Until recently, there was no dementia screening tool for Indigenous Australians and a paucity of information on the extent of dementia in Indigenous Australians. This thesis describes the development and validation of a tool to assess cognitive impairment in remote Indigenous Australians with the primary purpose of determining the prevalence of dementia and other associated conditions in this population. The tool was reevaluated with the larger prevalence sample and a short version of the tool was developed and evaluated. The Kimberley Indigenous Cognitive Assessment (KICA) tool was validated with Indigenous Australians aged over 45 years from the Kimberley region of Western Australia (n=70). The results were later confirmed in a larger sample from the remote Kimberley (n=363), and an additional sample in rural and remote areas of the Northern Territory (n=47). The KICA results were compared to independent consensus diagnoses using DSM-IV and ICD-10. Interpreters were used whenever participants were not proficient in English. These data led to the determination of a cut-off score of 33/34 out of a possible total score of 39 for the cognitive component of the KICA (KICA-Cog), with a sensitivity of 0.93 and specificity of 0.95 and AUC of 0.98. The tool is now widely used within remote areas of Australia. A short version of the KICACog (sKICA-Cog) was developed and found to be a valid brief screening tool for dementia in the Kimberley population, and had a cut-off score of 20/21 out of a possible 25, with a sensitivity of 0.89, specificity of 0.95 and AUC of 0.98. The sKICA-Cog should be used in combination with the KICA cognitive informant questionnaire (KICA-IQ). The KICA-IQ cut-off score of 2/3 out of a possible 16 was determined, with a sensitivity of 0.76 and specificity of 0.84 and AUC of 0.91. Using the validated KICA, the prevalence of dementia and cognitive impairment not dementia (CIND) was determined in a semi-purposive sample consisting of 363 Indigenous Australians aged over 45 years from 6 Aboriginal communities and one town in the Kimberley region. Participants were screened with the full KICA and 165 participants had an independent specialist review with consensus diagnoses. The prevalence of dementia was 12.4%, 5.2 times greater than the Australian prevalence of 2.4%, after age adjustment. The prevalence of CIND was 8.0%. Characteristics associated with dementia included older age, male gender (OR 3.1, 95% CI 1.4, 6.8), no formal education (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.1, 6.7), smoking (OR 4.5, 95% CI 1.1, 18.6), previous stroke (OR 17.9, 95% CI 5.9, 49.7), epilepsy (OR 33.5, 95% CI 4.8, 232.3) and head injury (OR 4.0, 95% CI 1.7, 9.4). Other factors associated with dementia included incontinence, falls and poor mobility. The KICA is a valid assessment tool for rural and remote Indigenous Australians. The prevalence of dementia amongst Indigenous Australians is substantially higher than generally found in non - Indigenous Australians and other populations in the developed and developing world.

Doctor of Philosophy / Aim. This study aims to investigate self-understanding in young males with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and to determine whether self-understanding is related to social functioning and theory of mind (ToM). In addition, this study aims to examine the characteristics and abilities of young males with high-functioning autism (HFA) and Asperger’s disorder (AD) to determine whether there are significant differences in selfunderstanding and whether self-understanding is related to social functioning and ToM between these two groups. The results have important implications for social skills interventions for young people with ASD. Method. Forty three young males diagnosed with one of the ASD (25 diagnosed with HFA and 18 diagnosed with AD) were compared with 38 TD males. Participants were assessed using the Autism Diagnostic Interview- Revised (ADI-R), the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (KBIT), the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS), the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test- Third Edition (PPVT-III), Damon and Hart’s Self-understanding Interview, and two false-belief ToM tasks. Results. Children with ASD had difficulties recognising and attributing their own mental states and failed to integrate various aspects of the self. Specifically, the ASD group produced fewer self-statements that reflected agency (the awareness and understanding that one is in control of their actions), social aspects of self (such as personality characteristics and group membership) and psychological aspects of self (such as emotions, thoughts and cognitive processes). Instead, children with ASD produced more concrete physical self-statements (such as body characteristics and material possessions). A significant positive relationship was found between selfunderstanding and social functioning for the ASD group. Within the ASD group, the relationship held for the HFA group only. In terms of ToM, children with ASD were less able to correctly answer the second-order false-belief ToM question compared to the TD group. For the ASD group, there was a significant positive correlation between self-understanding and ToM. Within the ASD group, the relationship held for the HFA group only. Conclusions. The results show young males with high-functioning ASD are less aware of their own and others’ mental states perhaps reflecting a general delay in the development of self-understanding and ToM. Furthermore, a more developed self-understanding may translate to improved social functioning and ToM ability for young males with high-functioning ASD. For young males with HFA, self-understanding and ToM may stem from a common underlying cognitive framework. Consequently, treatments aimed at improving self-understanding may simultaneously improve ToM, or vice versa. For individuals with AD there may be a separate cognitive mechanism responsible for self-understanding and another for ToM. Therefore, different interventions may be required; one to improve self-understanding and another to improve the understanding of others’ minds. Overall, these results may assist in the development of practice parameters for social skills training for those with ASD.

