This purpose of this research study was to identify key differences that distinguish stepfamilies from intact families with regard to individual members' perceptions of family environment and family functioning. Additionally, an initial look at how membership in a stepfamily impacts the young children's perceptions of interpersonal family functioning is offered.

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of (a) respondent age, (b) age and gender of perpetrator and victim, and (c) history of experienced violence on perceptions of elder abuse. Two-hundred and one (N = 201) middle-aged adults and 422 college students were assessed. Measures included adaptations of the Severity of Violence Against Women Scale and Elder Abuse Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions Scale-Revised. Middle-aged respondents viewed psychological behaviors more harshly than young. Middle-aged females and young males were less tolerant of middle-aged perpetrators. While past performance of elder abuse was predictive of future elder abuse, history of childhood abuse was not. Exploratory analyses examined middle-aged respondents' judgments of abusive behaviors and perceptions based on age of perpetrator. Middle-aged and young adults' willingness to respond to dimensions of quality, severity, and reportability were also examined.

This study investigated the influence of age and health status on verbal and visual memory and attention. The objective was to select subjects resembling participants in normative studies, and to contrast the genuinely healthy component with the "contaminants." A rigorous and detailed self-report of health status plus a standard neurological examination were used to screen and divide subjects into two health status groups: normal and super healthy. It was speculated that the strong effect of age on memory and attention commonly found among the elderly would be diminished with more restrictive control over health status.

Health beliefs of 221 postmenopausal women were assessed to predict the Breast Cancer Screening Behaviors of breast self-examination (BSE) and utilization of mammography. Champion's (1991) revised Health Belief Model (HBM) instrument for BSE, which assesses the HBM constructs of Seriousness, Susceptibility, Benefits, Barriers, Confidence and Health Motivation, was utilized along with her Barriers and Benefits instrument for mammography usage. Ronis' and Harel's (1989) constructs of Severity-Late and Severity-Early were evaluated along with Cuing and demographic variables. These exogenous latent constructs were utilized in a LISREL path model to predict Breast Cancer Screening Behavior.

The Rorschach records and Wechsler Intelligence Scale scores of sixty-six children between the ages of 5 and 13 were compared. Subjects in each group were from one of three conditions: children who have documented histories of physical abuse, children referred for clinical intervention with no history of abuse, and a community sample of children with no documented history of abuse or psychological treatment. Data from the groups were analyzed to examine evidence of increased reliance on ego functions related to motor activity and concurrent deficits in other areas of ego function by subjects in the physical abuse group. Results revealed that the physical abuse group showed a greater tendency toward color-dominant responses on the Rorschach than the comparison groups and that the Community control group produced records with lower extended form quality than the clinical groups. No significant differences were found for Performance/Verbal IQ split, EB style, Cooperative Movement or Aggressive content.

The primary purpose of the present study was to examine the potential relationships that exist between anger expression, as measured by several MMPI-2 scales, and chronic pain.

Object representations of sexually abused girls were compared to those of a clinical control group with no history of maltreatment. In addition, girls subjected to sexual abuse by itself were compared with girls who were sexually abused in conjunction with physical abuse and/or neglect (i.e., multiply abused). TAT stories were analyzed using the Object Relations and Social Cognition Scale which assesses four dimensions of object relations. It was hypothesized that sexually abused children would manifest more general and highly pathognomic impairment than controls along four dimensions of object relations. It was also hypothesized that multiple abuse would be associated with more general and highly pathognomic impairment in object relations than sexual abuse by itself.

To investigate the possibility that chronic diabetes mellitus was related to specific neuropsychological deficits, cognitive functioning was measured in subjects with diabetic retinopathy (without secondary disabilities), and in subjects classified as normal blind adults (also without secondary disabilities). The scores for the two groups were then compared.

Academically talented college students have unique development needs that often go unmet. One area that is currently attracting more attention in the academically talented literature is career counseling. The purpose of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of individual and group career counseling interventions. Subjects included 54 students from a special Texas program that provides the opportunity for gifted students to attend college during their final two years of high school. One instrument used assessed identity, confidence, career goals, and professional identity. The second instrument evaluated whether the subjects had recently discussed career concerns, were seeing a vocational counselor, or seeking career information. A pre-test was followed by group or individual intervention, and a post-test was conducted two months later. Results indicated an overall decrease on the instrument assessing professional identity and career goals. This study revealed no difference in effectiveness between group or individual interventions. Further research in this area is necessary to develop and refine the most effective career counseling interventions for the academically talented student.

The Health Belief Model was used to study HIV/AIDS beliefs of 419, 18 to 24 year old, never married, sexually active, heterosexual college students and predict their AIDS preventive behaviors from a larger sample of 662 college students. The structural properties of the scales used were evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis. Recent preventive behaviors were predicted in a LISREL Structural Equation Modeling analysis.

