The self-report and a modified informant version of the Psychopathology Instrument for Mentally Retarded Adults (PIMRA) was used to assess 160 mentally retarded adults. Significant relationships between PIMRA scores and age, sex, and level of retardation were found. (DB)

Examined the validity of the Irrational Beliefs Inventory by administering various psychological instruments to 129 undergraduate students. Regarding construct validity, the Irrational Beliefs Inventory measured several variables measured by the Irrational Beliefs Test. With regard to concurrent validity, test anxiety was most strongly associated…

Explored the psychometric properties of the Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder to assess its internal consistency and factor structure. Administered the test to Vietnam veterans seeking help at Veteran Centers. Demonstrated high test-retest reliability, sensitivity of .93, specificity .89, and overall hit rate .90…

Examined the relationship of individual and composite measures of child competence with family background and adult ratings of psychopathology. Children scoring high on a composite competence index were rated by parents and teachers as showing fewer problems. Composite measures related more strongly to parent and teacher ratings than did single…

Determined that special Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) scales (the Dissimulation and the Obvious and Subtle subscales) were slightly more effective in discriminating between malingering and genuinely disturbed male prison inmates than were standard MMPI scales. Found students', clinicians', and experts' interpretations…

The self-esteem of 125 diabetic and 82 nondiabetic adolescents was examined with the Piers-Harris scale. Girls who developed diabetes before five years of age had poorer self-concept scores than early onset boys, whereas boys and girls in the later onset or control groups had equivalent scores. This interaction was restricted to Physical…

Assessment of nonvisual neuropsychological impairments in visually impaired persons can be achieved through modification of existing intelligence, memory, sensory-motor, personality, language, and achievement tests so that they do not require vision or penalize visually impaired persons. The Halstead-Reitan and Luria-Nebraska neuropsychological…

Examined cognitive and personality patterns of 84 court-referred adolescents to identify predictors of recurrent delinquent behavior. It was found that continued behavioral problems at follow-up were more likely in adolescents with discrepancies between Verbal and Performance intelligence quotient or large differences between "neurotic" and…

Administered the Hooper Visual Organization Test (VOT) to 54 elementary students referred for psychometric evaluation. Results showed no significant relationship between sex and VOT scores, but age and IQ were significant correlates. (JAC)

Practical advice on teaching skills which are essential, but difficult for many medical students to master, is presented. Topics covered include interviewing skills, the mental status examination, the use of psychotropic medication in the general hospital, psychodiagnostic techniques, and dealing with ward management problems. (RM)

Describes changes that have transformed the field of school psychology over the last 40 years, such as moving toward a role that encompasses the culture of the school setting and its relationship to the community. Cites a remaining problem as redefinition of human resources needed. (LLL)

Developed a true-false scale to measure social fear, using procedures to maximize reliability and minimize response set bias (N=910). Interviews with selected subjects (N=44) confirmed that the scale measures social fear, and the scale was found to correlate with previously developed schizotypy scales (N=252). (Author/JAC)

Study compares performance on MMPI Mini-Mult inventory of black versus white juvenile delinquents of similar socioeconomic level, family background, grade level, and I.Q. The fact that there were no significant differences along racial lines indicates "that (this test) can be used to assess personality characteristics of both racial groups…

Discussion about teaching to psychology students the Watson and Rayner study in 1920 on fear of rats. (ND)

The California Psychological Inventory includes a masculinity femininity measure, Fe. Although the test author suggests that Fe is positively related to intelligence for females but negatively for males, a review of the literature fails to substantiate this claim. Correlation of Fe and intellectual measures is low in magnitude and is not different…