Stéphane Sabourin

Psychosocial distress and infertility: men and women respond differently*

The purpose of this study was to evaluate gender differences in psychosocial responses of 449 consecutive first-admission couples in a fertility clinic. Consistent with previous research, infertile women showed higher distress than their partners on a global measure of psychiatric symptoms and subscales of anxiety, depression, hostility, and cognitive disturbances, as well as on measures of stress and self-esteem. When compared with same-sexed population norms on the measure of psychiatric symptoms, both male and female infertile patients were significantly more distressed than average. No evidence was found for unusually high levels of marital or sexual distress at intake. Implications of results for clinical management are explored.

Client satisfaction and social desirability in psychotherapy

In this study, the authors examined whether reports of client satisfaction in psychotherapy are biased by client tendency to provide socially desirable answers. This question was explored in the context of dynamic, eclectic, and cognitive/behavioral modalities of psychotherapy, which were provided in private practice settings. The Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8 (CSQ-8) was employed to assess satisfaction, and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MCSD) was used to measure social desirability. The relation of CSQ-8 scores was also examined with respect to sociodemographic variables, symptomatology, and treatment characteristics. A very weak correlation between CSQ-8 and MCSD scores was obtained (r(146) = −.05, p > .05), which was not found to be significant. This association also was not found to be moderated by clients and therapists gender, therapy modality, or treatment length. These results could be only partially explained by the restricted variance associated with CSQ-8 scores. It thus appears that client satisfaction represents a legitimate outcome dimension of psychotherapy.

Diffusion, support, approach, and external barriers as distinct theoretical dimensions of the Career Decision Scale: Disconfirming evidence?

Abstract There is a growing body of literature aimed at identifying the dimensions of career indecision as measured by the Career Decision Scale (CDS). Different conclusions have emerged, leading to theoretical and empirical controversies. Recently, a four-factor oblique solution with relatively important correlations among factors was proposed by Shimizu et al. (1988). The main purpose of the present study was to test the relevance of this multidimensional solution via confirmatory analysis. Two other competitive models (unidimensional and hierarchical) were also assessed using a sample of 589 students. The adequacy of the four-factor solution was confirmed, but results suggested that a unidimensional model was the most parsimonious. The hierarchical model was rejected. Results are compared to those obtained in previous factor-analytic studies of the CDS. Suggestions for further research and for counseling use are also presented.

Social Desirability, Psychological Distress, and Consumer Satisfaction With Mental Health Treatment.

Dans un echantillon de 82 clients en therapie dans Centre de Psychologie de Montreal, les auteurs ont trouve que les rapports de satisfaction de consommateur, tout comme les scores de detresse psychologique, sont contamines par le facteur de desirabilite sociale

Les Dimensions de la Detresse Psychologique: Analyse Factorielle Confirmatoire de type Hierarchique

The study of the hierarchical organization of psychological distress dimensions is plagued by numerous theoretical and methodological problems. The researcher must take into account the respective value of unidimensional and multidimensional conceptualizations and the complex debates between factor analysis experts. The main purpose of the present study is to demonstrate the construct validity of a hierarchical model of psychological distress. The sample consisted of 150 outpatients of the University of Montreal Psychology Clinic which completed the Psychiatric Symptoms Inventory. The results of first-order and second-order confirmatory factor analyses show the value of a hierarchical conceptualization of psychological distress. However, an examination of normalized residuals, total direct effects and modification indexes reveals the inadequacy of some items from the anxiety and cognitive problems subscales. The theoretical implications of these results are discussed.

L'INVENTAIRE DE RESOLUTION DE PROBLEMES PERSONNELS: UNE PERSPECTIVE METACOGNITIVE*

Abstract Studies on personal problem solving demonstrate important variations in intra- and interindividual problem solving performances. The se differences have bent associated with different levels of subjects psychological distress. Recently. several investigators have attempted to identify met cognitive factors associated with fluctuations in problem solving performance and variations in subjects level of mental health. The plypose of the present study was to examine the psychometric qualities of the French version of the Problem Solving Inventory (PSI). The 35-item questionnaire assess peoples attitudes toward their personal problem solving competence. Reliability, factorial structure and construct validity of the instrument were evaluated with two different samples of subjects. Results indicated that the French version of the PSI has high internal consistency and, as predicted, a tri-dimensional factorial structure. The observed relation between subjects appraisal of their personal problem solvi...

Supervision and Instruction in Doctoral Psychotherapy Integration

The movement of rapprochement and integration between different theoretical schools is currently one of the most active and dynamic areas of interest in the field of counseling and psychotherapy (Arkowitz & Messer, 1984; Lecomte & Castonguay, 1987; Marmor & Woods, 1980; Norcross, 1986). In fact, the sheer number of publications dealing with eclecticism, integration, or rapprochement has reached proportions that could have hardly been predicted 15 years ago (Goldfried & Newman, 1986). It can even be argued that the influence of this movement has reached the training boards of major professional associations (American Psychological Association, Canadian Psychological Association), which now expect future clinicians to become familiar with a wide range of assessment and intervention procedures, rather than being restricted to a single modality (APA, 1979; CPA, 1983).

Analyse prospective de l'ajustement et des stratégies d'adaptation en situation dyadique. Ou comment l'ajustement conjugal prédit-il les stratégies d'adaptation dyadique deux ans plus tard ?

L’objectif de cette recherche est d’examiner le lien entre les strategies d’adaptation en situation dyadique et l’ajustement conjugal sur une periode de deux ans. L’echantillon se compose initialement de 512 personnes, provenant de 256 couples, qui ont complete l’Echelle d’ajustement conjugal et le Questionnaire d’evaluation des strategies d’adaptation. Cent huit couples (216 participants) ont accepte, deux ans plus tard, de completer les memes questionnaires. Les resultats des analyses correlationnelles simples montrent la presence de relations significatives entre diverses strategies d’adaptation et l’ajustement conjugal. Toutefois, les resultats des analyses de regression multiple de type hierarchique indiquent que ces strategies d’adaptation n’expliquent pas une portion significative de la variance des scores d’ajustement conjugal residuels. Nos resultats soulignent plutot que ce sont les scores d’ajustement conjugal au T1 qui predisent les fluctuations observees dans le recours a diverses strategies d’adaptation dyadique au T2. Les implications theoriques de ces resultats sont discutees.