Europe’s Journal of Psychology (PsychOpen)
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Construction and Validation of the Marital Justice Scale: Adaptation of Social Justice Theory in Marriage
No full textThe main purpose of this study was to construct and validate a scale for measuring marital justice. A sample of three hundred and four voluntary and unpaid married participants (194 females, 110 males), aged between 20 and 35 years old (29.01 ± 4.44 years), were selected randomly through multi-stage sampling in Isfahan, Iran; the participants included in this sample had preschool child/children, were all in the first decade of marriage, and had at least eight grades of education. All participants were asked to complete the Marital Justice Scale (MJS), the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (R-DAS; Busby, Christensen, Crane, & Larson, 1995), and the Marital Conflict Questionnaire (MCQ; Sanai Zaker, 2000). The exploratory factor analysis extracted two factors labelled ‘Procedural/interactional justice’ (twelve items) and ‘Distributive justice’ (eight items) which accounted for 66.70% of the total variance. The convergent and discriminant validity of the 20-item MJS were supported by an expected pattern of correlations between the scale and the measures of marital quality and marital conflict. All correlation coefficients between the mean scores of the MJS and the scores of the RDAS and the MCQ were statistically significant. The obtained internal consistency was markedly high (Cronbach’s α = .97). The test-retest reliability of the MJS was .87. The results suggest that the MJS is a reliable and valid measure; however, further studies should be carried out in other countries, based on different age groups and socio-economic levels, various developmental stages of family life cycles, diverse cultures and sub-cultures, and according to gender difference so as to validate the MJS
An Old Debate but Still Alive, Fruitful and Able to Renew Itself: The Language in Psychology Between the Particular and the Universal
No full textNo abstract available
Conversion Disorder: A Review Through the Prism of the Rational-Choice Theory of Neurosis
No full textConversion disorder remains a mystery that has only become more complicated with the decline of the scientific status of psychoanalysis (e.g., Piper, Lillevik, & Kritzer, 2008; Rofé, 2008) and recent neurological findings suggest that this behavior is controlled by biological mechanisms (van Beilen, Vogt, & Leenders, 2010). Moreover, existing theories have difficulty explaining the efficacy of various interventions, such as psychoanalysis, behavior therapy, drug therapy and religious therapy. This article reviews research and clinical evidence pertaining to both the development and treatment of conversion disorder and shows that this seemingly incompatible evidence can be integrated within a new theory, the Rational-Choice Theory of Neurosis (RCTN; Rofé, 2010). Despite the striking differences, RCTN continues Freud's framework of thinking as it employs a new concept of repression and replaces the unconscious with self-deception. Moreover, it incorporates Freud's idea, implicitly expressed in his theory, that neurotic disorders are, in fact, rational behaviors
The Effect of the Negotiator's Social Power as a Function of the Counterpart's Emotional Reactions in a Computer Mediated Negotiation
No full textA negotiator’s own power and their counterpart’s emotional reaction to the negotiation both influence the outcome of negotiations. The present research addressed the question of their relative importance. On one hand, social power should be potent regardless of the other’s emotions. On the other hand, the counterpart’s emotional reactions inform about the ongoing state of the negotiation, and as such are more diagnostic than the more distal power cue. In a simulated computer mediated negotiation, 248 participants assumed the role of a vendor of computerized avionics test equipment and their objective was to negotiate the price, the warranty period, and the number of software updates that the buyer will receive free of charge. Participants negotiated the sale after being primed with either high or low power or not primed at all (control condition). They received information that their counterpart was either happy or angry or emotionally neutral. The findings showed that even though power was an important factor at the start of negotiations, the informative value of emotion information took precedence over time. This implies that emotional information may erase any advantage that counterparts have in a negotiation thanks to their higher social power
Stress in Greek Primary Schoolteachers Working Under Conditions of Financial Crisis
No full textTeachers come in daily contact with a number of students and colleagues and are likely to report high levels of job-related stress. This study aims to explore the effect of gender, age, years of teaching experience, teaching students with special educational needs and burnout on teacher stress. The participants were 384 Greek primary schoolteachers, aged 25 to 59 years old (mean age = 41 years and 4 months), 146 males (38%) and 238 females (62%). They completed the Questionnaire on Teacher Stress (Kyriacou & Sutcliffe, 1978) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory – Educators Survey – MBI-ES (Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, 1996). It was found that Greek primary schoolteachers report low levels of stress and that their stress is predicted by burnout and teaching students with special educational needs. More specifically, teachers with higher levels of burnout and those who do not teach students with special educational needs report higher levels of stress
How Do Children With Mild Intellectual Disabilities Perceive Loneliness?
No full textThe present study examined 154 children with mild intellectual disability (MID) attending special schools with regard to their reports of loneliness. Semi-structured interviews revealed that more than half of the students with MID reported feelings of loneliness. They tend to have as friends children from their neighborhood, friends of their siblings, children of their parents’ friends and from their school. Lonely children with MID tend to attribute their isolation to interpersonal deficits, lack of contact with peers and physical appearance, while one fourth cannot justify why they do not have any friends. Children with MID report that they withdraw from social interactions, engage in solitary activities and actively look for friends to cope with their feelings of loneliness and rejection, while very few resort to physical or verbal aggression. Moreover, boys and children living in smaller towns reported less feelings of loneliness than girls and children living in the capital
Differential Effects: Are the Effects Studied by Psychologists Really Linear and Homogeneous?
