PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J R Clopton

Publications and source records attributed to J R Clopton.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Family functioning, peer influence, and media influence as predictors of bulimic behavior.

One hundred and twenty undergraduate women students reported their height and weight and completed the Eating Disorder Questionnaire (EDQ), the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Family Assessment Device (FAD), the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ), the Body Image Assessment (BIA), and measures of peer and media influence. Family functioning was shown to be a poor predictor of bulimic behavior, whereas peer influence was a significant predictor. Media influence interacted with body dysphoria to increase the likelihood of bulimic behavior. The BSQ was a better predictor of bulimic behavior than the BIA, suggesting that students' responses to a measure that asks questions about specific areas of the body may reflect their feelings of body dysphoria more accurately than a measure that relies on a generalized silhouette.

Journal Article↗

Effect of symptom information and validity scale information on the malingering of depression on the MMPI-2.

MMPI-2 (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) data from college students who were attempting to malinger depression (199 women and 171 men) were compared to MMPI-2 data from students who responded honestly (50 women and 45 men). Mean MMPI-2 scores were compared with analyses of variance, and students' success in malingering depression was evaluated with criteria based on cutting scores for validity indexes and on the clinical scales commonly associated with depression. Students who were given information about the validity scales or about the symptoms of depression were more successful at malingering than students who received no information, indicating that malingerers of depression may be able to elude detection by the MMPI-2 if they are informed about the validity scales or the symptoms of depression.

Adult↗

Treatment outcome for substance misuse patients with personality disorder.

Treatment outcome was compared for three groups of patients in a chemical dependency unit--14 patients with personality disorder, 16 patients with traits of personality disorder, and 34 patients with no personality disorder. Patients with personality disorder were as likely as other patients to complete the 4-month aftercare program and to maintain abstinence while in the aftercare program.

Adult↗

Bulimic women's perceptions of their family relationships.

This study examined the relationship between bulimia and family variables. Eight hundred twenty female college students completed a personal history questionnaire, the Bulimia Test, and the Eating Disorders Inventory. Twenty-four subjects who met the DSM-III-R criteria for bulimia were compared with 24 subclinical bulimics and 24 symptom-free subjects on demographic and family variables, including subscales from the Family Environment Scale and the Parental Bonding Instrument. Significant group differences indicated that the families of bulimics differ from other families. However, in contrast to the findings of research done in treatment settings, bulimics in this nonclinical setting did not report more family conflict or less caring from their parents than did symptom-free subjects.

Adult↗

Social support and suicidal ideation in college students.

The present study examined the link between social support and suicidal ideation among 305 university students (90 men and 215 women) whose ages ranged from 18 to 24 years. Social support was significantly correlated with suicidal ideation (r = -.38), but social support did not contribute to the variation in suicidal ideation scores beyond the joint contribution of scores on the Beck Depression Inventory and scores on the Hopelessness Scale. A stronger relationship between social support and suicidal ideation might be found if investigators assessed different aspects of social support and if they examined the interaction of social support and level of reported stress.

Adolescent↗

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome educational program: effects on adolescents' knowledge and attitudes.

Although many schools are presenting acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) education programs for adolescents, few have evaluated the effects of the programs. The effects of two different types of program presentation, a lecture or a film, were compared to a no-program condition. Students who received the lecture demonstrated significantly greater knowledge gains than either of the other two groups. The lecture group's greater gain was maintained at the 1-month follow-up, although all three groups showed a decline in knowledge scores from posttest to follow-up. Both educational programs significantly increased students' positive attitudes toward patients with AIDS; there were no differences between the two groups. Positive attitudes decreased equally for both groups from posttest to follow-up, although these scores remained significantly more positive than the pretest scores. Students in both treatment groups showed a slight increase in positive attitudes toward practicing preventive behaviors following the programs, but those attitude scores returned to baseline levels at follow-up. Although educational programs increase knowledge and positive attitudes toward patients with AIDS, they do not appear to have a positive effect on attitudes toward practicing preventive behaviors. More intensive programs may be necessary to encourage behavioral changes.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Bulimia: a comparison of psychological adjustment and familial characteristics in a nonclinical sample.

This study examined the relation of eating attitudes and behaviors to family dynamics and psychological adjustment in a nonclinical group of female university freshmen. Family dynamics variables, which were measured by the Family Environment Scale (FES), included Control, Cohesion, Conflict, Organization, Expressiveness, Independence, Achievement-Orientation, Intellectual-Cultural Orientation, Active-Recreational Orientation, and Moral Religious Emphasis. Psychological adjustment was measured by the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSC). Variables on this scale included Anxiety, Depression, Somatization, Obsessive-Compulsive, and Interpersonal Sensitivity. Eating attitudes and behaviors were measured by the Bulimia Test (BULIT), a 32-item self-report inventory. Multivariate analysis of variance indicated that bulimics, subclinical bulimics, and normals could be differentiated on the Hopkins Symptom Checklist. Univariate analyses revealed differences between the groups on all of the HSC measures and the Organization scale of the FES. The results suggest that conclusions about the causal relationships between maladaptive family patterns and bulimia presented in previous research should be viewed with caution.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Application of the MacAndrew alcoholism scale to alcoholics with psychiatric diagnoses.

The MacAndrew Alcoholism scale scores of 140 male patients from a large VA hospital were examined to assess whether the MAC scale can detect alcoholism among patients with psychiatric diagnoses. There were five diagnostic groups, each with 28 patients: alcoholics, alcoholics with neurotic disorders, alcoholics with personality disorders, nonalcoholic patients with neurotic disorders, and nonalcoholic patients with personality disorders. The MAC scale was able to differentiate alcoholics and nonalcoholic psychiatric patients, but was unable to differentiate either of the alcoholic psychiatric groups from its nonalcoholic psychiatric counterpart. Thus, it appears that the MAC scale may be unable to identify alcoholism among patients with combined alcoholic-psychiatric diagnoses.

