Comparative validity of strategies and indices for differential diagnosis of depressive states from other psychiatric conditions using the MMPI.

Used as source of data the MMPI protocols of 223 18-60 yr old psychiatric inpatients randomly divided into 2 groups for a double cross-validation design, clinical diagnosis of depressive vs nondepressive states as criterion, and multiple regression as the main analytic technique. The individual validity of MMPI scales constructed through empirical (external criterion), purely intuitive, and intuitive plus internal consistency techniques was lower than the validity of regression models. The validity and cross-validity of regression equations obtained from several different sets of scales including "linear models" composed of single scales and "configural models" that included their binary cross-products was very similar across models and across construction techniques of the component scales. A simplified regression formula is provided for diagnostic purposes. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Executive cognitive functioning, temperament, and antisocial behavior in conduct-disordered adolescent females.

The authors assessed whether low executive cognitive functioning (ECF) and a difficult temperament are related to aggressive and nonaggressive forms of antisocial behavior (ASB) in 249, 14–18-year-old, conduct-disordered females and controls. ECF was measured using neuropsychological tests; temperament was measured using the Dimensions of Temperament Survey—Revised; and ASB was assessed using psychiatric symptom counts for conduct disorder. The conduct-disordered females exhibited lower ECF capacity and a greater difficult temperament compared with the controls. The combined influence of low ECF and difficult temperament was significantly related to both forms of ASB. In comparison with low ECF, difficult temperament was more strongly related to nonaggressive ASB, whereas in comparison with difficult temperament, low ECF was more strongly related to aggressive ASB. Last, ECF mediated the relation between difficult temperament and aggressive ASB. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Panic disorder and agoraphobia with panic attacks: Covariation along the dimensions of panic and agoraphobic fear.

Tested the validity of the distinction made in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) between the diagnoses of "panic disorder" and "agoraphobia with panic attacks" by examining the pattern of covariation between panic symptoms and agoraphobic fear in a group of individuals presenting with panic attacks as a prominent symptom. Ss were 17 patients (mean age 34.4 yrs) who had been diagnosed as having panic disorder and 56 patients (mean age 36.4 yrs) diagnosed as having agoraphobia with panic attacks, and who had completed at the time of diagnosis both the Fear Survey Schedule and the SCL-90-R. Analyses of the panic-related items and the agoraphobia-related items of these 2 inventories revealed that irrespective of diagnosis, the degree of panic was highly correlated with the degree of agoraphobic fear. Although panic patients tended to experience more severe panic and milder agoraphobic fear than agoraphobics, the groups overlapped with respect to both kinds of symptoms. Findings are discussed in terms of whether panic disorder and agoraphobia should be classified as qualitatively distinct conditions. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

PROPOV-K: a FORTRAN program for computing a kappa coefficient using a proportional overlap procedure

The computer program PROPOV-K allows the computation of an unweighted kappa coefficient for expressing interrater agreement in the general case in which multiple raters (not necessarily fixed in number) formulate a variable number of multiple diagnoses for each subject. PROPOV-K assesses agreement among lists of multiple diagnoses composed of nonordered categories. PROPOV-K calculates a kappa coefficient on the basis of estimating proportion of agreement between two diagnostic formulations as the ratio of the number of agreements between specific categories over the number of different specific categories mentioned in the two diagnostic lists. When multiple raters formulate a variable number of multiple diagnoses for each subject, the use of a kappa coefficient has been limited to researchers since there are no generally available computer programs. The purpose of this paper is to present a FORTRAN computer program allowing the computation of a kappa coefficient for the case mentioned above and to illustrate its use with examples respectively involving multiple psychiatric and multiple physical diagnoses.     

Developmental trajectory classes in substance use disorder etiology.

