Multifactorial Construct Research Articles

Long-term efficacy and safety of once-daily mesalazine granules for the treatment of active ulcerative colitis.

In 1977, 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) was discovered as a therapeutically active moiety of sulfasalazine (SASP) and was launched for topical and oral therapy of ulcerative colitis (UC) in 1984. As a first-step, delivery systems had to be developed to protect 5-ASA against absorption in the upper gastrointestinal tract, resulting in different and competing strategies (azo compounds, controlled release, and pH-dependent release). In a second step, at the beginning of the new century, coinciding with the expiration of patent protection for the first 5-ASA formulations, two component composite release mechanisms (pH-dependent and controlled release) were developed. Furthermore, the drug was formulated as granules instead of tablets, allowing higher unit strengths compared with tablets. Neither Salofalk Granu-Stix®, nor MMX 5-ASA, nor Pentasa® granules have initially been developed for once-daily (OD) dosing. A review of the achievements of 20 years of 5-ASA development has demonstrated that 5-ASA has equal efficacy compared with SASP at best, that there are no measurable differences in efficacy between various 5-ASA preparations, and that in a group of patients tolerating SASP, adverse event profiles of SASP and 5-ASA did not differ significantly, with SASP being the far cheaper substance. Therefore, drug adherence came into focus as a new goal for improving UC therapy. Although adherence is a complex and multifactorial construct, a simple dosing schedule may contribute to higher drug adherence and better efficacy of treatment. Simultaneously, the US 5-ASA market, estimated to be worth US$1.4 billion, is expected to grow continuously. Naturally, this very competitive market is not only driven by scientific progress but also by commercial interests. Thus, patents for minor changes to the formulation may serve as protection against drug companies trying to launch generic versions. Randomized controlled trials performed on OD dosing in induction of remission have demonstrated that OD administration of 5-ASA is as effective as conventional dosing in mild to moderate active UC. The three 5-ASA products MMX, Salofalk®, and Pentasa® employed in those studies so far have not shown differences in efficacy between OD and conventional dosing. No differences regarding safety outcomes have been detected between OD and conventional dosing, including incidence of adverse events, serious adverse events, or withdrawal from treatment due to an adverse event. Although the majority of patients prefer OD dosing to conventional dosing, it was not possible to detect differences in adherence between OD and multiple dose regimens in the clinical trial setting. Well-designed and controlled large-scale community-based studies are necessary to further investigate and prove the point of improved long-term adherence and treatment efficacy in OD dosing.

When self-report diverges from performance: The usage of BIS-11 along with neuropsychological tests

Impulsivity has been fractionated into multiple independent, but correlated, components. Personality and neuropsychological studies have consistently shown its multidimensional nature. Each theoretical approach uses different techniques such as self-report questionnaires and neuropsychological tests to assess impulsivity, respectively. Our main objective was to investigate if there is evidence of convergent validity for impulsivity as assessed by both types of measures. We administered the Barratt Impulsivity Scale 11 and two neuropsychological tests (Iowa Gambling Task and Continuous Performance Task) to 266 participants to measure inhibition control and non-planning impulsivity dimensions. Results from an exploratory factorial analysis and group comparison indicated there was little evidence of convergent validity between the two types of measures. These findings are discussed in terms of impulsivity as a multi-factorial construct as well as the specific instruments used for assessment. Implications for psychological theory and impulsivity assessment were also proposed.

Instrumentos eletrónicos para avaliar atividade física em crianças: Uma revisão sistemática

Physical activity is a multifactorial construct that can be evaluated by objective and subjective methods. The aim of this study was to identify studies that selected electronic instruments to assess physical activity in children and verify the validity and reliability of these instruments. We conducted a systematic literature review (January 2000 to July 2011) in the following databases: Scopus, ScienceDirect, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Medline, Scielo and Lilacs, using descriptors of the terms online questionnaire, web questionnaire, physical activity, motor activity, children, child and its correlates in Portuguese. We analyzed 11 studies. Six studies aimed to validate the measures of physical activity obtained with electronic questionnaires versus the measurements obtained with accelerometers or pedometers. The correlations ranged from weak to moderate and the intraclass correlation coefficients ranged from .75 to .98. We identified few studies that used electronic questionnaire to assess physical activity in children, none in Brazil. The electronic questionnaires were valid and reliable, offering advantages over the printed instruments, since takes less time to fill-in and are more attractive.

