Selective responsiveness of chronically ill children to assessments of depression.

Many investigators have noted that depression is a common symptom among pediatric cancer patients. However, prevalence rates vary widely across studies. This variation in prevalence rates may be due, in part, to selective reporting of patients based on measures used and environmental cues. In this study, we evaluated 50 chronically ill pediatric patients (19 cancer and 31 diabetic patients) for their use of selective reporting of depression. Factors in the 2 x 2 design were Intervention (disclosure videotape and cartoon videotape) and Examiner (familiar examiner and unfamiliar examiner). In the Intervention manipulation, subjects were shown either a videotape prompting the child that self-disclosure was appropriate or a tape of a cartoon (control condition). In the Examiner manipulation, subjects were administered the experimental measures by either a familiar (parent) or unfamiliar (research assistant) examiner. Dependent variables were the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI; Kovacs, 1981), the Depression scale of the Roberts Apperception Test for Children (RATC; McArthur & Roberts, 1982), and a depression measure taken from the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1983). As hypothesized, the Examiner x Intervention interaction revealed that children who did not view the disclosure videotape and who were tested by an unfamiliar examiner gave significantly lower self-reports of depression on the CDI than children in the other conditions. However, parent and child projective reports of depression did not vary as a function of experimental condition. The results are interpreted as selective responding on the part of pediatric patients. Limitations of assessing internal psychological states in children are discussed.     

Newborn screening for cystic fibrosis: Educational implications

We examined the educational implications of newborn screening for cystic fibrosis (CF) as performed by combining the measurement of immunoreactive trypsin with analysis for the most common CF mutation, F508. Four out of 77 (5%) of maternity staff from 11 hospitals in rural New South Wales, Australia had learned about the salient features of the screening protocol from a pamphlet distributed from a central laboratory. In comparison, a didactic lesson resulted in a significantly greater (p<0.00006) number of maternity staff learning about the salient features of the screening protocol. Most maternity staff expanded their explanation to parents of newborn babies because of the didactic lesson.     

Microcomputers in psychology laboratory courses

The implementation of a microcomputer-based laboratory curriculum is described and analyzed in terms of general guidelines for introducing computer-based instruction. Procedures are suggested for analyzing need, choosing a system, and implementing the project. Pedagogical considerations arising from the use of computer technology are also discussed.     

Additive and suppressive response summation with a chain schedule

Rats responded in a two-segment (variable-interval variable-interval) chain schedule. In one experiment, three subjects had either clicker, light, or clicker plus light as terminal-segment stimuli. All three responded at the highest rate when clicker plus light were present, thus showing additive summation. For three other subjects, initial-segment stimuli were either clicker, light, or clicker plus light. Two subjects responded at the lowest rate when clicker plus light were present, thus showing suppressive summation. In a second experiment, three subjects had either clicker, light, or neither clicker nor light as terminal-segment stimuli. None of these subjects showed reliable additive summation. Three other subjects had clicker, light, or neither as the initial-segment stimulus, and all three showed suppressive summation. Additive and suppressive summation both can be demonstrated with chain schedules, but stimulus parameters may be major variables in producing the effect.     

Conditioned suppression and conditioned enhancement with the same positive UCS: an effect of CS duration

Previous experiments have shown that positively reinforced operant responding is suppressed during a conditioned stimulus terminated with an electric shock (conditioned suppression). In the present experiment, the conditioned stimulus was terminated with a positive unconditioned stimulus, and it was found that the duration of the conditioned stimulus was a key factor in determining whether response suppression or response enhancement was observed during the stimulus. The lever-pressing responses of rats were maintained by a variable-interval schedule of food reinforcement. While the rats were pressing the lever, a light was occasionally turned on, its offset coincident with a brief period of access to a sucrose solution. In consecutive blocks of sessions, the light duration was 40 sec, 12 sec, or 120 sec. Results showed that the rate of lever pressing was substantially suppressed during the 12-sec stimulus, slightly suppressed during the 40-sec stimulus, and enhanced during the 120-sec stimulus.     

Sequential effects of interval duration on fixed-interval performance

The bar pressing of rats was reinforced on a multiple fixed-interval schedule. The schedule intervals were 1 and 5 min long, and the sequence was such that intervals of either duration were equally likely to be followed by intervals of the same or of the other duration. Rates were higher during 1-min and after 5-min intervals. Best fit equations for cumulative responses during the 5-min intervals produced very similar exponents regardless of preceding duration. It was concluded that preceding duration may have affected the subjects' performances through direct effects on temporal discrimination.     

The Effect of Internal Locus of Control on Career Adaptability: The Mediating Role of Career Decision‐Making Self‐Efficacy and Occupational Engagement

This study examined the mediating roles of career decision‐making self‐efficacy (a domain‐specific motivational variable) and occupational engagement (a behavioral variable) on the relationship between internal locus of control (a general motivational variable) and career adaptability among college students in South Korea (N = 310). The findings extend past research on career adaptability by identifying a relationship among the variables.     

Concordance Between Parent Reports of Children's Mental Health Services and Service Records: The Services Assessment for Children and Adolescents (SACA)

The concordance between parent reports of children's mental health services and medical and administrative service records were assessed in a field test of the Services Assessment for Children and Adolescents (SACA) interview instrument. Service use reports from primary caregivers, usually mothers, for their child's emotional or behavioral problems were compared against inpatient, outpatient, and school records in St. Louis, one of the pilot sites for the Multi-Site Study of Service Use, Need, Outcomes and Costs in Child and Adolescent Populations (UNOCCAP). A global any use service variable, comprised of inpatient, outpatient, and school reports, yielded an overall service use concordance kappa of .76 between parent reports and records. Parent reports of inpatient hospitalization services using the SACA yielded the highest agreement with medical records, with kappa statistics of 1.00 for use of any inpatient hospital care and for medication use. Parent reports of specific inpatient services concurred with medical records more moderately, yielding kappas from .50 to .66. Reports of any outpatient mental health services yielded variable rates of agreement, with kappas ranging from .67 for any use of outpatient care, to .66 for medication use, to negligible kappas for specific treatments. Parent reports of school services were weakly related to records for most services, except for moderate agreement (.48) on placement in special classrooms for emotional or behavioral problems. Family burden or impact discriminated more powerfully than other variables between respondents who concurred with records and those who did not.