This paper reviews literature and clinical experiences on the neurobiological and psychological aspects of sleep in children with mental retardation. The lack of a universal, operational definition of sleep disorders is noted, and a study is cited in which 61% of a group of 20 children (ages 2-13) with developmental disabilities were found to have…

According to the abstinence violation effect, highly controlled drinkers tend to overindulge following an initial slip. To investigate this relapse model, 47 male college students, ranging in age from 21 to 46, were assigned either to an unrestrained or a restrained drinker group according to their scores on the Restrained Drinking Scale. Subjects…

Despite increased interest in real life problem solving with both children and adults, the question of whether problem solving is related to psychological adjustment remains unanswered. To examine whether college students' self-appraisal of their problem solving skills is related to their psychological adjustment, 671 students took the Problem…

As indicated by multiple measures (including overt criminal behavior), stability of aggressive behavior was investigated across 22 years for males and females in a variety of situations. Originally, subjects included the entire population enrolled in the third grade in a semi-rural county in New York State. The sample included approximately 870…

The authors tested the discriminative effectiveness of two psychiatric screening instruments for a gerontological population. Results show that while one scale was more correct in identifying the impaired group, the second was more correct in identifying the unimpaired subjects. (SE)

The often hypothesized relationship between risk taking and vocational choice behavior was examined by testing whether subjects preferring high levels of risk tended to choose high-risk occupations more often than low-risk occupations when asked to choose between them in an occupational selection task. Results do not indicate any significant…

After reading of an automobile accident in which the driver and/or bystanders either suffered or did not suffer, subjects rated the driver's responsibility for the accident and sentenced him to a jail term. The purpose of this experiment was to contrast three theoretical models: defensive attribution, moral salience, and equity. (Author)

Elderly men (N=18) and elderly women (N=18) were assigned to three treatment conditions: feedback, practice, or control. Subjects were post-tested on measures of spatial egocentrism, fluid intelligence, perceptual speed, and volume conservation. The effect of feedback was to improve scores on spatial egocentrism, but this influence did not…

Most social work professionals take it for granted that the more training one has, the better one can do the job. But the authors' research on assessments by both MSW and BA candidates yielded results that could seriously question that assumption. (Author)

Three dimensions of emotionality are distinguished: responsiveness, expressiveness, and orientation. Three measures of these dimensions were analyzed in a multitrait-multimethod matrix. There was substantial support for convergent and discriminant validity, and the measures were unconfounded with adjustment or social desirability. Females scored…

Presents cases illustrating the negative effects of intelligence testing on children. (DW)

Ego-control and ego-resiliency were evaluated in seven assessments conducted when subjects were 3, 4, 5, 7, 11, 14, and 18 years old. Ego-control refers to an individual's tendency to express or contain impulses, feelings, and desires. Ego-resiliency refers to the capacity to modify one's modal level of ego-control as a function of environmental…

Educators need to understand the grieving process that parents often experience when they learn their child has a handicapping condition. The diagnosis of a handicapping condition may result in a symbolic death--the death of the preconceived "perfect" child, and the death of the parents' plans, hopes, and dreams for that child. The stages of grief…

Loneliness seems to be a significant clinical problem in American society and a nearly universal experience. If friends of lonely persons are themselves lonely and, hence, reinforce ineffective interpersonal styles or fail to model normative social behaviors, they may perpetuate a cycle of increasing loneliness. A study was conducted to explore…

Rorschach's use of inkblots as a diagnostic tool has been quite useful in aiding in the diagnosis of schizophrenia. In developing his Comprehensive System for the Rorschach, John Exner (1974) included an index designed to identify schizophrenic subjects. The Schizophrenia Index has evolved to reflect ongoing research. In its current state, the…