Assault on the therapist.

The authors conducted a questionnaire survey among psychotherapists in psychiatry, psychology and social work to determine how many patients posed a threat to others or to the therapist and how many actually assaulted the therapist. They found that 9.2% of all patients seen by 101 therapists in one year presented a threat to others, 1.9% posed a physical threat to the therapist, and .63% actually assaulted the therapist. The authors conclude that attacks on a therapist are infrequent but almost inevitable and suggest the development of techniques for coping with assaultive patients that therapists can use in crisis situations.

Training, role models, and research activity among clinical psychologists.

Compared clinical psychologists (N = 270) with high and low publication rates through questionnaire responses. Highs report dissertation experiences more positively influenced their research motivation. Although the most influential professor in both groups was typically clinical, more highs found the professor emphasized another orientation, particularly empirical research, over clinical expertise. Highs report more time available, collaboration opportunities, and organizational acceptance for their research. Both groups favor empirical methods, although highs and lows agree that a small proportion of psychological research makes a significant contribution. Individual preferences probably interact with situational characteristics, both in training and work settings, to determine research activity.

Judged levels of success upon discharge from Department of Veterans Affairs domiciliaries.

To help define the goals for domiciliary patients and programs, staff who were working in Department of Veterans Affairs Domiciliary programs across the country were sampled. Each employee was asked to rank order the success of different outcomes for veterans who were being treated in the domiciliary. The rankings are compared for uniformity and displayed as perceived successful and unsuccessful outcomes by staff who work with domiciliary patients and staff who do not work with them.

Cross-validation of MMPI and MMPI-2 predictor scales.

Nineteen Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) or revised Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) scales, purported to be predictive of treatment outcome, were related to length of stay (LOS) in a domiciliary and to discharge status from a domiciliary for 335 subjects. The revised MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale (MAC-R), Addiction Acknowledgement Scale (AAS), and Addiction Potential Scale (APS), scales indicating a propensity to use illicit substances, and the Psychopathic Deviate Scale (Pd), indicating acting-out, all correlate negatively with length of stay. AAS also correlates negatively with regular/irregular discharge. Other scales expected to predict treatment outcome do not significantly correlate with either length of stay or type of discharge.

Graying of the critical items: effects of aging on responding to MMPI-2 critical items.

The relation between age and several critical item sets on the revised Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2; Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) was examined. MMPI-2 protocols from veterans entering a Veterans Affairs domiciliary were obtained, and the number of Grayson critical items, Koss-Butcher critical items. Lachar-Wrobel critical items, and Caldwell critical items were tabulated. Another critical item set consisting of all items of the previously mentioned sets was also tabulated. This composite set was divided into a set that has items scored on Scales 1, 2, and 3, and a second set of items that were not scored on those three scales. The effect of age on Scales L and K was also studied. A one-way analysis of variance confirmed that the number of endorsed critical items was significantly less in older age groups, and L and K increased. The implication is that endorsement of a critical item may have increased clinical significance as a person ages.