The boundaries of acceptance: Do expectations for the complainant's psychological injury affect legal decisions in a sexual harassment case

Research indicates that people engaged in legal decision-making use a host of biases and preconceptions to guide their decisions about whether the evidence presented to them is reasonable. However, few theories address how such expectations affect legal decision-makers. The present study attempted to determine if social judgment theory (SJT) can explain how and when legal decision-makers rely on expectations for the complainant's psychological injury in a hostile environment sexual harassment case. Two experiments provided undergraduate participants with a written summary of a hostile work environment allegation that first manipulated participants' expectations about reasonable psychological injuries (mild v. severe), and then presented them with actual severity levels of psychological injury (ranging from minimal to extreme). Experiment 1 (N = 295) hypothesized and found that participants who expected severe injuries perceived a greater range of psychological injuries to be reasonable than participants expecting mild injury. Experiment 2 ( N = 202) used similar methodology and investigated whether perceived reasonableness for the injury allegations affected legal decisions. Experiment 2 hypothesized that participants expecting severe psychological injury should render more pro-complainant decisions than participants expecting mild psychological injury. This result should be most pronounced when participants receive a moderate injury allegation, since this allegation was perceived as reasonable by participants expecting severe injury, but unreasonable by participants expecting mild injury. Consistent with SJT, participants who received a moderate injury but expected a severe injury found more liability than participants who received a moderate injury but expected a mild injury. Inconsistent with SJT, participants' expectations did not affect their compensatory damage decisions. In fact, more severe injury allegations increased damage awards regardless of participants' expectations. Although the results provide mixed support for applying SJT to legal decisions in sexual harassment cases, they emphasize the continuing role of oft-unstudied extra-legal factors (juror's expectations and psychological injury severity) on legal decisions.

Comparison of two measures of work functioning in a population of claimants with physical and psychological injuries

Research has focused on advancing our understanding of strategies to improve return to work outcomes following a physical injury. There has been limited research on the different types of supports needed for workers returning to work following a psychological injury. Developing a better understanding of work limitations when people are back at work is a key step in the development of strategies in this area. Unfortunately, measurement tools have been established separately by injury type, limiting research opportunities to compare differences in work limitations. In this article, we compare two measures of work functioning in a population of claimants that have returned to work following a musculoskeletal or psychological injury: a modified version of the Work Limitations Questionnaire (WLQ) developed for workers with physical injuries and the Lam Employed Absence Productivity Scale (LEAPS) developed for workers with mental health claims. A telephone questionnaire was administered to 214 claimants who returned to work following a claim for a psychological injury or a musculoskeletal injury. While the modified WLQ detected differences in work limitations by injury type, there were no significant differences in levels of work functioning detected by the LEAPS. The comparison demonstrated the value of including questions about work limitations that go beyond mental and interpersonal demands for claimants with psychological injuries; however, there is also a need to limit questions about physical constraints. A modified version of the WLQ is recommended to further our understandings of the similarities and differences in the experiences of workers with psychological versus physical injuries.

Pragmatism and precision : psychology in the service of civil litigation

While forensic psychology is commonly associated with the criminal and family law domains, its ambit to offer skills and knowledge at the legal interface also makes it particularly suited to the civil law domain. At this time, civil law is arguably the least represented legislative area in terms of psychological research and professional commentary. However, it is also a broad area, with its very breadth providing scope for research consideration, as urged by Greene. The purposes of this article are (1) to review the broad role of the psychologist in the conduct of civil litigation matters in Australia, (2) to assist the novice to the area by indicating a non-exhaustive list of potentially ambiguous terms and concepts common to the conduct of professional practice, and; (3) to highlight, as an example, one area of practice not only where legal direction demands professional pragmatism but also where opportunity arises for psychological research to vitally address a major social issue.

Child sexual abuse and access to justice for civil claims: Time to reform the Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld)

In 2015, Victoria passed laws removing the time limit in which a survivor of child sexual abuse can commence a civil claim for personal injury. The law applies also to physical abuse, and to psychological injury arising from those forms of abuse. In 2016, New South Wales made almost identical legal reforms. These reforms were partly motivated by the recommendations of inquiries into institutional child abuse. Of particular relevance is that the Australian Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse recommended in 2015 that all States and Territories remove their time limits for civil claims. This presentation explores the problems with standard time limits when applied to child sexual abuse cases (whether occurring within or beyond institutions), the scientific, ethical and legal justifications for lifting the time limits, and solutions for future law reform.

