Phobic anxiety in 11 nations. Part I: Dimensional constancy of the five-factor model.

The Fear Survey Schedule-III (FSS-III) was administered to a total of 5491 students in Australia, East Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, and Venezuela, and submitted to the multiple group method of confirmatory analysis (MGM) in order to determine the cross-national dimensional constancy of the five-factor model of self-assessed fears originally established in Dutch, British, and Canadian samples. The model comprises fears of bodily injury-illness-death, agoraphobic fears, social fears, fears of sexual and aggressive scenes, and harmless animals fears. Close correspondence between the factors was demonstrated across national samples. In each country, the corresponding scales were internally consistent, were intercorrelated at magnitudes comparable to those yielded in the original samples, and yielded (in 93% of the total number of 55 comparisons) sex differences in line with the usual finding (higher scores for females). In each country, the relatively largest sex differences were obtained on harmless animals fears. The organization of self-assessed fears is sufficiently similar across nations to warrant the use of the same weight matrix (scoring key) for the FSS-III in the different countries and to make cross-national comparisons feasible. This opens the way to further studies that attempt to predict (on an a priori basis) cross-national variations in fear levels with dimensions of national cultures.

Interrogative suggestibility in opiate users.

The present study investigated interrogative suggestibility in opiate users. A group of patients undergoing a methadone detoxification programme in an in-patient drug treatment unit (Detox group, n = 21), and a group of residents who had come off drugs and were no longer suffering from withdrawal syndrome (Rehab group, n = 19) were compared on interrogative suggestibility and various other psychological factors. Significant differences were found between the two groups, with the Detox group having more physical and psychological problems, and a higher total suggestibility score in comparison with the Rehab group. These findings are discussed in relation to the context of police interrogations and the reliability of confessions made by suspects and witnesses dependent on opiates.

Social anxiety, fear of negative evaluation and the detection of negative emotion in others.

The present study sought to investigate whether social anxiety is associated with enhanced ability to detect negative emotion in others. Subjects scoring high and low on Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE) performed two tasks before and after a social threat induction. The first task involved identifying the affect (negative vs neutral) in briefly presented (60 msec) slides of faces. The second involved rating the overall emotion conveyed in brief video clips of an actor and detecting discrepancies in the affect conveyed by the visual and auditory channels of the video. Overall the results suggest that high social anxiety subjects have a bias towards identifying others' emotional expressions as negative in the absence of an enhanced ability to discriminate between different emotional states in others. Implications and limitations of the results are discussed.

Perceived support and counselling needs in relation to in vitro fertilization.

This paper reports findings from a study investigating perceived support and desire for support in a sample of 101 men and 117 women who were consecutive referrals to an in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinic. Both men and women perceived their partners as providing the most support and there were only small gender differences in the extent to which other people were perceived as supportive. There were also only modest gender differences in the types of support participants felt to be desirable and both men and women felt that support would be most desirable after a failed IVF cycle. Both men and women also felt that a routinely provided information booklet about the practical aspects of IVF would improve knowledge of and passage through an IVF cycle. There was a tendency for women who expressed a desire for some form of counselling or support to obtain higher General Health Questionnaire scores. Implications of the results for counselling provision are discussed.

The meaning of parenthood and couples' reactions to male infertility.

This paper reports findings from a postal survey of 205 couples belonging to the National Association for the Childless who saw their infertility as due to the male partner. Two self-report scales used in previous studies were administered to measure personal and social identity needs as a basis for parenthood (the Meaning of Parenthood scale), and emotional distress and marital problems. Endorsement of items on the Meaning of Parenthood (MOP) scale showed only small mean gender differences for each item and a consistent item rank order for men and women. Factor analysis confirmed that the scale tapped dimensions pertaining to social and personal identity needs. For women, distress was associated with ratings on the MOP scale which emphasized the link between femininity and motherhood, while for men distress was associated with ratings which emphasized masculinity and fatherhood. Implications of the results for further research and counselling in relation to male infertility are discussed.

Psychological aspects of in vitro fertilization: a gender comparison.

