Biomedical subjects

D M Martz

Publications and source records attributed to D M Martz.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Evaluation of a cognitive-behavioral therapy intervention to improve body image and decrease dieting in college women.

This two-group experimental study evaluated the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral body image intervention, adapted from an effective clinical intervention, with normal college females. Participants included nonclinical, freshman college women who were assigned randomly to either the experimental intervention or the control group (brief educational session). Participants were assessed prior to the intervention and again 1 month later on dieting behavior, body image, fear of fat, and anxiety concerning physical appearance. Although it was hypothesized that each of these variables would be lower in the experimental group, none of these results, except for a trend for decreased dieting, were found. Overall these results of slightly reduced dieting behavior are consistent with other research targeting primary and secondary prevention. This intervention's failure to impact body image and eating behaviors of college students illustrates the continuing challenge of eating disorders prevention.

Clinical Trial↗

PubMed1996

Development and preliminary validation of the cognitive behavioral dieting scale.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this research was to empirically develop the Cognitive Behavioral Dieting Scale (CBDS), a measure of current dieting. METHOD: The first study involved item generation and a procedure to boost internal consistency while reducing scale length. Study 2 involved a factor analysis and measures of scale reliability. The third study evaluated the ability of the CBDS to predict calorie intake and negative calorie balance from a 24-hr diet recall. Study 4 evaluated construct validity by comparing the CBDS to dietary restraint, body image, and health behavior self-efficacy. RESULTS: The CBDS is a 14-item scale which measures current dieting behavior and related thoughts within the past 2 weeks. Internal consistency was alpha = .95 and 2-day test-retest reliability was r = .95. This scale provides a method for operationalizing dieting, provides a construct that is different from restraint, and assess dieting behavior on a continuum. Additionally, this scale was able to predict calorie intake and negative calorie balance above and beyond the predictive ability of physical variables (i.e., body mass index BMI] and exercise calories). An additional study of construct validity showed the CBDS was related to poor body image esteem and dietary restraint, but minimally related to healthy eating self-efficacy. DISCUSSION: In conclusion, the CBDS shows promise as a valid and reliable measure of dieting behavior. This scale should have utility in future research on how current dieting relates to eating disorders, dietary restraint, and obesity.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Influence of medical school applicants' demographic and cognitive characteristics on interviewers' ratings of noncognitive traits.

BACKGROUND: Interviews are commonly used to measure noncognitive traits of medical school applicants. The present study investigated the influence of knowledge of applicants' cognitive abilities on interviewers' ratings of noncognitive traits. METHOD: Academic and demographic predictors of interview ratings of applicants' noncognitive traits were examined at the Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine during two years: 1992, when applicants' Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) total scores and undergraduate grade-point averages (GPAs) were available to interviewers; and 1993, when MCAT and GPA data were not available. In 1992, 226 applicants met study criteria (i.e., they received ratings from three interviewers in addition to having MCAT and GPA data on file); in 1993, 245 applicants met the criteria. Step-wise regression analyses were conducted to measure the influences of seven independent variables on applicants' interview ratings. Two-way analyses of variances and t-tests were used to determine the effects of gender of applicants and interviewers. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were used as measures of interviewers' reliability. RESULTS: GPA was the best predictor for both years but accounted for double the amount of variance in interview ratings in 1992 (15.7%) compared with 1993 (7.4%). The reliability coefficients for the interviewers were .496 for 1992 and .473 for 1993. CONCLUSION: If the goal of the medical school admission interview is to assess noncognitive traits independently from academic skills, the authors recommend that MCAT and GPA data not be available to interviewers during interviews. The authors also found that gender and race influenced interview ratings in accordance with affirmative-action goals. Finally, the authors found that interview scores were only moderately reliable across different interviewers. They discuss ways to increase their reliability.

Analysis of Variance↗