Psychometric properties of the brief Questionnaire on Smoking Urges (QSU-Brief) in a Dutch smoker population

Abstract We investigated the reliability, validity, and factor structure of the 10-item Questionnaire on Smoking Urges (QSU-Brief) in a Dutch smokers sample (N = 208). The questionnaire displayed good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alphas > 0.83), and scores were strongly correlated with three other rating scales for measuring craving, urge, and desire for cigarettes, and moderately linked to questionnaires that tap related constructs, such as cigarette dependence. As in previous research, a two factor structure was revealed. The first factor was best described by ‘the relief from nicotine withdrawal or negative affect with an urgent and overwhelming desire to smoke’, and appeared to be associated with negative affect, but not with positive affect. The second factor reflected ‘the desire and intention to smoke’, and was neither associated with positive nor negative affect. The factor structure, however, slightly deviates from the original, English version of the QSU-Brief, which might be explained by language differences. Overall, the Dutch translation of the QSU-Brief offers a reliable, valid, and multidimensional assessment of cigarette craving and appears suitable for use in a general population of young, Dutch adults

Relations between behavioral inhibition, big five personality factors, and anxiety disorder symptoms in non-clinical and clinically anxious children

This study examined the relations between behavioral inhibition, Big Five personality traits, and anxiety disorder symptoms in non-clinical children (n = 147) and clinically anxious children (n = 45) aged 6-13 years. Parents completed the Behavioral Inhibition Questionnaire-Short Form, the Big Five Questionnaire for Children, and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders-Revised. Results indicated that, compared to parents of non-clinical children, parents of clinically anxious children rated their offspring higher on neuroticism and behavioral inhibition, but lower on extraversion, conscientiousness, and intellect/openness. Further, extraversion emerged as the strongest correlate of an inhibited temperament, and this appeared true for the clinically anxious as well as the non-clinical children. Finally, in both the clinical and non-clinical samples, higher levels of behavioral inhibition and neuroticism were unique and significant predictors of anxiety disorders symptoms

A new scale for measuring reward responsiveness

Several psychological theories assume that there are two basic brain mechanisms that guide behavior: an avoidance or inhibition system, which is responsive to signals of punishment, and an approach or activation system, which is sensitive to signals of reward. Several self-report scales have been developed to assess the sensitivity to punishment and reward, and these instruments have been shown to be useful in research on personality, psychopathology, and underlying biological substrates. However, it is also true that in particular scales for measuring reward responsiveness (RR) suffer from various inadequacies. Therefore, a new RR scale was developed and subjected to an extensive psychometric evaluation. The results show that this scale measures a single factor, RR that is clearly independent of punishment sensitivity. Further, the data indicated that the internal consistency, convergent validity, discriminant validity, test-retest reliability, and predictive properties of the new scale were all adequate. It can be concluded that the RR scale is a psychometrically sound instrument that may be useful for researchers with interest in the personality construct of RR

Reducing children's aggressive and oppositional behaviors in the schools: Preliminary results on the effectiveness of a social-cognitive group intervention program

This study examined the effects of a social-cognitive group intervention program for children with oppositional and aggressive behaviors. Forty-two children aged between 9 and 12 years who clearly displayed behavior problems at school were treated with this program. A cross-over design was used in which one group of children first received treatment and then assigned to a waiting period, whereas the other group of children first waited and subsequently received treatment. Treatment effects were assessed by means of standardized instruments completed by children, parents, and teachers. Results demonstrate that the social-cognitive intervention yielded a significant reduction of behavior problems and an increase of social-cognitive skills as compared to the waiting list control condition. Further, a follow-up assessment of the children who were initially treated indicate that the intervention effects were retained over a three-month period. Finally, some support was found for the theoretical underpinnings of the social-cognitive intervention program. More specifically, a greater increase in social-cognitive skills was to some extent associated with a larger reduction of behavior problems

