Development and Validation of the School Refusal Evaluation Scale for Adolescents.

Objective: School refusal (SR) is considered as a clinical form of emotionally based school absenteeism related to the experience of strong negative emotions when attending school. However, there are no psychometrically sound measures specifically designed to assess SR. The aim of the present research was to develop and validate a multidimensional self-report measure of SR: the SChool REfusal EvaluatioN Scale (SCREEN) for adolescents. Methods: Two studies were performed to develop this scale. Study 1 used content analysis on 42 semi-directed interviews to identify and organize the indicators of SR and to generate items. The item pool was then reviewed by experts to construct a pilot scale. Study 2 examined the psychometric properties of this pilot scale of the SCREEN in a community sample of 649 French adolescents (age: 10-16 years) and a clinical sample of 31 adolescents. Results: The initial SCREEN structure was identified via exploratory factor analysis, and the resultant model was validated using confirmatory factor analysis. In its final version (an 18-item, four-factor measurement model), the SCREEN reliably measures four interrelated aspects of SR. Data suggest good reliability and validity of scores on this SR measure. Results of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis indicated good accuracy of the SCREEN (sensitivity = .94 and specificity = .88). Conclusions: The SCREEN offers a new and valid measure to assess SR in research and clinical settings.

Spirituality, social support, and flexibility among older adults: a five-year longitudinal study.

ABSTRACTObjectives:The objectives of the study were to examine the trajectory of spirituality among older adults, to investigate the roles of gender and religion on the developmental trajectory of spirituality, and to explore whether the linear growth of spirituality accelerated or decelerated at time points at which the participants reported high scores of social support and flexibility. DESIGN: A five-year longitudinal study. SETTING: The research used data from a longitudinal study, which follows a non-institutionalized older adults cohort of residents from France. The data used in this paper were collected at three time points (T1: 2007; T2: 2009; T3: 2012). PARTICIPANTS: A total of 567 participants were included in the analysis (59.44% female; Mage = 75.90, SD = 5.12). MEASUREMENTS: Multilevel growth curve analysis was used measuring spirituality, satisfaction with social support, and flexibility. RESULTS: The results indicated the following: (1) stability of spirituality over time, (2) older women reported higher levels of spirituality than older men, and those who had a religion reported higher scores of spirituality than their counterparts who had no religion (these effects were strong and clinically meaningful), (3) older adults who reported higher levels of social support and flexibility also reported higher levels of spirituality, and (4) the slope of spirituality seemed to accelerate at time points at which participants also had higher levels of social support and flexibility (these effects were rather small but of theoretical interest). CONCLUSION: The results of the present study help to improve the understanding of the potential benefit of encouraging the spiritual aspects of life.

The Geriatric Depression Scale: does it measure depressive mood, depressive affect, or both?

OBJECTIVE: Self-report measures of depression are highly important tools used in research and in various healthcare settings for the diagnosis of different levels of depression. The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) is the first and the most popular scale used to screen for late-life depression. It is endorsed by the Royal College of Physicians and the British Geriatric Society (1992). The purpose of the present research was to investigate whether scores on the GDS15 capture depressive mood (i.e. trait depression), depressive affect (i.e. short-term depressive state), or both. METHODS: For this purpose, a trait-state model (stable trait, autoregressive trait, and state model) was applied to GDS15 scores obtained at four time points over a 6-year period among a sample of community-dwelling older persons (N = 753). This model allows decomposing the GDS15 scores into three different variance components: stable trait variance, autoregressive trait variance, and state variance. RESULTS: Our findings revealed a general pattern of a major proportion of stable trait (69%) and autoregressive trait (22%) variance and a very smaller amount of state variance (9%) in the GDS scores across 6 years. Age and gender (i.e. being female) were shown to be positively linked to more stable trait variance. CONCLUSIONS: Depression, as assessed with the GDS15 , should be regarded as a relatively stable and enduring trait construct, reflecting a stable core of a person's depressivity. The negligible amount of state elements in the variation of the GDS15 scores provides evidence that changing the context will not be enough to cause significant changes in depressive symptoms. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Quality of life in aphasic patients 1 year after a first stroke.