The purpose of the study was to determine if exposure to a challenging interpersonal situation would have an adverse impact on intra- and interpersonal constructs. Individual difference variables including level of hostility and anger, Type A behavior, control in social situations, depression and sex were examined as "predictors" of those more likely to be adversely affected by personal challenge. Eighty subjects, 40 male and 40 female, completed questionnaires at a pretesting session including measures of hostility, the Type A behavior pattern, trait anger, exaggerated social control, depression, and self-other constructs. Twenty subjects then participated in a "supportive" role-play condition where the confederate was agreeable and friendly. Sixty subjects participated in a "challenge" role-play condition; the confederate was disagreeable, confrontive, and unpleasant. The posttesting measures were then completed.

The present study examined the relationship between coping and psychological and psychosomatic distress of 25 individuals who experienced the same severe, acute traumatic event: the violent shooting that killed 23 people and severely injured 20 more in Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, on October 16, 1991. Distress was assessed by one-month pre-event and post-event scores on the SCL-90R, Psychosomatic Questionnaire, and by a Life Event Questionnaire score for the year before the incident. Coping was measured by a modified version of the Ways of Coping Scale (Folkman et al., 1986) and Response Style Questionnaire (Nolen-Hoeksema & Morrow, 1991). All post-event distress scores, except the Psychosomatic score, significantly increased over their corresponding pre-event scores regardless of gender. Although female distress scores were consistently higher than male scores, gender was predictive of post-event distress only for the SCL-90R Anxiety, Somatization, and Global Severity Index scales. The only pre-event score found to be predictive of post-event distress was the Psychosomatic scale. Regression analysis, with demographic and pre-event variables controlled, found a significant positive relationship between Escape/Avoidance coping and one-month post-event levels of Anxiety and Psychosomatic distress. Findings were discussed in the context of the process-oriented stress-illness model and were compared to current disaster …

Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) experience a significant number of psychological symptoms and behavioral problems which negatively affect their interactions within their families. The purpose of the present study was to explore the perceptions of family environment of boys with ADHD and their mothers and compare them to those of nonreferred boys and their mothers. Maternal reports of emotional distress and perceptions of hyperactive behavior in the two groups of boys were also studied.

To date, no research exists examining criterion-related validity of alternate, computerized forms of the Category Test. The intent of this study was to address criterion-related validity of three full forms of the Category Test. In that, the goal was to examine equivalency of each version in their ability to differentiate brain-injured from non-brain-injured individuals. Forty-nine (N = 49) healthy adults and 45 (N = 45) brain-injured adults were tested using three versions of the Category Test, the BDI, and the WAIS-R NI. ANOVA indicated no significant differences between versions of the Category Test or an interaction between Category Test version and group membership on the total error score. MANOVA performed between versions of the Category Test and Subtest error scores indicated significant differences between versions on Subtest 3 and Subtest 6. Group membership (brain-injured v. non-brain-injured) produced a significant main effect on all subtests of the Category Test except Subtest 2. Several exploratory analyses were performed examining the relationship between neuropsychological impairment, group membership based on Category Test error scores, and the WAIS-R NI. Clinical applications, such as the use of serial testing to index neurorehabilitation gains, were discussed.

The role of memory as measured by the Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning (WRAML) was studied in an outpatient clinic sample of 62 arithmetic disabled children.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the applicability of a model of bereavement to the long-term adjustment to loss. Based on Allen's (1990) model, it was predicted that the variables experienced competence, perceived resources, and the impact of the loss would contribute strongly to overall long-term bereavement adjustment. It was also predicted that time and multiple losses would impact adjustment to loss.

The literature demonstrates that children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often experience peer rejection as a result of their difficulties with interpersonal interactions. The manner in which children with ADHD process social information and the extent to which social difficulties may adversely impact these children has remained unclear. In the first part of the study, the perceptions of social support between boys (ages 7 to 11 years) with and without ADHD were compared. An analysis of variance procedure (ANOVA) was performed and children with ADHD were found to perceive significantly lower levels of social support from their classmates than normal peers at pretreatment. The groups did not differ significantly with regard to perceptions of parent, teacher, and close friend support. In the second part of the study, the role of ADHD parent training and its effectiveness in decreasing problem-behaviors, ameliorating social problems, and enhancing perceptions of social support was examined. Repeated measures MANOVAs revealed a significant rater (mother and teacher) by time (pretreatment and posttreatment) interaction effect for total behavior problems, externalizing behavior problems, internalizing behavior problems, and social problems. On each scale, mothers reported more behavior problems than teachers at pretreatment, but fewer problems than teachers at posttreatment …