The purpose of this study was to explore the nature of the relationship between a continuous performance test (CPT) and teachers' ratings of behavior. Assessment data were archival in nature. One hundred-one children from one rural, middle-class, predominately Caucasian school district in a Midwestern state were selected who had taken the Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA) and whose teachers had completed the Attention Deficit Disorders Evaluation ScaleSchool Version (ADDES) and the Child Behavior ChecklistTeacher Report Form (TRF). Of this group 46 had been referred for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and/or learning difficulties and 55 had participated in a local norming project for the TOVA.Descriptive statistics were found for CPT variables and teachers' ratings of behavior for all participants, boys and girls separately, and referred and nonreferred separately. The research question was investigated using a matrix of partial correlations controlled for age. TOVA variables included Omissions, Commissions, Response Time, Response Time Variability, Anticipatory Responses, and Multiple Responses. Teacher's rating scale variables included the ADDES Total and subscales Inattention, Impulsive, and Hyperactive as well as the TRF Attention Problems, and Aggressive Behavior.Research provided support that TOVA Omissions and Commissions are valid indicators of ADHD as measured by teachers' ratings of behavior. Response Time Variability and Multiple Responses may be valid indicators of generalized behavior dysfunction as measured by teachers' ratings of behavior. Anticipatory Responses and Response Time may aid in distinguishing ADHD with and without hyperactivity but further research is recommended. / Department of Educational Psychology

The aim of this research was to test a series of theoretical models based on Beck (1967) cognitive diathesis-stress and Kwon and Oei (1994) linear mediational models as well as earlier research findings to determine the best-fitting model to explain the aetiological processes of suicide attempts in Taiwanese people. The participants were patients diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorders (MDD) recruited from three hospitals in Taiwan. They were used for data analyses in both cross-sectional (main) study and longitudinal (follow-up) study. In addition, a sample of students recruited from three universities in Taiwan was used for data analyses in the generalized study to examine the generalization of the results from clinical depressed patients to nonclinical university students. In the main study, by the application of structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques, four initial models were compared using the MDD patients (N = 162). The SEM analyses showed that two interactional models failed to provide an adequate fit to the given data, suggesting that the hypothesis of interaction between dysfunctional attitudes and negative life events in predicting the psychopathology of Taiwanese MDD patients was not supported. The SEM analyses supported two mediational models in terms of goodness-of-fit. Because the two mediational models were very similar, they were combined to form a combined mediational model. The SEM analyses indicated that the combined model provided an adequate fit to the given data. After modifying the model to improve its goodness-of-fit, the final modified combined mediational model was selected as the most appropriate in representing the data of Taiwanese MDD patients. The final model revealed that dysfunctional attitudes mediated the relationship between negative life events and depressive hopelessness, which in turn increased depression, which then precipitated suicidal ideation, which finally resulted in suicide attempts. In addition, it was found that negative life events exerted direct influences on depressive hopelessness and suicide attempts; sex and age exerted direct influences on negative life events. However, social support buffered the impact of negative life stress on dysfunctional attitudes and compliance with medications prevented the development of depression. In the follow-up study, the final modified combined mediational model was validated and reexamined with two-wave panel data gathered from the same population of Taiwanese MDD patients who participated in assessments twice, separated by a six-month interval (N = 142). The SEM analyses showed that the model provided an adequate fit to the two-wave panel data, suggesting that the model can be applied for predicting suicide attempts over six months in Taiwanese MDD patients. In the generalized study, the findings obtained from the MDD patients were replicated in a sample of Taiwanese university students (N = 324). Results revealed that the final modified combined mediational model failed to fit the given data. The result suggests that the most appropriate model for Taiwanese MDD patients can not be generalized to Taiwanese students. Some cautions and limitations should be noted. First, the models obtained from clinical and nonclinical people in Taiwan should not be directly generalized to people outside Taiwan. Further research using clinical and nonclinical samples from other countries to cross-validate the models was suggested. In addition, the researcher’s interventions during the follow-up period may disturb the relationship between predictor variables and subsequent suicide attempts. However, the problems appear to be unavoidable because of the research ethics of protecting participants from suicidal risk. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1339675 / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Adelaide, School of Psychology, 2008

