Responsible Teenage Fatherhood in a South African Historically Disadvantaged Community

The study analysed the relationships between teacher ratings and standardised test scores in Reading and Mathematics for students receiving learning support for learning difficulties (n = 60, mean age= 16.3). Teacher ratings were found to significantly predict pupils' performance in Reading. Students with extended learning support had significantly higher teacher attainment ratings in both Reading and Mathematics. Teacher judgment ratings combined with standardized test scores were reliable for assessing instructional effectiveness. Standardised tests were more reliable than teacher ratings in assessing academic attainment.     

Diagnostic judgments as a function of client and therapist race

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the process of differential evaluation of clients as a function of client and therapist race. It was hypothesized that race of client and therapist would interact, influencing the judgments of client psychopathology, appropriateness for therapy, verbal facility, and likelihood of treatment success despite standardization of the clinical stimuli. Graduate students in clinical psychology and with varying levels of training (i.e., 1 to 5 years) were asked to rate videotaped interviews of clients in which race of the client and level of psychopathology (i.e., normal, neurotic, and psychotic) were systematically varied. There were significant differences in ratings as a function of race of client, race of therapist, and level of psychopathology observed. Black clients were not rated differently on degree of psychopathology but were rated as less verbally skilled and less appropriate for treatment but more likely to benefit from treatment than white clients. Contrary to expectations, white therapists tended to underrate the pathology of black clients. On the other hand, black therapists tended to overrate the pathology of white clients and made mixed judgments of black clients. The implications of these findings are discussed.This study was supported in part by NIMH Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Grant G12RR03206-2.     

A Typology of Teacher-Rated Child Behavior for a National U.S. Sample

The purpose of the current study was to build on the emerging effort to produce a meaningful typology of classroom behavior for elementary school age children. The Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC) Teacher Rating Scales for Children (TRS-C) norming data were collected for 1,227 six- to eleven-year-old children at 116 sites representing various regions of the United States. The TRS-C has 148 items that are rated by the teacher on a 4-point scale of frequency, ranging from Never to Almost always. The Ward method of cluster analysis was used to identify the initial centroids or cluster seeds. An iterative clustering method, a K-means procedure, was used to refine the Ward cluster solution. A seven-cluster solution was selected based on both rational and empirical considerations. The resulting clusters were named well-adapted, average, learning disorder, disruptive behavior disorder, physical complaints and worry, severe psychopathology, and mildly disruptive. The seven-cluster solution resembles those of Achenbach (1991), Curry and Thompson (1985), and other researchers. The resulting typology points the way toward future cluster studies of child psychopathology by delineating additional research and theoretical questions.     

Multidimensional successive categories scaling: A maximum likelihood method

A single-step maximum likelihood estimation procedure is developed for multidimensional scaling of dissimilarity data measured on rating scales. The procedure can fit the euclidian distance model to the data under various assumptions about category widths and under two distributional assumptions. The scoring algorithm for parameter estimation has been developed and implemented in the form of a computer program. Practical uses of the method are demonstrated with an emphasis on various advantages of the method as a statistical procedure.The research reported here was partly supported by Grant A6394 to the author by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Portions of this research were presented at the Psychometric Society meeting in Uppsala, Sweden, in June, 1978. MAXSCAL-2.1, a program to perform the computations discussed in this paper may be obtained from the author. Thanks are due to Jim Ramsay for his helpful comments.     

Teacher Ratings of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms in Hispanic Children

This study compared teacher's ratings of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in groups of nonreferred Hispanic and non-Hispanic White children via the Teacher Report Form, the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Scales—IV, and the Conners Abbreviated Teacher Rating Scale. A total of 61 non-Hispanic White teachers completed behavior ratings of 61 Hispanic and non-Hispanic White children between 6 and 11 years old. Significant differences were found between boys and girls, with girls showing fewer behavior problems and fewer hyperactive/inattentive symptoms compared to boys. In addition, Hispanics scored similar or lower than non-Hispanic Whites on multiple subscales measuring symptomatology related to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and overall behavioral disorders. In no instance did Hispanic children score as more pathological than non-Hispanic White children. The need to consider the rater's ethnicity is discussed, and findings are explained in terms of childhood socialization patterns that might help to discern the behavior displayed by Hispanic children in classroom settings.     

The effects of various rater training procedures on the perception of social skills and social anxiety

Procedures for the behavioral assessment of social skills typically rely on judges' perceptions of subjects' behavior in several simulated situations. This study examined two methodological variables which could influence the degree of situational specificity perceived by social skill judges. Forth-eight judges were presented videotapes of 15 actors who role played responses to eight simulated social situations. Half of the judges viewed the situations in a sequential fashion and the remaining half viewed the tapes grouped by situations. The second factor of this design included three different expectancy conditions included in an analogue training procedure. Differences in observed variability were examined for both social skill and social anxiety constructs. Order of stimulus presentation had no effect on variability. The expectancy manipulation significantly increased variability among social skill ratings but had no effect on reliability.This study was supported in part by the Veterans Administration.     

Learning at the workplace and sustainable employability: a multi-source model moderated by age

This study, among 330 pairs of employees and their supervisors, tested whether self- versus supervisor ratings of five employability dimensions (occupational expertise, corporate sense, personal flexibility, anticipation and optimization, and balance) are associated with different learning characteristics in the workplace, and whether age moderates these relationships. Results of structural equation modelling showed that the learning value of the job positively related to both self- and supervisor ratings of corporate sense, personal flexibility, and anticipation and optimization. Applicability in the job of recently followed training and development programmes was associated with all dimensions of self-rated employability and with supervisor ratings of anticipation and optimization. Regarding the hypothesized age moderation effects, contrary to our expectations, it was found that both learning value and applicability of training and development related more strongly to self-rated anticipation and optimization for younger workers. In addition, age appeared to moderate the otherwise non-significant relationship between learning value and self-rated occupational expertise. Implications for Human Resource Development (HRD) practices are discussed. As learning characteristics are differentially related to the unique employability dimensions, tailor-made development programmes are key. Moreover, it is advocated that having a job with a high learning value is an important factor in the light of the employee’s sustainable employability.     

Evaluating the predictive validity of personality trait judgments using a naturalistic behavioral criterion: A preliminary test of the self-other knowledge asymmetry model

We tracked 87 participants over two days using the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR). Coded variables included expressions of mood, amount of talking in various situations (e.g., with one other person, with a friend, etc.), locations, and behavioral markers of the Big Five. Collection of self-, informant-, and stranger-ratings on markers of the Big Five allowed for a unique test of the Self-Other Knowledge Asymmetry (SOKA) model. Although effect sizes were modest, there was evidence for the validity of both self- and informant-ratings across most trait dimensions. Stranger-ratings showed evidence of validity in the domain of Extraversion. Predictions derived from the SOKA model were partially supported, though more research with larger samples is needed to provide stronger tests of SOKA.