Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale and short Form C: forensic norms

Exploring the effects of negative supervisory feedback on creativity among research and development personnel: challenge or threat?

Supervisory feedback to stimulate research and development (R&D) employee creativity is a management issue that concerns scholars and practitioners. However, there are divergences and contradictions regarding whether negative feedback promotes or hinders employee creativity. Integrating the feedback intervention and cognitive appraisal theories, we developed a double-edged sword model for negative supervisory feedback's influence on creativity. We tested the proposed model using a field sample of 513 R&D employees from seven science and technology enterprises. The results indicated that R&D employee challenge and threat appraisal moderated negative supervisory feedback's effect on prevention focus and the distal consequences for creativity. Individuals with high (low) levels of challenge (threat) appraisal have decreased prevention focus, thereby increasing their creativity when receiving negative supervisory feedback. In contrast, individuals with low (high) challenge (threat) appraisal have increased prevention focus, thereby decreasing their creativity when receiving negative supervisory feedback. These findings offer interesting implications for research on negative feedback and stimulation of science and technology R&D employee creativity in organizations.

Empathy and Cognitive Distortions in Sex Offenders Participating in Community Based Treatment

This study examined the relationship between empathy as measured by the Empathy Index (EI) and the Cognitive Distortion Scale (CDS) among a sample (N = 151) of individuals who committed sexual offenses who were receiving community-based sex offender treatment in a large southern state. The extent to which the relationships by age was also considered. The findings indicated a weak but significant positive correlation between total empathy and each of the cognitive distortion scales, and a similar positive correlation between the instrumental aggression empathy subscale and the three cognitive distortion scales. Furthermore, these findings suggested that those with lower empathy were more likely to have cognitive distortions than those with higher empathy. Recommendations for future research and implications for treatment are provided.

Are the dark personalities sincere? Connections between the Dark Triad and the Big Three

BACKGROUND

There are different theories and models of personality. In the antisocial area, the model used is the Dark Triad, a model of personality composed of the traits of Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism. The links between the Dark Triad and other general models have been widely studied; however, there is little research connecting it with the traditional, but still used, model of personality described by Eysenck (psychoticism, extraversion, and neuroticism). Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyse the connections between the Dark Triad of personality and Eysenck's personality model. Additionally, we interpret the connections between the sincerity scale of Eysenck's model and the Dark Triad.

PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE

Our final sample was composed of 2385 participants who completed different personality questionnaires measuring the Dark Triad and Eysenck's model. Bivariate analyses and structural equation modelling were performed.

RESULTS

Narcissism and Machiavellianism have positive connections with neuroticism and extraversion, whereas psychopathy is positively associated with psychoticism and negatively associated with extraversion. All the Dark Triad traits, mainly Machiavellianism, show the strongest connections with sincerity.

CONCLUSIONS

Considering the deceptive and manipulative nature of the Dark Triad, these results would imply that these traits could be mismeasured in some contexts. However, in research conditions those people who score higher on the Dark Tetrad traits do not hide behaviours that tend to be socially undesirable, implying some degree of honesty in their answers. Further efforts to develop more objective measures, such as implicit, indirect, task-based, or forced-choice measures, should be considered.

Development and preliminary validation of a health-related family quality of life instrument

The researchers' aims for this preliminary study was to develop an instrument, guided by the Theory of Health-related Family Quality of Life, to measure health-related family quality of life (HR-FQoL) as perceived by women with cancer. The researchers used a two phase design for instrument development: (1) establishing face validity of a 38-item instrument with an expert panel and patient review, and (2) focusing on the internal structure and construct validity of the instrument with responses from female patients (N = 236) with a cancer diagnosis (breast, gynecologic). The researchers identified a final 25-item HR-FQoL instrument with four sub-scales that each captured multiple concepts within the Theory of HR-FQoL. The resulting instrument maybe used by researchers and clinicians to assess various aspects of health-related family quality of life among female breast and gynecological cancer survivors.

Domestic Violence From a Child Perspective: Impact of an Immersive Virtual Reality Experience on Men With a History of Intimate Partner Violent Behavior

Domestic violence has long-term negative consequences on children. In this study, men with a history of partner aggression and a control group of non-offenders were embodied in a child's body from a first-person perspective in virtual reality (VR). From this perspective, participants witnessed a scene of domestic violence where a male avatar assaulted a female avatar. We evaluated the impact of the experience on emotion recognition skills and heart rate deceleration responses. We found that the experience mainly impacted the recognition of angry facial expressions. The results also indicate that males with a history of partner aggression had larger physiological responses during an explicit violent event (when the virtual abuser threw a telephone) compared with controls, while their physiological reactions were less pronounced when the virtual abuser invaded the victim's personal space. We show that embodiment from a child's perspective during a conflict situation in VR impacts emotion recognition, physiological reactions, and attitudes towards violence. We provide initial evidence of the potential of VR in the rehabilitation and neuropsychological assessment of males with a history of domestic violence, especially in relation to children.

Self-enhancement and physical health: A meta-analysis

A prior meta-analysis yielded a positive relation between self-enhancement and psychological health. This article presents the first meta-analysis of the association between self-enhancement and physical health (k = 87; N = 22,415). The meta-analysis relied predominantly on social desirability as an operationalization of self-enhancement and secondarily on comparative judgement and narcissism. Further, the meta-analysis operationalized physical health in terms of self-rated health, symptoms and biomarkers. Overall, self-enhancement yielded a near-zero association with physical health, r = .01. However, this association was more pronounced for comparative judgement (r = .18, k = 6) than social desirability (r = .03, k = 41) or narcissism (r = -.0001, k = 8), and for self-rated health (r = .09, k = 9) than symptoms (r = .01, k = 29) or biomarkers (r = -.13, k = 17). The association between self-enhancement and physical health fluctuates across measures of both constructs calling for more focussed and nuanced investigations.

