The psychometric properties of the iowa personality disorder screen in methadone-maintained patients: an initial investigation.

The psychometric properties of the Iowa Personality Disorder Screen (IPDS) were examined in 150 methadone-maintained patients who completed measures of demographic, psychopathology, substance use, pain, and methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) characteristics. An exploratory factor analysis revealed a two-factor solution that explained 45% of the scale variance. The first factor captured internalizing tendencies, such as inhibition and hypersensitivity to others. The second factor comprised externalizing tendencies, such as impulsivity and insensitivity to others. The IPDS item subsets, derived factors, and the total score were significantly related to race/ethnicity but not sex. The effects of race/ethnicity were controlled statistically when the IPDS was compared to other measures of psychopathology, self-reported substance use, pain variables, and MMT characteristics. In general, the IPDS appears to be reliable and valid for use with methadone-maintained patients. The two-factor structure found in this study may have clinical utility and merits further investigation in other MMT samples.

Do psychologically-minded clients expect more from counselling?

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between psychological mindedness and clients' expectations about counselling. DESIGN: A cross-sectional design was employed to assess correlations among study variables. METHODS: Participants were 104 counselling-centre clients at a mid-size, Southwestern US university. Participant volunteers filled out the Psychological Mindedness Scale, life orientation test-revised (LOT-R), and the expectations-about-counselling questionnaire. RESULTS: Clients who reported higher levels of psychological mindedness (PM) reported greater expectations of self-involvement in counselling and greater expectations of positive outcome. In contrast, PM was not significantly related to clients' expectations about their counsellors' in-session behaviour or to expectations about their counsellors' general personality style. Dispositional optimism (LOT-R) did not play a major role in the relationship between PM and expectations about counselling. CONCLUSIONS: High PM clients do seem to expect more from counselling than low PM clients, particularly in terms of self-involvement in the process and with respect to positive outcome. Consequently, therapists should consider assessing clients' PM, expectations, and the relationship between PM and expectations.

Is integrative use of techniques in psychotherapy the exception or the rule? Results of a national survey of doctoral-level practitioners.

This study sought to investigate the extent to which therapists endorse techniques outside of their self-identified orientation and which techniques are endorsed across orientations. A survey consisting of 127 techniques from 8 major theories of psychotherapy was administered via U.S. mail to a national random sample of doctoral-level psychotherapy practitioners. The 201 participants endorsed substantial numbers of techniques from outside their respective orientations. Many of these techniques were quite different from those of the core theories of the respective orientations. Further examining when and why experienced practitioners switch to techniques outside their primary orientation may help reveal where certain techniques fall short and where others excel, indicating a need for further research that taps the collective experience of practitioners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

Exploring the relationships among early maladaptive schemas, psychological mindedness and self-reported college adjustment.

OBJECTIVES: The primary aim of this research was to study the statistical effects of psychological mindedness (PM) upon the relationship between early maladaptive schemas (EMS) and self-reported college adjustment. DESIGN: A cross-sectional design was employed to assess correlations among study variables and to assess the role of PM as moderator or mediator in the relationship between EMS and adjustment. METHODS: Into this study, 264 undergraduate students were recruited in partial fulfilment of research requirements in introductory psychology class. Participants completed the Young Schema Questionnaire, the Psychological Mindedness Scale and the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire. RESULTS: At the level of bivariate correlations, EMS were inversely associated with college adjustment and with PM, and PM was positively associated with adjustment. In a multiple regression equation with PM and EMS entered separately and then as an interaction term as predictors of adjustment, PM was not a significant moderator. However, in a path analysis, the indirect effect of EMS on adjustment through PM was significant, suggesting that PM is a significant mediator. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that the assessment of EMS and PM may enhance an understanding of problems with college adjustment and that interventions to reduce the negative effects of EMS may indeed benefit from efforts to improve PM and its correlates.

Early therapeutic alliance and treatment outcome in individual and family therapy for adolescent behavior problems.

The impact of early therapeutic alliance was examined in 100 clients receiving either individual cognitive- behavioral therapy (CBT) or family therapy for adolescent substance abuse. Observational ratings of adolescent alliance in CBT and adolescent and parent alliance in family therapy were used to predict treatment retention (in CBT only) and outcome (drug use, externalizing, and internalizing symptoms in both conditions) at post and 6-month follow-up. There were no alliance effects in CBT. In family therapy, stronger parent alliance predicted declines in drug use and externalizing. Adolescents with weak early alliances that subsequently improved by midtreatment showed significantly greater reductions in externalizing than adolescents whose alliances declined. Results underscore the need for ongoing developmental calibration of intervention theory and practice for adolescent clinical populations.

Psychological mindedness and awareness of self and others.

The major goal of this study was to explore the relationship among psychological mindedness (PM) and several facets of awareness, including a general sense of mindfulness (Mindful Attention Awareness Scale; Brown & Ryan, 2003), as well as more specific awareness of self (self-consciousness scale; Fenigstein, Scheier, & Buss, 1975) and others (Interpersonal Reactivity Index; Davis, 1980). Participants were 103 undergraduate students at an urban liberal arts college. Results indicated that PM (PM Scale; Conte, Plutchik, Jung, Picard, Karasu, & Lotterman, 1990) is related to mindfulness (r = .41, p < .01), private self-consciousness (r = .27, p < .05), as well as cognitive (r = .30, p < .01) and affective (r = .35, p < .01) indices of empathy. Self-consciousness and empathy explained a significant amount of variance in PM in a simultaneous-entry multiple regression. These findings support theoretical claims that PM involves awareness of self and others.

Psychological mindedness and cognitive style.

Psychological mindedness (PM) is theorized to be a cognitively toned personality variable, yet, there is a paucity of research addressing the cognitive components of PM. This study was intended to redress this issue by testing the empirical associations between PM and Ambiguity Tolerance, as measured by the Revised Scale for Ambiguity Tolerance (MacDonald, 1970); Locus of Control, as measured by the Locus of Control Scale (Rotter, 1966); and Magical Thinking, as measured by the Magical Ideation Scale (Eckblad & Chapman, 1983). The results indicated that PM is positively associated with ambiguity tolerance, whereas it is inversely related to external locus of control and magical thinking. These findings suggest a cognitive style profile for PM that includes flexibility, a sense of personal agency, and a propensity for realistic thinking. High-PM individuals are likely to bring these cognitive resources to bear in psychotherapy, a tendency that might explain why high PM patients make better use of treatment.

Predicting psychological mindedness from personality style and attachment security.

The aim of this study was to increase the construct validity of the Psychological Mindedness Scale (PM Scale) by investigating its relationship to well-established measures of personality style (NEO Five-Factor Inventory) and attachment security (Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment). Personality and attachment variables functioned as differential predictors of psychological mindedness (PM). Openness to Experience emerged as the best predictor of PM, followed by Extraversion, Neuroticism (inversely related to PM), and Attachment to Peers. Neither Attachment to Mother nor Attachment to Father predicted PM. The results of this study indicate that PM is related positively to healthy, rather than pathological, personal and interpersonal constructs.