Psychological predictors of injury among elite athletes

Objectives: To establish injury rates among a population of elite athletes, to provide normative data for psychological variables hypothesised to be predictive of sport injuries, and to establish relations between measures of mood, perceived life stress, and injury characteristics as a precursor to introducing a psychological intervention to ameliorate the injury problem. Methods: As part of annual screening procedures, athletes at the Queensland Academy of Sport report medical and psychological status. Data from 845 screenings (433 female and 412 male athletes) were reviewed. Population specific tables of normative data were established for the Brunel mood scale and the perceived stress scale. Results: About 67% of athletes were injured each year, and about 18% were injured at the time of screening. Fifty percent of variance in stress scores could be predicted from mood scores, especially for vigour, depression, and tension. Mood and stress scores collectively had significant utility in predicting injury characteristics. Injury status (current, healed, no injury) was correctly classified with 39% accuracy, and back pain with 48% accuracy. Among a subset of 233 uninjured athletes (116 female and 117 male), five mood dimensions (anger, confusion, fatigue, tension, depression) were significantly related to orthopaedic incidents over the preceding 12 months, with each mood dimension explaining 6–7% of the variance. No sex differences in these relations were found. Conclusions: The findings support suggestions that psychological measures have utility in predicting athletic injury, although the relatively modest explained variance highlights the need to also include underlying physiological indicators of allostatic load, such as stress hormones, in predictive models.

Psychological screening and injury among elite athletes

The purpose of the present investigation was to evaluate the effectiveness of the psychological component of the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) Health Screening Questionnaire in screening for injury/illness characteristics among elite athletes. In total, 793 scholarship athletes (409 females and 384 males) ranging in age from 11 to 41 years (M = 19, SD = 4.4) across 20 sports at the QAS in Brisbane, Australia, completed the QAS Health Screening Questionnaire. Psychological risk factors examined were life stress and mood, as measured by the Perceived Stress Scale - 10 (PSS-10) and the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS) respectively, in addition to disordered eating behaviours and history of diagnosed psychological disorders. Medical risk factors examined included asthma and back pain. Single-factor MANOVAs showed multivaritate effects for injury, second injury, back pain, asthma, anxiety disorder diagnosis, and fasting. Discriminant function analyses demonstrated that life stress and mood scores had significant utility in correctly classifying injury and second injury status, asthma, back pain, anxiety, and eating disorder diagnosis, in addition to the use of fasting and vomiting as weight control methods. The present findings suggest that the psychology component of the QAS Health Screening Questionnaire demonstrates significant utility as a screening tool regarding injury/illness characteristics among elite athletes.

Psychological predictors of injury in elite athletes

The Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) supports over 600 high-level athletes across 20 sports. Given the high cost of injuries (e.g., time out of sport and consequent detraining, expense of rehabilitation, adverse social and economic effects), comprehensive injury management and prevention has become a priority for the QAS. Considering the potential for developing cost-effective, preventative programs, knowledge gained by examination of psychological screening predictors of injury may also prove beneficial for the broader sports medicine community. Aims were to: Objectively summarise existing injury characteristics, including the creation of population-specific norms for scholarship holders at the QAS. Assess relationships between injuries, specific medical factors (e.g., asthma, back pain) and psychological risk factors including life stress, mood, previous psychological diagnoses and disordered eating behaviour over a three-year period. Evaluate the effectiveness of the psychological component of the QAS Health Screening Questionnaire.

