In a 1991 Gallup poll, 6 percent of American adolescents admitted to suicide attempts. This follow-up study focused on the suicidal behavior before and after admission to a private psychiatric hospital of adolescent inpatients (N=25) who were part of an original sample of 150 inpatients. Compared to the non-respondent group, the respondent group…

Previous studies have shown that the use of behavior modification techniques, specifically the use of token reinforcement systems, can produce positive changes in the behavior of heroin addicts within a hospital setting. A token economy program was assessed to determine the effectiveness of such a program with patients in an outpatient methadone…

This article presents a model for analyzing the sources of stress which trouble clients, and for designing cognitive/behavioral counseling interventions pertinent to those sources. The concept of stress as responses to both pleasant and unpleasant stimuli and the consequences of inadequate coping processes are examined. Three major sources of…

Few, if any, studies exist in which the helpfulness of particular responses in context have been evaluated by the involved clients or counselors due to the lack of an adequate method for obtaining evaluations of the impact of individual counselor responses. The development of Interpersonal Process Recall (IPR) provides a research tool which allows…

An innovative program at the University of Washington Epilepsy Center which employes group social skills training procedures to ameliorate the psychosocial problems of chronic seizure-disorder patients is described. The rationale for the program is presented through a brief social learning analysis of the effects of long-standing periodic lack of…

Distinctions between non-suicidal and suicidal depression were investigated. Epidemiological profiles of depressed patients (40 suicidal and 40 non-suicidal) were matched for sex and age. Independent raters diagnosed each subject according to five classifications of depression. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) scores for each…

Research has shown that many psychiatric inpatients are alcoholics and that a significant number of these alcoholics are not being diagnosed or treated for their drinking problems. The incidence of heavy drinking among psychiatric outpatients and the extent to which psychotherapists are aware of their drinking behaviors were assessed. A…

Some of the unique characteristics of the drug abuse field which distinguish it from the other varieties of substance abuse and research methodologies for studying determinants of drug self-administration behavior which have been developed in response to these characteristics were investigated. Data suggest that residential drug…

The literature on attitudes of health workers toward the elderly suggests three variables as contributing to the elderly patient's perception of helplessness in the health care setting. First, the health worker may age-stereotype the elderly person as dependent, low in competence, and unlikely to respond to treatment. Secondly, the disparity in…

The course of psychosocial adjustment to cancer was examined in 105 adults with cancer of the lung, breast and skin. Half of the patients received a program of systematic psychosocial rehabilitation plus evaluation, and the other half received only an evaluation, consisting of a series of psychometric instruments and a problem-oriented structured…

An overview of research focused on the prediction of dangerous behavior among criminals and mental health patients is presented. Studies (N=3) conducted by the Bureau of Special Projects Research, New York Department of Mental Hygiene are described, as well as studies providing evidence on clinical and statistical predictions. The findings of…

Generalizability theory (g-theory) was used, as an alternative to classical test theory, to evaluate measurement error in a behaviorally anchored role-play measure, highlighting the usefulness of this theory in instrument development. G-theory partitions an observed score into the universe score and error scores associated with separate sources of…

While health services personnel in the United States receive the best technical training available, they are rarely exposed to a holistic health science curriculum which would enable them to develop the interpersonal competence needed in the delivery of health services. Indeed, the primary task of health services personnel is teaching patients to…

Psychopathology in outpatient children was explored using two classification systems. Clinically derived Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Third Edition, Revised) (DSM-III R) diagnoses in three high frequency diagnostic groups were compared to empirically derived Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) scores for an overall sample of…