Test-Retest Reliability of the Spanish Version of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC-IV)

The test-retest reliability of the Spanish Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC-IV) is presented. This version was developed in Puerto Rico in consultation with an international bilingual committee, sponsored by NIMH. The sample (N = 146) consisted of children recruited from outpatient mental health clinics and a drug residential treatment facility. Two different pairs of nonclinicians administered the DISC twice to the parent and child respondents. Results indicated fair to moderate agreement for parent reports on most diagnoses. Relatively similar agreement levels were observed for last month and last year time frames. Surprisingly, the inclusion of impairment as a criterion for diagnosis did not substantially change the pattern of results for specific disorders. Parents were more reliable when reporting on diagnoses of younger (4–10) than older children. Children 11–17 years old were reliable informants on disruptive and substance abuse/dependence disorders, but unreliable for anxiety and depressive disorders. Hence, parents were more reliable when reporting about anxiety and depressive disorders whereas children were more reliable than their parents when reporting about disruptive and substance disorders.     

The pseudodiagnosticity trap: Should participants consider alternative hypotheses?

The pseudodiagnosticity task has been used as an example of the tendency on the part of participants to incorrectly assess Bayesian constraints in assessing data, and as a failure to consider alternative hypotheses in a probabilistic inference task. In the task, participants are given one value, the anchor value, corresponding to P(D1|H) and may choose one other value, either P(D1|¬!H), P(D2|H), or P(D2|not;!H). Most participants select P(D2|H), or P(D2|¬!H) which have been considered inappropriate (and called pseudodiagnostic) because only P(D1|¬!H) allows use of Bayes' theorem. We present a new analysis based on probability intervals and show that selection of either P(D2|H), or P(D2|¬!H) is in fact pseudodiagnostic, whereas choice of P(D1|¬!H) is diagnostic. Our analysis shows that choice of the pseudodiagnostic values actually increases uncertainty regarding the posterior probability of H, supporting the original interpretation of the experimental findings on the pseudodiagnosticity task. The argument illuminates the general proposition that evolutionarily adaptive heuristics for Bayesian inference can be misled in some task situations.     

Curriculum-based measurement of oral reading (R-CBM): A diagnostic test accuracy meta-analysis of evidence supporting use in universal screening

A great deal of research over the past decade has examined the appropriateness of curriculum-based measurement of oral reading (R-CBM) in universal screening. Multiple researchers have meta-analyzed available correlational evidence, yielding support for the interpretation of R-CBM as an indicator of general reading proficiency. In contrast, researchers have yet to synthesize diagnostic accuracy evidence, which pertains to the defensibility of the use of R-CBM for screening purposes. The overall purpose of this research was to therefore conduct the first meta-analysis of R-CBM diagnostic accuracy research. A systematic search of the literature resulted in the identification of 34 studies, including 20 peer-reviewed articles, 7 dissertations, and 7 technical reports. Bivariate hierarchical linear models yielded generalized estimates of diagnostic accuracy statistics, which predominantly exceeded standards for acceptable universal screener performance. For instance, when predicting criterion outcomes within a school year (≤ 9 months), R-CBM sensitivity ranged between .80 and .83 and specificity ranged between .71 and .73. Multiple moderators of R-CBM diagnostic accuracy were identified, including the (a) R-CBM cut score used to define risk, (b) lag in time between R-CBM and criterion test administration, and (c) percentile rank corresponding to the criterion test cut score through which students were identified as either truly at risk or not at risk. Follow-up analyses revealed substantial variability of extracted cut scores within grade and time of year (i.e., fall, winter, and spring). This result called into question the inflexible application of a single cut score across contexts and suggested the potential necessity of local cut scores. Implications for practices, directions for future research, and limitations are discussed.     

