The Parents Matter! Program Interventions: Content and the Facilitation Process

The Parents Matter! Program (PMP) has developed three interventions for parents of 4th and 5th grade African-American children (9–12 years old). The overarching goal of all three interventions is to provide parents with knowledge, skills, and support for enhancing their efforts to raise healthy children. The interventions are: (1) Enhanced Communication and Parenting (five 2 -hour sessions), (2) Brief Communication and Parenting (single 2 -hour session), and (3) General Health (single 2 -hour session). This article discusses the development of these interventions, presents an overview of the content of each intervention, and discusses issues related to the facilitation/presentation of these interventions.     

Predictors of neuropsychological test performance after pediatric traumatic brain injury

The influence of neurological and demographic variables on neuropsychological test performance was examined in 100 9-to 16-year-old children with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Regression analyses were conducted to determine the relative contributions of coma, neuroimaging findings, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and gender to variance in performance on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III), California Verbal Learning Test--Children's Version (CVLT-C), and the Children's Category Test. Both neurological and demographic variables contributed to performance on various WISC-III factor index scores as well as the CVLT-C. No evidence for a moderating effect of demographic variables was found, but speed of information processing mediated the effect of neurological and demographic variables on CLVT-C performance. It is concluded that demographic variables have an incremental effect on the neuropsychological test performance of children with TBI above and beyond the influence of injury severity.     

MMPI-2 F scale as a predictor of acute versus chronic disorder classification

This study examined the relation between elevation of the infrequency (F) scale on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) and the classification of psychological disorders as chronic or acute in an outpatient mental health setting. MMPI-2 and clinician rating data at time of intake were considered for 158 adult patients from an outpatient clinic. The results indicate that elevation on the F scale is associated with more chronic disorders even after the influence of other variables, such as age and comorbidity of other disorders, is statistically accounted for These results are discussed in terms of the utility and incremental validity of including the F scale as part of diagnostic screening.     

Potential noradrenergic targets for cognitive enhancement in schizophrenia

Substantial evidence suggests that alterations in noradrenergic function contribute to the cognitive impairments of schizophrenia. Activation of post-junctional alpha 2a-adrenergic receptors in the prefrontal cortex by the alpha 2a-selective agonist guanfacine has demonstrated some preliminary benefit in subjects with schizophrenia treated with atypical antipsychotics. alpha 1-adrenergic receptor activity may be less important in mediating the cognitive impairments of schizophrenia. beta-adrenergic receptors may serve as another potential target for cognitive remediation in schizophrenia. However, the potential increase in memory consolidation in schizophrenia patients produced by beta-adrenergic agonists may be outweighed by the impairment in cognitive flexibility and executive functioning produced by beta-adrenergic agonists. Finally, norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, such as atomoxetine, hold promise as potential cognitive enhancers in schizophrenia because of their ability to indirectly but selectively increase extracellular dopamine concentrations in the prefrontal cortex.