Gender differences in social desirability and approval biases, and associations with diet quality in young adults

Social desirability and approval biases can influence self-report of diet, contributing to inaccurate assessment. Biases may be influenced by sex. This study examined gender differences in social desirability and approval, and diet quality in young adults, and relationships between social biases and diet quality. Data from 1003 young adults participating in the Advice, Ideas and Motivation for My Eating trial, median age 21.7 years, BMI 24.7 kg/m2 were included. Biases were measured using Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale Short-Form, Martin Larsen Approval Motivation Scale, and diet quality using the Australian Recommended Food Score. Pearson chi-square, t-test and Wilcoxon tests evaluated gender differences and Spearman's rank-order tested strengths of correlations between biases and diet quality. Social desirability did not differ by gender, however females reported higher social approval scores than males (p = 0.009). Among females, there was a positive correlation between social desirability and diet quality (p = 0.002), and between social approval and dairy sub-scale (p < 0.001); and a negative correlation between social approval and vegetable subscale (p = 0.045). Among males there were no correlations between social desirability or social approval and overall diet quality. Social approval may be more common in females and influence self-reported diet. To address bias and mis-reporting errors, future studies should account for participants' social desirability and/or social approval status, especially among young adult females. Further research is needed to explore gender differences in social desirability and approval in young adults, and associations between social biases and diet quality.

Blame Attributions Against Heterosexual Male Victims of Sexual Coercion: Effects of Gender, Social Influence, and Perceptions of Distress

If heterosexual male victims had been more active in the #MeToo movement, how might they have been judged? Although the #MeToo movement has been regarded as an historic milestone for women who were victimized by men in positions of power, participation in the movement by male victims has been noticeably absent. Research indicates that victims may avoid disclosure if they anticipate negative social reactions, and male victims may attract greater levels of victim blaming than female victims, particularly if their perpetrator was female. The current study investigated attributions of victim blame against a fictional heterosexual male in a between-subjects vignette design. Perpetrator gender and their social influence were manipulated in a sample of 208 college students. Results did not support the hypothesized main effects of perpetrator gender or social influence. Greater blame attributions were made against victims of a male perpetrator compared to one of an unspecified gender. Male participants attributed greater blame than females, and the relationship between shame proneness and blame was moderated by participant gender, males experiencing higher levels of shame engaged in less victim blame. Blame increased when participants believed the court case to be more distressing than the victimizing act. Results support the male rape myth framework, which posits that beliefs about a male victim's experience of his own violation, particularly whether he experienced distress or pleasure, are related to gendered norms of masculinity, which include normative traits of toughness, dominance, and high sexual performance. Implications on the role of gender as a barrier to disclosure by male victims are discussed.

The Relative Role of Knowledge and Empathy in Predicting Pro-Environmental Attitudes and Behavior

Planet Earth is undergoing unprecedented levels of environmental degradation and destruction at a global scale. Incentivizing people to adopt behaviors that are compatible with a sustainable future will help address the current ecological crisis. However, it is first necessary to understand the psychological drivers of pro-environmental behavior. Here, we examined whether greater levels of environmental knowledge and empathy predicted higher levels of pro-environmental behavior in an Australian population sample. We aimed to advance our understanding of the psychological variables that motivate people to act in pro-environmental ways, while also advancing the ongoing debate amongst conservation scientists regarding the relative importance of fostering empathy. Correlational analyses revealed that objective, verifiable knowledge was a strong predictor of pro-environmental attitudes and behavior. Empathy also correlated positively with pro-environmental attitudes and behavior, but with a dissociation with respect to its cognitive and affective components. Multivariate analyses revealed that knowledge was a stronger predictor of both pro-environmental attitudes and behavior after controlling for individual variation in cognitive and affective empathy. This finding casts doubt on the claim by compassionate conservationists that fostering empathy is the key to solving the current environmental conservation crisis. Future research should aim to extend the present findings by testing whether a more exhaustive test of participants’ environmental knowledge and other measures of empathy, including empathic competencies and the recently developed Emotional and Cognitive Scale of the Human–Nature Relationship (ECS-HNR), yield the same dominance of knowledge over empathy.

Measuring social desirability bias: Do the full and short versions of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability scale matter?

Given the sensitive nature of ethics research, the presence of social desirability bias (SDB) threatens the validity of research findings. As ethics studies often overlook this bias, we aimed to provide evidence that SDB varies across individual and situational factors. We thus investigated the influence of socio-demographic factors and survey modes on SDB. A total of 348 working adults were randomly chosen to participate in either an on-line or off-line survey containing eight versions of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability (MCSD) scale. The reliabilities for the eight versions ranged from 0.35 to 0.81. Statistical tests revealed that different socio-demographic factors influence different versions of the MCSD scale. The results also showed that using on-line surveys minimizes SDB. This study provides practical implications and suggestions for future research.

