This study was designed to evaluate: (a) teachers' behavior when they are confronted with potential cases of child abuse and (b) the information teachers require to make accurate decisions regarding the reporting of suspected child abuse. Teachers were presented with three vignettes describing cases of varying levels of suspected maltreatment, and different amounts of additional information. They were then asked to indicate how likely they would be to report the case to Child Protective Services (CPS). It was expected that reporting behavior would increase as available information increased. The results generally did not support this hypothesis. No significant impact on reporting behavior was found when teachers were presented with either the symptom list or the legal interpretation; however, there was a trend toward an interaction with the level of abusive indications in the case. These results are discussed in the context of the need for further training.

The purpose of this study is to show principles of TAT card pull are applicable to object relations theory, and card pull effects are greater in subjects with greater impairments. Stories of physically abused and control child and adolescent subjects were evaluated on object relations scales of the SCORS (Westen et al., 1985). Scores varied systematically as a function of card stimulus characteristics. Analysis of scales assessing internalization of self supported stimulus inhibition interpretation while scales measuring views of others or individual affective experiences advanced stimulus pull explanation. Abused individuals' response patterns were similar to controls except on CR. Results of this study may increase TAT utility for evaluating object relations functioning by guiding card selection.

The clinical utility of the Intermediate Category Test, a measure of executive functioning in children 9 to 14 years of age, is currently limited by the availability of only a Total Error score for normative interpretation. The Process Scoring System (PSS) was developed to provide a standardized method of assessing specific processing patterns and problem-solving errors. The purpose of this study was to determine the ability of the PSS scores to discriminate between children with and without suspected executive deficits, thereby providing evidence of criterion-related validity.

Psychopathic criminals commit more crimes, are more prone to recidivism, and more likely to engage in violent crimes and other aggressive behavior than nonpsychopathic criminals. Less is known about forensic patients, both with and without psychopathy, and their aggression. In the current study, patients in a maximum security hospital were examined with respect to their psychopathy and its predictive value on institutional management and dangerousness. In this regard, the Psychopathy Checklist (PCL) and the Psychopathy Checklist - Revised (PCL-R) have proven to be valid and reliable measures of psychopathy. The present study was an attempt to establish predictive validity for a new version: the Psychopathy Checklist Screening Version (PCLSV). As such, this study examined the PCL-SV's relationship to (a) diagnoses of Antisocial Personality Disorder according to DSM-III-R criteria and (b) the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) Aggression, Drug Problems, and Antisocial Features scales. The influence of major Axis I disorders on the assessment of psychopathy with the PCLSV was also examined. Participants were 150 male forensic psychiatric patients at Vernon State Hospital who were committed for various reasons: incompetence to stand trial, initial evaluation and treatment after having been found not guilty by reason of insanity, and manifest dangerousness. Chart reviews …

This controlled descriptive study was designed to investigate the psychological status of couples who are engaged in advanced fertility treatments. A battery of psychological test instruments, including the Millon Behavioral Health Inventory (MBHI), the Health Attribution Test (HAT), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MCSDS), was used to measure psychological variables that have been shown in the infertility research literature to be associated with the psychological experiences of infertility patients. The scores from the four assessment instruments were compared with those of pregnant couples in childbirth education classes to differentiate the impact of stress associated with fertility treatment from the stress experienced by third trimester pregnant couples. Eighty-five subjects (42 male and 43 female) volunteered for the study and completed packets of questionnaires. The groups were designated Treatment (infertile couples) and Control (pregnant couples). The resulting data were collected and analyzed on the basis of group mean scores on the test instruments.

Psychological assessment of mentally disordered offenders requires a systematic consideration of response styles, including malingering and defensiveness. Important components of these evaluations are standardized diagnostic interviews. However, the ability of offenders to feign mental disorders on such measures to achieve such external incentives as treatment, placement on safer units, or possible release from jail remains uninvestigated. With a known-groups comparison with the data from the Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms as a criterion, 24 suspected malingerers were compared to 64 genuine patients on the Schedule of Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS), the abbreviated SADS-C, the Suicide Probability Scale, and the Referral Decision Scale.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) was one of the most widely used psychological tests administered to adolescents. The MMPI-A is a revised version of the MMPI that was developed specifically for adolescents. The purpose of this study is to establish clinical correlates for the MMPI-A standard scale codetypes.

The purpose of this study was to examine the cognitive and emotional functioning of neglected, physically abused, and clinical control children between six and thirteen years of age who were referred for testing at the Dallas Child Guidance Clinic.

