Jason Jones

Hearing Voices in a Non-Psychiatric Population

BACKGROUND Many people hear voices but do not access psychiatric services and their experiences are largely unknown, not least because of the difficulty in contacting such people. This study investigates the beliefs held about voices, distress experienced, and provides a topographical account of the experience of hearing voices in a sample of individuals who hear voices in a non-psychiatric population. METHOD A quantitative questionnaire internet-based study with a within-subjects and between-subjects design was used. The internet was used to make contact with people who hear voices. One hundred and eighty-four participants in the general population who heard voices completed measures online assessing anxiety, depression, and beliefs about their dominant voice. RESULTS Participants reported a broad range of experiences associated with hearing voices, some in keeping with the previous research on clinical populations. CONCLUSION The use of the internet to recruit and research non-clinical samples of people who hear voices is supported. This study provides details regarding demographic information and the experience of voice hearing from a fairly large sample of people who hear voices in a non-psychiatric population. It lends support to the idea that voice hearing occurs on a continuum, with evidence that many people hear voices in the general population and are not distressed by the experience.

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE FACTOR STRUCTURE OF THE NOVACO ANGER SCALE

The Novaco Anger Scale is the only scale published that allows for the measurement of anger with relation to Novacos (1976) widely used model of anger management. This paper is the first to present a statistical analysis of the factor structure of this scale. From a sample of healthcare employees and outpatients with problems with anger control, a factor solution was identified. It is suggested that the items loading on this scale contribute to valid assessment of anger. The implications for the use of the NAS are considered.

High‐risk inferences in assessing high risk: outstanding concerns in the clinical use of the PCL‐R

The PCL‐R has been heralded as the ‘unparalleled’ (Salekin et al, 1996) risk assessment tool for assessing risk of violent and non‐violent recidivism. In the UK, the PCL‐R looks likely to become an industry standard assessment in psychological evaluation of individuals thought to have a dangerous and severe personality disorder. However, current knowledge about the PCL‐R is unsatisfactory, and a number of issues need to be addressed before clinicians can be confident in the use of this measure. This paper highlights these issues from the perspective of the practising clinician. Questions are raised about the theoretical, methodological and treatment implications of the use of the PCL‐R. Future research needs are established in this context of caution over the use of the measure in routine clinical and academic assessment.

An investigation of the personality characteristics of mentally disordered offenders detained under the Mental Health Act

Abstract Although the debate over the use of the legal classification of psychopathic disorder has been prolific, little research has been conducted in examining how the term is being used in current practice. This study used a retrospective case-note analysis to investigate the characteristics of patients who had been detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 at a regional secure unit (RSU) since 1987. The sample included all individual inpatients referred to, and assessed by, the clinical psychology department, for whom data from the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory were also available. No differences were found between offenders detained under ‘psychopathic disorder’ and those legally classified as ‘mentally ill’ with respect to admission details and offending characteristics. Those people detained under ‘psychopathic disorder’ demonstrated the presence of more antisocial features. The results from a cluster analysis of the MCMI personality scales supported Blackburns (1975) typology. The cluster ...

Debasement and faking bad on the Millon Clinical Multi-axial Inventory III: An examination of characteristics, circumstances and motives of forensic patients

Purpose. This article constitutes the first effort to consider debasement employing the Millon Clinical Multi-axial Inventory III (MCMI-III) in a forensic clinical population and incorporating the recommendations of Van Denburg and Choca (1997). It considers the proposition (Rogers, 1990a) that the pathogenic and criminological models of malingering can be rejected in favour of the adaptional model. Methods. A total of 142 MCMI-III profiles were collected over a 17-month period by a forensic psychology service. Of these, 47 had Debasement scale scores greater than 74. From the remaining 75, a group of 47 were randomly selected for comparative purposes. Of the total sample there were 75 males and 19 females, 68 were out-patients and 26 were in-patients, the latter having been detained under the Mental Health Act 1983, applicable to England and Wales. The two groups were compared on personality variables, offending history, presenting problems and referral circumstances. Results. There is tentative support for Rogers (1990a) in that situational variables appear to have a significant impact on debasement as would be predicted by the adaptional model of malingering. However, this was insufficient evidence to reject the pathogenic and criminological models of malingering. Conclusions. It is suggested that a longitudinal study examining the impact of different stages of the mental health or criminal justice system on debasement, and other validity scales, would illuminate the adaptional model further. Factors that influence the inclination to exaggerate psychopathology and which could be manipulated experimentally are also noted. Some speculation about the possible combined use of Debasement and Histrionic, Narcissistic and Compulsive scales in distinguishing between malingerers is offered. Language: en

How REBT Can Be Less Disturbing and Remarkably More Influential in Britain: A Review of Views of Practitioners and Researchers

We asked British cognitive behaviour therapists and researchers for their views on the current status of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy in Britain. All agreed that REBT had lost influence in comparison with Cognitive Therapy since the “cognitive revolution” 20 years ago. The main reasons given were that REBT, particularly in comparison with CT, was under-researched, was too rationalist in its approach and too active/directive in its style. One responder thought REBT was remarkably atheoretical. Overall there was a surprising degree of ignorance and misinformation. On the positive side, REBT was felt to be focused on the person rather than the symptom, and oriented more to the client than the professional or academic in its publication output than CT. We consider each issue and make recommendations for change.

Testing the Trower and Chadwick model of paranoia: Is ‘poor-me’ and ‘bad-me’ paranoia acting as a defence?

The study tested the predicted differences in phenomenology (self-esteem and depression) and insecurity of the subgroups of paranoia proposed by the Trower and Chadwick (1995) model of paranoia. Thirty-two inpatients experiencing persecutory delusions were assigned to either the poor me or bad me paranoid group. Questionnaire assessment of depression and self-esteem were conducted. A Dot Probe task measured detection latency (reaction time) to poor me words, bad me words and neutral words. The poor me and bad me groups displayed the predicted phenomenological differences. The dot probe task did not support the predicted insecurities of the Trower and Chadwick model, but unexpected significant results for the poor me subgroup may offer support for an alternative explanation of paranoia as an unstable phenomenon.