Amy E. Sibulkin

Disability determinations for adults with mental disorders : social security administration vs independent judgments

OBJECTIVES Disability determinations made by the Disability Determination Service for Social Security Administration (SSA) disability claims due to mental impairment were compared with the independent judgments of a team of mental health workers. The decisions of the Service and the teams agreement with those decisions were predicted from a set of explanatory variables. METHODS One hundred fifty-eight adult applicants for or beneficiaries of SSA benefit programs participated. The team used SSA disability criteria to judge disability based on in-depth interviews. RESULTS Team members voted yes, no, or maybe regarding approval for disability. Of the cases approved by the team, 89% were actually allowed by the Disability Determination Service. However, the team could not reach a yes or no decision for almost half of the subjects, contributing to a total agreement with the Service on only 40% of the cases. CONCLUSIONS Sufficient evidence exists to question the reliability of SSA disability determinations for mental disorders. Although the Disability Determination Service decision for mental impairments can be predicted above chance, a direct test of the reliability of such determinations should be conducted, with particular attention to the effect of the quality of the medical information.

Undergraduate Summer Research Programs and Graduate School Outcomes Don’t Ignore Rejected Program Applicants

We tracked a sample of primarily Black psychology baccalaureates’ advanced degree enrollments and completions and estimated the association of those outcomes with summer research experience by merging three data sets: (a) summer research program participants, (b) a comparison group of alumni, mostly without summer research, and (c) degree completions from the national Student Tracker (ST) database. Rates of degree completion reported by ST were higher for summer research applicants than for those not applying, but among applicants, rates were similar for those accepted and rejected. Controlling for grade point average (GPA) in a surveyed subsample, participation in summer research was not significantly associated with enrollment in or completion of master’s degrees. Students with higher GPAs were more likely to enroll and complete, and Black students were more likely to enroll.

Hospitalization for Mental Disorders in General Hospitals

Kiesler and Sibulkin (in press) reanalyzed various national data bases to develop a comprehensive view of mental hospitalization in the United States. The present article, based upon Kiesler and Sibulkin, summarizes characteristics of inpatient psychiatric episodes in general hospitals and, in particular, focuses upon episodes in general hospitals without inpatient psychiatric units. We review and update these data and discuss several recent studies employing other data bases. Desirable elements for a national data base on mental hospitalization are discussed from a behavioral science perspective.

Postbaccalaureate Salaries of Psychology Majors From a Historically Black University How Much Does a Master’s Degree Add?

A sample of predominantly African American psychology major baccalaureates from a historically Black university self-reported job types, salaries, and master’s degree completion. For this pre-2009 recession sample, we found that (a) the rates of employment were quite high; (b) most jobs were related to health, mental health, social work, and education; and (c) the average salary was comparable to national estimates. After controlling for GPA, completion of a master’s degree predicted substantially higher salaries.