Item level validity of the Devereux Elementary School Behavior Rating Scale

Using a random sample of children in grades one through six as well as a sample of children referred for social or emotional problems, the item level validity of the Devereux Elementary School Behavior Rating Scale was assessed. Results indicated that Devereux responses for normal children tended to be skewed, with the item means falling near the positive end of the response continuum and with narrow standard deviations. Item means in the referred sample were closer to the center of the distribution and tended to have larger standard deviations. When item-to-subscale correlations were considered, the Devereux items, in general, were significantly correlated with their home subscale. Thirty-two of the 45 items on the scale had home scale correlations that were significantly higher than any other subscale correlation for that item. K-R 20 coefficients for subscales ranged from .74 to .89. Because the 9 items that had very poor subscale correlations were clustered on 4 of the 11 original subscales, it was recommended that these subscales be eliminated. The result would be a 31-item scale that measures seven different factors.Authorship is equal.     

Effects of positive and negative adult-child interactions on children's task performance and task preferences

In individual sessions, an adult directed three boys to work on each of three different tasks. Within a given session the on-task behavior for one task was praised, the off-task behavior for another task was verbally reprimanded, and all behavior was ignored with the third task. Using a multielement baseline design, the manner in which the adult interacted with the children on a given task varied from day to day. Across 18 sessions, verbal reprimands produced the highest task rates, with praise producing only a slightly higher rate of responding than noninteraction. After each session the children were given the choice of which of the three tasks they wished to work on when the adult left the room for a few minutes. Tasks associated with verbal reprimands of off-task behavior were never chosen. The first and second choices were always the task associated with praise for on-task behavior or the task where the children were ignored. These preferences generalized to similar tasks.     

DEC users’ group report

DEC users discussed ways to improve communications among users, including the initiation of a newsletter. Also, new products of special interest to psychologists were described by the DEC representative present at the meeting.     

The Role of Temporal Comparison, Social Comparison, and Direct Appraisal in the Elderly's Self-Evaluations of Health

Elderly persons (n= 91) were interviewed about self- perceptions of physical health and the contribution of social comparison, temporal comparison, and direct appraisal to these judgments. Consistent with previous studies, self-assessments tended to be mainly positive (67% reported their health as “good” or “excellent”), though tempered somewhat by the individual's objective physical condition (i.e., number of chronic diseases or disabilities). Independent of objective health, respondents' ratings were more negative if they mentioned thinking about past or anticipated health. Respondents were more concerned about their health if they thought about their past or anticipated health or mentioned comparing with a specific other person. Direct feedback had no effect on health ratings. Among those who reported social comparison, ratings were more positive when worse-off others were mentioned. Temporal comparisons may be associated with more negative ratings because the elderly's past health is likely to have been better and their future (anticipated) health can be expected to become worse. If using temporal and social comparison information is associated with more negative assessments then what accounts for the generally positive self-assessments? We propose that the elderly compare themselves with a cognitively constructed stereotypical standard of the frail elderly rather than with a specific other. Because few elderly actually “fit” this stereotype, most elderly feel they are doing well.     

Working Together with God: Religious Coping,Perceived Discrimination,and Hypertension

This study examined the relationships of perceived discrimination and religious coping with hypertension in a sample of Black and White Seventh-day Adventists. Data come from a community-based sample of 6128 White American, 2253 African American and 927 Caribbean American adults (67% women; mean age = 62.9 years). Results indicate lifetime unfair treatment was significantly associated with hypertension regardless of race/ethnicity. Positive religious coping was associated with lower odds of hypertension and did not interact with unfair treatment. Both positive and negative religious coping were indirectly associated with increased hypertension risk through an increase in perceived discrimination.

     

A community mental health clinic's infant-toddler services

A community mental health clinic study of 20 infants for psychological risk status combined with a group of mother (200) and infant-toddler visits (450) over 1-year period is described as a program for providing services to the 0 to 3 age group. Recent studies in the development of human competence emphasize the importance of these years in obtaining various social and nonsocial abilities that are crucial to life and/or work satisfaction. The community mental health clinic has the knowledge, expertise, and mandate to provide services to this age group.     

Incidence of having dreamed and conservative political attitudes

The association of political attitudes of conservatives and reports of their having had a dream was investigated. 48 female graduate students in counseling psychology were given the KJP Dream Inventory and the Kerlinger Social Attitude Scale II. Scores on conservative political attitudes were positively correlated with having had Dreams of Falling (.40), Dream Discontentedness (.31), Dreams of Being Chased (.40), and Dreams of Being Famous (.30). Negative correlations were observed between scores showing a conservative political tendency and scores on Openness (-.35), and Uninhibitedness (-.50), as well as incidence of Dreams of Sex (-.29). The character of conservative dreaming is discussed along with the study's relevance to past and subsequent issues in research.     

Fulfilling institutional responsibilities in health care: organizational ethics and the role of mission discernment

In this paper we highlight the emergence of organizational ethics issues in health care as an important outcome of the changing structure of health care delivery. We emphasize three core themes related to business ethics and health care ethics: integrity, responsibility, and choice. These themes are brought together in a discussion of the process of Mission Discernment as it has been developed and implemented within an integrated health care system. Through this discussion we highlight how processes of institutional reflection, such as Mission Discernment, can help health care organizations, as well as corporations, make critical choices in turbulent environments that further the core mission and values and fulfill institutional responsibilities to a broad range of stakeholders.