Psychometric properties of the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN). New self-rating scale.
(41/2223)
BACKGROUND: Of available self-rated social phobia scales, none assesses the spectrum of fear, avoidance, and physiological symptoms, all of which are clinically important. Because of this limitation, we developed the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN). AIMS: To establish psychometric validation of the SPIN. METHOD: Subjects from three clinical trials and two control groups were given the 17-item, self-rated SPIN. Validity was assessed against several established measures of social anxiety, global assessments of severity and improvement, and scales assessing physical health and disability. RESULTS: Good test-retest reliability, internal consistency, convergent and divergent validity were obtained. A SPIN score of 19 distinguished between social phobia subjects and controls. The SPIN was responsive to change in symptoms over time and reflected different responses to active drugs v. placebo. Factorial analysis identified five factors. CONCLUSIONS: The SPIN demonstrates solid psychometric properties and shows promise as a measurement for the screening of, and treatment response to, social phobia. (+info)
Genetic and environmental factors in age-related nuclear cataracts in monozygotic and dizygotic twins.
(42/2223)
BACKGROUND: Age-related cataracts are a major public health problem. The relative importance of genes and environment in the causation of nuclear cataracts, the most common form of age-related cataracts, is not known. METHODS: We studied 506 pairs of female twins (226 monozygotic and 280 dizygotic) who were 50 to 79 years old (mean, 62). The amount of nuclear cataract in the right and left eyes was determined objectively by analysis of Scheimpflug lens photographs (yielding three measures) and subjectively with use of the Oxford Clinical Cataract Classification and Grading System (yielding one measure). All eight measures (four in each eye) were subsequently combined in one summary measure of nuclear cataract for each woman. A univariate maximum-likelihood model was used to estimate the variance of the genetic and environmental contributions to each of the measures. RESULTS: The different measures of cataract formation were highly correlated (correlation coefficients, 0.71 to 0.94). The mean scores were similar for the right and left eyes and for monozygotic and dizygotic twins. Quantitative genetic modeling of each of the nuclear-cataract scores invariably resulted in a best-fitting model that involved additive genetic effects, unique environmental effects, and age. The common environmental and dominant genetic effects could be removed from the models without significant loss of fit. The overall heritability in the combined nuclear-cataract score (the proportion of the variance explained by genetic factors) was 48 percent (95 percent confidence interval, 42 to 54 percent); age accounted for 38 percent of the variance (95 percent confidence interval, 31 to 44 percent) and unique environmental effects for 14 percent (95 percent confidence interval, 12 to 18 percent). CONCLUSIONS: Genetic effects are important even in such a clearly age-related disease as nuclear cataract, explaining almost 50 percent of the variation in the severity of this disease. (+info)
Red blood cell variables in highly trained pubescent athletes: a comparative analysis.
(43/2223)
BACKGROUND: A suboptimal haematological status has often been recorded in athletes involved in intensive physical activity. There have even been reports of "sports anaemia" associated with intensive physical exercise. However, studies on the effect of different types of exercise practiced over a long period of time on the red blood cell variables in pubescent athletes are very few. AIM: To assess the basic red blood cell variables in highly trained pubescent athletes from different sports and to compare the results with those for a control untrained group. Sex related differences in these variables were also assessed. METHODS: 876 highly trained athletes (559 boys and 317 girls) were included in the study. Their mean (SEM) age, weight, and duration of training were: 14.01 (0.06) years, 56.24 (0.52) kg, and 3.52 (0.07) years respectively. The control group consisted of 357 untrained subjects (171 boys and 186 girls) with mean (SEM) age and weight of 14.58 (0.09) years and 57.75 (0.67) kg. The group of athletes was divided into seven subgroups according to the sport practiced: athletics (105), swimming (107), rowing (230), wrestling (225), weight lifting (47), various team sports (92), and other sports (67). Venous blood samples were drawn from the cubital vein, and the red blood cell count, packed cell volume, haemoglobin concentration, and mean corpuscular volume were measured. Statistical indices were computed for each group and for each variable, and analysis of variance factorial analysis was performed to evaluate the statistical significance of the differences detected. RESULTS: The highly