Age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, and birth cohort difference on the children's depression inventory: A meta-analysis.

A within-scale meta-analysis was performed on 310 samples of children (ages 8-16; N = 61,424) responding to the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). Girls' depression scores stayed steady from ages 8 to 11 and then increased between ages 12 and 16. Boys' CDI scores were stable from ages 8 to 16 except for a high CDI score at age 12. Girls' scores were slightly lower than boys' during childhood, but girls scored higher beginning at age 13. There were no socioeconomic status effects and no differences between White and Black samples. However, Hispanic samples scored significantly higher on the CDI. Analyses for birth cohort showed a slight decrease in boys' CDI scores over time and no change for girls. Longitudinal studies demonstrated a marked testing effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use and abuse of the benzodiazepines

Since chlordiazepoxide was introduced in 1961, the benzodiazepines have had many important roles in the pharmacotherapy of various disorders. This drug class for the central nervous system has been considered one of the safest in use for 35 years, especially when the benzodiazepines are compared with the barbiturates they often replaced. The objective of this article is to provide an update on the availability and distribution of benzodiazepines around the world and to discuss their most common clinical applications. Adverse effects of benzodiazepines, observed after long-term therapeutic use and after overdoses, are also presented. Triazolam is discussed because this benzodiazepine was removed from the market by regulatory authorities in the United Kingdom in 1991. Benzodiazepines will continue to have an important role in clinical medicine. Their clinical use, however, should be monitored more closely because of the greater awareness of their adverse effects after long-term use and because of the potential for misuse and abuse.     

Effects of domestic violence on children's behavior problems and depression.

The Children's Depression Inventory, Child Behavior Checklist, and Youth Self-Report were completed by mothers, fathers, and their 8–12 yr old children to assess the effects of various types of domestic violence on children's behavior problems and depression. 110 Israeli children from lower-class families were identified through social service records. 33 of the children had been physically abused by their parents within the last 6 mo, 16 had witnessed spouse abuse, 30 had been both victims and witnesses of domestic violence, and 31 had experienced no known domestic violence. Overall, domestic violence had effects on child development that varied in magnitude and nature depending on the type of domestic violence and who reported the information about the child's adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use and abuse of logic in psychological literature.

Calls attention to the need for the careful use of logic in dealing with psychological data. Examples are presented of logic accurately employed by psychologists and of the abuse of logic by others writing in the field of psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Autobiographical memory functioning in depression and reports of early abuse.

The authors investigated the memory functioning of depressed women patients with and without a reported history of child physical or sexual abuse using J. M. G. Williams and K. Broadbent's (1986) Autobiographical Memory Test. Whereas latency to recall autobiographical memories was not related to reports of abuse, patients who reported childhood sexual abuse produced more overgeneral memories to positive and negative cues. In addition, patients reporting high levels of avoidance of spontaneous memories of childhood physical or sexual abuse in the past week retrieved more overgeneral memories to positive and negative cues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of strategies and individual differences in children's memory.

Examined interrelations among measures of memory to determine whether individual differences in children's performance on learning and memory tasks may be attributable to a general strategic factor. Correlations were computed among 3 strategy-based measures of memory and 3 strategy-free measures of memory for 108 8- and 11-yr-olds. Factor analyses of these correlation matrices revealed that only for 11-yr-olds did the 3 strategy-based measures load on a single factor, as would be expected if general strategic ability was a source of individual differences in children's memory. For both 8- and 11-yr-olds there was some evidence for the presence of a strategy-free factor. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of the maximal-operant principle to motivate children's intrinsic interest.

The present research examined the hypothesis that in contrast to theory and research indicating that tangible reward decreases subsequent interest in enjoyable academic activities, rewards are perceived by adults as effective techniques to maximize long- and short-term subsequent interest for academic tasks of both high and low initial interest level. The results of our first three studies demonstrated that college students and parents view tangible reward as more effective than other less controlling techniques to enhance intrinsic motivation and value rewards more for intrinsically interesting academic behaviors in comparison with others (e.g., prosocial behaviors). Our fourth study supported the hypothesis that adults do not subscribe to the minimal-sufficiency analysis of increasing intrinsic motivation but prefer a maximal-operant principle in which the likelihood of producing long-term interest in academic tasks is assumed to vary positively with the size of a reward. Our fifth and sixth studies investigated illusory correlation as one mechanism that may perpetuate beliefs about the assumed positive relation between tangible reward and intrinsic interest in academic tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of physical abuse on children's social relationships

Social behavior and peer status of 87 physically abused 8-12-year-old urban children were compared with those of 87 case-matched nonmaltreated classmates. Peer nominations and peer ratings were collected in classrooms, social networks were assessed by child interview, family variables were assessed by interviewing mothers, and behavior problems were rated by parents and teachers. Significant findings were that abused children had lower peer status and less positive reciprocity with peers chosen as friends; they were rated by peers as more aggressive and less cooperative and by parents and teachers as more disturbed; and their social networks showed more insularity, atypicality, and negativity. Social behavior as perceived by peers accounted for a significant portion of the variance in social status; global disturbance measures did not add to this association. Results are discussed in terms of a context of family violence in the development of social maladjustment.     

