The British journal of clinical psychology / the British Psychological Society
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There are no studies available that have examined the factorial invariance of dimensions underlying the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) across at least three distinct samples. In the following study, we wished to determine whether a dimensional model comprising eight primary factors previously identified in psychiatric out-patients, phobics and the general population (Arrindell & Ettema, 2003) could be extended to a homogeneous sample of pain patients comprising females suffering from peri partum pelvic pain (PPPP) syndrome (N = 413). The internal consistency and discriminant validity of the dimensions were also examined. ⋯ The 8-dimensional system based on the work of Arrindell and Ettema (2003) was invariant across psychiatric patients, phobics, the general population and pain patients. The invariance of the SCL-90-R hostility dimensions may have implications for a re-formulation of Watson and Clark's tripartite model of general distress, specific anxiety and specific depression.
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'Peritraumatic dissociation' refers to alterations in awareness and memory for events that occur during and shortly after a traumatic experience. Despite the prevalence of reported peritraumatic dissociation, little is known about the mechanisms that mediate dissociative responses in the initial period after trauma. One theory suggests that peritraumatic dissociation may be a response to elevated arousal and panic symptoms during trauma. This study investigated panic symptoms that occurs at the time of the trauma and their relationship to ongoing dissociation in acute stress disorder. ⋯ These findings are consistent with proposals that acute dissociation is associated with panic symptoms that occur during the traumatic experience. Possible mechanisms for the association of panic and dissociation are discussed.
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Following Leventhal's self-regulation model, the purpose of the present study was to provide an examination of the relationship between psychosis perceptions, coping strategies, appraisals, and distress in the relatives of patients with schizophrenia. ⋯ Results provide partial but not unequivocal support for the self-regulation model in the current sample. Findings may invite us to consider the further use of the self-regulation/common sense model as a framework for understanding distress in the carers of people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia.
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To test the construct validity of the short-form version of the Depression anxiety and stress scale (DASS-21), and in particular, to assess whether stress as indexed by this measure is synonymous with negative affectivity (NA) or whether it represents a related, but distinct, construct. To provide normative data for the general adult population. ⋯ The DASS-21 subscales can validly be used to measure the dimensions of depression, anxiety, and stress. However, each of these subscales also taps a more general dimension of psychological distress or NA. The utility of the measure is enhanced by the provision of normative data based on a large sample.
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A tendency to externalize internal information on reality monitoring tasks has been documented in psychiatric patients with hallucinations. Furthermore, previous studies suggest that factors such as the emotional salience of the material, cognitive effort and meta-cognitive beliefs are important contributory factors in this tendency to externalize internal information on reality monitoring tasks. However, few studies have investigated these aspects in hallucination-prone subjects. Also, these factors have never been examined simultaneously. In the following study we wished to examine the effects of emotional salience, cognitive effort and meta-cognitive beliefs on reality monitoring functioning in hallucination-prone subjects. ⋯ These results suggest that cognitive effort, emotional salience and meta-cognitive beliefs all play a prominent role in the externalizing bias in hallucination-prone subjects. The results also provide evidence for the validity of the idea of a continuity between hallucination-prone subjects and psychotic patients with hallucinations on reality monitoring tasks, including a number of contributing factors in the occurrence of hallucinations.