Sexbots as Synthetic Companions: Comparing Attitudes of Official Sex Offenders and Non-Offenders

This is the first Italian study to examine views on sexbots of adult male sex offenders and non-offenders, and their perceptions of sexbots as sexual partners, and sexbots as a means to prevent sexual violence. In order to explore these aspects 344 adult males were involved in the study. The study carried out two types of comparisons. 100 male sex offenders were compared with 244 male non-offenders. Also, sex offenders were divided into child molesters and rapists. Preliminary findings suggest that sex offenders were less open than non-offenders to sexbots, showed a lower acceptance of them, and were more likely to dismiss the possibility of having an intimate and sexual relationship with a sexbot. Sex offenders were also less likely than non-offenders to believe that the risk of sexual violence against people could be reduced if a sexbot was used in the treatment of sex offenders. No differences were found between child molesters and rapists. Though no definitive conclusion can be drawn about what role sexbots might play in the prevention and treatment of sex offending, this study emphasizes the importance of both exploring how sexbots are both perceived and understood. Sex offenders in this study showed a high dynamic sexual risk and, paradoxically, despite, or because of, their sexual deviance (e.g. deficits in sexual self-regulation), they were more inclined to see sexbots as just machines and were reluctant to imagine them as social agents, i.e. as intimate or sexual arousal partners. How sex offenders differ in their dynamic risk and criminal careers can inform experts about the mechanisms that take place and can challenge their engagement in treatment and intervention.

Processing of emotional faces in sexual offenders with and without child victims: An eye-tracking study with pupillometry

Socio-affective dysfunction is a risk-factor for sexual offense recidivism. However, it remains unknown whether men who have sexually offended with and without child victims show differences in eye scan paths and autonomic responsivity while viewing facial expressions of emotion. We examined differences in accuracy of emotion recognition, eye movements, and pupil dilation responses between sex offenders with child victims, sex offenders without child victims, and a group of non-offenders living in the community. Sex offenders without child victims looked for longer at the eyes than sex offenders with child victims and non-offenders. Men without child victims also scored higher for psychopathy linked disinhibition, and these traits were associated with looking longer at the eyes of afraid faces. We found no evidence for group differences in accuracy, visual attention to the mouth, or pupil dilation responses. Our findings have implications for understanding the nature of socio-affective dysfunction in sexual offenders.

The Development and Pilot-Testing of the Autism Attitude Acceptance Scale: An Instrument Measuring Autism Acceptance

Background

Although previous studies have measured attitudes about autism to understand ways to ameliorate stigmatized beliefs, nonautistic individuals' acceptance of autism is still not well understood. This study aimed to develop and pilot test the Autism Attitude Acceptance Scale (AAAS), a self-report instrument that measures nonautistic adults' autism acceptance based on the neurodiversity framework, and examine the associations between autism acceptance and purported variables (disability-related experience/awareness variables and demographic characteristics).

Methods

The author piloted the AAAS with 122 nonautistic adults. Principal component analysis and reliability analysis were used to examine the factor structure and psychometric properties of the AAAS. The associations between the AAAS and autism knowledge, the quantity and quality of previous contact, neurodiversity awareness, and demographic variables were examined using Pearson's r correlations, t-tests, and analyses of variance.

Results

The author constructed two subscales of the AAAS, General Acceptance (GA) and Attitudes toward Treating Autistic Behaviors (ATAB). The GA measures the acceptance of autism as a unique way of being, willingness to provide support to autistic individuals, and feeling comfortable while interacting with them. The ATAB measures how strongly a person believes that receiving treatments to reduce autistic symptoms will or will not benefit autistic individuals. The GA was associated with autism knowledge, quality and quantity of previous contact with autistic individuals, neurodiversity awareness, gender, ethnicity, and education level of participants. The ATAB was significantly associated with autism knowledge and quality and quantity of previous contact; the ATAB did not have any significant associations with neurodiversity awareness and demographic variables.

Conclusions

The AAAS, which validly and reliably measures nonautistic individuals' autism acceptance, identified the subgroups with low autism acceptance. This study calls for further examination of the underlying mechanism of autism acceptance and neurodiversity framework to restructure nonautistic individuals' attitudes about autism.

Lay summary

Why was this study done?: There are many studies that measure how nonautistic individuals think about autism. These studies tried to identify subgroups of people with particularly negative attitudes toward autism and improve those attitudes. Autistic advocates are increasingly noting the importance of autism acceptance, which asks people to accept autistic individuals for who they are as they are. Autism acceptance draws from the neurodiversity framework, which considers autism as a part of natural diversity and rejects the idea that autistic needs to be fixed. However, there is currently no tool that measures nonautistic individuals' autism acceptance.What was the purpose of this study?: The purpose of this study is to develop the Autism Attitude Acceptance Scale (AAAS), which measures nonautistic adults' acceptance of autistic individuals.What did the researchers do?: The author developed an autism acceptance survey that draws on a neurodiversity framework, and 122 nonautistic adults completed the instrument in an online survey along with the existing attitude scales. A series of statistical analyses were conducted to examine if the AAAS can be used to measure autism acceptance.What were the results of the study?: The AAAS consists of two subscales: General Acceptance (GA), which measures how much a person accepts autism as a unique way of beings and feels more comfortable to provide support to and have a personal relationship with an autistic person, and Attitudes toward Treating Autistic Behavior (ATAB), which measures how much a person agrees that receiving treatments to reduce autistic symptoms will benefit autistic individuals. Accurate knowledge about autism, high quality of previous contact, and more frequent contact were significantly associated with higher scores in both GA and ATAB subscales. Being white, female, and aware of the neurodiversity framework and having a higher level of education were positively associated only with the GA, but not with ATAB.What do these findings add to what was already known?: This is the first study to conceptualize and measure autism acceptance of nonautistic individuals as a distinct construct. How much a nonautistic person thinks favorably of autistic individuals is different from how he/she thinks about receiving treatments to reduce autistic symptoms. Increasing the quality and quantity of contact with autistic individuals and knowledge about autism may be helpful in promoting autism acceptance. Demographic variables may account for only specific types of attitudes about autism.What are potential weaknesses in the study?: As a pilot study, this study included a small number of participants, and participants who participated were those could be reached or contacted easily. Also, participants may act differently in real life than how they responded on the survey.How will these findings help autistic adults now or in the future?: The AAAS can be used with existing tools to inform ways to promote autism attitudes and find ways to appreciate autistic differences.

