| Abstract: | The families of 20 hospitalized adolescents were compared with a control group of 20 non-pathological families on the accuracy with which family members could predict each others' performance on two tests of intellectual ability. Accuracy of prediction was measured by the discrepancies between actual scores obtained by each family member and the scores other family members predicted he or she would obtain. The control and experimental groups were found to differ significantly on socioeconomic status and intellectual ability, and when these variables were controlled, a covariance analysis revealed no significant difference between the groups on accuracy of predictions. The results suggest that variables other than psychopathology must be taken into account in explaining apparent differences between healthy and disturbed families on measurements of interpersonal judgments. Implications for research and family therapy are discussed. |
