A sample of 227 undergraduate students was administered pre-intervention paper-and-pencil questionnaires to assess homophobia, fear of AIDS contagion, symbolic representations of AIDS and homosexuality, and specific personality attributes including authoritarianism, religiosity, and conservatism. Participants then read one of eight intervention vignettes about an ill person; these vignettes varied by sexual orientation of the patient, disease (AIDS versus lung cancer), and mode of transmission (in the AIDS conditions). Participants then completed post-intervention measures assessing the degree to which the ill person in the vignette was responsible and to blame for his illness, the level of stigma toward him, and concerns about social interactions with him. Results indicate the following: a) Attributions of personal responsibility are primarily a function of mode of illness transmission; b) fear of AIDS contagion is predictive of stigma and social avoidance of PWAs; and c) AIDS-related stigma and attributions of blame are largely a function of symbolic associations between homosexuality and IV drug abuse (which were previously stigmatized) and AIDS.

The purpose of this study, a quasi experimental design, was to investigate the relationship between team leader behavior and team performance and satisfaction. This field research tested leader behavior dimensions from two theoretical models of team effectiveness: Hackman's (1992) "expert available coaching," and Cohen's (1994) "encouraging supervisory behaviors." The relationship between coaching behaviors and team performance, employee, and customer satisfaction was assessed. Manager behavior was assessed with the SMT Leader Survey (Burress, 1994), an instrument determined appropriate for team environments, that measures Communication, Administration, Leadership, Interpersonal Skills, Thinking, and Flexibility. Employee satisfaction and performance information was archival data provided by the organization. The results demonstrated that leader behavior is a less important component of team effectiveness than initially expected. Even though direct customer interaction was 25% of these manager jobs and considered the organization's most important predictor of corporate profitability, no relationship between leader behavior and customer satisfaction was found. Among the key findings was, that while flexibility differentiated leader behavior more than any other scale, its relationship with both team performance and team satisfaction was negative. Interpersonal skills were positively associated with team performance, while leadership was positively associated with team performance and satisfaction. The SMT data were factor …

The current study investigated the criterion validity of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - 2 (MMPI-2) by comparing participants' profiles with other variables, including diagnosis, length of hospitalization, and chronicity. The specific diagnostic groups investigated were depressed (major depressive disorder; dysthymic disorder; and bipolar disorder, depressed), schizophrenic (schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, and schizoaffective disorder), and borderline personality disorder (BPD). Statistical analyses included use of univariate analyses of variance (ANOVAs), multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs), regression analyses, and measures of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive power (PPP), and negative predictive power (NPP). MANOVA results indicated significant differences between diagnostic groups on Scales F, 2, 3, 4, 7, ANX. FRS. DEP. BIZ. M f i , LSE, and FAM. There were considerable differences between males and females when separate MANOVAs were performed for gender groups. Cutoff see ires for classification by diagnosis resulted in significant specificity rates and negative predictive power, but sensitivity rates and positive predictive power were not significant.

Structural equation modeling was utilized in studying the voluntariness of the assumption of caregiving status. A model hypothesizing the stress flow that occurs when assuming a new life schema was presented. Utilizing three groups of caregiving populations, Home Caregivers, Intermediate Care Facility Aides, and Intensive Care Units and Emergency Room Nurses (N = 66), measures were administered to determine the voluntariness of the assumption of the role of caregiver. Path analysis and causal interpretation were utilized to determine outcomes. The involuntary assumption of the role of caretaker was shown to significantly affect depression and burnout rates negatively when perceived feelings of burden were high. When caretaker age was greater upon assumption of the role, self-esteem was low and family support was perceived to be lacking. When the role of caretaker is assumed on a voluntary basis and support from outside sources is perceived as helpful (i.e., social or financial support from the family), job stress and the subjective manageability of the symptoms were viewed as manageable. Implications for those assuming the role of caretaker with the elderly were examined, and recommendations for further training and interventions within the caretaker population were offered.