Adherence to Multiple Treatment Recommendations in Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer: A Mixed Methods, Multi-Informant Investigation

Purpose: This mixed methods study sought to assess adolescent and young adult (AYA) adherence to three cancer treatment recommendations (medications, diet, physical activity), and determine the individual, family, and health system factors associated with suboptimal adherence. Methods: In Stage 1, 72 AYA-caregiver dyads completed a validated adherence interview and surveys about individual and family functioning. Matched providers (n = 34 who reported on 61 AYAs) completed global adherence ratings through survey. In Stage 2, a subset (n = 31) completed qualitative interviews. Results: Medication adherence was higher (M = 94.8%) than diet (M = 73.9%) and physical activity (M = 55.4%), although ≥50% demonstrated "Imperfect Adherence" for each subtask. Univariately, AYAs who missed a medication had more depressive symptoms, worse health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and more medication barriers; their families had more financial stress, worse family functioning, and lower self-efficacy. The odds of adhering to medications were lower with worse HRQOL (odds ratio [OR] = 1.08; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-1.15) and family functioning (OR = 0.18; 95% CI, 0.04-0.91). The odds of adhering to physical activity and diet were lower with worse family functioning (OR = 0.09; 95% CI, 0.01-0.91) and more barriers (OR = 0.24, CI: 0.10-0.61), respectively. Qualitative themes further supported multilevel influences on AYA adherence. Conclusions: Adherence challenges were identified across medications, diet, and physical activity. Multilevel contextual factors were associated with suboptimal adherence, including poorer HRQOL and family functioning. Findings support the need to improve clinical adherence assessment and develop contextually tailored interventions.

Outcomes and Recidivism in Mandated Batterer Intervention Before and After Introducing a Specialized Domestic Violence Court

Both specialized domestic violence (DV) courts and batterer intervention programs were developed to more adequately address intimate partner abuse and recidivism; however, little research has studied them concurrently. The current research examined clinical outcomes and police-reported recidivism in 382 men mandated to attend the Calgary Counselling Centre's Responsible Choices for Men's (RCM) groups between 1998 and 2009, before and after a specialized DV court was established in 2001. The study examines associations between categorical demographic and criminal justice variables, most of which were not correlated with post-group recidivism. Before the specialized court was implemented, 45 RCM members reported significantly more clinical issues at pretest than the 282 RCM members after court implementation (all scores adjusted by social desirability), although the effect sizes were negligible. Regarding group outcomes, depression, anxiety, and self-esteem (adjusted for social desirability) significantly improved on average for all RCM members irrespective of court implementation. Before the specialized DV court was developed, recidivism occurred after RCM program completion for a large proportion of men (41.2%), compared with only 8.2% after court implementation, a significant difference with a moderate effect size. The recidivism results are interpreted in the context of the significant justice and community collaborations entailed in creating the specialized DV court.

Introducing Machine Learning to Detect Personality Faking-Good in a Male Sample: A New Model Based on Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form Scales and Reaction Times

Background and Purpose. The use of machine learning (ML) models in the detection of malingering has yielded encouraging results, showing promising accuracy levels. We investigated the possible application of this methodology when trained on behavioral features, such as response time (RT) and time pressure, to identify faking behavior in self-report personality questionnaires. To do so, we reintroduced the article of Roma et al. (2018), which highlighted that RTs and time pressure are useful variables in the detection of faking; we then extended the number of participants and applied an ML analysis. Materials and Methods. The sample was composed of 175 subjects, of whom all were graduates (having completed at least 17 years of instruction), male, and Caucasian. Subjects were randomly assigned to four groups: honest speeded, faking-good speeded, honest unspeeded, and faking-good unspeeded. A software version of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) was administered. Results. Results indicated that ML algorithms reached very high accuracies (around 95%) in detecting malingerers when subjects are instructed to respond under time pressure. The classifiers' performance was lower when the subjects responded with no time restriction to the MMPI-2-RF items, with accuracies ranging from 75% to 85%. Further analysis demonstrated that T-scores of validity scales are ineffective to detect fakers when participants were not under temporal pressure (accuracies 55-65%), whereas temporal features resulted to be more useful (accuracies 70-75%). By contrast, temporal features and T-scores of validity scales are equally effective in detecting fakers when subjects are under time pressure (accuracies higher than 90%). Discussion. To conclude, results demonstrated that ML techniques are extremely valuable and reach high performance in detecting fakers in self-report personality questionnaires over more the traditional psychometric techniques. Validity scales MMPI-2-RF manual criteria are very poor in identifying under-reported profiles. Moreover, temporal measures are useful tools in distinguishing honest from dishonest responders, especially in a no time pressure condition. Indeed, time pressure brings out malingerers in clearer way than does no time pressure condition.

Social Desirability Bias Against Admitting Anger: Bias in the Test-Taker or Bias in the Test?

