Quality of informal care is multidimensional.

Purpose: To demonstrate that assessing quality of informal care involves more than merely determining whether care recipient needs for assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) are routinely satisfied. We investigated the extent to which potentially harmful behavior (PHB), adequate care, and exemplary care (EC) are empirically distinct dimensions of quality of care. Design: 237 care recipients completed the quality of care measures, and their caregivers completed psychosocial measures of their own depression, life events, cognitive status, and perceptions of pre-illness relationship quality. Results: Although PHB was moderately related to EC, adequate care was not associated with PHB and was only slightly related to EC. Psychosocial variables were not related to adequate care but were differentially associated with PHB and EC, providing additional evidence for the distinction between these measures of quality of care. Conclusions: ADL assistance can be adequate in the presence of PHB and/or the absence of EC. Declines in EC may signal increases in PHB, independent of adequacy of care. These findings produce a brief, portable, and more comprehensive instrument for assessing quality of informal care. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Independence centrality as a moderator of the effects of spousal support on patient well-being and physical functioning.

Objective: In this study, we examined whether the benefits of spousal assistance for patient well-being and physical functioning depend on the fit between amount of assistance provided and the personal importance of completing activities independently. Methods: Individuals with osteoarthritis of the hip or knee were assessed for independence centrality, depressive symptoms, self-efficacy for managing pain, and physical functioning (N = 159 to 230). Spouses reported the amount of support provided with daily tasks. Results: As predicted, moderation analyses indicated that spousal support was associated with greater self-efficacy for managing pain in patients with low independence centrality, but was not associated with self-efficacy in patients with high independence centrality. Also consistent with our hypotheses, spousal support was associated with greater depressive symptoms and slower walk time in patients with high independence centrality, but there were no effects of spouse support on these outcomes for patients with low independence centrality. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate the implications of miscarried spousal support for patient well-being and physical functioning, and they suggest a means of tailoring couple-oriented interventions for chronic illness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correction to Gross et al. (2003).

Reports an error in the original article by D. Gross et al (Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2003[Apr], Vol 71[2], pp. 261-278). The article was mistitled. The correct title is "Parent Training with Multi-Ethnic Families of Toddlers in Day Care in Low-Income Urban Communities". (The following abstract of the article originally appeared in record 2003-02091-006.) The authors tested a 12-week parent training program with parents (n=208) and teachers (n=77) of 2-3-year-olds in day care centers serving low-income families of color in Chicago. Eleven centers were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions: (a) parent and teacher training (PT + TT), (b) parent training (PT), (c) teacher training (TT), and (d) waiting list control (C). After controlling for parent stress, PT and PT + TT parents reported higher self-efficacy and less coercive discipline and were observed to have more positive behaviors than C and TT parents. Among toddlers in high-risk behavior problem groups, toddlers in the experimental conditions showed greater improvement than controls. Most effects were retained 1 year later. Benefits were greatest when parents directly received training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Negative reactions to received spousal care: Predictors and consequences of miscarried support.

This study focused on the negative reactions of older women with osteoarthritis to the receipt of instrumental support (i.e., physical assistance) from their husbands and the effects of such negative reactions on the women's psychological well-being and self-care. Applying a person-environment fit model, the authors predicted that women's negative reactions to spousal support would be determined by the fit between this support and the personal centrality (importance) of being functionally independent. Consistent with this prediction, women who received high levels of support from the husband and for whom being functionally independent was not highly central reacted less negatively to this support. More negative reactions to spousal support were related to greater concurrent depressive symptomatology and fewer self-care behaviors. In addition, negative reactions were predictive of the women's increased depressive symptomatology and decreased life satisfaction. Findings illustrate a useful theoretical approach to the examination of support from family caregivers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Informal care can be better than adequate: Development and evaluation of the Exemplary Care Scale.

Purpose: To evaluate a new measure assessing excellent, or exemplary, informal care--an aspect of caregiving that has received little attention. The Exemplary Care Scale (ECS) was developed on the basis of insights from previous research with items generated by the authors in consultation with a multidisciplinary research team. Design: 310 informal caregivers and 283 of their elderly care recipients completed the ECS and other measures pertaining to quality of care and its presumed correlates. Results: Factor analyses indicated that the ECS consists of 2 factors reflecting provision of exceptional care (Provide) and respect for care recipient autonomy, wishes, and the like (Respect). The ECS factor structure was equivalent among caregivers and care recipients. Both factors were empirically distinct from existing measures of poor quality and adequate care. Each ECS factor was associated with other care-related constructs in predictable ways, implying construct validity. Conclusions: The ECS, in conjunction with existing measures, provides a more comprehensive assessment of the quality-of-care continuum and should prove useful to researchers and practitioners interested in quality of informal care provided to chronically ill or disabled people. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Integrating neural networks into decision-making and motivational theory: Rethinking VIE theory": Erratum.

