Levels of parental communication deviance (CD), as measured on the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), were compared among families of schizophrenic patients in two culturally distinct groups. Spanish-speaking Mexican-American parents of schizophrenics completed the TAT in their native language, and CD was coded from their stories by a Spanish-speaking rater. Mexican-American parents had levels of CD that were nearly identical to those of a carefully matched sample of Englishspeaking Anglo-American parents. Factor scores that measure distinct subtypes of CD also did not differ across groups. The data suggest that levels of CD, despite discriminating between parents of schizophrenics and nonschizophrenics, do not vary across different languages and cultures.

It was hypothesized that the level of death anxiety prior to a death stimulus predicts mood change in response to the stimulus. Participants ( N = 52) in the study initially completed the Templer Death Anxiety Scale and the Mood Scale. The participants were then shown three videotapes: a neutral videotape, a videotape depicting death scenes, and another neutral videotape. Before and after each videotape, the participants completed the Mood Scale. The initial level of death anxiety was a significant ( p < .05) predictor of changes in, and overall levels of, depression and general anxiety. This finding supports the view that the causal connection between death anxiety and mood is bidirectional. It also gives rise to the speculation that death anxiety may predict mood in nonexperimental, i.e., “real-life” situations.

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