Mood congruity effects in induced mood states and affective disorders are well established. Recent evidence suggests that a similar process occurs in chronic pain patients, although the extent to which the memory bias is a consequence of the affective or sensory state of the subject in this group is unknown. In this study selective memory for sensory and affective pain-related information was investigated in depressed and non-depressed chronic pain patients and depressed psychiatric patients. A recall test comprising sensory, affective and neutral adjectives matched for frequency was followed by a recognition task, where the words of the recall test were randomized with an equal number of new adjectives matched for word type and frequency. Comparison of the three patient groups with normal controls revealed specific recall biases directly related to pain and depression in both chronic pain groups and the controls. Contrary to expectations, the depressed psychiatric patients failed to show a recall bias for affective adjectives: the possibility of cognitive avoidance as an explanation for this is discussed. Signal detection analysis of the recognition results suggested that selective memory in chronic pain and depression may to some extent be accounted for by differences in 'true memory', the contribution of response bias remaining less clear.

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This study investigated the knowledge and attitude of 100 patients about their depot neuroleptic medication. Patients were well informed about their medication, particularly those seen in depot clinics. Most patients were content with service delivery but 48% did not realise that they had a choice about receiving their treatment. This aspect of patients' rights should be addressed and demands sensitive management in the case of depot refusers, or when assertive outreach is planned. We suggest that such issues should be incorporated into an educational programme and discussed with patients when they are relatively well.

Direction of hostility, as measured by the Hostility and Direction of Hostility Questionnaire, was found to be associated with poor compliance during a treatment trial of a new tricyclic antidepressant. An association with other factors such as the type and severity of depression was not found. There are other studies in the literature which support these observations although some controversy surrounds the role played by personality variables in adherence to treatment. Hostility has been shown to be a possible factor in the aetiology of depression, an important factor in the classification of depression, and a symptom of depression which improves with treatment. Hostility may have a particularly large importance in compliance with treatment for depression or may have been overlooked in studies in compliance with treatment for non-psychiatric disorders.

Constructed the Behavior Rating Form‐Revised (BRF‐R) in order to obtain an inferred self‐esteem rating scale that was appropriate for use by parents. Two samples (N = 38 and N = 44) of parents of 4‐ to 6‐ year‐old preschool children completed the BRF‐R and a 20‐item version of the Marlowe‐Crowne Social Desirability Scale (M‐C). The BRF‐R was found to be a relatively internally consistent measure in each population (coefficient alpha = 0.81 and 0.79); item analyses provided additional support for item homogeneity. No correlations between BRF‐R and M‐C scores were found. The results suggest that across subpopulations, parents are able to utilize the BRF‐R in a similar manner. The BRF‐R is judged to be ready for utilization in research and to merit further investigation.