Course of psychological variables in whiplash injury--a 2-year follow-up with age, gender and education pair-matched patients

This study evaluated the course of psychological variables during a 2-year follow-up in patients after common whiplash of the cervical spine. From a sample of 117 non-selected patients with common whiplash (investigated on average 7.2 +/- 4.2 days after trauma) a total of 21 suffered trauma-related symptoms over 2 years following initial injury. These patients (symptomatic group) were compared with 21 age, gender and education pair-matched patients, who showed complete recovery from trauma-related symptoms during the 2-year follow-up (asymptomatic group). Both groups underwent standardised testing procedures (i.e., Freiburg Personality Inventory and Well-Being Scale) at referral, and at 3, 6 and 24 months. In the symptomatic group during follow-up no significant changes in rating of neck pain or headache were found. Significant differences between the groups and significant deviation of scores over time were found on the Well-Being and Nervousness Scales. There was a lack of significant difference between the groups on the Depression Scale, indicating a possible somatic basis for changes in psychological functioning in the investigated sample. With regard to scales of Extraversion or Neuroticism, there were neither significant differences between the groups nor significant deviation over time. These results highlight that patients' psychological problems are rather a consequence than a cause of somatic symptoms in whiplash.

Effect of psychological interventions on depressive symptoms in long-term rehabilitation after an acquired brain injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE To summarize empirical studies on the effectiveness of psychological interventions in long-term rehabilitation after an acquired brain injury (ABI) in reducing depressive symptoms. DATA SOURCES A systematic literature search was conducted on MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Embase, and CINAHL to identify articles published between January 1990 and October 2011. Search terms included the 3 concepts (1) "brain injur*" or "stroke," (2) "psychotherap*" or "therapy" or "intervention" or "rehabilitation," and (3) "depress*." STUDY SELECTION Studies evaluating psychological interventions in patients after ABI were included. Time since injury was on average more than 1 year. Trials reported data on validated depression questionnaires before and after the psychological intervention. DATA EXTRACTION Two independent reviewers extracted information from the sample, the intervention, and the outcome of the included studies and calculated effect sizes (ESs) from depression questionnaires. Thirteen studies were included in a pre-post analysis. Seven studies were eligible for a meta-analysis of ESs in active interventions and control conditions. DATA SYNTHESIS Pre-post ESs were significant in 4 of 13 studies. The overall ES of .69 (95% confidence interval [CI], .29-1.09) suggests a medium effectiveness of psychological interventions on depressive symptoms compared with control conditions. Moderator analysis of the number of sessions and adequate randomization procedure did not show significant ES differences between strata. Studies with adequate randomization did not, however, suggest the effectiveness of psychological interventions on depressive symptoms after ABI. CONCLUSIONS Psychological interventions are a promising treatment option for depressive symptoms in long-term rehabilitation after ABI. Since only a few adequately randomized controlled trials (RCTs) exist, more RCTs are required to confirm this initial finding.

Recovery from Pediatric Brain Injury: A Preliminary Comparison of Longitudinal Data on Psychological Symptomology and Mental Health Treatment

Objective: To document the course of psychological symptomology, mental health treatment, and unmet psychological needs using caregiver reports in the first 18 months following pediatric brain injury (BI). Method: Participants included 28 children (aged 1-18 years) who were hospitalized at a children's hospital's rehabilitation unit. Caregiver reports of children's psychological symptoms, receipt of mental health treatment, and unmet psychological needs were assessed at one month, six months, 12 months, and 18 months post-BI. Results: Caregivers reported a general increase in psychological symptoms and receipt of mental health treatment over the 18 months following BI; however, there was a substantial gap between the high rate of reported symptoms and low rate of reported treatment. Across all four follow-up time points there were substantial unmet psychological needs (at least 60% of sample). Conclusions: Findings suggest that there are substantial unmet psychological needs among children during the first 18 months after BI. Barriers to mental health treatment for this population need to be addressed.

