Biomedical subjects

J Smári

Publications and source records attributed to J Smári.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1999

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity symptoms in Icelandic schoolchildren: assessment with the Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Rating Scale-IV.

Four hundred and twenty-seven normal Icelandic children, six and eight years of age, were rated by their parents and three hundred and sixteen children by their teachers with the Teacher and Parent versions of the Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Rating Scale-IV (AD/HDRS-IV). For two hundred and sixty-five of the children both parent and teacher ratings were obtained. The factor structures of the AD/HDRS-IV for parents and teachers were in line with theoretical expectations. A Hyperactivity-Impulsivity factor and an Inattention factor were thus well supported. The subscale reliabilities were high. Boys scored higher than girls on all measures and there was a decrease of symptoms with age for boys, as expected. There was evidence of convergent validity for all scales, but discriminant validity of the AD/HDRS-IV subscales is less certain. Generally the instruments seem promising for further research. Some differences are noted in comparison with earlier studies. Thus scores obtained in this study were somewhat lower than those found in American studies, especially for teachers. Also the prevalence of ADHD based on rating scales was lower than in comparable previous studies. The similarity in symptom structure between this and previous studies is emphasized, but the possible role of cultural homogeneity in explaining different results with regard to teachers' ratings of symptoms is suggested.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗

PubMed1997

Unemployment, coping and psychological distress.

This study addressed the role of coping style in anxiety and depression of unemployed people. Two-hundred thirty-three people checking in at unemployment services participated. They filled in Carver, Scheier and Weintraub's (1989) coping measure (COPE), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HAD), gave information as to age, duration of unemployment and their appraisal of their situation. Four secondary dimensions of COPE were used in data analyses. Multiple regression analyses were undertaken with anxiety/depression as dependent and the coping variables as independent variables, with background/appraisal variables entered first. Coping variables added to the prediction of anxiety and depression over and above background/appraisal variables. For women Focus on Emotion as well as Avoidance was related to higher anxiety/depression scores (p < 0.01), whereas Reappraisal was related to lower anxiety/depression (p < 0.05). For men only Avoidance was related to anxiety/depression (p < 0.01). More Avoidance co-occurred with higher levels of anxiety as well as depression. The results are discussed with respect to possible intervention.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1994

Thought suppression and obsession-compulsion.

It was argued that obsession-compulsion might affect the consequences of thought suppression. A group of 35 female students who were first submitted to thought suppression and then to an expression instruction were compared with a group of 38 female students submitted twice to an expression instruction. The emotional character of a target story read by subjects was systematically varied between subjects, and obsession-compulsion was included as a third between-subjects factors. No evidence of rebound or of initial enhancement was found when reported story-related thoughts were compared across instructional conditions. There was an interaction between obsession-compulsion and initial instruction on attempts to avoid target thoughts during the first period. Contrary to expectations obsession-compulsion was related to fewer attempts at suppression in the suppression and more in the expression conditions. Similarly, there was a trend for obsession-compulsion to be related to more frequent target thoughts in the expression and less in the suppression conditions. These findings are discussed in relation to the role of perceived responsibility in obsession-compulsion for thought as a determinant of thought processes of obsessive-compulsive people.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Private self-consciousness: does it influence convergent and discriminant validity of self-reported anxiety and depression?

A continuing problem in measurement of anxiety and depression with self-report is lack of discriminant validity. It is argued that private self-consciousness might be expected to be related to both convergent and discriminant validity of self-reported anxiety and depression. Several self-report measures of anxiety and depression were administered to 157 female undergraduates, ages 20 to 36 years, but no evidence was found for a moderating influence of private self-consciousness. The possibility of lack of correspondence between private self-consciousness and self-awareness with regard to attentiveness to internal states is discussed as a possible explanation.

Adult↗