The veracity of self-report is often questioned, especially in anger, which is particularly susceptible to social desirability bias (SDB). However, could tests of SDB be themselves susceptible to bias? This study aimed to replicate the inverse correlation between a common test of SDB and a test of anger, to deconstruct this relationship according to anger-related versus non-anger-related items, and to reevaluate factor structure and reliability of the SDB test. More than 200 students were administered the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale Short Version [M-C1(10)] and the Anger Parameters Scale (APS). Results confirmed that anger and SDB scores were significantly and inversely correlated. This intercorrelation became nonsignificant when the 4 anger-related items were omitted from the M-C1(10). Confirmatory factor analyses showed excellent fit for a model comprising anger items of the M-C1(10) but not for models of the entire instrument or nonanger items. The first model also attained high internal consistency. Thus, the significant negative correlation between anger and SDB is attributable to 4 M-C1(10) anger items, for which low ratings are automatically scored as high SDB; this stems from a tenuous assumption that low anger reports are invariably biased. The SDB test risks false positives of faking good and should be used with caution.

Anger parameters in parolees undergoing psychoeducation: Temporal stability, social desirability bias, and comparison with non-offenders

BACKGROUND

Anger is commonly measured as if it were a single, simple construct. This may be particularly unhelpful if the main purpose of a measure is to determine change and responsiveness to interventions.

AIMS

Our primary aim was to assess five anger parameters in parolees - frequency, duration, intensity, latency, and threshold - and to test for effects of psychoeducation and social desirability bias on parolees' scores. Average anger scores for the offender sample were compared with those in a non-offender sample.

METHODS

The offender sample was drawn from male parolees in San Antonio. Age-matched volunteers recruited at public libraries were engaged for baseline comparisons. The Anger Parameters Scale and the Marlow-Crowne Scale were used to assess anger and social desirability, respectively. Parole officers delivered a psychoeducation course to parolees over 12 weeks, and anger and social desirability measures were taken before and afterwards.

RESULTS

At baseline, parolees were angry more often, stayed angry longer, and reached higher levels of anger than the non-offenders, confirming their eligibility for the programme. Mean anger scores were not significantly different after psychoeducation than before it. Parolees' reported anger was significantly and negatively correlated with social desirability scores.

CONCLUSIONS

Only three of the five anger parameters were prominent among these offenders: frequency, duration, and intensity of their outbursts. Psychoeducation did not produce improvement, possibly because it was instructional rather than therapeutic, but also because group means may mask useful individual differences. Concurrent assessment of social desirability is likely to assist in interpretation of anger measures. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

An Evaluation of a Community-Based Psycho-Educational Program for Users of Child Sexual Exploitation Material

Online sexual offenders represent an increasingly large proportion of all sexual offenders. Many of these offenders receive noncustodial sentences, and there is a growing need for community-based interventions. The aim of this study was to evaluate a psycho-educational program for community dwelling users of child sexual exploitation material (CSEM). A total of 92 adult male participants completed self-report measures at pre and post. A subset of participants also completed measures after a follow-up period. Results suggested benefits across depression, anxiety, and stress; social competency, including locus of control and self-esteem; and distorted attitudes. Furthermore, these effects remained 8 to 12 weeks following program completion. Our results suggest that CSEM users are amenable to treatment in the community and that there are beneficial outcomes in affective and interpersonal functioning following psycho-education. These factors represent treatment targets for sexual offenders and are recognized risk factors for contact sexual offense recidivism.

Offenders become the victim in virtual reality: impact of changing perspective in domestic violence

The role of empathy and perspective-taking in preventing aggressive behaviors has been highlighted in several theoretical models. In this study, we used immersive virtual reality to induce a full body ownership illusion that allows offenders to be in the body of a victim of domestic abuse. A group of male domestic violence offenders and a control group without a history of violence experienced a virtual scene of abuse in first-person perspective. During the virtual encounter, the participants' real bodies were replaced with a life-sized virtual female body that moved synchronously with their own real movements. Participants' emotion recognition skills were assessed before and after the virtual experience. Our results revealed that offenders have a significantly lower ability to recognize fear in female faces compared to controls, with a bias towards classifying fearful faces as happy. After being embodied in a female victim, offenders improved their ability to recognize fearful female faces and reduced their bias towards recognizing fearful faces as happy. For the first time, we demonstrate that changing the perspective of an aggressive population through immersive virtual reality can modify socio-perceptual processes such as emotion recognition, thought to underlie this specific form of aggressive behaviors.

The relationship between social desirability bias and self-reports of health, substance use, and social network factors among urban substance users in Baltimore, Maryland

BACKGROUND

Social desirability response bias may lead to inaccurate self-reports and erroneous study conclusions. The present study examined the relationship between social desirability response bias and self-reports of mental health, substance use, and social network factors among a community sample of inner-city substance users.

METHODS

The study was conducted in a sample of 591 opiate and cocaine users in Baltimore, Maryland from 2009 to 2013. Modified items from the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale were included in the survey, which was conducted face-to-face and using Audio Computer Self Administering Interview (ACASI) methods.

RESULTS

There were highly statistically significant differences in levels of social desirability response bias by levels of depressive symptoms, drug use stigma, physical health status, recent opiate and cocaine use, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores, and size of social networks. There were no associations between health service utilization measures and social desirability bias. In multiple logistic regression models, even after including the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) as a measure of depressive symptomology, social desirability bias was associated with recent drug use and drug user stigma. Social desirability bias was not associated with enrollment in prior research studies.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that social desirability bias is associated with key health measures and that the associations are not primarily due to depressive symptoms. Methods are needed to reduce social desirability bias. Such methods may include the wording and prefacing of questions, clearly defining the role of "study participant," and assessing and addressing motivations for socially desirable responses.

