Pediatric psychopharmacology: A review of new developments and recent research.

Advances in psychopharmacology have revolutionalized the management of emotional and behavioral disorders in children and adolescents. Recent developments in pediatric psychopharmacology and the prevalence of pharmacotherapy for various psychological disorders in children are examined, and clinical updates for classes of psychotropics are provided. Issues including monitoring and assessing drug effects, acceptability and satisfaction, and the social, political, and cultural issues surrounding the use of psychotropics in children are discussed. The authors conclude that the current clinical use of psychotropics in children exceeds extant efficacy and safety data. The involvement of practicing psychologists in pediatric psychopharmacology and the need for a firm empirical foundation for pediatric psychopharmacology are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

School psychology in Canada: A selective review of recent research trends.

Discusses school psychology research conducted in Canada and explores the social and political determinants of these studies. The cognitive assessment of the pupil, identification of the exceptional child, distance education, program development for gifted students, and immersion programs in second languages are also reviewed. Further research is needed in the areas of depressed, suicidal, anxiety-ridden, abused, and delinquent children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Methodological considerations in Rorschach research.

Research with the Rorschach Inkblot Method should be conducted according to the same general principles of research design that guide other investigative efforts in psychological science. However, the nature of the Rorschach as a relatively unstructured measure of personality functioning calls for special attention to certain aspects of selecting research participants, choosing variables, and collecting and analyzing data. The present article delineates how such methodological considerations can enhance prospects for obtaining statistically significant and substantively meaningful results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Obsessive-compulsive disorders in children. A review based on recent research and clinical experiences

This article describes obsessive-compulsive disorder in childhood through a review of some recent research topics and the author's own clinical experiences with the disorder. Among the topics discussed are diagnosis, differential diagnosis, phenomenological characteristics and treatment recommendation. The article concludes that although recent research on obsessive-compulsive disorders in children has lead to important advances in our understanding and treatment of the disorder, much remains to be addressed. Research on childhood obsessive-compulsive disorder in Norway seems to be non-existent, and the author calls attention to the need for empirical studies at Norwegian research institutions. These should include research on treatment preferences in Norwegian child psychiatry clinics.     

The response of African Americans to the Rorschach: a review of the research

Studies exploring the performance of African Americans on the Rorschach were reviewed. The review revealed the limited number of studies done in this area of study, as well as the fact that the research paradigm for all of this research has been limited to comparing the Rorschach performance of African Americans to that of Whites. However, no one has offered a rationale for such a research paradigm. Without a scientific reason to expect personality to be a function of race, another research design was recommended, one that explores the effect of a variety of aspects of living conditions on the development of the personality of African Americans.     

The clinical utility of the Rorschach: Unfulfilled promises and an uncertain future.

The empirical evidence on the Rorschach is reviewed using three definitions of clinical utility: (a) the nature of professional attitudes and extent of clinical usage, (b) the extent of evidence for reliability, validity, diagnostic efficiency, and incremental validity, and (c) the extent of evidence that Rorschach data improve clinical decision-making and/or treatment outcome. Surveys demonstrate that the Rorschach is extensively used; however, these data are insufficient to demonstrate clinical utility as they do not address the rational, scientific, and ethical requirements of professional standards for psychological measures. After reviewing conceptual issues in Rorschach research (especially those in the Comprehensive System) the authors conclude that there is little scientific evidence to support the clinical utility of the Rorschach. Given the absence of data evaluating how the Rorschach is used in routine practice and whether its use is consistent with the manner in which it is used in research, there is currently no scientific basis for justifying the use of Rorschach scales in psychological assessments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The social psychology of Rorschach validity research.

An analysis of the research extant in the literature on the validity of the Rorschach, revealed that there was a relationship between where the research was done (academic, nonacademic settings) and type of validity study (construct, criterion, i.e., theoretical or practical validity). Ramifications of these findings with regard to formulation and interpretation of studies on the Rorschach were discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

MMPI and Rorschach: Three decades of research.

Research references on the Rorschach and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) were counted for each year, 1950–1985, to analyze the trends noted by W. M. Reynolds and N. D. Sundberg (see record 1979-00119-001) and to test their prediction that research on personality tests would decline after 1971. Results show that there was a decline between 1971 and 1975. However, the number of Rorschach references leveled off after 1975, and there was a resurgence of interest in MMPI research. Recent data suggest that both tests continue to be popular topics for published research. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Secondary reinforcement: A review of recent experimentation.

"The secondary reinforcement literature yields few conclusions which can be substantiated by a number of experiments, and which are not contradicted by other experiments. There is no consistent picture of the effects of schedules of reinforcement, amount of primary reinforcement, satiation or irrelevant drives. Both the discrimination hypothesis and the discriminative stimulus hypothesis must deal with experimental results which do not appear to be easily reconciled to these particular approaches." There is a need for better research in lieu of more theory. 43 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the final Special Section in the Special Series on the utility of the Rorschach for clinical assessment.

A Special Series was organized to clarify the merits of the Rorschach for clinical assessment. Except for a neutral meta-analytic review, articles were solicited from scholars known to have opposing views on the Rorschach. The authors participated in a structured, sequential, evidence-based dialogue that focused on strengths and limitations when using the Rorschach for applied purposes, The debate has taken place over 4 iterations, with later articles building on and reacting to those generated earlier. The first 5 articles in the Special Series were published earlier (G. J. Meyer, 1999), and the final 6 articles are published in this issue of Psychological Assessment. This article provides a brief overview of the full Special Series and an introduction to the 6 articles contained in this Special Section. The Special Series provides clinicians, researchers, educators, and students with a thorough review of the evidence and logic that are critical for understanding the Rorschach's strengths and limitations in clinical assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the first Special Section in the Special Series on the utility of the Rorschach for clinical assessment.