Adult↗

MMPI predictors of mania among psychiatric inpatients.

MMPI data from 64 patients with a diagnosis of manic-depressive illness, manic type, were compared with MMPI data from patients in two comparison groups--64 patients with a psychotic diagnosis other than manic-depressive illness, and 64 patients with a variety of psychiatric diagnoses. Manic patients had higher Ma scale scores for MMPI scales that assess personal distress and interpersonal difficulties (e.g., D and Si). Discriminant analysis, with the Ma, D, and Si scales as predictors, correctly classified as manic or not manic 82.5% of the patients in the derivation sample and 74.2% of the patients in the cross-validation sample. Two high-point pairs, Sc-Ma/Ma-Sc and Pa-Ma/Ma-Pa, occurred in the MMPI profiles of almost half of the manic patients but were rarely found among the profiles of other patients. The results of this study support the use of the MMPI in identifying manic patients, particularly when discriminating between mania and other types of psychosis.

Adult↗

The MacAndrew Scale: clinical application and theoretical issues.

The research literature on the MacAndrew (MAC) Scale was surveyed to identify factors that influence the scale's usefulness as a screening device for alcohol misuse, and to explore the meaning of MAC Scale scores. Although the MAC Scale's ability to discriminate alcoholic and substance misuse groups from nonalcoholic psychiatric groups is well documented, the scale may not discriminate between alcoholics and antisocial individuals, or between patients with combined alcoholic psychiatric diagnoses and nonalcoholic psychiatric patients. Recommendations for future research and for the clinical application of the MAC Scale are provided.

Age Factors↗

Meaning of the Repression-Sensitization scale: defensive style or self-report of symptoms of psychopathology.

Two studies were conducted to test the hypothesis that the Repression-Sensitization (R-S) scale assesses self-reported symptoms of psychopathology. In Study 1, 42 subjects were assigned randomly to groups that received differing instructions on the extent to which they should report experiencing distress and reveal personal problems. This manipulation produced highly significant group differences and accounted for most of the variability in R-S scale scores. In Study 2, R-S scale scores and scores of the Health Opinion Survey were correlated in a sample of 100 subjects. The high correlation obtained for these two measures suggests that both measures assess the same dimension, i.e., self-report of symptoms of psychopathology. The results of these studies indicate that the R-S scale is influenced so powerfully by self-report of symptoms of psychopathology that its usefulness in assessing repression-sensitization is questionable.

Adult↗

Reducing presurgical anxiety: a possible visitor effect.

Previous research has suggested that the effectiveness of different types of preparatory information in reducing presurgical anxiety will depend on the locus of control orientation of the patient. This study examined this interaction and the relationship of presurgical anxiety to patient background variables. Subjects in this study were 60 female patients awaiting gallbladder surgery. Patients' state anxiety was assessed before and after the presentation of one of three types of information: reassurance, self-care instructions or a neutral message. Anxiety was measured with the Affect Adjective Check List (AACL), and locus of control orientation was measured with Rotter's I-E scale. The expected interaction of information type and locus of control orientation was not found, but anxiety differed significantly depending on the patient's age and whether or not the patient had had visitors. Patients' anxiety scores also declined significantly from initial to second AACL administration. Contact with visitors, including patients' contact with the investigator, appeared to be effective in reducing patients' anxiety. However, alternative interpretations for the significant findings are presented.

Adult↗

Mosquito circadian flight rhythms: differential effects of constant light.

The flight activity of Culiseta incidens was automatically recorded in constant darkness and constant light after entrainment to light:dark 12:12 to determine the usefulness of a formal circadian pacemaker model in which the periods of two oscillators respond reciprocally to light intensity. Period at activity onset lengthened approximately 0.4 h from darkness to 0.1 lx, whereas period at offset shortened approximately 0.4 h. Thus within this range, the onset of the nocturnal active phase obeyed Aschoff's rule for nocturnal animals, and the offset (or onset of diurnal rest phase) obeyed the rule for diurnal animals. These data supported a model in which, as light intensity increases, the period of one oscillator (evening) increases while that of another (morning) decreases. This model, with additional assumptions, also provided a framework for mutually consistent explanations of other features among the data. These included long periods at 3.5 lx, short periods at 35 lx, a progressively earlier occurrence of inactivity with increasing light intensity, and a clear example of circa-bi-dian (approximately 2 days) rhythmicity.

Animals↗

Comparison of WAIS and WAIS-R scores of mildly and moderately mentally retarded adults.

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) were administered to 29 mildly and moderately mentally retarded adults. The WAIS Verbal and Full Scale IQs were significantly lower than were corresponding WAIS-R IQs. This difference is an exception to the general pattern of IQs being higher for tests that were standardized earlier. The present results suggest that WAIS-R IQs will be much higher than WISC-R IQs.

Adolescent↗

Identification of suicide attempters by means of MMPI profiles.

Used multivariate procedures to determine whether psychiatric patients who had made a suicide attempt immediately prior to hospitalization (N = 161) could be differentiated from nonsuicidal psychiatric patients (N = 161). Multivariate analysis of variance and cluster analysis failed to identify differences in the MMPI data of suicidal and nonsuicidal patients. In contrast, discriminant analysis produced a modest degree of differentiation that generally was maintained in the cross-validation.

Adult↗