Reports an error in "Integrating neural networks into decision-making and motivational theory: Rethinking VIE theory" by Robert G. Lord, Paul J. Hanges and Ellen G. Godfrey (Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne, 2003[Feb], Vol 44[1], 21-38). The paper by Lord, Henges and Godfrey, referred to in some of the commentaries (this issue), was accepted as part of the Special Section on psychology without boundaries. However, it was inadvertently published in a previous issue. The full reference is: Lord, R. G., Hanges, P. J., & Godfrey, E. G. (2003). Integrating neural networks into decision-making and motivational theory: Rethinking VIE theory. Canadian Psychology, 44 (1), 21-38. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2003-01537-005.) Uses a reformulation of V. H. Vroom's (1964) VIE (Valence-Instrumentality-Expectancy) theory to illustrate the potential value of neuropsychologically based models of cognitive processes. Vroom's theory posits that people's decisions are determined by their affective reactions to certain outcomes (valences), beliefs about the relationship between actions and outcomes (expectancies), and perceptions of the association between primary and secondary outcomes (instrumentalities). One of the major criticisms of this type of theory is that the computations it requires are unrealistically time-consuming and often exceed working memory capacity. In this paper, the authors maintain that if an individual has extensive experience with a problem situation, he or she can process decisions about that situation using neural networks that operate implicitly so that cognitive resources are not exhausted by simple computations; instead, the computations are performed implicitly by neural networks. By thinking about VIE from a neural network standpoint, at least one of its problems is eliminated, and several new insights into decision-making are provided. The authors use simulation methodology to show that such a model is both viable and can reflect the effects of current goals on choice processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social Support and Social Strain Among Husbands and Wives: A Multilevel Analysis.

In response to recent calls in the literature for within-person examinations of social support processes over time, this study explores the relationships of spousal support, spousal strain, and well-being among husbands and wives, both within the same day and across days. Eighty-three couples were interviewed and completed a structured diary twice daily for 1 week. The results of multilevel hierarchical modeling suggest that both spousal support and spousal strain made significant, independent contributions to concurrent negative affect, although only spousal support was a significant predictor of next-day negative affect. Spousal strain interacted with spousal support to predict next-day negative affect. Direct and moderating effects of perceived marital adjustment on negative affect were discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Adaptation et validation en langue fran?aise d’une échelle de bien-être spirituel": Correction.

Reports an error in "Adaptation et validation en langue fran?aise d’une échelle de bien-être spirituel" by Lucy Velasco and Liliane Rioux (Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 2009[Apr], Vol 41[2], 102-108). The DOI printed in the article was incorrect. The correct DOI should be as follows: DOI: 10.1037/a0012555. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2009-05252-001.) Spiritual well-being is a dimension of subjective well-being which has enjoyed renewed interest for about 10 years. As far as the authors know, there is no scale in French to assess it. Our research work therefore sets out to adapt and validate in French Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS) by Paloutzian and Ellison, published in 1982. To that end, 368 first- and second-year students took part in three studies. Results confirm the three-dimension structure designed by Scott et al. in 1998, justifying its use with the French population. Yet, the change of items in each dimension, which is currently under discussion, could well display some differences in spiritual well-being between young North American people and young French people. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"An historical note on Darwin and nonhuman drug self-administration": Clarification to Higgins (2003).

Reports a clarification in "An historical note on Darwin and nonhuman drug self-administration" by Stephen T. Higgins (Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 2003[Nov], Vol 11[4], 317). It is noted that Charles R. Schuster served as the Action Editor for this article. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2003-09137-009.) This note brings to the attention of readers a quote from Charles Darwin on the scientific implications of nonhuman drug self-administration. The quote is from The descent of man; and Selection in relation to sex (2nd ed.; C. Darwin, 1874/1998). Consistent with Darwin's prescience in many areas of science, he discerned potential scientific importance in voluntary nonhuman drug self-administration almost a century before that potential was realized in any substantive or systematic manner. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emerging Patterns of Practice in the Era of Managed Care: Reply.

