Sandra R. Stader

Organization of Children's Academic Ability-Related Self-Perceptions.

The authors examined how certain ability-related academic self-perceptions are organized in the self-systems of 5th graders. One hundred ninety children completed questionnaires concerning their perceived ability, expectancies for the near future, expectancies for the distant future, and causal attributions to ability. Each of these 4 self-perceptions was assessed separately for math, reading, and general school. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that children differentiated their ability-related self-perceptions in ways that are not accounted for by current models of academic self-concept. That is, in addition to differentiating the 3 domains of math, reading, and general school, children also differentiated the 4 self-perceptions within academic domains. These findings both support and extend current theories of academic self-concept.

Children’s Achievement-Related Beliefs Effects of Academic Area, Sex, and Achievement Level

AbstractWe examined how children’s academic self-concepts, causal attributions, and perceptions of teacher feedback varied as a function of academic area, achievement level, and sex. One hundred and ninety-two 5th graders were administered a questionnaire that assessed their beliefs separately for math, reading, social studies, and science. Children viewed the feedback that they received for social studies and science as less frequent and more ambiguous than the feedback for math and reading. Because prior research suggested that sex differences in self-confidence are most likely when performance feedback has been infrequent or ambiguous, we expected sex differences in confidence primarily for social studies and science. As predicted, girls rated themselves as less smart than boys in social studies and science, but not in math or reading. We also found sex differences in children’s causal attributions, and these were consistent with prior research. These sex differences in attributions did not vary as a f...

Illustration of concomitant times series analyses in a case of somatoform disorder

The purpose of this article is to illustrate, for those unfamiliar with the methods, concomitant time series analyses and their utility in psychopathology research. In a case involving somatoform disorder, we offer a detailed illustration of these analytic procedures where hypotheses regarding psychosocial antecedents of somatic symptoms are tested. Also portrayed are methods for describing across-time trends and cycles in longitudinal data. Included is a discussion of other clinical questions amenable to a time series approach, as well as a consideration of practical issues in the design of such studies.

Adolescent Group Psychotherapy Supervision in a Group Format: An Emerging Model

A qualitative analysis of the supervision of adolescent group therapy sessions was accomplished using group supervision journals. Two clinical psychology interns and three supervising clinical psychologists participated in the study. Two separate adolescent inpatient process groups were conducted biweekly over a 5-month period with each intern co-leading a group with a supervising psychologist. Following each weekly group supervision session, interns and psychologists completed a questionnaire as part of their group supervision journal. Results showed that the interns perceived the group therapy supervision process as helping them develop a strong knowledge base and important competencies essential for conducting adolescent group therapy. The interns also characterized their group therapy supervision experience as being instrumental in transitioning them from a graduate student and intern identity to that of an autonomous professional psychologist. Our emerging training model of adolescent group psychotherapy supervision may be refined based on future research and adapted for use in other settings.

Psychiatric Diagnoses of Infants and Toddlers Referred to a Community Mental Health System

There has been increased interest in improving mental health assessment and treatment of young children. However, there are limited data regarding the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among infants and toddlers. The recent development of measures and classification systems that are specific to this age group has enabled researchers to begin to investigate the social, emotional, and behavioral problems of young children. The present study reviews the major research that has been conducted in this area and examines the prevalence of psychiatric diagnoses of infants and toddlers referred to a public community mental health system. The current investigation also compares the frequency of diagnoses of children who have been evaluated based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (4th edition) with another group of children who were diagnosed based on the Diagnostic Classification: 0–3 system. Although there were some differences between the two samples and classification systems, analysis indicated that parent-child relational problems, adjustment difficulties, regulatory problems, and developmental disorders are some of the more common diagnoses prevalent among young children referred for outpatient treatment. As diagnostic measures and classification systems continue to improve, clinicians will have a better understanding of the mental health problems and treatment needs of young children.

An interim report on the development of the Psychological Trauma and Resources Scales.

The William S. Hall Psychiatric Institute Psychological Trauma and Psychological Resources Scales is a preliminary measure for the assessment of psychological trauma and psychological health from a developmental perspective. This three-part article (1) discusses the various rationales leading to the development of the scales, (2) provides a factor-analysis of responses of 336 college students, and (3) addresses current (N=37) and planned efforts to establish reliability and validity of a more refined version.

Comparison of scores for abused and nonabused young adults on the Psychological Trauma and Resources Scale.

The Psychological Trauma and Psychological Resources Scale has been developed to identify adolescents and adults who have experienced traumatic events, i.e., physical, sexual, or emotional abuse and neglect. The scale also attempts to identify the presence of compensatory or resource factors such as social support that may serve to ameliorate the effects of traumatic events. 98 college participants who reported a history of abuse were compared with 464 nonabused students on the seven subscales. As predicted, the abused participants reported significantly more incidents of abuse and neglect than the nontraumatized group. In addition, the abused group reported receiving less emotional support, and they were less likely to use positive self-talk as a way to decrease emotional distress. These results provide empirical support for using the Psychological Trauma and Psychological Resources Scale to identify individuals with a history of abuse. Findings underscore the importance of assessing resource variables that may moderate the effects of abuse.

A Structural Equation Model for the School Reinforcement Survey Schedule: Italian and American Early Adolescents

The School Reinforcement Survey Schedule (SRSS) was administered to 2,828 boys and girls in middle schools in the United States and an Italian translation was administered to 342 boys and girls in middle schools in Northern Italy. An exploratory factor analysis using half the American data set was performed using maximum likelihood estimation with a promax rotation. This analysis produced a structural equation model with six interpretable latent variables. This analysis was confirmed by results demonstrating a good fit with the other half of the American sample and separately with the Italian sample. Scores for the six latent variables were constructed and information about the distribution of scores was obtained. Multiple comparisons of the means were performed by gender, within each national sample, for each of the six latent variables. American and Italian girls report obtaining greater enjoyment from a wider variety of school activities compared to American and Italian boys.

EVALUATION OF THE WILLIAM S. HALL PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTE CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY INTERNSHIP: A REPLICATION AND EXTENSION

This study extends three earlier investigations involving participants who completed their predoctoral clinical psychology internship at the William S. Hall Psychiatric Institute. Intern graduates (N = 37) evaluated how effectively their internship training prepared them for seven aspects of their current work as practicing psychologists. Participants also rated the relevancy of 24 different internship training experiences to their current work and how much these experiences contributed to their development as clinical psychologists. The present study, in conjunction with the three previous studies, covers most of the 40-year period since the inception of the internship program. Analysis of the current data indicates the internship has improved over time and was deemed an exceptional training experience by its graduates. Findings may be of particular interest to internship directors and faculty interested in improving their training program and those who plan to conduct a self-study to maintain their accreditation for clinical psychology internship.