The current study discussed the development and validation of the Checklist for Differential Diagnosis of Attentional Problems (CDDAP), a tool for use with adults seeking diagnosis and treatment of an Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Normative data are provided on three subject groups (ADHD adults, controls, and adults with other psychiatric disorders). Convergent validity was established with the SCL-90, and criterion validity established through comparing scaled scores with final diagnoses. Overall, this measure was accurate at differentiating adults with ADHD from controls and adults with other psychiatric disorders. Results indicated that the CDDAP was also able to identify other psychiatric disorders with 71 to 92% accuracy, depending on the disorder.

A sample of 203 grandparents, 103 of whom were surrogate parents for their grandchildren, were assessed to construct a model of their psychological functioning. Four measures of psychological functioning (i.e., well-being, satisfaction with grandparenting, meaning of grandparenthood, and perceived relationships with grandchildren) were evaluated. Path analysis of data suggested that the resumption of the parental role negatively impacted all measures except the meaning of grandparenthood. Data also suggested a sense of isolation among those raising grandchildren, as well as a sense of role confusion. These factors may have been exacerbated by behavior difficulties of many grandchildren as a result of family conflict preceding the loss of their parents, and by a lack of parenting skills of grandparents who assumed parental responsibilities. These results reinforce other work that found a preference for fulfilling voluntary, nonparental relationships with grandchildren among grandparents.

Psychiatric patients, particularly schizophrenics, tend to be less accurate decoders of facial expressions than normals. The involvement of three basic information processing stages in this deficit was investigated: attention; encoding; and processing. Psychiatric inpatients, classified by diagnosis and severity of pathology, and nonpatient controls were administered seven facial cue decoding tasks. Orientation of attention was assessed through rate of diversion of gaze from the stimuli. Encoding was assessed using simple tasks, requiring one contrast of two facial stimuli and selection from two response alternatives. Processing was assessed using a more complex task, requiring several contrasts between stimulus faces and selection from numerous response alternatives. Residualized error scores were used to statistically control for effects of attention on task performance. Processing task performance was evaluated using ANCOVA to control for effects of encoding. Schizophrenics were characterized by generalized information processing deficit while affective disorder subjects evidenced impairment only in attending. Attention impairments in both groups were related to severity of psychopathology. Problems in encoding and processing were related only to a schizophrenic diagnosis. Their decoding deficits appeared attributable to general visuospatial discrimination impairment rather than repression-sensitization defenses or the affective connotation of cues. Adequacy of interpersonal functioning was associated with measures …

This study examined the relationship between perceptions of intellectual functioning and measures of cognitive abilities, personality variables and sociodemographic information. One hundred and fifty-two older community residing adults were asked to define their perception of intelligence by completing a questionnaire that asked the extent to which a variety of tasks are: functionally important, contribute to feelings of intellectual vitality and are the object of worry or concern. They also estimated their skill at performing each task. The hypothesis that cognitive abilities would best predict perceptions of cognitive functioning was moderately supported. Personality variables, specifically anxiety, were more predictive of the meaning variables than abilities.

Parents of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are often reported as experiencing more stress than parents of normal children. The bulk of this research has been conducted primarily on a Caucasian population, however, providing little information regarding multicultural aspects of parenting stress. Research has also been lacking in attention given to the stress related to parenting a child with internalizing disorders. The purpose of this study was 1) to compare parenting stress reported by mothers of children with ADHD to parenting stress reported by mothers of children with depressive disorders, and 2) to compare parenting stress as reported by Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic mothers. Results indicated that mothers of ADHD children experienced more parenting stress related only to their children's hyperactive and distracting behaviors. Contrary to previous research, Caucasian mothers reported significantly more overall and parent-related parenting stress than African American mothers.

Psychological assessment ofjuveniles being considered for waiver to adult criminal courts often requires systematic evaluation of dangerousness, maturity-sophistication, and amenability to treatment (ATX). Despite the importance of these constructs to the evaluation of juveniles, little is known about the criteria that constitute these three constructs. This study was designed to assist in clarifying the constructs of dangerousness, maturity-sophistication, and ATX that typically guide juvenile transfers. Generally, prototypicality ratings were aligned with the current literature on dangerousness, sophistication-maturity, and ATX.

Parent-child interactions tend to be problematic among families of children diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Although much attention has been paid in research and therapy to negative cycles of interaction between parent and child, it is equally important to consider how positive family interactions can be promoted, as these are likely to help prevent or reduce behavior problems and facilitate the best possible outcomes for children. Major contributors to the fields of psychology and child therapy have postulated that parental empathy is of primary importance in facilitating healthy child personality development. However, the effect of parental empathy has not been systematically studied with ADHD children. Thus, this study investigated the relationship between parental empathy and child adjustment factors in children with ADHD. It was hypothesized that among parent-child dyads with ADHD children, higher levels of parental empathy would predict higher levels of child self-esteem, social skills, and compliance, and lower levels of child aggression. Participants were 56 children who were previously diagnosed with ADHD and their parent/guardian. Thirty-seven parent-child dyads served as a control group. The study included parent-child participation in a videotaped analogue observation procedure and completion of parent-, child-, and teacher-report measures. Results indicated that higher levels of …

Individualist and collectivist cultural approaches describe the relationship between an individual and his or her social surroundings. the current study had a two-fold purpose. the first was to investigate whether Brazilians, like other collective peoples, displayed more group self-representations, categorized items more relationally and paid more attention to context than Americans. the second purpose of this study was to investigate if counter-cultural primes played a role in activating either collective or individual selves. Both American (n = 100) and Brazilian (n = 101) participants were assigned either to a no-prime condition or a counter-cultural prime condition and then were asked to rate emotion cartoons, categorize items, complete the Twenty Statement Test (TST), and choose a representative object. As expected, unprimed Brazilian participants displayed more collectivist patterns on emotional (F[1,196] = 10.1, p = .001, ?²= .049; F[1,196] = 7.9, p = .006, ?²= .038; F[1,196] = 9.0, p = .005, ?²= .044) and cognitive (F[1, 196] = 6.0, p < .01, ?² = .03) tasks than Americans. However, Brazilians offered more individualist self-representations (F[1, 195] = 24.0, p < .001, ?² = .11) than American participants. Priming only had a marginal effect on item categorization (F[1,194] = 3.9, p = …

Using a manufacturing setting that is organized into self-managed teams, the current study identified and measured key leadership behaviors within the teams. Questions that were asked include: are some team leadership behaviors more critical to a team's level of functioning than other behaviors? and do successful self-managed teams rely on formal leadership to a lesser extent than members of less successful teams? These questions were asked in the context of leadership as a process, not an individual.

College success, as defined by adjustment to college and academic performance, is a multidetermined with a number of contributing influences, including academic factors, personality variables, family characteristics, and environmental factors. This study attempted to provide an organizing model of the college success literature that was based on previous research (e.g., Aspinwall & Taylor, 1994) and current stress-coping theory (Moos & Swindle, 1990). Structural equation modeling analyses indicated that the hypothesized model did not fit the data well. However, subsequent regression analyses did validate the view that college success is multidetermined. Specifically, academic performance was predicted by a combination of academic factors (SAT score and class rank) and academic adjustment. In turn, academic adjustment was predicted by locus of control, perceived social support, and high school class rank. Personal adjustment was predicted by coping strategies employed, parents who fostered autonomy, locus of control, self-esteem, and high school class rank. Finally, social adjustment was predicted by optimism, coping strategies employed, and locus of control. Treatment implications as well as directions for future research were discussed.