trained group was found to have lower red blood cell count, packed cell volume, and haemoglobin concentration (p<0.001) than the control untrained group (4.61 (0.01) x 10(12)/l v 4.75 (0.02) x 10(12)/l, 0.389 (0.001) v 0.404 (0.002) l/l, and 133.01 (0.38) v 139.9 (0.62) g/l respectively). These variables were lower for the boys of the trained group than for the boys of the control group (p<0.001), and similarly for the girls (p<0.001). The lowest red blood cell count, packed cell volume, and haemoglobin concentration were measured in blood samples from the boys of the swimming subgroup (4.54 (0.06) x 10(12)/l, 0.386 (0.006) l/l, and 129.38 (1.80) g/l respectively) and the rowing subgroup (4.66 (0.03) x 10(12)/l, 0.400 (0.003) l/l, and 136.21 (0.94) respectively). The same distribution was found for the girls: lowest in the rowing subgroup (4.32 (0.04) x 10(12)/l, 0.314 (0.003) l/l, and 124.27 (0.93) g/l) and the swimming subgroup (4.40 (0.05) x 10(12)/l, 0.375 (0.005) l/l, and 125.90 (1.30) g/l). No differences were found in the mean corpuscular volume. CONCLUSIONS: Continuous (more than one year) high intensity sports training (twice a day/five days a week) results in a decrease in the basic red blood cell variables in pubescent boys and girls, this being most pronounced in the submaximal sports. (+info)
Readiness to change questionnaire: reliability study of its Spanish version.
(44/2223)
The present study explored the reliability and validity of a Spanish version of the Readiness to Change Questionnaire (RCQ) (12-item short form) as it might be used for opportunistic intervention. The test has three scales to allocate patients to a stage of change: pre-contemplation (P), contemplation (C) or action (A). The RCQ was translated and back-translated prior to pilot administration to 15 patients. From two settings (a general hospital ward and a primary health care centre), 201 patients were identified as excessive drinkers on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Patients known to be alcohol-dependent and attending for alcohol-related reasons were excluded. Patients completed the RCQ. Test-retest reliability after 2 days was assessed in 35 patients. A components analysis was performed. Patients were classified on RCQ scores to a stage of change. Two experts separately interviewed the patients and made an allocation to stage of change, blind to the RCQ score. Test-retest reliability was good (P: r = 0.81; C: r = 0.87; A: r = 0.86). Within the three scales, RCQ items showed fair consistency in terms of Cronbach's alpha (P: 0.58, C: 0.75, A: 0.80). Component analysis showed that together the scales accounted for 57. 4% of the variance. The experts agreed between themselves on patients' stage of change (weighted kappa 0.92) but much less with the stage of change according to RCQ (expert A, kappa = 0.44; expert B, kappa = 0.52). Omitting patients with low consumption did not improve internal reliability, and omitting those with low educational level who might have filled in the questionnaire wrongly did not improve internal reliability or agreement between RCQ and the experts. We conclude that the Spanish RCQ did not function efficiently in a population of opportunistically identified excessive drinkers. (+info)
On the production and correction of involuntary prosaccades in a gap antisaccade task.
(45/2223)
In an antisaccade task, where saccades in the direction opposite of a suddenly presented stimulus are required, certain numbers of prosaccades can occur. The hypothesis is put forward that poor fixation and poor voluntary saccade control constitute two independent sources for the errors. This possibility is investigated by including the corrections of the errors in the analysis. First, the eye movements of 346 normal subjects (group N) performing a gap antisaccade and an overlap prosaccade task were measured. For each subject the proportion of express saccades in the overlap prosaccade task and the proportion of prosaccades in the gap antisaccade task were determined. The data of 150 subjects with more than 20% proerrors were divided into two groups: group A with relatively many, group B with relatively few express saccades in the overlap prosaccade task. Group A subjects produced their errors after significantly shorter reaction times and they corrected their errors significantly faster and more often than group B subjects. Second, we analysed the data of three groups of subjects: the complete normal group N, a group D of dyslexic subjects (n=343), and a group T containing all subjects irrespective of their cognitive achievements (n=780). A highly significant negative correlation exists between the correction rates and the error rates. A factor analysis of the variables performed for each group separately results in only two factors, one describing prosaccade the other antisaccade control. Only the error rate contributes significantly to both factors indicating that high errors may have two independent reasons. (+info)
The Impact-on-Family Scale: a test of invariance across culture.
