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Biomedical subjects

M Reznikoff

Publications and source records attributed to M Reznikoff.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Relationship of religion and perceived social support to self-esteem and depression in nursing home residents.

This study is an examination of the relationship of religiosity and perceived social support to depression and self-esteem in nursing home residents. Answers to questionnaires administered to 83 nursing home residents indicated that perceived social support from family, public religious activity, and length of stay in the home were related to self-esteem and to depression. Past occupational status was also associated with self-esteem. Health status and having a choice in selecting the nursing home were negatively related to depression. Intrinsic religiosity and the resident's perceived social support from friends were not significantly related to depression or self-esteem.

Aged↗

Responding to graduate students' professional deficiencies: a national survey.

Seventy-one doctoral programs in professional psychology were surveyed with respect to the incidence of students' professional deficiencies and related procedures. Professional deficiencies, particularly limited clinical skills and personality/emotional problems, were reported by 89% of the respondents, twice the number that have official policies for dealing with such problems. Incidence of limited clinical skills was related positively to interviewing applicants and use of practicum grades for evaluation and related negatively to using recommendation letters and reliance on clinical supervisor's assessment. Responses to deficiencies reflected appropriate due process concepts and were most likely to include terminating students and psychotherapy referral. Recommendations are made for definitions of professional competencies, development of policies, and research on the reliability and validity of screening and evaluation mechanisms.

Affective Symptoms↗

The Rorschach: projective technique or psychometric test?

Various approaches to the Rorschach Technique are described in terms of the idiographic-nomothetic axis and the perceptual-content axis. It is suggested that it is most productive to view the Rorschach as a projective tool, with perceptual scoring a secondary factor. Current efforts at objectification of the Rorschach are not seen as useful as efforts to enhance its projective qualities. Some possible ways are discussed in which the projective value of the instrument can be maximized.

Journal Article↗

Suicide risk and violence risk in alcoholics. Predictors of aggressive risk.

The purposes of the study were: a) to examine whether risk for suicide and risk for violence were positively or negatively correlated; and b) to investigate potential predictors/mediators of suicide risk alone, violence risk alone, and risk for both suicide and violence. Suicide risk and violence risk were considered outcome variables. The predictor/mediator variables were eight ego defense mechanisms and 13 dysfunctional personality styles (both have been linked to aggressive risk). Seventy-four male alcoholics were administered questionnaire measures of suicide risk and violence risk, defenses, and disordered personality functioning. Results indicated that suicide and violence risk were significantly positively correlated. Three sets of predictor/mediator variables were identified: those predicting violence risk alone, those predicting suicide risk alone, and those predicting combined aggressive risk (risk for both suicide and violence). Connections obtained between predictor/mediator variables and outcome variables were explained in the context of existent clinical theory.

Adult↗

Psychosocial variables that affect the psychological adjustment of IVDU patients with AIDS.

The influences of coping strategies and of perceived social support from family and friends on the psychological adjustment of intravenous drug users (IVDUs) with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) were investigated. Twenty-seven male AIDS patients with a history of intravenous drug use completed a demographic questionnaire, Trails-B, the Ways of Coping Questionnaire, Perceived Social Support from Family, Perceived Social Support from Friends, and the Mental Health Inventory. Unexpected results were obtained: The only coping strategy to correlate significantly with psychological adjustment was "Seeking Social Support," and perceived social support from family correlated positively with psychological adjustment, but perceived social support from friends did not. Interpretations and implications of these findings are presented.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Narcissism, interpersonal adjustment, and coping in children of Holocaust survivors.

We tested the theory of intergenerational transmission, which suggests that the Holocaust trauma, combined with circumstances in the survivors' lives (early loss of a parent, was a child survivor, had a hiding experience) and circumstances in their children's lives (having a father who survived, being the first-born or only child, and not participating in a children of survivors group) would result in poorer interpersonal adjustment and coping and greater narcissism than in children of survivors without these circumstances and children of parents who imigrated from Europe before World War II. Three hundred fifty children (241 children of Holocaust survivors and 109 children o escaped European-born partners) completed four scales of the California Psychological Inventory (Gough, 1988), the O'Brien Multiphasic Narcissism Inventory (O'Brien, 1987), and the Hardiness scale (Kobasa & Puccetti, 1983). The results failed to support the attribution of adjustment and personality differences in children of survivors to survivor status.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

The relationship between personality type and style of alcohol use.

Two hundred fifty male, alcoholic VA inpatients were administered the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI) and the Alcohol Use Inventory (AUI). A cluster analysis, based on the scales of the MCMI, yielded three clusters: Cluster 1 was the smallest and was described by the least overall psychopathology. Cluster 2 had significant elevations on Antisocial, Narcissistic, Paranoid, Drug and Alcohol Abuse scales. Cluster 3 was the largest and had significant elevations on Avoidant, Schizoid, Dependent, Passive-Aggressive, Anxiety, Dysthymia, and Alcohol Abuse scales.

Adult↗

Bootstrapping: a tool for clinical research.

The use of the bootstrap sampling technique is applied to the type of data found in clinical research. Confidence intervals are computed for simulated values by use of SAS. By applying this approach, clinical researchers are free to explore topics that do not meet the requirements of traditional statistical analytic methods.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Identity integration and ego pathology in disturbed adolescents.