Sexuality and Sexual Pleasure After Sexual Assault

Sexual dysfunction represents a complex and multifactorial construct that can affect both men and women and has been noted to often deteriorate significantly after treatment for rectal and anal cancer. Despite this, it remains an understudied, underreported, and undertreated issue in the field of cancer survivorship.This study examined the characteristics of women enrolled in an intervention trial to treat sexual dysfunction, and explored the relationship between sexual functioning and psychological well‐being.There were 70 female posttreatment anal or rectal cancer survivors assessed as part of the current study. Participants were enrolled in a randomized intervention trial to treat sexual dysfunction and completed outcome measures prior to randomization.The main outcome measures are quality of life (QOL) (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Quality of Life Questionnaire [EORTC‐QLQ‐C30] and Colorectal Cancer‐Specific Module [QLQ‐CR38]), sexual functioning (Female Sexual Functioning Index), and psychological well‐being (Brief Symptom Inventory Depression/Anxiety, Impact of Events Scale‐Revised, CR‐38 Body Image).Women enrolled in the study intervention were on average 55 years old, predominantly Caucasian (79%), married (57%), and a median of 4 years postprimary treatment. For those reporting sexual activity at baseline (N = 41), sexual dysfunction was associated with a range of specific measures of psychological well‐being, all in the hypothesized direction. The Sexual/Relationship Satisfaction subscale was associated with all measures of psychological well‐being (r = −0.45 to −0.70, all P < 0.01). Body image, anxiety, and cancer‐specific posttraumatic distress were notable in their association with subscales of sexual functioning, while a global QOL measure was largely unrelated.For sexually active female rectal and anal cancer survivors enrolled in a sexual health intervention, sexual dysfunction was significantly and consistently associated with specific measures of psychological well‐being, most notably Sexual/Relationship Satisfaction. These results suggest that sexual functioning may require focused assessment by providers, beyond broad QOL assessments, and that attention to Sexual/Relationship Satisfaction may be critical in the development and implementation of interventions for this cohort of patients. Philip EJ, Nelson C, Temple L, Carter J, Schover L, Jennings S, Jandorf L, Starr T, Baser R, and DuHamel K. Psychological correlates of sexual dysfunction in female rectal and anal cancer survivors: Analysis of baseline intervention data. J Sex Med 2013;10:2539–2548.

Psychological Correlates of Sexual Dysfunction in Female Rectal and Anal Cancer Survivors: Analysis of Baseline Intervention Data

Sexual dysfunction represents a complex and multifactorial construct that can affect both men and women and has been noted to often deteriorate significantly after treatment for rectal and anal cancer. Despite this, it remains an understudied, underreported, and undertreated issue in the field of cancer survivorship. This study examined the characteristics of women enrolled in an intervention trial to treat sexual dysfunction, and explored the relationship between sexual functioning and psychological well-being. There were 70 female posttreatment anal or rectal cancer survivors assessed as part of the current study. Participants were enrolled in a randomized intervention trial to treat sexual dysfunction and completed outcome measures prior to randomization. The main outcome measures are quality of life (QOL) (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Quality of Life Questionnaire [EORTC-QLQ-C30] and Colorectal Cancer-Specific Module [QLQ-CR38]), sexual functioning (Female Sexual Functioning Index), and psychological well-being (Brief Symptom Inventory Depression/Anxiety, Impact of Events Scale-Revised, CR-38 Body Image). Women enrolled in the study intervention were on average 55 years old, predominantly Caucasian (79%), married (57%), and a median of 4 years postprimary treatment. For those reporting sexual activity at baseline (N=41), sexual dysfunction was associated with a range of specific measures of psychological well-being, all in the hypothesized direction. The Sexual/Relationship Satisfaction subscale was associated with all measures of psychological well-being (r=-0.45 to -0.70, all P<0.01). Body image, anxiety, and cancer-specific posttraumatic distress were notable in their association with subscales of sexual functioning, while a global QOL measure was largely unrelated. For sexually active female rectal and anal cancer survivors enrolled in a sexual health intervention, sexual dysfunction was significantly and consistently associated with specific measures of psychological well-being, most notably Sexual/Relationship Satisfaction. These results suggest that sexual functioning may require focused assessment by providers, beyond broad QOL assessments, and that attention to Sexual/Relationship Satisfaction may be critical in the development and implementation of interventions for this cohort of patients.

