Characterization of stability of performance in patients with traumatic brain injury: Variability and consistency on reaction time tests.

The stability of performance of reaction times (RTs) on 3 visual discrimination tasks was assessed in patients with varying severity of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and in matched control Ss. Results were analyzed for group and individual variability and consistency of performance over time. There was significantly greater intersubject (group) variability in the TBI group. Individual patients (intrasubject) tended to be more variable in performance and less consistent over time than control Ss, but this occurred only with specific measures, which suggests that increased lack of stability in performance is not a general impairment after brain damage but requires specific analyses for identification of performance differences. This intrasubject variability was indepedent of test–retest and split-half test reliability. No obvious factors such as severity of brain injury were related to the variability and inconsistency of performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development and validation of a computer-administered version of the Hamilton Rating Scale.

Developed a computer-administered form of the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAS), designed to provide a high degree of correspondence with the clinician interview version of the HAS. Both computer and clinician forms of the HAS were administered to 214 psychiatric outpatients and 78 community-based adults (all Ss aged 18–77 yrs). The computer-administered HAS demonstrated high internal consistency and test–retest reliability. A correlation of r(290)?=?.92, p?≤?.001, was found between the computer and the clinician versions. The mean score difference between versions was small but significant. In Ss with anxiety disorders the mean score difference between computer and clinician versions was not significant. Results support the reliability and validity of the computer-administered HAS as an alternative to the clinician-administered version of this measure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Ostomy Adjustment Scale: Further evidence of reliability and validity.

Administered M. E. Olbrisch's (see record 1985-21769-001) 34-item ostomy adjustment scale (OAS) to 164 volunteers (aged 18–75 yrs) who underwent ostomy surgery. 30 Ss also completed the 17-item short version of the OAS. Support for the 34-item scale's test–retest and internal consistency reliability and construct validity was demonstrated. Internal consistency reliability of the short form was disappointing. Ostomy adjustment was significantly related to quality of life and negatively related to depression. Four clear factors, corresponding to 3 of Olbrisch's factors emerged: normal functioning, functional limitations, negative affect, and positive affect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social self-efficacy in adolescence: Relations with self-concept, social adjustment, and mental health.

An examination of social self-efficacy in 163 high school students (aged 13–19 yrs) and 79 emotionally disturbed adolescents (aged 12–18 yrs) is reported. The Adolescent Social Self-Efficacy Scale, a 25-item scale which elicits self-ratings of behavioral effectiveness in problematic peer contexts, was developed. Scale homogeneity and test–retest reliability were evident in the samples tested. Validity of the social self-efficacy construct was demonstrated by correlations with indices of social self-concept and ratings of social adjustment. Clinical utility of the scale was also evident. Emotionally disturbed adolescent Ss rated themselves more poorly than did their well-functioning peers. Findings support the conceptualization of social self-efficacy as a component of social competence and as a contributor to mental health. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Test–retest reliability and differential patterns of score change on the Group Embedded Figures Test.

Examined retest reliability of the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) under 3 different intervals between test and retest, all with an interpolated cognitive task. 159 18–51 yr old undergraduates served as Ss in 3 experiments. Despite a significant increase in the group mean score from test to retest in all 3 experiments, retest reliability coefficients were high, .78–.92. There was also a suggestion that reliability increased with duration of delay. Examination of individual patterns of test–retest score change revealed 4 patterns: consistent field dependent (FD), consistent field independent (FI), unclassifiable, and latent field independent, whose retest scores took them from the FD range to the FI range. The latter 2 patterns accounted for the significant retest improvement. Relative frequencies of Ss in each pattern were relatively constant over the 3 experiments. Ss in the pattern categories also differed with respect to score on number series completion tests, suggesting that the 4 patterns reflect more general individual differences in analytic ability. It is concluded that the GEFT is a reliable test, but suggestions for a more error-free classification procedure based on a test–retest score pattern is proposed. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age effects on block design: Qualitative performance features and extended-time effects.

Qualitative performance features and extended-time effects on the Block Design subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS—R) were examined in 145 healthy Ss (aged 50–95 yrs). Raw scores were calculated at standard and extended time limits; error types and starting points were recorded for a subgroup of Ss. In Ss age 60 yrs and older, there was a consistent decline with age in overall scores at both time limits. Extra time allotments resulted in modest but significant increases in scores. Older and younger Ss benefited equally from the extra time, indicating that the age-related decline on this task cannot be accounted for by general age-related psychomotor slowing. Single- and multiblock rotation errors were relatively common, whereas stimulus boundedness and broken configurations were rare. Despite some potential limitations in generalizability, the results suggest that the incorporation of qualitative scoring procedures in the assessment of visuoconstructional skills may enhance understanding of normal and abnormal brain–behavior relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comprehension-monitoring skills in learning-disabled children.

