Evaluation of the psychometrics properties of the alarm distress baby scale among 122 Brazilian children

The Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB) aims at assessing infant withdrawal behavior. A previous validation study revealed acceptable reliability and validity indices. The present study investigated the psychometric properties of the scale in a larger sample from a culturally different population. Pediatricians evaluated the behavior of 122 infants, 2 and 19 months old, using the ADBB during routine physical consultation. Four investigators (two pediatricians and two nurses not specialized in pediatric care) examined video recordings of the evaluations. Results showed good interrater reliability coefficients among pediatricians and poor correlation when all professionals were grouped together. Test–retest reliability revealed good intraexaminer agreement (r = 0.91). The pediatricians' evaluation using the ADBB was compared with a psychiatric examination to investigate the scale's criterion validity. The cutoff point of 5 provided the best clinical validity (sensitivity of 79%, specificity of 81%). Results from construct validity showed that the scale had three dimensions. Comparison of the factor solution with other construct validity studies of the same instrument revealed similarities and differences. Results suggest that the ADBB may be a useful screening instrument to detect signs of psychiatric alterations related to withdrawal behavior in primary care services, and it is likely to provide consistent information.     

Measurement of head movement during auditory localization

Head movement can have a significant effect on the ability to locate the direction of a sound source. A system has been designed to track the head movement in response to sound originating at different azimuth locations with respect to the head. A videotape record is made of a light approximating a point source carried on a lightweight “beanie” mounted on the listener’s head. Movement of the light is monitored by the video camera and recorded on tape, along with the sound stimulus and information concerning loudspeaker location and time. The horizontal and vertical coordinates of the light-spot image are determined in relation to the video synch pulses defining the field borders. Synch signals are available from a video monitor either in real-time or from tape replay to define each TV frame and horizontal scan line. The circuitry interfaces to a computer programmed to take the information, apply a calibration, and process the data into records of time-varying head position and velocity. Examples of both digital and graphic printouts of head movement are given. The system is capable of expansion to three-axis operation.     

Field reliability of comprehensive system scoring in an adolescent inpatient sample

The extent to which the Comprehensive System for the Rorschach is reliably scored has been a topic of some controversy. Although several studies have concluded it can be scored reliably in research settings, little is known about its reliability in field settings. This study evaluated the reliability of both response-level codes and protocol-level scores among 84 adolescent psychiatric inpatients in a clinical setting. Rorschachs were originally administered and scored for clinical purposes. Among response codes, 87% demonstrated acceptable reliability(> .60), and most coefficients exceeded .80. Results were similar for protocol-level scores, with only one score demonstrating less than adequate reliability. The findings are consistent with previous evidence, indicating reliable scoring is possible even in field settings.     

Popular induction: When is consensus information informative?1

An experiment was conducted in which information regarding a target persons evaluation of a target object was presented either in written form or via video tape, and information regarding the evaluations of four other people was also presented either in written form or via video tape. The results indicated that the effect of consensus on both person and object attribution was significantly weaker when the target-person information was video taped (concrete) and the other-people information was written (abstract) than in the other three conditions created by the combination of the two informational variables. It is argued that, in contrast to earlier speculation in the literature, type of consensus and its mode of presentation represent conceptually orthogonal dimensions. Further research is urged to map out the boundary conditions of consensus information; it is demonstrated that current work has largely concentrated upon only a portion of this attributional domain due to the prevalent confounding of these two independent dimensions.     

Primary Care and Clinical Psychology: Assessment Strategies in Medical Settings

There is ample evidence regarding medical-psychological comorbidity to consider clinical psychology as a viable component of health care services in medical settings. Psychologists can become valuable assets to primary care physicians who treat a high number of primary psychiatric cases as well as medical cases with secondary psychological symptoms. Psychologists who function in hospital-based clinics as well as affiliates with primary care (PC) offices can provide empirically supported assessment services that can make treatment more effective and efficient. Multiple studies indicate high prevalence rates of psychiatric patients in PC settings using various instruments. This paper reviews selected assessment tools that have established diagnostic validity and reliability that can be both strategic for patient care and useful to reinforce psychologist collaboration with primary care physicians (PCP).     

