Word frequency does not moderate the degree to which people can selectively attend to parts of visually presented words.

Whether attention is allocated to an entire word or can be confined to part of a word was examined in an experiment using a visual composite task. Participants saw a study word, a cue to attend to either the right or left half, and a test word, and indicated if the cued half of the words (e.g.

Norms for Zung's Self-rating Anxiety Scale.

Background: Zung's Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) is a norm-referenced scale which enjoys widespread use a screener for anxiety disorders. However, recent research (Dunstan DA and Scott N, Depress Res Treat 2018:9250972, 2018) has questioned whether the existing cut-off for identifying the presence of a disorder might be lower than ideal.

Method: The current study explored this issue by examining sensitivity and specificity figures against diagnoses made on the basis of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) in clinical and community samples.

Clarification of the cut-off score for Zung's self-rating depression scale.

Background: Zung's Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) is an established norm-referenced screening measure used to identify the presence of depressive disorders in adults. Despite widespread usage, issues exist concerning the recommended cut-off score for a positive diagnosis. First, confusion arising from the conversion of raw scores to index scores had resulted in a considerably higher cut-off score than that recommended being used by many researchers.

Assigning Clinical Significance and Symptom Severity Using the Zung Scales: Levels of Misclassification Arising from Confusion between Index and Raw Scores.

Background: The Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) are two norm-referenced scales commonly used to identify the presence of depression and anxiety in clinical research. Unfortunately, several researchers have mistakenly applied index score criteria to raw scores when assigning clinical significance and symptom severity ratings. This study examined the extent of this problem.

Screening for anxiety and depression: reassessing the utility of the Zung scales.

Background: While the gold standard for the diagnosis of mental disorders remains the structured clinical interview, self-report measures continue to play an important role in screening and measuring progress, as well as being frequently employed in research studies. Two widely-used self-report measures in the area of depression and anxiety are Zung's Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Self Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). However, considerable confusion exists in their application, with clinical cut-offs often applied incorrectly.

Dysfunctional self-talk associated with eating disorder severity and symptomatology.

Background: While self-talk has been argued to play a crucial role in the development and maintenance of eating disorders (EDs), it has received limited research attention. This study aimed to explore the relationship of ED self-talk with ED severity and symptomatology.

Methods: Analysis of the existing literature, supplemented with a small-scale pilot study, identified 24 distinct categories of ED self-talk.