The purpose of the study was to determine the point prevalence of cognitive dysfunction in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to investigate its association with corticosteroids and depression. The severity of dysfunction and the pattern of cognitive changes were examined. This study hypothesized that cognitive dysfunction is common in SLE and many previous studies have underestimated its prevalence, partially due to using limited neuropsychological batteries and insensitive test instruments. It was further hypothesized that the pattern of cognitive changes in SLE patients will resemble that observed in subcortical dementias.

The Personality Inventory for Youth (PIY) is a recently developed, multiscale assessment instrument designed specifically for adolescents between the ages of nine and 18. The purpose of this archival study was to establish clinical correlates for the PIY scales. PIY profiles were collected from 100 juvenile files at the Gainesville State School and examined in conjunction with the Child Assessment Scale (CAS) and the Personal Attitude Scale (PAS) to provide evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. Results indicate modest to moderate convergent validity according to Campbell and Fiske's criteria for construct validity; however, discriminant results indicate considerable overlap among traits which are not expected to be highly correlated.

One hundred twenty-two undergraduate students at the University of North Texas were administered several different optimism scales and also measures of similar constructs such as hope. Results indicated that most measures of optimism show only low to moderate intercorrelations with other measures of the same construct. Additionally, factor analysis confirmed that the measures of optimism actually appear to be assessing multiple factors and not necessarily optimism alone. Implications of the present study include the necessity of individual researchers to be familiar with the specific measure of optimism used in a given study as scores on differing measures of optimism may actually be providing very different information.

Pain has been described as the most complex human experience and most frequent reason patients seek medical treatment. Few people fail to experience the pain associated with disease, injury, or medical/surgical procedures. However, the impact of unemployment that results from chronic pain suffering has not been widely researched. To present a comprehensive view of the effect unemployment has upon the chronic pain experience, this study focused upon stress philosophy, chronic pain, employment, and coping effectiveness. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and a Personal Data Questionnaire (PDQ) were administered to 96 persons (four groups of 24 subjects) representing either unemployed or employed and either chronic or non-chronic (acute) pain populations.

Three recent studies attempted to substantiate Sewell and Cromwell's (1990) theory of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) based on personal construct theory (Kelly, 1955). One crucial aspect of the model that was tested in each of the studies is "elaboration," which is the process of bringing more of a person's repertoire of understanding (constructions) to a certain experience to give it meaning. Elaboration is representative of whether or not the individual is using an integrated set of constructs to deal with a traumatic event. A two-part study (1) reanalyzed existing data to assist in understanding discrepancies in past findings, and (2) content analyzed constructs given by subjects in all three studies. Findings concerning elaboration remained somewhat discrepant but suggested possible differences when investigating the emergent versus submerged poles of constructs.

Seventy students (38 with physical disabilities and 32 without physical disabilities) were matched on age (a criterion of ± 4 years was used) and sex. Members of both groups, Persons With Physical Disabilities (PWPD) and those Persons Not Physically Disabled (PNPD), were asked to complete the University Services Inventory, Academic Goals Questionnaire, Academic Attributional Style Questionnaire (AASQ), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to determine how these variables were related to explanatory style (ES, as determined by AASQ scores). ES has its origins in the reformulated learned helplessness model (Abramson, Seligman, & Teasdale, 1978). According to this model, individuals who made attributions that were internal-stable-global (pessimistic ES) were more likely to experience mood and behavior deficits in the wake of bad events. The present study examined college achievement (GPA), utilization of university services, goal specificity, goal efficacy, and responses to academic setbacks, as these variables were related to ES. Additionally, ES scores were examined with regards to differences in gender and disability status (both between different disability groups and between individuals with and without physical disabilities).

The purpose of the present investigation was to explore the relationship of the adolescent experience of parental death to the variables of identity formation, adjustment, and coping. The inclusion of adolescents who had experienced parental divorce and those who had not experienced either loss condition allowed for group comparisons.

Multipotentiality makes career counseling with gifted students difficult. High-flat vocational profiles give the impression that gifted students can develop a wide range of abilities to an equally high level. High-flat vocational profiles may be due to assessments that consider abilities and disregard interests and values, and ceiling effects from the use of age-appropriate, rather than cognitively-appropriate measures. Subjects included 170 gifted students from a residential, early college entrance program (M=15.9 yrs., SD=.361). Subjects completed the Scholastic Aptitude Test, Self-Directed Search, and Study of Values. McNemar's Test of Correlated Proportions shows the proportion of multipotential profiles decreases significantly when cognitively-appropriate measures of interests and values are considered, in addition to abilities. Pearson Chi-square shows no ethnic differences.