Clinical depression is characterized by alterations in thoughts, judgment, cognition and social behavior. This study focuses on non-optimal views of self and significant others that are proposed to underlie many of these alterations. Perceptions of self and significant others were elicited using the Role Construct Repertory Grid (Kelly, 1955a). Participants included depressed outpatients with high levels of trait anxiety (n = 27), depressed outpatients with lower levels of trait anxiety (n = 29) and a control group of never-depressed volunteers (n = 28). Consistent with prediction, significant group differences were found for negative self perception, discrepancies between actual self and self goals, alienation from significant others, and inconsistencies in self image. Results provided partial support for the self discrepancy theory of emotionality (Higgins, 1987). Among depressed patients, higher levels of anxiety were associated with increased self negativity and greater discrepancies between actual self and self goals. Increased levels of depression were associated with more alienation from significant others and more consistency in self image. Depressed patients' judgments of self and others were altered from optimal ratios, as predicted by the theory of interpersonal judgment (LeFebvre, LeFebvre & Adams-Webber, 1986). Findings have theoretical and clinical importance for the understanding and treatment …

"Think-Assess-Design" is a model for guiding traditional organizations through the steps necessary to redesign themselves into a more empowered, team-based work environment. Three broad steps—think, assess, and design—provided the framework for organizational change in this case study.

The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between parent and child factors for mothers of children diagnosed with cystic fibrosis to predict mother's psychological distress. Mothers were surveyed to identify measurement models in areas of Child and Parental characteristics and a Full Causal Model of Maternal distress. Factors related to Child Characteristics include general parental stressors and cystic fibrosis specific parental stressors. Factors related to Parental Characteristics include the mother's sense of parental competence and self-esteem. Additional factors related to the Full Causal Model include social support, major and minor life events, and demographics. Results were analyzed using LISREL IV structural equation modeling. Measurement model analysis found a good fit for the Child Characteristics model (Chi Square = 6.85, df = 4, JD = .144, Goodness of Fit Indices = .972) and Parental Characteristics model (Chi Square = 5.89, df = 3, p = .117, Goodness of Fit Indices = .971), but not for the full causal model of maternal distress (Chi Square = 114.98, df = 66, E = .000, Goodness of Fit Indices = .853)

Existing studies of people who are homeless provide descriptive information about the heterogeneity of the population. Families who are homeless are the fastest growing subset of this population. This study examined the variability in psychological and social functioning among homeless mothers and attempted to identify risk factors that predict level of adult functioning. Data was collected from 76 homeless mothers with minor aged children receiving services at area shelters. The sample was divided between highly structured and unstructured shelter environments. Each participant completed an extensive interview which included measures of personal and family history, risk factors and current psychological and social functioning. Social functioning was able to be predicted by a number of these risk factors.

Sixty-two mothers of childhood cancer patients completed questionnaires on family demographics, parental stress, sense of parenting competence, self esteem, health locus of control, attitudes toward cancer, life events, social support, and psychological symptomatology. Correlation and regression procedures were used. Time since diagnosis and the severity rate of a child's illness did not predict the mother's sense of parenting competence, but a negative correlation at the $p<.01$ level between mothers' report of self esteem and their distress was revealed. Social support was negatively correlated at the $p<.01$ level with psychological distress, but life events were positively correlated at the $p<.01$ level. Internal locus of control was positively correlated with psychological distress, but attitudes toward cancer did not correlate with psychological distress.

Individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with and without a learning disorder (LD) and a control group of clinically referred individuals with behavioral problems were compared on four neuropsychological tests of frontal lobe functioning. Test results were collected to examine if ADHD individuals with and without LD have deficits in frontal lobe functioning. Two age groups were used to examine developmental differences. In the six to ten age group there were 27 ADHD, 17 ADHD/LD and seven other clinically referred individuals. In the 11 -20 age group there were 12 ADHD, 23 ADHD/LD and 24 other clinically referred individuals. The ADHD and ADHD/LD groups performed at a lower level than the other diagnostic group on the freedom from distractibility factor of the WISC-R and the omission and commission errors of the Gordon Diagnostic system. Differences for the ADHD and ADHD/LD groups were also found on the number of correct responses for the Gordon Diagnostic system, the Speech Sounds test and the Seashore Rhythm test. The developmental differences that were found were not influenced by diagnosis. The deficits that the ADHD individuals with and without LD demonstrated were not affected by age.