Julie A. Deisinger

Relationships between coping style and PAI profiles in a community sample

Relationships between coping style and psychological functioning were examined in a heterogeneous community sample (N = 168). Psychological functioning was categorized with the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991). Subjects were assigned to PAI configural profile clusters, using T-scores from PAI clinical scales. Three PAI clusters were prominent in this sample: normal, anxious, and eccentric. Multivariate analysis of covariance revealed that these clusters differed significantly in coping style, as measured by the dispositional format of the COPE Inventory (Carver, Scheier, & Weintraub, 1989). Normals coped through avoidance significantly less than anxious or eccentric subjects. Also, normals engaged in seeking social support and venting more than eccentric but less than anxious subjects. Gender differences also were noted, with women more likely to cope by seeking social support and men more likely to cope through hedonistic escapism.

Students with autism spectrum disorders

The number of individuals with ASD is growing tremendously since autism was recognized as a category for special education services in IDEA. While the disorder was first described by Kanner in 1943 and again by Asperger in 1944, it did not receive substantial attention until 1981, when Dr. Lorna Wing wrote an influential article which revived the early work of Kanner and Asperger (Nash, 2002). Since then there has been an increase in research related to etiology, prevalence, educational and social-emotional intervention, and assessment and diagnosis. This research has highlighted that: ASD appears to run in families; their may be as many as 20 genes involved in autism; individuals with ASD think, socialize and emote differently; there appears to be some neurological misconnection present in the brains of individuals with ASD (Nash, 2002). Positively, there have been advances in educational, therapeutic and medication management that has allowed individuals with ASD to be more inclusively involved in our society.

Exploring the Factor Structure of the Personality Assessment Inventory

This study examined the factor structure of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI). Factor analyses were conducted on all 22 PAI scales, as well as on the 11 clinical scales alone. When analyzing all scales, four factors related to general psychological distress, narcissism, impulsivity, and social functioning were obtained. An analysis of only clinical scales yielded three factors associated with distress, impulsivity, and substance abuse. Although methods other than those utilized by Morey were employed for the factor extractions and rotations, the latent factors derived in this study were very similar to those reported previously. These findings support the stability of the underlying factor structure of the PAI.

Patterns of pain descriptor usage in African Americans and European Americans with chronic pain.

This study examined ethnic differences in the use of pain descriptors, comparing standardized pain assessment data from African American and European American patients with heterogeneous chronic pain syndromes. The measure was the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ) including the embedded Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Exploratory factor analyses of SF-MPQ data identified differences in factor structure with the VAS loading on a different factor for each group. A 5-factor solution was obtained from the African American group and a 4-factor solution was obtained from the European American group. There was little overlap in the pattern matrices for African American and European American groups. Results suggest that the VAS is as sensitive to ethnic differences as other traditional pain measures.

The Broad Autism Phenotype

This proposed volume will provide in-depth coverage about a construct known as the broad autism phenotype (BAP). The BAP encompasses biological, cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and interpersonal characteristics resembling those found on the autism spectrum, although more subtle than what is evident among individuals who meet formal criteria for an autism spectrum diagnosis. Initially identified in 1994, the BAP has been receiving increased attention due to the recognition of autism as a spectrum of disorders that vary in symptoms and severity.