Males (ages 7 to 17) in a psychiatric hospital were studied while off psychoactive medication to determine how serum dopamine beta hydroxylase (DBH) activity varies with childhood maltreatment experiences. Lowest DBH levels were found in boys maltreated before 72 months of age or with the principal diagnosis of conduct disorder solitary aggressive…

Describes the nature of childhood anxiety disorders and discusses interventions that may be effective in remediation efforts. Offers information on anxiety as a normal developmental process, age- and gender-related factors, components of anxiety, relationship of anxiety to other disorders (such as depression), and applications for treating…

Types of psychiatric and behavioral disturbances were reviewed for 169 preschoolers with developmental disabilities admitted to a psychiatric inpatient unit. Differences were found in the proportion of some diagnoses and behavior problems across cognitive functioning level and across age; 72 percent had 1 or more medical diagnoses. (Author/SW)

Children with serious emotional disturbance receiving community-based services were compared to children with other disabilities and children with no disabilities. For the sample of 228 children, factors considered include: gender, race, guardianship, psychotropic medication, criminal record, previous involvement with the service system, and…

Evaluates the use of self-recording with an adolescent male in a psychiatric hospital school setting. When self-recording was introduced along with access to computer time, the frequency of off-task behaviors decreased as compared to baseline measures. Benefits of employing self-recording and utilizing contingent access to the computer are…

This study of 969 gifted, learning-disabled, emotionally disturbed, or nonlabeled fourth grade students found that having parents with inductive (more use of reason) rather than sensitizing (more authoritarian) communication styles had a definite impact on what the children observed when watching television, with gifted children being particularly…

Eleven adolescents with serious emotional disturbances and 11 nonhandicapped peers, and their teachers, were observed in vocational education settings. The behavior of the two student groups did not differ significantly nor did the behavior of teachers toward the students differ. Implications for mainstreaming in vocational education classes are…

The area of adult learning disabilities is reviewed from a neurobiological and neuropsychological perspective. The paper covers possible pathophysiologic bases in dyslexia, neurobehavioral disorders that may coexist with learning disorders, neuropsychological assessment methods, treatment in the context of brain plasticity and recovery of…

This study examined differences in reported depressive symptomatology and related dysfunctional cognitions in nonhandicapped, learning-disabled, and seriously emotionally disturbed adolescents from both public school and juvenile correction settings. No significant main effect was found for differences across label, but consequential differences…

This review of instruments for assessing psychopathology and behavior problems in people with mental retardation characterizes evaluation tools in such terms as age groups encompassed, levels of mental retardation, number of domains, and types of raters used. The structure of maladaptive behavior is described, and several instruments are…

Mental health counselors (n=90) rated 24 items as particularly important in working with clients with mental retardation or psychiatric disturbances. Knowledge and skills rated as significant included areas such as counseling relationship, dealing with specific psychiatric disorders, training clients in specific behavioral skills, and dual…

Validity of a multifactor conceptualization of locus of control was studied in 92 severely disturbed adolescents who completed the Nowicki-Strickland Internal-External Locus of Control scale. Factors found by principal components and common factor analysis were peers, parents, achievement, relationships, and problems. (SLD)

Academic performance differences between 35 general education students, educated in an environment that included 5 students with mental handicaps or emotional disorder, and 108 general education students in noninclusive environments were compared. Results revealed no significant differences between the two groups in reading, language arts,…

Interviews with 51 female sexual abuse survivors revealed that over half had a diagnosis of multiple personality disorder, and the vast majority had extensive dissociative symptomatology and related features. (Author/JDD)

This study assessed the relationship between parent/teacher ratings of hyperactivity and developmental indices in psychiatric clinic children (ages 5-16). Findings suggest that chronological age should be considered when behavior ratings are used to assess cognitively delayed children for hyperactivity but do not support use of mental age in…