Charles A. Dill

Factorial structure of the hallucinatory experience: continuity of experience in psychotic and normal individuals.

Examination of the distribution of the hallucinatory experience may aide in the determination of their continuity and the psychological mechanisms that mediate their occurrence. Past investigators have found that hallucinatory experiences are not limited to disordered individuals and can be induced in the laboratory and occur naturally in the general population. Few reports to date, however, have directly investigated the continuity of the experience by comparing hallucinatory behavior of psychotic patients with a nonclinical sample. In the present study, we examined the architecture of the hallucinatory experience by comparing the factorial structure of the Launay-Slade Hallucination Scale using psychotic patients with active hallucinations, psychotic inpatients without hallucinations, and a group of university students. In support of the continuum model of psychosis, a very similar factor-analytic solution was obtained for all three groups. Discriminant function analysis, however, revealed that all groups achieved a high classified rate by their item responses. These results are consistent with the notion that expression of hallucinatory behavior exists along a continuum, but at a certain level of symptom severity beyond a critical threshold, the behavior becomes discontinuous and dysfunctional.

Predictors of aggression on the psychiatric inpatient service: Self-esteem, narcissism, and theory of mind deficits

Aggressive behavior committed by inpatients has significant negative effects on patients, clinical staff, the therapeutic milieu, and inpatient community as whole. Past research examining nonpsychiatric patient groups has suggested that elevated self-esteem and narcissism levels as well as self-serving theory of mind (ToM) biases may be robust predictors of aggressive behavior. In the present study, we examined whether these constructs were useful in predicting aggressive acts committed by psychiatric inpatients. Severity of psychiatric symptoms, demographic variables and patients’ anger, and hostility severity were also examined. We found patients who committed acts of aggression were differentiated from their nonaggressive counterparts by exhibiting significantly higher levels of self-esteem and narcissistic superiority. In addition, aggressors demonstrated self-serving ToM biases, attributing more positive attributes to themselves, relative to their perceptions of how others viewed them. Aggressors also showed increased psychosis, fewer depressive symptoms, and had significantly fewer years of formal education than their nonaggressive peers. These results support and extend the view that in addition to clinical variables, specific personality traits and self-serving attributions are linked to aggressive behavior in acutely ill psychiatric patients.

Reliability and validity of the Vietnamese Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales with preschool-age children

This study was conducted to examine an adaptation of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS) [Sparrow, S. S., Balla, D. A., & Cicchetti, D. V. (1984). The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. Circle Pines, MN: America Guidance Service; Sparrow, S. S., Balla, D. A., & Cicchetti, D. V. (2005). Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales Second Edition Survey Forms Manual. AGS Publishing] and its psychometric properties in Vietnamese culture. The 1984 version of VABS was translated and adapted to form the Vietnamese version of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VVABS). The scale was administered to 120 Vietnamese mothers of non-disabled preschool-age children enrolled in kindergarten programs. It was found that the VVABS has acceptable levels of internal consistency reliability and construct validity, and could discriminate successfully between Vietnamese children with intellectual disabilities from those of typical development. The results that were comparable to the VABS indicate a successful adaptation of the construct and measure of adaptive behavior to a non-western culture.

A Reexamination of the Bogus Pipeline

A variant of a technique developed to enhance the validity of self-reports, the generalized bogus pipeline (GBP), was investigated in three experiments reported in this paper. Empirical support for both the construct validity and the efficacy of the GBP was generally supportive for that manipulation. An important serendipitous finding, however, was that the GBP may be unnecessary when respondent anonymity is assured. Empirical support for the construct validity and efficacy of anonymity assuring procedures was much stronger. Meta-analyses across all three experiments suggests that the effect size of anonymity in obtaining more valid self-reports of sensitive behavior was larger than the effect size of the GBP and that the GBP did little to improve the veracity of self-reports beyond the effect of anonymity. Implications of the findings are discussed in terms of the relative merits of the bogus pipeline paradigm and anonymity procedures with suggestions to increase the validity of self-reports utilizing anonymity assuring procedures.

Scoring Accuracy Using the Comprehensive System for the Rorschach

The Comprehensive System (CS; Exner, 1974, 1978) for scoring Rorschach responses is the most widely taught and most widely accepted system in use today. The complexity and labor-intensive nature of the CS makes the issue of scoring accuracy a central concern. Twenty-one graduate psychology students and 12 professionals scored 20 Rorschach responses drawn from normal and clinical protocols. In general, accuracy scores for both students and professionals were below acceptable levels. Accuracy scores were clearly better for the code categories of Location, DQ, Pairs, Popular, and Z than for Determinants, FQ, Content, and Special Scores. Responses from clinical protocols were subject to more error. The results suggest that high levels of scoring errors may exist in the field use of the CS. Training standards may need to be devised to insure scoring competence.