Compared comprehension-monitoring skills of learning disabled (LD) and normal elementary school children. Comprehension monitoring, the ability to evaluate one's level of understanding incoming messages, was assessed in the context of a game-learning task. Ss were 12 younger LD boys (7–8 yrs old), 12 older LD boys (9–10 yrs old), and 12 younger and 10 older normal boys matched on age and IQ. No age effects were observed. The major finding was that relative to the matched normal Ss, LD Ss were deficient in comprehension-monitoring skills. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Forgetting rates in modality memory for young, mid-life, and older women.

Administered a mixed-modality (visual and auditory) continuous recognition task, followed immediately by a final recognition test, to 16 women in each of 3 age groups (18–23 yrs, 38–50 yrs, and 60–74 yrs). Ss gave recognition responses for both the words and their presentation modality. Although older Ss remembered less information about input mode than did the 2 younger groups, the age decrement was not the result of faster forgetting of such information by the elderly. When a ceiling effect at the initial lag was taken into account, forgetting rates for both words and input mode were comparable across the adult life span. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of adult age and level of skill on the ability to cope with high-stress conditions in a precision sport.

12 younger (mean age 26.6 yrs) and 12 older (mean age 56.6 yrs) highly skilled and moderately skilled miniature golf players in Sweden were studied in training and competition. All of the Ss showed an increase of heart rate and rated anxiety from training to competition. A performance decline in competition was observed for both older players and less accomplished players. It is concluded that results from a cognitive task (incidental recall of shots) suggest that older players are less proficient in coping with the high-stress conditions in competition, due to an age-related decline in task-relevant cognitive abilities. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reliability of the Beck Depression Inventory with older adults.

Examined the test–retest, split-half, and coefficient alpha reliability of the Beck Depression Inventory with a sample of 82 elderly community volunteers (mean age 69.9 yrs) and 77 depressed outpatients (mean age 67.8 yrs). All 3 indexes were reasonably high in the total sample and fell within the accepted range of reliability for a clinical screening instrument. As expected, internal consistency was lower when determined for the 2 separate samples. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive and social functioning across adulthood: Age or student status differences?

20 younger adult students (aged 19–24 yrs), 21 older adult students (aged 61–76 yrs), and 22 older adult nonstudents (aged 62–76 yrs) were assessed for health (self-ratings of physical and mental health), social functioning (self-ratings of physical and mental activity, perceived role activity level, perceived roles, locus of control, and age–norm expectations), and cognitive functioning (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised [WAIS—R] Vocabulary and Block Design, and paired associate memory). Age differences were observed in self-ratings of health, social roles, intellectual performance, and memory. No student status differences were observed. Results are discussed in terms of plasticity of intellectual function and characteristics of student status in later adulthood. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential memory changes with age: Exact retrieval versus plausible inference.

Conducted 2 experiments on the use of direct retrieval and plausibility memory strategies in elderly and college-age adults. In Exp I, which used an episodic memory task, data were obtained from 49 65–80 yr old college alumni and from 58 college students who had served in a previous study by the 1st author (see record 1983-02731-001). Findings indicate that older Ss effectively used the plausibility strategy but performed more poorly than younger Ss when the direct retrieval strategy was required. Results of Exp II, using 18 college alumni (8 Ss aged 20–31 yrs, 10 Ss aged 64–75 yrs) with a semantic memory task, show that older Ss' accuracy was essentially undistinguishable from that of younger Ss as long as a plausibility judgment process produced the correct response. It is argued that careful inspection is a much more costly process for older adults than it is for young adults but that plausibility judgments and feature overlap processes are equally easy for both age groups. (44 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age differences and patterns of sex-role conflict among alcoholics.

Examined sex-role conflict in 17 hospitalized alcoholic males and 17 hospitalized alcoholic females. The 14 younger Ss were 18–30 yrs old, and the 20 older Ss were 35–61 yrs old; Ss were administered the Personal Attributes Questionnaire. Results indicate that all Ss wanted to be higher on masculinity and that older females saw themselves as significantly lower than average on masculinity. Older Ss tended to be higher on femininity than younger Ss. Findings are discussed in terms of the changing aspects of sex-role socialization. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adult age differences in predicting memory performance: The effects of normative information and task experience.

Two experiments addressed the effects of task information and experience on younger and older adults' ability to predict their memory for words. The 1st study, which involved 36 women (aged 20–30 yrs) and 36 women (aged 65–75 yrs), examined the effects of normative task information on Ss' predictions for 30-word lists across 3 trials. The 2nd study, which involved 2 groups of men and women (128 Ss total; aged 19–30 yrs and 54–77 yrs), examined the effects of making predictions and recalling either an easy or a difficult word list prior to making predictions and recalling a moderately difficult word list. Results from both studies showed that task information and experience affected Ss' predictions and that elderly adults predicted their performance more accurately than did younger adults. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Children's Depression Inventory: A systematic evaluation of psychometric properties.