Three trajectory classes culminating in substance use disorder (SUD) were discerned in a longitudinal study of boys from ages 10-12 to 22 years. Neurobehavior disinhibition, parental SUD, socioeconomic status, and affiliation with deviant peers were measured at baseline. Approval of socially nonnormative behavior was measured at ages 10-12, 12-14, 16, and 19 years. Two high-risk trajectories, indicated by increasing approval of antisociality and progressive social maladjustment during adolescence (SUD rate = 72.7%) and stable high level of disturbance (SUD rate = 85%), were identified. Individual characteristics (neurobehavior disinhibition) in conjunction with contextual factors (low socioeconomic status, parental SUD, affiliation with deviant friends) promote approval of antisociality during adolescence and a high rate of SUD by young adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive distortions, aggressive behavior, and drug use in adolescent boys with and without a family history of a substance use disorder.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the relations between (a) cognitive distortions and aggressive behavior, (b) cognitive distortions and drug use, and (c) aggressive behavior and drug use are moderated by a family history of a substance use disorder (SUD) in adolescent boys. Participants were 165 boys aged 15–17 years with (FH+; n?=?75) and without (FH–; n?=?90) a family history of SUD. Results indicated that a family history of SUD moderated the relation between cognitive distortions and aggressive behavior and the relation between aggressive behavior and drug use. Family history of SUD did not moderate the relation between cognitive distortions and drug use; however, cognitive distortions were positively related to drug use within both groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychiatric diagnosis as prototype categorization.

Most critiques of the psychiatric diagnostic system seem to presuppose a "classical" view of categorization; an alternative view of categorization, frequently called the "prototype" view, is emerging in the psychological literature. The present article represents an attempt to apply this alternative view to psychiatric diagnosis. The central thesis is that while clinical diagnosis may appear "messy" and disordered from the classical perspective, it seems orderly and principled from the perspective of the prototype view. Two empirical investigations were conducted to document the utility of a change in views about psychiatric categorization systems and rules as they are used in practice, not with systems and rules that appear in the diagnostic manuals. The 1st investigation concerned the content and structure of the clinical features that trained psychiatrists commonly associate with patients from 9 different diagnostic categories. The 2nd investigation was concerned with problems of reliability and confidence in clinical diagnostic judgments. Results of both investigations provide support for the utility of the prototype view in this domain. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessment of risk for substance use disorder consequent to consumption of illegal drugs: Psychometric validation of the neurobehavior disinhibition trait.

Previous research has shown that the trait neurobehavior disinhibition (ND), which consists of affect, behavior, and cognitive indicators of self-regulation, is a significant predictor of substance use disorder (SUD) between childhood and young adulthood. The authors evaluated the psychometric properties of the ND trait in 278 boys evaluated at ages 10-12 and 16 years. ND score significantly predicted SUD and outcomes that commonly manifest in tandem with SUD by age 19, such as violence, arrests, committing crime while intoxicated, and concussion injury. In addition to predictive validity, the ND trait was found to have good construct, discriminative, and concurrent validity, as well as good test-retest and internal reliability. The ND trait may be useful for detecting youths at high risk for developing SUD and related outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Constructive thinking, executive functioning, antisocial behavior, and drug use involvement in adolescent females with a substance use disorder.

The aim of this study was to determine how constructive thinking (CT), executive functioning (EF), and antisocial behavior (ASB) are related to drug use involvement in 282 adolescent females, 14–18 yrs of age, with a substance use disorder (SUD) and in controls. CT was measured using the Constructive Thinking Inventory, EF was measured using a battery of neuropsychological tests, and ASB was measured using the Youth Self-Report Inventory and a psychiatric interview. Females with an SUD demonstrated lower CT and EF scores and higher ASB scores compared with the controls. Low CT and low EF were significantly related to increased drug use involvement even when controlling for age, socioeconomic status, and vocabulary level. ASB partially mediated the relation between CT and drug use involvement, and it fully mediated the relation between EF and drug use involvement. Moreover, ASB moderated the relation between EF and drug use involvement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)