Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science

Attachment, motivations, and alcohol: Testing a dual-path model of high-risk drinking and adverse consequences in transitional clinical and student samples.
The purpose of this study was to replicate and extend a motivational model of high-risk drinking and alcohol-related consequences (Cooper, Frone, Russell, & Mudar, 1995; Read, Wood, Kahler, Maddock, & Palfai, 2003), testing the notion that attachment is a common antecedent for both the affective and social paths to problem drinking, defined in terms of 2 dimensions; high-risk drinking and alcohol-related consequences. First-year university students (N = 696), and first-time clients at an addiction treatment facility (N = 213) completed questionnaires assessing alcohol use, alcohol-related consequences, drinking motives, and attachment style. Results underscored the importance of the affective path to drinking patterns and to vulnerability to problems. Results also found that those with higher levels of attachment anxiety were more vulnerable to experiencing adverse consequences related to their drinking. These findings emphasise the importance of attachment styles as a risk factor for high-risk drinking and experiencing alcohol-related consequences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
Évolution du trouble d’opposition et du trouble des conduites au cours de l’enfance.
This study aimed at describing the evolution of the symptoms of the oppositional disorder and conducts disorder on a 4-year period (3 times of measurement), depending on whether both disorders appear simultaneously or separately. The sample was composed of 336 children (6–13 years-old), separated in three groups according to the nature of the disorder they presented at the beginning of the study: oppositional disorder only, conducts disorder only, both oppositional and conducts disorders. Structured diagnostic interviews based on the diagnostic criterions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4 éd., texte rév.; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) were used in order to evaluate the average number of symptoms associated to each disorder at each time of measurement. Multilevel regression analysis suggest that the initial co-occurrence of the disorders is neither associated to the evolution of the symptoms of the conducts disorder nor to those of the oppositional disorder. However, this co-occurrence, that can also include the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, can increase the number of symptoms in children, which likely contributes to maintain the diagnostics in some cases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
Conceptualizing political orientation in Canadian political candidates: A tale of two (correlated) dimensions.
Political orientation is often operationalized as a unidimensional left–right continuum. However, some research suggests that this conceptualization might be overly simplistic. The present study examined the structure of political orientation in a sample of 190 politicians who were candidates in the 2006 Canadian federal election. Participants completed measures of attitudes toward specific political issues (social conservatism issues, economic competition issues), ideological beliefs (right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation), and abstract values (conservation, self-enhancement) as indicators of political orientation. Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that the structure of political orientation was explained best by 2 moderately correlated dimensions: social left–right and economic left–right. Differences in the political orientation indicators between political parties are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
La consommation de substances psychoactives chez les délinquants juvéniles à haut risque de récidive: Enjeux psychométriques.
Substance abuse and criminal activity are closely related phenomena. Substance abuse is also one of the risks and needs linked to criminogenic factors and increases the risk of re-offending among adolescent offenders. Identification of this problem is therefore important in guiding interventions directed at such clients. The concomitant validity of an instrument used to screen problem consumption of alcohol and drugs among adolescents (DEP-ADO) and scale 5 (substance abuse) of the YLS-CMI (research version) was studied. Their convergence with a self-related delinquency questionnaire was also verified. Data were also collected on four occasions from adolescent offenders at high risk of re-offending (N = 99) who were receiving services at the Centre jeunesse de Montréal-Institut universitaire. The results support a close relation between substance abuse and self-related delinquency. The two instruments converge in identifying offenders who are problematic substance users. However, scale 5 of the YLS-CMI appears to lead to an overestimation of positive cases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
Profils de buts d’apprentissage et caractéristiques personnelles des élèves au début du secondaire.
The present study pursued two goals. The first goal was to explore the presence of students’ learning goals profiles during the beginning of middle school, using cluster analyses procedure. The second goal was to examine whether these profiles are related to academic (motivation, feeling of competence, and achievement) and emotional (anxiety and depression) characteristics. Three hundred ten adolescents participated in this study. Results of cluster analyses showed the presence of different learning goals profiles (high mastery, mixed, mastery-avoidance, and low engaged). Furthermore, results indicated that students in high mastery and mixed profiles are better adapted than students in mastery-avoidance and low engaged profiles, particularly in regard of academic characteristics. On the whole, these findings suggest that considering heterogeneous profiles of learning goals at the beginning of middle school appears quite useful to better understanding students’ academic and emotional characteristics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
A prospective investigation of the vulnerability of memory for positive and negative emotional scenes to the misinformation effect.
This study examined (prospectively) the impact of the emotional content of visual scenes on memory accuracy and susceptibility to misinformation over time. After viewing a highly positive and highly negative photographic image, half of participants (N = 80) were exposed to misinformation concerning the images and later responded to a series of questions about the details of each. After 1 week or 1 month, participants returned and were asked (unexpectedly) about the images. Overall, memories of misled participants were substantially less accurate than nonmisled participants, a pattern persisting at 1-week and 1-month follow-up, although the passage of time decreased accuracy of all participants. Relative to positive images, negative images were associated with a greater susceptibility to false memories for a major misleading detail at both sessions. Thus, relative to positive emotion, negative emotion specifically heightens suggestibility in the presence of major misinformation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
Définition d’un trouble grave du comportement chez les personnes ayant une déficience intellectuelle.
In this study, the Delphi method was used to reach a consensus, among Quebec experts (n = 57) in the field of intellectual disability (ID) and serious behavioural disorders (SBD), on a definition of “behavioural problem” and of “serious behavioural disorder,” as well as on the determination of the gravity factors of a behavioural problem. These professionals in the field work at rehabilitation centres for persons with ID or SBD, or in a university setting. Two rounds of consultation produced at least an 85% level of agreement on the two definitions and on 14 of the 15 factors to establish the gravity of a behavioural problem. Results of the study are presented along with their impact on specialized services for persons with ID or SBD and on research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
Correction to Tremblay et al (2009).
Reports an error in "Work Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation Scale: Its value for organizational psychology research" by Maxime A. Tremblay, Céline M. Blanchard, Sara Taylor, Luc G. Pelletier and Martin Villeneuve (Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 2009[Oct], Vol 41[4], 213-226). In this article, line 2 of the second table was missing from the printed article. The correct table is reprinted in this correction. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2009-18333-004.) The Work Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation Scale (WEIMS) is an 18-item measure of work motivation theoretically grounded in self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000). The purpose of the present research was twofold. First, the applicability of the WEIMS in different work environments was evaluated. Second, its factorial structure and psychometric properties were assessed. Two samples of workers (military: N = 465; civilians: N = 192) voluntarily completed questionnaires. Using the WEIMS’s 3 indexes (work self-determination index, work self-determined and nonself-determined motivation, respectively), results of regression analyses were supportive of its ability to predict positive and negative criteria in the workplace. Results also showed the adequacy of both its construct validity and internal consistency. Its factorial structure was also invariant across samples. Finally, its quasi-simplex pattern and relationships with psychological correlates further supported the self-determination continuum. Overall, these findings provide evidence for the applicability as well as the reliability and validity of the WEIMS in organisational settings. Results are discussed in regard to the applicability of self-determination theory to the workplace. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)

Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement - Vol 42, Iss 1