PURPOSE: This study had twofold objective: (1) assessing change and dynamic processes over time between severity of aphasia and functional autonomy and (2) examining the temporal relationships between functional autonomy, depressive mood and quality of life in stroke patients with aphasia. METHOD: Prospective study of patients with aphasia consecutively included after a first stroke and examined 1 year later at home (n = 101). Assessment included a visual analogical scale assessing QoL, a functional autonomy scale, a severity of aphasia scale, a communication questionnaire and a depression scale. Structural equation modeling was used to estimate competitive models, in which depressive mood or QoL was the ultimate endogenous variable (i.e., vulnerability vs. scar model). RESULTS: One year after stroke, there were a slight improvement in language impairment (stability coefficient = .61, p < .001) and a moderate improvement in functional autonomy (stability coefficient = .44, p < .001). There were prospective reciprocal effects between severity of aphasia and functional autonomy, i.e., each state exerted a temporal dynamic prediction on the other over time. Cross-sectional results from path analysis showed that depressive mood negatively predicted QoL (i.e., scar model); there was no evidence of the reverse association. CONCLUSION: Results and their practical relevance in treatment were discussed. Predicting as soon as possible which factors would be related to late QoL in stroke patients with aphasia is of major importance.

Decision-making in rectal and colorectal cancer: systematic review and qualitative analysis of surgeons' preferences.

Surgeons are experiencing difficulties implementing recommendations not only owing to incomplete, confusing or conflicting information but also to the increasing involvement of patients in decisions relating to their health. This study sought to establish which common factors including heuristic factors guide surgeons' decision-making in colon and rectal cancers. We conducted a systematic literature review of surgeons' decision-making factors related to colon and rectal cancer treatment. Eleven of 349 identified publications were eligible for data analyses. Using the IRaMuTeQ (Interface of R for the Multidimensional Analyses of Texts and Questionnaire), we carried out a qualitative analysis of the significant factors collected in the studies reviewed. Several validation procedures were applied to control the robustness of the findings. Five categories of factors (i.e. patient, surgeon, treatment, tumor and organizational cues) were found to influence surgeons' decision-making. Specifically, all decision criteria including biomedical (e.g. tumor information) and heuristic (e.g. surgeons' dispositional factors) criteria converged towards the factor 'age of patient' in the similarity analysis. In the light of the results, we propose an explanatory model showing the impact of heuristic criteria on medical issues (i.e. diagnosis, prognosis, treatment features, etc.) and thus on decision-making. Finally, the psychosocial complexity involved in decision-making is discussed and a medico-psycho-social grid for use in multidisciplinary meetings is proposed.

Tenacious goal pursuit and flexible goal adjustment in older people over 5 years: a latent profile transition analysis.

BACKGROUND: previous research has shown that tendencies to tenaciously pursue goals (TGP) and flexibly adapt goals (FGA) relate to well-being of older people. OBJECTIVES: this study aimed to identify subpopulations of elderly people with different coping profiles, describe change in participants' profiles over time and determine the influence of coping profiles on well-being over a 5-year period. METHODS: latent profile transition analysis (LPTA) was used in a three-wave longitudinal data collection measuring flexibility, tenacity, depression, self-rated health and life satisfaction among an elderly population over 65 years old. RESULTS: three coping profiles were identified. Profile 1 was characterised by participants with high flexibility and tenacity scores, Profile 2 with moderate flexibility and low tenacity scores and Profile 3 with low flexibility and moderate tenacity scores. Results indicate stability of these profiles over time, with Profile 1 being the most adaptive in terms of ageing well. CONCLUSION: high flexibility and tenacity in older people is a stable coping profile that is associated with successful ageing.

Does flexible goal adjustment predict life satisfaction in older adults? A six-year longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between flexible goal adjustment and life satisfaction (as an enduring component of subjective well-being) using six-year longitudinal data from a sample of older adults. METHODS: The study included 704 participants aged 63-97 years assessed four times over a six-year period. Simultaneous and lagged models were specified and estimated using structural equation modeling. RESULTS: Both simultaneous and lagged coefficients indicated that a high score on flexible goal adjustment significantly predicted subsequent levels of life satisfaction. CONCLUSION: In line with successful aging theory, our findings support the view that the ability to adjust personal goals flexibly is a central resource when unattainable goals are encountered and it contributes to well-being in old age.

