Every day, children throughout the United States are given psychological evaluations for many different clinical and psycho-educational purposes. Very little research has attempted to investigate children's responses to the experience of having intellectual and achievement tests administered. The goal of the current research was to explore the effect a psycho-educational evaluation has on children in areas of self-concept and anxiety. Dependent variables consisted of pre- and post-test measures of anxiety and self-concept. A total of 75 children in the 4th 5th and 6th grades were recruited after referral for evaluation and possible placement in the Talented and Gifted Program or Special Education. This study employed Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), t-tests, multiple regression analysis, and correlational analysis. Findings included initial evidence that children endorsed decreased anxiety after psycho-educational assessments rather than increased anxiety, suggesting that fear of unknown situations may be more anxiety provoking than the actual situation itself, potentially beneficial findings for psychology and psychometric professionals who evaluate children daily. Students endorsement of academic self-concept significantly predicted anxiety after a psycho-educational evaluation, indicating that students who feel capable in academic areas may endorse less anxiety after an evaluation than students who do not feel academically capable. Finally, negative verbal interaction …

The goals of revision for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition included enhancement of the factor structure, improvement of subtests, and revision of norms. The researchers reported that the very few items that were found to be biased were replaced. The WISC-III performance of a clinical sample of African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic children was analyzed to determine if the test bias was eliminated as claimed in the goals of the revision.

Individuals responding in a socially desirable (SD) fashion, rather than in a manner that reflects their true behavior, has been a problem for self-report questionnaires since their inception. The purpose of this study was to examine the hypothesis that the probability an item is endorsed on a self-report measure of anger is directly proportional to the rated SD of that item. Eighty-two subjects completed the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory (BDHI), the Profile of Moods State (POMS), and the State- Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI). A probability of endorsement was computed for each of the measures' items. Twenty additional subjects rated the measures' items for SD. Each item's SD rating was paired with the probability the item was endorsed to produce a correlation coefficient for each measure. Results strongly support the stated hypothesis. Directions for future research are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to (1) assess the reliability and validity of anger/hostility measures, (2) examine the relationship between anger/hostility and other negative emotions, and (3) examine the relationship between anger/hostility and health history. Sixty-five subjects were given the Buss Durkee Hostility Inventory (BDHI), the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI), the Profile of Mood States pomsS), the Clinical Analysis Questionnaire (CAQ), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Health and Wellness Attitude Inventory (HWAI), and a health questionnaire designed to provide information about past disease and alcohol/drug use. Overall, the BDHI and POMS displayed good test-retest reliability. All six of the global indices of anger/hostility intercorrelated at a significant level, thus demonstrating good concurrent validity. The six global measures of anger/hostility also correlated at a significant level with other negative emotions.

The use of scales on the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) to detect defensiveness in criminal and nonclinical samples was evaluated. Forty-five male inmates of a county jail and 38 male undergraduate psychology students were provided with incentives to complete the PAI under two conditions: standard instructions and experimental instructions to feign a specific, positive role. The sequence of instructions was counterbalanced in both samples for the purpose of examining ordering effects. A repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed, yielding significant main effects of condition, group and order. Additionally, a step-wise discriminant function analysis significantly predicted group membership (i.e., subjects under honest and faking conditions) with a hit rate = 84.4%. Finally, a more effective cutting score for the Positive Impression scale was recommended.

The TAT stories of 38 sexually abused females between the ages of 5 and 18 years and a clinical group of 26 females with no recorded history of abuse were analyzed using the Object Relations and Social Cognitions TAT Scoring System (Westen et al., 1985). Subjects in the sexual abuse group showed significantly lower mean scores on a scale measuring affect-tone of relationship paradigms and on a scale measuring complexity of representations of people. In addition, pathological responses were given significantly more often by sexual abuse victims on the complexity of representations of people scale. Thus, sexually abused children showed more primitive and simple characterizations of people and more negative, punitive affect in their representations. Moreover, these results were independent of age, race, and intelligence. Group differences are discussed in terms of object relations development.

