Autistic symptoms appear to change during adolescence. This study replicates an earlier one (McCallon, 1985) which attempted to validate the use of the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) with adolescents. The standard observation method of administration was used. Additionally, information obtained in structured parent interviews was used to score a CARS. Subjects were nine autistic and nine nonautistic retarded adolescents from 13 to 21 years of age. Results suggested that the CARS, administered either way, validity discriminates between retarded adolescents who are diagnosed as autistic and those with other handicaps. Methodological limitations of the present study are discussed.

A number of investigations have been conducted to examine social cognition and psychopathology among adolescents, yet little is known about the social cognitive reasoning of adolescents identified as having severe behavioral disorders. The purpose of the present study was to explore the social cognitive reasoning of adolescent boys with behavioral disorders in comparison to their peers without behavioral disorders. Group differences were examined with respect to epistemic reasoning and the dimensions of adolescent egocentrism. In addition, the relation between social cognition and social relationships was investigated. Finally, the relation between social cognition and psychopathology was explored. Thirty-one adolescent boys with behavioral disorders and 32 of their peers without behavioral disorders (matched forage, race, and SES) participated in the study. All participants were individually administered measures designed to assess epistemic reasoning, imaginary audience and personal fable ideation (i.e., invulnerability, omnipotence, personal uniqueness), and personal-intimacy and groupintegration with peers and family. In addition, boys with behavioral disorders completed a measure of internalizing, externalizing, and total problem behaviors. Teacher-ratings of problem behaviors were also completed for each participant in the study. Results revealed that adolescent boys with behavioral disorders were lower in epistemic reasoning than were adolescent boys without behavioral disorders. Groups were not found to differ with respect to imaginary audience or personal fable ideation. For boys with behavioral disorders, no relation was found between social cognition and social relationships. In contrast, for boys without behavioral disorders, personal uniqueness was negatively related to group-integration with peers and omnipotence was positively related to group-integration with family. Social cognitive reasoning was found to predict self-reported problem behaviors for boys with behavioral disorders and teacher-re ported problem behaviors for boys without behavioral disorders. Overall, these results suggest the importance of epistemic reasoning in understanding the relation between social cognition and psychopathology. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

Within the field of developmental psychopathology, research has repeatedly demonstrated that there are multiple complex and dynamic pathways originating in childhood that may lead to the development of internalizing and externalizing problems among adolescents. However, additional research is needed that examines the unique and concurrent contributions among child-, parent-, and family-level risk and resilience factors during childhood that may be associated with internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescence. To address this gap, the current study utilized a person-centered approach to identify profiles of risk and resilience factors among youth in middle childhood (ages 10-12) characterized by the quality and quantity of (a) child-level factors (i.e., temperamental features, executive functioning abilities); (b) parent-level factors (i.e., parental acceptance, control, disciplinary style); and (c) family-level factors (i.e., family cohesion, conflict, organization) among a sample of 775 participants (Aim 1). The study also examined internalizing and externalizing symptom profiles in adolescence (age 16) by identifying subgroups of youth characterized by the quality and quantity of internalizing and externalizing problems within each of the identified childhood risk profiles (Aim 2). Lastly, the study investigated transitions from childhood risk profiles to adolescent symptom profiles (Aim 3). Results demonstrated that a four-class model best fit the data in regard to childhood risk profiles, with classes of youth most saliently characterized by (a) accepting parents, (b) controlling parents, (c) disengaged parents, and (d) chaotic homes. With regard to adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptom profiles, results indicated a three-class model best fit the data and included classes distinguished by the presence of (a) low symptoms, (b) moderate symptoms, and (c) high internalizing and moderate externalizing symptoms. Most youth from the four childhood risk profiles transitioned to the low symptom profile at age 16; however, youth from the chaotic home profile were more likely to transition into one of the two higher-level symptom profiles. Findings enhance our understanding of risk and resilience by identifying distinct childhood risk profiles and corresponding adolescent symptom profiles. These findings will have implications for both prevention and treatment efforts that target specific risk factors within each risk profile. / Psychology

This study examined chronic psychological and psychophysiological post-traumatic sequelae among eleven adolescent survivors of a fatal bus crash by means of a multimethod strategy. Measures included a structured DSM-m-R post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) interview using the Diagnostic Interview for Children and AdolescentsRevised (DICA-R), self-report measures of PTSD symptoms with the Reaction Index, and the Impact of Events Scale. Other measures of stress-related symptomatology included the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Fear Survey Schedule-IT, Anxiety Sensitivity Index, Anxiety Frequency Index, and Beck Depression Inventory. In addition, heart rate (HR) reactivity to mental arithmetic (MA), demographic questions, and crash questions was assessed. Survivors were compared to control subjects matched for age, gender, race, and socioeconomic status, among other demographic characteristics. Multivariate analyses of the psychiatric interview data indicated that survivors evidenced significantly higher levels of past PTSD symptoms experienced after the crash, with a significant group by gender interaction, F (3,17) = 5.22, P = .01. Current (past month) levels of PTSD symptoms were also significantly higher among survivors four years after the crash, F (3,17) = 8.82, P < .01, although PTSD symptomatology decreased overall during that time, F (3,17) = 15.52, P < .01. Survivors and controls did not differ significantly on other measures of PTSD and other stress-related symptomatology. Repeated measures analyses of HR response scores revealed greater HR reactivity to questions about the crash among survivors, F (1, 14) = 18.55, P < .01, and by gender, F (1, 14) = 5.21, P = .04. Similar analyses found greater variability in survivors' HR standard deviations (an index of autonomic lability) F (1,14) = 5.21, P = .03 in response to the crash interview. Survivors' HR did not differ from controls' on the MA task. Findings are discussed theoretically and methodologically within the contexts of neurological and conditioning models of PTSD. No relationship between HR reactivity and psychiatric symptomatology was found. Furthermore, this investigation did not find support for the neurological kindling theory. Areas of future research using psychophysiological assessment are proposed to more specifically elicit autonomic arousal. Detailed case studies of four individual response patterns are included as a heuristic for further physiological research and for clinical applications with adolescent trauma victims. / Ph. D.

