Revision of the Staff Observation Aggression Scale (SOAS): comment on Hallsteinsen et al.
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Aggression↗
Biomedical subjects
H Merckelbach
Publications and source records attributed to H Merckelbach.
Suppression and ritualistic behaviour in normal participants.
OBJECTIVE: Previous research has shown that normal and abnormal ritualistic behaviours do not differ in content. Rather, the differences between both categories of rituals pertain to characteristics such as frequency, intensity, discomfort and resistance. This study sought to investigate whether thought suppression is linked to these characteristics. DESIGN: Cross-sectional; questionnaires on thought suppression and rituals were administered to a sample of undergraduate students (N = 166). METHOD: Habitual suppressors (N = 20) and non-suppressors (N = 20), as measured by the White Bear Suppression Inventory, were selected and compared with regard to the characteristics of their rituals. RESULTS: Suppressors experienced their rituals as more intense, discomforting and resistance-provoking than did non-suppressors. There were no group differences in the content, frequency, and perceived senselessness of rituals. CONCLUSION: Although the cross-sectional nature of the present study precludes causal inferences, its findings are consistent with the view that chronic thought suppression may promote ritualistic behaviour. Clearly, the details of the link between thought suppression and rituals require further examination.
Adolescent↗
Factor analyses of WISC-R and K-ABC in a Dutch sample of children referred for learning disabilities.
This study examined correlations between WISC-R and K-ABC subtests in a sample of 101 children referred for learning disabilities. A considerable overlap between the two instruments was found. Separate factor analyses of the WISC-R and K-ABC were conducted. By and large, the WISC-R factor structure was similar to that found for standardization samples. Three factors emerged, namely Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Organization, and Freedom From Distractibility. In line with earlier findings, the K-ABC factor analysis resulted in two factors: Simultaneous and Sequential Processing. A shorter battery combining subtests from both instruments is discussed.
Adolescent↗
The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) and traditional childhood anxiety measures.
The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) is a self-report questionnaire that measures symptoms of DSM-IV linked anxiety disorders in children. This article presents two studies that investigated the relationship between the SCARED, on the one hand, and two other widely used anxiety measures for children, namely the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS) and the Fear Survey Schedule for Children-Revised (FSSC-R), on the other hand. Results indicate that SCARED scores are positively and in a theoretically meaningful way related to RCMAS and FSSC-R scores, and thus provide evidence for the concurrent validity of the SCARED.
Age Factors↗
Illusory correlation and social anxiety.
An illusory correlation (IC) experiment examined the presence of a phobia-relevant covariation bias in the context of social anxiety. Low (n = 28) and high (n = 32) social anxious women were shown a series of slides comprising pictures of angry, happy and neutral faces which were randomly paired with either a shock, a siren or nothing. One half of the participants were shown women faces, whereas the other half were shown men faces. Participants indicated outcome expectancies on a trial by trial basis. After the experiment proper they estimated the contingencies of all slide/outcome combinations. Participants showed both an a priori and an a posteriori IC between angry faces and shock. This covariation bias was similar for men and women faces and independent of prior fear. The pattern of results is consistent with the idea that ICs arise from initial expectancies that survive extinction.
Association Learning↗
Traumatic intrusions as 'worse case scenario's'.
While some clinicians assume that traumatic intrusions are historically accurate revisualizations of traumatic incidents, others have suggested that these types of intrusions may represent a worse case scenario (i.e. exaggerated) version of the trauma. To explore this issue, a survey was conducted among undergraduate students (N = 189). Of the 69 respondents who had been the victim of or witness to a relatively recent trauma, 15 (22%) reported an exaggerated perception of the traumatic incident. Exaggerated intrusions were found to have more flashback qualities and tended to have a higher frequency than 'realistic' intrusions. These findings are well in line with the idea that intrusions are not necessarily veridical copies of traumatic events.
Adolescent↗
Treating phobic children: effects of EMDR versus exposure.
