A brief description of the ongoing randomized controlled trial testing the intervention is then provided. Finally, the way in which this intervention could contribute to nurses' quality of life and suggestions for future developments are briefly discussed.

Resume Cette recherche presente une version franchise du UCLA Loneliness Scale evaluee et validee grace au concours de populations d'etudiants universitaires de premier cycle et de personnes du 3* TC age. Une premiere etude etablit la validite de concordance normative, la consistance interne et la validite theorique (analyse factorielle) de l'echelle de solitude de l'Universite Laval (ESUL) aupres d'etudiants universitaires. Une deuxieme et troisieme etude ont permis de verifier 1'equivalence des caracteristiques normatives entre les populations etudiantes et agees et d'etablir les vaiidites concomitante et discriminante et la fidelite test-retest de l' ESUL. Dans son ensemble, l' ESUL possede des caracteristiques psychometriques fiables et va tables aupres des jeunes et des moins jeunes et produit des resultats comparables a ceux obtenus avec la version originate du test.

This research, taking into account sex and previous occupational level, examines the influence of retirement on three dependent variables: loneliness, depression, and life satisfaction. One hundred and six men and women, aged 65 and receiving governmental pensions (Régie des rentes du Québec) completed on two occasions (with a one year interval) the Échelle de solitude de l'Université Laval, the Questionnaire de dépression de Beck and the Échelle de satisfaction de vie. The resulte indicate that there is no significant difference between Time 1 and Time 2 of evaluation on the three questionnaires (temporal view). However, from a cross-sectional perspective, newly retired men and professionals may be more lonely, less satisfied with their life and more depressed. The results are discussed in the light of Atchley's (1976b) model.

PROBLEM Traditional theories of personality view the healthy individual as anxiety-free. Some recent experimental research also seems to point in that direction. Rollins(lo) found a negative correlation between the level of actualization and that of anxiety, and these results later were corroborated by Sedekel'"). On the other hand, a number of more recent theories consider the possible positive aspect of anxiety for psychological growth. Assagioli(') warns us not to be surprised that significant changes in a person are marked by several critical stages that often are accompanied by various nervous, emotional and mental disorders. Dabrowski ( 3 ) (cf. also de Grbe(4)), in his theory of Positive Disintegration, refuses t o consider neurosis as an illness. He goes so far as t o affirm its necessity for deep and accelerated development, and even for creativity. According to this view, neuroses express a conflict between an individual and the external world or between two values in the same individual, as well as a tendency t o adjust to what could be rather than to what is. They thus constitute positive maladjustments. Neurotic episodes, while they disintegrate lower levels of emotion, help the individual to progress toward higher emotional levels. Deviance from the norm and the development of identity often are associated, in exceptional individuals, with neurosis and even psychosis ( 7 ) . The neurotic expressions of these individuals during adolescence seem to be correlated with their future grandeur and historical role. I n opposition to the theory of homeostasis, Ih-anklcs) does not view tension as something to be avoided a t all costs. A healthy degree of tension, such as that which results from the will to give meaning t o one's life, is inherent to human nature and essential to true psychological health. Therefore it would be wrong to interpret existential vacuum as a pathological phenomenon. May@) defines anxiety as a reaction to the threat of values associated with existence as a self. Normal anxiety is that which is in proportion to the threat and which can be confronted in a positive way a t the conscious level. It is an integral part of the individual's development: all development implies a departure from former values in order t o incorporate broader and deeper values. Finally, Shostrom(12) sees the possiblity to develop in a positive way as a result of accepting to live each experience of preoccupation, impotence, fear, pain, suffering or frustration as fully as possible.Contrary to the more traditional theories and to the reported evidence, and more in keeping with these other theories that stress the positive aspect of psychological disequilibrium for personal development, we hypothesize that anxiety is compatible with a high level of actualization. Therefore, there should be no significant difference in terms of level of anxiety between a group of actualized (EG) and another group of nonactualized (CG) Ss.METHOD Subjects and Procedure. The population consisted of 90 mostly middle-class male forest...

Cette recherche s'inteiesse au problemede 1'anxiete feminine chez une population bien particuliere soit, celle des femmes d'etudiants inscrits au doctorat a l'Universite Laval en 1971-2. Le premier groupe (A) comprend 29 femmes d*un meme niveau d'etudes que leur mari, tandis que l'autre groupe (B) comprend 28 femmes d'un niveau d'etudes inferieur a celui de leur man. Toutes les femmes travaillent a I"ext6rieur du foyer. L'anxiete est meSurSe grace a YEchelle A de Y1PAT da CattelJ (1962). II n'y a aucune difference significative (4 p < 0.05) entre les deux groupes quant & l'AnxietS globale et l'Anxiete manifeste quoiqu'une difference significative apparalt a I'Anxi^te latente. Les deux groupes different aussi de fagon significative aux deux derniers des cinq facteurs contribuant a 1'anxiete (Q s ( -), C( -), L, O, et O4). Ces resultats sont discutes en rapport aux ecrits sur le sujet et certaines recoromandations sont faites pouvant servir a d'eventuelles recherches.Cette recherche s'interesse au probleme de 1'anxiete feminine chez unc population bien particuliere: celle des femmes d'etudiants inscrits au doctorat k l'Universite Laval. Nous avons compare, a une epreuve d'anxie-t6, un groupe de femmes ayant un niveau d'etudes egal k celui de leur mari a un autre groupe de femmes dont le niveau d'etudes etait inferieur k celui de leur mari. (1964) observe qu'un niveau relativement eleve d'anxiete" pouvait rompre la relation acceptation de soi -acceptation des autres en abaissant plus rapidement l'acceptation de soi. De la meme facon et re\nproquement, Eastman (1957) avait note que les femmes etaient heureuses en mariage et par la moins anxieuses lorsqu'elles s'acceptaient elles-memes comme elles acceptaient les autres. En d'autres termes, 1'anxiete qui pouvait decouler d'une insatisfaction maritale se trouvait diminuee lorsque la femme s'acceptait elle-m^me ainsi que son mari et Ics gens de son entourage. Pour sa part, Bardwick (1971) exprimait en d'autres termes ce que Yates (1944) avait deja cnonce plusieurs annees auparavant: que • Bas6 sur une these de maJtrise en psychologie pr&entee a l'Univereit^ Laval en 1972 par le premier auteur et dirjgee par le second. POSITION DU PROBLEME Suinn