Stephen A. Karp

FIELD DEPENDENCE IN A GERIATRIC POPULATION

Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of field dependence by Witkin and his associates suggest a course of decreasing field dependency between childhood and adolescence or early adulthood. The present study is an initial attempt to explore changes in field dependency through adulthood and old age. Three groups of Ss, 17-, 30- to 39-, and 58- to 80-yr.-olds, were given three tests of field dependency, the body-adjustment, rod-and-frame, and embedded-figures tests. On each test field dependency increased significantly with age. Between sex comparisons suggest that males were significantly less field dependent at ages 17 and 30 to 39, however, these differences were not present in the geriatric group.

FIELD DEPENDENCE AND OCCUPATIONAL ACTIVITY IN THE AGED

Prior studies of field dependence of elderly persons have led to questions as to the course of development of this function in the latter decades of life and consideration of the implications of such development for the prediction of longevity. As a first step toward answering such questions, the present study was designed to evaluate effects of increasing age, between 60 and 90, on field dependence and relationships between field dependence and state of activity as represented by gainful employment. 50 Ss recruited from a day center in New York City were given two tests of field dependence. In general, field dependence was found to increase with age. However, there was some suggestion that the rate of such increase may diminish during the seventh or eighth decades. When 20 employed and 20 retired males, aged 60 to 75 were compared, the employed Ss were significantly more field independent than their retired peers.

Sex-role orientation and depressive symptomatology

The incidence of depressive disorders among women in our society is considerably higher than it is for men. Several investigators have suggested that this is due to traditional sex roles and status of women. One way in which this might work is suggested by Seligmans learned helplessness model of depression. Such considerations have led to the present attempt to evaluate the relationships of gender, sex roles, and depression. Forty male and 40 female subjects, recruited from graduate education courses, were given the NIMH-CES Depression Scale and the Bem Sex-Role Inventory. Analysis of covariance for males suggested that Bem M-Scale scores significantly predict depression, higher M scores associated with lower depression scores. For females, both M scores and M × F interaction predicted depression, higher F and lower M scores associated with greater depression. No differences were found between male and female subjects in depression scale scores. Thus, sex role appears a more potent predictor of depression than gender.

Psychological Differentiation and Socioeconomic Status.

Two studies were performed to evaluate the hypothesis that field dependence and related cognitive abilities do not differ with socioeconomic status. 6 subtests of the WISC (3 verbal and 3 performance) were administered to middle- and lower-class boys, together with a measure of field dependence (Embedded figures) and a measure of sophistication-of-body concept. Two adult male groups (middle and lower class) were given the Embedded-figures test. The hypothesis was substantially supported for both adult and child samples. Only on Block Design, a test which correlates highly with measures of field dependence, did performance differ significantly by social class. The patterning of cognitive abilities was highly similar for middle- and lower-class boys, with Block Design providing the only serious discrepancy.

Field dependence in young anorectic and obese women

Bruch and other clinicians working with patients suffering from eating disorders have noted substantial similarity between obese individuals and those with anorexia nervosa with regard to difficulties in achieving autonomous functioning. Although research has substantially supported this view for obese persons, some studies of anorectics have portrayed them as no different from or even more autonomous than normally weighted controls. In an attempt to clarify this discrepancy, the present study evaluated field dependence, a psychological measure reflecting autonomy, among 16 subjects with anorexia nervosa, 16 obese subjects and 16 normally weighted controls. The three groups consisted of females between 12 and 24 years, matched for age, IQ and socioeconomic status. The anorectic and obese groups, while no different from each other, were both significantly more field dependent than the normal controls. The results are viewed as supportive of the Bruch position, stressing similarity of the two eating disorder groups in their limited progress toward autonomous functioning.

Personality of rape survivors as a group and by relation of survivor to perpetrator

Adult survivors of rape were compared to controls on 34 scales of the Apperceptive Personality Test and Draw-A-Person Questionnaire. They also reported on present or past weight problems, alcohol or drug problems, and psychotherapy. They differed on 12 scales and on alcohol, weight problems, and therapy. These survivors more frequently reported problems or therapy and differed on personality scales in the direction of assigning fewer positive or more negative attributes to their characters. Those raped by relatives, dates, or acquaintances were more negative than those raped by strangers on four scales, but did not differ on alcohol or weight problems or participation in psychotherapy.

Relationship between the Apperceptive Personality Test and Verbal Intelligence in a University Sample

This study examined the relationship between verbal intelligence and the Apperceptive Personality Test/Brief Adult in a university sample. The recently developed test is a picture-story assessment technique and, as with its parent test, the Apperceptive Personality Test/Comprehensive Adult, combines both projective and objective features. Research to date with both tests has focused on some 19 (objectively scored) questionnaire variables selected for intensive study. The relationship of questionnaire variables to verbal intelligence has not been directly studied. To examine this question, a sample of 149 undergraduates (108 women, 41 men) took the personality test and the Shipley-Hartford Vocabulary Scale. As expected, results generally confirmed the expectation that personality variables would show minimal or no relation with verbal intelligence.

The relationship of sex-role identity, life style, and mental health in suburban american homemakers: 1. Sex role, employment and adjustment

Prior research has suggested that a traditional feminine role may be a mental health liability for women. The present study investigates whether adjustment difficulties among homemakers may be a function of discrepancies between life roles and sex-role orientation. Subjects were 97 suburban mothers divided into full (N=59) and part-time (N=38) homemaker groups. Each subject was given the Bem Sex Role Inventory and SCL-90-R, which yields nine symptom scores and an overall adjustment index. A 4 (sex-roles) by 2 (homemaker status) ANOVA for overall adjustment was carried out. Significant differences were found only for sex roles, androgynous subjects showing significantly less symptomatology than undifferentiated subjects. In a stepwise multiple discriminant analysis, to predict sex roles from the nine symptom scores, masculine and androgynous groups reported symptoms of depression, anxiety, and interpersonal sensitivity much less frequently than feminine and undifferentiated subjects. High masculinity among this group of women (masculine or androgynous sex-role orientation) thus appears as a key factor related to adjustment, whereas life role-sex role consistency does not.

Prediction of depression with the Apperceptive Personality Test

This study examined the relationship between depression and the Apperceptive Personality Test (APT), a picture-story assessment device with an objective scoring system. Subjects were 206 undergraduate volunteer females who completed the APT and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Multiple regression analysis showed significant APT predictors for the BDI. Results are discussed and directions for future research are proposed.

PREDICTION OF MMPI CLINICAL SCORES FROM THE APPERCEPTIVE PERSONALITY TEST

Eight independent scores from a new objective/projective personality test, the Apperceptive Personality Test (APT), were validated against eight clinical scores of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). In parallel studies of 150 male and 150 female college volunteers given both tests, weighted combinations of the 8 APT measures significantly predicted MMPI raw scores in 15 of 16 analyses (Ma scores could not be predicted for men). Of 84 predicted zero-order correlations between APT and MMPI measures, 50 (60%) were confirmed, 74% for women and 45% for men; however, the vast majority of these correlations were below .30.