Determined the psychometric properties of the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) by administering it to 294 schoolchildren (aged 7 yrs to 13 yrs 4 mo) and to 269 psychiatric inpatients (aged 7 yrs 1 mo to 16 yrs 4 mo). Results show good internal consistency in both groups, but test–retest data were variable across populations and test–retest intervals. Validity analysis showed that the CDI distinguished Ss with general emotional distress from normal schoolchildren. However, differences between CDI scores of depressed (DSM-III) and nondepressed Ss were not significant. There was a good correspondence between the CDI and self-report measures of self-concept. It is suggested that the CDI measures a multidimensional construct that overlaps with other childhood disorders (particularly anxiety). Although the CDI may be the best researched instrument available to measure depression from the child's viewpoint, more work is needed before it can be interpreted with confidence in clinical and research settings. (52 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An examination of verbal supraspan in normal adults and patients with head trauma or unilateral cerebrovascular accident.

Provided a normative data base for a measure of verbal supraspan based on 301 neurologically intact adults (aged 18–91 yrs) and examined the test's clinical sensitivity in 3 patient groups. Data from 55 patients with severe head trauma, 38 with right hemisphere and cerebrovascular accident (CVA), and 15 with left hemisphere CVA reveal significant age-related differences, with older Ss performing below levels obtained by younger ones. Group data reveal that Ss in all 3 groups performed significantly below levels obtained by age-matched controls. Supraspan scores did not correlate appreciably with years of education. However, scores on the supraspan test correlated modestly with Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS—R) Information and Block Design scores, suggesting that task performance may be dependent in part on the S's general level of cognitive functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Association between aerobic fitness and visuospatial performance in healthy older adults.

Examined whether chronic physical exercise activity is associated with better neurocognitive performance in older adults. 105 men participated in 1 of 3 age groups (18–28, 35–45, and 60–73 yrs). For each age group, Ss were classified as high or low in fitness on the basis of self-reported activity levels and the results of a submaximal bicycle ergometer test. A comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests was administered to each S, and older Ss scored significantly lower than the younger groups on most tests. Significant differences between high- and low-fit Ss were found only on tasks with heavy visuospatial demands, and these differences were most notable in the older adult group. These findings suggest that participation in aerobic exercise activity selectively preserves some cognitive functions that normally decline with age. The benefits of activity appear to be most evident on tasks that require visuospatial processing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Word associations in old age: Evidence for consistency in semantic encoding during adulthood.

Word associations of 80 young (aged 17–33 yrs) and 80 older (aged 62–87 yrs) adults were compared for 113 stimulus words. Results indicate that the proportion of paradigmatic responses varied with the grammatical class of the stimulus word and with the vocabulary level of the S, but not with age. The same proportion of young and older Ss gave the most common responses. Although older Ss had a greater number of unique responses, this seemed to reflect age differences in vocabulary level, as vocabulary but not age was a good predictor. Within-S variability was also comparable across age, as on a retest young and older Ss gave the same proportion of responses that were identical to those on the original test. Both age groups were more likely to repeat common than uncommon responses on the retest. It is concluded that this, together with analyses of response latency, suggests equivalent use of strategic processes across age. The results indicate that semantic structure and semantic encoding in adults are related to verbal ability, but not to age. (49 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Specific exemplar retention and prototype abstraction in young and old adults.

Examined the effects of age differences in retention of information about specific concept members on 40 older adults' (mean age 72.3 yrs) and 40 younger adults' (mean age 20.6 yrs) ability to abstract central tendency information. The mean Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS—R) Vocabulary scaled score for the young adults was significantly lower than that of the older adults. Ss were presented with a series of visual patterns that were organized around a prototype and were then presented with these same patterns plus a set of new patterns varying in prototype similarity in a recognition test. It was found that young Ss retained more information about specific acquisition set exemplars, which resulted in slightly different recognition responses for new patterns. However, the recognition behavior of both young and older Ss appeared to be governed by the same rules. It is suggested that the organization of conceptual information does not change with age but that the poorer retention of specific item information in older adults may result in a less complete representation. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of contextual organization on spatial memory of middle-aged and older women.

Examined the memory performance of 20 women aged 31–59 yrs and 20 aged 65–85. Ss reconstructed spatial arrays, replacing miniature objects in either a contextually organized panorama or a noncontextually organized bank of cubicles. Performance of the middle-aged Ss did not differ between the 2 tasks. Older Ss performed as well as middle-aged Ss in the panorama task, but in the cubicles task their scores were lower than in the panorama task and lower than those of the younger Ss in the cubicles task. Results support the conclusion that in a task that allows the use of existing contextual organization as a memory aid, age differences in memory performance disappear. Age differences may be limited to tasks that remove previously learned relationships between items (as in recall of lists of unrelated words), requiring Ss to invent an organizational structure to facilitate recall. Though such tasks predominate in research, they probably do not represent the memory problems met in everyday life, especially by older adults. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)