This study examined the efficacy of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) and exposure in the treatment of a specific phobia. Twenty-six spider phobic children were treated during 2 treatment phases. During the first phase, which lasted 2.5 hr, children were randomly assigned to either (a) an EMDR group (n = 9), (b) an exposure in vivo group (n = 9), or (c) a computerized exposure (control) group (n = 8). During the 2nd phase, all groups received a 1.5-hr session of exposure in vivo. Therapy outcome measures (i.e., self-reported fear and behavioral avoidance) were obtained before treatment, after Treatment Phase 1, and after Treatment Phase 2. Results showed that the 2.5-hr exposure in vivo session produced significant improvement on all outcome measures. In contrast, EMDR yielded a significant improvement on only self-reported spider fear. Computerized exposure produced nonsignificant improvement. Furthermore, no evidence was found to suggest that EMDR potentiates the efficacy of a subsequent exposure in vivo treatment. Exposure in vivo remains the treatment of choice for childhood spider phobia.
Adolescent↗
Worry in normal children.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate worry in a nonclinical sample of children aged 8 to 13 years (N = 193). METHOD: Children were interviewed about the content, characteristics, origins, and severity of their main intense worry. Furthermore, children completed questionnaires to study the relationship between worry, trait anxiety, and depression. RESULTS: Almost 70% of the children reported that they worried every now and then. The content of these worries predominantly pertained to school performance, dying and health, and social contacts. An examination of the characteristics of children's main intense worries revealed that these worries occurred on average 2 to 3 days per week, were accompanied by modest levels of interference and anxiety, elicited relatively high levels of resistance, and were rather difficult to control. A minority of the children were found to exhibit symptoms of worry in the pathological range: the percentages of children who met the DSM-III-R criteria of overanxious disorder and generalized anxiety disorder were 4.7% and 6.2%, respectively. Finally, worry, anxiety, and depression seemed to be strongly related. CONCLUSION: Worry seems to be a common phenomenon in normal children aged between 8 and 13 years.
Adolescent↗
Correlations between two Multidimensional Anxiety Scales for Children.
The correlation between scores on two new anxiety questionnaires for children (ns = 54 boys, 54 girls), the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders and the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children was .72, with values for subtests ranging between .35 and .63.
Adolescent↗
Difficulties in the understanding of false belief: specific to autism and other pervasive developmental disorders?
The present study examined the performance on a false belief task of atypical autistic children, i.e., children with a pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (n = 50), socially immature children (n = 50), and normal children (n = 50). Children were shown a chocolate box and its unexpected content, i.e., a pencil, and then required to indicate what a friend would say about the content of the box. Results can be summarized: (1) over-all, 3-year-old children performed less well than children of 6 years. (2) Responses of 3-year-old atypical autistic and socially immature children did not differ significantly from those of normal children of the same age. (3) At age 6, normal children performed better than atypical autistic and socially immature children. (4) In general, no differences in performance between atypical autistic and socially immature children were found, and (5) their performance was linked to intelligence. The results support prior findings that atypical autistic children find it difficult to understand false beliefs; however, this difficulty does not seem to be specific for (atypical) autism, but might be a common feature of social immaturity in general.
Autistic Disorder↗
Assumptions of students and psychotherapists about memory.
The present study explored assumptions about memory in a Dutch sample consisting of 27 psychotherapists and 50 undergraduate students. Participants completed a questionnaire about memory and repression. Analysis indicated that a substantial proportion of the participants held assumptions about memory that are unrealistic in the sense that they do not meet a generally accepted standard among memory scientists. Although most respondents said that memory is not an accurate reflection of reality, metaphors provided by students and psychotherapists suggest that the reconstructive nature of memory was less well acknowledged.
Adult↗
Schizophrenia and changes in physical appearance.
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Beauty Culture↗
EEG correlates of a paper-and-pencil test measuring hemisphericity.
The present study examined the validity of the Preference Test (PT), a questionnaire that intends to measure the extent to which subjects rely on right-hemisphere and left-hemisphere cognitions. Normal subjects (N = 20) completed the PT and were then assigned to a group with a relatively strong preference for left-hemisphere cognitions or a group with a relatively strong preference for right-hemisphere cognitions. Next, background EEG was recorded. Subjects with a preference for right-hemisphere cognitions were found to display relatively more alpha power over the left than over the right frontal areas, compared to subjects with a preference for left-hemisphere cognitions. This finding provides partial support for the validity of the PT.
Adolescent↗
What do children fear most often?
