School Psychology Commons^™

Psychometric Properties Of Diagnostic Assessment Instrumentsfor Autism Spectrum Disorders In A Community Sample Aged 2 Through 17 Years, Sheryl Lozowski-Sullivan

Dissertations

Recent estimates of the incidence and prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) indicate substantial increases over the past 20 years (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009; Fombonne, 2009; Matson & Kozlowski, 2011; Schreibman & Koegel, 2005; Wing & Porter, 2002), in part because of the availability of significantly improved diagnostic assessment instruments (Lord & Corsello, 2005; Schreibman, 2005). In highly structured research settings, some of these diagnostic instruments correlate well with each other; however, few studies have examined the relation between these diagnostic tools in traditional clinical practice (Mazefsky & Oswald, 2006; South et al, 2002). This study examined …

The Claremont Autism Center, Alex E. Mitchell Mr.

CMC Senior Theses

The Claremont Autism Center is a 23 minute documentary on the strengths and benefits the Center brings to Claremont McKenna students, as well as children and families from the Inland Empire that deal with Autism on a daily basis.

A Psychometric Evaluation Of The Revised Optimism-Pessimism Scale Of The Mmpi-2, Ginger Burge Debrule

Dissertations

The present study tested the psychometric properties of the Revised Optimism-Pessimism Scale (PSM-R) of the MMPI-2. This scale purportedly measures the respondent's explanatory style on a dimension of optimism and pessimism. Participants included 92 college undergraduates and 2,729 participants from archived outpatient data. The PSM-R is a reliable measure, based on test-retest reliability and internal consistency. However, the construct validity of the measure is questionable. Evaluation of the PSM-R items suggests that the items are not all related to the optimism-pessimism construct. In addition, convergent validity of the PSM-R was assessed using measures of attributional style, dispositional optimism, hope, depression, …

Effects Of An Educational And Support Program For Family And Friends Of A Substance Abuser, Amanda Jeffrey Platter

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Many family members are adversely affected by their loved ones drinking or drug problem. The aim of the present study was to explore changes in coping and enabling behaviors among family members who attended a community educational and psychosocial group for friends and family of a substance abuser, and to examine the concerns of these family members.

Participants were 32 family members (i.e., parents, spouses/romantic partners, and siblings) who attended one of four consecutive Family and Friend (FF) programs between fall and spring of 2008. Participants completed the Behavioral Enabling Scale (Rotunda & Doman, 2001) and Brief COPE Inventory (Carver, …

Adult Estimation, Eye Movements And Math Anxiety, Robert T. Durette

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In this experiment the estimation ability of college undergraduates was examined using a number line task, with lines numbered 0-to-100, 0-to1,000 and 0-to-723 presented on a computer monitor. Previous research on kindergarteners' through 6^th graders' ability to estimate showed a progression from a logarithmic mental representation of numbers to a linear mental number line. Children's ability to estimate was found to correlate strongly with math achievement. We used this task to examine the hypothesis that remnants of the underlying logarithmic number line representation persist into adulthood despite formal educational experience with the number system (e.g. Dehaene, 1997). 0 to …

Examining Adolescent Suicide: How To Identify The Risks, Kelsey Moellering

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

Cinematherapy As A Clinical Intervention: Theoretical Rationale And Empirical Credibility, Michael Powell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Two problems must be addressed before cinematherapy can advance as a credible therapeutic intervention: (a) a solid theoretical rationale must exist supporting its use in mental health counseling, and (b) quantifiable data must exist promoting its treatment efficacy, and these data need to extend to various clinical populations representing a range of mental health conditions. This study intends to address both problems by critiquing the theoretical and experimental literature on cinematherapy and measuring the relative effectiveness of a structured, nondirective cinematherapy intervention at improving the hope and optimism of an adult diagnosed with Major Depression. One person (JV= 1) was …

An Evaluation Of Intraverbal Training And Listener Training For Teaching Categorization Skills, Anna Ingeborg Petursdottir

Dissertations

Behavioral language interventions, such as those employed in early and intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) programs, target both expressive and receptive language skills. Skinner's (1957) analysis of verbal behavior provides a framework for analyzing expressive and receptive language in terms of stimulus control and reinforcement history. From this perspective, different expressive language programs target different verbal operants, such as tacts, intraverbals, and echoics , whereas most receptive language programs target a type of listener behavior that may be referred to as manded stimulus selection (Michael, 1995). Although EIBI curricula (e.g., Maurice, Green, & Luce, 1996; Leaf & McEachin, 1999) have frequently …

A Comparison Of Traditional Versus Computerized Anxiety Assessment Using Personal Digital Assistants, Wesley Alan Smith

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The usage of the personal computer has become more prevalent in the field of psychology. The advent of the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) has opened a new area of possible clinical application. These pen-based devices allow for a more natural interface and more mobility. The feasibility and application of the PDA for personality assessment will be examined in this study. Does having a test administered by a PDA lead to a significant change in response patterns compared to a test administered by the traditional pen and paper method? The purpose of this study was to examine differences in the anxiety …

Trends. When Is A Psychological Profile Not A Psychological Profile? The Fbi And School Violence, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the difficulties of predicting and preventing school violence. Though the FBI does have a list of "warning signs" by which to evaluate potential perpetrators of lethal school violence, they do not consider this list to be a profile. This is especially true given that no reliable predictors of lethal school violence have been found.

The Teenage Inventory Of Social Skills: A Validation Study, Joshua Myers

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The development and maintenance of adolescent peer relationships has been recognized by researchers as important for healthy current and future psycho-social adjustment. Furthermore, adolescent friendships are developmentally unique and qualitatively different than childhood friendships. The present study examines the validity, reliability and clinical utility of the Teenage Inventory of Social Skills (TISS), a self-report measure of adolescent social/friendship skills. Self-report and teacher/adult ratings on the TISS were compared for 64 participants from a court-ordered, residential treatment program and 51 adolescent participants from a public school-based youth group. While overall results confirmed the clinical utility and psychometric superiority of the TISS, …

The Benton Visual Retention Test With Ld And Non-Ld Children, 9 Years To 16, Jessica Workman

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the Benton Visual Retention Test (BVRT) can discriminate between learning disabled students and non-learning disabled students. Subjects ranged from ages 9 through 16 in both groups. The control group consisted of 30 subjects with an IQ score of 80 to 120 as measured by the WISC-ID, no history of physical or emotional problems, and scores equivalent with IQ on the achievement test as measured by the WIAT. The LD group consisted of30 subjects which had a I. 75 discrepancy between scores on the WISC-ID and the WIAT. All subjects were given …

Children's Test Behavior And Examiner Bias On The Wechsler Intelligence Scale For Children, Charesa Mae Kirchner

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to investigate the effect of chi1dren 1s test behavior on examiners' scoring, questioning, and confidence in test resu1ts. The variables under investigation were leve1 of inte11igence and extraversion-introversion as operationally defined in terms of sociabi1ity, response speed, and persistence. E1even-year-old male accomplices read scripts containing responses to the Verba1 Scale of the WISC and operationally defined test behaviors. The test responses to the Verba1 Scale of the WISC were designed to yield superior (IQ= 128) or average (IQ= 97) test scores by varying the quality of test responses. Extravert-Introvert test behaviors independent of the scoring of …