Biomedical subjects

D K Forgays

Publications and source records attributed to D K Forgays.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

A comparison of older adolescent and adult females' responses to anger-provoking situations.

There has been an increase in research on anger in girls and women. However, few researchers have examined anger across different groups of females. The goal of this study was to examine the experience and expression of anger in individuals who differ by age and employee/student status. Two female populations, university students and employees, described their reactions to a hypothetical work/school-related situation. Similar factors elicited an angry emotion, but there were group differences in the responses to the anger experience. The results are interpreted from a gender schema perspective, taking the contextual influence of developmental period and employee/student role into account.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1999

Examination of the AHA!-Illness relation in male and female university students from Australia, India, and the United States.

The search for the link between negative emotions and later health problems continues to be a dominant theme in behavioral medicine. Although researchers have identified significant relations between illness and anger, most studies focus selectively on one anger domain: either the affective, attitudinal, or behavioral component. In this study, we first related all three components of the AHA! (anger, hostility, and aggressive behavior) syndrome to somatic complaint reports in a male and female young adult population drawn from three countries. In subsequent analyses, we related multidimensional characteristics of anger to illness in those young adults who regularly use tobacco and alcohol. In both the total sample and the substance user analyses, we found that the anger-illness profile varied as a function of gender.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1998

Factor structure of the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory for middle-aged men and women.

Recently, Forgays, Forgays, and Spielberger (in press) reported the first exploratory factor analysis of the total 44-item State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI) by gender. The analyses were based on a sample of over 700 male and female university students and identified quite well six of the original STAXI scales and subscales. In addition, a seventh factor, "Feel-Like-Expressing-Anger," emerged for women. In the present study, we examined the STAXI responses from a middle-aged adult population. Exploratory factor analyses replicated the majority of the original structure of the STAXI measure including a Feel-Like-Expressing-Anger factor for men and women. In addition, we employed confirmatory factor analyses and cross-validation procedures to test the validity of Spielberger's (1988) AHA! model. Based on these procedures, we found (a) that a seven-factor model provided a better fit than a six-factor solution for each gender and (b) evidence of robust gender differences for two factors: Feel-Like-Expressing-Anger and State Anger. These gender differences are consistent with the social costs for anger expression in women and the social benefits for men.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Factor structure of the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory.

The assessment of anger has received increased attention because of growing evidence that anger and hostility are related to heart disease. Research on anger assessment has also been stimulated by the development of psychometric measures for evaluating different facets of anger, such as the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI). In this study, factor analyses of the responses of a large sample of university students to the 44 STAXI items identified 7 factors. Of these, the first 6 factors closely corresponded with the 6 STAXI scales and subscales: State Anger (S-Anger); Trait Anger Temperament and Reaction; and Anger-In, Anger-Out, and Anger-Control. All 10 STAXI S-Anger items had salient loadings on the 1st factor for both sexes; the 7th factor also consisted primarily of S-Anger items. Factor analyses of responses to the 10 S-Anger items clearly confirmed two S-Anger factors for both sexes: Feeling Angry (e.g., "I am furious") and Feel Like Expressing Anger (e.g., "I feel like hitting someone").

Adult↗

PubMed1996

The relationship between Type A parenting and adolescent perceptions of family environment.

Type A Behavior Pattern (TABP) has been associated with negative health consequences and greater stress in interpersonal relationships. Yet, the substantive body of research has provided little direction regarding the etiology of TABP. One approach to address the etiological question is an examination of Type A parents and their children. In the present study of 940 subjects, global and component TABP parent-adolescent characteristics are examined in conjunction with family environment data. The results indicate that adolescents of Type A parents have higher Type A scores. Moreover, Type A parent-adolescent relationships vary depending on the Type A dimension measured and the gender of the parent-adolescent dyad. Further analyses indicate an independent contribution of perceived family environment to the development of TABP in adolescents. Directions for future research are discussed in light of the positive as well as negative aspects of life with a Type A parent.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

Measurement of the Type A behavior pattern from adolescence through midlife: further development of the adolescent/adult Type A behavior scale (AATABS).

We reported in 1990 the development of the Adolescent/Adult Type A Behavior Scale (AATABS). While the measure showed considerable promise, improvements to its component structure were indicated. The present study reports such modifications and also provides data on the use of the new scale, the AATABS-R, with middle-aged subjects as well as young adults from the United States.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

Headache in college students: a comparison of four populations.

Recent studies have reported a much lower rate of headache prevalence for Australian college students as compared with those for two campuses in the United States. We present such data here for a third U.S. campus and make several comparisons of these data for the four campuses. While the gender difference of higher female over male headache frequency was found for all four campuses, the same measure for combined genders is reliably higher for all three U.S. groups over their Australian counterpart and there are significant differences among the U.S. groups as well. Possible reasons for these campus differences in headache prevalence are outlined and discussed and further research is indicated.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

Personality and cigarette smoking in Italy, Poland, and the United States.

This study reports data on over 700 young adults, undergraduate and medical students attending the University of Vermont, the University of Rome, and the Warsaw Medical Academy. Each subject provided information about cigarette smoking history and completed several personality, Type A, and life events inventories. Subjects were classified as nonsmoker, ex-smoker, and smoker. Each measure was analyzed by ANOVA on this basis, with gender and country as additional main effects. Smokers were found to have higher state anxiety, a lower lie score, and were more Type A than ex-smokers and nonsmokers, but they tended to report fewer life events and of lower value.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Alcohol use and personality relationships in U.S. and Polish adolescents.

To obtain information, which could be useful to the design of intervention and prevention programs for adolescent alcohol users and potential users, personality and alcohol use data were collected from over 300 Polish and U.S. 15-year-olds. Thirty percent of these subjects were already drinking on a more or less consistent basis. Users were angry, nonconforming, and impulsive-antisocial persons in both countries. Future research and potential intervention and prevention strategies are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Recurrent otitis media and parenting stress in mothers of two-year-old children.

This study examined the impact of recurrent otitis media on mothers' perceptions of themselves and of their 2-year-old children. Fifty-two mothers of children with and without histories of recurrent otitis media completed measures that rated the level of stress in the mother-child relationship at two points in time. The mothers of children who experienced six or more episodes of otitis media in the first 2 years of life rated their children as significantly more demanding at age two and at follow-up 6 months later than did the mothers of children who experienced no more than one episode of the illness. At the first point in time, these mothers also rated themselves as significantly more depressed and less competent than did control mothers, a pattern that was maintained at the follow-up. Findings of the study suggest that recurrent otitis media early in life may contribute to adverse perceptions of child and self that may persist for some time after the child has been relatively disease free and further suggest that parental perceptions may mediate relationships between early recurrent otitis media and later developmental outcomes.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1991

Type A behavior within families: parents and older adolescent children.

Type A behavior has been associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease and occupational stress. However, researchers know very little about the etiology of the Type A behavior pattern (TABP). Relating measures of TABP in the young to comparable measures from their parents and other family members is one way to address the etiological issue. This study is the first in a series which examines the relationship between parent and child TABP using multiple measures for assessing TABP and the same measures in children and their parents. One hundred thirty-eight undergraduate students at the University of Vermont and their parents completed three Type A and two anger measures. The results suggest a cross-gender pattern in which Type A in fathers is related to Type A in their daughters and Type A in mothers is related to Type A in their sons. Anger measures generally agree with this pattern. Methodological difficulties in the field and future directions for research are discussed.

Adolescent↗