High‐throughput cognitive assessment using BrainTest.org: examining cognitive control in a family cohort

Introduction Understanding the relationship between brain and complex latent behavioral constructs like cognitive control will require an inordinate amount of data. Internet-based methods can rapidly and efficiently refine behavioral measures in very large samples that are needed for genetics and behavioral research. Cognitive control is a multifactorial latent construct that is considered to be an endophenotype in numerous neuropsychiatric disorders, including attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). While previous studies have demonstrated high correlations between Web- and lab-based scores, skepticism remains for its broad implementation. Methods Here, we promote a different approach by characterizing a completely Web-recruited and tested community family sample on measures of cognitive control. We examine the prevalence of attention deficit symptoms in an online community sample of adolescents, demonstrate familial correlations in cognitive control measures, and use construct validation techniques to validate our high-throughput assessment approach. Results A total of 1214 participants performed Web-based tests of cognitive control with over 200 parent–child pairs analyzed as part of the primary study aims. The data show a wide range of “subclinical” symptomatology in a web community sample of adolescents that supports a dimensional view of attention and also provide preliminary narrow-sense heritability estimates for commonly used working memory and response inhibition tests. Conclusions Finally, we show strong face and construct validity for these measures of cognitive control that generally exceeds the evidence required of new lab-based measures. We discuss these results and how broad implementation of this platform may allow us to uncover important brain–behavior relationships quickly and efficiently.

Health Anxiety, Cognitive Coping, and Emotion Regulation: A Latent Variable Approach

Health anxiety, the fear or conviction of suffering from a severe disorder, represents a dimensional and multifactorial construct consisting of cognitive, behavioral, affective, and perceptual components. It has recently been proposed that dysfunctional emotion regulation strategies contribute to health anxiety, but the empirical evidence for this claim is sparse. The current research was aimed at broadly exploring and clarifying possible relationships between dimensions of health anxiety and cognitive coping and emotion regulation strategies. In two studies with non-clinical samples (n study 1 = 172; n study 2 = 242), health anxiety, cognitive coping, and emotion regulation strategies were assessed using multidimensional self-report measures. Functional (e.g., reappraisal) and dysfunctional (e.g., rumination) cognitive coping and emotion regulation strategies were differentiated. Using structural equation modeling, the results of Study 1 revealed significant and consistent associations between the dimensions of health anxiety and dysfunctional coping and emotion regulation strategies. Study 2 replicated and extended the main findings of Study 1 by demonstrating that the associations between health anxiety and strategies of coping and emotion regulation were independent of the current level of depressive symptoms. Health anxiety was found to be associated with dysfunctional coping and emotion regulation strategies (e.g., suppression). The positive associations between behavioral dimensions of health anxiety (e.g., seeking reassurance) and dysfunctional coping strategies may suggest that behavioral dimensions of health anxiety serve as a compensatory strategy to overcome difficulties in cognitive coping.

Reliability and Construct Validity of Factors Underlying the Emotional Intelligence of Iranian EFL Teachers