Repressive coping among British college women: A potential protective factor against body image concerns, drive for thinness, and bulimia symptoms

Repressive coping, as a means of preserving a positive self-image, has been widely explored in the context of dealing with self-evaluative cues. The current study extends this research by exploring whether repressive coping is associated with lower levels of body image concerns, drive for thinness, bulimic symptoms, and higher positive rational acceptance. A sample of 229 female college students was recruited in South London. Repressive coping was measured via the interaction between trait anxiety and defensiveness. The results of moderated regression analysis with simple slope analysis show that compared to non-repressors, repressors reported lower levels of body image concerns, drive for thinness, and bulimic symptoms while exhibiting a higher use of positive rational acceptance. These findings, in line with previous evidence, suggest that repressive coping may be adaptive particularly in the context of body image.

Changing Criminal Attitudes Among Incarcerated Offenders: Initial Examination of a Structured Treatment Program

The present study investigated the effect of a criminal attitude treatment program to changes on measured criminal attitudes and postprogram recidivism. The criminal attitude program (CAP) is a standardized therapeutic curriculum consisting of 15 modules offering 44 hr of therapeutic time. It was delivered by trained facilitators to a total of 113 male offenders incarcerated in one of five state correctional institutions. Pretreatment and posttreatment comparisons were made on standardized measures of criminal attitudes, response bias, and motivation for lifestyle changes. Results found statistically significant lower criminal attitudes at posttreatment that were unaffected by response bias. There were also increases in motivation for lifestyle changes, but these did not reach statistical significance. Fifty-seven participants were released into the community following the program and were eligible for recidivism analyses. Comparisons between participants who completed the CAP and those who did not complete the CAP revealed 7% lower rearrest among CAP completers. Although preliminary, these results indicate that the CAP had a positive effect on changes to criminal attitudes and recidivism. The findings are discussed in terms of conceptual and practical considerations in the assessment and treatment of criminal attitudes among offenders.

Psychometric properties of the Socially Desirable Response Set-5 among incarcerated male and female juvenile offenders

The main aim of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Socially Desirable Response Set-5 (SDRS-5) among a forensic sample (N=324) of incarcerated male (n=221) and female (n=103) juvenile offenders. The Portuguese validation of the SDRS-5 demonstrated good psychometric properties, namely in terms of its factor structure, internal consistency, convergent validity, and discriminant validity that overall justifies its use among this population. Findings are discussed in terms of the use of the SDRS-5 with male and female juvenile offenders.

Construct Validity of Almutairi's Critical Cultural Competence Scale

Cultural diversity in health care settings can threaten the well-being of patients, their families, and health care providers. This psychometric study evaluated the construct validity of the recently developed four-factor, 43-item Critical Cultural Competence Scale (CCCS) which was designed to overcome the conceptual limitations of previously developed scales. The study was conducted in Canada with a random sample of 170 registered nurses. Comparisons with the Cultural Competence Assessment instrument, Scale of Ethnocultural Empathy, and Cultural Intelligence Scale provided mixed evidence of convergent validity. Modest correlations were found between the total scale scores suggesting that the CCCS is measuring a more comprehensive and conceptually distinct construct. Stronger correlations were found between the more conceptually similar subscales. Evidence for discriminant validity was also mixed. Results support use of the CCCS to measure health care providers' perceptions of their critical cultural competence though ongoing evaluation is warranted.

Mother and father socially desirable responding in nine countries: Two kinds of agreement and relations to parenting self-reports

We assessed 2 forms of agreement between mothers' and fathers' socially desirable responding in China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand and the United States (N = 1110 families). Mothers and fathers in all 9 countries reported socially desirable responding in the upper half of the distribution, and countries varied minimally (but China was higher than the cross-country grand mean and Sweden lower). Mothers and fathers did not differ in reported levels of socially desirable responding, and mothers' and fathers' socially desirable responding were largely uncorrelated. With one exception, mothers' and fathers' socially desirable responding were similarly correlated with self-perceptions of parenting, and correlations varied somewhat across countries. These findings are set in a discussion of socially desirable responding, cultural psychology and family systems.

Construct and Incremental Validity of the Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank in Adult Psychiatric Outpatients

The expression of positive vs negative attitudes in response to the 40 stems of the Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank (RISB) can be scored and summed to an Overall Adjustment Score (OAS). By extending the validation of the OAS to adult psychiatric outpatients, this study demonstrates for the first time the incremental validity of a personality test over a simple self-rating. The RISB and six tests of adjustment were administered to 41 recent admissions to psychotherapy in two rural clinics. The tests of adjustment were selected to cover the two domains of symptoms vs function and the three methods of interview schedule vs objective inventory vs therapist ratings. Their scores were combined into an adjustment composite. The OAS related strongly to the composite in univariate regression, and moderately in hierarchical regression after covarying demographics, intelligence, social desirability, and self-ratings of adjustment. Construct validity was good, and incremental validity at least fair.

Latent practice profiles of substance abuse treatment counselors: do evidence-based techniques displace traditional techniques?

As more substance abuse treatment counselors begin to use evidence-based treatment techniques, questions arise regarding the continued use of traditional techniques. This study aims to (1) assess whether there are meaningful practice profiles among practitioners reflecting distinct combinations of cognitive-behavioral and traditional treatment techniques; and (2) if so, identify practitioner characteristics associated with the distinct practice profiles. Survey data from 278 frontline counselors working in community substance abuse treatment organizations were used to conduct latent profile analysis. The emergent practice profiles illustrate that practitioners vary most in the use of traditional techniques. Multinomial regression models suggest that practitioners with less experience, more education, and less traditional beliefs about treatment and substance abuse are least likely to mix traditional techniques with cognitive-behavioral techniques. Findings add to the understanding of how evidence-based practices are implemented in routine settings and have implications for training and support of substance abuse treatment counselors.

