[Decision behavior and task orientation of adolescent psychiatric patients--on the diagnostic and therapeutic relevance of a questionnaire for action control]. / Entscheidungsverhalten und Aufgabenorientierung bei jugend-psychiatrischen Patienten-Zur diagnostischen und therapeutischen Relevanz eines Fragebogens zur Handlungskontrolle.

ABSTRACT

The diagnostic and therapeutic relevance of a questionnaire on action control. The present study deals with the applicability of the "theory of action control" (Kuhl, 1983) to psychiatric disorders in adolescents. A questionnaire on action vs state orientation in planning situations (HOP scale; Kuhl, 1985) was given to adolescent inpatients. The sample was subdivided into an anorectic group and by extreme-group clustering, a group with severe conduct disorders and a clinical control group. The hypothesis of high scores on action orientation on the HOP scale was confirmed for the anorectic patients but not for those with conduct disorders. A factor analysis of the HOP scale items yielded a three-factor solution. For two of the three factors differences between the clinical groups were found The anorectic patients showed a high level of action orientation in situations with intense task commitment, whereas the patients with conduct disorders were mainly action-oriented in situations with forced decisions. With some restrictions the findings can be interpreted as clinical validation of the questionnaire.