It is believed by many researchers that little attention has been given to patients' perceptions of the impact of chronic pain on their lives. In recognition of this need, G. Frank Lawlis, C. Edward McCoy, and David K. Selby developed the Dallas Pain Questionnaire (DPQ) to assess the amount of chronic pain that affects four aspects (daily activities, work-leisure activities, anxiety-depression, and social interest) of the patients' lives. The present study, conducted to validate the DPQ's statistical properties, first reviews the literature addressing the various theories and varieties of pain, its opiates, and the two current approaches to quantify pain. This study included a total of 143 subjects. Clinical subjects were 104 inpatients in the Spinal and Chronic Pain Center at Medical Arts Hospital and 15 chronic pain outpatients released to work. Normal subjects consisted of staffing personnel (n = 13) and flight assistance employees (U = 11)- Both clinical and normal groups completed the DPQ. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) was administered only to the clinical population. Results suggest that the DPQ is both externally reliable (stability reliability coefficient of .970) as well as an internally consistent instrument. Two factors emerged from factor structure analysis. Factor one (63.2% …

Difficulties developing and maintaining intimate relationships are often attributed to adult children of alcoholics (ACAs). However, the focus of the literature has been on those obtaining psychological treatment and has primarily involved clinical impressions. The purpose of this study was to examine intimacy in the close friendships and love relationships of ACAs. Autonomy and intimacy in respondents' families of origin were also analyzed. Comparisons were made between ACAs currently in (n = 59) and not in (n = 53) therapy, and comparisons who had (n = 48) and had not (n = 77) received therapy. Alcoholics were eliminated. It was hypothesized that ACAs would score significantly lower than comparisons on love and friendship intimacy and autonomy and intimacy in their families of origin. Among the ACAs, those in therapy would score lower than those not in therapy. Hypotheses were tested using MANOVAS. ANOVAs were administered where there were significant differences, and Newman-Keuls contrasts further delineated the divergence. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to obtain explanatory data. The two ACA groups seem to represent distinct populations with those not in therapy failing to report intimacy differences previously ascribed to them. While all of the groups were similar in friendship closeness, only …

This study was an investigation of the effects of physiologically-oriented mental imagery on immune functioning. College students with normal medical histories were randomly selected to one of three groups. Subjects in Group 1 participated in short educational training on the production of secretory immunoglobulin A. They were then tested on salivary IgA, skin temperature and the Profile of Mood States (POMS) before and after listening to a 17-minute tape of imagery instructions with specially-composed background "entrainment" music, designed to enhance imagery. Subjects in Group 2 (placebo controls) listened to the same music but received no formal training on the immune system. Group 3 acted as a control and subjects were tested before and after 17 minutes of no activity. Treatment groups listened to their tapes at home on a bi-daily basis for six weeks. All groups were again tested at Weeks 3 and 6. Secretory IgA was analyzed using standard radial immuno-diffusion techniques. Repeated measures analyses of variance with planned orthogonal contrasts were used to evaluate the data. Significant overall increases (p < .05) were found between pre- and posttests for all three trials. Groups 1 and 2 combined (treatment groups) yielded significantly greater increases in slgA over Group 3 …

The ability of several psychometric instruments to differentiate between criminal and non-criminal subjects was investigated. The subjects in the study consisted of fifty male individuals between the ages of 18 and 55, half of which had been convicted of one crime and half of which had no history of criminal activity. The tests administered consisted of the Psychopathic Deviation Scale from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), the Psychopathic Deviation Scale of the Clinical Analysis Questionnaire, and two tests designed by the author. The author's tests consisted of the Test of Criminal Cognitions which evaluated antisocial thought patterns and cognitive flexibility, and the Social Semantics Test which assessed individual role definitions. The Test of Criminal Cognitions was administered as a part of a structured interview, and all other scales were administered in a paper and pencil format. The results indicated that the Psychopathic Deviation Scale of the MMPI, and a portion of both the Test of Criminal Cognitions and the Social Semantics Scales differentiated between the groups at the .05 level or better. These findings indicated that criminals tend to be significantly less flexible in their thought and tend to view others in a much more narcissistic manner than non-criminals. …

Psychiatric patients, particularly schizophrenics, tend to be less accurate decoders of facial expressions than normals. The involvement of three basic information processing stages in this deficit was investigated: attention; encoding; and processing. Psychiatric inpatients, classified by diagnosis and severity of pathology, and nonpatient controls were administered seven facial cue decoding tasks. Orientation of attention was assessed through rate of diversion of gaze from the stimuli. Encoding was assessed using simple tasks, requiring one contrast of two facial stimuli and selection from two response alternatives. Processing was assessed using a more complex task, requiring several contrasts between stimulus faces and selection from numerous response alternatives. Residualized error scores were used to statistically control for effects of attention on task performance. Processing task performance was evaluated using ANCOVA to control for effects of encoding. Schizophrenics were characterized by generalized information processing deficit while affective disorder subjects evidenced impairment only in attending. Attention impairments in both groups were related to severity of psychopathology. Problems in encoding and processing were related only to a schizophrenic diagnosis. Their decoding deficits appeared attributable to general visuospatial discrimination impairment rather than repression-sensitization defenses or the affective connotation of cues. Adequacy of interpersonal functioning was associated with measures …

This study sought to determine the therapeutic effectiveness of client-therapist dyads in a residential treatment center for emotionally disturbed adolescents. The theories of George Kelly's personal construct psychology were utilized in assessing the dyadic relationship. The four elements investigated were organizational similarity, understanding, organizational congruency and predominant selves. The sample consisted of 140 dyads comprised of 10 adolescent boys and girls and 14 therapeutic staff of a residential treatment center in the southwest United States. Responses to Kelly's Role Construct Repertory Test were compared to four relational factors—parental/respect, identity, problem-solving, and sexual/affection—and two rating scales of client-therapist preference and ratings of therapeutic effectiveness. Contrary to expectations, as content similarity among dyads composed of clients and staff increased, there was not an increase in functional aspects of the therapy relationship. Possible mitigating factors may have been level of client disturbance and/or methodological issues relating to how organizational similarity was determined. Dyadic understanding was not found to be related to perceptions of the therapy relationship. This may be a function of adolescent of adolescent clients' need for independence and resistance to adult understanding and control. Therapy dyads with a moderate level of lateral or vertical organizational congruence were not found to be …