A Critical Examination of the Environmental Mastery Scale

The Psychological well being Inventory (PWBI) is a multidimensional instrument that has enjoyed widespread use in a variety of research initiatives, from small-scale studies to national surveys. Recent empirical investigation of the measure has raised questions about its validity. This study examines the factorial validity of the Environmental Mastery Scale of the PWBI, a construct that receives much attention in mental health research. The results of a confirmatory factor analysis did not support the unidimensional factor structure of the measure. Correlated uniqueness models were also examined, which did not reveal evidence of a method effect. There are problems with the measure at the item level, which also raises significant questions about the underlying theory of its parent measure.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/61157/1/EMS.pd

Examining parent and child agreement in the diagnosis of adolescent depression

Background: The diagnosis of depression in adolescents relies on identifying the presence of specific core and additional symptoms. Symptoms can be identified using structured or unstructured interviews and a range of questionnaire measures, which are completed by the young person and by a parent or carer. The aim of this research was to examine the inter- and intra-rater reliability of parent report and adolescent self-report of depression symptoms. Method: In a sample of parent-child dyads, where young people aged 13-17 were referred to a mental health service for depression, we examined adolescents’ (n = 46) and parents’ (n = 46) independent responses to the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia in School-Age Children (Kaufman et al., 1997) and the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (Costello & Angold, 1988). Results: In the clinical interview, diagnostic criteria were more often met based on the adolescent’s report, and adolescents endorsed more symptoms of depression than their parents. Tentative results also suggest that parent-child agreement about specific symptoms was low. Comparing different measures of depression revealed that adolescent report on the questionnaire and interview was significantly correlated. However, there was no significant correlation between parent questionnaire and interview report. Conclusion: These results suggest that relying solely on parents to identify depression in their children may result in young people with depression being missed and therefore untreated. Young people themselves should be encouraged and enabled to recognise the symptoms of depression, and have an established pathway to services that offer assessment and treatment

Psychoeducational treatment and prevention of depression: The coping with depression course thirty years later

Abstract The “Coping with Depression” course (CWD) is by the far the best studied psychoeducational intervention for the treatment and prevention of depression, and is used in routine practice in several countries. The CWD is a highly structured cognitive-behavioral intervention, which has been adapted for several goals, contexts, and target populations. The efficacy of the CWD has been examined in 25 randomized controlled trials. We conducted a meta-analysis of these studies. The 6 studies aimed at the prevention of new cases of major depression were found to result in a reduced risk of getting major depression of 38% (incidence rate ratio was 0.62). The 18 studies examining the CWD as a treatment of depression found a mean effect size (Cohen's d) of 0.28. Direct comparisons with other psychotherapies did not result in any indication that the CWD was less efficacious. The CWD is a flexible treatment which can easily be adapted for different populations and this may have led researchers to use this intervention for complex target groups, which in turn may have resulted in a lower mean effect size. The CWD has contributed considerably to the development and innovation of prevention and treatment of depression in many target populations. Keywords: Depression; Psychoeducation; Cognitive behavior therapy; Systematic revie

The impact of excessive alcohol use on prospective memory: A brief review

Research into the cognitive consequences of chronic excessive alcohol use continues to grow. Despite this, little research has investigated what impact excessive alcohol use might have upon everyday remembering. An important aspect of everyday remembering is prospective memory (PM), which refers to the cognitive ability of remembering to carry out an intended action at some future point in time. The majority of the studies which have focused on what impact excessive alcohol use has upon PM in teenagers and young adults have consistently found that the excessive drinkers reported more lapses in their short term (e.g., forgetting to lock one’s door upon leaving home) and long term (e.g., forgetting to post a letter on time) aspects of everyday PM, when compared to low-dose alcohol users or non-users. It is concluded from this review that PM deficits should be added to the growing list of neuropsychological sequelae associated with excessive alcohol use. The magnitude of the effects of alcohol on PM depends upon the amount of alcohol consumed and how long one has been drinking. Major limitations of these studies include their reliance upon the use of self-report measures of PM, the issue of polydrug use complicating the picture, the need to control for the co-morbidity of other conditions - such as depression, and better drug-screening methods. Therefore, further studies need to employ objective measures alongside self-report measures of PM, incorporate better controls for the use of other drugs and mood states, as well as extending the focus of the research to study what effect different patterns of alcohol use might have upon PM, e.g., what impact binge drinking has upon everyday PM. These findings have educational and applied relevance within the alcohol field