It is now known that autism is a lifelong handicapping condition. While some of the characteristic behaviors of autistic children remain unchanged in adolescence and adulthood, there is evidence that other behaviors change as a function of development. Assessment instruments for identifying autism are generally intended for use with. young children and may not accurately assess autism in adolescents. Two studies compared autistic adolescents with matched autistic children and nonautistic adolescents on two autism rating scales. The validity of the Childhood Autism Rating Scale for use with adolescents was supported while the validity of the Prescreening Checklist was questioned. The findings were discussed in relation to the age-related changes which occur in autistic adolescents.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) was one of the most widely used psychological tests administered to adolescents. The MMPI-A is a revised version of the MMPI that was developed specifically for adolescents. The purpose of this study is to establish clinical correlates for the MMPI-A standard scale codetypes.

Repetitive self-mutilation (RSM) has become increasingly prevalent among adolescents. Empirical research has pinpointed several correlates of this behavior, but the initiation and maintenance of RSM among adolescents are not well understood. The experiential avoidance model (EAM) proposes that self-mutilation is a behavior that allows for the avoidance or alteration of unwanted internal experiences, and that it is negatively reinforced with repetition. The current study explored the usefulness of the EAM as an explanatory theory for adolescent RSM, with the additional incorporation of issues of social context. Adolescents (N = 211) from three school-based samples completed self-report questionnaires. One-third of students reported at least one incident of purposeful, non-suicidal self-mutilation and 16% had engaged in self-mutilation repeatedly within the past 6 months. Both regression and group analyses indicated that adolescents who engage in RSM report greater psychological distress, a greater incidence of functionally equivalent behaviors, and greater exposure to self-mutilation among peers and/or in the media, when compared to their counterparts who have not engaged in RSM. Suicidal ideation/behaviors were consistently the strongest predictors of current self-mutilation behaviors. Clinical implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

The aim of this study was to explore temperament, psychopathology and quality of life (QOL) in adolescents born at extremely low birth weight (ELBW), i.e., < 1000g. ELBW adolescents (N = 15) completed the Revised Cheek and Buss Scale and Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview 5.0.0 (M.I.N.I.), while their legal guardians completed a biographical questionnaire and the Short Form 12 version 2. The median age of the sample was 13 SD = 2.526 years (60% male) and all participants spoke English. ELBW adolescents with social phobia (n = 6) were more shy (p = .041) and had poorer mental health-related QOL (p = .041) than those without such symptoms. The results suggest that ELBW could be a predisposing factor for increased shyness and psychological disorders including social phobia. Planning of interventions for ELBW individuals should therefore include strategies to prevent or mitigate the effects of these factors in adolescence / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

Psychopathy, as conceptualized by Cleckley (1941), describes a constellation of psychological and behavioral correlates including superficial charm, untruthfulness, lack of remorse or shame, poor judgment, and failure to learn from experience. Based on Cleckley's initial work, Hare (1991) developed a two-factor model of psychopathy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the roles that sensation seeking, impulsivity, ADHD, conduct disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder have on adolescents classified as psychopaths. The participants consisted of 79 adjudicated male adolescents in a maximum-security facility. As hypothesized, adolescent male psychopaths had higher levels of sensation seeking, impulsivity, conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder. A discriminant function analysis found that sensation seeking, impulsivity, ADHD, Conduct Disorder, and Oppositional Defiant Disorder was moderately useful in classifying adolescent psychopathy. The results suggest that behavioral dysregulation is an important aspect of adolescent psychopathy. The relationship of these data to theories of adolescent psychopathy is discussed.

The focus of this study is to add to the outcome research on effective school counseling interventions and to specifically evaluate the effectiveness of the Student Success Skills (SSS) small group intervention with students identified as having drop out potential in the 9th grade. This study analyzed two years of pre-existing, non-identifiable student data (N = 167) collected by school counselors at one high school in South Florida. An Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to determine differences in academic grades, standardized test scores, and absences between the students who did participate in the SSS small group intervention when compared to those students who did not participate. Statistically significant differences were found between groups in all three dropout potential factors (GPA, test scores, and absences) supporting the use of SSS small group school counseling intervention with students at risk for dropping out. Effect size estimates were reported for each of the measures. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013.