The Discriminative Validity of the Whitaker Index of Schizophrenic Thinking

An attempt was made to assess the discriminative validity of the WIST with a sample of psychiatric inpatients. Through the use of a standardized structured interview and a diagnostic system for schizophrenia based on the use of discriminant function analysis with nonpathognomic symptom combinations, a reliable and valid system was used to establish the criterion diagnosis. Approximately 63% of patients reliably diagnosed as schizophrenic were detected via the WIST while only 14% of nonschizophrenic patients scored in the schizophrenic range on the WIST. The assets and liabilities of using the WIST to diagnose schizophrenia are discussed.     

精神分裂症治疗的理性思辩

神经解剖、神经生化的研究进展为阐明精神分裂症的病理机制提供了基础,但在精神分裂症的发病中遗传学、环境中的生物学和社会心理因素亦不容忽视。依循系统论的整体性、稳定性观点,采取药物、心理与心理社会康复治疗的综合治疗是目前的最佳方案。     

The predictive validity of the Zung Index of Potential Suicide

Examined the predictive validity of the Zung Index of Potential Suicide. Subjects hospitalized for a suicide attempt were followed up 6 months later. In agreement with earlier studies, the IPS clinical scale was related to suicidal ideation and prior attempting at the time of admission. However, it was not related to further suicidal behavior or ideation at the 6-month followup. It is concluded that the scale lacks predictive validity and its use for assigning suicidal risk is not justified.     

The discriminative validity of a phallometric test for pedophilic interests among adolescent sex offenders against children

The authors examined the responses of adolescent sex offenders against children on a phallometric test of pedophilic interests. Participants were 40 adolescent sex offenders against children, 75 young adult sex offenders against children, and 39 young adult comparison participants. The responses of adolescents with female victims resembled those of comparison participants; adolescents with any male victims had larger relative responses to child stimuli than comparison participants. Young adult offenders, regardless of victim sex, had larger relative responses to child stimuli than comparison participants. Using a cut score of 0 (indicating equal or greater arousal to children than to adults), sensitivity was 42% for adolescents with any male victims, and specificity was 92% for the comparison participants. Results suggest phallometric testing can identify pedophilic interests among these adolescent sex offenders.     

The Schizophrenic Diathesis and the Kibbutz

In this article, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) "Israeli High Risk Study," which extended over two decades and compared the relative effects of kibbutz and city environments on the diathesis of schizophrenia, is critically examined. Comparison data on personality and cognitive functions of groups of 11- to 16-year-olds and adults are reviewed in the light of previously published material. The apparent shifts in level of adjustment of kibbutz and city subjects, as well as the allegedly greater incidence of pathology in the kibbutz index group, are questioned on methodological grounds.     

The Borderline Schizophrenic in Group Psychotherapy

SAGE is a group program developed for the community elderly. Groups led by professionals were compared to those led by the elderly, who were supervised SAGE graduates, and both of these groups of participants were compared to a wait-control group of elderly. A series of pre- and postmeasures on goal attainment scales and physical and mental health indices were used to evaluate the impact of the SAGE program. Professionally led groups had greater impact on improvement of mental health indices compared to the peer-led groups. These findings are discussed in the context of a framework used to analyze the differences between professionally conducted therapy, paraprofessionals, and peer-led self-help groups. Implications for the role of professionals in self-help are examined.     

The Use of Humor with Chronic Schizophrenic Patients

The use of a humorous therapeutic approach combined with drug therapy in the treatment of chronic schizophrenia patients institutionalized for protracted periods of time led to positive changes in their symptoms. The majority of the patients responded well to humorous interpretations. The patients felt that they had the option of adopting the doctor's humorous manner. This approach appealed to them and raised self-esteem; they likewise gained confidence in their own ability to form judgments. They cooperated better with the doctor in issues pertaining to treatment. The fact that humor made an impact on the patients' cognition demonstrated that patients with disturbed thought processes could be influenced in ways which improved coping. The patients' condition was evaluated according to the BPRS scale, before the treatment, on a monthly basis during the treatment, and three months upon the completion of the experiment. In the course of the experiment, pharmacological treatment remained unchanged. On the average, a perceptible reduction in the BPRS value (p < .05) was detected as a result of humor therapy. Amusing representations of affective external stimuli were incorporated into the patients' cognition and, along with a newly gained awareness of the possibility of relating to them with humor, were retained long after the termination of the project.     

The use of rats as discriminative stimuli

A FREE OPERANT PROCEDURE WAS USED TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT ONE RAT COULD DISCRIMINATE: (1) between the presence and absence of a second rat, and (2) between two other rats of the same species and sex. The subjects were four male Wistar rats. The discriminatory response was a bar press and food was used as reinforcement during training. Although there were wide individual differences in rate of learning, all subjects learned to make both discriminations.     

精神分裂症患者的大脑两半球关系特点

1引言 精神分裂症是最常见的精神疾病之一.多年来,大量生物医学研究成果给精神分裂症的预防及治疗带来了希望.但这些研究成果尚未就精神分裂症的病理心理学基础达成统一明确的意见.     

The discriminative efficiency of the Bayley Scales of infant development

This sudy was designed to determine the discriminative efficiency of the Bayley Mental and Motor Scales for classifying infants as neurologically suspicious and neurologically normal. The two groups employed in the study were formed on the basis of the results from comprehensive neurological examinations performed at ages 1 and 7. Three discriminant function analyses were conducted, one for each scale separately and a third incorporating both scales using a stepwise procedure. Efficiency was measured in terms of number of correct and incorrect classifications, false positive and false negative errors, and validity coefficients. Comparisons among the analyses were examined by means of relative discriminative power and incremental validity. The findings suggested that the Motor Scale provides the most accurate identification of infants with suspected neurological impairments. A statistically significant likelihood discriminant function derived from both scales yielded some additional discriminative power. The law of parsimony, however, dictated the use of the single Motor Scale.The author is grateful to Drs. Janet Hardy and Doris Welcher for providing the data upon which this research was based and to Dr. Patricia Gold for collecting the data. The data were gathered for the Johns Hopkins Collaborative Perinatal Project and supported by the National Institutes of Health (NINDS), the U.S. Children's Bureau through the Maryland State Department of Health, the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology, the Thomas Wilson Sanitarium, the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., Fluid Research Fund, The Johns Hopkins University, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, and the facilities of The Johns Hopkins Medical Computing Center. Anonymous reviewers are also acknowledged for their helpful suggestions in improving the overall clarity of the paper.