This investigation examined the self-efficacy beliefs of medical professionals towards medically-related tasks. Although several instruments existed that measured different aspects of career self-efficacy, none of them was relevant nor appropriate to people who have already chosen their occupational field of choice. The typical scales utilized in assessing career self efficacy are generalized across occupations and not relevant to someone who was already employed in a profession. The purpose of the present study was to develop a new scale, Medical Tasks Self-Efficacy (MTSE), to measure the self-efficacy beliefs of a specific employed population toward their occupational tasks. The analysis of the MTSE was conducted using respondents (N=307) of medical professionals, specifically physicians and nurses. The reliability and validity of the scale was analyzed through four phases of scale development.Phase one consisted of item development which included the generation of an item pool from special occupational books and interviews with medical professionals (N=8). Additional experts (N=3) in scale construction were also consulted during this phase. Thirty-two items were developed originally and then, through consultation, reduced to 27 items. Phase two involved a pilot study with respondents from various medical settings in the midwest (N=34). The pilot study helped to provide preliminary reliability information and to modify the necessary demographic information. One more item was dropped from the scale during this phase and thus the revised MT SE consisted of 26 items.Phase three consisted of a major investigation (N=209) to test the initial factor structure of the MTSE and to examine the internal consistency. Using a principal components extraction, the MTSE yielded a two factor solution which seemed to best fit the data both in terms of statistical configuration and theoretical soundness. Factor One constituted tasks involving “medical content competencies" and held an alpha coefficient of .93. Factor Two constituted tasks involving "interpersonal process competencies" and held an alpha coefficient of .87.The fourth and final phase (N=64) was conducted to test the convergent and discriminant validity of the scale and to examine the test-retest reliability. Convergent and discriminant validity were tested using the Task Specific Occupational Self-Efficacy Scale (TSOSS) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The MTSE was hypothesized to demonstrate convergent validity with the TSOSS. Both factors of the MTSE were significantly correlated with the overall TSOSS, and additionally correlated with the four factors of the TSOSS, with one exception. Only Factor Two ("interpersonal process competencies") of the MTSE did not correlate significantly with factor four of the TSOSS. The BDI was used to test discriminant validity. The BDI did not correlate significantly with either of the factors of the MT SE. Thus, the MTSE demonstrated both convergent and discriminant validity with the instruments utilized in this study. The two-week test-retest correlation was .80, additionally demonstrating a stable reliability estimate in the MT SE. Limitations and implications for future research of the MT SE were provided. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Childhood sexual abuse is a serious problem with potential for long term impact on the victims. A history of CSA is associated with psychological distress in adult survivors (Hund & Espelage, 2005). There are risk factors and protective factors that can mediate these effects. One protective factor that has been found to be the best predictor of outcome is adaptive coping, However, there is no known measure with well-established psychometric properties that assesses for adaptive coping behaviors. The Solution Focus Recovery Scale was developed to assess adaptive coping in adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse and sexual assault. The SFRS has some preliminary data to support the reliability and validity of the measure (Kruczek & Vitanza, 1999; Kruczek & Ægisdóttir, 2005). The current study will help to continue to establish the psychometric properties of the SFRS so that it can be used as an outcome measure for future research and in treatment. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Metropolitan Achievement Test, Primary I Battery (MAT-PI) for its early predictive validity in the later identification of mildly mentally handicapped students as well as its predictive validity in Identifying children who will be referred for an individualized psycho-educational assessment In the course of their elementary school career. All selected subjects (N=225) were students In the Gary Community School Corporation in Gary, Indiana, who had taken the MAT-PI during April of first grade, between the years 1981-83. Seventy-five subjects were randomly chosen from three categories; students who were subsequently designated as mildly mentally handicapped (MIMH, N= 429), students who were subsequently referred and evaluated as part of psycho-educational evaluation and who were not classified as mildly mentally handicapped (Referral Group, 1Y 974) and students who were not subsequently referred or evaluated as part of a psycho-educational evaluation nor classified under any special education classification (Normal, & -6,336). An additional 27 students from each group (MIMH, Referral and Normal) were retained to perform a cross validation. Discriminant Analysis was used with the selected sample (N=225) to predict group membership (MIMH, Referral and Normal) using standard scores from four subtests (Word Knowledge, Word Analysis, Reading and Math) of the MAT-PI as independent variables. A step-wise discriminant procedure was utilized with a minimum significance level of A <.05 for the two possible discriminant functions. A series of one-way analyses of variance examined the mean differences between the three groups (MIMH, Referral and Normal). A post-hoc analysis of mean differences between groups was done using the Scheffe test of significance (R <.05).Findings1. The results of the analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA's) indicated significant (p. <.01) mean differences between the three groups (MIMH, Referral and Normal) on each of the four predictor variables (MAT-PI subtests: Word Knowledge, Word Analysis, Reading and Math).2. The results of the discriminant analysis for both a three-group (MIMH, Referral and Normal) and a two-group (Referred and NonReferred) classification system, produced statistically significant (p <_.01) discriminant functions.3. The Word Knowledge, Word Analysis and Math subtests of the MAT-PI were the best predictors of group membership in both the three-group and the two-group classification systems.Conclusions1. The null hypothesis that the MAT-PI will not significantly discriminate students who will be identified as in need of special education services for the mildly mentally handicapped was rejected. 2. The null hypothesis that the MAT-PI will not significantly discriminate students who will subsequently be referred for a psycho-educatioanl evaluation was rejected.3. A comparison of these results with related studies substantiates that the MAT-PI has comparable predictive ability for early identification of "high risk" children to individually administered preschool screening tests, the use of biographical data, parent questionnaires or teacher ratings.4. The major problem with the MAT-PI, as an economical screening instrument, is its tendency to over-predict (false positives).