Responds to the comments of Crespi (2004), Suarez (2004), and Salyer (2004) concerning the authors' original article (see record 2003-03405-005) examining the implications for psychological practice and training in the era of managed care. In response to Crespi, the authors agree that school psychology is an important area of practice, given the contention that schools are responsible for providing 75% of mental health services to children. Reimbursement within educational contexts was not reviewed, largely because the relevant information was not available within the literature. However, the authors encourage efforts to continue to disseminate information regarding a largely unexplored issue that may have important implications for children. The authors also agree with Suarez and Salyer that the value of direct and personal experience should not be overlooked. Those in private practice may indeed face challenges in dealing with managed care with which the current authors do not have personal experience. However, it should be clear that the aim of the original research was to critically evaluate the current literature and to determine what is known and unknown about managed care and to point out alternative views and systems worthy of consideration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spousal caregiving in the institutional setting: visiting

The purpose of this study was to investigate the visiting experience of wives whose husbands had been admitted to a long-term care institution. The study employed a longitudinal and prospective design and combined qualitative and quantitative approaches. The data were drawn from a larger study designed to explore the transition to quasi-widowhood. This article reports on one aspect of spousal caregiving following the admission of a husband to a long-term care setting, i.e. visiting. In this study, wives visited frequently. Their reasons for visiting included love and devotion, duty and obligation, the monitoring of husbands' well-being and the provision of assistance to both husbands and staff. They engaged in task performance and social interaction during visiting. Their feelings of satisfaction and enjoyment with visiting were associated with their husbands' well-being and feeling useful. Over the 9-month period of the study, two patterns of visiting and involvement emerged that were associated with different outcomes related to depression, morale and satisfaction with institutional dimensions of care.     

Hassles and uplifts of giving care to a family member with dementia.

The role of daily caregiving stressors (hassles) and small caregiving satisfactions (uplifts) in the well-being of 60 family caregivers was investigated. Hassles and uplifts in 4 domains of caregiving were examined, and direct effects of hassles, uplifts on caregivers' social and psychological well-being, as well as the interactive and net effects of hassles and uplifts, were assessed. Hassles associated with care recipients' behavior demonstrated strongest associations with well-being. Women and caregivers to socially responsive yet behaviorally inappropriate care recipients reported more behavior and cognitive hassles. Uplifts associated with assistance in activities of daily living and with care recipients' behavior were related to well-being, with more uplifts related to greater, rather than less, depression. More intensely involved caregivers reported more of these uplifts. Net effects in the hypothesized direction were found, but no interactive effects emerged. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Dynamic links of cognitive functioning among married couples: Longitudinal evidence from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing": Correction to Gerstorf, Hoppmann, Anstey, and Luszcz (2009).

Reports an error in "Dynamic links of cognitive functioning among married couples: Longitudinal evidence from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing" by Denis Gerstorf, Christiane A. Hoppmann, Kaarin J. Anstey and Mary A. Luszcz (Psychology and Aging, 2009[Jun], Vol 24[2], 296-309). Figure 1 was printed incorrectly due to an error in the production process. The correct version is presented in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2009-08094-004.) Development does not take place in isolation; close others form an important dyad for exploring interrelationships. To examine spousal interrelations in level and change of cognitive functioning in old age, the authors applied dynamic models to 11-year longitudinal data of, initially, 304 married couples from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing (aged 64–98 years at Time 1; M = 76 years). Findings revealed that perceptual speed for husbands predicted subsequent perceptual speed decline for wives (time lags of 1 year). There was little evidence for the opposite unidirectional effect or a bidirectional association between husbands and wives. Potential covariates (age, education, medical conditions, functional limitations, and depressive symptoms) did not account for differential lead–lag associations. A similar, though less pronounced, pattern was found for memory, which held except when functional limitations were controlled. Findings suggest that late-life cognitive development is not solely a product of intraindividual resources and are consistent with conceptual notions that development actively influences, and is influenced by, contextual factors such as close relationships. The authors discuss possible underlying mechanisms and further steps to substantiate the findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Teachers’ stressors and strains: A longitudinal study of their relationships": Correction.

Reports an error in "Teachers’ stressors and strains: A longitudinal study of their relationships" by Arie Shirom, Amalya Oliver and Esther Stein (International Journal of Stress Management, 2009[Nov], Vol 16[4], 312-332). In the article, the two co-authors’ affiliations were incorrectly listed. The co-authors’ correct affiliations are as follows: Amalya Oliver, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Esther Stein, Beit Berl Educational College. They appear correctly in this record. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2009-21667-004.) The authors tested the hypothesized unidirectional or bidirectional effects of 5 types of teachers’ work-related stressors on each of the 4 types of psychological strain: somatic complaints, burnout, and intrinsic and extrinsic job dissatisfaction. The authors used structural regression analyses to analyze the responses of a representative sample of 404 high school teachers who had completed both our T1 (beginning of school year) and T2 (end of school year) questionnaires. The authors found support for the expected unidirectional effects of the T1 work-related stressors on the respondents’ T2 somatic complaints (with baseline somatic complaints controlled for), and also for the expected unidirectional effects of T1 intrinsic and extrinsic job dissatisfaction on the T2 values of the five types of stressors (with baseline stressors controlled for). Only partial support was found for the expected bidirectional relationships between the stressors and teachers’ burnout. The authors suggest that the directionality across time of the relationships between stressors and strains may depend on the intrinsic properties of the strain under consideration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Associations among NEO personality assessments and well-being at midlife: Facet-level analyses": Correction to Siegler and Brummett (2000).

