Research involving correctional officer stress has increased over the past several decades due to the overall concern of the consequences of stress within the field. When comparing the body of research for police officers versus correctional officers, it is clear that there is abundance of research for the former than the latter. Further, advanced stress management programs have yet to be evaluated in a correctional setting, specifically the cognitive-behavioral interventions supplied in medical and athletic settings. The present investigation studied the effects of an adaptive cognitive-behavioral stress management for correctional officers during their academy training and its effect on self-reported stress levels pre-field training, 3-month and 6-month field training time. Officers were placed into two groups, one of which received the 1-hour CBSM program (focusing on cognitive restructuring, assertion and problem-solving training) and the other that received the standard protocol in academy training. The officers completed a series of self-reported measures including the Job Stress Survey, Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding and an assessment to determine their knowledge retention of the skills presented in the program. Results indicated that those in the experimental group's self-reported job stress severity increased over six months, compared to the control group. It was suggested that participants tended to present themselves in an overly confident and inaccurate manner, which may have contributed to the subclinical scores on the scales. Additionally, the experimental group demonstrated decreases on several job stress measures, and increases in phobic anxiety and depression.

Several studies have found a number of internalizing (i.e., depressive and anxiety disorders) and externalizing (i.e., attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, oppositional-defiant disorder) disorders to be prevalent among youth who have experienced child maltreatment. Several studies have also demonstrated that aspects of the maltreatment experiences and family environment may potentially predict the severity or magnitude of psychopathology among maltreated children. The purpose of this study was to determine potential abuse-related (i.e., frequency, severity, relation to perpetrator, age at onset, other forms of maltreatment) and family environment (i.e., cohesion, adaptability) predictors of psychological comorbidity in sexually abused children with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Participants included 75 (56 female) clinically-referred children and adolescents aged 5.89-17.12 years (mean=10.95, SD=3.114) and their parents. Measures included the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children, Epidemiological Version, the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scales, third edition, and a questionnaire assessing demographic and abuse-related information. Based on diagnostic status, participants were assigned to the Simple PTSD group (no comorbid diagnoses), the Internalizing group (met criteria for a depressive or anxiety disorder but no externalizing disorders), or the Global group (met criteria for an externalizing disorder and may or may not have met criteria for an internalizing disorder). Multinomial logistic regression models were estimated and odds ratio cutoff values were utilized to determine clinically significant predictors of comorbidity group. Results indicated that males were more likely to be in one of the comorbid groups (either Internalizing or Global groups) than females, and those who were abused multiple times were more likely to be in one of the two comorbid groups than participants who experienced one incident of abuse. Similarly, participants who had lower levels of family cohesion and adaptability were more likely to be in one of the comorbid groups than those who had higher levels of family cohesion and adaptability. Younger participants and those who had experienced penetration were more likely to have an externalizing diagnosis (i.e., be in the Global group) than older participants and those who had experienced less physically invasive forms of sexual abuse. Results are discussed in light of previous research and theoretical models of heterogeneous presentations of childhood traumatic stress.