Home Journal Archive V1N3A8 Reliability and construct validity of factors underlying the emotional intelligence of Iranian EFL teachers Ebrahim Khodadady Ferdowsi University of Mashhad Saaber Andargani Tabriz Ferdowsi University of Mashhad International Branch, Mashhad, Iran ABSTRACT The 133-item Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i) designed by Bar-On (1997) and translated by Dehshiry (2003) was revised and modified by removing the response validity items, changing reverse indicators into positively worded statements and revising the remaining 117 Persian indicators on the basis of schema theory. It was administered to 669 instructors most of whom were teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) in national branches of Iran Language Institute in 15 cities. The application of the Principal Axis Factoring to the data and rotating the extracted factors via Varimax with Kaiser Normalization yielded 15 latent variables (LVs) called Humanistic, Self-Satisfying, Self-Confident, Self-Aware, Self-Controlled, Research-Oriented, Content, Sociable, Empathetic, Tolerant, Flexible, Realistic, Independent, Emotional and Happy in this study. Not only did the modified Persian EQ-I proved to be more reliable than its original version, but also its thirteen LVs reached very high and acceptable levels of reliability. With the exception of the last, all the LVs also correlated significantly with each other and thus established the EI as a multifactorial construct whose constituting LVs are closely related to each other. The findings question correlating the so-called competences of EI and offer employing the factorially valid LVs as the best factors to explore the relationship between EI and variables involved in teaching and learning EFL.

Fatigue in Parkinson's Disease (P06.052)

Objective: To assess the relationship between the Fatigue item on the MDS-UPDRS and other non-motor and motor symptoms of Parkinson9s disease (PD) as measured by the newly developed scale. Background Patients with PD report a high incidence of fatigue though it remains a poorly understood symptom. It is not clear whether fatigue relates to a single or multiple motor and non-motor symptoms of PD and what are the relative contributions of these associated symptoms to fatigue. Design/Methods: A retrospective analysis assessing the relationships between the Fatigue item (1.13) and different non-motor and motor components of MDS-UPDRS, was performed using the MDS-UPDRS validation database consisting of 877 subjects. Individual items exceeding a Kendall9s correlation of 0.20 (p Results: Fatigue showed stronger correlations with MDS-UPDRS items in Parts I and II (Non-motor Experiences of Daily Living and Motor Experiences of Daily Living), compared to items in Parts III and IV (Motor Examination and Motor Complications). Among the 24 motor and non-motor items that met criteria to enter the logistic regression, only six items significantly contributed, all derived from Parts I and II: Hobbies and Other activities contributed most to Fatigue (p Conclusions: Fatigue, as assessed by MDS-UPDRS, is a multi-factorial construct rather than being related to a single symptom. Mood, sleep and vegetative symptoms contribute significantly to ratings of fatigue, while motor symptoms do not. Whereas cause and effect relationships cannot be established, treatment of these non-motor associates to fatigue may offer options to abate fatigue. Disclosure: Dr. Homayoun has nothing to disclose. Dr. Stebbins has received personal compensation for activities with Impax Laboratories, Inc., Ceregene, Inc., Biovail Technologies, Ltd., Santhera Pharmaceuticals, and Ingenix Pharmaceutical Services. Dr. Stebbins has received research support from the National Institutes of Health, American Cancer Society, the Michael J. Fox Foundation, and Fragile-X Foundation. Dr. Tilley has received personal compensation for activities with Pfizer Inc, Human Genome and Novartis as a participant on a data and safety monitoring board and/or advisor. Dr. Goetz has received personal compensation for activities with Asubio Pharmaceuticals Inc., Campbell Alliance, CNS Therapeutics, Curry Rockerfeller Group, Health Advances, Impax Pharmaceuticals, Ingenix, Juvantia Pharma LTD as a consultant and participant on an advisory board. Dr. Goetz has received personal compensation in an editorial capacity for Movement Disorders and Oxford University Press. Dr. Goetz has received research support from Michael J. Fox Foundation, National Institute of Health and Parkinson9s Disease Foundation.

Adherencia a la quimioterapia y radioterapia en pacientes oncológicos: una revisión de la literatura

