The development and validation of a new decontaminated hassles measure, the Inventory of College Students' Recent Life Experiences, are described. An initial pool of 85 items was administered to 100 undergraduates along with the Perceived Stress Scale. Forty-nine items were selected based on significant correlations against the Perceived Stress Scale. The alpha reliability of the resultant final form of the Inventory of College Students' Recent Life Experiences and its correlation against the Perceived Stress Scale were both high. In a separate cross-replication sample of 108 undergraduates, the alpha reliability of the Inventory and its correlation against the Perceived Stress Scale showed little shrinkage. Furthermore, separate analyses for male and female subjects supported the reliability and validity of the Inventory of College Students' Recent Life Experiences across gender. Factor analysis of the Inventory yielded seven interpretable factors. Intercorrelations among sub-scales based on these factors were generally modest, though in all cases significant, suggesting that the Inventory is relatively free of contamination by psychological distress.

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Ambulance workers use the term ''critical incident'' to refer to a category of workplace stressor. Developing an evidence-based approach to critical incident stress begins with identifying what makes incidents critical. The aim of this qualitative study was to characterize critical incidents as well as elicit suggestions for interventions. We interviewed 60 ambulancebased workers, both front-line and supervisors, and analysed interview transcripts. Having presented their suggestions for interventions more fully elsewhere (Halpern et al, 2009), here we characterize the incidents that emerged as critical and the emotional responses evoked by them. We found they suffered considerable distress from critical incidents and would welcome interventions. Incidents that were identified as critical commonly involved patient death, often combined with poignancy. These events appeared to evoke vulnerable feelings of inability to help and intense compassion, which led to further emotional, cognitive, and behavioural responses. Difficulty in acknowledging distress and fear of stigma presented significant barriers to accessing support. These barriers may be overcome by educating both ambulance personnel and their supervisors to recognize and tolerate the vulnerable feelings often evoked by critical incidents. While gender and length of service did not seem to impact on evoked emotions, recent recruits may be more open to this type of education.

Controversy over the use of Critical Incident Stress Debriefing leaves Emergency Medical Services (EMS) organizations with little direction in preventing sequelae of Critical Incident Stress (CIS) in their employees. Objectives of the study were to explore and describe Emergency Medical Technicians' (EMTs) experiences of critical incidents and views about potential interventions, in order to facilitate development of interventions that take into account EMS culture. We interviewed 60 EMT practitioners and supervisors, and examined interview transcripts using ethnographic content analysis. EMT practitioners want emotional support in their workplace soon after a critical incident, and welcome interventions that would enhance this. They also experience a brief timeout as important in preventing sequelae of CIS. Exchanges with supervisors and peers that are experienced as supportive are illustrated. Barriers to support are described, as well as ways to address them. Educating supervisors and front‐line practitioners to recognize and respond supportively to critical incidents is acceptable to them. However, an organizational culture that stigmatizes vulnerability is the most insidious and challenging barrier to accessing support after a critical incident. Addressing the issue of stigma is critical to developing appropriate interventions. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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If psychophysiology is the study or differentiation of psychological processes by means of physiological measures, then the experimental demonstration of deception as a psychophysiological phenomenon requires a comparison of physiological responses to two conditions (experimental and control) which differ only with respect to deception. To this end, the Differentiation‐of‐Deception Paradigm controls for differential question significance and frequency of occurrence. Thirty‐two subjects were tested in this paradigm, with the skin conductance response as the dependent variable. We examined, within subjects: a) the basic deception comparison which contrasted relatively neutral autobiographical questions answered deceptively with those answered honestly, and b) the mode of answering, which was either an immediate answer to the question (conventional method) or an answer delayed by 10 seconds. The deception phenomenon (greater responding to deceptive relative to honest trials) emerged significantly (and nondifferentially) to both the immediate and delayed questions, but (perhaps because of response interference) not when responding was measured immediately following the delayed answers. Future research should vary other conditions and measure additional dependent variables with the aim of investigating possible psychological and physiological mechanisms, as well as extending the deception phenomenon beyond its present electrodermal form.

Very little is known about the sexuality of women who are living with HIV, outside the context of risk prevention and education. Available research in the first-world context shows that, although most women continue to be sexually active following diagnosis, decreased sexual functioning is very common and more prevalent than among HIV-positive men. The present multi-site Canadian study is concerned with the ways in which women’s sexuality is transformed by the experience of living with HIV. Semi-structured interviews with 20 women were analysed using thematic decomposition, an analytic technique that combines discursive approaches with thematic analysis. The women in this study construct HIV as inhibiting in relation to sexuality. A predominant discourse of disciplining bodies, desires and subjectivities emerges, which centers on the restrictions imposed by an HIV-positive diagnosis. The following discursive constructions, in particular, emerge from the women’s accounts: diminished spontaneity, foreclosed (provisional) sexual freedom, foreclosed power, foreclosed flirtation, inciting violence, (un)natural sex, responsibility imperatives, muted/mutated sexuality, and diminished intimacy. The women’s predominant positioning within AIDS discourses as conduits of transmission, the relative neglect of women’s psychological and sexual health concerns in both research and public health agendas, and women’s relatively anomalous standing in AIDS communities imposes limits on bodies, lives, and subjectivities. These are reflected in these women’s accounts, wherein a focus on protecting others frequently impedes access to fulfilling (and safe) sexual and emotional relationships.

Ambulance workers are exposed to critical incidents that may evoke intense distress and can result in long-term impairment. Individuals who can regulate distress may experience briefer post-incident distress and fewer long-term emotional difficulties. Attachment research has contributed to our understanding of individual differences in stress regulation, suggesting that secure attachment is associated with effective support-seeking and coping strategies, and fewer long-term difficulties. We tested the effect of attachment insecurity on emotional distress in ambulance workers, hypothesizing that (1) insecure attachment is associated with symptoms of current distress and (2) prolonged recovery from acute post-critical incident distress, coping strategies and supportive contact mediate this relationship. We measured (1) attachment insecurity, (2) acute distress, coping and social contact following an index critical incident and (3) current symptoms of post-traumatic stress, depression, somatization and burnout and tested the hypothesized associations. Fearful-avoidant insecure attachment was associated with all current symptoms, most strongly with depression (R=0.38, p<0.001). Fearful-avoidant attachment insecurity was also associated with maladaptive coping, reduced social support and slower recovery from social withdrawal and physical arousal following the critical incident, but these processes did not mediate the relationship between attachment insecurity and current symptoms. These findings are relevant for optimizing post-incident support for ambulance workers.