will be more effective for my problem than orthodox medicine'; "because I believe that complementary medicine will enable me to take a more active part in maintaining my health'; and "because orthodox treatment was not effective for my particular problem'. Five factors were identified, in order of importance: a positive valuation of complementary treatment, the ineffectiveness of orthodox treatment for their complaint, concern about the adverse effects of orthodox medicine, concerns about communication with doctors and, of less importance, the availability of complementary medicine. Groups were compared, using analysis of covariance to control for demographic differences between the three patient groups. Osteopathy patients' reasons indicated they were least concerned about the side effects of orthodox medicine and most influenced by the availability of osteopathy for their complaints. Homoeopathy patients were most strongly influenced by the ineffectiveness of orthodox medicine for their complaints, a fact which was largely accounted for by the chronicity of their complaints. Results are discussed in terms of the limited research in this area. Future studies should separate the reasons for beginning complementary treatment from the reasons for continuing it. It is possible, for instance, that the failure of orthodox medicine is the strongest motive for seeking complementary treatment but that, once treatment has been experienced, other more positive factors become more important.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed1996

The health beliefs and behaviours of orthodox and complementary medicine clients.

This study examined different attitudes towards health and illness among an adult, working, German population. Two hundred and two subjects completed a questionnaire which assessed such beliefs as control over one's health; preventative and restorative measures in staying healthy; perceived efficacy of orthodox vs. complementary medical treatment; the underlying physiological or psychological bases of illnesses, and health consciousness. There was some evidence that females were more inclined to attend complementary forms of treatment, and that younger persons were more likely to consult an orthodox general practitioner, otherwise demographic variables were unrelated to preference for orthodox or complementary forms of treatment. Overall, the complementary medicine (CM) group compared to the general practitioner (GP) group were more critical and sceptical of the effectiveness of orthodox medicine; they felt their health could be improved; they were more loyal to their practitioner, and appeared to display more ecologically aware life-styles. Thus clients who select complementary forms of treatment may do so less from disenchantment with, and bad experience of, orthodox medical techniques rather than from a deep-seated belief in the effectiveness of complementary medicine.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Self-critical attitudes and parental criticism in young women.

It has been suggested that self-criticism derived from the family environment is a major vulnerability factor for depression. We tested in a sample of young women the hypothesis that self-criticism would be linked to parental reports of criticism, with perceived parental criticism playing a mediating role. Results indicated that self-criticism over appearance was independent of the other types of self-criticism measured. The data revealed additionally that self-criticism was related, independently of depression, to perceived parental criticism, but not to parents' own reports of criticism. Self-criticism over appearance was not related to parental variables.

Adolescent↗