This study proposed that the perceived quality of the custodial grandparent/grandchild relationship in step families will not be interrupted by the parental separation and remarriage and that the determinants of the quality of this relationship would be similar to that associated with the grandchild/grandparent relationship in intact families. The research by Shoire and Hayslip (1988) who studied grandparenting indicates that four variables are significant in this perceived relationship (in order of magnitude): kinship position (maternal versus paternal), grand parenting style, parent/grandparent bond, and influence the grandparent has on the grandchild. There same four variables were proposed to predict the perceived quality of the custodial grandparent/grandchild relationship in step families. Grandparenting style, as defined bu Shore and Hayslip (1988), is comprises of three variables, parentlike behaviors provided, services provided, and visitation patterns. To have a continuous rather than nominal value for grandparenting style and to determine which aspect of grandparenting style is most important, these three variables, parentlike behaviors, services, and visitation were used in place of grandparenting style. Therefore, this study proposed that the following variables would predict perceived quality of the custodial grandparent/grandchild relationship: kinship position,parentlike behaviors provided, services provided, visitation patterns, parent/grandparent bond, and influence the grandparent has …

Reitan and Wolfson's General Neuropsychological Deficit Scale and Left and Right Neuropsychological Deficit Scales were applied to Halstead-Reitan test data of individuals with psychotic or substance abuse disorders with and without a head injury.

Psychologists' diagnostic choices when the specificity of child sexual abuse in a clinical vignette is varied was examined. The degree to which Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was judged to be a viable diagnostic choice among a set of diagnoses was analyzed under conditions with sexual abuse stated, implied, not stated, and excluded. PTSD was rated as more likely for the stated and implied sexual abuse vignettes than for the not stated and excluded vignettes.

The purpose of this study was to compare pre- and post-treatment differences in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in male adolescents with conduct disorder. The Children's PTSD Inventory and the PTSD Reaction Index were used to diagnose PTSD and determine trauma type (Type I single trauma or Type II recurring trauma). Pre- and post-treatment measures included the PTSD Reaction Index, the Children's Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, the Dissociative Experiences Scale, and the Youth Self-Report. The six-week, biweekly group treatment included education, exposure, and cognitive elements. Primary hypotheses that the abused group would statistically differ from the non-abused group in terms of pre- and post-treatment levels of avoidance, dissociation, anger/aggression, self-destructiveness, social problems, and overall levels of PTSD symptoms, were not confirmed. Overall, group therapy participants experienced statistically significant decreases in PTSD symptoms over the course of therapy. Results are discussed in light of clinical implications, recommended cautions given the lack of a robust control group, and directions for future research.

Predictors of institutional adjustment for juvenile offenders were examined using a sample of 120 males in a detention facility. While demographic information failed to differentiate between well and poorly adjusted juveniles, psychological measures appeared to be more effective. Several MMPI-A clinical scales were useful predictors with the overall elevation in clinical scales being one of the strongest predictors. In addition, the Psychopathy Checklist - Clinical Version (PCL-CV) was a strong predictor of adjustment. Major ethnic differences occurred in the prediction of adjustment, with the MMPI-A and PCL-CV scales predicting infraction rates for the African American group but not Anglo American or Hispanic American groups.

The purpose of this study was to examine the degree to which several psychological and personality variables relate to anorexic and bulimic symptomatology in female undergraduates. Past research investigating the relationship between such variables and eating disorders has been contradictory for several reasons, including lack of theoretical bases, discrepant criteria, or combination of anorexia and bulimia nervosa. Recent investigators have concluded that it is important to examine subdiagnostic levels of eating pathology, especially within a college population. Thus, the present investigation used a female undergraduate sample in determining the extent to which several psychological factors--obsessiveness, dependency, over-controlled hostility, assertiveness, perceived control, and self-esteem--account for anorexic and bulimic symptomatology. Regression analyses revealed that anorexic symptoms were best explained by obsessiveness and then two measures of dependency, emotional reliance on another and autonomy. Bulimic symptoms were related most strongly to lack of social self-confidence (a dependency measure) and obsessiveness. Clinical implications and directions for future research are addressed.

This study extended earlier research supporting discrepancy theory by including a multidimensional conceptualization of gender including attitudes, behaviors, and characteristics. Analyses revealed that gender discrepancy when assessed multidimensionally or unidimensionally (as in past research) was not significantly related to eating disordered symptomatology.

Research has documented an association between sustained overt psychological abuse and women's self-concept and psychological distress. However, the focus on overt domination and control limits our understanding of its impact and is a weakness addressed in this study. Women in distressed relationships who had sustained severe psychological abuse from a partner and either no, moderate, or serious violence met inclusion criteria.