Effects of the Acquisition of Prerequisite Behavior on the Learning of Nonvocal Verbal Behavior and Vocal Imitation in Children With Severe Retardation

The effects of acquisition and maintenance of prerequisite interactions, such as attending behavior, nonverbal imitative behavior, and disruptive behavior, on the learning of nonvocal verbal behavior and vocal imitation were evaluated. Four severely retarded children were selected on the basis of low level or absence of the target behaviors (nonvocal verbal behavior and vocal imitation) and failure to reach the acquisition criterion on prerequisite behavior. The results were evaluated visually and by time series analysis. Findings indicated that the acquisition of prerequisite interactions led to superior performance and fewer trials to reach criteria in this language intervention.

     

Measurement of depression: Comparison between self-reports and clinical assessments of depressed outpatients

Agreement among several depression scales was investigated as regard the relative influences of administration mode (self-rating or clinical rating) and scale content. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD), and three corresponding scales with identical structure and content but the alternative administration mode were administered to 47 outpatients with diagnoses of DSM-III major depression disorders. Correlations between the total scores and the degrees of association between corresponding items of different scales were calculated. The results suggest that differences in content contribute more to inter-scale discrepancy than differences in administration mode. The implications for the evaluation of outpatients with major depression are discussed.     

Peer Nomination Inventory of Depression: Characteristics in a Spanish sample

The Peer Nomination Inventory of Depression (PNID) was answered by 1,121 children from Barcelona in the fourth year of grammar school and by their teachers (n=36) to analyze this questionnaire in a Spanish sample. The results indicated (1) high internal consistency; (2) discriminative power between depressed and nondepressed; (3) low concurrent validity; (4) convergent and discriminant validity; (5) a two-factor structure; and (6) that two discriminant functions could differentiate between depressed, dysthymic, and nondepressed subjects. The teacher's responses showed (1) moderate internal consistency; (2) discriminative power between depressed and nondepressed groups; (3) moderate concurrent validity; (4) and that two discriminant functions could differentiate between the diagnostic groups. The importance of the information given by the teacher to help detect severe depressive problems was pointed out.