Browsing by Author "Van Kirk, Nathaniel Peter"

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    A Clinical Validation of the Obsessive Compulsive Consequences Scale-Revised
    Van Kirk, Nathaniel Peter (Virginia Tech, 2014-04-21)
    Given the high rates of treatment drop-out and non-compliance within empirically-based treatments for OCD, it is important to increase our understanding of factors that impact the treatment process. Two studies were conducted to evaluate the clinical utility of the Obsessive Compulsive Consequences Scale-Revised (OCCS-R) and increase understanding of the relationships between the prognostic factors of motivation, insight, treatment compliance and treatment outcome. Study 1 used maximum likelihood Confirmatory Factor Analysis to show the OCCS-R's four factor solution was an adequate fit in a sub-clinical college population. Study 2 evaluated the clinical utility of the OCCS-R for predicting treatment outcome and its relationship to identified predictor variables. The OCCS-R predicted treatment drop-out but did not predict symptom improvement. Some support was found for predicted relationships between the OCCS-R and its factors, a general measure of motivation and treatment compliance. No variables predicted symptom improvement. Insight and initial symptom severity predicted treatment motivation which in turn predicted treatment compliance.
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    Obsessive Compulsive Self-Syntonicity of Symptoms Scale: Development, Reliability and Validity
    Van Kirk, Nathaniel Peter (Virginia Tech, 2010-04-30)
    One of the difficulties encountered by therapists working with individuals with obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms/disorder is the resistance of OC symptoms to change. A factor that may affect the prognosis for such individuals is the extent to which their symptoms result in positive or negative functional consequences. The current study describes the development, reliability, and validity of a new scale — the Obsessive Compulsive Self-Syntonicity of Symptoms Scale (OCSSSS) - that measures the positive and negative functional consequences of OC symptoms. Items were generated by the principal investigator and major professor after examining the research literature for OC and related disorders. Fifty-four items were generated, which yielded a robust, seven component structure through principal components analysis. Items were rated on a 1-5 Likert scale (1=extremely inconsistent - 5=extremely consistent) with an option of "not applicable" (coded as "0"). Higher scores on the OCSSSS indicated more perceived functional consequences of OC symptoms in an individual's daily life. The sample consisted of 634 students, who responded to an advertisement describing general examples of OC symptoms and who completed several measures online, including: 1) Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, Self Report (Y-BOCS-SR); 2)Obsessive Compulsive Inventory Revised (OCI-R); 3) University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA); 4) self-report of frequency of prior/current therapy; evaluation of the effectiveness of prior therapy; evaluation of the expected effectiveness of future therapy; and willingness to participate in future therapy; and 5) social/work adjustment. The OCSSSS was reliable and most items correlated with total score. The OCSSSS's total score and individual component scores were correlated with symptom severity, symptom type, subjective evaluations of treatment experiences, willingness to participate in treatment, avoidance, work and social adjustment, and stage of change. Regression analyses indicated the OCSSSS significantly predicts stage of change, controlling for symptom severity.