| Abstract: | Assessed the way in which 4 clinicians used selected cue variables in making prognostic judgments of the postrelease adjustment of 152 institutionalized delinquents. Cue variables (concepts commonly used in clinicians' reports, typically with some prognostic significance) were correlated with prognostic judgments of postrelease adjustment and also with actual ratings of postrelease adjustment. The clinicians were reasonably accurate, as a group, in estimating the prognostic significance of the cue variables. Cue variables more readily inferred from behavior (institutional adjustment, hostility, home environment, and maturity) were related most consistently and accurately to postrelease prognosis, while those less easily inferred from behavior (anxiety, dependency, and guilt) showed a less clear-cut relationship. More communication among clinicians, particularly in their usage of concepts describing intrapsychic processes, is thus recommended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