Cognitive predictors of violence in schizophrenia: a meta-analytic review

Abstract Background Aggression committed by patients with schizophrenia and other serious and persistent mental illnesses represents a major public health concern affecting patients, their families, treating clinicians as well as the community at large. Cortical dysfunction has been implicated as an anatomical correlate of acts of aggression as well as a fundamental feature associated with individuals with schizophrenia (SZ). As a result, examination of neurocognitive deficits may serves as a natural experiment to explore the relationship between cognition and aggression committed by SZ patients. Past studies, however, have yielded inconsistent and complex results regarding the relevance of cognitive impairment to aggressive behavior. Objective Despite a fair number of studies in the literature, there have been no statistical reviews conducted to date examining the association between cognitive deficits and aggression in SZ. The present meta-analytic study examined the relationship between cognitive impairment and SZ acts of aggression. Methods Electronic databases were searched up to April 2013 using the words and word stems “aggress*, psychotic, risk, cognit*, neurocognit*, and neurobiological.” The search resulted in 29 studies with independent samples. Information was extracted regarding study sample and methodological characteristics in addition to aggression prediction, and comprehensive meta-analytic procedures were performed. Inter-rater reliability for coding was good to excellent. Results The meta-analysis (4764 participants) demonstrated heterogeneous results, leading to follow-up comparisons. Results revealed that SZ cognitive impairment exerted a significant risk for aggression, across studies with differing methodologies. Global cognitive impairment and lack of insight emerged as significant risk indicators for aggression, accounting for 2% of the variance. Conclusions It was concluded that measurement of patients’ global cognitive ability adds incremental variance in the comprehensive assessment and prediction of SZ violence risk.

The changing image of Catholic women

The characteristics of Roman Catholic women in todays society were investigated. Subjects were 154 Catholic women, both religious and lay, who participated on a volunteer basis. The Catholic lay women (111) were divided into two groups: those who attended a Catholic elementary school (63) and those who attended a non-Catholic elementary school (48). Catholic women religious were found to be more dominant and independent minded than in previous research. All of the women studied were found to be more aggressive and more critical of authority than in previous studies. Likewise, Catholic women no longer see themselves in the role of nurturers.

Screening for autism spectrum disorder in children with Down syndrome: An evaluation of the Pervasive Developmental Disorder in Mental Retardation Scale

ABSTRACT Background Children with Down syndrome (DS) are at risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). They are often diagnosed later than other children in part due to difficulty differentiating ASD-related impairment from that associated with DS. The psychometric properties of the Pervasive Developmental Disorder in Mental Retardation Scale (PDD-MRS) were examined with the aim of informing ASD screening guidelines for children with DS. Method Analysis of archival data from children aged 3 to 15 years with DS (N = 386) evaluated the reliability and validity of the PDD-MRS. Results Factor analyses yielded 2 factor-based scales: ASD and Emotional and Behavioural Problems. ASD reliably assessed ASD-specific symptoms, correlated with other ASD measures, and demonstrated good diagnostic accuracy. Emotional and Behavioural Problems assessed problems not diagnostic of ASD but may reflect part of the behavioural phenotype of DS and ASD. Conclusion The PDD-MRS appears to have utility in ASD screening for this population.

Glaucoma: What the ophthalmic nurse should know

Glaucoma is both an international and a national public health issue. Worldwide, glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness. More than 2 million persons in the United States have glaucoma, yet only half of them are aware that they have the disease. The diagnosis of glaucoma requires an extensive ocular examination. Glaucoma consists of a group of ocular diseases that result in optic disk cupping and visual field loss. Although glaucoma is a blinding disease, in most cases, blindness may be prevented through early detection and treatment. Glaucoma management is determined by the type of glaucoma a person has.

Statistical inference: A comparison of hypothesis testing and estimation

Abstract We compare two types of statistical inference: null hypothesis significance testing and estimation with confidence intervals. We discuss four advantages of confidence intervals versus null hypothesis significance testing procedures. An argument is presented to encourage researchers to adopt confidence intervals whenever possible.