Utilizing the Rorschach and the Wechsler, groups of borderline adolescents (n = 26) and adolescents with other personality disorders (n = 26) were compared to determine whether there were differences in magnitude and type of disturbances in ego functioning. The specific aspects of ego functioning that were studied included disturbances in identity integration, reliance on primitive defensive operations, vulnerability to regressive thinking, and lapses in reality appreciation. Results indicated that during adolescence the borderline personality represents a more severe form of character pathology than other personality disorders, as revealed by more disturbances in identity integration, a greater regression to primary-process thinking in unstructured settings, and more frequent lapses in reality testing. This contrast was most striking in the area of identity integration, where identity disturbances tended to be associated with lapses in reality testing in borderline adolescents, while there was essentially no relationship between these two indicators of ego pathology in non-borderline adolescents. This supports the notion that disturbances in identity integration, or the sense of self, form an important part of the borderline diagnosis, even during adolescence.

Adolescent↗

Frequency of reported premenstrual changes in normal and self-selected populations.

Premenstrual Assessment Form (PAF) data are presented on the prevalence of premenstrual syndrome subtypes in self-referred women (N = 60) who were requesting an evaluation for premenstrual difficulties. These data are compared to the normative data of Halbreich and Endicott (1982). The PAF offers the advantages of comprehensive symptom coverage and criteria for non-mutually exclusive subtypes of premenstrual disorder. Although the PAF relies on retrospective accounts of premenstrual difficulty, it allows the exploration of the relationships between perception of premenstrual symptoms and sample selection criteria. The present data suggest that sample characteristics such as their manner of selection for study will influence significantly the prevalence of PAF subtypes.

Adolescent↗

Effects of aggressive and nonaggressive rock songs on projective and structured tests.

The differences between hostility scores on projective and objective tests as a function of listening to aggressive or nonaggressive rock music were studied. While taking the Thematic Apperception Test (Cards 1, 3BM, 4, 9BM, and 10) and the Buss-Durkee (1957) Hostility Scale, subjects (N = 90) randomly assigned to one of three groups listened to a rock song with (a) nonaggressive music and nonaggressive lyrics, (b) aggressive music and nonaggressive lyrics, or (c) aggressive music and aggressive lyrics. TAT stories were scored for aggressive content according to Hafner and Kaplan's (1960) hostility rating scale. Hostility scores did not differ between groups. The findings are congruent with other investigators' reports that subjects do not pay attention to rock lyrics. Previous findings that music affects the emotional quality of TAT stories and hostility scores on the Buss-Durkee scale were not supported.

Adolescent↗

Psychosocial adjustment to a mastectomy.

Increasing attention is being given to treating the psychosocial as well as the physical needs of mastectomy patients. The present study investigated and endeavored to quantify the psychological, sexual, and social adjustment reactions to a mastectomy, the possible interaction of these reactions, and the role of environmental support in mediating these responses. Forty married and 37 unmarried mastectomy patients completed a battery of tests, including the Body-Cathexis/Self-Cathexis Scale, SCL-90, Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory, Social Adjustment Scale-Self-Report, Perceived Social Support Scale, and a Support Questionnaire. Overall findings indicated that a mastectomy has the potential for affecting psychological, sexual, and social adjustment for at least a limited time post-operatively. Specifically, significant correlations were found between psychological, sexual, and social adjustment. Significant differences were also demonstrated in the married/nonmarried comparison. Additionally, results emphasized the importance of environmental support for postoperative adjustment.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Cognitive dysfunction and change in multiple sclerosis.

A cross-sectional study of 60 multiple sclerosis outpatients assessed neuropsychological variables in relation to age, duration of disease, and degree of disability. The test battery included subtests of the WAIS (Vocabulary, Similarities, and Digit Span);the Raven matrices; and memory tests (Wechsler Paired Associates, Benton Visual Retention). Results showed that cognitive functioning of MS patients varies considerably. There is a general mild decline that affects abstract reasoning and memory as the disease progresses. These deficits are usually not sufficient to impair occupational or social functioning. In addition, there is spotty deterioration in certain cognitive functions for some patients (17%). Only a small subsample (6.7%), however, showed global deterioration significant enough to be highlighted by an Index of Dementia that was developed for this investigation.

Adult↗

Psychosocial factors in outcome in two opiate addiction treatments.

Thirty naltrexone and 30 methadone patients in outpatient opiate addiction treatment were compared on pretreatment somatization, stress, and family support. Also, the relationship between these pretreatment variables and outcome in terms of drug abuse and retention was examined. In the methadone group, drug abuse was correlated significantly with somatization, stress, and family support. In the naltrexone group, retention was correlated significantly with somatization and stress. Treatment and research considerations were discussed.

Adult↗

Psychosocial adjustment, modality choice, and outcome in naltrexone versus methadone treatment.

Thirty naltrexone and 30 methadone patients in outpatient opiate addiction treatment were compared on pretreatment psychosocial adjustment and on short-term outcome in terms of drug abuse and retention. Also, the relationship between pretreatment psychosocial adjustment and outcome for the total sample was assessed. The naltrexone and methadone groups were generally not significantly different in pretreatment psychosocial adjustment. The two groups differed significantly in retention, but not in drug abuse outcome. Pretreatment drug abuse was significantly related to drug abuse outcome. No aspect of pretreatment psychosocial functioning was related to retention outcome. Treatment and research implications are discussed.

Adult↗