No full textLinear regression and its variants like analysis of variance are arguably the most widely used statistical techniques in psychology. By using linear regression it is merely assumed rather than empirically tested that the effects of the predictor variables are linear and homogeneous across the distribution of the dependent variable. This is problematic because it biases a scientist’s reasoning and hinders possible practical and theoretical insights. Thus an important question to ask is: Are the effects studied by psychologists really linear and homogeneous? Generalized additive models (GAMs) and quantile regression can be used to pursue this question. Benefits of complementing linear regression with these approaches include the ability to tailor actions on the specific individual in practice and the opportunity to gain more advanced scientific knowledge, for example about non-linear effects. The use of GAMs and quantile regression is furthermore empirically demonstrated in an analysis of risk-seeking and criminal peer networks as predictors of violent crime in a representative sample of German youth (N = 44.610). Practical and theoretical consequences of the results are discussed. Psychological science could immensely benefit from studying non-linear and heterogeneous effects
Evaluation of the SHIFT-Depression® Inventory With a Sample of Australian Women, Demonstrating the Centrality of Gendered Role Expectations to Their Depression
No full textTo address the double fold incidence and prevalence rates of depression in women compared to men needs more than symptom management. In primary health care where time does not normally allow for thorough assessments of what causes or maintains depression, using a brief questionnaire is warranted. A means must be found to address system level barriers to care and the poor quality of life so many women experience. Using an online survey and mixed method design, initial evaluation of a measure developed to identify individual and contextual issues connected to depression in women, examined underlying factor structure. 266 depressed women aged 18 to 85yrs also completed the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CESD) and provided written commentary about any further issues. The SHIFT-Depression® Inventory analysis revealed five reliable underlying factors explaining 59% of the variance. The factors identified were; 'diminished self/feels powerless/focused on other's care'; 'financial problems, lacks access to healthcare, healthy food, housing, exercise’; 'relationship difficulties, loss/betrayal/abuse’; ‘women’s problems’ and 'lack of social support/feels isolated'. Analysis of participant’s comments found four groupings similar to the identified factors. This initial evaluation of the SHIFT-Depression® Inventory showed evidence of the multiple issues impacting on depressed women spanning the physical, intrapsychic, relational, social and contextual areas. The inventory provides preliminary assessment which can identify when more extensive questioning and referrals to various services may be appropriate. It could be used in primary health care settings when consultation times are brief, or as an adjunct to assessment in the mental health setting
Validation of a Turkish Version of the ICD-10 Symptom Rating (ISR)
No full textNumerous psychiatric and psychosomatic clinics in Turkey and Germany use the Symptom Checklist 90 Revised (SCL-90-R) developed by Derogatis (1977) or the validated Turkish version by Dag (1991) for assessing psychological symptoms. Many patients informed us during numerous studies and visits to these clinics that this test with its 90 questions took too long and that they were unable to sufficiently concentrate on it. In the meantime, the much more economical ICD-10 Symptom Rating (ISR) (Tritt et al., 2008) self-rating questionnaire, comprising 29 questions, has been developed in Germany in 2008. In 2008 and 2009 we therefore decided to translate the ISR into Turkish, to analyse it for its reliability and validity and compare it with the SCL-90-R and the BDI. In an analysis of 277 Turkish subjects – 127 of whom were inpatients, 36 outpatients and 104 clinically unremarkable healthy participants – very good psychometric characteristics were achieved in terms of high internal consistency of individual, additional and overall scales. The results of the factor analysis conducted showed that the ISR Measure has satisfactory construct validity. In a random sample of inpatients, the Cronbach’s alpha values ranged from 0.66 (scale: Compulsive syndrome) to 0.93 (overall scale). The advantage of this instrument over BDI and SCL-90-R lies in its shorter processing time. The German version of the ISR promises lesser use of time and good empirical quality, which we double-checked with a translated Turkish version tested on persons of Turkish origin in Germany
Evaluating the Psychometric Properties of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale for Cypriot Senior High School EFL Students: The Rasch Measurement Approach
No full textThe aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) for Cypriot senior high school EFL students, through Rasch measurement. In doing so, the researchers clarified two discrepancies found in the literature: first the factor structure of the scale and second whether test anxiety is a component of FLCA. The Greek version of the FLCAS was administered to a sample of 304 senior high school EFL students. Results showed that after removing five items which fitted the Rasch Rating Scale model poorly, the remaining 28 items formed a unidimensional scale, one component of which is test anxiety. The degree of reliability was high. Semantic analysis of the items revealed that one of the reasons was the inclusion of many parallel items. The Rasch person-item map showed that a second reason was the narrow coverage of the construct by the items. Finally the 5-point Likert scale was shown to be marginally optimal. Suggestions are proposed for future research into the refinement of the scale