Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2006. / Title from PDF title page screen. Advisor: Terry Ackerman; submitted to the School of Education. Includes bibliographical references (p. 77-84).

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The purpose of this study was to explore the efficacy of juvenile offender assessments. Data from 104 juvenile offender assessments were analyzed and followed up with placement, subsequent offending, and outcome data from the juvenile and adult systems. Constructs consistently assessed included intellectual functioning, academic achievement, and personality functioning; however, under-diagnosis of intellectual deficits, learning disabilities, and personality disorders was found. Results indicated the assessment of family functioning, substance use, and social functioning should be included in comprehensive assessments, as they may result in alternative placement and treatment options of benefit to the juvenile offender. A juvenile offender typology proposed by DiCataldo and Grisso (1995) was successfully utilized and proved predictive of recidivism, future harm to others, and outcome.

This study investigated the effects of assessment context on state anxiety and attention according to the Mirsky (1996) model of attention. Context varied in the physical testing environment, demeanor of the assessor, and explanation of the purpose of testing. A relaxed condition (RC) and structured medical condition (SMC) distinction was made prior to data collection and the two contexts were designed to reflect contrasting practices of neuropsychologists. Elements of attention evaluated included Encoding (Digit Span), Focusing/Executing (Visual Search and Attention Test), Shifting (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test: Computerized Version 2), Sustaining, and Stabilizing (Continuous Performance Test-Identical Pairs). Eighty healthy adult females participated in the study. The findings suggest that the SMC caused higher levels of anxiety and lower valence than the RC, which in turn caused poorer sustained attention and superior shifting attention for this condition. Such interpretations are consistent with several theories on the effects of anxiety on attention. It should be noted, however, that differences observed in attention were limited to select measures. Factor analysis also indicates that the encode, shift, and sustain elements of attention were largely consistent with the factor solution proposed by Mirsky, while findings on the focus/execute and stabilize elements bring into question the construct validity of these aspects of the model. Findings from the study are considered relevant to those interested in attention theory and particularly researchers and clinicians involved in the administration of neuropsychological testing.

The present thesis deals with the psychological aspects of interrogative suggestibility of witnesses, victims and offenders involved in criminal investigation. The first part of the work offers a theoretical and literary overview of important theoretical findings on suggestibility in the field of psychology which underly the teoretici model of interrogative suggestibility by Gudjonsson and Clark. Their model is introduced in relation to selected psychological characteristics with an emphasis on practical overlap in forensic psychology and criminal practice. The theoretical part is concluded with a detailed introduction into the Gudjonsson scales of suggestibility - GSS 1 and GSS 2. In the empirical part of the thesis, the author focuses on adaptation and validation of GSS 1 in the Czech environment. The outcome of this work are the psychometric characteristics of the Czech version of the GSS 1, including detailed instruction for administration and evaluation and statistical norms for the czech population. Currently Czech criminalist dispose of no suitable psychodiagnostic assessment method to evaluate the interrogative suggestibility. Key words: interrogative suggestibility, GSS 1, Gudjonsson, psychodiagnostics

Bibliography: leaves.

The present study was conducted to examine the effects of early orientation of counseling related students to the two most prevalent paradigms of psychodiagnostic decision-making on first, the integration of the model, and second, on the ability to make proficient diagnostic decisions while in training. Using an experimental, pretest posttest design, 60 participants from two higher educational sites were randomly assigned to two treatment groups. Participants in each group were oriented to one of two treatment conditions -- a binary decision tree model or a problem-solving model (multiple competing hypotheses). Participants were then introduced to DSM Axis II diagnostic categories utilizing a computer assisted learning laboratory. Results suggested that participants learned diagnosis during the experiment. However, no significant difference in diagnostic proficiency occurred as a result of the two treatment conditions. Additional analyses raised questions about use of case studies as a means of assessing diagnostic proficiency. Item difficulty appeared to be linked to diagnostic clusters and individual diagnoses. Item difficulty factors influenced the internal consistency and validity of test instruments. The assumption of the unidimensial weight of syndromes in the construction of assessment instruments is suspect. Considering the preponderance of case study use for counselor training assessment, caution during instrument construction and use is advised. Evidence also existed that treatment groups responded differently to particular DSM diagnostic clusters and items. This suggested that cluster and item difficulty may be important to consider for instruction of diagnosis in the classroom. Results also suggested that as diagnoses become more complex, problem-solving diagnostic decision-making may become more important. Secondary analysis of computer assisted learning resulted in significant evidence that nonsequential, user-friendly computer assisted instruction may overcome teaching-study style mismatch, resulting in more even distribution of learning over the sample population. / Graduation date: 1998

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Adelaide, 1990. / Includes bibliographical references.

This work investigates various methods for measurement of stress coping. Theoretical part introduces basic theoretical constructs that deal with stress coping which are also related to the presented Stress coping questionnaire inventory. Other methods for measurement of stress coping are also discussed. The end of the theoretical part introduces the Stress coping questionnaire itself. Empirical part establishes the basic psychometric characteristics of the inventory and analyses suitability of implementation of specific norms for various demographic groups. Se- cond study within the empirical part investigates convergent validity of the method against other inventories. The results indicate that the inventory is a valid method for measurement of stress coping, although some of its scales are affected by social desirability. Recommendations for improvements of the method are mentioned in the end of the work. Keywords: stress, stress coping, psychodiagnostics

This project represents a descriptive study of 35 chronically mentally ill (CMI) adults enrolled in a community-based vocational rehabilitation program during the 1981 calendar year. As part of their first month in the program, subjects were administered a screening battery consisting of the Trail Making Test, Reitan-Indiana Aphasia Screening Test, Reitan-Klove Sensory Perceptual Examination, Valpar Independent Problem Solving Work Sample (IPSWS) and Wide Range Interest Opinion Test (WRIOT). Correlations were derived among these and with other variables, including the Work Adjustment Rating Form, schizophrenic versus nonschizophrenic psychiatric diagnosis, time in program and period of competitive employment resulting from program involvement. The issue of medication and its potential for impacting on subjects' performance in the program was also addressed. The neuropsychological measures in the battery were significantly correlated among themselves and discriminated between schizophrenic and nonschizophrenic CMI subjects in the sample with 100% accuracy. However, results on neuropsychological tests did not predict whether or not a subject would realize competitive employment during the year of the study. Both schizophrenic and nonschizophrenic subjects produced average performances in the impaired range of functioning according to published criteria for the neuropsychological instruments, although schizophrenic subjects consistently performed closer to the normal population. Vocational instruments included in the battery appeared to measure a more heterogeneous set of functions than the neuropsychological tests, and did not appear to represent a vocational factor. Two scores from these vocational instruments, Valpar IPSWS and WRIOT Negative Bias, were combined with Trail Making Test (Part A) scores in a discriminant function that classified subjects with 81% accuracy on attainment of competitive employment status. Over half (56%) of the people who participated for three months or more experienced some competitive employment, and 39% of those who completed three months or more were able to maintain full-time or part-time competitive employment for longer than 60 days. These results supported the effectiveness of Fountain House Model programs in achieving vocational rehabilitation goals with the difficult CMI population. Support was also provided for community-based research to study both social programs and their clientele.