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Individual differences are a fundamental component of psychology, but these differences are often treated as “noise” or “errors” in variable-oriented statistical analyses. Currently, there is a small but emerging body of research using the person-oriented approach. In this paper a brief theoretical and methodological overview of the person-oriented approach is given. A person-oriented approach is often preferable where the main theoretical and analytical unit is a pattern of operating factors, rather than individual variables. In order to illustrate the relevance of this approach to research in educational psychology several representative statistical methods are outlined, two of which employ a person-oriented approach (latent class analysis/ latent profile analysis, configural frequency analysis/ prediction configural frequency analysis) and one that combines person and variable-oriented approaches. Examples of data analyses are used to demonstrate that variable and person-oriented approaches provide the researcher with different information that can be complementary. Key words: configural frequency analysis, educational psychology, individual differences, latent class analysis, person-oriented approach.

Although the prevalence of sexual dysfunction is high among individuals diagnosed with severe and chronic mental illness, the topic of sexuality is often not part of standard psychiatric assessment. Discussions about sexuality could improve patients' quality of life. This article outlines the development and implementation of a sex education group for patients admitted to a psychiatric day hospital in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, along with clinical observations. The series was well received by patients who felt that attending the group helped normalize their sexual concerns by providing a safe place in which to learn and to talk about sexuality.

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