Numerous studies have suggested that neuropsychological test performance is affected by demographic variables such as age and education. This study examined the effects of age and education on the Trail Making Test, the Digit Symbol Sub-Test, and the Finger Tapping Test in a non-clinical sample of community dwellers with a relatively low level of education (8 to 12 years) in South Africa. The sample consisted of 161 participants across six age groups: 20-39, 40-59, 69-69, 70-79, 80-89 and 90-95 years. Results were examined for mean age effects and variability trends. Highly significant age effects were present across the age groups for all tests, however, there was no uniform pattern of variability across the tests. The Digit Symbol Substitution Test and the Finger Tapping Tests showed a pattern of increasing variability with increasing age, followed by a decrease in very old age while no trend was evident for the Digit Symbol extensions (the Immediate and Delayed Recall tests). The Trail Making Test, Parts A and B, showed a consistent trend of increasing variability across the age groups. Data from the present study was compared with existing data from two relatively high education samples, with equivalent age groupings, to examine education effects. Results showed an education effect for all tests with the high education groups outperforming the low education groups. Although the effects of education became less potent with advancing age, the mean performance of the oldest (80-89 years) high education age group was superior to that of the equivalent low education age group. Comparison of variability trends across both samples showed that the highest variability (the shuttle bulge) was present at the same point along the age axis, or at a later point, for the low education group, as that for the high education group. This finding is inconsistent with Jordan's (1997) 'shuttle model of variability' which predicts an earlier occurrence of the shuttle bulge (left shuttle shift effect) for a low education sample. This study demonstrated that performance on neuropsychological tests is influenced by age and education and highlighted the dangers inherent in unquestionably applying norms, which have not been corrected for age and education, when assessing the older adult.

The study investigates .the use of the Bender Gestalt Test (BGT) amongst low-educated adults. Three versions of the BGT are used in this study; the original 'copy' version as well as the 'immediate' and 'delayed'recall versions. This is done so as to expand the ability of the BGT to identify neurological impairment and to differentiate between this and functional impairment. A literature review explores the problems of standardization in the administration, scoring and application of all three versions of the test Suggestions are made to correct the problems identified and a novel system of scoring the recall versions are proposed, which allows for the comparison of results of the three versions of the test and which is based on Lacks's (1984) and Weiss's (1970) systems. Administration procedures were also developed to suit the context of the study. The copy, immediate and delayed versions of the BGT were administered to a group of 184 low-educated adults. Statistical analyses revealed significant education effects for the sample tested with regards to both test scores and performance time. The finding of an education effect for performance time is discussed at length, as some literature regards excessive time as a neurological indicator. An anomaly for the group with no education was found to exist, with the scores of these subjects not Significantly different from those with 4-6 years of education. Possible reasons for this were explored. In addition, the findings of this research revealed a plateau effect with those having less than 6 years of education scoring substantially lower than those with 7 years and more. The scores of adults with 7 and more years of education level out with no significant differences between educational levels. This appears to suggest that education effects rather than the developmental maturity level proposed by Koppitz, are involved. In addition, the scores of low-educated adults on the expanded Bender Gestalt Test were significantly lower than those of children with similar educational levels, in other studies. These findings and possible explanations are discussed. The study concludes by suggesting new research areas and emphasizing the urgent need for separate normative data on the expanded BGT for low-educated adults, and the establishment of appropriate 'cut-off' points.

