Evaluation of the original Ontario Child Health Study scales

This article presents evaluative information on the use of the original Ontario Child Health Study scales to serve as original-level measures of conduct disorder, hyperactivity and emotional disorder among children in the general (non clinic) population. Problem checklist assessments were obtained from parents and teachers of children aged six to 16 and youth aged 12 to 16 drawn from a general population (n = 1,751); and a mental health clinic sample (n = 1,027) in the same industrialized, urban setting. The results showed that the original OCHS scales possess adequate psychometric properties to be used as original-level measures of disorder. Correlations between individual items and their hypothesized scales were very strong, indicating convergent validity, while correlations between the same items and other (non hypothesized) scales were lower, indicating discriminant validity. Item analyses indicated that individual scale items possess both convergent and discriminant validity. Although the scales were skewed to the positive end of the continuum, they demonstrated good internal consistency (all estimates > or = 0.74) and test-retest (all estimates > or = 0.65) reliability. Finally, three different validity analyses confirmed hypotheses about how the original OCHS scales should perform if they provide useful measures of disorder.     

APA and public policy: Should we change our tax-exempt status?

Presents statements of 6 distinguished psychologists, who consider the advantages and disadvantages of changing the American Psychological Association's (APA) tax-exempt status from 501 (c)(3) to 501 (c)(6), and an attitude questionnaire for members to return. 501 (c)(3) explicitly forbids participation in partisan politics, while 501 (c)(6) permits activities meant to influence state and federal legislation and allows more visible, active interaction between APA, its constituent bodies, and all government and social agencies. Contributions focus primarily on APA's goals, the manner in which such goals are determined and accomplished, and the role of APA and its constituent members in public affairs and policy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Radiation enteritis following radiotherapy for prostatic carcinoma

Two cases of radiation enteritis and small bowel obstruction are reported following supervoltage radiation therapy for carcinoma of the prostate. The mechanisms of radiation injury to the small bowel and contributing factors are discussed. It is suggested that lymph node staging procedures for carcinoma of the prostate be done extraperitoneally in order to avoid the enhanced sensitivity of small bowel to radiation injury following transperitoneal procedures.     

The causality of causal attributions in depression: A cross-lagged panel correlational analysis.

The attributional reformulation of the learned helplessness model of depression proposes that causal attributions about negative outcomes play a causal role in reactive depression. This research tested this hypothesis by studying the causal role of attributions in depression in 180 college students. On 2 occasions separated by 1 mo, Ss were administered a battery of tests that included an attributional style questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory. The attributional dimensions of internality, stability, and globality were correlated with depression; when the possible causal role of attributions was tested through the use of cross-lagged panel correlational analysis, the hypothesis that stability and globality attributions for bad outcomes might be causes of depression was supported. There was no support, however, for the hypothesis that internal attributions for bad outcomes are a cause of depression. Evidence was also found that unstable attributions for good outcomes may function as a cause of depression. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A technique for encoding lines and regions in engineering drawings

An improvement to a method of extracting line and region information from technical drawings is presented. A scheme for compressing this information as it is being found is also given. The encoding scheme is based on a combination of run-length codes, direction chain codes, and Huffman codes. It is efficient, requires minimal storage, and achieves favorable compression ratios. Experimental results from four typical line drawings are presented.     

Motivational and associative aspects of mild depression in skill and chance tasks.

In Exp I, the levels of aspiration and expectancies for success of 281 mildly depressed and nondepressed college students on a skill and chance task were studied. The 2 groups did not differ in expectations for success, but depressed Ss displayed elevated levels of aspiration, particularly for the skill task. Exp II, with 120 college students, tested the prediction, based on an attainment discrepancy model, that increases in expectancy for success would be a function of the interaction of performance level and the skill–chance nature of a task for mildly depressed Ss but not for nondepressed Ss. Comparisons of increases in expectancy for success following average and superior performance support this prediction. The prediction that locus of control (Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale) and depression (Beck Depression Inventory) would not be significantly correlated was also confirmed. Results indicate that the level of aspiration of mildly depressed persons may be particularly elevated in skill tasks, resulting in the perception of average performance in such tasks as unsuccessful. (48 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Color Phenomena in Polymer Fracture

Thin layers derived from the matrix are produced in the fracture plane of some polymers prior to ultimate failure. A certain amount of the evidence would indicate that these layers consist of an oriented array of molecules. Fracture isolates these molecular segments in a thin film with physical properties differing from that of the matrix in which they originated. These films produce interference phenomena which in some cases are useful in elucidating structure and origin.     

Power of child care worker and therapist figures and their effectiveness as models for emotionally disturbed children in residential treatment.

48 7-12 yr. old institutionalized emotionally disturbed children took part in a task involving selections of particular words after having observed videotaped models perform the same task. Results show that both child care worker and therapist models were imitated significantly more often in their word selection than a neutral model. Child care worker models were imitated significantly more often than therapist models when they were presented in direct comparison. The findings support the notion that the child care worker, by nature of his powerful role, may be the most influential model for children in a residential center. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)