Objetivo: Realizar una revisión de la literatura sobre la adherencia a la quimioterapia y a la radioterapia para el cáncer, por los altos costos biopsicosociales y culturales que acarrean y que están relacionados con bajas tasas de adherencia. Método: se realizó una búsqueda de la literatura en bases de datos especializadas utilizando las palabras clave. Resultados: Debido a que existe un porcentaje significativo de pacientes que no se adhieren a los tratamientos oncológicos y a que las consecuencias de no hacerlo pueden desencadenar un mayor riesgo de muerte o progresión de la enfermedad, es fundamental abordar este tema y para esto tener en cuenta las diferentes variables de tipo biológico, psicológico y social que influyen en la conducta de adherencia o no adherencia a los tratamientos, entre ellas la experimentación de efectos secundarios, la motivación, la capacidad de toma de decisiones, el estado emocional, la autonomía y la filosofía de vida de cada paciente. Esta investigación contribuye a que el personal de salud tenga más elementos para abordar esta problemática y así sus intervenciones sean más efectivas pudiendo incrementar la adherencia en los pacientes. Conclusiones: La adherencia es un constructo multifactorial y multideterminado, ampliamente estudiado en tratamientos no oncológicos (p.e. SIDA) y hay poca investigación que avale la eficacia de las intervenciones psicológicas para abordar la no adherencia y promover la adherencia a tratamientos oncológicos.

The Self-Transcendence Scale

Self-transcendence, the ability to expand personal boundaries in multiple ways, has been found to provide well-being. The purpose of this study was to examine the dimensionality of the Norwegian version of the Self-Transcendence Scale, which comprises 15 items. Reed's empirical nursing theory of self-transcendence provided the theoretical framework; self-transcendence includes an interpersonal, intrapersonal, transpersonal, and temporal dimension. Cross-sectional data were obtained from a sample of 202 cognitively intact elderly patients in 44 Norwegian nursing homes. Exploratory factor analysis revealed two and four internally consistent dimensions of self-transcendence, explaining 35.3% (two factors) and 50.7% (four factors) of the variance, respectively. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the hypothesized two- and four-factor models fitted better than the one-factor model (cx (2), root mean square error of approximation, standardized root mean square residual, normed fit index, nonnormed fit index, comparative fit index, goodness-of-fit index, and adjusted goodness-of-fit index). The findings indicate self-transcendence as a multifactorial construct; at present, we conclude that the two-factor model might be the most accurate and reasonable measure of self-transcendence. This research generates insights in the application of the widely used Self-Transcendence Scale by investigating its psychometric properties by applying a confirmatory factor analysis. It also generates new research-questions on the associations between self-transcendence and well-being.

Components of behavioural impulsivity and automatic cue approach predict unique variance in hazardous drinking

Hazardous drinking is associated with both increased impulsivity and automatic approach tendencies elicited by alcohol-related cues. However, impulsivity is a multi-factorial construct, and it is currently unclear if all components of impulsivity are associated with heavy drinking. Furthermore, emerging evidence suggests that the relationships between hazardous drinking and automatic alcohol cognitions may be moderated by individual differences in impulsivity. The aim of this study was to investigate the independence of measures of impulsivity and their association with hazardous drinking, and to examine if the relationship between hazardous drinking and automatic alcohol approach tendencies would be moderated by individual differences in impulsivity. Ninety-seven social drinkers (65 female) completed questionnaire measures of trait impulsivity, alcohol consumption and hazardous drinking. Participants also completed computerised measures of automatic alcohol approach tendencies (stimulus-response compatibility (SRC) task), and two behavioural measures of impulsivity (Go/No-go and delay discounting tasks). Principal component analysis revealed that the two measures of behavioural impulsivity were distinct from each other and from self-reported trait impulsivity, although self-reported non-planning impulsivity loaded on to two factors (trait impulsivity and delay discounting). Furthermore, all measures of impulsivity predicted unique variance in hazardous drinking as did automatic alcohol approach tendencies, although the latter relationship was not moderated by impulsivity. These results indicate that multiple components of impulsivity and automatic alcohol approach tendencies explain unique variance in hazardous drinking.

Effects of smoking abstinence on impulsive behavior among smokers high and low in ADHD-like symptoms