The aim of this research was to generate a theory to predict the success levels of assurance sales representatives. A sample of 245 participants from a life insurance company in South Africa was selected to participate in the study. The sample consisted of 213 males and 32 females; of these, 159 were European, 78 African and 8 Asian; the average age was 40.37 years. The Schepers Locus of Control Inventory (Schepers, 1995), the Entrepreneurial Attitude Orientation Scale (EAOS) (Robinson, Stimpson, Huefner&Hunt, 1991) and a biographical questionnaire were administered to the participants. Factor analysis was conducted to test the psychometric quality of the locus of control and the attitude scale. Hypotheses were tested for the variables with two performance outcomes: commissions earned and lapse ratios. Using the information obtained from the analyses, a model was built of the significant relationships between the performance criteria and the independent variables. Results indicated that neither the EAOS nor the Locus of Control Inventory scales predicted performance outcomes as hypothesized for sales professionals. The significant correlations that did result were generally counter to expectations. Demographic variables had limited success in predicting performance outcomes of sales professionals. The nature of the employment contract (full or part-time w/NEK, F = 5.61; p<0.05), population groups (White South Africans vs. African South Africans w/NEK, F = 5.22; p<0.05), job status (Manager vs. Sales Representative wNEK, F = 3.51; p<0.05), years in sales (w/NEK, r = •0.14345; p<0.05), and desired salary (w/NEK, r = 0.19571; p<0.05) were correlated with the performance outcome measures. Cultural and management implications are discussed with regard to the use of psychometric measures for selection. Research implications also are discussed. / Dissertation (MA (psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2001. / Psychology / unrestricted

Stephan and Stephan (1985) introduced intergroup anxiety theory which encompasses situations in which people interact with individuals from different racial, ethnic, cultural backgrounds, namely the "outgroup". In the present study, the researcher aimed to compare intergroup anxiety of International students and African-American students when they expected to interact with ingroup members versus outgroup members, namely White-American students. The participants were presented with pictures and demographic information of hypothetical participants and were told that they would interact with these other participants in a nonverbal game. It was expected that intergroup anxiety would be lower when participants expected to interact with ingroup members, compared to the condition when they expected to interact with outgroup members. The results indicated that anxiety towards ingroup members was not significantly different from the anxiety towards outgroup members. It was found that African-American students had significantly lower levels of trait anxiety compared to International students. / Department of Psychological Science

The quality of the Bender-Gestalt performance of 22, normal, white South African male adolescents and 22, normal, Xhosa male adolescents, aged between 17 and 22 years, was investigated. The Pascal-Suttell scoring system was used. The mean score of the white adolescents was significantly below that of the Xhosa adolescents. It was found that while the mean score of the Xhosa adolescents was within one standard deviation of Pascal and Suttell's normative 'high school' mean, the mean score of the white adolescents was below that of the normative mean and not within one standard deviation of the mean. The results lend support to the findings that Bender performance is related to cultural background. It is suggested that the Pascal-Suttell tables may be in need of revision. The advisability of standardising tables, which are culture specific, for clinical use· in the Southern African context, is indicated. / KMBT_363 / Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in

This study utilized the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) and the Personality Inventory for Children, Second Edition (PIC-2) as measures of cognitive and personality functioning for children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder with comorbid Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (FASD/ADHD) and children with ADHD. This study revealed the WISC-IV and PIC-2 each provided unique information to the neuropsychological examination of children with FASD/ADHD and ADHD. Furthermore, the FASD/ADHD group and the ADHD group were found to have significant differences in terms of cognitive and personality functioning. The results also indicated the groups could be differentiated using the WISC-IV and the PIC-2 independently with a high degree of accuracy. The current study further elucidated the unique cognitive and personality profiles of children with FASD/ADHD and ADHD and identified key areas of difference between the two groups. Moreover, the current study documented the utility of the Classification and Regression Tree procedure as a useful diagnostic tool in the differential diagnosis of FASD versus ADHD using commonly used cognitive and personality measures. / Department of Educational Psychology

The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) was originally designed as a measure for screening depression among elderly medical patients. Although this instrument is well validated among a general medical population, it has never been evaluated with specific regard to cardiac patients, the largest single group of medical patients over 40 years of age. A general cardiac sample of 655 patients completed the GDS within 10 weeks of the cardiac event. Exploratory factor analyses were conducted on the main sample, then on several subgroups of participants with regard to diagnostic category, gender, and age. The GDS generally produces factor structures with several symptom domains with a high rate of total variance. The myocardial infarction group endorsed general symptoms of depression whereas the coronary artery bypass graft group reported greater levels of despair regarding their condition. Overall, males primarily reported agitation and hopelessness while females reported symptoms of depressed mood.