Children with attachment disorder (AD) have an ongoing risk of mental health challenges and an exacerbated resistance to traditional treatments. The inability to trust and inadequate relationship skills present a substantial challenge for supervising adults in families, child welfare, juvenile justice, public schools, and other community settings. This study examined the assessment of AD in children between ages 6 and 18 utilizing two standardized instruments, the Randolph Attachment Disorder Questionnaire and the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale. A new framework developed by the author, Biopsychosocial Attachment Types (BAT), for conceptualizing childhood attachment concerns, was explored as a foundation for assessment and as a guide for an incremental corrective experiential approach for altering the child’s internal working model of attachment. Biophilia and Attachment theories were explanatory for the BAT. This dissertation explores three research questions. First, can scores on the BERS be used to predict attachment disorder as measured by the RADQ? Second, can the three categories or six subcategories of the BAT be measured using selected BERS items plus additional author-developed items? Finally, if selected BERS items plus additional author-developed items are found to measure the BAT categories, are the resulting measures reliable and valid? The Foster Family Survey questionnaire completed by 285 foster parents of children 6 to 18 years in foster care for over three months in British Columbia, Canada, provided the data. Reported results of these analyses included an 18-item BAT measure and a 7-item subscale which predicted RADQ scores using selected items from the BERS with an additional pool of author-developed questions. The regression equation for the RADQ score predicted from the BERS Strength Quotient yielded an adjusted r2 of .268 while the best-fit model predicted from the BAT yielded a cumulative adjusted r2 of .515. The resulting BAT measure achieved an alpha score of .91 and factor analysis distinguished the subcategories. All of these results supported the value of continued research in this urgently needed area of investigation.

Children in their final years of primary schooling tend to emphasize the use of detail and the production of naturalistic representations, when modelling the human figure with clay. Children of this age rarely construct clay figures which are noted for their dynamic quality in terms of finish, proportion, or pose. This study examined the effect of using a "formative" modelling technique on the clay models made by 11 year old children. Involved in the study were two groups of 11 year old children. Both groups of children undertook a pre-test, a post-test, and a series of clay modelling activities similar to other activities described in most primary school art curricula. The experimental group of children were instructed in the use of a "formative" modelling technique in which children develop their clay figures from a single mass of clay and refrain from constructing the figures by a combination of separate parts. The control group received no instruction. Brown's Modified "Secondary" Characteristics Rating Scale was used to identify differences between pre- and post-test clay figures. Results suggest that the "formative" modelling technique did not induce a different approach to the modelling of finish, proportion, and pose in the clay figures made by boys and girls 11 years of age. However, there was evidence of a gender difference.

This thesis reports on the perceptions held by second year preservice primary teachers and their tutors/supervisors of a 1990 microteaching program at a regional university in Queensland. Perceptions were ascertained on (a) the skills addressed, (b) peer and tutor feedback, (c) the self evaluation techniques used, (d) the content level taught, (e) the videotaping of the sessions, and (f) the effectiveness of the program in the continuing development of teaching skills for preservice teachers. Perceptions were collected using a questionnaire designed for the purpose. The questionnaire incorporates fixed response options, for which percentages of those agreeing with each response are presented in tabular form. It also invites open ended responses which are coded according to the areas designated of interest for the study. A Likert type rating scale is used to ascertain opinions on the effectiveness of the program for developing particular classroom teaching skills. Results of the study indicate that for the participants, microteaching is appropriate and effective in helping to provide prospective teachers with experiences that complement practice teaching in schools, but that the actual structure and components of any such program requires some discussion. Analysis indicates a need to vary microteaching programs from those of many traditional approaches based on the early Stanford model. The writer suggests the concept of a teaching-learning laboratory based on a macro teaching skill approach with peers as more appropriate for current preservice teacher education.

Varje år anmäls ca 10 000 sexualbrott i Sverige. Forskning har visat att sexualbrottslingar är en heterogen grupp i fråga om personlighet. Studier visar dock på att de ofta har hög aggressivitet och mycket ångest, något som de får utlopp för genom sin sexualitet. Forskare har även påvisat en hög förekomst av Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) i barndomen hos sexualbrottslingar. Syftet med föreliggande undersökning var att undersöka förekomst av ADHD i barndomen, personlighet och samband mellan ADHD och personlighet hos dömda sexualbrottslingar (N = 30). Undersökningen syftade även till att undersöka uppväxt- och brottsbelatsning hos sexualbrottslingar. Resultaten visade att undersökningsdeltagarna i huvudsak inte skiljde sig från normalpopulationen i personlighet. Resultaten visade även att 30% av undersökningsdeltagarna hade ADHD i barndomen. Vidare visar resultaten att det råder samvarians mellan förekomsten av ADHD i barndomen, uppväxtbelastning och brottsbelastning. Detta är i linje med tidigare forskning som funnit en överrepresentation av ADHD bland kriminella.

