The mental health needs of disaster victims remains a largely neglected area, possibly due to other pressing demands placed on available resources and to the difficulties in correctly detecting psychiatric cases by the general health worker. This study attempted to use a questionnaire suitable to primary care settings for the detection of probable…

Achenbach's Child Behavioral Check List (CBCL) is an instrument that is administered to the parents of many thousands of children and adolescent annually in school systems and mental health agencies. It is a standardized instrument with age norms for males and females, on which parents rate their child's behavior. The CBCL consists of nine…

The study investigated possible relationships between rating scales frequently used for diagnostic purposes with children in the diagnostic category of attention deficit disorder/hyperactivity (ADD/H) and performance on the Gordon Diagnostic System (GDS). The study also examined whether subgroups of ADD/H children could be discriminated utilizing…

An increase of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) throughout the world cuts across age, ethnic, gender, and sexual orientation groups. It is imperative that people find out if they are carrying the disease. Many still continue to engage in high risk behaviors in ignorance, putting themselves and their partners at risk. The relationships among fear…

Adolescent suicide is the second leading cause of death in the adolescent population and is on the rise. This study used a mass screening concept as a pre-test identifier of at risk clients for suicide ideation and depressions; development of a competency-based prevention group treatment program, and the post-testing of the identified at-risk…

This paper discusses the definition of learning disability through the concept of early identification of vulnerable children, based on a study of 650 inner-city preschool children. While the study's first step, scanning, identified the children who were vulnerable to learning disability, the second step, diagnosis, attempted to find the reasons…

The predictive value of a child abuse screening instrument on unselected populations is illustrated for varying hypothesized levels of child abuse prevalence to demonstrate outcome of a hypothetical national screening program. At any level of application, the prediction of false positives (nonabusing families labeled as abusing or potentially…

Research directed toward examining clinical depression among college students requires valid criterion measures for identifying depressed individuals. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the most widely-used self-report screening instrument for identifying depressed college students, has been criticized for its heavy emphasis on cognitive items…

This study evaluated 102 patients (ages 5 to 13) at the Medical University of South Carolina's Pediatric Neurology Clinic for incidence of psychiatric or language disorders. Parents completed the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC), the Child Behavior Checklist, and the Language Problems Scale; phone interviews were conducted to determine child…

The paper presents a discussion of human mental processes as they relate to learning disabilities. Pathognomonic symptoms associated with disturbances to brain areas or functional systems are discussed, as well as treatment procedures. This brain behavior relationship is offered as a basis for a classification system that is seen to more clearly…

Techniques to assess the vision, hearing, and speech and language of multihandicapped children are briefly described. Interferences in normal vision functioning and development during infancy can be identified and intervention initiated early in the child's life. Obtaining an in-depth history from the parents is the first step. It is essential…

This paper reviews the history and current status of services to children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in Finland. It notes the availability of free or almost free health services in Finland and the resulting very low infant mortality rate. The history of attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), termed "minimal brain…