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This study examined the factor structure and validity of the Therapeutic Factors Inventory-Short Form (TFI-S), a measure originally developed to assess Yalom's eleven conceptually derived therapeutic factors. Patients in a group-oriented day treatment program (n = 174) completed the TFI-S and other measures to assess concurrent and predictive validity. Four broad therapeutic factors were identified: Instillation of Hope, Secure Emotional Expression, Awareness of Interpersonal Impact, and Social Learning. Alpha coefficients ranged from .71 to .91. Significant correlations between the TFI-S factors and Group Climate Questionnaire subscales provided preliminary evidence for the concurrent validity of the TFI S. Significant relationships were also identified between the TFI-S factors and improvement in symptoms, quality of life, and interpersonal distress at the end of treatment, suggesting that the TFI-S may have predictive validity.

Objective: The main purpose of the current study was to examine the validity and reliability of The Courage To Heal Workbook checklist (Davis, 1990) in part, through examining the internal consistency and studying whether the CTHC distinguished between the participants reporting sexual abuse histories and those who did not., Method: Two hundred and seventy-nine college students were surveyed utilizing the symptom checklist from the Courage to Heal Workbook, Trauma Symptom Checklist-40 (TSC-40), Abusive Behavior Inventory (ABI), and questions related to participants' beliefs that they had been abused as a child., Results: Results indicated that the Courage to Heal Checklist (CTHC) has robust reliability (alpha = .97) and can significantly discriminate between reported abuse survivors and nonsurvivors. Fifty-five percent of those participants reporting sexual abuse, 47% of those reporting physical abuse, and 34% of those reporting emotional abuse indicated a period of time during which they did not remember the abuse., Conclusion: Results indicate that the CTHC reliably differentiated between participants reporting past sexual abuse and those who did not. Mounting evidence continues to support that adult symptom profiles are able to indicate that some form of trauma is likely to have occurred in the past; however, differentiating between types of abuse based on symptom profiles may be impossible.

This study examined the effects of a multidisciplinary, multi-media college course, The HIV Pandemic and AIDS, on the knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of students. A quasi-experimental design was implemented using pre- and post-questionnaires administered to students enrolled in the course and to two control groups (N = 131) similar in age, gender, degree programme and class. At pre-testing, over 80% of students involved in relationships of four months or more reported having genital intercourse without a condom occasionally or frequently in the last year. Post-test results indicated HIV course participants changed more risk-related behaviours and felt less vulnerable to contracting HIV than the control group. Significant differences reported by course-enrolled students in comparison to the control group included discussing safe sex with a potential partner at a higher rate, becoming more selective about partners, and learning more about HIV. The dangers of presumed monogamy are discussed in relation to the transtheoretical model of change and the development of future HIV courses.