An outcome evaluation of Functional Family Therapy for court‐involved youth

This article presents results of a study on the effectiveness of Functional Family Therapy (FFT), a family intervention designed to prevent delinquency. The sample includes 155 court‐involved youth. This study employs two complementary outcomes: court‐obtained data on recidivism and the clinical data on clients’ psychosocial functioning, the Strengths and Needs Assessment (SNA). Adolescents in the treatment and in the comparison groups experienced statistically significant improvements on the majority of the SNA domains. Although youths in the treatment group improved more, the differences between the groups were not statistically significant. Multivariate analysis showed that youths in FFT had significantly lower odds of recidivism as measured by reconvictions for drug offenses, property offenses and technical violations. The results suggest that FFT was effective in reducing recidivism, however, such reductions cannot be attributed to improvements in the SNA scores.     

Family Functioning,Family Structure,and Differentiation of Self in Heterosexual Spanish Couples: An Actor–Partner Analysis

This study used an actor–partner interdependence model to assess the relationship between differentiation of self and family functioning in a sample of 118 heterosexual Spanish couples, with additional attention to family structural correlates, including age of the children, number of children in the household, and educational level. Results showed a significant actor effect, with greater differentiation of self levels predicting better family functioning within individuals. Implications for mental health professionals regarding differentiation are provided.     

Plaidoyer pour une neuropsychologie interculturelle en France

By referring to historical, empirical and ethical data, this article aims primarily at encouraging the emergence of cross-cultural neuropsychology in France. In the second part of the article, we extracted meaningful data in the literature and referred to clinical practices in other countries, to propose recommendations targeting student training, clinical practice and scientific research. We also insist on the importance of privileging interactions between these three axes in order to propose training and tools in adequacy with the reality of clinical practice. These recommendations cannot as such response directly to difficulties encountered by clinicians. However, they can contribute to the reflection for rendering French neuropsychology effective in supporting ethnically diverse populations.     

教师背景变量对教师教学效果影响的多层线性分析

用《教师教学效果评价问卷(学生版)》问卷对高校181名教师的教学效果进行调查,用多层次分析法对影响教师教学效果的教师背景变量:教师性别、年龄、学历、职称、所教专业、年级、班级大小以及课程类别对教师教学效果影响程度进行分析,目的在于通过用多层分析法更合理分析教师背景变量对教学效果产生的影响,为客观比较教师教学效果之间的差异提供依据。研究结果表明:(1)多层次分析法得到比传统回归分析和方差分析更合理更准确的结果;(2)教师背景变量教师中性别、学历、专业以及所教班级的大小对于教师教学效果评价效果没有显著影响;(3)教师职称、年龄、所教学生年级、课程类别对教师的教学效果有显著影响;(4)所考察的教师水平背景变量对教学效果各个维度教师水平总变异的解释率介于3351%-4278%之间。     

The (mis)measurement of body image: ten strategies to improve assessment for applied and research purposes

Body image is a multifaceted construct consisting of a variety of measured dimensions. Research in the area has mushroomed in recent years, a phenomenon paralleled by an explosion in the assessments developed to measure some aspect of the construct. Unfortunately, these developments have not always been guided by a clear-cut attention to measurement issues. Assessment errors specific to the field of body image and also germane to basic psychological measurement strategies have characterized much of the work in the area. This article outlines 10 such issues with accompanying examples and suggestions for avoiding such pitfalls. Attention to these seemingly minor methodological details should result in a more consistent conceptualization of body image, utilization of appropriate measures in specific contexts, and engender more valid comparisons of findings across disparate studies.     

Empirical fear profiles among American youth

Fears among children can range from relatively innocuous fears of simple objects to significant phobias that affect youths' everyday functioning in the home, school, or community environments. This study investigated empirically derived fear profiles among American youth ages 7-19 (N=556). Based upon youths' scores on the 5 factors of the Fear Survey Schedule for Children-II (FSSC-II; Burnham & Gullone (Behav Res Ther, 35, 1997)), multistage Euclidean grouping was applied and produced 5 replicable fear cluster profiles with unique contours. Logistic regression odds ratios revealed specific associations of profile group membership with demographic characteristics such as child age, sex, and ethnicity.     

A parent-report measure of children's anxiety: psychometric properties and comparison with child-report in a clinic and normal sample

This study examined the psychometric properties of the parent version of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS-P); 484 parents of anxiety disordered children and 261 parents in a normal control group participated in the study. Results of confirmatory factor analysis provided support for six intercorrelated factors, that corresponded with the child self-report as well as with the classification of anxiety disorders by DSM-IV (namely separation anxiety, generalized anxiety, social phobia, panic/agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and fear of physical injuries). A post-hoc model in which generalized anxiety functioned as the higher order factor for the other five factors described the data equally well. The reliability of the subscales was satisfactory to excellent. Evidence was found for both convergent and divergent validity: the measure correlated well with the parent report for internalizing symptoms, and lower with externalizing symptoms. Parent-child agreement ranged from 0.41 to 0.66 in the anxiety-disordered group, and from 0.23 to 0.60 in the control group. The measure differentiated significantly between anxiety-disordered children versus controls, and also between the different anxiety disorders except GAD. The SCAS-P is recommended as a screening instrument for normal children and as a diagnostic instrument in clinical settings.     

Life partners’ perceptions of the emotional,speech disruptive,and attitudinal correlates of stuttering

PurposeThe purpose of the current investigation was to explore the extent to which the life partners (LPs) of people who stutter (PWS) perceive their loved ones’ speech-situation specific emotional reaction, expectancy of speech disruption, and speech-related communication attitude.MethodsThree subtests of the Behavior Assessment Battery (BAB): the Speech Situation Checklist - Emotional Reaction (SSC-ER), the Speech Situation Checklist - Speech Disruption (SSC-SD) and the Communication Attitude Test for Adults Who Stutter (BigCAT) were administered to 33 PWS and modified versions were administered to their LPs via Qualtrics Survey Software. Effect of relationship duration on subtest scores was considered. Perceived stuttering severity by the participant and their LP was also queried as part of a demographic questionnaire.ResultsPWS and their LPs rated BigCAT items in a similar way, while they rated certain SSC-ER and SSC-SD items differently. Importantly, between-group agreement was not affected by relationship duration. Among the PWS and LP, perceived stuttering severity influenced all BAB subtest scores.ConclusionLPs of PWS appear to be in tune with the cognitive aspects of their partner’s experience of stuttering. This has important clinical implications as it relates to active involvement of the family in speech intervention targeting fluency.     

Equivalence of mother and father ratings of ADHD in children

Obtaining data from multiple informants provides a more comprehensive diagnostic picture in the assessment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Differences in symptom ratings have been observed between parent- and teacher-report scales, though less information is available regarding differences between mothers and fathers. To address this gap, this study examines the rater agreement between mothers and fathers on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) ADHD Symptom Rating Scale (DSM-ADHD-SRS). The participants consisted of 337 children diagnosed with ADHD who underwent comprehensive neuropsychological assessment. Confirmatory factor analysis indicates that a three-factor model comprising inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity symptoms provides the best fit for both mothers’ and fathers’ ratings. Mothers provided higher mean ratings for the inattention scale. These results suggest that the factor structure for the DSM-ADHD-SRS is the same, regardless of parent gender. However, symptoms of inattention may vary depending upon which parent completes the ratings. This discrepancy could lead to differences in diagnostic impressions in clinical evaluations.