The development of a scale for tuned‐in parenting

This article provides preliminary evaluation for a new and easy to use parental sensitivity scale, which is rated from a short videotaped play session with the parental figure. The five Tuned‐In Parent Rating Scales (TIP‐RS) have been developed for use with identified dyadic problems in infant–parent relationships and provide a window on the micro‐behaviours that may contribute to the dyadic disjunctions. A sample of 88 mothers who contacted a community early parenting unit was filmed in interaction with their infants and completed surveys including the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Six trained coders rated the videos. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the unidimensionality of the TIP‐RS. The TIP‐RS total score was negatively correlated with both the EPDS (r[N = 42] = ?.34, p = .024) and the DASS (r[N = 42] = ?.43, p = .029), providing evidence for its concurrent validity. Inter‐rater reliability across the six raters for each of the TIP‐RS sub‐scales and total score ranged from .68 to .83. The present results warrant continued investigation of the psychometric properties of the TIP‐RS as a tool for intervention with targeted parent–child relationships.     

A Study of Some Factors Involved in Place Learning

Through the technique of Goodman's log linear method, longitudinal data are analyzed to clarify the relationship between depressive mood and illicit drug use among youths. A representative sample of adolescents (N = 8206) from New York State secondary schools was followed over one academic year. At one point in time, users of illicit drugs other than marihuana (multiple drug users) were significantly more depressed than either nonusers or users of marihuana only. Differing interactive relationships were found over time depending upon the drugs involved. Depressive mood was related to the onset of marihuana use among nonusers and to the termination of marihuana use among users. Depressive mood also predicted the use of other illicit drugs by marihuana users. While the beginning use of illicit drugs other than marihuana was positively associated with increased depressive mood, continued multiple drug use was related to reduced depressive mood.     

Visual Acuity Performance of Normal and Chronic Focal-Head Irradiated Monkeys

The study reported by Griffiths, Shantz, and Sigel (4) on children's understanding of relational terms in conservation tasks is used in a case study to illustrate a number of problematic practices in the use of psychological literature. A number of examples are given that reflect a negligent or clearly inaccurate reading of the Griffiths et al. report. Common errors made by authors in citing the published research of others are failure to examine closely the study's methodology, uncritical acceptance of authors' conclusions, and misinterpretation or confusion of the study's findings.     

Electroconvulsive Shock and the Learning of Visual Patterns

The influence of peer models on the modification of impulsive response styles among fourth and sixth grade boys and girls was experimentally investigated. Sociometrically chosen peers were trained to provide reflective verbal and behavioral cues in responding to a selected task. They later performed these skills in the presence of a peer observer. A comparison of posttest performance measures of peer observers with control subjects revealed significant increases in response latencies and decreases in error scores among children exposed to peer models.     

Construction of Circumplex Scales for the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems

We constructed a set of circumplex scales for the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP; Horowitz, Rosenberg, Baer, Ureno, & Villasenor, 1988). Initial scale construction used all 127 items from this instrument in two samples of university undergraduates (n = 197; n = 273). Cross-sample stability of item locations plotted against the first two principal components was high. A final set of eight 8-item circumplex scales was derived from the combined sample (n = 470) and cross-validated in a third university sample (n = 974). Finally, we examined the structural convergence of the IIP circumplex scales with an established measure of interpersonal dispositions, the Revised Interpersonal Adjective Scales (IAS-R; Wiggins, Trapnell, & Phillips, 1988). Although both circumplex instruments were derived independently, they shared a common Circular space. Implications of these results are discussed with reference to current research methods for the study of interpersonal behavior.