The measurement of sexual attitudes is important, and ease of scale usability is one key aspect of measurement. This paper details three studies conducted to develop a briefer and thus more efficient version of the multidimensional Sexual Attitudes Scale (43 items). The first two studies (I and II) employed existing data sets to develop a 23-item version of the Sexual Attitudes Scale, using exploratory factor analysis in Study I and confirmatory factor analysis in Study II. The same four subscales of Permissiveness, Birth Control (formerly called Sexual Practices), Communion, and Instrumentality were retained in the 23-item measure, called the Brief Sexual Attitudes Scale. Study III was a prospective data collection using only the 23 items composing the Brief Sexual Attitudes Scale. The four subscales were hypothesized to correlate with a number of relationship measures in predictable ways. Results indicated that the Brief Sexual Attitudes Scale is a reliable and valid measure of the four sexual attitudes, and has strong psychometric properties. It should be effective and efficient for both research and clinical uses.

Two studies examined depressed and nondepressed perceivers' characterizations and thoughtful inferences about the behaviors of another person. In Study 1, depressed and nondepressed participants under a cognitive load or no load were asked to make either dispositional (ability) or situational (task ease) inferences about a target's videotaped performance. When cognitive resources were limited, depressed compared with nondepressed individuals made more pessimistic characterizations. No depression-related differences were found when sufficient cognitive resources were available for inferential correction. Study 2 provided evidence that the depressed-nondepressed differences in characterizations could be accounted for by schema-based future-event expectancies (S. M. Andersen, L. A. Spielman, & J. A. Bargh, 1992). Results are examined in light of previous failures to find consistent differences as a function of level of depression in inferences about others.

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There is limited research evidence about the specific factors influencing disordered eating for lesbian and bisexual women. Therefore, this study investigated relationships among binge eating, internalized homophobia, shame, depression, and distress tolerance in a sample of lesbian (n=72) and bisexual women (n=66). Two hypotheses were tested. First, it was hypothesized that shame and depression would mediate the relationship between internalized homophobia and binge eating. Second, it was hypothesized that distress tolerance would moderate the relationship between shame and binge eating and the relationship between depression and binge eating in the mediation relationships proposed in the first hypothesis. Results indicated that shame was a significant mediator for the relationship between internalized homophobia and binge eating, that depression was not a significant mediator, and that distress tolerance did not moderate the significant mediation relationship between shame and binge eating. The data in this study also indicated that the proportions of lesbian and bisexual participants who reported binge eating and compensatory behavior did not differ significantly, but that bisexual participants reported significantly more depression and shame than lesbian participants.

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Two studies provide construct validity evidence for the Causal Uncertainty Scale. In the first study, the factor structure of the CUS was validated. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the CUS is composed of two highly correlated factors, uncertainty about the causes of one's own outcomes and uncertainty about the causes of others' outcomes. Relationships between these two factors and a variety of other variables were assessed. In the second study, the relationship between the CUS, its two factors, and the Big Five personality factors was examined. The CUS was found to be related only to Neuroticism. Participants' causal uncertainty scores were significantly better predictors of their confidence in causal hypotheses than were their Neuroticism scores. It is suggested that causal uncertainty may operate in a domain-specific fashion.

Few studies have examined the psychological similarities between disordered eating behavior and obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms. The present study examined relationships among disordered eating, OC symptoms, and three cognitive and affective variables (perfectionism, obsessive beliefs, and negative affect). The cognitive and affective variables were significantly associated with disordered eating and with OC symptoms in a sample of 160 college women. Results also indicated that perfectionism is an important link between disordered eating behavior and OC symptoms, although the nature of perfectionism differs somewhat for the two types of behavior. Implications of the current results and directions for future research are discussed.

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