The unintentional procrastination scale

Procrastination refers to the delay or postponement of a task or decision and is often conceptualised as a failure of self-regulation. Recent research has suggested that procrastination could be delineated into two domains: intentional and unintentional. In this two-study paper, we aimed to develop a measure of unintentional procrastination (named the Unintentional Procrastination Scale or the 'UPS') and test whether this would be a stronger marker of psychopathology than intentional and general procrastination. In Study 1, a community sample of 139 participants completed a questionnaire that consisted of several items pertaining to unintentional procrastination that had been derived from theory, previous research, and clinical experience. Responses were subjected to a principle components analysis and assessment of internal consistency. In Study 2, a community sample of 155 participants completed the newly developed scale, along with measures of general and intentional procrastination, metacognitions about procrastination, and negative affect. Data from the UPS were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis and revised accordingly. The UPS was then validated using correlation and regression analyses. The six-item UPS possesses construct and divergent validity and good internal consistency. The UPS appears to be a stronger marker of psychopathology than the pre-existing measures of procrastination used in this study. Results from the regression models suggest that both negative affect and metacognitions about procrastination differentiate between general, intentional, and unintentional procrastination. The UPS is brief, has good psychometric properties, and has strong associations with negative affect, suggesting it has value as a research and clinical tool

'Neknomination' : predictors in a sample of UK university students

AbstractObjectivesTo identify prevalence and predictors of participation in the online drinking game ‘neknomination’ amongst university students.MethodA convenience sample of 145 university students participated in a study about drinking behaviours, completing a questionnaire about their participation in neknomination, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, and the Resistance to Peer Influence Scale.ResultsOut of 145 students sampled, 54% took part in neknomination in the previous month. Mann–Whitney U tests revealed significantly higher scores on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, and significantly lower scores on the Resistance to Peer Influence Scale, for those who had participated in neknomination. A significant correlation was also shown between specific peer pressure to neknominate, and engagement in neknomination. A logistic regression analysis indicated that scores on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, but not the Resistance to Peer Influence Scale, predicted classification as an individual who participated in neknomination.ConclusionsWe found that over half of respondents had participated in a neknomination game in the past month, with almost all male respondents having done so. Participation in neknomination was strongly associated with general hazardous drinking behaviour but not with resistance to peer influence. Further research is needed to understand the role of engagement with social media in drinking games and risky drinking

Metacognitions in smoking : evidence from a cross-cultural validation of the metacognitions about smoking questionnaire in a Turkish sample

Metacognitions about the positive and negative effects of smoking have been associated with cigarette use and nicotine dependence. The aim of the present study was to validate the Turkish version of the Metacognitions about Smoking Questionnaire (MSQ; Nikcevic et al., 2015). The sample consisted of 859 self-declared smokers (452 female) aged between 18 and 68 years (mean = 28.3; SD = 7.9). Once the English to Turkish translation of the MSQ was completed, confirmatory factor analyses were conducted based on the four-factor structure of the original measure. Initially results suggested that this model was an inadequate fit of the data obtained. However, by allowing three pairs of items (within factor) to co-vary, a re-specified model was tested that was found to be a satisfactory fit of the data. Internal reliability and predictive validity of the translated scale were observed to be good. The Turkish version of the MSQ exhibited suitable psychometric properties. This study also showed that metacognitions about smoking predict nicotine dependence independently of demographic variables, length of cigarette use, negative affect, and smoking outcome expectancies

Early childhood experiences and current emotional distress: what do they tell us about aspiring psychologists?

Motivation underlying the career choice of mental health professionals may include a desire to resolve personal psychological distress from childhood or the need to continue the caretaking role held in the family (A. DiCaccavo, 2002; J. D. Guy, 1987). The authors examined whether psychology students whose future vocational aspirations lie in the clinical domain (N = 40) differed from psychology students with no clinical aspirations (N = 35) and from business students (N = 91) in reported childhood experiences and current psychological functioning. Psychology students who wanted to work in the clinical domain reported higher rates of perceived childhood sexual abuse and neglect as compared with both psychology students with no clinical aspirations and business students. They also reported more parentification experiences between the ages of 14 years and 16 years as compared with business students. There were no significant differences between groups in reported levels of current negative emotions

The influence of medical and psychological interventions on women's distress after miscarriage

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the impact of medical and psychological interventions on women's distress after early miscarriage. METHODS: This was a prospective study of women attending for a routine scan at 10-14 weeks of gestation and found to have a missed miscarriage. An intervention group of 66 women had medical investigations to ascertain the cause of miscarriage, and at 5 weeks after the scan, they all had a medical consultation to discuss the results of the investigations. These 66 women were randomly allocated into a group which received further psychological counselling (MPC, n=33), and a group which received no psychological counselling (MC, n=33). They were compared to a control group of 61 women who received no specific postmiscarriage counselling. All participants completed preintervention and postintervention measures and 4-month follow-up questionnaires. RESULTS: The scores on the outcome variables decreased significantly with time for all three groups. In group MPC, compared to controls, there was a significantly greater decrease over time in the levels of grief, self-blame, and worry and, compared to MC group, a significantly greater decrease in grief and worry. In group MC, compared to controls, there was a significantly greater decrease in self-blame. In the MC and MPC groups, those with an identified cause of the miscarriage had significantly lower levels of anxiety and self-blame over time than those with a nonidentified cause. CONCLUSIONS: Psychological counselling, in addition to medical investigations and consultation, is beneficial in reducing women's distress after miscarriage. However, absence of an identifiable cause of miscarriage led to the maintenance of the initial anxiety levels, which should have otherwise decreased with time