Examination of the hierarchical structure of the brief COPE in a French sample: empirical and theoretical convergences.

This study aimed to determine whether the various factors of coping as measured by the Brief COPE could be integrated into a more parsimonious hierarchical structure. To identify a higher structure for the Brief COPE, several measurement models based on prior theoretical and hierarchical conceptions of coping were tested. First, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) results revealed that the Brief COPE's 14 original factors could be represented more parsimoniously with 5 higher order dimensions: problem-solving, support-seeking, avoidance, cognitive restructuring, and distraction (N = 2,187). Measurement invariance across gender was also shown. Second, results provided strong support for the cross-validation and the concurrent validity of the hierarchical structure of the Brief COPE (N = 584). Results indicated statistically significant correlations between Brief COPE factors and trait anxiety and perceived stress. Limitations and theoretical and methodological implications of these results are discussed.

Social isolation in parents of children with hemangiomas: effects of coping styles and emotional distress.

This study investigated factors associated with social isolation in parents of children with hemangiomas. Eighty-one parents completed questionnaires assessing their emotional distress, social isolation, and coping styles. To explore the relationships between these variables, a path analysis was used to test a model in which clinical characteristics of hemangiomas and parents' coping strategies do not have direct effects on their social isolation but indirect effects via their emotional distress. Bootstrapping was used to assess indirect effects. Time since onset and lesional complications had positive direct effects on parents' social isolation. Lesional visibility and emotion-focused coping had negative indirect effects on parents' social isolation via their emotional distress, while problem-focused coping showed a positive indirect effect. These findings may have implications for clinicians managing parents of children with hemangiomas.

Relationship Between Sociosexuality and Condom Use Frequency Among Young French College Students.

Sociosexuality, conceptualized as individual differences in attitudes, behaviors, and desires for casual sex, is reflected in "hookup culture" where risky sexual behaviors should not be overlooked. The main objectives of this study were (a) to provide a first French adaptation of the SOI-R and to evaluate its psychometric properties, and (b) to examine the relationship between sociosexuality and condom use among young college students (N = 1037, mean age = 18.7 years, SD = 1 year). A path model hypothesizing links between dispositional optimism, boredom proneness, sexual orientation, age, gender (as correlated exogenous/independent variables), sociosexuality (as mediation variable), and condom use (as output variable), was specified and tested. Findings showed gender and sexual orientation differences in sociosexuality. As expected, males as well as non-heterosexual individuals endorsed more sociosexuality than the others. Optimism, but not boredom, predicted a higher level of sociosexuality. Sociosexuality positively predicted safer sex. Sociosexual orientation was not associated with condomless sex. It would seem that sexual freedom does not necessarily mean irresponsible sexual adventures for the young college students in our study.

What Do EURO-D Scores Capture? Disentangling Trait and State Variances in Depression Symptoms Across the Adult Life Span in Nine European Nations.

The primary purposes of the present study were to determine (a) whether the EURO-D measures trait (i.e., time-invariant) versus state (i.e., time-variant) aspects of depression and (b) whether these aspects are stable across countries and ages. In five waves of the SHARE survey (a nationally representative Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe), we estimated trait-state-occasion models (TSO), including multiple-nation TSO, based on data from nine European nations over a 10-year period. Also, we used local structural equation modeling to test for the moderating effects of age on the TSO parameters. Our main findings were: (a) there were differences in the trait/state variances of depressive symptoms across nations. The amount of trait variance was above 60% for Belgium, Denmark, and France. It was between 50% and 60% for Austria, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland, while it was below 50% for Italy and Spain. (b) The effects of trait and state were almost equally the source of variance for depression symptoms across ages, with a slight advantage for the effects of trait (56% of the variance). This trend showed substantial stability across the adult life course (from age 40 up to age 95).

Predictive value of age for coping: the role of self-efficacy, social support satisfaction and perceived stress.

