The Brief Reasons for Living Inventory for Adolescents (BRFL-A).

This study modified and evaluated the psychometric properties of the Reasons for Living Inventory (RFL) in samples of adolescents. Internal consistency reliability, corrected item-total scale correlation, and exploratory factor analysis procedures were used with a mixed sample of 260 adolescents to identify 14 items for the brief version of the RFL (BRFL-A). Confirmatory factor analyses provided support for the five-factor oblique structure of the BRFL-A in a psychiatric inpatient sample with a range of suicidal behaviors. Reliabilities of the BRFL-A subscales were satisfactory. Four of the five subscales differentiated between suicidal and nonsuicidal adolescents. Significant correlations were found between three BRFL-A subscales and several suicide indices. Convergent-discriminant validity was examined by correlating the BRFL-A subscales with the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescents (MMPI-A) Content Scales. Limitations of the study are discussed.

The influence of smoker status, smoking history, sex, and situational variables on smokers' self-efficacy.

Recent work in smoking cessation has focused on cognitive factors related to relapse and maintenance. The present investigation utilized an established self-efficacy-based questionnaire to determine whether sex, length of smoking history, successful quitting attempts, and environmental events affected subjects' perceived confidence of resisting smoking urges. It was hypothesized that: (a) subjects with fewer years smoking would have higher self-efficacy than those smoking for longer periods; (b) reported self-efficacy would be lowest for those situations involving negative moods; and (c) successful quitters would report higher self-efficacy than unsuccessful quitters. The second and third hypotheses were strongly confirmed, and a nonsignificant tendency in the expected direction was found for the first hypothesis. The results were generally consistent with the self-efficacy and the Abstinence Violation Effect (AVE) models.

Effects of deprivation on smokers' mood during the operation of a complex computer simulation.

Research has shown that smoking reduces mood fluctuation in smokers and deprivation of smoking leads to mood change. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of three hours of deprivation and subsequent smoking on mood in smokers while operating a computer simulation of an air traffic controller's job in a 2 x 2 (Deprived vs. Nondeprived x Nicotine vs. Nicotine Free Cigarettes) factorial design. Subjects operated the simulation for two 20 minute periods, and after each period subjects smoked a nicotine or nicotine-free cigarette. Mood was assessed prior to operating the simulation and before and after each cigarette was smoked. Contrary to predictions, mood generally changed as a function of the procedure and not deprivation status or type of cigarette smoked.

The multi-attitude suicide tendency scale: further validation with adolescent psychiatric inpatients.

The present study was designed to examine the construct validity and psychometric properties of the Multi-Attitude Suicide Tendency Scale in adolescent psychiatric inpatients. This new scale has four subscales: attraction to life, repulsion by life, attraction to death, and repulsion by death. Confirmatory factor analysis of the scale items provided support for the fit of the 28-item, four-factor model. Results of logistic regression analyses revealed that high scores on the repulsion by life and the attraction to death subscales were useful in assessing the risk for suicide attempts. Results of the hierarchical regression analysis showed that high repulsion by life and low attraction to life subscale scores contributed to the prediction of scores on the suicide probability scale. We also examined gender differences on the four subscales and the psychological correlates of each subscale.

The Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R): validation with clinical and nonclinical samples.

Past suicidal behaviors including ideation and attempts have been identified as significant risk factors for subsequent suicidal behavior. However, inadequate attention has been given to the development or validation of measures of past suicidal behavior. The present study examined the reliability and validity of a brief self-report measure of past suicidal behavior, the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R). Participants included psychiatric inpatient adolescents, high school students, psychiatric inpatient adults, and undergraduates. Logistic regression analyses provided empirical support for the usefulness of the SBQ-R as a risk measure of suicide to differentiate between suicide-risk and nonsuicidal study participants. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses indicated that the most useful cutoff scores on the SBQ-R were 7 for nonsuicidal samples, and 8 for clinical samples. Both the single SBQ-R Item 1 and SBQ-R total scores are recommended for use in clinical and nonclinical settings.

Differences in characteristics preferred by college students for academic advisors, vocational counselors, and psychotherapists: a preliminary report.

144 college students rated an academic advisor, a vocational counselor, or a psychotherapist on 10 characteristics and subsequently rated each of the three types of counseling situations on how "personal" they perceived each to be. Sex of experimenter and sex of subject were varied systematically. Female subjects when tested by a male experiment preferred a psychotherapist be more religious than an academic advisor or vocational counselor. Subjects viewed psychotherapy as a more personal situation than academic advising or vocational counseling.