Psychologists have debated the clinical utility of the Rorschach for many years. In an effort to bring greater clarity to the relevant issues, a Special Series was organized for this journal. With the exception of a neutral, meta-analytic review, articles for the Special Series were solicited from scholars known to have opposing views on the Rorschach. The authors agreed to engage in a structured, sequential, and scientifically grounded dialog that focused on strengths and limitations when using the Rorschach in applied clinical settings. The debate takes place over the course of three iterations, with later articles building on and reacting to those generated earlier. This Introduction provides a rationale and overview for the full Special Series. In addition, it briefly describes the five Special Section articles published in this issue of Psychological Assessment. Five additional articles are expected to be published in an upcoming Special Section. In combination, these two Special Sections should provide clinicians, researchers, educators, and students with the most thorough, empirically rigorous, and up-to-date evaluation of the Rorschach's clinical utility. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rorschach indicators of dissociative identity disorders: clinical utility and theoretical implications

A series of 1,4-dihydropyridines bearing a coumarin moiety in 4-position was synthesized. The compounds were evaluated for inotropic, chronotropic and calcium antagonist activities. The replacement of the o-nitrophenyl moiety of nifedipine with a coumarin or phenylcoumarin system is accompanied by a decrease of the activity on myocardial and vascular parameters, but the synthesized compounds showed selective inhibiting effects on cardiac contractility and frequency.     

"MMPI and Rorschach: Three decades of research": A time series reanalysis.

Reanalyzed the results concerning the yearly analysis of references to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and the Rorschach test in Psychological Abstracts from 1950 to 1985 obtained by J. Polyson et al (see record 1987-02840-001), using the auto-regressive integrated moving average model. Findings of the reanalysis reveal a problem with the Polyson et al study, because the sample data did not meet the assumptions of the inferential procedures associated with the t-test and Pearson product-moment r. It is maintained that the number of publications in a given year for either measure did not influence the number of publications for the other measure in any subsequent year. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of the Rorschach: A matter of preference.

Obtained similarity judgments among all possible pairs of the 10 Rorschach inkblots from a normative group of 15 psychiatric patients. A multidimensional scaling analysis was then performed for 2 groups of Ss: 20 clinical psychologists, and 49 state hospital psychiatric patients. 4 dimensions emerged for each group, and these were related to independently obtained preferences for the 10 inkblots by various S groups (psychotics, neurotics, normals) and to various stimulus calibrations (e.g., evaluation and meaningfulness) of the blots. Both S groups perceived a dimension that correlated with preference ratings made by both a psychotic and neurotic group; the patients split this dimension into psychotic and neurotic preference. The psychologists' judgments reflected a dimension not present in the patient group involving the difficulty of an inkblot in eliciting a response. It is argued that a multidimensional scaling analysis of the Rorschach provides a possible alternative method for the development of new scoring categories that would be based on Ss' own psychophysical perceptions of the blots. (33 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A review of counseling analogue research methods.

Reviews counseling analog research methods used in the Journal of Counseling Psychology, including audiovisual studies (with both client and counselor behavior as dependent variables), quasi-counseling interviews, and experimental tasks not directly resembling a counseling interview. Emerging analog research models are identified and related methodological issues and boundary condition characteristics are discussed. Analog methodological features in need of further consideration are noted. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The development of transitive inference: A review of recent approaches.

Reviews research on the development of transitive inference in children. Two principal approaches, one associated with Piaget's stage theory, the other associated with an information-processing theory, are compared. The 2 approaches differ with respect to 4 aspects of method: choice of task, response required, initial training, and method of feedback. The divergent conclusions of the approaches regarding the age at which transitive inference emerges are discussed in relation to these points of methodological divergence. Several issues in the area of transitive inference are viewed as prototypical of diagnostic problems encountered in cognitive development generally. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Eating disorders: A bibliography of recent clinical and research reports.

Lists 47 references on eating disorders, including binge eating, bulimia, bulimarexia (binge eating and purging), and compulsive eating. This bibliography was compiled from a systematic review of selected journals and books about the assessment and treatment of obesity, anorexia nervosa, and eating disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The recent decline in TAT research.

TAT research references in O. K. Buros (1972, 1976, 1978) and Psychological Abstracts were counted for each year from 1970 to 1983 in order to update previous research that showed high levels of research productivity. Data show that research interest in the TAT has declined substantially despite its popularity in clinical training and practice. It is argued that the future of this classic assessment tool may depend on a renewal of interest in TAT research. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A critical review of the approach to birth order research.

The birth order literature was reviewed in order to demonstrate that the present emphasis on birth order differences with a de-emphasis on theory has resulted in confusion. Birth order research topics reviewed were: child-rearing practices, affiliation, dependence, and conformity, intelligence and achievement, and alcoholism. Following the review, two suggestions were made concerning the direction of future birth order research. The first concerned the importance of undertaking theoretically-derived research as opposed to research focused on differences. Developmental theories, particularly those considering the family and child-rearing practices were suggested. The second concerned the value of a moderator variable (Ghiselli, 1963) in birth order research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)