John S. Wadsworth

Demand and the impact of leading questions on eyewitness testimony

Recently, Loftus and her associates have demonstrated that the ability of subjects to respond accurately to questioning about an event they witnessed can be systematically imparied by the interposition of misleading questions between exposure to the event and assessment of accuracy. One explanation for this low eyewitness accuracy is that it is due to demand characteristics created by the misleading questions. The present study addresses this issue using a modification of the paradigm developed by Loftus, Miller, and Burns (1978). The results indicate that even when the final accuracy test does not easily allow subjects to accede to demand pressure, significant impairment of eyewitness accuracy is still obtained. Since this lowered accuracy does not seem due to simple compliance to demand pressure, it suggests that misleading questions do in fact interfere with subsequent eyewitness accuracy.

Dementia and Depression in Elders with Mental Retardation: A Pilot Study.

A preliminary investigation of cognitive decline and depressive symptomatology is presented with older adults who have mental retardation. A series of different assessment instruments are reviewed and tested in a pilot study. A review of dementia and depression with respect to elders with mental retardation is presented to place the study in perspective. Findings reveal decreasing cognitive ability is associated with higher rates of observed depression and reported behavioral problems. Trends suggested those more elderly displayed more depressive behaviors, psychotropic medication was a common treatment, and cognitive decline was associated with lower initial intellectual levels. Dementia and depression is a complicated symptom complex to identify in aging adults with mental retardation.

Grief and bereavement in mental retardation: A need for a new understanding

Abstract Without question, persons with mental retardation experience grief and bereavement in response to loss. However, it is unclear how persons with mental retardation comprehend such loss or express their feelings about loss. Understanding how expressions of loss manifest themselves in persons who have difficulty learning, following social norms, and communicating emotions are important because these persons are at greater risk for suffering additional mental health problems as a result of loss. A review of the literature indicates that the issues surrounding loss and bereavement have not been well documented among persons with mental retardation, and it is unclear if there are effective strategies to assist the bereaved person with mental retardation.

Increasing the Reliability of Self-Report by Adults with Moderate Mental Retardation.

Reliable self-reporting by individuals with mental retardation is especially important as the field moves to promote consumer participation in decision making and program evaluation. The Sheltered Care Environmental Scale (SCES) was chosen as a basis for constructing a picture-prompted questionnaire assessing three dimensions of the SCES: Conflict, Cohesion, and Independence. A test-retest design was used to compare picture-prompted administration with reliance exclusively on verbal questioning. Data indicate that the use of pictures enhances the test-retest reliability of the instrument.

Psychotropic drug use in older developmentally disabled with behavioral difficulties.

Use of psychotropic medications with elders who are mentally retarded is a very common procedure. However, patterns of medication usage in this group are not easily determined. Objectives were to explore relationships between prescribed psychotropic treatments, the types of reported behavioral difficulties, and the size/type of living settings where these difficulties were exhibited. Subjects were moderately mentally retarded elders who were living in Congregate and Group care settings who were observed and rated by caretakers using a standard behavior rating instrument. Comprehensive medical (drug) and demographic data was obtained on each person. The study revealed that psychotropic use was more frequent in congregate care settings for these older clients. Those more elderly demonstrated a tendency toward higher utilization. Little differences were evident in the general characteristics (sex, IQ, reality orientation) of elders living in the two settings despite differences in drug use rates. Future research needs to focus on differences in behavior problems and setting factors to more fully understand drug utilization rates in elders with mental retardation.

Economic Outcome of Employment for Older Participants in Rehabilitation Services Funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration

The purpose of this study was to determine if persons who were age 65 or older and who participated in vocational rehabilitation programs funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) experienced an increase in earnings from paid employment at the conclusion of services. Preservice and postservice earnings for 9,787 consumers of RSA services who were age 65 or older, had a disability, and had cases closed as rehabilitated (Status 26) or as not rehabilitated (Status 28) in the year 2002 were examined. The authors found that 33.4% of participants had cases closed as not rehabilitated, 34% had cases closed as rehabilitated to unpaid work, and 32.6% had cases closed as rehabilitated to paid employment. Participants who achieved employment at the time of case closure had an average earnings increase from paid work of

Methods and Materials for Infusing Aging Issues into the Rehabilitation Curriculum

4,990 a year.

Infusing End-of-Life Issues into the Rehabilitation Counselor Education Curriculum.

This article is a follow-up to an earlier publication that called for infusion of aging issues into the rehabilitation counseling curriculum. This follow-up article provides methods and materials that can be used to teach content regarding rehabilitation and persons who are older.

Residential Assessment of Adults with Moderate Mental Retardation

Rehabilitation counselors are assisting consumers with end-of-life issues. Counselors who have the capacity to assist with end-of-life issues in a culturally sensitive manner possess pre-established self-care networks, an understanding of death from multiple perspectives, knowledge of communication interventions, and appropriate outcome expectations. Rehabilitation counselors may assess decision making processes, environmental presses, and social support systems in order to provide counseling interventions, educational services, and advocacy. End-of-life issues that counselors may need to address include unfinished business, existential meaning, loss, anxiety, and problem-solving. Rehabilitation counselor educators can prepare counselors to assist consumers with end-of-life issues by infusing training specific to end-of-life issues in assessment, counseling techniques, advocacy, and professional ethics curriculum.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Group Leadership Instruction for Rehabilitation Counselors-in-Training.

Reliable self-repotting by persons with mental retardation can be enhanced with the addition of picture-cued questioning. The Sheltered Care Environmental Scale (Moos & Lemke, 1979) was chosen as a basis to construct a picture-prompted questionnaire assessing three dimensions of the social environment of residential settings, Conflict, Cohesion, and Independence. A test-retest (6 wk. between testing) design was used to compare picrure-prompted administrations in conrrast to those relying exclusively on verbal questioning. Ten adult residents (M IQ = 52.3; M = 54.8 yr. of age; 6 men, 4 women) of a large Midwestern residential treatment facility voluntarily participated in this study. All clients were verbal, had no sensory impairments, and were ambulatoq. Three subscales were chosen to compare the reliability of verbal and picture-cued environmental repow of the subjects, Conflict, Cohesion, and Independence. Simple Line drawings corresponding to the content of each question were created for simultaneous display with each inquiry during the picture assisted interview. Two pictures were designed for each question representing the contrasting (either/or) views of each question. This pilot study showed that picture-cued questions can increase the temporal reliability of self-report questionnaires when administered to adults with moderate mental retardation. The Pearson correlations obtain4 from the test-retest using the picture-cues format were: Conflict .53, Cohesion .59, Independence .51. The Peanon correlations obtained from the test-retest using only the verbally administered format (no picture cues), the same method as Lewy, Donald, and Karan (1984) who also examined moderately menrally retarded adults, were slightly lower-Conflict .46, Cohesion .30, Independence .43-&an those with the pimre-cued method. This study indicates that the addition of picture cues to currently available assessments may be an economical method of increasing the reliability of residential evaluations obtained from persons who are moderately mentally retarded. A larger study is in process examining these findings. REFERENCES LEWY, A. L., DOLAND, T. R., & KARAN, 0. C. (1984) A baseline assessmen! of the physical and social environment of Alverno. Madison, WI: Waisman Center on