Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to C Piotrowski.
A review of recent survey data indicates that the Personality Assessment Inventory ranks among the most frequently used objective personality tests in practice and clinical training.
1. As the research base on psychological testing has proliferated across various disciplines, a comprehensive review of the testing literature is recommended. 2. In researching literature on psychological tests, nurses need to rely on traditional print as well as electronic databases and Internet sites. 3. In reviewing test items or in using a test, nurses need to be aware of test-user qualifications and publisher copyright restrictions.
Training directors of 84 APA-approved internship programs in psychology responded to a survey on the current status and recent changes in internship training in psychological assessment. There appears to be a slight decline in emphasis on assessment in general, although it is still considered to be an important component of training. There was a surprising endorsement of traditional assessment instruments as important for clinical practice, in spite of a trend toward decreased emphasis on projective methods. The majority of programs have maintained the same degree of emphasis on objective measures, intelligence tests, behavioral methods, and the interview, while increasing emphasis on neuropsychological assessment. Less than half (43%) of the training directors reported that their programs have been significantly affected by managed care, suggesting that the majority of internship sites are somewhat insulated from present trends in marketplace pressures regarding reimbursement for psychological testing. The implications of potential future trends are discussed.
Measures from the marital and family literature were rank ordered by frequency of appearance in the PsycINFO database from 1974-1997. The Family Environment Scale, Dyadic Adjustment Scale, and the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales were the instruments found to be most used in research.
The author performed a comparative analysis on the research output of 6 popular clinical measures of anxiety. The results of a citation analysis of the database from PsycINFO for the years 1991-1998 indicated that the Beck Anxiety Inventory presently ranks third, behind the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Fear Survey Schedule, in terms of use in research.
Although the impact of managed care constraints on assessment practices has received recent attention, a review of the literature found no data-based articles that address this issue. We report survey data on 137 members of the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology (Council for the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology, 1996) on current testing practices. The majority (72%) reported that their use of tests has changed in the last 5 years due to managed care directives. These clinicians are doing less testing overall and restrict their pool of assessment instruments. The Rorschach inkblot technique (Rorschach, 1942), the Thematic Apperception Test (Murray, 1943), and the Wechsler Intelligence scales (Matarazzo, 1972) were the instruments most noted for disuse. Apparently, practitioners are relying more on short, brief self-report measures that tap targeted symptoms or problem areas, and less on tests that demand considerable clinicians' time. Implications and limitations of the findings are discussed.
This study reports on use of tests in the assessment of pain patients. Data are based on 212 respondents from the Society of Behavioral Medicine. Personality inventories, measures of depression and anxiety, coping scales, and the McGill Pain Questionnaire were among the top 10 ranked instruments.
From a larger study, ratings of satisfaction with disaster relief agencies in the aftermath of Hurricanes Erin and Opal showed high satisfaction from services provided by the American Red Cross/Salvation Army and somewhat lower ratings for the Federal Emergency Management Agency from 167 residents and business owners in the Florida Panhandle.
Expert witnesses and attorneys, involved in head injury cases wherein malingering is suspected, rely on current research findings from the scholarly literature. This article presents a multidatabase search strategy for a successful review of research articles in this area.
A review of recent survey data indicates that the Million Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI) ranks among the most frequently used tests by practicing clinicians. This instrument is surpassed only by the MMPI or MMPI-2 in the area of objective personality assessment.
Cognitive, perceptual, and motor deficits are part of the constellation of symptoms found in various hypoglycemic conditions. Since neurogenic symptoms and altered states of consciousness affect driving skills, hypoglycemia should be considered a mitigating factor in vehicular accidents.
Hurricanes Erin and Opal struck the same coastal region in the Northwest Florida Panhandle in late summer of 1995. The study examined the stressors that most affected small businesses in the region in the aftermath of the storms. Power outages, telephone disruptions, employees' availability, debris removal, and lack of customers were the major problem areas reported by business owners (N = 57 of 500 potential respondents). The results indicate that most of the stress factors were transitory and the findings are discussed in light of Murphy's 1985 conceptual model of disaster research.
Prior research, from the psychodynamically oriented literature, characterizes homicidal offenders as impulsive, vulnerable to stress, with difficulties in emotional control, particularly anger. In 1995 Coram reported Rorschach data from a sample of murderers which tentatively support earlier findings. This paper argues that confirmatory data from measures which objectively assess emotional states and behaviors could elucidate this issue.
A review of recent survey data indicates that the Rorschach test is used moderately often by forensic practitioners. Several guidelines may improve testimony on the test.
Summary.-Starker and Pankratz (1996) reported that psychologists have very high confidence in the efficacy of psychotropic medications relative to psychological interventions. In this paper it is argued that this lack of professional self-confidence is the central dynamism in the prescription privileges movement.
Despite all the rhetoric on the controversial issue of prescriptive authority for psychologists, we posit that the major factor will be one of adequate training standards. As several training models have involved lengthy and rigorous curriculum formats, we conducted a brief pilot study on the views of practicing psychologists. Only one of the 20 licensed psychologists in our sample was willing to undertake an intensive one- to two-year program in psychopharmacology at this stage of their careers.
Recent empirical data attest to the fact that the Rorschach is frequently used in expert witness testimony. Popularity of the Rorschach in forensic psychology is evident in the Psychological Abstracts database.
On-line computer bulletin boards, although screened for offensive content, have become a breeding ground for sexually related material and erotic-chat networks. Participants can interact individually or in groups (chat rooms) on a host of sexually perverse subjects. Persons afflicted with various erotic predilections via 'cybersex' have recently gained the attention of mental health professionals. The authors report on a 'cybersex' group in treatment for sexual addiction.