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The Social Problem Solving Inventory-Revised Scale (SPSI-R) has been shown to be a reliable and valid self-report measure of social problem-solving abilities. In busy medical and rehabilitation settings, a brief and efficient screening version with psychometric properties similar to the SPSI-R would have numerous benefits including decreased patient and caregiver assessment burden and administration/ scoring time. Thus, the aim of the current study was to identify items from the SPSI-R that would provide for a more efficient assessment of global social problem-solving abilities. This study consisted of three independent samples: 121 persons in low-vision rehabilitation (M age=71 years old, SD=15.53), 301 persons living with diabetes mellitus (M age=58, and SD = 14.85), and 131 family caregivers of persons with severe disabilities (M age = 56 years old, SD = 12.15). All persons completed a version of the SPSI-R, Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). Using Rasch scaling of the SPSI-R short-form, we identified a subset of 10 items that reflected the five-component model of social problem solving. The 10 items were separately validated on the sample of persons living with diabetes mellitus and the sample of family caregivers of persons with severe disabilities. Results indicate that the efficient 10-item version, analyzed separately for all three samples, demonstrated good reliability and validity characteristics similar to the established SPSI-R short form. The 10-item version of the SPSI-R represents a brief, effective way in which clinicians and researchers in busy health care settings can quickly assess global problem-solving abilities and identify those persons at-risk for complicated adjustment. Implications for the assessment of social problem-solving abilities are discussed. Keywords: social problem solving; rehabilitation; screening; health conditions; medical settings

Our objective was to examine the effectiveness of a brief individualized problem-solving intervention for family with caregivers of persons with recent-onset spinal cord injury (SCI). Family caregivers were randomly assigned to a usual care control group (N = 30) or an intervention group (N = 30) in which participants were to receive three face-to-face problem-solving training sessions (PST), educational materials, and telephone contacts as requested over the first year of caregiving. The participants included 60 caregivers (49 women, 11 men). The Social Problem-Solving Inventory-Revised, the Inventory to Diagnose Depression, and the SF-36 were administered at baseline, 6 months and 12 months. Caregivers in the intervention group reported a significant decrease in dysfunctional problem-solving styles scores over time; there were no observable effects for PST on caregiver depression. There was also some indication that the intervention had beneficial effects on caregiver social and physical functioning. An intervention for new caregivers featuring brief PST, education, and contact may be associated with lower dysfunctional problem-solving styles over time and may promote certain aspects of caregiver quality of life. We also discuss limitations and implications of the present study. Keywords: caregiver; randomized controlled trial; spinal cord injury; problem solving

We describe the development of a new measure to assess guilt related to concern about harming others. The two versions of the Interpersonal Guilt Questionnaire, a 45-item and 67-item version, include theoretically-based and clinically relevant categories of guilt: survivor guilt, separation/disloyalty guilt, omnipotent responsibility guilt, and self-hate guilt. Preliminary reliability and validity studies for both versions are presented, based on clinical and nonclinical samples of subjects. Subscales on both versions show good internal consistency; however, the second version, which expanded on the first, is more psychometrically sound overall. Both versions demonstrated predicted correlations with previously published measures of guilt and related affects, such as shame and depression, and with attributional style. Differences between clinical and nonclinical samples are reported and the relevance of survivor guilt and shame to psychopathology is noted.