Prior evidence has shown a reduction of neglect on line bisection tasks as a function of altered hemispace presentation and left cueing. The present study was conducted to examine the effect of these factors in reducing symptoms of neglect on measures of general cognitive functioning. To examine proposed changes, revised versions of the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices and the Memory-for-Designs (MFD) Test were constructed by placing the target stimuli in the right hemifield. Two experimental presentations, a right hemispace condition and a right hemispace plus left cue prompt condition, were compared to the standard presentation format. The primary hypotheses predicted that RBD neglect patients would reveal enhanced performance on the criterion measures as a result of these manipulations. Significant correlations were predicted between the neglect measures and between the two scoring systems for the MFD. The sample was comprised of 54 hospitalized patients, assigned to either a RBD neglect group (N = 18), a RBD nonneglect group (N = 18) , or an orthopedic control group (N = 18) . Both RBD groups were administered the Mini Inventory of Right Brain Injury, to document the presence and severity of right brain injury. Presence of neglect was assessed via the Schenkenberg …

Considering the explanations of schizophrenia that presume schizophrenia spectrum disorders (e.g., schizotypal personality disorder, schizoaffective disorder, etc.) to be genetically related to schizophrenia, the purpose of this study was to investigate the attention and information processing abilities of individuals who have been identified as schizotypal or psychosis-prone (i.e., schizophrenia spectrum functioning in individuals who do not have schizophrenia). Research indicates that persons identified as psychosis-prone may show attention and information processing deficits similar to individuals with schizophrenia. The identification and description of individuals who later decompensate into schizophrenia would advance the understanding of schizophrenia and its causes. The Chapman's PER-MAG scale (Perceptual Aberration-Magical Ideation) was used to identify 35 hypothetically psychosis-prone college students (schizotypy group) and 42 normal college students (nonschizotypy group) out of the 806 volunteer subjects. Their attention and information processing abilities were measured by COGLAB (a multiparadigmatic cognitive test battery that represents a continuum of cognitive functions, from preattentional to attentional, to conceptual). Their social adjustment was measured by the Premorbid Adjustment Scale (PAS). The hypotheses of the study were that the hypothetically psychosis-prone subjects would perform poorer than controls on COGLAB measures and that COGLAB measures of a more molar nature would better predict social adjustment …

This study evaluated the impact of acculturative stress and negative autostereotypes on the level of self-esteem and achievement motivation among subgroups of Hispanic college students. Subjects were classified by generational level as Second-generation (i.e., foreign-born parents), or Other (i.e., first-generation, foreign-born individuals, and third-generation, foreign-born grandparents;). By country/region of origin, subjects were divided into Central-Americans, Puerto-Ricans, Mexican, Mexican-Americans, and South Americans. Results showed that acculturative stress may facilitate loss of self-esteem particularly in Second-generation individuals, while negative autostereotypic attitudes may actually increase the student's level of motivation for achievement, particularly in Mexican-American individuals. Also, country/region of origin overall influenced negative autostereotypic attitudes.

The purpose of this study was to explore heterosexual bias in the diagnosis and treatment of gay males. Two hundred-fifty (134 males and 116 females) mental health professionals from the Division of Psychotherapy (29) of the American Psychological Association participated in the study. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two case history conditions, which presented a 35-year-old male seeking therapy. Both conditions were equivalent with regards to the presenting problem (i.e., diagnostic symptoms) with the exception of his significant other (i.e., gay vs. non-gay condition). Potential bias was measured through a diagnostic rating Likert scale and a treatment plan questionnaire. Other independent variables that could potentially have an effect on diagnostic ratings were explored, such as gender, year of graduation, and theoretical orientation of the respondents. Results of the statistical analyses failed to confirm evidence of heterosexual bias. Implications for further research and training are discussed.

This study compared the social cognition and object relations of 39 physically abused children to a clinical group of 39 children with no recorded history of abuse.