The Self- and Other-Deception Questionnaires-Intellectual Disabilities (SDQ-ID and ODQ-ID): component analysis and reliability

The objectives of this research were to: (1) investigate the component structure and psychometric properties of the Self- and Other-Deception Questionnaires-Intellectual Disabilities (SDQ-ID and ODQ-ID), (2) examine the relationship between social desirability and IQ, and (3) compare social desirability scores of those with intellectual disabilities (IDs) and a history of criminal offending to the social desirability scores of participants with IDs and those without IDs and no such history, controlling for general intellectual functioning. Men with mild to borderline IDs detained within medium secure inpatient forensic mental health services (N=40) completed the SDQ-ID and ODQ-ID at Time 1 and then two-weeks later at Time 2. Data for the men with and without IDs and no known criminal offending history were taken from a previous study (N=60). Following exploratory Principal Components Analysis, the number of questionnaire items were reduced, and a two-factor structure was found for the SDQ-ID which was labelled: (1) Positive Self Representation and (2) Denial of Intrusive Thoughts. A two-factor structure was also found for the ODQ-ID and these two factors were labelled: (1) Denial of Negative Social Interaction and (2) Untrustworthiness. Both the SDQ-ID and ODQ-ID had acceptable internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Fifteen percent of the variance in SDQ-ID scores was explained by Full Scale IQ, while 21% of the variance in ODQ-ID scores was explained by Full Scale IQ. Between group comparisons controlling for intelligence did not yield any significant differences. The shortened SDQ-ID and ODQ-ID have promising psychometric properties, and their component structures appear robust. Differences between men with and without IDs on these two measures of social desirability can be accounted for by differences in general intellectual functioning.

Absence of social desirability bias in the evaluation of chronic disease self-management interventions

BACKGROUND

Bias due to social desirability has long been of concern to evaluators relying on self-report data. It is conceivable that health program evaluation is particularly susceptible to social desirability bias as individuals may be inclined to present themselves or certain health behaviors in a more positive light and/or appease the course leader. Thus, the influence of social desirability bias on self-report outcomes was explored in the present study.

METHODS

Data were collected from 331 participants of group-based chronic disease self-management interventions using the highly robust eight-scale Health Education Impact Questionnaire (heiQ) and the 13-item short form Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MC-C). The majority of self-management courses were run by community-based organizations across Australia between February 2005 and December 2006 where 6 to 12 individuals have the opportunity to develop considerable rapport with course leaders and each other over about six weeks. Pre-test data were collected on the first day of courses, while post-test and social desirability scores were assessed at the end of courses. A model of partial mediation within the framework of structural equation modeling was developed with social desirability as the mediating variable between pre-test and post-test.

RESULTS

The 'Defensiveness' factor of the MC-C showed clear association with heiQ pre-test data, a prerequisite for investigating mediation; however, when investigating the eight full pre-test/post-test models 'Defensiveness' was only associated with one heiQ scale. This effect was small, explaining 8% of the variance in the model. No other meditational effects through social desirability were observed.

CONCLUSIONS

The overall lack of association of social desirability with heiQ outcomes was surprising as it had been expected that it would explain at least some of the variance observed between pre-test and post-test. With the assumption that the MC-C captures the propensity for an individual to provide socially desirable answers, this study concludes that change scores in chronic disease self-management program evaluation are not biased by social desirability.

Self-compassion: a novel link with symptoms in schizophrenia?

Self-compassion has been linked to both positive aspects of well-being and less psychopathology in nonclinical samples. Although this construct has begun to be investigated in case studies, the clinical correlates of self-compassion for those with schizophrenia spectrum disorders have yet to be explored. This study aimed to explore the relationship between self-compassion, symptoms, and insight in individuals with schizophrenia. A total of 88 participants with either schizophrenia (n = 51) or schizoaffective disorder (n = 37) who were enrolled in a study of metacognition at a Midwestern Veterans Affairs medical center completed measures of self-compassion and insight, along with a symptom interview. Higher self-compassion scores were associated with lower scores on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale positive, excitement, and emotional discomfort symptom scales in addition to poorer insight. Implications for treatment and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Trauma typology as a risk factor for aggression and self-harm in a complex PTSD population: the mediating role of alterations in self-perception

This study examined the role of prolonged, repeated traumatic experiences such as childhood and sectarian trauma in the development of posttraumatic aggression and self-harm. Forty-four adult participants attending therapy for complex trauma in Northern Ireland were obtained via convenience sampling. When social desirability was controlled, childhood emotional and physical neglect were significant correlates of posttraumatic hostility and history of self-harm. These relationships were mediated by alterations in self-perception (e.g., shame, guilt). Severity of sectarian-related experiences was not related to self-destructive behaviors. Moreover, none of the trauma factors were related to overt aggressive behavior. The findings have implications for understanding risk factors for posttraumatic aggression and self-harm, as well as their treatment.