Clinicians have a small number of measurement instruments available to them to assist in the identification of suboptimal effort during an evaluation, which is largely agreed upon as a necessary component in the identification of malingering. Green's Medical Symptom Validity Test is a forced-choice test that was created to assist in the identification of suboptimal effort. The goal of this study was to provide clinical evidence for the validity of the Medical Symptom Validity Test using a large, archival clinical sample. The Test of Memory Malingering and the Medical Symptom Validity Test were compared to assess for level of agreement, and were found to agree in their identification of good or poor effort in approximately 75% of cases, which was lower than expected. Scores from the Medical Symptom Validity Test's effort subtests were tested for differences between adult litigants and clinically referred adults. Scores between these groups were different, and it was found that adult litigants obtained scores that were statistically significantly lower than those in the clinical group. Additionally, children were able to obtain results on the Medical Symptom Validity Test subtests that were equivalent to those of adults. Finally, the Wechlser Memory Scales - Third Edition core memory subtests were assessed for their ability to predict outcomes on the Medical Symptom Validity Test Delayed Recognition subtest. This analysis of the adult litigants and adult clinical groups revealed that, collectively, the predictors explained approximately one-third of the variance in scores on the Delayed Recognition subtest. Outcomes from these hypotheses indicated that the Medical Symptom Validity Test was measuring a construct similar to that of the Test of Memory Malingering. Due to the lower than expected level of agreement between the tests, it is recommended that clinicians use more than one measure of effort, which should increase the reliability of poor effort identification. Due to their lower scores the effort subtests, adults similar to those in the adult litigants group can be expected to perform more poorly than those who are clinically referred. Because effort subtest scores were not affected by cognitive or developmental domains, clinically referred children or adult examinees can be expected to obtain scores above cutoffs, regardless of mean age, IQ, or education. Additionally, an examinee's memory will not impact outcome scores on the effort subtests of the Medical Symptom Validity Test. Further research is needed to understand the Medical Symptom Validity Test's ability to accurately identify poor effort with minimal false positives, examine the impact of reading ability on effort subtests, and compare simulators' outcomes to those of a clinical population.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common behavioral disorders diagnosed within childhood and affects approximately 9.5% of children in the United States. Additionally, approximately 35% to 60% of clinic-referred children will also meet the criteria for Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). Increased levels of parenting stress are commonly experienced among parents of children diagnosed with ADHD and a number of factors contribute to this association. ADHD subtype has consistently presented itself as a factor; however, observing parenting stress levels between ADHD subtypes and ADHD with comorbid ODD within the same study has not been pursued in the literature. The present study utilized the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI/SF) to compare scores on the Total Stress, Parental Distress, and Parent-Child Dysfunctional interaction scales among mothers of children diagnosed with ADHD Predominantly Inattentive Type (ADHD-I), ADHD Combined Type (ADHD-C) and comorbid ADHD and ODD (ADHD/ODD). Following a One-Way Analysis of Covariance, a significant difference was found on the level of Total Stress reported by mothers of children diagnosed with ADHD/ODD when compared with mothers of children diagnosed with ADHD-C. No other significant differences were uncovered. Additionally, the current study attempted to gain a better understanding of the relationship between parenting stress and chronological age of the diagnosed child by observing the correlation between child age and the level of parenting stress reported by mothers of children diagnosed with ADHD, in addition to a comorbid diagnosis of ADHD and ODD. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were calculated between child age and the Total Stress and Difficult Child scales on the PSI/SF; however neither achieved statistical significance. Finally, the present study compared the correlations between child age and maternal scores on the Total Stress and Difficult Child scales on the PSI/SF among children with a sole diagnosis of ADHD, to those of children with a comorbid diagnosis of ADHD/ODD. Correlations within the ADHD/ODD group among child age and the Total Stress and Difficult Child scales were both in the negative direction. In contrast, the correlations within the ADHD group were both in a positive direction.

The relationship between alexithymia, PTSD symptoms, attachment, and depression was examined using archival data from a university-based trauma clinic. Participants were 62 women and 20 men, ages ranging from 17 to 59, with childhood histories of physical or sexual abuse. Measures included the Structured Clinical Interview on Childhood Sexual Abuse History (SI-SA), Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R), Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ), Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II), and Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20). As predicted, alexithymia, PTSD symptoms, and depression were negatively correlated with secure attachment and positively correlated with insecure attachment. Also as predicted, depression and insecure attachment styles containing negative models of the self (need for approval, discomfort with closeness) mediated the relationship between alexithymia and PTSD symptoms while styles involving positive models of the self (confidence, relationships as secondary) did not. Preoccupation with relationships was excluded from mediation analyses because alexithymia was not a significant predictor of this construct. Results suggest that the symptom profile of adult survivors of childhood abuse can be complex and may require interventions that target a broad range of symptoms and difficulties including alexithymia, attachment, and depression.

Hyperbaric Oxygenation Therapy (HBOT) has a successive history for treating very specific groups of physical conditions. Research by Neubauer and colleagues states that HBOT's ability to increase cerebral metabolism in the brain regenerates dormant neural tissue (Neubauer, Gottlieb, & Pevsner 1994). According to this research, the increase of cerebral metabolism levels restores mental capacity from the neurological insult. Despite promise, uncertainty exists as to whether this is a viable treatment option for people suffering from neural damage. The research results for this experiment will examine the effect of HBOT on cerebral metabolism levels in adults and pediatrics with chronic neurological problems. Fifty individuals diagnosed as having a neurological impairment whom met criteria for the study were analyzed from an archival data set. Criterion required chronic impairment, baseline SPECT, followed by HBOT exposures, and a post SPECT scan. Statistical analyses consisted of a Pearson correlation that examined pre-metabolism rates with total change, a Pearson correlation that examined total change and number of treatments, and a one way ANOVA analysis that examined cerebral metabolism change in patients under 18 and over 18. Results indicated change

The present study explored the efficacy of a parent implemented emergent literacy intervention to promote reading readiness and to improve parent-child relationships among preschoolers and their caregivers. Subjects were 24 parents and their preschool children ranging in age from three to five years who attend preschool at the Mailman-Segal Institute (MSI) for Early Childhood Studies. An assessment of the students' pre -literacy skills was conducted and teacher and parent rating scales that measured social- emotional and behavioral functioning were collected. Parents were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Parents assigned to the experimental group learned to implement activities from the Parents Activate Literacy Skills (PALS) curriculum in their daily routine to promote pre-literacy skills. Parents assigned to the control group learned to implement parenting techniques to promote improved parent-child interactions in an adapted version of Russell Barkley's Parent Training Program. Adherence to interventions was monitored by parents' self-report, and fidelity of implementation was assessed throughout the research by trained observers. The proposed study seeks to understand better the skills required for early literacy acquisition among preschoolers. The children were assessed pre and post-intervention using selected subtests of the Woodcock-Johnson III Achievement Battery and the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities. Parents were asked to complete behavior rating scales and a measure of parenting stress, while teachers were asked to complete behavior rating scales prior to and post-intervention. One-way (treatment versus control) analyses of covariance were used to test for differences between groups. Results from the analyses revealed that children in the Literacy Intervention group performed significantly better than children in the Behavior Management group on Oral Comprehension, Sound Blending, and Phonemic Awareness subtests of the Woodcock-Johnson. Additionally, parents in the emergent literacy intervention showed a significant decrease on the parent-child dysfunctional interaction scale of the Parenting Stress Index (PSI)-Short Form.