This paper reports findings from a study investigating gender differences on the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and questionnaire ratings of the impact of in vitro fertilization (IVF), stressful aspects of treatment and reaction to a failed IVF attempt. The participants were 101 men and 117 women who were consecutive referrals to an IVF clinic. In line with previous research, women in comparison to men, rated IVF as having more impact upon emotional state. Scores on the GHQ were also consistent with greater emotional distress for women than men in relation to infertility diagnosis and treatment. With regard to the impact of IVF on the couple's sexual and marital relationship there were few gender differences, although both men and women felt that there was a greater likelihood that IVF had decreased the female partner's desire for sex. Both men and women agreed that a negative outcome and waiting for results were the most stressful aspects of IVF and, although the mean differences were again small, women reported experiencing more stress than men at a number of stages of treatment. Women were also more likely than men to endorse negative reactions in relation to IVF failure. The results are discussed in relation to counselling issues.

Coping strategies and psychological adjustment of couples presenting for IVF.

The study was designed to examine the extent to which the psychological profiles of couples entering an IVF programme were influenced by evidence of previous fertility, the history of fertility investigations, the diagnosis made, and the coping strategies adopted. A sample of 152 couples was administered a number of standardized psychological instruments and a coping strategies questionnaire. They showed little variation from the normative range on the standardized measures. There was little evidence of differences between couples referred for primary or secondary infertility, between those with some evidence of fertility and those with none, or between different diagnostic groups. In relation to coping strategy, for women at least, taking direct action appears to be effective if it is associated with some degree of acceptance of one's position. For males, the picture is less clear, though direct action and acceptance again appear to be effective coping strategies.

Patients with chronic pelvic pain and/or infertility: psychological differences pre- and post-treatment.

This study investigated the psychological differences between gynecological clinic attenders with either pelvic pain or infertility, or with both pelvic pain and infertility both before and after laparoscopic investigation with concurrent treatment. Given the differing meaning attached to the procedure by these groups, it was hypothesized that infertility patients would be more anxious but with less evidence of psychopathology in comparison with the pain group prior to laparoscopic surgery. Postsurgery and in the short term, pain reduction was expected to be associated with decreased pathology for the pain group. Contrary to the hypotheses, pain patients obtained higher anxiety scores in comparison with the infertility group both pretreatment as well as post-treatment. The latter group's scores were comparable to normative data. Other results were generally in line with the hypotheses, pain reduction for both pain groups being associated with a reduction in psychopathology. Patients with pain plus infertility resembled pain patients at pretreatment, while at post-treatment, they bore a closer resemblance to infertility patients in their psychological profile. This was despite the fact that for both pain groups, pain relief was similar. This reinforces the notion that in the patient groups studied anxiety is associated with pain rather than with infertility.

An evaluation of counselling for couples undergoing treatment for in-vitro fertilization.

Fertility difficulties, along with their investigation and treatment, are widely believed to cause significant psychological problems. This study was designed to investigate the efficacy of a non-directive counselling intervention with couples undertaking their first cycle of in-vitro fertilization treatment. Couples were randomly assigned to either a control group, given information about the treatment programme, or to an experimental group, given the same information plus three sessions of counselling before, during and on conclusion of the first treatment cycle. Psychological assessments were made at three points in the treatment process. Ratings were also obtained from the couples on the stress engendered by different parts of the treatment, the effects on their relationship and satisfaction with counselling. The results showed the patients to be generally well adjusted and anxiety levels dropped over the course of treatment. Counselling compared to information alone did not lead to any enhanced reduction in levels of anxiety or depression. The implications of the findings for service provision are discussed.

A psychological profile of endometriosis patients in comparison to patients with pelvic pain of other origins.

In order to investigate the possibility of a specific psychological profile associated with endometriosis, 81 women with pelvic pain were studied, of whom 40 were diagnosed as having endometriosis and 41 other gynaecological problems. Each patient completed six standardized psychometric tests to assess personality, psychopathology, marital state and pain. Endometriosis patients obtained higher psychoticism, introversion and anxiety scores in comparison to the other pain patients, although the two groups did not differ on pain ratings. Both groups obtained neuroticism, anxiety and psychiatric morbidity scores which were elevated relative to normative data. The possibility that there are certain psychological characteristics which make some women vulnerable to endometriosis is discussed.

The impact of infertility on psychological functioning.

To explore the impact of infertility on psychological functioning 130 couples presenting with primary infertility were assessed at their initial visit to an infertility clinic. Of these, 116 couples were assessed on a second occasion some 7-9 months later when in most cases the medical tests were complete. Measures of personality, psychopathology, perceived social support, sex role identity and marital state were obtained from both partners. The set was subsequently divided into five subgroups on the basis of the diagnosis made or the outcome (female cause, male cause, female and male cause, unexplained and pregnant). The results show little evidence of psychopathology in the sample, depression scores remained low throughout the period of investigation. The results also indicated stable marital relationships. Scores on tests of anxiety and psychiatric morbidity declined between the first and second assessment except in the case of men who were diagnosed with a fertility problem. The implications of these findings are discussed in the increased use of donor insemination which circumvents rather than treats the problem of male infertility.

