Primacy and recency effects in task analyses: Preliminary results

Performance for three independent living tasks were examined via task analyses. Given the relatively small sample size (n = 56) of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, we simulated 1000 replications based upon observed results using Monte Carlo techniques. The results of the current study suggest that: (1) adaptive behavior was more related to task performance than IQ; and (2) after statistically controlling for adaptive behavior, task performance was influenced by the first step. Task performance appear to be over-estimated with the inclusion of the first step.     

AIDS/HIV in the work of family therapy trainees

A group of family therapy trainees were asked about their experience at work and knowledge of AIDS/HIV. The majority had already encountered AIDS-related issues in the context of their work. On the whole, they were well informed about AIDS/HIV, although specific gaps in their knowledge were identified. It is recommended that provision be made for the training of family therapists in this area.     

Does Drawing Attention to the Referent Constrain the Way in Which Children Construct Verbal Messages?

Tasks which assess children's speaker skills in the referential communication paradigm frequently mark the target item in some way to indicate which picture should be described. It was hypothesized that this procedure would interfere with effective scanning of the visual array (comparison processing) assumed to be necessary for the production of accurate messages. It was also predicted that, when one item was highlighted, more redundant features would be included in messages. An experiment which compared a marked with an unmarked target condition across three age ranges (6, 8, 10 years) found that message accuracy was not affected by highlighting. But significantly more redundant features were reported in the marked condition, indicating that, where redundancy is the focus of interest, a highlighting procedure should be avoided. Two age effects were also found: Message accuracy improved with age, while redundancy reduced with age.     

Patterns of parent perception differentiating clinic from nonclinic children

The responses of 393 parents of clinic-referred and welladjusted children to the Children's Behavior Checklist were analyzed. Of 154 items, 66 proved to discriminate between clinic and nonclinic groups. Many of these items were reflective of the general dimensions of Competence and Impulsivity yielded by an overall factor analysis. More specific patterns of factors emerged for subgroups of parents. Interparent agreement in perception was found to be a complex function of a child's age, sex, and adjustment level. The implications of the results for clinical assessment of children and families and for studies of parentchild relations are discussed.     

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The impact of the activation of positive and negative components of an ethnic stereotype on judgments of responsibility for both positive and negative stereotypic behaviors was considered. Overall, stereotype activation biased judgments in a stereotype-consistent manner, across both positive and negative scenarios. Generalization of these judgments to more global trait perceptions of the target was limited to the negative scenario. Results are discussed in terms of both the use of stereotypes as inferential shortcuts and in-group favoritism mechanisms.     

Raising standards of practice in school psychology through the use of field-based training

A model is presented for upgrading school psychology practice in an entire state by raising the level of entry for school psychology certification. A central feature of the plan is that it permits those who currently do not meet the revised standards to participate in a field-based program. This allows them to increase their knowledge and skills so that they may continue to hold positions, but at a higher level of competence. The development of the program, its implementation, and an evaluation of its efforts over a five-year period are presented.     

Anton Boisen revisited

Anton Boisen was both a psychologist of religion and a schizophrenic. His autobiography presents his case history but leaves many of his psychotic communications and experiences uninterpreted. This essay attempts to account for Boisen's most idiosyncratic psychotic products, drawing on theories of Jung and Bateson. Boisen and Jung both used experiences deriving from psychotic episodes to shape their subsequent life work. Boisen remained within liberal Protestantism, relinquishing his own crazy critique of Christianity developed during his mental illness. This critique is expressed through Boisen's notion of the Family of Four, a plan for world renewal that he himself never adequately interpreted.     

Investigating Friendship Difficulties in the Pathway from ADHD to Depressive Symptoms. Can Parent–Child Relationships Compensate?

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with friendship difficulties. This may partly account for the increasingly recognised association between ADHD and subsequent depression. Little is known about the types of friendship difficulties that could contribute to the association between ADHD and depressive symptoms and whether other relationships, such as parent–child relationships, can mitigate against potential adverse effects of friendship difficulties. In a representative UK school sample (n?=?1712), three main features of friendship (presence of friends, friendship quality and characteristics of the individual’s classroom friendship group) were assessed in a longitudinal study with two assessment waves (W1, W2) during the first year of secondary school (children aged 11-12 years). These friendship features (W1) were investigated as potential mediators of the prospective association between teacher-rated ADHD symptoms (W1) and self-rated depressive symptoms (W2) seven months later. Parent–child relationship quality (W1) was tested as a moderator of any indirect effects of ADHD on depression via friendship. ADHD symptoms were inversely associated with friendship presence, friendship quality and positive characteristics of classroom friendship groups. Depressive symptoms were inversely associated with presence and quality of friendships. Friendship quality had indirect effects in the association between ADHD and subsequent depressive symptoms. There was some evidence of moderated mediation, whereby indirect effects via friendship quality attenuated slightly as children reported warmer parent–child relationships. This highlights the importance of considering the quality of friendships and parent–child relationships in children with ADHD symptoms. Fostering good quality relationships may help disrupt the link between ADHD symptomology and subsequent depression risk.