(46/2223)
OBJECTIVE: To test the cultural invariance of the Impact-on-Family Scale in order to make cross-cultural comparisons. METHODS: The Italian version of the scale was administered to mothers of children with chronic illnesses. Factorial invariance was examined to investigate whether the four factors found with the original United States (U.S.) scale could be replicated. RESULTS: The results clearly demonstrate the replicability of the first three factors, Financial Burden, Familial/Social Impact, and Personal Strain. In addition, internal consistency and the homogeneity of the items of the corresponding scales are satisfactory. However, the fourth factor, Mastery, could not be replicated, and the reliability of the corresponding scale is poor. Italian mothers scored significantly lower on the Financial Burden and on the Familial/Social Impact dimension, compared to the American sample. CONCLUSIONS: Three of the four factors of the Impact-on-Family Scale are useful for cross-cultural comparisons between U.S. and Italian samples. (+info)
Is anhedonia a specific dimension in chronic schizophrenia?
(47/2223)
This article explores the relationships among anhedonia, depression, and schizophrenic symptomatology in chronic schizophrenia. To explore these relationships, factor analysis methods were used to analyze the latent organization of the variables. The Fawcett Clark Pleasure Capacity Scale-Physical Pleasure (FCPCS-PP) and the abridged version of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were completed by 150 subjects who met research diagnostic criteria for definite chronic schizophrenia. The schizophrenic symptomatology was rated using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Two separate exploratory principal components analyses were completed, followed by varimax rotation. The first was made on the correlation matrix comprising items from both the FCPCS-PP and PANSS and yielded a five-factor solution with virtually no overlap of the significant factor loadings for the items from each scale. The second was made on the correlation matrix comprising items from both the FCPCS-PP and BDI and yielded a two-factor solution with virtually no overlap of the significant factor loadings for the items from each scale. Confirmatory factor analyses corresponding to the two exploratory factor analyses were done to examine the goodness of fit of the five-factor solution versus a four-factor solution and the two-factor solution versus a one-factor solution. The five-factor and the two-factor solutions yielded the best fit to the data relative to the other models tested. The findings support the view that part of anhedonia is a construct that is distinct and separate from depression and schizophrenic symptomatology in chronic schizophrenia. (+info)
Factors affecting contraceptive use in women seeking pregnancy tests: Missouri, 1997.
(48/2223)
CONTEXT: If the national health objective of reducing unintended pregnancy is to be met, a better understanding is needed of barriers to women's acquisition and use of contraceptives. METHODS: A sample of 311 Missouri women who were seeking pregnancy tests in public health department clinics in 1997 and who said their potential pregnancy was unintended were asked about potential barriers to family planning. Factors affecting contraceptive use among these women were examined by frequency of use, insurance status, education and race. RESULTS: In general, the women mostly disagreed that particular factors were potential barriers to contraceptive use. For only one item--worry over the potential side effects of the hormonal injectable contraceptive--did a majority agree or strongly agree that it was a barrier to method use in the previous six months. Women who used a contraceptive infrequently were more likely than frequent users to identify 33 factors in nine areas as being potential barriers to contraceptive use. These ranged from factors involving access to services and condom-specific issues to cost-related concerns, social norms, pregnancy denial, embarrassment over discussing or obtaining birth control, worry about side effects and experience with forced sex, among others. Perceived barriers differed somewhat by insurance status in the areas of access, embarrassment, side effects and forced sex. For example, women with no insurance coverage reported a higher level of agreement that transportation problems had hindered their access to a clinic than did women with private insurance. Level of education affected agreement only in the area of side effects, with more-educated women expressing greater concern about side effects than less-educated women. The respondent's race affected agreement in six areas: access, social norms, pregnancy denial, embarrassment, forced sex and other miscellaneous concerns, such as condom use and relationship issues. CONCLUSION: Better education and improved access to and delivery of services might address several factors affecting contraceptive use that are associated with unintended pregnancy. Some barriers, however, such as those related to self-efficacy, self-esteem and fatalistic attitudes about pregnancy, would be much harder for family planning providers to resolve. (+info)