Measures of interobserver agreement: Calculation formulas and distribution effects

Seventeen measures of association for observer reliability (interobserver agreement) are reviewed and computational formulas are given in a common notational system. An empirical comparison of 10 of these measures is made over a range of potential reliability check results. The effects on percentage and correlational measures of occurrence frequency, error frequency, and error distribution are examined. The question of which is the best measure of interobserver agreement is discussed in terms of critical issues to be considered     

A National Survey of AIDS Training in Counselor Education Programs

A review of the literature suggests that counseling professionals may not be receiving substantive training related to AIDS. In this article, all U.S. counselor education programs were surveyed to determine the extent of such training. The responding programs (N = 243) identified AIDS as a high priority for inclusion in curricular programming, yet nearly 40% of the responding programs did not include any AIDS training in their curricula. Implications for counselor education and the counseling profession are discussed, and suggestions are made for including AIDS-related training in programs.     

The relationship between age and depressive symptoms in two national surveys.

There is inconsistency in the literature on the relationship between age and depressive symptoms. Although a careful review shows that some of this inconsistency can be reconciled by recognizing the nonlinear relationship (Newmann, 1989), 2 additional issues remain unclear. One is that most previous studies used depression screening scales that contain somatic items that could introduce an age bias. The other is that most previous studies combined samples of men and women even though there is evidence that the sex difference in depressive symptoms varies with age. These 2 issues are addressed in this article, using analyzed data from 2 large national surveys. There is a consistent, but quite modest, nonlinear association between age, somatic, and nonsomatic depressive symptoms in both surveys. There is no significant sex difference in the age curves.     

Mathematics beliefs and instructional strategies in achievement of elementary-school students in Japan: results from the TIMSS 2003 assessment

Recent findings concerning mathematics assessment indicate that students in Japan consistently score above international averages. Researchers have examined specific mathematics beliefs and instructional strategies associated with mathematics achievement for students in Japan. This study examined relationships among self-beliefs, classroom instructional strategies, and mathematics achievement for a large national sample of students (N=4,207) from the TIMSS 2003 international sample of fourth graders in Japan. Several significant relationships between mathematics beliefs and test scores were found; a number of classroom teaching strategies were also significantly associated with test scores. However, multiple regression using the complete set of five mathematics beliefs and five instructional strategies explained only 25.1% of the variance in mathematics achievement test scores.     

The Zeigarnik effect in a sample of mentally retarded persons

A conceptual replication of the well known Zeigarnik effect was attempted with persons who had organic brain dysfunction. Data from a sample of 56 mentally retarded persons showed a significant difference in the recall of uncompleted versus completed tasks, thus establishing the Zeigarnik effect in that population.     

An Examination of Two Techniques for Promoting Response Generalization of Early Literacy Skills

This study examined the application of two generalization procedures designed to promote generalized responding across two early literacy skills. Letter sound fluency was targeted using direct intervention for three subjects within a multiple baseline design. After instruction was complete, two generalization procedures (cueing and providing sufficient response exemplars) were tested in an increasingly intense application of the procedures to determine whether sufficient levels of response generalization to letter sound blending could be programmed. Results indicated that although some subjects demonstrated minor levels of unprogrammed or spontaneous generalization, more complete levels of generalization were accomplished only once generalization techniques were employed.     

Patient and health care provider views of depressive symptoms and diabetes in American Samoa

High Type 2 diabetes prevalence, associated with recent cultural changes in diet and physical activity, characterizes the U.S. territory of American Samoa. Comorbid diabetes and depression rates are high worldwide and contribute to negative diabetes outcomes; these rates have not been assessed in American Samoa. In this study, 6 focus groups were conducted with 39 American Samoan adults with diabetes; questions on perceptions of diabetes and depressive symptoms were included. Thirteen health care staff interviews were conducted to gain insight into diabetes care in American Samoa. Focus groups and health care staff interviews were translated, transcribed, and entered into NVivo 8 to facilitate analysis. Thematic analysis showed that diabetes patients saw depressive symptoms as directly contributing to high blood sugar. However, these symptoms were rarely mentioned spontaneously, and providers reported they seldom assess them in patients. Many patients and health care staff believed the best ways to respond to feelings of depression involved relaxing, leaving difficult situations, or eating. Staff also discussed cultural stigma associated with depression and the importance of establishing rapport before discussing it. Health care providers in American Samoa need training to increase their awareness of depressive symptoms' negative impact on diabetes management in patients who screen positive for depression. All providers must approach the subject in a supportive context after establishing rapport. This information will be used for cultural translation of a community health worker and primary care-coordinated intervention for adults with diabetes in American Samoa, with the goal of creating an effective and sustainable intervention.