Depression is a common clinical and subclinical psychiatric disorder in the middle-age to older adult population. This study examined the relationship between depression and activities of daily living (ADLs) in middle-age to older adults. This study examined longitudinal data from the 1998, wave 4, and 2000, wave 5, of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a National Panel Study sponsored by the National Institute on Aging. A negative cross-sectional and longitudinal relationship between higher ADL scores and depression was hypothesized. A goal of the present study was to determine the temporal precedence of these two constructs using a cross-lag panel design to first examine the cross-sectional relationship between ADLs and depression at time-one and at time-two, and then the time-one to time-two longitudinal relationships to examine temporal precedence possible causal relationships. Finally, differences in these correlational relationships by retirement status and then by marital status were tested. There were several interesting findings, including those who were retired in both 1998 and 2000 reported fewer ADLs (i.e., worse functioning), but also reported better health than those who were working in both 1998 and 2000. Similarly, those people who were not married in both 1998 and 2000 reported fewer ADLs but better …

This study examined differences in scoring patterns among those diagnosed with Alzheimer's dementia and vascular dementia on the clock-drawing test. Archival clock drawing data was retrieved on 279 patients presenting at a county hospital-based memory clinic. Analysis of drawings was based on frequency of qualitative errors, as well as an overall quantitative score. Mean comparisons found those patients with Alzheimer's dementia to perform worse on both quantitative and qualitative scoring measures. However, Pearson's chi-squared test revealed a significantly higher rate of spacing errors among subjects with vascular dementia. Such lends support to my hypothesis that impaired executive functioning in vascular dementia patients would lead to poor qualitative performance. Logistic regression found significant predictive ability for the qualitative criteria in diagnosis (χ2 = 25.49, p < .001), particularly the rate of omission (z = 8.96, p = .003) and addition errors (z = 7.58, p = .006). Such findings hold important implications for the use of qualitative criteria in cognitive screening assessments.

This study examined the effectiveness of cautioning and education on simulating a mild traumatic brain injury on several neuropsychological measures. The measures used included the Word Memory Test (WMT), Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales® - Third Edition (WAIS®-III), Wechsler Memory Scales®-3rd Edition instrument (WMS®-III), 16-item version of the Rey Memory Test, and a self-report symptom checklist. Five experimental groups were used including clinical and non-clinical controls, as well as three simulation groups. The design and implementation of this study also attempted to correct several methodological short comings of prior research by increasing the incentives for participants, expanding the generalizability of findings and examining research compliance and participant self-perception through debriefing. Discriminant analysis was utilized to determine if specific functions existed that would correctly classify and distinguish each experimental group. Several discriminant functions had at least moderate canonical correlations and good classification accuracy. Results also include utility estimates given projected varying base rates of malingering.

In the increasingly competitive world of retail banking, organizations are focusing their attention on customer service as a means of increasing customer loyalty and retention. With this goal of increasing customer retention, the link between the attitudes of the service provider (employee satisfaction), the customer interaction behaviors that those attitudes lead to (customer service quality), and the attitudes that those behaviors generate in the customer (customer satisfaction) has become an increasingly important area of investigation. The goal of this research is to analyze the relationships that exist between these three variables: employee satisfaction, customer service quality, and customer satisfaction in a mid-sized retail bank. Data from three separate surveys collected during the same time period in 137 branches of a regional bank are analyzed using multiple regression analysis to determine whether relationships and interactions exist at a banking center level. While results of the analyses did not show a significant relationship between the variables, issues relevant to this determination are discussed and conclusions drawn regarding the nature of these constructs.

Positive psychology has become influential in research and practice. However, some have criticized positive psychologists who focus solely on the virtues of being positive. A tyrannical pressure to be positive may potentially exist in positive psychology, as well as mainstream United States culture. The following study explored perceptions of this theory using focus groups of individuals who differed in coping style, social desirability, and depression. Results suggest that individuals are affected by social pressures to be positive, and the expression of both positive and negative emotions is determined by social pressures, rules, context, and consequences. Although emotional expression, especially negativity, is contraindicated in several social contexts, there are also social, psychological, and physical benefits to all types of emotional expression.

Research has linked rape victim-blaming attitudes (VBAs) with gender role stereotyping, negative peer attitudes towards women, and acceptance of interpersonal violence. The current study analyzed longitudinal questionnaire data of college men (n=166) from White and Smith's (2001) study of college student victimization. Results indicate that VBAs can be conceptualized as either overt or covert, and that the covert VBA was more strongly correlated with alcohol use, sexualized peer attitudes, traditional gender stereotypes, need for sexual dominance, and perpetration of dating aggression. The covert VBA was also correlated with rape proclivity one year later, and partially mediated relationships between earlier variables and later rape proclivity. Additionally, endorsement of chivalry moderated the relationship between traditional gender stereotypes and the covert VBA, casting new perspective on the role of chivalry. Overall, results demonstrate the importance of targeting subtle expressions of VBAs in educational programs, and the need for longitudinal studies on rape attitude development.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of and the subjects' overall satisfaction with the implementation of an internally created performance appraisal system. The system was implemented at a major technology consulting firm in the US. The subjects of this study were manager level employees of the firm. An employee survey conducted annually at the firm included questions relating to the implementation of the performance appraisal system. Eight years of managers' responses to six key questions in the Career Development category were analyzed. Managers' perceptions of their contribution to the firm, their understanding of what career paths are available to them, their understanding of the requirements for promotion, as well as their overall satisfaction with the implementation of the performance appraisal system were captured by this survey. Trend analysis indicates that managers at the firm perceived their career path knowledge improved and their understanding of promotion criteria improved as a result of the implementation. Overall satisfaction with the implementation did not improve enough to site confidence in managers' perceptions for the period immediately after the implementation; managers' responses to the actual implementation were disagreeable to neutral. Managers did not feel their impact on the organization improved as …

The HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to grow and minorities have been affected at a disproportionate rate. Two factors that are hypothesized to be associated with HIV/AIDS stigma include ethnic identity and acculturation. The current study uses a diverse, gender-balanced sample (n= 201, aged 23-68) of African-Americans (54.2%), European Americans (31.8%), and Latinos/Hispanics (10%) to evaluate the relationship among the proposed variables. The study found that higher levels of ethnic identity and other group orientation were associated with lower levels of perceived HIV/AIDS stigma. A stepwise linear regression analysis (adjusted R2 = .13, F(11, 189) = 3.74, p < .001) revealed that as the level of inclusiveness of other ethnic groups (t = -4.263, p < .001) increases, the level of perceived HIV/AIDS stigma decreases. The results from this study suggest that the development of interventions that address stigma and inclusiveness of other ethnic groups may benefit people living with HIV/AIDS.

There is extensive research on depression and interpersonal problems, but research has not addressed these concepts in relation to mutuality and human motivation. Therefore, the purpose of the current study is to consider the associations between intimacy motivation and mutuality of closest relationships and how, when combined, the two connect to depressive experiences and the occurrence of interpersonal problems. Of the 7 original hypotheses suggested, 2 were supported while 5 were not. Perhaps the most interesting finding, and certainly the one with the most practical application, came from the two supported hypotheses. The analyses show that interpersonal problem subtypes are associated with specific depressive subtypes by operationalizing the demand/withdraw pattern of conflict. The exploratory findings also suggest a possible mediation of gender and depression by mutuality.