The Family Drawing Depression Scale (FDDS) was created by Wright and McIntyre to provide a clear and reliable scoring method for the Kinetic Family Drawing as a procedure for detecting depression. A study was conducted to confirm the value of the FDDS as a systematic tool for interpreting family drawings with populations of depressed individuals.…

A multistation clinical examination using standardized patients was used over 4 years to assess the interpersonal skills of 346 fourth year medical students, 51 internal medicine residents, and 71 foreign medical graduates seeking admission to graduate study. Results indicate that a reliable assessment of interpersonal skills can be achieved this…

The psychometric adequacy of the Social Interaction Scale and the Social Phobia Scale (both by R. P. Mattick and J. C. Clark, 1989) was studied with 165 patients with anxiety disorders and 21 people without anxiety. Results support the usefulness of the scales for screening and treatment design and evaluation. (SLD)

Most patients with diagnosable major depression may fail to show the classic symptom pattern for which standard assessment instruments were designed. To investigate the influence of subtype of depressive illness on Zung Self-Rating Scale (SDS) and Hamilton Rating Scale (HRS) validity, 36 in-patients, who met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual…

A study investigating possible sex bias, concerning both student and standardized-patient genders, in an objective structured clinical examination found that neither men nor women were afforded an advantage by patient or test location. However, women's scores on tests administered by females were higher than corresponding men's scores. (MSE)

The reliability and validity of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) was studied with 675 adolescents aged 12 to 18 recruited from clinical and community sources. The STAIC is a self-report measure that has been widely used to assess state and trait anxiety of children. It has been suggested that the child version may be more…

A study investigated the performance of 6 successive medical school classes on 80 standardized-patient case examinations, looking for effects of student or standardized-patient gender on scores. Results showed no interaction of any practical consequence. Cases with gender-related concern (e.g., breast problems) also did not differentiate between…

A study assessed the feasibility of sequential testing of medical students using standardized patients. Sequential testing passes students who score well on the first segment of the test thus eliminating additional student-standardized patient encounters. Subjects were six classes of Southern Illinois University students (n=404). Results strongly…

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…

A study investigated possible differences in standardized patient examination scores for three groups of undergraduate (n=176) and graduate (n=221) medical students assessed at different sites over two years. Results show no systematic change in scores over testing dates, suggesting no problems with breach of test security. (MSE)

TEMAS is an apperception test depicting Hispanic and Black characters (minority version) or White characters (non-minority version) interacting in urban settings and expressing culturally oriented themes. It is scored for cognitive, affective, and personality functioning. The normative profiles, reliability, and criterion-related validity of TEMAS…

Use of the Helping Relationship Inventory (HRI) to assess the impact of an introductory medical interviewing course on beginning medical students' preference for interview response modes was studied at the University of Minnesota. The HRI, a brief paper-and-pencil instrument, was administered as a pre-test and post-test for five consecutive years…