The purpose of this study was to assess General Practitioners' (GPs') and medical students' attitudes towards psychologists seeking prescription privileges and their willingness to refer patients to these professionals, as well as factors relating to these variables. Three hundred and thirty-eight GPs from a national sample, and 48 medical students from a private medical school in the southeastern United States participated in this online study. Participants were divided into two experimental groups, with one group receiving additional information regarding the educational and training experiences of prescribing psychologists and one group receiving no additional information. Participants completed a survey, which assessed: demographic variables, attitudes, referral behaviors, and personality factors. It was predicted that participants receiving additional information prior to survey completion would have more favorable attitudes and referral behaviors than those who did not receive the information. This prediction was confirmed for participants' attitudes, but not referral behaviors. Results also indicated that the majority of participants held unfavorable attitudes towards prescribing psychologists and were generally unwilling to refer patients to these professionals. However, contrary to the research hypothesis, GPs were found to have more favorable attitudes and referral behaviors than medical students. Additionally, analyses were conducted in order to use multiple variables (e.g., information condition, participant type, gender, age, practice setting, location, openness score) to predict participants' attitudes and referral behaviors. However, these factors were only found to account for a very small percentage of participants' attitudes and referral behaviors. In light of this study's results, future research is needed in order to further explore factors related to attitudes and referral behaviors of GPs. Future research should also investigate ways to improve communication and collaboration between medical professionals and psychologists.

Many aspects of capital punishment have been debated extensively, such as its legality and cruelty. One such aspect is the role a defendant's mental functioning should play in the proceedings. In recent years the Supreme Court has barred the mentally retarded and juveniles from the death penalty due to their cognitive limitations and problems with behavioral control (Slobogin, 2003). This reasoning has prompted many in the fields of mental health and law to advocate for a similar bar for offenders with severe mental illness since their impairments create similar problems in judgment and behavioral control. The Supreme Court cited public consensus as its grounds in banning the mentally retarded and juveniles from sentences of death; however, public consensus on mentally ill capital offenders is not quite as clear. Few attempts have gauged public opinion on sentencing severely mentally ill offenders to death, and the little research that does exist has produced conflicting results. While polls show that Americans oppose the death penalty for the severely mental ill (Gallup, 2008), the literature shows that jurors are more likely to sentence these defendants to death (Charlotte School of Law [CSL], 2006). Second to the issue of barring the severely mentally ill from the death penalty is the issue of what mental health factors would be considered severe enough to qualify for a bar. There has been no previous research to gauge public opinion on these issues. Surveys were constructed to gauge opinion on the issue and were mailed randomly to 1,640 people throughout the United States. A total of 202 surveys were returned completed. Support was found for a bar from the death penalty for the mentally ill. However, the mental health factors that should comprise a bar received varied support and were less clear in determining which should comprise a bar. When given alternatives to a death sentence, participants overwhelmingly chose some type of life sentence. Public opinion appears to be an important aspect in the imposition of capital punishment upon the mentally ill.

The present study explored the relationship between indirect and direct assessment of preschoolers' emergent literacy skills. Subjects were 207 preschool-aged children, ranging in age from three to five years old who attended either the Mailman Segal Institute (MSI) Family Center, a private preschool comprised of children from primarily upper middle-class homes, or Jack and Jill Children's Center, a publicly subsidized preschool. Indirect assessment of the children's emergent literacy skills was gathered through the completion of the Teacher Rating of Oral Language and Literacy (TROLL) and a modified version of the Pupil Rating Scale (PRS). Direct measurement of the children's emergent literacy skills was obtained through multiple assessments including the Get Ready to Read! (GRTR!),the standardization version of the Preschool Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (Pre-CTOPP), and the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJ IIII COG) and Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement (WJ III ACH). Overall, results revealed a moderate positive correlation between indirect assessments and direct assessment of emergent literacy with higher teacher ratings on the TROLL and modified PRS correlated with higher scores on the direct assessment measures. When comparing the two preschools, results revealed inconsistent relationships between direct and indirect assessment of emergent literacy skills depending on which assessment measure was utilized.