Use of the Psychiatric Evaluation Form to quantify children's interview data.

Two interview reports for each of 207 children (aged 4–17 yrs) were available as a result of litigation requesting damages for "psychic impairment" of the survivors of a flood. Evidence was present that certain of the symptom scales on the Psychiatric Evaluation Form (PEF) could be reliably rated from the diagnostic reports by nonclinicians. Ratings from interviews conducted 6 mo apart by interviewers with different styles and purposes were significantly correlated. Information was also given about relationships among the scales, and a suggestion was made for clustering them. Clusters from each interview were significantly correlated with a global clinical impairment rating made at the time of the 2nd interview. Clusters from the 2 reports were also differentially predictive of 2 physical symptoms, enuresis and obesity. Evidence thus suggests that the PEF scales are a useful and valid means of quantifying children's interview data and can be used to examine research questions in clinical settings. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interparental conflict, negative parenting, and children's adjustment: Bridging links between parents' depression and children's psychological distress.

Pathways linking parental depressive symptoms, adult relationship insecurity, interparental conflict, negative parenting, and children's psychological adjustment (internalizing symptoms and externalizing problems) were assessed using a 3-wave longitudinal research design. Two-parent families (N = 352) with 11- to 13-year-old children (179 boys, 173 girls) participated in the study. Maternal and paternal depressive symptoms were associated with insecurity in adult close relationships assessed 12 months later, which was concurrently related to heightened levels of interparental conflict. Controlling for children's initial symptom levels, interparental conflict was related to child appraisals of father and mother rejection assessed an additional 12 months later, which were related to children's internalizing symptoms and externalizing problems, respectively. Results are discussed with regard to the implications for understanding the complex interplay between adult depressive symptoms, attributions in close adult relationships, interparental conflict, negative parenting, and children's psychological adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of a biographical inventory to predict schizophrenics' posthospital employment and readmission.

Factor analyzed the posttreatment scores of 720 male schizophrenics on L. Ullman and J. Giovannoni's Palo Alto Social Background Inventory (PASBI). Factor scales and PASBI-derived Process-Reactive scale were then correlated with employment and readmission. Analysis yielded 10 factors reflecting perceived degree of disability, interpersonal orientations, regularity of employment, extent of previous hospitalization, and demographic characteristics. The bulk of the explained variance of posthospital work was accounted for by chronicity, perception of disability, and marital affiliation. The PASBI scales were not related to readmission. Work and readmission were only minimally (and negatively) related. Results support the utility of a self-administered historical inventory in making treatment decisions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of competence inventory for college men and evaluation of relationships between competence and depression.

Hypothesized that deficits in interpersonal and problem-solving skills are significantly related to nonclinical depression. A behavioral role-playing measure of competence in male college students was developed via a procedure introduced by M. R. Goldfried and T. J. D'Zurilla (1969). This new measure, the Problem Inventory for College Students (PICS), was administered to 92 undergraduate males to assess the relationships between competence and depression. Depression was assessed in 2 ways: The current presence or absence of a nonclinical state of depression was measured by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the tendency toward experiencing frequent nonclinical depressions was measured by self-report. Ss who were currently depressed according to their BDI scores had significantly lower competence scores on the PICS than nondepressed Ss. Ss who reported experiencing frequent depressions did not earn significantly different competence scores on the PICS than Ss who reported seldom experiencing depressions. Results partially support the hypothesized relationship between competence and depression. The association between the PICS and the BDI indicates that incompetence is a concomitant of depression, if not a precursor. Results are a 1st step toward establishing the construct validity of the PICS as a competence measure for college males. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Structural differences in parent and child reports of children's symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Two cohorts of public elementary school children and their parents (assessed 3 years apart) completed child and parent forms of the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) and the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS). Assessments were conducted twice, once during the fall (N?=?562) and again during the spring (N?=?630) of the 6th grade. Factor analyses revealed 3 factors for each measure. Two of the 3 parent CDI factors manifested some degree of congruence with their counterparts from the child CDI. Similarly, 2 of the 3 RCMAS factors were somewhat congruent across informant types. Differences between parent and child factor structures suggest that parents' and children's reports focus on somewhat different aspects of child psychopathology, and they can make qualitatively different contributions to the multiaxial assessment of children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use and abuse of medical service marks

Medical service marks, like other service marks and trademarks, are subject to public misuse and infringement. Such misuses are sometimes innocent and sometimes fraudulently motivated. For example, throughout the history of the Mayo Clinic, the Mayo name has been publicly appropriated by unauthorized users attempting to claim an endorsement or affiliation with the clinic. On at least two occasions, the Mayo Clinic has sued misusers. Mayo prevailed in a 1962 appeal in the Minnesota Supreme Court against a business incorporating into its name the word "Mayo" and selling medicinal products in the Rochester, Minnesota, area. The supreme court banned such deceptive use, finding that persons would associate the name Mayo on medically related products with the Mayo Clinic. Mayo did not prevail, however, in a 1972 federal appeal against a food company attempting to register a trademark of "mayo" and "7" for mayonnaise. The court found that purchasers would not associate the "mayo" on a food product with the Mayo Clinic. From 1989 to 1991, a fraudulent "Mayo Diet Pill" circulated in Europe, where advertisements suggested that it originated at the Mayo Clinic. Its sale was stopped only after the Mayo reputation incurred an undetermined amount of damage in Europe. Public misuse of medical service marks is likely to increase as the health-care marketplace becomes more competitive.     