This study used a parenting stress and coping model to identify predictors of symptomatology for 13 8 mothers of medically compromised children. This model proposed that: child characteristics (severity of the chronic illness and child related parenting stressors); parent characteristics (self-esteem, sense of competence, and parents' perceived stress/distress); and environmental characteristics (social support, general life stressor events, and demographic variables) contribute to psychological symptomatology for these mothers. Multiple regression analysis found a relationship between general life stressor events, severity of the children's chronic conditions, lower satisfaction with social support, lower self-esteem, and younger mothers' ages and greater symptomatology. Trends toward significance were found for more parenting stress and lower parenting sense of competence predicting greater symptomatology. Predicted relationships between family socioeconomic status and parenting daily hassles and symptomatology were not supported.

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 study of cognitive factors in sexual aggression has, for the most part, been limited to beliefs and attitudes. The present study sought to detect a rape-supportive schema of sexual relationships that organizes and guides information processing in several cognitive domains: cognitions arising in the context of a simulated sexual situation, memory, person perception, and social reasoning.

The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of children on the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised (WPPSI-R) with their performance on the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: Fourth Edition (SB:FE). One hundred and four children between 3 and 7 years of age were administered both tests. A moderate correlation was found between the WPPSI-R Full Scale IQ and the SB:FE Composite Score with a Pearson product-moment correlation of .46. This correlation suggests that the two tests are not interchangeable measures of children's intelligence. They may measure different, equally important aspects of intelligence. As both tests used are relatively new, the current findings should be considered one step in the accumulation of knowledge about the usefulness of the WPPSI-R.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the differences and similarities of quality of life (QoL) in American and Portuguese cancer patients with hematological malignancies as well as the robustness of the measures cross-culturally. Portuguese participants were 98 patients and 49 accompanying persons and the American participants were 55 patients and 22 accompanying persons. Fifty (Portuguese sample) to 40% (American sample) of the patients came with an accompanying person who answered the questionnaire concerning the patient's QoL. The two cultural groups were characterized in terms of QoL (measured by the SF-36 and the FLIC), social support (Social Support Scale), socio-demographic and clinical variables. Portuguese patients reported a higher QoL. However, this result could be attributable to the fact that the two cultural samples differ in socio-economic status. The measures seem to be comparable for the Portuguese and American samples, at least in what concerns reliability and concurrent validity.

Social support has been shown to lessen the negative effects of life stress on psychological and physical health. The stress buffering model and the main effects model of social support were compared using two samples of women over the age of 50 who were either married or recently widowed. These two groups represent low and high uncontrollable major life stress respectively. Other life stress events were also taken into account. Measures assessed current level of life stress, perceived social support, satisfaction with social support, and psychological symptomatology. Results using overall psychological health as the dependent variable support the main effects model.

Although the personal life of the therapist has been a topic of interest for nearly sixty years there is still a paucity of research in this area. There is also a lack of research into the personal lives of researcher psychologists. In this study 282 psychologists (151 researchers and 131 therapists) who attended regional meetings and seminars sponsored by professional psychological associations in Texas were sampled. Job stressors, personal problems and health concerns, relaxation techniques, life satisfaction, and work impact on personal life were some of the areas examined. The most important stressors associated with research were excessive teaching responsibilities, pressures associated with funding and lack of time for a personal life. For therapists the most important stressors associated with work were suicide attempts by clients, clients showing resistance, and clients being angry. Therapists reported more concerns related to anxiety, depression, and family problems than researchers. Both groups chose exercise/sports and movies/television as their most common methods for relaxation. Therapists were three times more likely to have been in therapy than researchers and once in therapy reported six times the number of hours. Researchers reported less childhood abuse than therapists. However, therapists were more satisfied with their current life, indicating …

Two continuous performance tests were administered to normal adult subjects. The mode of presentation (visual or auditory) and the type of task (vigilance or distractibility) were varied, and their effects on performance measured. Data were collected on eighty-two subjects, and results indicated that auditory presentation of stimuli increased the difficulty of both tasks. Results also suggest that the distractibility task administered in either mode was more difficult than the vigilance task. Intercorrelations among the four continuous performance tasks are provided. Normative data are presented on all four tasks administered. A measure of symptoms of attention-deficit disorder in adults, the Adult Behavior Checklist, was found to correlate significantly with another measure of pathology, the SCL-90-R.