Effort denial in self-deception

We propose a mixed belief model of self-deception. According to the theory, people distribute belief over two possible causal paths to an action, one where the action is freely chosen and one where it is due to factors outside of conscious control. Self-deceivers take advantage of uncertainty about the influence of each path on their behavior, and shift weight between them in a self-serving way. This allows them to change their behavior to provide positive evidence and deny doing so, enabling diagnostic inference to a desired trait. In Experiment 1, women changed their pain tolerance to provide positive evidence about the future quality of their skin, but judgments of effort claimed the opposite. This “effort denial” suggests that participants’ mental representation of their behavior was dissociated from their actual behavior, facilitating self-deception. Experiment 2 replicated the pattern in a hidden picture task where search performance was purportedly linked to self-control.     

基于认知诊断的动态评估—以儿童图形推理能力为例

以认知诊断和动态评估两者基本的心理计量模型:MLTM for MS和MRMLC相结合作为切入点,提出了基于认知诊断的动态评估方案及数据统计分析方法。为探讨该方案和数据分析方法的可行性,以儿童图形推理能力为例展开实证研究。研究结果显示:(1)基于认知诊断的动态评估方案是可以实现的、其数据分析方法也是可行的;(2)该方案不仅可以测量潜在水平,还可以测量其涉及的认知成分和策略的变化;(3)无论是当前水平还是潜在水平,高年级儿童都更擅长采用较复杂、有效的认知加工成分和策略。     

Rorschach et Psychiatrie : à la découverte du malade derrière la maladie

The Rorschach Comprehensive System is a very powerful tool for understanding the dynamics of psychopathological conditions and describing personality. Recent literature indicates a promising new area of research, that of evaluating psychotherapy processes and outcome. Clinical psychologists can therefore bring a unique and complementary perspective to the traditional psychiatric field by introducing it to proper psychological diagnosis as opposed to psychiatric diagnosis. The validity and reliability of the method having today been well established in the USA, it is incumbent on French researchers and clinicians to verify them locally and eventually make the necessary adaptations.     

The myth of open concepts: Meehl’s analysis of construct meaning versus black box essentialism

Two views of theoretical concepts in psychology are compared. Meehl’s “open concept” account holds that theoretical concepts are implicitly defined by theories but that empirical criteria can be changed over time (e.g., added or dropped, weightings changed, exchanged for theoretical reductions). This account confuses concepts and theories, does not reflect how diagnostic concepts actually work in medicine and psychology, leads to theory incommensurability, and is unclear about when concepts are the same or different. I propose that an alternative “black box essentialist” account of theoretical concepts, drawn from recent philosophical work on natural kind concepts, better explains how we manage to refer to the same construct even as our theories and criteria change. One implication is that Meehl is incorrect to claim that a reason for psychology’s lack of progress is that its concepts are inherently different from those in the hard sciences.     

Using the Performance Diagnostic Checklist–Human Services to identify an indicated intervention to decrease employee tardiness

We assessed and reduced the tardiness of 4 direct‐care staff employed at a school that provides educational services to children with autism. The Performance Diagnostic Checklist – Human Services was administered to participants and their supervisors to identify one or more indicated interventions. Relative to baseline, tardiness was lower during intervention. The most effective intervention included task clarification, a problem‐solving discussion, tokens exchangeable for back‐up reinforcers, and weekly graphic feedback. Moreover, participants reported that the intervention components, particularly praise and a token, had high acceptability.     

Diagnostic efficiency of DSM-IV criteria for obsessive compulsive personality disorder in patients with binge eating disorder

This study examined the diagnostic efficiency of the DSM-IV criteria for obsessive compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) in patients with binge eating disorder (BED). Two hundred and eleven consecutive adult patients with axis I diagnoses of BED were reliably assessed with semi-structured diagnostic interviews. Conditional probabilities-sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive power (PPP), and negative predictive power (NPP)-were calculated for each of the eight criteria for OCPD, using the 'best-estimate' OCPD diagnosis as the standard. The diagnostic efficiencies of the OCPD criteria were variable, with three criteria failing to have predictive value (PPP<0.50). The best inclusion criterion (highest PPP) was 'Perfectionism,' which was also the overall most predictive criterion. The findings suggest ordering of the DSM-IV criteria for OCPD based on performance and call into question the utility of some criteria.