Identity patterns and self- and teacher-perceptions of problems for deaf adolescents: a research note.

The present study investigated self- and teacher-perceptions of deaf adolescents in relation to cultural identity. Fifty-one deaf adolescents completed the Porteous Checklist and Deaf Identity Scale presented in British Sign Language. Subjects were assigned to deaf, hearing or dual identity groups. Results suggest that deaf adolescents' self-perceived concerns are not dissimilar in content or severity to those of their hearing peers, although certain issues may assume a particular significance in the presence of deafness. The hypothesis that the hearing identity group would report most problems was not supported. Teachers rated the dual identity group as having the fewest difficulties.

Compliance with a low calorie diet for two weeks and concurrent and subsequent mood changes.

One hundred people intending to use the Cambridge Diet for a 2 to 3-week period were asked about their weight, dieting, eating behaviours and demographic factors and completed the Profile of Mood States, Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist, Beck Depression Inventory, Locus of Control Scale, Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire and Dieting Motivation Questionnaire. They were also asked to complete the Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist and the Profile of Mood States daily for a period of 14 days and on a further two occasions at weekly intervals. Complete follow-up data was collected on 47 of the original participants. In these people, a slight decrease in depression occurred during the diet. Approximately one fifth of the people who attempted to use the diet for a two-week period succeeded in complying with it fully. None of the factors assessed reliably predicted compliance with the diet.

Correlates of chronic blushing.

In order to investigate factors associated with chronic blushing, 108 self-defined chronic blushers completed a series of self-report inventories. Severe chronic blushing was associated with social anxiety, state and trait anxiety and depression, but not with general physical sensations. Implications of the results for understanding chronic blushing are discussed.

An analysis of the abstinence violation effect in a sample of illicit drug users.

Studies using samples of alcoholics and cigarette smokers show that the occurrence of the abstinence violation effect predicts the likelihood of a full-blown relapse following an initial slip from voluntary abstinence. The present study investigated this process in a sample of 31 illicit drug users. The attributional styles of abstainers and relapsers were examined in addition to the types of initial slip situations for the relapse group. No significant differences were found in attributional styles, although relative to the relapse group there was a tendency for abstainers to score higher on internality and stability of attribution for negative events, but lower on globality. Both negative affect and interpersonal conflict, but not social pressure, were found to be important precipitants for relapse. Demographic differences between the groups are discussed in addition to the implications of the results for models of relapse, prediction of relapse and cognitive therapy in relapse prevention.

Self-reported expression and consequences of embarrassment in portugal and the u.k.

Data was collected by questionnaire from Portuguese and U.K. college students in order to compare self-reports of the physiological/behavioural response associated with embarrassment, coping attempts and observer reactions to the actor's embarrassment in the two cultures. Blushing/increased temperature, increased heart rate and smiling/grinning characterised embarrassment in both cultures, although blushing was referred to with less frequency by the Portuguese sample; gaze aversion was a response specific to the U.K. sample. Smiling/grinning as a method of coping with embarrassment and as a reported reaction from an observer was reported with similar frequency by both samples; gaze aversion as a method of coping with embarrassment was referred to with greater frequency by the U.K sample; staring by observers was mentioned with greater frequency by the Portuguese sample. More intense experiences of embarrassment were reported by the Portuguese sample who also reported being more successful in attempts to control their embarrassment. The results are discussed in relation to national stereotypes.

Reactions to anger and anxiety-provoking events: psychopathic and nonpsychopathic groups compared.

A psychopathic offender group (N = 17) and a nonpsychopathic, non-offender control group (N = 15) were presented with descriptions of anxiety and anger-provoking situations (derived from a pilot study) together with a series of questions designed to evaluate their cognitive appraisal and anticipated reactions of self and other to the situation. The psychopathic group rated the anxiety situations as more anxiety-, fear-, and threat-inducing than did the control group, while the reverse was true for the anger situations. Both sets of scenarios were seen as more anger-inducing by the psychopathic group. There was little difference between the groups in anticipated reactions of self and others. Implications of the results for cognitive interventions aimed at anger management are discussed.