Richard W. Thoreson

Professionals in distress: Issues, syndromes, and solutions in psychology.

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Substance Use, Confrontation of Impaired Colleagues, and Psychological Functioning among Counseling Psychologists: A National Survey

Three hundred and ninety-three members of APA Division 17 (Counseling Psychology) completed a survey examining their past and current substance use, identification and confrontation of impaired psychologists, life satisfaction, work stress, and psychological distress. Respondents indicated favorable perceptions of their personal and professional satisfaction, low to moderate work stress, and minimal psychological distress. Overall, reported current levels of alcohol use were modest and use of other substances was low, although approximately 10% reported having been confronted for their substance abuse in the past. Forty-three percent of respondents reported knowledge of a male psychologists and 28% reported knowledge of a female psychologists current alcohol use problem; however, results suggested a general disinclination to confront impaired colleagues. The need to reconcile ethical obligations with the practical realities of confronting impaired psychologists is addressed.

Problem-Solving Appraisal and Psychological Adjustment of Persons with Chronic Low-Back Pain

To examine the role of self-appraised problem-solving ability in the prediction of psychosocial impairment, depression, hopelessness, average pain unpleasantness, and current pain ratings among persons with chronic low-back pain. A second purpose was to enhance theoretical understanding of the mechanisms by which problem-solving appraisal influences adjustment. Correlational and regression procedures were used to test the hypothesized relations procedures between elements of self-appraised problem-solving ability and each criterion variable. Seventy-eight persons enrolled in an inpatient multidisciplinary chronic pain management program. The psychosocial subscale of the Sickness Impact Profile, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, the McGill Pain Questionnaire, and Visual Analogue Scales of Pain Sensory Intensity and Affective Response were the main outcome measures. After first controlling demographic characteristics, elements of self-appraised problem-solving ability assessed by the Problem-Solving Inventory were significantly predictive of depression, hopelessness, psychosocial impairment, and average pain unpleasantness (accounting for 20, 26, 29, and 11% of the respective variance in these constructs). Results indicate complex relations among the elements of problem-solving appraisal, suggesting that the Approach–Avoidance link to psychological adjustment was mediated by Problem-Solving Confidence. Comprehensive problem-solving interventions may be beneficial to persons with chronic pain

Employment factors in outpatient recovery of alcoholics: A multivariate study☆

This study examined the effects of patient and treatment variables on alcoholic outpatient recovery over a one year period. One-hundred-seventy-four subjects, dichotomized by age (less than or equal to 42 or greater than 42) and employment status (employed or unemployed), were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups (medical check-up, medication, or multi-therapy). Seventy-eight percent of these subjects were available for follow-up. Dependent measures included neuropsychological functioning and subject ratings of mood and alcohol consumption. Statistical analysis was by a 2 X 3 X 2 MANOVA. Employment status was a significant variable relative to positive outcome changes on mood and neuropsychological functioning. Moreover, older employed alcoholics showed a significant reduction of confusion. No group differences were noted at outcome with respect to age or treatment. The implications of the results for conventional alcoholism outpatient treatment are discussed.

Gender Differences in the Academic Career.

This study examines sources of satisfaction, indicators of stress, academic performance, and reward structure in the academic careers of male and female faculty at a major midwestern state university. Faculty pairs were selected from five academic divisions. A total of 58 matched pairs were identified. Of these, 63 faculty responded, yielding data for 23 matched pairs. Subjects were mailed the Academic Career Development Survey, consisting of 144 items. Results indicated that self-reported physical and mental health, and professional and personal life satisfaction were high for both males and females. Both males and females placed high importance on their career and on marriage/other intimate relationships; however, both reported high levels of dissatisfaction with these factors. Gender differences were found in both satisfaction and type of stress reported; no gender differences were found in composite teaching and research performance indices. Salary data, obtained for 42 matched pairs, indicated similar salary levels for men and women. Results were discussed with respect to prior research on gender differences and the academic career.

Anxiety management in alcoholics: A study of generalized effects of relaxation techniques☆

Abstract In order to investigate the effects of progressive relaxation training (Bernstein & Borkover, 1973) and meditation training (Beary & Benson, 1974) on generalized arousal in alcoholics, 30 subjects were selected from an inpatient alcohol treatment unit of a Veterans Administration hospital. The subjects were appropriately screened and randomly assigned to one of the following groups: (a) progressive relaxation training (PRT); (b) meditation training (MT); or (c) quiet rest control group (QR). The groups met 3 times per week for a total of 3 weeks. The measures of arousal employed in this study were state anxiety (Speilberger, Gorsuch & Lushene, 1970), systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and spontaneous GSR. These measures of generalized arousal were collected once each week at a specified time for all subjects.The results revealed generalized effects for blood pressure, but not for the other dependent measures. In addition, the PRT and MT groups did not exhibit increased blood pressure as observed in control subjects. The potential contribution of these techniques to the treatment of alcoholism is discussed.

Generalizing a Predictor of Male Alcoholic Treatment Outcomes

A predictive index was developed using 34 intake variables from 416 alcoholic inpatient program participants at a Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC). Using drinking behavior as the outcome criteria, an R-squared value of 0.562 was achieved and 65% of the index-generating sample was correctly classified. The index was cross-validated on 61 inpatients at 4 months posttreatment. It achieved a point biserial correlation of 0.389 and correctly classified 66% of the sample. The index, unprecedentedly, was generalized to three other VAMCs and achieved an overall r of 0.393 and correctly classified 61% of the generalization subjects.

Actual and ideal work tasks of careers officers

Abstract Actual and ideal functions of careers officers as seen by professional workers in the Youth Employment Service and by students in training were investigated. An instrument – based on an American counsellor task inventory and subsequently named the Careers Officers Task Inventory (COTI) – was administered by mail to a nationally representative total sample, consisting of a random sample of careers officers (stratified by geographical region and office size), all careers officers with special responsibilities for the handicapped, and the total intake of student careers officers in Britain at the time of the survey. Negligible disparity was found between perceptions of the job as it is and as it should be. Differences between sub-samples included differing perceptions of the role of counselling. Some contrasts with parallel American findings are indicated, and questions for future research are raised.