Impulsivity, a multifaceted construct that includes inhibitory control and heightened preference for immediate reward, is central to models of drug use and abuse. Within a self-medication framework, abstinence from smoking may lead to an increase in impulsive behavior and the likelihood of relapse, particularly among persons with disorders (e.g., attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, ADHD) and personality traits (e.g., impulsivity) linked to impulsive behavior. This study aimed to examine the effects of smoking abstinence on multiple measures of impulsivity among a non-clinical sample of adult smokers selected for high and low levels of ADHD symptoms. In a within-subjects design, participants selected for high or low levels of self-reported ADHD symptoms (N = 56) completed sessions following overnight abstinence and when smoking as usual (order counterbalanced). Measures of impulsive behavior included response inhibition (i.e., stop signal task), interference control (i.e., attentional modification of prepulse inhibition (PPI) of startle), and impulsive choice (i.e., hypothetical delay discounting). As hypothesized, abstinence decreased response inhibition and PPI. Although ADHD symptoms moderated abstinence effects on impulsive choice and response inhibition, the pattern was opposite to our predictions: the low-ADHD group responded more impulsively when abstinent, whereas the high-ADHD group was relatively unaffected by abstinence. These findings highlight the importance of utilizing multiple laboratory measures to examine a multifactorial construct such as impulsive behavior and raise questions about how best to assess symptoms of ADHD and impulsivity among non-abstinent smokers.

Early Life Events: Infants with Pyloric Stenosis Have a Higher Risk of Developing Chronic Abdominal Pain in Childhood

We hypothesize that children who had pyloric stenosis are at greater risk for developing chronic abdominal pain because this cohort combines various risk factors: an early stressful event, gastric surgery, and perioperative nasogastric tube placement in most cases. This was a case control study of all children diagnosed with pyloric stenosis during infancy (cases) between January 1, 2000, and June 31, 2005, at Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago. Because of their similar genetic and socioeconomic backgrounds, siblings aged 4 to 20 years without a history of pyloric stenosis were selected as controls. Parents of children with symptoms completed the parental form of the Pediatric GI Symptoms Rome III version questionnaire for both cases and controls. The primary outcome was the prevalence of chronic abdominal pain, and the secondary outcome was the presence of pain-associated functional gastrointestinal disorder (FGID), in accordance with Rome III criteria. Cases (n = 100; mean age, 7.49 ± 1.43 years; 29 girls) and controls (n = 91; mean age, 9.20 ± 4.19 years; 29 girls) participated in the study. Mean time to follow-up was 7.2 ± 1.6 years. Chronic abdominal pain was significantly more common in cases than in controls (20/80 [25%] vs 5/91 [5.8%]; OR, 4.3; 95% CI, 1.5-12; P = .0045). Seven out of 20 subjects (35%) met the Rome III criteria for diagnosis of a pain-associated FGID (3 with irritable bowel syndrome, 2 with functional dyspepsia, and 2 with functional abdominal pain), and 1 patient in the control group (with irritable bowel syndrome) met these criteria (OR, 6.8; 95% CI, 0.82-56; P = .043). We have described a new model to study early life events in infants. Our findings suggest that the presence of pyloric stenosis in infancy and factors involved in its perioperative care represent risk factors in the development of chronic abdominal pain in children at long-term follow-up. This study provides important data to sustain the multifactorial theoretical construct of pain-associated FGID and underscores the importance of early life events in the development of chronic abdominal pain in children.

Acculturation

Acculturation is a concept that has utility in nursing practice and research. It is a dynamic, multifactorial construct that has been used as a variable in psychology, sociology, epidemiology, medicine, business, education, and nursing. Walker and Avant's method of concept analysis is used to formulate an operational definition of acculturation.

CNTRICS Final Task Selection: Long-Term Memory

Long-term memory (LTM) is a multifactorial construct, composed of different stages of information processing and different cognitive operations that are mediated by distinct neural systems, some of which may be more responsible for the marked memory problems that limit the daily function of individuals with schizophrenia. From the outset of the CNTRICS initiative, this multidimensionality was appreciated, and an effort was made to identify the specific memory constructs and task paradigms that hold the most promise for immediate translational development. During the second CNTRICS meeting, the LTM group identified item encoding and retrieval and relational encoding and retrieval as key constructs. This article describes the process that the LTM group went through in the third and final CNTRICS meeting to select nominated tasks within the 2 LTM constructs and within a reinforcement learning construct that were judged most promising for immediate development. This discussion is followed by each nominating authors' description of their selected task paradigm, ending with some thoughts about future directions.