OBJECTIVES: The present study was prompted by the lack of agreement on how coping changes with age. We postulate that the effect of age on coping is mediated by coping resources, such as self-efficacy, perceived stress and social support satisfaction. METHOD: The participants in the study were community dwelling and aged between 22 and 88 years old. Data were collected using the General Self Efficacy Scale, the Social Support Questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Geriatric Depression Scale, the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (life-events) and the Way of Coping Checklist. RESULTS: We performed path analyses for two competitive structural models: M1 (age does not directly affect coping processes) and M2 (age directly affects coping processes). Our results supported a modified version of M2. Age was not found to predict either of two coping strategies: problem-focused coping is predicted by self-efficacy and social support satisfaction; emotion-focused coping is predicted by social support satisfaction and perceived stress. DISCUSSION: Changes in coping over the lifespan reflect the effectiveness with which a person's adaptive processes deal with age-associated changes in self-referred beliefs and environment perception.

[Ageism: adaptation of the Fraboni of Ageism Scale-Revised to the French language and testing the effects of empathy, social dominance orientation and dogmatism on ageism].

ABSTRACTThis article presents two studies dealing with ageism. The objective of the first study was to adapt to French language and validate the Fraboni of Ageism Scale-Revised (FSA-R) which contains 23 items, while the objective of the second study was to test a structural model containing ageism as measured by the FSA-R and the "Big Three": empathy, social dominance orientation, and dogmatism, controlled for by sex and age. The results of the first study (n = 323) generated a version of the FSA-R comprising 14 items, of which the psychometric properties were very satisfactory. Using structural equation modelling and bootstrap procedure, the results of the second study (n = 284) showed a direct negative and significant effect of empathy on agism. They also showed that this negative effect was mediated by dogmatism and social dominance orientation, which both exerted a positive effect on ageism.

A systematic review of complementary and alternative medicine in oncology: Psychological and physical effects of manipulative and body-based practices.

BACKGROUND: Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM) are widely used by cancer patients, despite limited evidence of efficacy. Manipulative and body-based practices are some of the most commonly used CAM. This systematic review evaluates their benefits in oncology. METHOD: A systematic literature review was carried out with no restriction of language, time, cancer location or type. PubMed, CENTRAL, PsycArticle, PsychInfo, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection and SOCindex were queried. Inclusion criteria were adult cancer patients and randomized controlled trials (RCT) assessing manipulative and body-based complementary practices on psychological and symptom outcomes. Effect size was calculated when applicable. RESULTS: Of 1624 articles retrieved, 41 articles were included: massage (24), reflexology (11), acupressure (6). Overall, 25 studies showed positive and significant effects on symptom outcomes (versus 9 that did not), especially pain and fatigue. Mixed outcomes were found for quality of life (8 papers finding a significant effect vs. 10 which did not) and mood (14 papers vs. 13). In most studies, there was a high risk of bias with a mean Jadad score of 2, making interpretation of results difficult. CONCLUSION: These results seem to indicate that manipulative CAM may be effective on symptom management in cancer. However, more robust methodologies are needed. The methodological requirements of randomized controlled trials are challenging, and more informative results may be provided by more pragmatic study design.

French adaptation of the PO-Bado short form, an interview-based expert rating scale for distress screening.

OBJECTIVE: Basic Documentation for Psycho-Oncology (PO-Bado) is a hetero-assessment and psychosocial burden documentation tool for cancer patient caregivers (across all types and stages). Recently, the psychometric properties of the standard 12-item version of PO-Bado were published. However, the standard version is relatively time-consuming for the caregivers. Here, we developed and examined psychometric properties of a French short-form of PO-Bado (PO-Bado-FSF) with seven items derived from the validated standard version. METHODS: One hundred and twenty-one cancer patients (M age = 58.4 years, SD = 13.9 years; 68.6% were women) participated in this study during a supportive care following the first diagnosis of cancer or a relapse. All patients completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), in addition to the PO-Bado-FSF. RESULTS: PO-Bado-FSF scores exhibit sound psychometric qualities such as internal consistency, test-retest reliability, inter-rater reliability, and scalability (i.e. Mokken's scalability coefficients); all items loaded significantly on the single CFA factor and yielded coefficients 0.40 or higher. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study highlight the value of using PO-Bado-FSF to identify psychological distress in cancer patients in research and practice. PO-Bado-FSF presents good psychometric properties and is less time-consuming than the standard version.

