Change in maternal criticism and behavior problems in adolescents and adults with autism across a 7-year period.

In a previous study, high levels of maternal criticism predicted increased behavior problems in adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) over an 18-month period (Greenberg, Seltzer, Hong, & Orsmond, 2006). The current investigation followed these families over a period of 7 years to examine the longitudinal course of criticism and behavior problems, to assess the association between their trajectories, and to determine the degree to which change in each of these factors predicted levels of criticism and behavior problems at the end of the study period. A sample of 118 mothers coresiding with their adolescent and adult children with ASD provided open-ended narratives about their children and reported on the children's behavior problems at 4 waves. Maternal criticism was derived from expressed emotion ratings of the narratives. Criticism exhibited low but significant stability over the 7-year period, and behavior problems exhibited high stability. Through latent growth curve modeling, (a) criticism was found to have increased over time, but only for the group of families in which the sons or daughters transitioned from high school services during the study period; (b) individual changes in criticism and behavior problems were positively correlated over the 7-year period; and (c) changes in criticism predicted levels of behavior problems at the conclusion of the study. Changes in behavior problems were not predictive of end levels of criticism. Implications for intervention and prevention efforts are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

School-based developmental facilitation groups for children of divorce: Issues of group process.

Describes school-based intervention groups to assist children in dealing with parental divorce. 46 5th and 6th graders participated in 6 groups that met weekly for 8 wks. Consistent themes included anxiety over parental battles, conflicted loyalties, sadness over loss of the family unit, excitement and anxiety over the custodial mother's dating, and anger over being disciplined by the mother's boyfriend or husband. It is concluded that the development of group cohesion facilitated amelioration of aloneness with divorce-related feelings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual differences in latent neuropsychological abilities at addictions treatment entry.

The latent structure of neuropsychological abilities and risk factors for impairment were examined in 197 persons entering addictions treatment. Confirmatory factor analysis yielded 4 factors: Executive, Memory, Verbal, and Processing Speed. The measurement model was consistent with evidence that neuropsychological test performance is factorially complex and supported by multiple brain regions. Path analyses showed that risk factors explained 34-57% of the true variance in abilities. Age, education, and medical status had the most generalized and robust associations with abilities. Drug use disorder diagnoses, childhood behavior problems, familial alcoholism, and psychopathology were also significantly related to specific latent abilities. Knowledge of neuropsychological impairment may be clinically useful, and selected risk factors may help treatment providers decide which clients should receive formal neuropsychological assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Negotiation of responsibility: Judgments of blameworthiness in a natural setting.

Conducted naturalistic observations over a 5-day period of remedial interchanges—situations in which a participant is called on to defend his/her behavior or character—occurring among approximately 300 students in 10 different classrooms representing kindergarten through 3rd-grade levels. Data yielded 1,718 remedial interchanges, which were broken down by grade and presence or absence of a teacher. Three approaches to the development of moral judgments were considered: attributional, cognitive-developmental, and symbolic-interactionist analyses. Data show limited support for the model of levels of responsibility (attributional analysis) developed by F. Heider (1958), no evidence of an objective–subjective shift, and no evidence for either Piaget's (1965) or L. Kohlberg's (1969) notions of the importance of reciprocity norms to judgments of blame (cognitive-developmental analysis). The use of intent in Ss' discussions of responsibility was rare, did not change with age, and occurred most often in response to accusation of physical damage to a person or property. Results are compatible with the symbolic-interactionist notion that the assignment of responsibility is a matter of negotiation among interactants to establish a shared meaning or definition of the situation. Findings suggest that children have context-specific criteria for blame judgments. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Presenting problems of parasuicides versus suicide ideators and nonsuicidal psychiatric patients.

Compared 62 individuals admitted to an inpatient psychiatric unit for an immediately preceding parasuicide, with current suicidal ideation, or for nonsuicidal psychiatric reasons with each other on the types of problems they reported as being most significant in their current lives. Parasuicidal patients reported interpersonal problems with significantly greater frequency than did both suicide ideators and nonsuicidal psychiatric patients. Results could not be attributed to between-groups differences on sex, age, depression, or recent life stress. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The sex difference in spatial ability: A rejoinder.

