Do Lesbians Differ From Heterosexual Men and Women in Levinsonian Phases of Adult Development?

Research conducted on heterosexual women has been generalized to lesbians. However, the question remains whether lesbians differ in their adult development from heterosexual men and women. This article reviews results of 10 one‐on‐one life story interviews conducted with self‐identified lesbians between the ages of 35 and 45. Information from these interviews was analyzed to see if or how they fit into a Levinsonian (D. J. Levinson, 1978) developmental model compared with heterosexual men and women.     

Psychometric Status and Clinical Utility of the MAYSI-2 with Girls and Boys in Juvenile Detention

This study replicates and extends studies of the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument, Version 2 (MAYSI-2) in a sample of 479 urban, rural, and suburban 12–16 year old youths (68% boys; 41% African American, 23% Latino) consecutively admitted to juvenile detention centers. Six principal components replicated the MAYSI-2 factor-analytically-derived subscales except for Depression/Anxiety, and suggested modifications of specific items in each sub-scale. Findings supported the internal consistency and validity of the modified MAYSI-2 sub-scales. Few gender differences emerged, except that girls reported higher levels of hopelessness and trauma than boys. Five sub-groups were identified based on component profiles: (1) non-clinical, (2) addiction, somatic problems, and suicidality, (3) anger problems, (4) thought disturbance, and (5) addiction and traumatic stress. The findings support the validity of the MAYSI-2 for juvenile justice mental health screening while highlighting possible refinements in scoring in order to identify delinquent youths with distinctive psychosocial risks and needs.     

The development of conceptual interests in young children

We conducted a longitudinal analysis of the relative intensity and duration of interests associated with conceptual domains between the ages of 4 and 6 years, respectively. Results indicated a significant portion of preschool children do sustain an interest in conceptual domains during some portion of their childhood. Expected gender differences were found, with boys more likely to express an interest in a conceptual domain than girls. A latent growth curve analysis revealed that the probability of exhibiting a conceptual interest declined as school began, though the rate of that decline was similar for both boys and girls. Potential explanations for the decrease in conceptual interests as school begins are considered.     

The Ohio Scales Youth Form: Expansion and Validation of a Self-Report Outcome Measure for Young Children

We examined the validity and reliability of a self-report outcome measure for children between the ages of 8 and 11. The Ohio Scales Problem Severity scale is a brief, practical outcome measure available in three parallel forms: Parent, Youth, and Agency Worker. The Youth Self-Report form is currently validated for children ages 12 and older. The Ohio Scales Problem Severity scale was administered to a clinical and comparison sample of children, ages 8–11, then readministered 1 week later to a subsample of children in order to examine test-retest reliability. The Ohio Scales demonstrated acceptable internal consistency and reliability. The Ohio Scales was significantly correlated with the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC) across both samples, providing evidence for concurrent validity. Children of the clinical sample reporting higher scores (i.e., more symptomatic) than the children of the comparison sample on the Ohio Scales, thereby demonstrating construct validity.     

Training parents to help their children read: A randomized control trial

Background . Low levels of literacy and high levels of behaviour problems in middle childhood often co‐occur. These persistent difficulties pose a risk to academic and social development, leading to social exclusion in adulthood. Although parent‐training programmes have been shown to be effective in enabling parents to support their children's development, very few parent interventions offer a combination of behavioural and literacy training. Aims . This paper (1) reports on a prevention programme which aimed to tackle behaviour and literacy problems in children at the beginning of school, and (2) presents the effects of the intervention on children's literacy. Sample . One hundred and four 5‐ and 6‐year‐old children selected from eight schools in an inner city disadvantaged community in London participated in the intervention. Methods . This is a randomized control trial with pre‐ and post‐measurements designed to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention. The behavioural intervention consisted of the ‘Incredible Years’ group parenting programme combined with a new programme designed to train parents to support their children's reading at home. Results . Analyses demonstrated a significant effect of the intervention on children's word reading and writing skills, as well as parents' use of reading strategies with their children. Conclusion . A structured multicomponent preventive package delivered with attention to fidelity can enable parents to support their children's reading at home and increase their literacy skills. Together with the improvement in child behaviour, these changes could improve the life chances of children in disadvantaged communities.     

Barr Donald A: <Emphasis Type="Italic">Introduction to U.S. Health Policy: The Organization,Financing and Delivery of Health Care in America</Emphasis> 2nd edition. Baltimore,MD, The Johns Hopkins University Press; 2007. xiv + 303 pages,ISBN – 13:978-0-8018-8574-7 (hardcover) and 13:978-0-8018-8574-4 (pbk)

Donald A. Barr's Introduction to U.S. Health Policy: The Organization, Financing, and Delivery of Health Care in America (second edition, 2007) offers a lucid and informative overview of the U.S. health system and the dilemmas policy makers currently face. Barr has provided a balanced introduction to the way health care is organized, financed, and delivered in the United States. The thirteen chapters of the book are quite comprehensive in the topics they cover. Even those knowledgeable about the U.S. health care system are likely to find much to stimulate their thinking in the text. The book can also appropriately serve as a basic text for a health policy course or in the medical or nursing school curriculum.     

Focusing on the relation: fewer exemplars facilitate children's initial verb learning and extension

One of the most prominent theories for why children struggle to learn verbs is that verb learning requires the abstraction of relations between an object and its action (Gentner, 2003). Two hypotheses suggest how children extract relations to extend a novel verb: (1) seeing many different exemplars allows children to detect the invariant relation between actions in different contexts (Gentner, 2003), and (2) repetition of fewer exemplars allows children to move beyond the entities involved to extract the relation (Kersten & Smith, 2002). We tested 2 1/2- and 3-year-olds' ability to extend a novel verb after viewing the repetition of one novel actor compared to four different actors performing a novel action. Both ages were better at learning and extending a novel verb to a novel actor when shown only one actor rather than four different actors. These results indicate that during initial verb learning less information is more effective.     

Comparative decline of professional school graduates' performance on the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology

The discrepancy between traditional (Boulder Model) and professional school (Vail Model) clinical psychology graduate programs on the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) was greater using 1997-2005 data than in an earlier study using 1988-1995 data. The relative decline of the performance of professional school graduates on the EPPP was attributed in part to the increase of 31.1% in number of listed professional schools over the last decade, in particular, because those schools have lower academic standards. It is recommended that professional programs accept fewer students and have more rigorous quality control mechanisms for the students who have been accepted. It is further recommended that no new professional schools be started and that marginal programs be phased out.     

Subjective person-organization fit: Bridging the gap between conceptualization and measurement

In this paper, we present a critical examination of the literature on subjective person-organization (P-O) fit and highlight several conceptual and measurement issues that may be perpetuating confusion in this literature. Specifically, we reviewed 46 empirical studies that have measured P-O fit perceptions and identified three primary sources of inconsistency among these studies, including (a) how P-O fit is conceptualized, (b) the operational definition of ‘organization,’ and (c) the content domain used to assess P-O fit. We discuss several implications of this review, including the potential role that individual differences play in fit perceptions. We also make a case for the development and adoption of uniform, validated measures of P-O fit that incorporate the multidimensional nature of fit.     

The Impact of Risk Factors on the Treatment of Adolescent Sex Offenders

The authors investigated the impact that 5 selected risk factors have on the treatment outcome of adolescent male sex offenders. The results indicated that the greatest risk factor among sex offenders was having a mother who had a substance abuse problem.