The treatment of schizophrenia today consists of a multi-component system of services. Mental health professionals generally agree that anti-psychotic medications are an essential treatment for schizophrenia. However, adherence to medication regimens by patients with schizophrenia is notoriously poor. To identify correlates and predictors of medication compliance, the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS), a semi-structured diagnostic interview, was administered to 90 outpatients with schizophrenia. The results suggest that there are specific variables (i.e., mood symptoms, psychotic symptoms, and socio-demographic variables) that predict medication compliance. In addition, the confirmation of these variables was effective (90.0%) at identifying non-compliant patients. The results suggest that schizophrenia is a complex disorder composed of heterogeneous symptoms. However, a specific group of symptoms is proposed which may provide a screening measure for predicting patients who are likely to be non-compliant with their medications.

The relationship between maturation rate, body image, depression and eating disorder tendencies was explored in a group of 251 college-age females in order to better understand the developmental progression of body image and related variables. Two aspects of body image were measured, namely, level of body satisfaction and amount of body distortion. Body dissatisfaction was found to be associated with early maturation, depression, and eating disorder tendencies. Body distortion was not found to be associated with any of the primary variables. The significant relationship which was found between maturation rate and level of body satisfaction in young adult females suggests that pubertal timing may have lasting effects on the body satisfaction of women. Body satisfaction and depression were found to contribute significantly to the variance in eating disorder tendency.

The current study investigated the criterion validity of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - 2 (MMPI-2) by comparing participants' profiles with other variables, including diagnosis, length of hospitalization, and chronicity. The specific diagnostic groups investigated were depressed (major depressive disorder; dysthymic disorder; and bipolar disorder, depressed), schizophrenic (schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, and schizoaffective disorder), and borderline personality disorder (BPD). Statistical analyses included use of univariate analyses of variance (ANOVAs), multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs), regression analyses, and measures of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive power (PPP), and negative predictive power (NPP). MANOVA results indicated significant differences between diagnostic groups on Scales F, 2, 3, 4, 7, ANX. FRS. DEP. BIZ. M f i , LSE, and FAM. There were considerable differences between males and females when separate MANOVAs were performed for gender groups. Cutoff see ires for classification by diagnosis resulted in significant specificity rates and negative predictive power, but sensitivity rates and positive predictive power were not significant.

New Spanish versions of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) and the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) were assessed with the Spanish translation of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) as the gold standard. Findings from categorical and dimensional analyses suggest that, although the degree of diagnostic concordance of both measures with the DIS was found to be moderately high, the MMPI-2 clinical scales yielded greater specificity but lower sensitivity than the PAI scales on two of four diagnostic categories (i.e., Major Depression, and Schizophrenia). Both measures failed to correctly diagnose Anxiety Disorders, while the MMPI-2 also showed poor diagnostic accuracy with Alcohol Dependence.

This cross-sectional study compared three groups of grandparents, two custodial and one noncustodial, to identify and delineate the unique challenges and expectations faced by custodial grandparents due to their nontraditional roles while attempting to disentangle grandparental role demands from child-specific problems as sources of distress. Those grandparents raising grandchildren demonstrating neurological, physical, emotional, or behavioral problems exhibited the most distress, the most disruption of roles, and the most deteriorated grandparent-grandchild relationships. Although the custodial grandparents raising apparently normal grandchildren demonstrated less distress, less disruption of roles, and less deterioration of the grandparent-grandchild relationship than those grandparents raising grandchildren displaying problems, they still demonstrated higher levels than did traditional grandparents. Those grandparents who reported fewer resources, demonstrated poor attitudes regarding seeking mental health services, and reported raising grandchildren displaying problems had the lowest levels of adjustment.