Eric J. Mash

Families of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: review and recommendations for future research.

This review integrates and critically evaluates what is known about family characteristics associated with childhood Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Evidence suggests that the presence of ADHD in children is associated to varying degrees with disturbances in family and marital functioning, disrupted parent–child relationships, specific patterns of parental cognitions about child behavior and reduced parenting self-efficacy, and increased levels of parenting stress and parental psychopathology, particularly when ADHD is comorbid with conduct problems. However, the review reveals that little is known about the developmental mechanisms that underlie these associations, or the pathways through which child and family characteristics transact to exert their influences over time. In addition, the influence of factors such as gender, culture, and ADHD subtype on the association between ADHD and family factors remains largely unknown. We conclude with recommendations regarding the necessity for research that will inform a developmental psychopathology perspective of ADHD.

Assessing social validity in clinical treatment research: issues and procedures.

Social validity is a term coined by behavior analysts to refer to the social importance and acceptability of treatment goals, procedures, and outcomes. This article discusses dimensions of social validity, methods used to evaluate various aspects of social validity, and the applicability of these concepts and methods in clinical treatment research.

A comparison of the mother‐child interactions of physically abused and non‐abused children during play and task situations

Physically abusive and non‐abusive mothers were observed interacting with their preschool aged children in both an unstructured play and a structured task situation. Mothers also completed several checklists describing their children and themselves. Abusive mothers perceived their children as having significantly more behavioral problems than non‐abusive mothers and although their ratings were about two standard deviations above the normative mean, there were no significant differences in the observed behaviors of abused versus non‐abused children. Abusive mothers were observed to be more directive and controlling of their children, but only for the more stressful task situation in which there were increased demands for performance placed on both mother and child. Abusive mothers reported higher levels of stress related to parenting than non‐abusive mothers, and these reports were correlated with their behavior during both the play and task situations. The findings were discussed in terms of the abusive m...

A Guide to Assessments that Work

The need for evidence-based practice in mental health services is becoming clearer by the day and, until recently, the trend of emphasising services with supporting empirical evidence has been limited to a focus on treatment options. A Guide to Assessments That Work fills a void in the literature by addressing the critical role that assessment plays in providing evidence-based mental health services. To optimise its usefulness to readers, this volume addresses the assessment of the most commonly encountered disorders or conditions among children, adolescents, adults, older adults, and couples. Strategies and instruments for assessing mood disorders, anxiety disorders, couple distress and sexual problems, health-related problems, and many other conditions are also covered in depth. With a focus throughout on assessment instruments that are feasible, psychometrically sound, and useful for typical clinical requirements, a rating system has been designed to provide evaluations of a measures norms, reliability, validity, and clinical utility. Standardised tables summarise this information in each chapter, providing essential information on the most scientifically sound tools available for a range of assessment needs. Using the tools provided in A Guide to Assessments That Work, readers can at a glance determine the possible suitability and value of each instrument for their own clinical purposes. This much needed resource equips readers with the knowledge necessary for conducting the best evidence-based mental health assessments currently possible. Available in OSO:

Parenting in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Although the validity of adult ADHD is well established and research has identified a variety of impairments associated with the condition in adults, study of how ADHD impacts an adults ability to parent has been relatively neglected. Parenting is a particularly important domain of functioning given the familial nature of the disorder and emerging evidence that parenting behaviors play a role in the development or maintenance of child ADHD symptoms, comorbid psychopathologies, and other associated difficulties. In this paper, we focus on three broad categories of cognitive dysfunction proposed across models of ADHD - cognitive processes (e.g., working memory, planning, and inhibitory control), self-regulation deficits (e.g., self-monitoring of performance to detect errors or the need for regulation of behavior and/or emotions), and motivational or arousal difficulties (e.g., response to incentives, delay aversion). We consider how these deficits may lead to impairments in the parenting behaviors of effective behavioral control and emotional responsiveness, and review the available evidence regarding parenting in adults with ADHD symptoms. We conclude by noting the limitations in existing studies, and argue for further research that is theoretically grounded in how core deficits of ADHD may be related to dimensions of parenting. The implications of an improved understanding of how ADHD impacts parenting for the development of early intervention or prevention programs are outlined.