Suggests that the article by P. J. Caplan et al (see record 1986-10956-001) questioning the existence of sex-related differences in spatial ability does not constitute a thorough review of the literature on sex differences in spatial ability or of the literature dealing with possible biological mechanisms contributing to such a difference. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Responsibility and decisionmaking: Factors that contribute to careful attention in a choice task.

Hypothesized that factors that heighten sense of responsibility would affect decision making. In Exp I, 32 female undergraduates were paired and completed a decision-making task, the nature of which permitted responsibility to be shifted between task positions. Relatively subtle shifts produced significant differences in the time spent on choices and incidental learning. In Exp II, 100 female undergraduates completed a task under low or high consequences and low or high choice conditions. Ss also completed a memory test. Choice and consequences affected the time taken to make a series of decisions, while serious consequences improved later recognition memory for items in the choice task. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing consumer perceptions of inpatient psychiatric treatment: the perceptions of care survey

BACKGROUND: Consumer perceptions of behavioral health care are widely recognized as important quality indicators. This article reports the development and use of the Perceptions of Care (PoC) survey, a standardized public domain measure of consumer perceptions of the quality of inpatient mental health or substance abuse care. The goals were to develop a low-cost, low-burden survey that would address important quality domains, allow for interprogram comparisons and national benchmarks, be useful for quality improvement purposes, and meet accreditation and payer requirements. METHODS: The sample was composed of 6,972 patients treated in 14 inpatient behavioral health or substance abuse treatment programs. The PoC survey was given to patients by program staff in the 24-hour period before discharge. RESULTS: Aggregate reports and ratings of care identified areas that are highly evaluated by consumers, as well as areas that provide opportunities for quality improvement. Factor analysis identified four domains of care, and a 100-point score was developed for each domain. Regression analyses identified significant predictors of perceptions of care for use in computing risk-adjusted scores. Unadjusted and adjusted scores were presented to demonstrate the impact of risk adjustment on quality of care scores and relative ranking of programs. Examples were given of how programs used survey results to improve the quality of care. DISCUSSION: Results demonstrated that the PoC survey is sensitive to detecting differences among inpatient behavioral health programs and can be useful in guiding quality improvement efforts. However, risk adjustment is important for appropriate interpretation of results.     

Using the Internet to teach consumers about quality care

BACKGROUND: The Internet is an important source of health information for consumers. Patients can learn about their diagnoses, review treatments and medications, and locate other health information for themselves and their families. Information about quality care can also be found on the Internet. Few consumers, though, use these Web sites for learning about quality care. SEARCH FOR WEB SITES ON QUALITY CARE: In 2000 the investigators searched the Internet and generated a list of approximately 90 relevant Internet documents under the broad heading of quality health care. They then pared the list to 34, by using the Health Information Technology Institute (HITI) criteria. TESTING OF INTERNET DOCUMENTS BY CONSUMERS: In the second phase of the project, 5 of the 34 Internet documents were tested by a convenience sample of 32 consumers. Most of the participants had experience in using the Internet, although generally not in the area of quality care. They found the Web sites easy to use and indicated that the Internet resources would help them assess the quality of care they receive from physicians, nurses, and others. DISCUSSION: Web sites need to be evaluated to ensure that the information they provide is accurate and current, among other criteria. All patients should understand their health benefits and the importance of making informed decisions about their health care, as well as how quality care is measured, how to use quality reports, how to choose providers and hospitals, how to assess the quality of their own care and be more involved in it, and what they should do when faced with new diagnoses.     

Aging and visual search under consistent and varied mapping.

Eight young (mean age 19.9 yrs) and 8 elderly (mean age 63.8 yrs) women participated in 6 sessions of hybrid memory-search/visual-search task. Half the Ss in each group performed in a consistent-mapping condition in which memory sets were fixed; the other half performed in a varied-mapping condition in which memory sets changed within and between sessions. Processing load was manipulated by varying the size of the target set (2 or 4 letters) and the size of the visual display (1, 4, or 8 letters). The amount of facilitation in controlled search associated with consistent mapping compared with varied mapping was greater for older than for younger Ss. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)