Expert testimony on malingering: The admissibility of clinical procedures for the detection of deception

The detection of malingering in the legal context frequently requires the use of psychiatric and psychological expert testimony. These experts may rely on certain clinical techniques in order to detect deception. This article addresses the problem of the admissibility in evidence of clinical procedures used by these experts. The scientific reliability and effect on constitutional rights of procedures such as hypnosis, polygraphy, “truth” drugs, and psychological tests is examined.     

A Comparison of the 1988 and 1994 Diagnostic Criteria for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is an illness that involves severe, prolonged fatigue as well as neurological, immunological, and endocrinological system pathology. Because the pathogenesis of CFS has yet to be determined, case definitions have relied on clinical observation in classifying signs and symptoms for diagnosis. In an attempt to address various criticisms and inconsistencies in diagnostic criteria, there have been several revisions of the CFS case definition. The current investigation examined the differences between 1988 and 1994 definitions as well as participants who had a psychiatric explanation for their fatigue. Dependent measures included psychiatric comorbidity, symptom frequency, and functional impairment. The 1988 criteria, compared to the 1994 criteria, appeared to select a group of participants with more symptomatology and functional impairment, but these groups did not significantly differ in psychiatric comorbidity. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Psychometric properties of the Norwegian version of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (Form A)

The present study reports the reliability and validity of the Norwegian version of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale in non‐clinical and clinical populations. The participants were 344 young male military recruits, 41 healthy controls and 142 psychiatric outpatients. All the participants completed the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory and the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire. The analysis of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale revealed a Cronbach's alpha of 0.85, indicating satisfactory reliability. Evidence for the construct validity was obtained by the correlation between the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory (r?=?0.47) and the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale and the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (r?=?0.47). Finally, the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale significantly discriminated between clinically depressed, non‐depressed psychiatric patients and healthy controls. The results showed that the Norwegian version of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale possess satisfactory psychometric properties suggesting that this instrument is appropriate for use as a cognitive measure in a Norwegian cultural context.     

Reliability and Validity of the qualitative interpretation of sentence completions: A single case statistical study

Based on the sentence completions of a psychiatric patient, ratings were assigned on a number of personality dimensions by six clinical psychologists and 10 graduate students. Independent ratings by a psychologist and a psychiatrist who had interviewed the patient and had access to all the clinical background material, including case history, autobiography, and other tests, served as the criterion. A high degree of validity and interrater reliability was obtained by both clinicians and students with insignificant differences between them. Confidence in judgment was associated with extreme ratings but not with higher validity.     

Norwegian version of the automatic thoughts questionnaire: a reliability and validity study

This study investigated the reliability and validity of the Norwegian version of the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire. Three samples were used: (a) 344 male military recruits; (b) 142 psychiatric outpatients; and (c) 41 healthy controls. The Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire was found to have high internal consistency and satisfactory temporal stability. It correlated positively with the Beck Depression Inventory and was found to discriminate significantly between clinically depressed and non-depressed psychiatric patients and healthy controls. In general the results are satisfactory, suggesting that the Norwegian version of the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire has adequate reliability and validity properties. The Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire was shown to be a useful measure of frequency of automatic negative thoughts in both clinical and non-clinical populations.     

Clinical utility of dimensional models for personality pathology

Clinical utility is defined as the extent to which the DSM assists clinical decision makers in fulfilling the various clinical functions of a psychiatric classification system. Distinction is made between elements of diagnostic validity that are more or less conditional to utility (i.e., coverage, and consistency with etiology and prognosis) and components of clinical utility in the narrow sense of the term (i.e., user acceptability and accuracy, communication, reliability, subtlety, and clinical decision making). Clinical utility is often considered the driving force behind the respective revisions of the DSM system, yet it has been difficult if not impossible to obtain reasonable levels of clinical utility within categorical classifications of personality disorders. This paper presents evidence that a dimensional diagnostic system will substantially improve clinical utility, especially with respect to coverage, reliability, subtlety, and clinical decision making. In addition, some evidence suggests that the purely dimensional models outperform the so-called hybrid models (i.e., dimensional profiling of categories) with respect to coverage, consistency with etiology, subtlety, and clinical decision making. Several research options that might inform future revisions, including the choice or development of a dimensional classification, are suggested.     