This project sought to determine the utility in using either, or both, of two instruments to diagnose autism, the CARS (Childhood Autism Rating Scale) and the ADOS (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule), Modules 1 or 2. Children (n=320) who were seen in the autism diagnostic clinics at the Developmental Disabilities Center of the Kansas University Medical Center, who were under the age of 72 months (6 years), and who had been evaluated with both instruments were chosen as participants in this study. Those children who received the diagnosis of autism after being evaluated numbered 220; 100 received another or no diagnosis. Three levels of data analysis were conducted in this study. The first level included developing item-item correlation matrices for each instrument that was then compared to those in the original, normed study for internal consistency. Results indicated good internal consistency. At the second level, a factor analysis was conducted on each instrument that resulted in weighted factor scores and a correlation matrix of factors for each instrument. Factor analyses resulted in three factors identified for the CARS, two factors for ADOS, Module 1, and three factors for ADOS, Module 2. These factors are consistent with the criteria currently used for the diagnosis of autism. The third level of analysis utilized chi square and stepwise discriminant analysis to predict group membership (autism or no autism) with each instrument. From these results, it was concluded that both instruments are similar in their ability to diagnose autism, although they may be measuring somewhat different factors. Closer examination revealed that communication difficulty is the factor that most closely distinguished autism for this group of children. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Psychology. / "July 2005."

Objectives: The primary objective of this research was to inform the criterion validity of the single self-report depression screening question in the interRAI-Contact Assessment (CA) against the validated Depression Rating Scale (DRS) in the RAI-Home Care (HC) instrument. To achieve this objective, two overarching research questions were addressed: 1) What is the DRS cut-point best suited for the detection of a possible depressed mood state?; and 2) What are the consistencies in the prevalence rates of the CA’s single self-report depression question and the HC’s DRS detection measure? A secondary objective of this research was to explore the relationships of multiple depression-related outcomes with selected possible predictor variables to indirectly aid in the identification of a possible depressed mood state. Methods: Four datasets were obtained from the interRAI organization to inform this research. Three datasets, which house and concurrently administer both the self-report item and the DRS, were used to determine the best-suited DRS detection threshold through both univariate and bivariate analyses. The validity of the CA’s self-report item was informed through bivariate analyses with the HC’s DRS measure using the phi-correlation and the c statistic from the bivariate logistic regression model. Spearman and point biserial correlations and bivariate logistic regression modeling informed the relationships of the possible predictor variables with the depression-related outcomes. Results: The DRS one-plus threshold was determined to be the cut-point best-suited for the detection of a possible depressed mood state. Several predictor variables proved statistically significant but were not consistent across the three datasets. The CA’s single question did not evidence a strong association with the HC’s DRS measure. Conclusions: According to the resulting significance of the predictor variables, the experience and expression of depression across the three explored samples differ; the results from one sample cannot be generalized to explain the experience of the other samples. The DRS one-plus threshold is supported for the detection of a possible depressed mood state. However, the validity of the single self-report question in comparison to the DRS measure cannot be supported with the study’s results. However, due to recognized study limitations, the overall validity of the measure is not conclusive. Future research directions are recommended.

Objectives: The primary objective of this research was to inform the criterion validity of the single self-report depression screening question in the interRAI-Contact Assessment (CA) against the validated Depression Rating Scale (DRS) in the RAI-Home Care (HC) instrument. To achieve this objective, two overarching research questions were addressed: 1) What is the DRS cut-point best suited for the detection of a possible depressed mood state?; and 2) What are the consistencies in the prevalence rates of the CA’s single self-report depression question and the HC’s DRS detection measure? A secondary objective of this research was to explore the relationships of multiple depression-related outcomes with selected possible predictor variables to indirectly aid in the identification of a possible depressed mood state. Methods: Four datasets were obtained from the interRAI organization to inform this research. Three datasets, which house and concurrently administer both the self-report item and the DRS, were used to determine the best-suited DRS detection threshold through both univariate and bivariate analyses. The validity of the CA’s self-report item was informed through bivariate analyses with the HC’s DRS measure using the phi-correlation and the c statistic from the bivariate logistic regression model. Spearman and point biserial correlations and bivariate logistic regression modeling informed the relationships of the possible predictor variables with the depression-related outcomes. Results: The DRS one-plus threshold was determined to be the cut-point best-suited for the detection of a possible depressed mood state. Several predictor variables proved statistically significant but were not consistent across the three datasets. The CA’s single question did not evidence a strong association with the HC’s DRS measure. Conclusions: According to the resulting significance of the predictor variables, the experience and expression of depression across the three explored samples differ; the results from one sample cannot be generalized to explain the experience of the other samples. The DRS one-plus threshold is supported for the detection of a possible depressed mood state. However, the validity of the single self-report question in comparison to the DRS measure cannot be supported with the study’s results. However, due to recognized study limitations, the overall validity of the measure is not conclusive. Future research directions are recommended.