Methylphenidate improves response inhibition but not reflection–impulsivity in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

RationaleImpulsivity is a cardinal feature of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which is thought to underlie many of the cognitive and behavioural symptoms associated with the disorder. Impairments on some measures of impulsivity have been shown to be responsive to pharmacotherapy. However, impulsivity is a multi-factorial construct and the degree to which different forms of impulsivity contribute to impairments in ADHD or respond to pharmacological treatments remains unclear.ObjectivesThe aims of the study were to assess the effects of methylphenidate (MPH) on the performance of children with ADHD on measures of reflection–impulsivity and response inhibition and to compare with the performance of healthy volunteers.MethodsTwenty-one boys (aged 7–13 years) diagnosed with ADHD underwent a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of MPH (0.5 mg/kg) during which they performed the Information Sampling Task (IST) and the Stop Signal Task. A healthy age- and education-matched control group was tested on the same measures without medication.ResultsChildren with ADHD were impaired on measures of response inhibition, but did not demonstrate reflection–impulsivity on the IST. However, despite sampling a similar amount of information as their peers, the ADHD group made more poor decisions. MPH improved performance on measures of response inhibition and variability of response, but did not affect measures of reflection–impulsivity or quality of decision-making.ConclusionsMPH differentially affected two forms of impulsivity in children with ADHD and failed to ameliorate their poor decision-making on the information sampling test.

Conceptualizing gratitude and appreciation as a unitary personality trait

Gratitude and appreciation are currently measured using three self-report instruments, the GQ6 (1 scale), the Appreciation Scale (8 scales), and the GRAT (3 scales). Two studies were conducted to test how these three instruments are interrelated, whether they exist under the same higher order factor or factors, and whether gratitude and appreciation is a single or multi-factorial construct. In Study 1 ( N = 206) all 12 scales were subjected to an exploratory factor analysis. Both parallel analysis and the minimum average partial method indicated a clear one-factor solution. In Study 2 ( N = 389) multigroup confirmatory factor analysis supported the one-factor structure, demonstrated the invariance of this structure across gender, and ruled out the confounding effect of socially desirable responding. We conclude gratitude and appreciation are a single-factor personality trait. We suggest integration of gratitude and appreciation literatures and provide a clearer conceptualization of gratitude.

Working memory limitations in children with severe language impairment

In the present study, the relations of various aspects of working memory to various aspects of language problems in a clinical sample of 97 Dutch speaking 5-year-old children with severe language problems were studied. The working memory and language abilities of the children were examined using an extensive battery of tests. Working memory was operationalized according to the model of Baddeley. Confirmative factor analyses revealed three memory factors: phonological, visual and central executive. Language was construed as a multifactorial construct, and confirmative factor analyses revealed four factors: lexical-semantic abilities, phonological abilities, syntactic abilities and speech production abilities. Moderate to high correlations were found between the memory and language factors. Structural equation modelling was used to further explore the relations between the different factors. Phonological memory was found to predict phonological abilities; central-executive memory predicted lexical-semantic abilities; and visual memory predicted speech production abilities. Phonological abilities also predicted syntactic abilities. Both the theoretical and clinical implications of the findings are discussed. Learning outcomes: The reader will be introduced to the concepts of multifactorial components of working memory as well as language impairment. Secondly the reader will recognize that working memory and language impairment factors can be related. Particular emphasis will be placed on phonological memory, central-executive memory and visual memory and their possible prediction of specific components of language impairment.

Assessing asymmetric effects in the formation of employee satisfaction

Employee satisfaction is a central concern in the service industry in general and in hospitality and tourism in particular. Employee satisfaction is typically viewed as a multi-factorial construct, assuming that some satisfaction factors are more important than others. In this study we investigate whether there is an asymmetric relationship between satisfaction involving single satisfaction factors and overall employee satisfaction. Two theories serve as a framework: prospect theory and the three-factor theory of customer satisfaction, which can be understood as an extension of Herzberg's two-factor theory, adapted to explain the formation of customer satisfaction. The authors report the findings of an empirical study (N=752) in the Austrian hotel industry that tests this asymmetric relationship using a regression analysis with dummy variables. The authors find an asymmetric relationship between satisfaction involving individual factors and overall employee satisfaction, thereby confirming the three-factor theory in the context of employee satisfaction.