Is an interest in computers or individual/team sports associated with adolescent psychiatric disorders?

The Internet plays a major role in adolescents' free time activities and communication nowadays. The aim here was to investigate the possibility of an association of computers and video games or sports (team, individual) with psychiatric disorders among underage psychiatric inpatients. The series of adolescents (n?=?508) had been diagnosed using semistructured interviews (K-SADS-PL). The results showed that an interest in computers and video games did not increase the risk of any specific psychiatric disorder among these adolescent inpatients, but the likelihood of a substance-related disorder was statistically significantly lower among the boys with computers as a hobby. Team sports were related to increased likelihood of conduct disorder among the boys, whereas the likelihood of an affective disorder was reduced. No such association was found in individual sports or among the girls. We conclude that social contacts and peers play an important role in preventing adolescent depression.     

Psychometric properties of the Norwegian version of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (Form A)

The present study reports the reliability and validity of the Norwegian version of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale in non-clinical and clinical populations. The participants were 344 young male military recruits, 41 healthy controls and 142 psychiatric outpatients. All the participants completed the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory and the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire. The analysis of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale revealed a Cronbach's alpha of 0.85, indicating satisfactory reliability. Evidence for the construct validity was obtained by the correlation between the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory (r = 0.47) and the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale and the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (r = 0.47). Finally, the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale significantly discriminated between clinically depressed, non-depressed psychiatric patients and healthy controls. The results showed that the Norwegian version of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale possess satisfactory psychometric properties suggesting that this instrument is appropriate for use as a cognitive measure in a Norwegian cultural context.     

The diagnostic accuracy of questions about past experiences of being mechanically restrained in a population of psychiatric patients

Information about stressful life experiences obtained from patients during diagnostic interviews is an important foundation for clinical decision making. In this study self-reports from 115 committed psychiatric patients of experiences of mechanical restraint were compared with medical records. The sensitivity of patient self-reports was 73% (11/15) and the specificity was 92% (92/100). No clear relationship between psychiatric symptoms and reliability of self-reports was identified. The results highlight the subjective qualities of narratives about past experiences.     

A computer system to assist in the evaluation of the EEGs of epileptic patients

The specific EEG manifestations of epilepsy, seizures, and interictal spikes and sharp waves occur at unpredictable times and at variable frequencies. To obtain an adequate diagnosis, it is often necessary to record the EEG for several hours or several days. A computer system was developed to perform data reduction and quantification by continuously monitoring seizures and automatically recognizing interictal spikes and sharp waves. The past 2 min of EEG are kept on the computer disk at every instant. When an epileptic seizure occurs or when a spike is detected, a sample of EEG, including a section preceding the event itself, is written on the EEG polygraph and on magnetic tape. A continuous recording is thus replaced by samples of varying lengths, containing only the important aspects of the EEG, reducing considerably the original data. After the monitoring session, the spatial and temporal distributions of the interictal activity are presented in a quantified form on the terminal. The seizures are recorded on digital tape and are available for several types of processing. The patient is also monitored by a video system; EEG and video are synchronized by a time-of-day clock to allow electroclinical correlations.     

A method for analyzing the motion of an object on a VTR screen with an Apple II computer

To detect position on a video tape recorder (VTR) monitor screen, two different types of apparatus were developed. One was a light pen, and the other was an instrument similar to an X-Y tracker. These were designed to work with the Apple II computer. Their circuit diagrams are presented.     

An apparatus for linguistic and cognitive studies in young children

An apparatus is described that permits one experimenter to obtain high quality audio and video tape recordings of young children's behavior in cognitive-linguistic tasks while leaving the experimenter free to concentrate on working with the child. The apparatus is portable, robust, relatively child-proof, and distraction-free, features that make it useful for different types of research for a considerable age range of children in a variety of settings such as the child's home, the laboratory, the nursery, and the hospital.