Age differences in temperament, character and depressive mood: a cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: This study explores the effect of age on mean-levels of the personality traits defined in Cloninger's personality taxonomy, and investigates the relevance of personality traits for predicting depression levels in adults aged 18 to 94 years. METHOD: We divided our sample (466 participants) into four age groups (young adult, adult, mature adult and elderly). Personality was measured using the Temperament and Character Inventory, and depression was assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. RESULTS: Analysis of variance showed mean-level changes for all the personality traits except Self-D. Post hoc analyses revealed a decrease in the level of novelty seeking with age and an increase in the level of self-transcendence for the two oldest age groups. Reward dependence was highest among the youngest participants, whereas harm avoidance was highest for both the youngest and the oldest age groups. Depression correlated positively with harm avoidance and age but negatively with self-transcendence. DISCUSSION: Impulsiveness, curiosity and social dependency decrease with age, whereas spirituality increases. Young and elderly adults are more fearful and socially inhibited. Harm avoidance and self-transcendence are the most relevant personality traits for predicting levels of depression.

Psychometric Properties of the French Adaptation of the Basic Documentation for Psycho-Oncology (Po-Bado): A Distress Screening Tool.

We translated and adapted the French version of the Basic Documentation for Psycho-Oncology (Po-Bado standard version) and we report its psychometric properties. The Po-Bado is a 12-item documentation instrument that measures psychosocial burden in cancer patients (all types and stages). The intensity of a patient's psychological suffering is evaluated by a health care professional (e.g., doctor, psychologist, nurse) in a semiguided interview. Overall, 252 cancer patients (Mage = 57 years, SD = 12.8 years) participated, completing the Po-Bado during a supportive care consultation following initial diagnosis. Our results show good reliability of the Po-Bado scores, with high internal consistency and interrater coefficients. Low temporal stability indicated that the Po-Bado measures a state-like phenomenon (vs. trait-like). Validity analysis showed significant correlations between cancer-specific psychosocial burden and negative mood (i.e., depression, anxiety) and psychological disturbance as assessed by the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Confirmatory factor analysis validated the Po-Bado's two-factor structure (i.e., somatic and psychological burdens). A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve determined the optimal cutoff score of 7.5. These results suggest that the Po-Bado is an easily applicable tool for clinicians and researchers to screen effectively for psychosocial burden in oncology.

Longitudinal Patterns of Stability and Change in Tenacious Goal Pursuit and Flexible Goal Adjustment among Older People over a 9-Year Period.

Using the dual-process model of assimilative-tenacity (TGP) and accommodative-flexibility (FGA), the study aims to identify trajectories of TGP and FGA over five time points within a 9-year period, explore the relationships between the trajectories of TGP and FGA, and explore if participants from distinct TGP and FGA trajectories differed in indicators of well-being and depression. Latent class growth analysis was used in a five-wave longitudinal design among an older population of 747 participants over 65 years. Results highlight (1) emergence of four trajectories for flexibility (low and increasing, moderate and increasing, moderately high and stable, and high and stable trajectories) and three trajectories for tenacity (low and stable, moderate and stable, and high and decreasing trajectories), (2) that older people belonging to particular trajectories of FGA are not more likely to belong to particular trajectories of TGP, and (3) that participants from the high and decreasing TGP and high or moderately high and stable FGA trajectories were characterized by high score of perceived health, satisfaction with life, and self-esteem and low score of depression moods. These results highlight that the heterogeneity in longitudinal TGP and FGA scores throughout the life span needs to be accounted for in future research.

Relationship between infertility-related stress and emotional distress and marital satisfaction.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive effects of infertility-related stress on psychological distress and marital satisfaction. Structural equation modeling was used to estimate a nonrecursive model hypothesizing the impact of infertility-related stress on both emotional distress and marital dissatisfaction, which were supposed to have a reciprocal influence on each other. The model was estimated using data from a sample of 150 infertile patients (78 males and 72 females). Findings confirmed the predictive effects of infertility-related stress on both emotional and marital distress. However, infertility-related stress was found to have more impact on emotional distress than on marital satisfaction.