David K. Marcus

Psychopathic, not psychopath: Taxometric evidence for the dimensional structure of psychopathy.

Although psychopathy is frequently regarded as qualitatively distinct from other conditions, relatively little research has examined whether psychopaths represent a distinct class of individuals. Using a sample of 876 prison inmates and court-ordered substance abuse patients who were administered the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (R. D. Hare, 2003), the authors examined the latent structure of psychopathy using several taxometric procedures developed by Meehl and colleagues (P. E. Meehl & L. J. Yonce, 1994; N. G. Waller & P. E. Meehl, 1998). The results across these procedures offer no compelling support for the contention that psychopathy is a taxonic construct and contradict previous reports that psychopathy is underpinned by a latent taxon. The authors discuss the theoretical, public policy, and practice-level implications of these findings.

A Taxometric Analysis of Psychopathic Personality.

Although a common assumption throughout much of the professional and popular literature is that psychopaths are qualitatively different from others, very few studies have examined the latent structure of psychopathy. Whether psychopathy is a discrete category or a continuous dimension may have implications for research on the assessment, etiology, and treatment of this disorder. This study examined the latent structure of psychopathy in a sample of 309 jail and prison inmates. Three taxometric procedures were used to analyze indicators drawn from the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (S. O. Lilienfeld & B. P. Andrews, 1996), a self-report instrument. Consistent with prior studies that used other measures of psychopathy, none of the analyses was consistent with a taxonic solution, suggesting that psychopathic personality may be best understood as existing on a continuum.

Depression and interpersonal rejection

Abstract Research on depression and interpersonal rejection was reviewed. Most of this research was generated by Coynes (1976b) model. The strongest support for Coynes model was found when long-term relationships were examined, or when confederates or role-enactments were employed for short-term interactions. Four factors that may account for these results were discussed: (a) methodological and measurement issues, (b) the psychology of inevitability, (c) self-presentational factors and the situational nature of depression, and (d) the heterogeneity of depression. It was concluded that future researchers should (a) avoid using confederates and role enactments, (b) develop a theory to describe short-term interactions with depressed individuals, (c) focus more on the consequences of refection (and other responses) for subsequent depressive behaviors, and (d) explore individual differences in responses to depressed people.

Are dysfunctional beliefs about illness unique to hypochondriasis

OBJECTIVE There is evidence that individuals high in hypochondriasis overestimate the likelihood of ambiguous symptoms being indicative of serious illness. However, it is not known whether this tendency is unique to hypochondriasis or whether it can be attributed to high negative affectivity or other anxiety symptoms often found to be comorbid with hypochondriasis. METHOD College students (N=133) completed measures of hypochondriasis, depression, anxiety, worry, avoidance and estimated the likelihood of various symptoms indicating catastrophic and minor illnesses. RESULTS Even after entering the other self-report variables, hypochondriasis was the only variable to predict estimates of the likelihood of serious illness. Conversely, being female, high levels of negative affect, agoraphobic avoidance when accompanied by others and higher estimates about the likelihood of symptoms leading to catastrophic illnesses best predicted hypochondriasis scores. CONCLUSION Dysfunctional beliefs about illness appear to be unique to hypochondriasis and to uniquely contribute to the prediction of hypochondriasis.

The cognitive-behavioral model of hypochondriasis: Misinformation and triggers

According to the cognitive-behavioral model, hypochondriacal individuals hold dysfunctional assumptions about illness, which may be triggered by critical incidents. In this study 1,158 participants completed measures of hypochondriacal concerns and self-esteem, and estimated the likelihood of various symptoms indicating catastrophic and minor illnesses. Participants who were more hypochondriacal believed that catastrophic outcomes were more likely than did the less hypochondriacal participants, but they did not differ in their estimates for minor illnesses. Estimates of the likelihood of catastrophic illness and self-esteem independently contributed to the prediction of hypochondriacal concerns. In this study 2,177 participants completed a measure of hypochondriacal concerns, performed a scrambled-sentences task that included either illness terms or neutral terms, and completed a state anxiety inventory. The illness terms did not trigger higher levels of anxiety in the more hypochondriacal participants; instead, these terms appeared to make the less hypochondriacal participants as anxious as their hypochondriacal counterparts.

The Social Relations Model: A Tool for Group Psychotherapy Research.

The social relations model presented in this article provides a solution to some of the problems that plague group psychotherapy research. The model was designed to analyze nonindependent data and can be used to study the ways in which group members interrelate and influence one another. The components of the social relations model are the constant (i.e., group effect), the perceiver effect, the target effect, the relationship effect, and error. By providing estimates of the magnitude of these 5 factors and by examining the relationships among these factors, the social relations model allows investigators to examine a host of research questions that have been inaccessible. Examples of applications of the social relations model to issues of group leadership, interpersonal feedback, and process and outcome research are discussed.

Negative affect and interpersonal rejection among prison inmates in a therapeutic community: a social relations analysis.

The authors used D. A. Kennys social relations model to examine J. C. Coynes interpersonal theory of depression among a clinical sample of well-acquainted prison inmates. Members of 12 therapy groups (N = 142) diagnosed with a substance abuse disorder completed a self-report measure of depression and anxiety and indicated their desire to interact with other group members. There was both consensus about which group members were rejected and individual differences in the participants reported desire for future interaction with other group members. Those reporting high levels of depressive negative affect were most likely to be rejected. Those lowest in positive affect indicated the least desire for future interaction with others.

Incarceration and Learned Helplessness

This study examined whether incarceration, which involves prolonged exposure to an uncontrollable aversive environment, results in the development of a more helpless attributional style. Thirty recently incarcerated male inmates and 30 male inmates who had been incarcerated for at least 5 years completed two measures of attributional style. Inmates who had been incarcerated for at least 5 years reported a more internal, stable, and global attributional style for negative events than did the recently incarcerated inmates, even when controlling for age and length of sentence. These findings suggest that prolonged exposure to an uncontrollable situation may have an influence on attributional style.