The Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL) is a widely used measure of symptom distress and in particular is a valuable criterion measure in psychotherapeutic drug trials. Its reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change have been well established. However, its factor structure has been subject to much debate. In previous studies a wide range of different factor structum have been found by various researchers. The aim of the present study was to produce a short, less arduous, but acceptably reliable version of HSCL with a replifablc factor structure. The factor structure which was based on a previously described. robust thm-factor version of the HSCL, was established usinga two-step process which began with a two-factor analysis ofthe largest subscales. General Feclings of Dislrss (GFD) and Somatic Distress (SD). This was followed by a three-fastor analysis of xven items from each of three subscales. The robustness of the factor structure of the resultin scale w a revealed by the factor comparison procedure FACTOREP using the responses ofthe three subject groups. Consistent replications were obtained for the two-factor structure of the GFD and S D items. and for the threc-factor structure of the xven GFD. seven SD, and xven Performance Difficuhy (PD) items. The outcome was a 21-item version of the HSCL with excellent psychometric properties, which was subsquently confirmed using a fourth independent group of subjects.The Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL) is a self-report symptom rating inventory consisting of 58 items which was developed primarily as a criterion measure in psychotherapeutic drug trials. It has been found by researchers in the United States to be both a reliable and valid psychoIogical instrument for the measurement of neurotic symptoms (Derogatis, Lipman, Rickels, Uhlenhuth, & Covi.

The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is a widely used measure of three specific aspects of the burnout syndrome-namely; emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment. It is rapidly becoming a valued tool in assessment of perceived burnout in human service professionals. Although its reliability and validity are well established, its factor structure is not. In previous studies different researchers have found very different factor solutions. In the present study this problem was solved by principal components analysis of previously published American data and New Zealand data, followed by three- and four-factor varimax rotations. The outcome produced a clear, replicable three-factor solution consistent with that of the MBI authors' descriptions. No replicable four-factor structure was found.

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Divers travaux ont montrC que le locus of control et les attitudes face au risque dkterminaient les conduites devant les dangers de la nature. Deux ttudes ont tent6 de determiner lequel de ces deux facteurs Ctait le meilleur pridicteur des jugements et de la prkparation concernant les tremblements de terre. Ces notions ont 6t6 relikes h des modkles de l'attribution des digits causCs par les tremblements de terre, par l'examen de la spCcificitC des destructions sur les attributions et la complexit6 des explications. Dans les deux etudes, la premikre sur des Ctudiants, la seconde sur du tout-venant, les personnes fuyant le risque prksentaient une plus grande probabilite de s'&tre mieux preparkes aux tremblements de terre et pensaient que ce genre de destruction pouvait &tre plus facilement CvitC que la degradation gCnCrale de l'environnement. Chez les Ctudiants, la faible prise de risque Ctait reliCe h l'impression qu'un tremblement de terre Ctait vraisemblable. Les Ctudiants avec un locus of control plut6t interne prksentaient une plus forte probabiliti d'estimer que les dCgits propres aux tremblements de terre pouvaient Ctre tvitCs, tandis que les non-Ctudiants avec Cgalement un locus of control plutat interne presentaient une plus forte probabilitC de fournir des explications complexes des destructions dues aux tremblements de terre. Ces rCsultats peuvent &tre utilists pour amCliorer la prtparation aux tremblements de terre et autre alCas.Previous studies have demonstrated that locus of control and risk attitudes influence preparation for natural hazards. Two studies examined which of these two factors is the stronger predictor of earthquake judgements and preparation. These concepts were linked to attribution models of earthquake damage, by examining the effect of the distinctiveness of damage on Requests for reprints should be sent to John McClure, 240McCLURE, WALKEY, ALLEN attributions, and explanatory complexity. In both studies, the first with students and the second with non-student members of the public, low risktakers were more likely to have made more preparations for earthquakes, and distinctive damage was judged more preventable than global damage. With students, low risk-taking also predicted judgements that an earthquake was probable. Students with a more internal locus of control were more likely to judge that distinctive earthquake damage was preventable, whereas nonstudents with a more internal locus of control were more likely to give complex explanations of earthquake damage. These findings have several implications for enhancing preparedness for earthquakes and other hazards.

Two studies report on the development and preliminary psychometric properties of a new scale measuring criminal attitudes to violence. In Study 1, the responses of a mixed sample of male prisoners were used to select 20 scale items from a larger pool. The final scale (the Criminal Attitudes to Violence Scale; CAVS) was designed so that it had a single-factor structure and was uncorrelated with a measure of social desirability bias. It demonstrated high internal reliability, and a strong relationship to a self-report measure of physical aggression. Significant differences were found in CAVS mean scores for various offence history comparisons, such as whether or not the offender was currently on sentence for a violent conviction. In the second study, most results from the first study were replicated with an independent sample of male prisoners. Further, compared to another scale measuring attitudes to aggression [the EXPAGG Instrumental subscale; Archer and Haigh, 1997b], the CAVS was a better predictor of general attitudes to crime. Mean CAVS scores were again significantly higher for current violent offenders than those on sentence for other types of offences. Lastly, the CAVS was moderately predictive of estimated risk of reconviction and re-imprisonment. Overall these results suggest that this scale measures the construct of attitudes to criminal violence, which partially overlaps two other constructs: attitudes to aggression and attitudes to crime. Aggr.