Climate change worry involves primarily verbal-linguistic thoughts about the changes that may occur in the climate system and the possible effects of these changes. Such worry is one of several possible psychological responses (e.g., fear, anxiety, depression, and trauma) to climate change. Within this article, the psychometric development of the ten-item Climate Change Worry Scale (CCWS) is detailed in three studies. The scale was developed to assess proximal worry about climate change rather than social or global impacts. Study 1 provided evidence that the CCWS items were internally consistent, constituted a single factor, and that the facture structure of the items was invariant for men and women. The results from Study 1 also indicated a good fit with a Rasch model of the items. Study 2 affirmed the internal consistency of the CCWS items and indicated that peoples’ responses to the measure were temporally stable over a two-week test–retest interval (r = 0.91). Study 3 provided support for the convergent and divergent validity of the CCWS through its pattern of correlations with several established clinical and weather-related measures. The limitations of the studies and the possible uses of the CCWS were discussed. The current work represents a starting point.

This article reviewed how four characteristics of car crash deaths--suddenness, untimeliness, preventability, and violent, mutilating injuries--may contribute to complicated bereavement syndromes or to the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Fatality Analysis Reporting System was then used to assess the proportion of car crashes from 1990-1996 that involved one or more of these characteristics. At least 75% of all deaths involved suddenness, untimeliness, or were preventable, that is, due to alcohol or drug use. Twenty-eight percent of crash deaths involved 2 of these characteristics and 6% involved all 3. Recommendations for performing death notifications were provided with an emphasis on identifying and responding to circumstances that may lead to complicated bereavement or PTSD. Recommendations for further research also were provided.

A 44-yr climatology of nonconvective wind events (NCWEs) for the Great Lakes region has been created using hourly wind data for 38 first-order weather stations during the months of November through April. The data were analyzed in terms of the two National Weather Service (NWS) criteria for a high-wind watch or warning: sustained winds of at least 18 m s Ϫ1 for at least 1 h or a wind gust of at least 26 m s Ϫ1 for any duration. The results indicate a pronounced southwest quadrant directional preference for nonconvective high winds in this region. Between 70% and 76% of all occurrences that satisfied the NWS criteria for NCWEs were associated with wind directions from 180°through 270°. Within the southwest quadrant, the west-southwest direction is preferred, with 14%-35% of all NCWEs coming from this particular compass heading. This directional preference is borne out in five out of six stations with high occurrences of cold-season NCWEs (Buffalo, New York; Dayton, Ohio; Lansing, Michigan; Moline, Illinois; Springfield, Illinois). Given the geographic spread of these stations, a nontopographic cause for the directional preference of cold-season NCWEs is indicated. The connection between NCWEs and low pressure systems found in this climatology and in case studies suggests that midlatitude cyclone dynamics may be a possible cause of the directional preference.

Although constructivism has generated much theoretical discussion in the mental health disciplines, its implications for clinic conceptualization, assessment, and treatment have been less systematically explored. The authors attempt to remedy this shortcoming fry extending a narrative account of post-traumatic stress and illustrating its applicability in the context of an extended case study. They conclude that a narrative perspective on the traumatic disruption of self-identity holds promise for clinicians at both the heuristic and applied levels.

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