Relationship of sexual abuse to motivation for strenuous exercise.

AIM: Sources of motivation for intense physical exercise are poorly understood. Based on views that link such behaviour to preexisting psychopathology, we tested the hypotheses that history of childhood sexual abuse would be greater in intense exercisers than in non-exercisers, and that effects of abuse on self-esteem, perfectionism and body dissatisfaction would help to explain any link between abuse and exercise. METHODS: Consecutive attenders at two types of exercise were recruited: weight training and running. Sedentary attenders at a further education college provided a third, comparison group. Each group contained 64 men and 64 women. Participants completed questionnaires to record history of sexual and physical abuse in childhood and adulthood, body dissatisfaction, self-esteem, and positive and negative perfectionism. RESULTS: Adult, but not childhood abuse, was reported by more weight-trainers than others. Abused individuals were more anxious and depressed, were more negative about themselves and were more concerned with avoiding failure in general. Women abused in childhood were more concerned with avoiding failure at exercise in particular. CONCLUSION: These results suggest hypotheses that link adult abuse to intense weight training habits and, in women, that link child abuse to feelings of failure in exercise.

Quality-of-life and behavioral outcome measures in randomized controlled trials of antiepileptic drugs: a systematic review of methodology and reporting standards.

PURPOSE: To review the methodology and use of quality-of-life and behavioral measures used in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of antiepileptic drugs in patients with epilepsy. METHODS: Trial reports were found by searching a previously developed comprehensive database of epilepsy RCTs and searching through journals by hand. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, and methodological and quality-of-life and behavioral measure data were extracted. RESULTS: There were 52 different measures used in 46 trials, with the Profile of Mood States, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, and the Washington Psychosocial Seizure Inventory being applied the most frequently. Overall, evidence of the reliability, validity, and sensitivity of measures used in populations of people with epilepsy was sparse. There was also little information on the clinical interpretation of the results. CONCLUSION: Our results highlight a consistent failure to apply quality-of-life and behavioral measures in RCTs in a systematic way. We found repeated evidence of researchers' failure to review the use of previous measures and selection of measures without evidence of their appropriateness for use in a population with epilepsy. We recommend the use of quality-of-life and behavioral measures in RCTs with proven psychometric properties in a population with epilepsy.

Self-report quality of life measure for people with schizophrenia: the SQLS.

BACKGROUND: Quality of life is the subject of growing interest and investigation. AIMS: To develop and validate a short, self-report quality of life questionnaire (the Schizophrenia Quality of Life Scale, SQLS). METHOD: People with schizophrenia in Liverpool were recruited via the NHS. Items, generated from in-depth interviews, were developed into an 80-item self-report questionnaire. Data were factor analysed, and a shorter form measure was tested for reliability and validity. This measure was administered together with other self-report measures--SF-36, GHQ-12 and HADS--to assess validity. RESULTS: Data were analysed to produce a final 30-item questionnaire, comprising three scales ('psychosocial', 'motivation and energy', and 'symptoms and side-effects') addressing different SQLS dimensions. Internal consistency reliability of the scale was found to be satisfactory. There was a high level of association with relevant SF-36, GHQ-12 and HADS scores. CONCLUSIONS: The SQLS was completed within 5-10 minutes. It possesses internal reliability and construct validity, and promises to be a useful tool for the evaluation of new treatment regimes for people with schizophrenia.