Antony J.W. Taylor

Development And Evaluation Of A 21‐Item Version Of The Hopkins Symptom Checklist With New Zealand And United States Respondents

Abstract The Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL) is a widely used measure of symptom distress and in particular is a valuable criterion measure in psychotherapeutic drug trials. Its reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change have been well established. However, its factor structure has been subject to much debate. In previous studies a wide range of different factor structures have been found by various researchers. The aim of the present study was to produce a short, less arduous, but acceptably reliable version of HSCL with a replicable factor structure. The factor structure which was based on a previously described, robust three-factor version of the HSCL, was established using a two-step process which began with a two-factor analysts of the largest subscales, General Feelings of Distress (GFD) and Somatic Distress (SD). This was followed by a three-factor analysis of seven items from each of three subscales. The robustness of the factor structure of the resulting scale was revealed by the factor co...

Attitudes to AIDS: A comparative analysis of a new and negative stereotype

Two propositions about attitudes, which have previously been supported with respect to the mentally ill, were examined with respect to AIDS patients. The first, that people attach a stigma to the AIDS patient, was strongly supported, and two quite independent components of the stigma were found. One of these components identified as dependence, was closely related to the attributes of typical cancer patients and coronary heart patients, while the other, identified as low moral worth, clearly distinguished the AIDS patient from the other two groups of patients. The second proposition, that attitudes to AIDS are not strongly related to age, sex and occupational background, was largely supported. However there was some evidence that males rated AIDS patients lower on moral worth than did females.

Community attitudes to mental illness in New Zealand twenty-two years on

Three propositions about attitudes to mental illness derived from Nunnally (Popular Conceptions of Mental Health. Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York, 1961) were examined with the semantic differential technique as it was used originally by Olmsted and Ordway (Final Report to National Institutes of Mental Health, 1963). Attitudes were compared between several studies using the same measures, that ranged over 22 years from 1962 to 1984. The results were remarkably consistent across all studies, indicating that the community had persistently negative attitudes towards the mentally ill and was no more likely today to want to play a major role in the care of the mentally ill than was the case more than 20 years ago. As a consequence it appears that there will need to be substantial and permanent attitude change, of a kind fleetingly observed over the period of the study, before the professional care of the mentally ill in the community may be expected to have maximum impact.

A Psychometric Study of Stress and Coping during the International Biomedical Expedition to the Antarctic (IBEA)

A psychometric study was made of stress and coping during the course of the International Biomedical Expedition to Antarctica (IBEA). The stressors were specified by observation, as were the groups behavioral reactions to them, but they produced no significant differences on scales of symptomatology. The repressor/sensitization defensive style of coping was then examined, and although there were grounds for associating repressor tendencies with the low self-reporting of stress, the group sizes were too small to confirm the suggestion statistically. But the question needs now to be taken further, as also does that of laboratory stressors.

An examination of reported factor structures of the general health questionnaire and the identification of a stable replicable structure

The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) is a widely used measure of non-psychotic psychiatric disorder and a valued tool in epidemiological research. Its reliability and validity are well established, but not so its factor structure. In previous studies different researchers have found very different factor solutions. In the present study this problem was solved by using the FACTOREP procedure in which a series of analyses was conducted, rotating a reduced number of factors in each, until a structure was found which was replicated across four independent subject groups. The outcome produced a new 20 item version of the GHQ with a robust, replicable and reliable four-factor structure. Moreover this same four-factor structure can be obtained from the full 60 item GHQ.

Multiple replication of the factor structure of the inventory of socially supportive behaviors

Interest in the beneficial effects of social support for the physical and psychological well-being of individuals has rapidly grown. The Inventory of Socially Supportive Behaviors is one promising new questionnaire that has been designed to measure this psychosocial dimension. While in many ways this is a psychometrically sound questionnaire, the number of stable factors it includes has yet to be established. This problem was solved in the present study by using the FACTOREP procedure, in which a series of factor analyses are conducted with a reduced number of factors being used for each successive rotation until a structure is found and replicated across independent subject groups. This is achieved by calculating matrices of s index values to assess factor similarity at increasing hyperplane cutoff levels, that is, with progressively more stringent criteria for inclusion of salient items in each cluster. This procedure indicated that three factors could be replicated, and these were interpreted as Nondirective Support, Directive Guidance, and Tangible Assistance. The three subscales each had high reliability and should provide a useful basis for specifying the type of social support that is effective in reducing distress in different groups of troubled people.

THE STRESS AROUSAL CHECKLIST: AN INDEPENDENT ANALYSIS

The factor structure of the Stress Arousal Checklist (SACL) was examined using the responses of a New Zealand sample of 203 first and second year University students. The results produced an almost exact replication of the two bipolar factors claimed by the authors who developed the SACL. In addition the results support the circumplex model of affect in which mood states are viewed not as unipolar independent variables but as two dimensional bipolar variables that can be arranged in a circular form.

Factor Analysis of the WAIS-R Using the Factor Replication Procedure, FACTOREP.

The factor structure of the WAIS-R has been the subject of much debate and recently researchers have examined multiple independent samples and compared the resulting factor structures using the coefficient of congruence. On the basis of this, one recent study concluded that the WAIS-R had three clear factors. In the present study this conclusion was questioned and it was claimed that the previous result was an artifact caused by the large general factor found in the WAIS-R. The present study aimed to clarify the situation by using identical data but the alternative factor comparison technique, FACTOREP, which was able to reduce the influence of both error variance and the general factor. On the basis of this comparison it was demonstrated that the WAIS-R has two strong factors but that there is little evidence for the existence of a third factor.

Community attitudes to mental health: A comparative study

Abstract Three propositions about attitudes to mental illness derived from Nunnally [36] were examined with the semantic differential technique in the manner of Olmsted and Ordway [37] and Olmsted and Durham [38]. The examination was conducted in a population of 215 New Zealand University students. The outcome, in the same direction as some earlier studies, gave no confidence to those who considered that the community was ready, willing and able to play a major role in the care, treatment and rehabilitation of the mentally ill. As a consequence, it was considered that some prevailing social attitudes will need to be changed before professional care is transferred to the community.

Cross‐cultural interaction in the appraisal of disaster trauma in three Pacific Island countries

: The methods adopted in the appraisal of the trauma of three communities after different disasters in the South Pacific are described and discussed. The outcome affirms the need for non-indigenous clinicians to be ready to adjust their concepts and methods to suit the cultural frameworks they encounter when they are invited abroad, and for local health professionals to be ready to share their knowledge and skills with their collegues from abroad. The outcome, it is argued, should improve the quality of service provided at all stages of disaster recovery, and still enable questions to be raised about matters of fundamental concern – such as the power of religious belief and of social justice in the process of healing. These questions were found to be of particular importance in the context of the South Pacific cultures.