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S R Daugherty

Publications and source records attributed to S R Daugherty.

45 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

The stability and attitudinal correlates of warmth and caring in medical students.

It is often said that medical school admits students who are compassionate, nurturant and person-oriented, and transforms them into cold, impersonal graduates. These attributes describe two ends of a personality trait continuum referred to as psychological femininity. The Femininity Scale of the Personal Attributes Questionnaire was administered to a class of medical students four times over 3 years. Measures of empathy, attitudes towards doctor-patient relations and attitudes towards professional psychological help were also obtained. Femininity appears to be normally distributed, remarkably stable over a 28-month interval and predictive of attitudinal measures of empathy, readiness to make psychiatric referrals, recognition of one's own need for psychological help, and a non-cynical, person-oriented approach to patient care. Such findings suggest a different state of affairs within medical training than is usually portrayed. Rather than viewing medical school as having a universally adverse effect on student compassion, medical school has virtually no effect on self-reports of warmth, kindness, helpfulness, etc. Students at different ends of the femininity continuum may require different interventions aimed at teaching communication skills and interpersonal sensitivity.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1987

Masculinity, femininity, and psychosocial adjustment in medical students: a 2-year follow-up.

As part of a longitudinal study of medical students, relations between masculinity and femininity and psychosocial well-being were investigated over a 21-month interval. Of a class of medical students, 82% (N = 99) completed measures of masculinity and femininity during orientation and, 21 months later, completed a broad array of measures of psychological well-being, interpersonal functioning, humanistic attitudes toward patient care, and alcohol consumption. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses with interaction terms revealed main effects of masculinity on self-esteem, extraversion, and confidence, and main effects of femininity on hedonic capacity, interpersonal satisfaction, sharing of personal problems, and alcohol consumption. Little evidence for additive or balance androgyny formulations was found. Findings for masculinity were consistent with earlier findings from this study and others, but they were weaker in magnitude. Findings for femininity were surprisingly robust and enrich the construct validity of this measure. Measures of impaired mood and of alcohol and drug impairment were also studied in relation to masculinity and femininity. Both variables contribute to the prediction of depressed mood; femininity also contributes to the prediction of drug involvement. Neither scale has sufficient sensitivity or specificity to be used by itself as a test of impairment.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Model for quantifying the drug involvement of medical students.

We have applied a two-parameter normal item-response model to analyze data on "drugs ever used" by freshman medical students, then used the result to predict their subsequent drug use patterns over the first 18 months of medical school. Our results provide strong evidence for the existence of a single latent dimension of "drug involvement," and they demonstrate that a student's initial position on this dimension predicts subsequent drug use well. The model applies to male and female students equally well, suggesting the dimension is not sex specific. Students' drug use is cumulative in the sense that an individual tends to add new drugs to all previous drugs, rather than "graduating" from a previous to a new drug, as he/she becomes more "drug involved." Greater "drug involvement" is also associated with more frequent use of most drug categories.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Personality indicators of psychosocial adjustment in first-year medical students.

One aspect of the Rush Medical College Longitudinal Study is concerned with the identification of personality traits that predict various kinds of psychosocial adjustments and impairments among medical students and physicians. Two orthogonal traits, masculinity and femininity, were selected for study as independent variables because of their implications for mental health and their relevance to the work of physicians. Ninety percent (N = 106) of a class of first-year medical students completed measures of masculinity and femininity during orientation and, 8 months later, completed a broad array of dependent measures of psychological well-being, interpersonal satisfaction, humanistic attitudes and alcohol consumption. Analyses of the data revealed strong and consistent main effects of masculinity on depression, confidence, pleasure capacity, extraversion, locus of control, neuroticism and interpersonal satisfaction. Femininity was associated with depression, pleasure capacity, extraversion, neuroticism, interpersonal satisfaction, concern for the opinion of others and humane attitudes toward patient care. Low femininity was also associated with high alcohol consumption. These results suggest that masculinity and femininity scores may help to identify at the outset medical students at risk for impairment, and that androgynous individuals (who are high in both masculinity and femininity) may be especially well-suited to assume the demanding and varied roles that physicians are called on to play.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1985

Masculinity, femininity, type A behavior, and psychosocial adjustment in medical students.

The freshman class of a midwestern medical school completed measures of masculinity and femininity, Type A behavior, and a variety of dependent variables concerning psychological well-being, adjustment, and interpersonal satisfaction. Appropriate statistical treatment of the data revealed strong and consistent masculinity effects on neuroticism, depression, self-esteem, confidence, hedonic capacity, locus of control, and relationship satisfaction. Femininity main effects varied in number as a function of the statistical method employed and involved a more diverse group of variables than is typically reported. Additive androgyny formulations of mental health were supported; balance androgyny formulations were not. No evidence for a Type A X Masculinity effect on adjustment was found. Discussion focuses on the correct interpretation of masculinity and femininity scales, comparability of analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple regression statistical analyses, and the viability of the concept of androgyny.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The relationship between academic performance and severity of depressed mood during medical school.

We employ a structural equation model to examine the relationship between academic performance and depressed mood over 4 years for a single medical school class. Academic performance measures included undergraduate gradepoint average, first- and second-year medical school gradepoint average, full Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) and total National Boards Part I (NB) scores. Severity of depressed mood was assessed by administering the Beck Depression Inventory two times per year during the first 2 years, and once per year during the last 2 years. Overall there is little reason to think that depressive mood states compromise academic performance during the first 2 years of medical school for the class as a whole. Medical school grades had no direct impact on depressed mood, and mood had no direct impact on grades. There was a non-significant tendency for mood in the months preceding National Boards Part I to influence Board scores, which in turn influenced mood. Students with higher college gradepoint averages consistently reported fewer depressive symptoms throughout medical school. The latter result directs attention to a subgroup of medical students less susceptible to depression, or less prone to admit distress or symptoms. The non-susceptible and/or minimizing qualities of this subgroup merit further investigation.

Achievement↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Alcohol use patterns of first-year medical students: I. Development of shared norms.

Freshman medical students (96% of one class; n = 116) completed questionnaires on alcohol use at orientation, and again in April (n = 106) of that same year. Quantity/frequency and self-label ratings of alcohol use were employed to define normative ranges (in ethanol oz/wk). The confidentiality of student participants was protected. Males consumed five drinks per week over the summer and dropped to four per week during school; females consumed two drinks per week over both periods. Summertime and school year consumption rates were strongly correlated. Normative ranges of drinking converged from September to April, suggesting the emerging norms were the product of social experience with classmates. Class norms described a "cutpoint" separating acceptable range from excessive drinking (more than two drinks per day). The authors conclude that reliable "community norms" for medical students could be identified, the norms evolve over time, and they can be employed to determine the boundaries of acceptable drinking for research and screening purposes.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Alcohol use patterns of first-year medical students: II. Psychosocial characteristics associated with drinking level.

Psychosocial characteristics that identified first-year medical students who drank more or less alcohol than their peers were examined. Subjects were 116 freshman medical students (96% of one class) who completed questionnaires about alcohol use, mood, personality, social relationships, and parental alcohol abuse on the first day of school, and 106 (88% of the class) who responded to the same questionnaires in April of the first year. Heavier drinking students (i.e., the upper 25% of the sample) were more likely to be male and single, to have drunk heavily prior to medical school, to come from larger social networks which include fewer relatives, and to demonstrate a lower interpersonal orientation. Mood, academic performance, and parental alcohol abuse were not associated with drinking level. The heaviest drinkers in this sample appear to be precisely those individuals who are most impervious to peer or other social influences.

Achievement↗