A Test of the Tripartite Model of Anxiety and Depression in Elementary and High School Boys and Girls

The applicability of the tripartite model of emotion, which distinguishes the shared aspect of depression and anxiety, negative affect (NA), from their respective specific components of low positive affect (PA) and physiological hyperarousal (PH), was examined in 472 elementary and high school students. The relations among depression, anxiety, and the three tripartite dimensions were examined for the total sample and across four subgroups based on age and gender. High school girls reported more depression, anxiety, NA, and PH than the other groups, and lower PA as assessed by the PANAS-C, but not the AFARS. Using structural equation modeling, the tripartite model proved to be a reasonably good fit for the total sample. Among the subgroups, the best fit was found for high school girls. However, several findings for the total sample and for individual subgroups were not consistent with the tripartite model, raising issues related to the independence and specificity of the tripartite constructs and their measurement. Alternative age- and gender-specific models to better account for the shared and unique aspects of depression and anxiety in children need to be explored.

Sibling interactions of hyperactive and normal children and their relationship to reports of maternal stress and self‐esteem 1

Forty‐six hyperactive and normal boys were observed while interacting with their siblings in an unstructured play and mother‐supervised task situation. Few behavioral differences were noted between identified hyperactive children and their reportedly non‐problem siblings with both showing equally high rates of negative behavior. Relative to normal siblings, hyperactive sibling dyads showed significantly higher levels of conflict. Negative behavior in the hyperactive‐child/sibling interaction was unrelated to either the sex or ordinal position (younger versus older) of the sibling. However, hyperactive sibling dyads which included a young hyperactive child showed more negative behavior during the supervised‐task situation relative to hyperactive sibling dyads which included an older hyperactive child. Maternal reports of stress and parenting self‐esteem were related to the hyperactive‐child/sibling interaction. The mothers of hyperactive siblings who interacted more during play reported higher levels of pa...

Introduction to the special section on developing guidelines for the evidence-based assessment (EBA) of adult disorders.

The goal of this special section is to encourage greater awareness of evidence-based assessment (EBA) in the development of a scientifically supported clinical psychology. In this introductory article, the authors describe the elements that authors in this special section were asked to consider in their focused reviews (including the scope of available psychometric evidence, advancements in psychopathology research, and evidence of attention to factors such as gender, age, and ethnicity in measure validation). The authors then present central issues evident in the articles that deal with anxiety, depression, personality disorders, and couple distress and in the accompanying commentaries. The authors conclude by presenting key themes emerging from the articles in this special section, including gaps in psychometric information, limited information about the utility of assessment, the discrepancy between recommended EBAs and current training and practice, and the need for further data on the process of clinical assessment.

Methodological Issues in Research on Physical Child Abuse

Considerable effort has been expended over the past 2 decades to advance our knowledge of the causes and cures for child abuse. Although important gains have been made, unfortunately the knowledge base that guides our policies and interventions in the area of physical child abuse still reflects an abundance of clinical folklore and/or research that is seriously methodologically flawed. Many inconsistent and contradictory research findings exist which simply cannot be reconciled because of the many differences in samples, methods, and definitions of independent and dependent variables that characterize studies in this area. These methodological issues are highlighted, with some suggestions for improving the scientific quality of future studies.

BEHAVIOR-THERAPY ASSESSMENT: DIAGNOSIS, DESIGN AND EVALUATION

This paper discusses the development of behavior-therapy assessment as it relates to social learning theory and practice of behavior modification. Characteristic features of behavior-therapy assessment are outlined and discussed. In addition, a framework is provided for considering assessment in terms of initial decision making and selection of target behavior, design of treatment programs, and evaluation of outcome of treatment. Problems concerning reliability, validity and generalizability are discussed in relation to each of the phases in assessment.