Doctor of Philosophy / Aim. This study aims to investigate self-understanding in young males with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and to determine whether self-understanding is related to social functioning and theory of mind (ToM). In addition, this study aims to examine the characteristics and abilities of young males with high-functioning autism (HFA) and Asperger’s disorder (AD) to determine whether there are significant differences in selfunderstanding and whether self-understanding is related to social functioning and ToM between these two groups. The results have important implications for social skills interventions for young people with ASD. Method. Forty three young males diagnosed with one of the ASD (25 diagnosed with HFA and 18 diagnosed with AD) were compared with 38 TD males. Participants were assessed using the Autism Diagnostic Interview- Revised (ADI-R), the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (KBIT), the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS), the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test- Third Edition (PPVT-III), Damon and Hart’s Self-understanding Interview, and two false-belief ToM tasks. Results. Children with ASD had difficulties recognising and attributing their own mental states and failed to integrate various aspects of the self. Specifically, the ASD group produced fewer self-statements that reflected agency (the awareness and understanding that one is in control of their actions), social aspects of self (such as personality characteristics and group membership) and psychological aspects of self (such as emotions, thoughts and cognitive processes). Instead, children with ASD produced more concrete physical self-statements (such as body characteristics and material possessions). A significant positive relationship was found between selfunderstanding and social functioning for the ASD group. Within the ASD group, the relationship held for the HFA group only. In terms of ToM, children with ASD were less able to correctly answer the second-order false-belief ToM question compared to the TD group. For the ASD group, there was a significant positive correlation between self-understanding and ToM. Within the ASD group, the relationship held for the HFA group only. Conclusions. The results show young males with high-functioning ASD are less aware of their own and others’ mental states perhaps reflecting a general delay in the development of self-understanding and ToM. Furthermore, a more developed self-understanding may translate to improved social functioning and ToM ability for young males with high-functioning ASD. For young males with HFA, self-understanding and ToM may stem from a common underlying cognitive framework. Consequently, treatments aimed at improving self-understanding may simultaneously improve ToM, or vice versa. For individuals with AD there may be a separate cognitive mechanism responsible for self-understanding and another for ToM. Therefore, different interventions may be required; one to improve self-understanding and another to improve the understanding of others’ minds. Overall, these results may assist in the development of practice parameters for social skills training for those with ASD.

Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Commericial organizations operate in a free-market economic system. The goal of commercial organizations in a free-market economic system is to utilise scarce resources at their disposal to optimally maximise their profits. To achieve this goal, the human resources function is tasked with the responsibility to acquire and maintain a competent and motivated workforce in a manner that would add value to the bottom-line. The human resource management interventions are therefore a critical tool in regulating human capital in such a manner that it optimally adds value to the business. Personality tests are used in the world of work to determine individual differences in behaviour and performance. There was recently a dispute over the effectiveness of the use of personality tests in predicting job performance, but personality is nowadays regarded as a an influential causal antecedent in the prediction of job performance. From the first democratic elections held in 1994, greater demands have been placed on the cultural appropriateness of psychological testing in South Africa. The use of cross-cultural assessments in South Africa are therefore currently very prominent. The use of psychological tests, including personality tests, is now strictly controlled by legislation, including the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998. In order to make informed decisions, industrial psychologists and registered psychology practitioners need reliable and valid information about the personality construct which will enable them to make accurate predictions on the criterion construct. This argument provides significant justification for the primary purpose of this study, namely an equivalence and invariance study of the second edition of the Fifteen Factor Questionnaire (15FQ +) in a sample of Black, Coloured and White South Africans. Bias in psychological testing can be described as ‘troublesome’ factors that threaten the validity of cross-cultural comparisons across different groups e.g., ethnic groups (Van de Vijver & Leung, 1997). These factors can be caused by construct bias, method bias and/or item bias. It is therefore essential that the information provided by the test results must have the same meaning across all the various reference groups. This assumption necessitates evidence of equivalent and invariant measurements across different groups. Equivalence and invariance in this study is investigated by making use of Dunbar, Theron and Spangenberg (2011)'s proposed steps. Complete measurement invariance and full measurement equivalence is the last step and implies that the observed measurements can be compared directly between the different groups. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Kommersiële Organisasies word bedryf in ‘n vrye-mark ekonomiese stelsel. Die doel van kommersiële organisasies is dus om skaars hulpbronne tot hul beskikking optimaal aan te wend ten einde wins te maksimeer. Daarom is dit belangrik vir die menslikehulpbron funksie om ‘n bevoegde en gemotiveerde werksmag te verkry en in stand te hou op ‘n wyse wat waarde tot die onderneming byvoeg. Dit is daarom uiters belangrik om die regte menslikehulpbron intervensies in organisasies te implementeer om die menslike kapitaal so te reguleer dat hulle optimaal waarde tot die onderneming byvoeg. Persoonlikheidstoetse word gebruik in die wêreld van werk om individuele verskille in gedrag en werksprestasie te bepaal. Daar was onlangs ‘n dispuut oor die effektiwiteit van persoonlikheidstoetse se gebruik in die voorspelling van werksprestasie, maar persoonlikheid word hedendaags beskou as ‘n invloedryke oorsaaklike veranderlike in die voorspelling van werksprestasie. Vanaf die eerste demokratiese verkiesing van 1994 word daar sterker eise geplaas op die kulturele toepaslikheid van sielkundige toetse in Suid Afrika. Kruis-kulturele assesserings in Suid Afrika is daarom tans baie prominent. Die gebruik van sielkundige toetse, ingesluit persoonlikheidstoetse, word nou streng beheer deur wetgewing, onder andere die Wet op Gelyke Indiensneming 55 van 1998. Ten einde ingeligte besluite te kan neem, benodig bedryfsielkundiges en geregistreerde sielkundé praktisyns betroubare en geldige inligting oor die persoonlikheidskonstruk om hul in staat te stel om akkurate voorspellings van die kriteriumkonstruk te maak. Dit bied wesenlik die regverdiging vir die primêre oogmerk van hierdie studie, naamlik om ‘n ekwivalensie en invariansie studie van die tweede uitgawe van die Vyftien Faktor Vraelys (the Fifteen Factor Questionnaire, 15FQ+) op ‘n steekproef van Swart, Kleurling en Wit Suid Afrikaners te onderneem. Sydigheid in toetse kan beskryf word as ‘lastige’ faktore wat die geldigheid van kruis-kulturele vergelykings oor verskillende groepe (bv. Etniese groepe) bedreig (Van de Vijver & Leung, 1997). Hierdie faktore kan veroorsaak word deur konstruksydigheid, metodesydigheid en/of itemsydigheid. Dit is dus noodsaaklik dat die informasie wat verskaf word deur die toetsresultate dieselfde betekenis moet hê oor al die verskillende verwysingsgroepe. Hierdie aanname noodsaak bewyse van ekwivalente en invariante metings oor verskillende groepe. Ekwivalensie en Invariansie in hierdie studie word ondersoek deur gebruik te maak van Dunbar, Theron en Spangenberg (2011) se voorgestelde stappe. Volle ekwivalensie en invariansie is die laaste stap en impliseer dat waargenome metings oor verskillende groepe direk met mekaar vergelyk kan word.

The aim of the research was to establish how accurate an Objective Thematic Apperception Test can measure typical behavioral constructs of adolescents such as anxiety, stress, aggression, interpersonal relations and self-concept. An empirical investigation was carried out using a newly developed questionnaire, the Structured Objective TAT (SOTAT) as well as a control questionnaire (CQ). The items of the SOTAT were based on a selection of TAT cards and the CQ measured certain affective variables in the traditional way. Both questionnaires were completed by 378 adolescents. The SOTAT was found to be reliable but not construct valid since low correlation coefficients between the SOTAT and CQ were obtained. There is the possibility that projection did not occur during completion of the SOTAT. / Psychology / M. Ed. (Voorligting)

Legislative pressures are being brought to bear on South African employers to demonstrate that occupational assessment is scientifically valid and culture-fair. The development of valid and reliable performance-based assessment tools will enable employers to meet these requirements. The general aim of this research was to validate a performance-based assessment battery for the placement of sales representatives. A literature survey examined alternative assessment measures and methods of performance measurement, leading to the conclusion that the combination of the work sample as a predictor measure and the managerial rating of performance as a criterion measure offer a practical and cost-effective assessment process to the sales manager. The empirical study involved 54 sales persons working for the Commercial division of an oil marketing company, selling products and services to the commercial and industrial market. By means of the empirical study, a significant correlation was found between performance of sales representatives in terms of the performance-based assessment battery for the entry level of the career ladder and their behaviour in the field as measured by the managerial performance rating instrument. The limitations of the sample, however, prevent the results from being generalised to other organisations. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

Doctorat en sciences psychologiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Participating in this study were 251 decorator consultants. The decorator consultant position is a direct sales position. The primary objective of this study was to demonstrate that a relationship existed between decorators' selection test scores and their job performance. The SRA Verbal Form, the EAS Numerical Ability Test, the EAS Space Visualization Test, and the Sales Attitude Checklist were evaluated as potential selection tests. Behavioral criteria and managerial ratings were used to assess job performance. Correlational analyses revealed that all the tests but the SRA Verbal Form were significantly correlated with two or more criteria.