Validation of climate model-inferred regional temperature change for late-glacial Europe.

Comparisons of climate model hindcasts with independent proxy data are essential for assessing model performance in non-analogue situations. However, standardized palaeoclimate data sets for assessing the spatial pattern of past climatic change across continents are lacking for some of the most dynamic episodes of Earth's recent past. Here we present a new chironomid-based palaeotemperature dataset designed to assess climate model hindcasts of regional summer temperature change in Europe during the late-glacial and early Holocene. Latitudinal and longitudinal patterns of inferred temperature change are in excellent agreement with simulations by the ECHAM-4 model, implying that atmospheric general circulation models like ECHAM-4 can successfully predict regionally diverging temperature trends in Europe, even when conditions differ significantly from present. However, ECHAM-4 infers larger amplitudes of change and higher temperatures during warm phases than our palaeotemperature estimates, suggesting that this and similar models may overestimate past and potentially also future summer temperature changes in Europe.

Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire anxiety items in an adult british clinical sample: one scale or two?

In seeking to establish British clinical normative data for the two anxiety scales (anxious symptoms and anxious arousal) of the Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire (MASQ), the responses of 237 British National Health Service outpatients were examined. Factor analyses (exploratory and confirmatory) failed to confirm the expected structure. Data were presented and discussed, considering the 28 anxiety item pool in terms of being either two highly correlated scales of somatic anxiety versus psychological anxiety, or as a single general anxiety scale. As neither of these outcomes accorded with the test constructors' assumptions, it was concluded that the MASQ is not a suitable measure for assessing the tripartite model of adverse mood states in British clinical samples.

Evaluation of risk by patients' and with clinicians' ratings: a CORE-OM and CORE-A investigation.

While Whewell and Bonanno reported significant relationships between therapists' ratings of risk and patients' ratings of categorized Clinical Outcome in Routine Evaluation-Outcome Measures (CORE-OM) risk items, Rowsell and Stennett-Cox found that only two non-risk items of the total 34 CORE-OM items correlated significantly with reported risk behaviours. The current study of 870 patients examined the intercorrelations of the CORE-OM item matrix, including the 28 non-risk items, and their correlations with the Risk domain items. Additionally, CORE-Assessment clinicians' risk ratings were compared with the patients' risk self-ratings. The results differed from the findings of Rowsell and Stennett-Cox and provided validatory evidence supplementing that of Whewell and Bonanno. The Harm to Self items appeared to be of particular behavioural significance.

The Personality Structure Questionnaire (PSQ): a cross-validation with a large clinical sample.

In a large sample of adult National Health Service (NHS) patients (initially n = 1296) referred for psychological therapy, the Personality Structure Questionnaire (PSQ) items were found to constitute a unidimensional scale according to maximum likelihood and principal component analyses, and by Cronbach's alpha criteria. The PSQ scores showed a significant small negative association with age, where higher scores indicate pathology; but no sex difference was found. Scores remain stable during time spent on the waiting list, but were reduced significantly following therapy of an equivalent length of time (median = 15 weeks). The intercorrelations between the three clusters of items (sub-concepts, as proposed by the test authors) comprising the full PSQ varied, but were all sizeable and highly statistically significant. Additional information to that of the test authors is provided on convergent and discriminant validity through its correlations with psychological tests and clinicians' ratings. Suggestions are made for the possible further improvement and refinement of the questionnaire.

Personal disturbance scale: factor structure confirmed in a large nonclinical sample.

The two-component structure of anxiety and depression items of the short form Personal Disturbance Scale, reported in an earlier clinical study of 480 adult psychiatric patients, was substantially replicated in a large nonclinical sample of 758 adults.