Misattribution in a fearful situation following different modes of arousal.

52 female college students were exposed to procedures expected to produce some physical or emotional arousal (viewing a sexually-explicit film or riding an exercise bicycle) and were subsequently asked to approach a snake, of which they had previously reported being afraid. Their performance was compared to that of control subjects who had been exposed to non-arousing tasks (viewing a film about sunspots or reading an article about exercise). The prediction that prior arousal would produce misattribution and reduce snake avoidance was not supported.

Further psychometric evaluation of the Fear Questionnaire: responses of college students.

This study presents evidence for the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Fear Questionnaire for college undergraduates. Fit indices of the 4- and 5-factor models identified previously were inadequate. Exploratory principal components analysis identified three factors, using data from Sample 1 (n = 208). LISREL confirmatory factor analyses supported generalizability of the three-factor model to Sample 2 (n = 200). Satisfactory reliability coefficients were obtained for the factor-derived subscales. Significant gender differences were obtained on 4 of the 15 items but not on the factor subscales. Finally, we examined the correlations between scores on the scale and on other measures of social anxiety, social desirability, and general psychological distress of the Brief Symptom Inventory. Present results suggest that the Fear Questionnaire is a valuable research instrument for a nonclinical sample.

The positive and negative suicide ideation inventory: development and validation.

We conducted two studies to develop and validate a brief self-report measure for assessing the frequency of positive and negative thoughts related to suicidal behavior. Items on this new measure, the Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation inventory, were generated by undergraduates. In Study 1, we administered a 20-item version of the inventory to 150 male and 300 female undergraduates and conducted an exploratory principal axis factor analysis with varimax rotation. Two factors, Positive Ideation and Negative Ideation, were retained. In Study 2, we conducted a confirmatory factor analysis to validate the fit of the one-factor and the oblique two-factor models to data from another sample of 84 men and 202 women. The oblique two-factor model provided an excellent fit to the sample data. We also examined preliminary evidence of concurrent and predictive validity. Over-all, these findings suggested that the inventory is a well-developed self-report measure for assessing the frequency of positive and negative thoughts related to suicidal behavior.

Development and psychometric properties of the Student Worry Questionnaire-30.

Described are the development and initial psychometric properties (Ns = 50 and 188) of a self-report measure, the Student Worry Questionnaire-30, for use with college undergraduates. Exploratory principal components analyses (Ns = 388, 350, and 396) with oblimin rotation indicated six domains of worrisome thinking, financial-related concerns, significant others' well-being, social adequacy concerns, academic concerns, and general anxiety symptoms. The total score and scale scores showed internal consistency of .80 to .94. Also, test-retest reliability analyses (.75 to .80) support consistency of responses over 4 wk. Strong evidence for convergent validity) was indicated. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the fit of the 6-factor oblique model. Limitations of the present studies, and directions for research are discussed.

Assessment of suicidal ideation in young men and women: the incremental validity of the MMPI-2 content scales.

This study of 139 women and 75 men investigated the incremental validity of the MMPI-2 in assessing suicidal ideation by examining the unique contribution of the 15 content scales beyond what is provided by the 13 basic validity and clinical scales. A multivariate analysis of variance resulted in a significant difference on the validity, clinical, and content scales for young men and women. Women scored significantly higher than men on the Hypochondriasis, Depression, Conversion Hysteria, and Masculinity-Femininity scales and lower than men on the Hypomania, Fears, Anger, and Type A scales. The results of the hierarchical regression analyses indicated that for women, hopelessness and reasons for living; the Correction, Paranoia, Conversion Hysteria, Psychopathic Deviate, and Hypomania scales; and the Anger content scale contributed significantly to the prediction of suicidal ideation. For men, hopelessness, the Lie and Hypomania scales, and the Type A content scale contributed significantly to the prediction of suicidal ideation. Thus, it would appear that a different pattern of concerns and difficulties are manifested in young men and women related to suicidal ideation. Limitations of the present study and future directions for research are discussed.

The Multi-Attitude Suicide Tendency Scale: psychometric characteristics in an American sample.

The Multi-Attitude Suicide Tendency Scale (MAST) was designed to assess suicidal tendencies in youth. This 30-item scale has four types of attitudes: attraction to life, repulsion by life, attraction to death, and repulsion by death. Normative, factor structure, and psychometric data were investigated with American youth with a range of suicidal ideations and behaviors. The reported factor structure was replicated with American youths. In addition, all four factor scales showed good reliability estimates. Finally, the relationships among the MAST factors and measures of suicidal behavior and ideation, social desirability, and general psychopathology were examined.

The Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale: psychometric properties in a community sample.

This study investigated the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale (PASS). The PASS assesses four components of pain-related anxiety: cognitive, fear, escape/avoidance, and physiological. Confirmatory factor analyses provided support for both the one-factor and the four-factor structures reported for samples of clinic-referred pain patients. The alpha coefficients were high for the PASS subscales. Significant gender differences were obtained on the PASS total and subscale scores. Convergent and divergent validity estimates of the PASS were also assessed. Results may be used to evaluate the responses of clinic-referred pain patients.

Psychometric evaluation of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory in college students.

The present study reports on the psychometric properties of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI; Turner et al., 1989a) in two nonclinical samples of college undergraduates. Exploratory principal-components analysis with varimax rotation replicated the five-factor solutions reported for the 32-item Social Phobia subscale (SP) in sample 1 (N = 200). Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the five-factor structure of the SP and the two-factor structure of the SPAI were appropriate for the second sample (N = 210) data. Coefficient alpha values were high for all the SP and the SPAI subscales. Furthermore, we examined the relations between the SPAI subscales and measures of social fear and anxiety, social desirability, and general psychopathology. Results support the research use of the SPAI in our undergraduate samples.

Validation of the Inventory of College Students' Recent Life Experiences in an American college sample.

The factor structure and psychometric properties of the Inventory of College Students' Recent Life Experiences (ICSRLE; Kohn, Lafreniere, & Gurevich, 1990) were investigated in a sample of 216 college undergraduates. LISREL confirmatory factor analyses supported the generalizability of the 49-item one-factor and 37-item seven-factor solutions to our undergraduate sample. The coefficients alpha for the ICSRLE subscales were satisfactory. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to examine gender differences on the ICSRLE items and subscale scores. Concurrent validity evidence was shown by the positive and significant correlations of the ICSRLE subscales with related measures of daily hassles. Correlational analyses, LISREL confirmatory factor analysis, and exploratory maximum-likelihood factor analyses revealed that the ICSRLE subscales may not be contaminated by general psychological symptoms.

Factor structure and psychometric properties of the brief Mizes Anorectic Cognitions questionnaire.

The Mizes Anorectic Cognitions-Revised (MAC-R) questionnaire is a 24-item self-report instrument designed to assess cognitions associated with anorexia and bulimia nervosa. We examined the factor structure and psychometric properties of the MAC-R in a sample of 290 undergraduates. We found that a brief 3-factor oblique model (composed of 12 items) of the MAC-R provided acceptable fit to the present sample data. This model was largely invariant across male and female participants. The brief version of the MAC-R (the BMAC) and subscale scores correlated significantly with scores from related measures of eating disorders, showing evidence of concurrent validity. The BMAC total and subscales also showed evidence of discriminant validity by differentiating between empirically defined subclinical eating disorders and control participants. Both logistic regression and discriminant function analyses showed that only the self-control and self-esteem subscale was most useful in distinguishing between the subgroups.

The Beck Anxiety Inventory: reexamination of factor structure and psychometric properties.

Several exploratory factor-analytic studies of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI; Beck, Epstein, Brown, & Steer, 1988) have reported two, four, and five factors. This study evaluated the fit of four competing models to data provided by a sample of 350 undergraduates. Results of the initial confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) provided strong support for the fit of the four-factor oblique model. Next, we respecified the four-factor model as a single second-order BAI. Results showed that the second-order model also provided adequate fit to the data. Evidence also supported the psychometric indices of reliability and convergent validity. Finally, we examined the relation of the BAI to several demographic variables. Limitations of the study are discussed.

Why young people do not kill themselves: the reasons for living inventory for adolescents.

Assessed the reliability, validity, and predictive power of a new measure, the Reasons for Living Inventory for Adolescents (RFL-A; Osman et al., 1998). A group of 206 (101 boys and 105 girls) adolescent psychiatric inpatients completed the RFL-A, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory for Adolescents (Butcher et al., 1992), and a packet of self-report measures. Additional information about the patients including diagnosis and suicide status were obtained from their medical records. It was determined that the RFL-A is a valid and reliable measure of adolescent suicide risk potential. Additionally, the RFL-A possesses better predictive power than the Beck Hopelessness Scale (Beck, Weissman, Lester, & Trexler, 1974). A discussion of the clinical and research utility of the RFL-A is included along with suggestions for future research.