The development of psychological changes following whiplash injury

Psychological distress is a feature of chronic whiplash-associated disorders, but little is known of psychological changes from soon after injury to either recovery or symptom persistence. This study prospectively measured psychological distress (General Health Questionnaire 28 GHQ-28). fear of movement/re-injury (TAMPA Scale of Kinesphobia, TSK), acute post-traumatic stress (Impact of Events Scale, IES) and general health and well being (Short Form 36, SF-36) in 76 whiplash subjects within I month of injury and then 2, 3 and 6 months post-injury. Subjects were classified at 6 months post-injury using scores on the Neck Disability Index: recovered (< 8), mild pain and disability (10-28) or moderate/severe pain and disability (> 30). All whiplash groups demonstrated psychological distress (GHQ-28, SF-36) to some extent at 1 month post-injury. Scores of the recovered group and those with persistent mild symptoms returned to levels regarded as normal by 2 months post-injury, parallelling a decrease in reported pain and disability. Scores on both these tests remained above threshold levels in those with ongoing moderate/severe symptoms. The moderate/severe and mild groups showed elevated TSK scores at 1 month post-injury. TSK scores decreased by 2 months in the group with residual mild symptoms and by 6 months in those with persistent moderate/severe symptoms. Elevated IES scores, indicative of a moderate post-traumatic stress reaction, were unique to the group with moderate/severe symptoms. The results of this study demonstrated that all those experiencing whiplash injury display initial psychological distress that decreased in those whose symptoms subside. Whiplash participants who reported persistent moderate/severe symptoms at 6 months continue to be psychologically distressed and are also characterised by a moderate post-traumatic stress reaction. (C) 2003 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Physical and psychological factors predict outcome following whiplash injury

Predictors of outcome following whiplash injury are limited to socio-demographic and symptomatic factors, which are not readily amenable to secondary and tertiary intervention. This prospective study investigated the predictive capacity of early measures of physical and psychological impairment on pain and disability 6 months following whiplash injury. Motor function (ROM; kinaesthetic sense; activity of the superficial neck flexors (EMG) during cranio-cervical flexion), quantitative sensory testing (pressure, thermal pain thresholds, brachial plexus provocation test), sympathetic vasoconstrictor responses and psychological distress (GHQ-28, TSK, IES) were measured in 76 acute whiplash participants. The outcome measure was Neck Disability Index scores at 6 months. Stepwise regression analysis was used to predict the final NDI score. Logistic regression analyses predicted membership to one of the three groups based on final NDI scores (< 8 recovered, 10-28 mild pain and disability, > 30 moderate/severe pain and disability). Higher initial NDI score (1.007-1.12), older age (1.03-1.23), cold hyperalgesia (1.05-1.58), and acute post-traumatic stress (1.03-1.2) predicted membership to the moderate/severe group. Additional variables associated with higher NDI scores at 6 months on stepwise regression analysis were: ROM loss and diminished sympathetic reactivity. Higher initial NDI score (1.03-1.28), greater psychological distress (GHQ-28) (1.04-1.28) and decreased ROM (1.03-1.25) predicted subjects with persistent milder symptoms from those who fully recovered. These results demonstrate that both physical and psychological factors play a role in recovery or non-recovery from whiplash injury. This may assist in the development of more relevant treatment methods for acute whiplash. (c) 2004 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Physical and psychological factors maintain long-term predictive capacity post-whiplash injury

Higher initial levels of pain and disability, older age, cold hyperalgesia, impaired sympathetic vasoconstriction and moderate post-traumatic stress symptoms have been shown to be associated with poor outcome 6 months following whiplash injury. This study prospectively investigated the predictive capacity of these variables at a long-term follow-up. Sixty-five of an initial cohort of 76 acutely injured whiplash participants were followed to 2-3 years post-accident. Motor function (ROM; kinaesthetic sense; activity of the superficial neck flexors (EMG) during cranio-cervical flexion), quantitative sensory testing (pressure, thermal pain thresholds and brachial plexus provocation test), sympathetic vasoconstrictor responses and psychological distress (GHQ-28, TSK and IES) were measured. The outcome measure was Neck Disability Index (NDI) scores. Participants with ongoing moderate/severe symptoms at 2-3 years continued to manifest decreased ROM, increased EMG during cranio-cervical flexion, sensory hypersensitivity and elevated levels of psychological distress when compared to recovered participants and those with milder symptoms. The latter two groups showed only persistent deficits in cervical muscle recruitment patterns. Higher initial NDI scores (OR 1.00-1.1), older age (OR 1.00-1.13), cold hyperalgesia (OR 1.1-1.13) and post-traumatic stress symptoms (OR 1.03-1.2) remained significant predictors of poor outcome at long-term follow-up (r(2) = 0.56). The robustness of these physical and psychological factors suggests that their assessment in the acute stage following whiplash injury will be important. (c) 2006 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.