Reports an error in "Associations among NEO personality assessments and well-being at mid-life: Facet-level analyses" by Ilene C. Siegler and Beverly H. Brummett (Psychology and Aging, 2000[Dec], Vol 15[4], 710-714). The article contained an error in the journal title for the Schmutte and Ryff (1997) reference. The correct reference is: Schmutte, P. S., & Ryff, C. D. (1997). Personality and well-being: Reexamining methods and meanings. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 549-559. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2000-16635-013.) The association between well-being and personality was examined in 2,379 middle-aged adults. Measures that parallel C. D. Ryff's (1989) psychological model were selected to assess well-being. The 30 facet scales of the NEO-PI–R were used to measure personality. More than 83% of the facet–well-being correlations within the domains of Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Conscientiousness reached statistical significance, whereas, less than half of the correlations within the domains of Agreeableness and Openness were significant. The facets within each domain demonstrated different patterns of associations with the well-being measures, indicating that facet-level assessments yield additional information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Review of Resistance: Psychodynamic and behavioral approaches": Correction.

Reports an error in "Review of Resistance: Psychodynamic and Behavioral Approaches" by Stuart W. Twemlow (Psychoanalytic Psychology, 1989[Spr], Vol 6[2], 237-240). In this review, the phrase "in his inimical style" (p. 238) should read "in his inimitable style." (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2003-05429-011.) This three-part edited collection of chapters considers the problem of resistance in psychotherapy. The term is defined and considered from several radically difference psychological perspectives. The psychoanalytic approach in Part I consists of four chapters written by authorities in the field. The four chapters of Part II concern both cognitive and pure behavioral approaches. Part III contains eight brief chapters in which the authors were invited to comment on one author's contributions. In the main the authors remain focused and concise, but it is very obvious that resistance has a remarkably broad variety of definitions, and that some of these definitions are so different that the authors do not appear to be speaking of similar phenomena. What is also clear from this complicated edited collection is that the clinician needs to be much more flexible in his theoretical positions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The chronic illness quality of life (CIQOL) model: Explaining life satisfaction in people living with HIV disease.

The chronic illness quality of life (CIQOL) model theorizes that life satisfaction in persons living with a chronic illness such as HIV disease is a function of illness-related discrimination, barriers to health care and social services, physical well-being, social support, and coping. The CIQOL model was evaluated using data from 275 persons living with HIV disease. Women reported less life satisfaction and confronted more barriers to health care and social services than men, and White participants reported higher perceptions of AIDS-related discrimination than non-White participants. The CIQOL model provided an excellent fit to study data (root-mean-square error of approximation = .03) and accounted for almost a third of the variance in life satisfaction scores. Barriers to health care and social services played a particularly prominent role in the model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The balance of give and take in caregiver–partner relationships: An examination of self-perceived burden, relationship equity, and quality of life from the perspective of care recipients following stroke.

Purpose: We examined the sense of being a burden to others or self-perceived burden (SPB) in people with stroke. Method: A mail survey was completed by 57 former inpatients and their partner caregivers. The care recipient survey included measures of functional status, quality of life, marital satisfaction, equity in the relationship, and psychological distress, as well as SPB using the Self-Perceived Burden Scale (SPBS; Cousineau, McDowell, Hotz, & Hébert, 2003). The caregiver survey included similar measures in addition to a caregiver burden measure. Results: SPB was found to be a prevalent and distressing concern. SPBS scores correlated with measures of functional status and mood; however, the correlations were highest for measures of family roles and work/productivity. Using equity theory as a basis to examine the SPB construct, care recipients who perceived themselves as overbenefiting from the relationship had significantly higher SPB scores than those whose relationship was viewed as equitable or underbenefiting. Conclusions: For some receiving care from a partner after stroke is associated SPB. This sense of burden is related to changes in help-seeking behavior, quality of life, and distress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of spousal control and support on older adults' recovery from knee surgery.

The authors investigated associations between spousal control (influence) and support on the recovery outcomes for 70 men and women (mean age = 70) undergoing an increasingly common surgical treatment for osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. Spouses' positive (motivating) and negative (pressuring) control and spouses' emotional (understanding) and problematic (dismissing) support were examined as predictors of patients' adherence and improvement in well-being. Positive control was associated with better adherence, but only among patients whose spouses provided little problematic support. In contrast, negative control strategies tended to elicit increases in negative affect. Overall, our findings revealed that the effectiveness of spousal control depended largely on the quality of support provided by the spouse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)