The purpose of this study was to develop a questionnaire to measure academic self-efficacy for undergraduates. The theoretical framework of the questionnaire was based on Bandura¡¦s self-efficacy theory. A total of 409 participants were selected by judgment sampling from the first- and second-grade undergraduate of six colleges in national Sun Yat-sen university (Liberal Arts, Science, Engineering, Management, Marine Sciences, and Social Sciences). The newly developed Academic Efficacy and Motivation Questionnaire (AEMQ) was modified and derived from eight related scales. Expert content validity was conducted by three experts in the field, and the data were analyzed by rating scale model (RSM) in ConQuest. The findings were as follows: 1. All the 69 items in AEMQ have good fit values (MNSQ between 0.6 and 1.4). 2. The items of the AEMQ tended to be too easy for participants. 3. The reliability of each dimension of AEMQ was poor. The highest reliability value was 0.575, and the lowest was 0.382. 4. The first dimension ¡§actual performance¡¨ and the second dimension ¡§vicarious experience¡¨ have negative correlation with the forth dimension ¡§psychological index¡¨. The result was consistent with past studies.

It is a well-known fact among the foreign language teachers that the assessment of speaking is one of the most challenging tasks in the teaching methodology. The reason for that is the lack of proper concepts of the notion &lsquo / good speaking skills&rsquo / and the assessment tasks that would evaluate the learner&rsquo / s ability to communicate efficiently in the real context. The purpose of this study is to investigate the teachers&rsquo / and learners&rsquo / perceptions and challenges they face when dealing with speaking skills. Data were gathered via four stages &ndash / open-ended and Likert scale questionnaires and two semi-structured interviews that were offered to the academics and the students of Middle East Technical University, Hacettepe University and Gazi University. Another aim is to develop a speaking rubric which would generalize the criteria academics and their students consider to be the most important while evaluating oral performance. Both qualitative and quantitative data was analyzed. The Microsoft Excel program was used for analyzing learners&rsquo / perceptions about the assessment of speaking in the form of the questionnaire, while content analysis was used in order to analyze the data elicited from the teachers and students through open-ended questionnaire and semi-structured interview.

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of acculturation on the parent and teacher ratings of non-clinical Mexican American children's behavior, using the BASC Parent Rating Scale-C (PRS-C ) and the Teacher Rating Scale-C (TRS-C ). One hundred twenty-three children of Mexican descent (ages 6-11) attending Texas public schools were rated by their parents and teachers. Parent acculturation level was measured using the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II. Parents were assigned to High, Medium or Low acculturation groups based on a combination of linear acculturation levels (Part 1) and obtained typologies (Part 2). Parent acculturation level was then assigned to TRS-C data creating matched-rater pairs (PRS-C and TRS-C of same child) for use in this study. Internal consistency reliabilities for the Total Mexican American sample's Teacher Rating Scale-C (TRS-C) were more similar to the published BASC general norms than the Total Mexican American sample's Parent Rating Scale-C (PRS-C ) on six of the nine clinical scales investigated and on all three of the shared adaptive scales. The most striking internal consistency result emerged when the sample was subdivided by acculturation, the High acculturation TRS-C Conduct Problems scale showed no cohesion of items for this sample (.00). Comparison of the Total, High, Medium, and Low groups' obtained distributions on each of the 16 selected scales of the PRS-C and TRS-C to the published BASC general norms revealed: 1) six significant differences of potential clinical relevance on the PRS-C scales, and 2) thirteen significant differences of potential clinical relevance on the TRS-C scales. Both parents and teachers rated the children as demonstrating less maladaptive symptoms on the Aggression, Depression, Hyperactivity, and Behavioral Symptom Index. Only parents reported lower Adaptability and Adaptive Skills scores. And only teachers of the High acculturation group reported higher Adaptability scores. No systematic influence of acculturation was present among any of the 16 selected scales. However, the parents and teachers of the High acculturation subgroup did have more moderate correlations than the Medium and Low groups combined.