Behavioural inhibition and behavioural activation system scales for children: Relationships with Eysenck's personality traits and psychopathological symptoms

This study examined the psychometric properties of an age-downward version of the Carver and White (1994) BIS/BAS scales. Normal school children (N = 284) aged 8-12 years completed the BIS/BAS scales as well as scales of Neuroticism, Extraversion, and psychopathological symptoms. Results showed that the BIS/BAS scales for children had a theoretically meaningful factor structure and satisfactory reliability. Relationships with Eysenck's personality traits of Neuroticism and Extraversion, and psychopathological symptoms were generally as expected. That is, Neuroticism was positively associated with both BIS and BAS, whereas Extraversion was negatively related to BIS but positively to BAS. Further, BIS was convincingly connected to higher levels of internalizing symptoms, whereas BAS was to a certain level related to externalizing symptoms

Coping with medical threat: An evaluation of the Threatening Medical Situations Inventory (TMSI)

The Dutch Threatening Medical Situations Inventory (TMSI) has been developed to measure cognitive confrontation ('monitoring') and cognitive avoidance ('blunting') within the domain of medical threat. It consists of four scenarios of threatening medical situations, followed by monitoring and blunting alternatives. Its psychometric properties are investigated in students (N = 123), dental (N = 80), HIV - (N = 42) and surgery patients (N = 123). For both scales, internal consistencies proved to be satisfactory. Slight sex and age effects are found. Furthermore, there is a strong situation effect: the scenario highest in controllability shows relatively high monitoring and low blunting scores. Factor structure is stable across samples and shows a good fit with the predicted factor solution. Both scales are found to converge and diverge in a theoretically meaningful manner with a variety of coping style and anxiety measures. In two samples, a sample specific stress scenario was added, but the psychometric qualities of such an extension should not be taken for granted. In an additional sample of working people (N = 48) test-retest reliability proved to be good. It is concluded that the TMSI is a useful instrument for assessing cognitive confrontation and avoidance in medical patients. An English as well as a German translation are available. Copyrigh

Normative data for the Dutch version of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire.

Worry is a common symptom in various psychiatric problems and the key symptom of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). The Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) is the most widely used self-report scale for measuring worry. The present study provides normative data for the Dutch version of the PSWQ for a large community sample and a clinically referred sample of patients with GAD. Norms are not only provided for the original 16-item version, but also for an abbreviated 11-item version, which only consists of the positively worded items and has been shown to be a promising alternative to the full-length version. The percentile scores obtained for the community sample and the clinical GAD sample did not show much overlap, and this appeared true for the full-length as well as the abbreviated version of the PSWQ. These normative data seem suitable for differentiating between normal and abnormal manifestations of worrying and for evaluating the efficacy of treatments for GAD. (Netherlands Journal of Psychology, 65, 69-75.

Ontwikkelingstrajecten van angstsymptomen: Een vijfjarig prospectief onderzoek onder adolescenten in de algemene populatie

Achtergrond: Het relatief recente gebruik van moderne statistische analysemethoden zoals een latent groeimodel (lgm) maakt het mogelijk om verschillen in individuele ontwikkelingstrajecten over tijd te bestuderen. doel Prospectief en longitudinaal onderzoeken van de ontwikkelingstrajecten van angstsymptomen over een periode van vijf jaar in een grote steekproef (n = 1318) uit de algemene adolescentenpopulatie. Methode: Er werd onderscheid gemaakt tussen een cohort jongeren in de vroege adolescentie (gemiddeld 12 jaar oud tijdens de eerste meting) en in de midden adolescentie (gemiddeld 16 jaar oud tijdens de eerste meting). Leeftijds- en sekseverschillen in de ontwikkelingstrajecten van angstsymptomen werden onderzocht met lgm. resultaten Uit de analyses bleek dat de symptomen van de paniekstoornis, schoolangst en separatieangst voor alle adolescent