Use and abuse of over-the-counter analgesic agents

Pain and discomfort in everyday life are often treated with over-the-counter (OTC) analgesic medications. These drugs are remarkably safe, but serious side effects can occur. Up to 70% of the population in Western countries uses analgesics regularly, primarily for headaches, other specific pains and febrile illness. It is not known whether the patterns of use are consistent with good pain management practices. OTC analgesics are also widely used to treat dysphoric mood states and sleep disturbances, and high levels of OTC analgesic medication use are associated with psychiatric illness, particularly depressive symptoms, and the use of alcohol, nicotine and caffeine. More than 4 g per day of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) or acetaminophen over long periods is considered abuse. People using excessive amounts of OTC analgesics may need more effective treatments for chronic pain, depression or dysthymia. The possibility that these drugs have subtle reinforcing properties needs to be investigated. Certainly phenacetin, which was taken off the market in the 1970s, had intoxicating effects. A better understanding of patterns of use is needed to determine the extent of problem use of OTC analgesics, and whether health could be improved by educating people about the appropriate use of these drugs.     

Discriminating patterns of emotions in 10- and 11-yr-old children's anxiety and depression.

Evaluated emotional variables in the discrimination and prediction of anxiety and depression in 280 5th and 6th graders. Ss and teachers completed inventories assessing the Ss' emotions, anxiety level, and depression level twice, 4 mo apart. The battery included the Trait scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children and the Children's Depression Inventory. Results indicate that distinct patterns of emotional variables are involved in anxiety and depression syndromes, and these patterns confirm the hypotheses based on differential emotions theory. An attempt to predict future depression was successful when based on the Ss' self-reported emotions but not when based on the teachers' ratings of the Ss' emotions. It is concluded that the latter may have been due to the high stability (Time 1/Time 2 correlation) of the depression measure over the 4-mo interval. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Couples- versus individual-based therapy for alcohol and drug abuse: Effects on children's psychosocial functioning.

The study compared the effect of couples-based vs individual-based therapy for men who entered outpatient substance abuse treatment on the psychosocial functioning of children in their homes. Men were randomly assigned to (1) behavioral couples therapy (BCT), (2) individual-based treatment (IBT) or (3) couples-based psychoeducational attention control treatment (PACT). For both children of alcohol (N=71) and drug-abusing men (N=64), parents' ratings of children's psychosocial functioning was higher for children whose fathers participated in BCT at posttreatment and at 6- and 12-mo follow-up than for children whose fathers participated in IBT or PACT. BCT resulted in greater improvements in parents' dyadic adjustment and fathers' substance use. Thus, couples-based intervention that addresses both issues may have greater benefits for children in these homes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The co-occurrence of depression and substance abuse in late adolescence

This article examines the role of adolescent social relationships in fostering the occurrence and co-occurrence of depression and substance abuse, using two waves of data from a community sample of adolescents (N = 900). Multinomial logistic response models were estimated to identify the extent to which risk and protective features of youths' family and peer relations were differentially linked with depressive symptoms, substance abuse, and their co-occurrence. Taking a within-person, configurational approach to adolescent adaptation, contrasts involved four subgroups of adolescents: those high on both depressed mood and substance abuse, those who experience neither problem, those evidencing high levels of depressive symptoms only, and those high on substance abuse only. Risk for depressive symptoms was differentiated by its association with conflict and lack of support in the friendship domain. Substance abuse was associated with negative peer pressure, but these youth were otherwise little different from youths with no problems. Whereas co-occurrence of depression and substance use was associated with more difficulties in both the family and peer environments, the most distinctive risk was that of low family support. Discussion centers on the developmental antecedents of co-occurring problems and family relations during adolescence.     

Personality disorders in adolescents with major depression, substance abuse disorders, and coexisting major depression and substance use disorders.

This study examined the presence of personality disorders in adolescent inpatients with major depression (MDD; n?=?45), substance use disorders (SUD; n?=?27), or both disorders combined (MDD-SUD; n?=?42). A consecutive series of patients were given structured diagnostic interviews for Axes I and II disorders. The groups did not differ with regard to age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, psychiatric history, or global assessment of functioning. Borderline personality disorder was diagnosed more frequently in the MDD-SUD group than in the MDD or SUD groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)