Offenders' attachment and sexual abuse onset: a test of theoretical propositions

Confidential self-report data obtained on 107 adult male child sexual abusers were analyzed to test theoretical propositions concerning the role of attachment problems in the onset of sexual offending. Offenders' parent-child attachment relationships were most frequently characterized by affectionless control, reflecting low parental care and high overprotection and control. Offenders reported significantly less secure attachment with their fathers than with their mothers. Overall, weak continuity from childhood attachment to trait (general) adult attachment was found, with insecure attachment more stable than secure attachment. Childhood attachment problems, particularly with fathers, were more clearly reflected in state adult attachment (i.e., in the month preceding sexual offending onset) than in trait adult attachment. Offenders who were in an adult intimate relationship prior to their onset sexual offense reported significant state increases in attachment avoidance, and their onset offenses were more likely to involve a female familial victim. Offenders who were not in a relationship prior to offending onset were younger, and their onset sexual offenses occurred in much more diverse circumstances. These findings provide tentative evidence that directly and indirectly implicates offenders' attachment problems specifically in the onset of their sexual abuse behavior. Implications for developmental prevention and early intervention, situational prevention, and offender treatment are discussed.

Characteristics of clinically anxious versus non-anxious regular, heavy marijuana users

Both the key mechanism of action for marijuana (the endocannabinoid system) and the symptoms associated with marijuana withdrawal suggest an important link to anxiety. Despite this link, there is a dearth of research on the characteristics of heavy marijuana users with clinical-level anxiety compared to those with heavy marijuana use alone. Over 10,000 participants (friends or affiliates of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) provided data via online survey. After careful, conservative screening, anxiety, other psychopathology, other drug use, and marijuana-related problems were examined in 2567 heavy marijuana users. Subsequently, 275 heavy users with clinical-level anxiety were compared to demographically-equivalent non-anxious heavy users on psychopathology, drug use, and cannabis-related problems. Among several psychological variables (including anxiety, depression, schizotypy, and impulsivity), anxiety was most strongly predictive of amount of marijuana used and marijuana-related problems. Group comparison (n=550 total) revealed that clinically anxious heavy users exhibited more use, more non-anxiety psychopathological symptoms, and a greater number and severity of marijuana-related problems than their non-anxious peers. The findings reveal that anxiety shows an important relation to marijuana use and related problems among regular, heavy users. Further examinations of common and unique factors predisposing individuals for anxiety and marijuana abuse appear warranted.

The role of empathy in anger arousal in violent offenders and university students

A lack of empathic responsiveness toward others has been consistently identified as an important antecedent to aggressive behavior and violent crime, with many rehabilitation programs for violent offenders incorporating treatment modules that are specifically designed to increase offender empathy. This study examined the extent to which cognitive (perspective taking) and affective (empathic concern, personal distress) empathy predicted anger in a clinical (male prisoners convicted of a violent offense) and a nonclinical (student) sample. Perspective taking emerged as the strongest predictor of self-reported anger in response to an interpersonal provocation, as well as being most consistently related to scores on measures of general trait anger and methods of anger control. While the relationship between perspective taking and anger was apparent for offenders as well as students, the results did not support the idea that an inability to perspective take is a particular characteristic of violent offenders.

Spiritual well-being, dissociation, and alexithymia: examining direct and moderating effects

In the present study we surveyed 131 adults seeking psychotherapy and pastoral care in an intensive outpatient psychotherapy program for full-time religious workers. We sought to determine whether dissociation and alexithymia are associated with spiritual well-being. We utilized the Dissociative Experiences Scale-II (DES-II), the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWB) as well as the subscales of these instruments in a series of linear multiple regression analyses. DES-II total scores were inversely related to SWB total scores. No association was found between alexithymia and SWB, nor did alexithymia moderate the relationship between dissociation and SWB. Subscale analyses revealed that lower SWB and Existential Well-Being (EWB) were associated with greater nonpathological dissociation (DES-NP), which was unrelated to Religious Well-Being (RWB). By contrast, lower RWB was predicted by higher pathological dissociation (DES-T), which displayed no relationship to SWB or EWB. We conclude with a discussion of some implications of these findings.

Changes in depressive symptoms among adolescent bariatric candidates from preoperative psychological evaluation to immediately before surgery

BACKGROUND

The preoperative psychological evaluation (including the assessment of depressive symptoms) is an important component in determining adolescent bariatric candidacy. The adult bariatric data have suggested that candidates can engage in "impression management" and underreport depressive symptoms during their preoperative evaluation. The present study examined whether adolescent depressive symptoms among bariatric candidates change during preoperative preparation compared with adolescents with extreme obesity who were not seeking surgery.

METHODS

Adolescent candidates for bariatric surgery (n = 30; 60% female; mean age 16.5 ± 1.4 years) completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) at initial consultation (time 1, mean body mass index [BMI] 64.5 ± 11.5 kg/m(2)) and again immediately preoperatively (time 2, mean interval 4.7 ± 2.9 months; mean BMI 64.4 ± 10.4 kg/m(2)). Comparators (n = 25; 64% female; mean age 16.2 ± 1.2 years; mean BMI 46.5 ± 4.8 kg/m(2)) were studied at enrollment in a research protocol and again 6 months later (mean interval 6.2 ± 0.4 months; mean BMI 46.8 ± 5.0 kg/m(2)). The height and weight were also taken.

RESULTS

We found a small, but statistically significant, difference in the BDI-II scores at time 1, with bariatric candidates reporting greater depressive symptoms (mean 16.6 ± 12.9) than the comparators (mean 10.6 ± 9.0; P < .05). No difference was seen in the BDI-II scores between the bariatric candidates (mean 14.4 ± 12.1) and the comparators (mean 10.4 ± 8.2) at time 2 (P = .17). The change in BDI-II scores for the bariatric candidates showed a trend toward significance (P = .09).

CONCLUSION

These results reinforce the position that the adult bariatric literature does not necessarily generalize to the adolescent bariatric population. They further suggest that impression management might not be a significant concern in the assessment of adolescent bariatric candidates. Future research should examine whether preoperative changes in psychological functioning predict the postoperative outcomes.