Following the critical comments of McCathie and Spence (Behaviour Research and Therapy, 29, 495-502, 1991), the present study obtained fear rank orders in children (N = 394) in two different ways. The first fear rank order was based on children's FSSC-R scores. The second fear rank order was based on what children indicated as their most feared object. Each method resulted in a different fear rank order. These results demonstrate that fear rank orders critically depend on the survey method that researchers employ. The theoretical and methodological implications of this finding are discussed.
Analysis of Variance↗
Abnormal and normal compulsions.
Previous research by Rachman and de Silva (1978, Behaviour Research and Therapy, 16, 233-248) and by Salkovskis and Harrison (1984, Behaviour Research and Therapy, 22, 549-552) has shown that abnormal and normal obsessions are similar in content. The present study examined whether the same is true for abnormal and normal rituals. A sample of normal subjects (N = 150) were asked about their idiosyncratic rituals. A majority of them (54.7%) indicated that they had such rituals. While these rituals were less frequent, less intense, and less often associated with negative affect than the compulsions of a sample of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, differences in terms of content between normal and abnormal rituals were small. Experts often tended to misclassify abnormal compulsions as normal rituals. By and large, the present findings indicate that there is continuity between abnormal and normal compulsions.
Adolescent↗
Cued UCS rehearsal and the impact of painful conditioned stimuli: UCS rehearsal increases SCRs but reduces experienced pain.
The effects of cued UCS rehearsal on responses to a mildly painful CS previously paired with a highly painful UCS were investigated. Following CS pretest and CS-UCS pairings, subjects either mentally rehearsed the UCS (condition 1), received the real UCS (condition 2), mentally rehearsed an unrelated painful experience (condition 3), or waited (condition 4). In a fifth condition, subjects received CS and UCS unpaired before engaging in UCS rehearsal. During a posttest, subjects received CS-alone presentations and rated experienced pain and anxiety, while electrodermal responses were assessed. These responses were compared to pretest and acquisition responses. UCS rehearsal led to pain reduction of the CS comparable to the habituation effect of real UCS confrontation. In line with an associative basis for this effect, UCS rehearsal did not influence the pain experience of an unpaired CS. Yet, rehearsal of a memory of an unrelated painful experience also reduced the pain experience of the CS. Electrodermal responses showed delayed extinction and incubation after UCS rehearsal, but there were no significant effects on subjective anxiety. Incubation of electrodermal responses was related to low self-consciousness and the combination of low self-consciousness and high trait anxiety. Trait anxiety and worry proneness per se did not relate to incubation. The findings suggest that worry-like processes can have functional values like reducing pain impact, and cast doubt upon the contention that UCS rehearsal leads to an overall incubation of fear.
Adult↗
Thought suppression in spider phobia.
The current study examined the role of thought suppression in spider phobia. Spider phobic (n = 41) and non-phobic (n = 40) subjects were asked to monitor their thoughts for three 5 min periods. During the first period, all subjects were instructed to "think about anything". During the second period, half of the subjects received suppression instructions (i.e., subjects were explicitly asked "not to think of spiders"), whereas the other half once again received instructions to "think about anything". During the third period, all subjects were instructed to "think about anything". Spider-related thoughts were monitored on-line. Also, subjects retrospectively estimated the amount of time they had spent thinking about spiders. Overall, spider phobics reported higher levels of spider-related thoughts than non-phobic subjects. Furthermore, phobic subjects tried harder to suppress spider-related thoughts than non-phobic subjects. Finally, although some evidence was found for the counterproductive effects of thought suppression, its contribution to the frequency of spider-related thoughts was minimal.
Adult↗
Common childhood fears and their origins.
The present study examined rank orders and characteristics of childhood fears. A 'free option' approach ('What do you fear most?') deviated markedly from the fear rank order based on the Fear Survey Schedule for Children. A second aim of the study was to investigate the origins of prevalent childhood fears. In contrast to the results of Ollendick and King (1991, Behaviour Research and Therapy, 29, 117-123), conditioning was found to be the most commonly reported pathway related to exacerbation and onset of fears. Finally, special attention was given to the top intense fear in children, namely fear of spiders. Children who reported 'none', 'some' or 'a lot' of spider fear were compared with each other in terms of pathways. No differences between the three groups were found with respect to the frequency of modeling and information experiences. However, high fearful children more often reported conditioning experiences than low or moderate fearful children.
Adolescent↗