An instrument to assess self-statements during public speaking: scale development and preliminary psychometric properties.

Public speaking is the most commonly reported fearful social situation. Although a number of contemporary theories emphasize the importance of cognitive processes in social anxiety, there is no instrument available to assess fearful thoughts experienced during public speaking. The Self-Statements During Public Speaking (SSPS) scale is a 10-item questionnaire consisting of two 5-item subscales, the "Positive Self-Statements" (SSPS-P) and the "Negative Self-Statements" subscale (SSPS-N). Four studies report on the development and the preliminary psychometric properties of this instrument.

Cross-informant agreement in the assessment of social phobia in youth.

In the present study involving children and adolescents with a principal diagnosis of social phobia, we measured parent-child agreement regarding social anxiety symptoms. Additionally, we examined variables related to the severity of the children's social phobia symptoms as reported by children and as rated by clinicians. Examination of cross-informant agreement indicated little difference between mean parent and children ratings of the children's social fears. In contrast, there was a significant difference in parent and children ratings of the children's avoidance, with parents endorsing greater degrees of social avoidance. Children's report of social avoidance was negatively related to scores on a measure of self-presentational concerns (i.e., social desirability). Clinicians' determination of the severity of the children's social phobia was also influenced by the children's self-presentation as well as parent report of social avoidance and children's depression scores. Thus, this differential weighting by the clinician of parent versus child report may be related to the finding that children's self-reported social avoidance was negatively related to their concerns regarding positive self-presentation. Results suggest the need to consider the impact of social desirability when examining clinical characteristics of children and adolescents with social phobia.

Effects of positive and negative mood on sexual arousal in sexually functional males.

Effects of positive and negative musical mood induction on subjective and objective sexual arousal were examined in a group of sexually functional males (N = 24). Subjects evidenced significantly greater objective and subjective sexual response in the positive mood induction condition relative to both baseline and a neutral control condition. In contrast, the negative mood induction condition yielded significantly less objective sexual arousal than baseline and a neutral control condition. Data provide additional empirical support for the hypothesized impact of mood on sexual arousal.

Effects of anxiety on attentional allocation and task performance: an information processing analysis.

An information processing signal detection methodology was employed to examine attentional allocation and its correlates in both normal comparison (NC) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) participants. In particular, the impact of neutral distractor and negative feedback cues on performance of an attention vigilance task was investigated. Individuals with GAD (N = 15) evidenced impaired performance on an attention vigilance task relative to NC participants (N = 15) when neutral distractor cues were presented. Contrary to prediction, no group differences in performance were detected under conditions in which participants were presented negative feedback cues they were told were relevant to their performance. Instead, GAD participants exhibited improvement during the experimental task such that their performance was equivalent to NC participants. Across trials, the clinically anxious group endorsed significantly higher levels of worry and negative affectivity; however, they failed to respond with concomitant physical arousal (e.g. increased muscle tension). These data are discussed within the context of Eysenck and Calvo's (1992, Cognition and Emotion, 6, 409-434) processing efficiency theory. Additionally, the results of this investigation provide support for Barlow's (1988, Anxiety and its disorders: The nature and treatment of anxiety and panic) conceptualization of anxiety as requiring the interaction of cognitive schema and physiological arousal.

Perfectionism, marital satisfaction, and contributing factors to sexual dysfunction in men with erectile disorder and their spouses.

The relationship among perfectionism, marital satisfaction, and male sexual functioning was examined. Thirty-two men with DSM-III-R erectile disorder participated. Of this group, 18 men had spouses who were able/willing to participate in their assessment. Subjects completed the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS) as well as the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), a measure of marital satisfaction. Additionally, physician ratings of organic contribution to the sexual dysfunction as well as clinician ratings reflecting the degree to which dysfunctional males' sexual difficulties were due to psychogenic factors were assigned. Psychogenic ratings were significantly positively correlated with overall MPS scores, whereas organic ratings were not. No significant group differences were detected on any measure among those whose spouses participated and those who did not have spouses or whose spouses were unable/unwilling to participate. In addition, for the subset of this sample that included dysfunctional men and their spouses (n = 18), results indicated that DAS scores for both dysfunctional men and their spouses were unrelated to clinician psychogenic ratings and physician organic ratings with the exception of a significant positive relationship between men's DAS scores and their organic ratings. It was revealed that women's, but not men's, total MPS scores were negatively related to both their own and their partner's DAS scores. Implications of these findings for the treatment of sexual dysfunction are discussed.