Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J M Neale

Publications and source records attributed to J M Neale.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Effects of marital discord on the school behavior of children of schizophrenic, affectively disordered, and normal parents.

An association between children's school behavior and two family variables, marital discord and parental psychopathology, has been consistently reported in the literature. However, the joint effects of each of these two familial factors has not been closely examined. The present report provides a further examination of the interrelationships among these three variables with particular emphasis on the effects of marital discord on children's school behavior in families with behaviorally disturbed parents. Marital discord was found to account for much of the association between having a parent with bipolar disorder or unipolar depression and problematic school behavior, but the same variable did not explain the relationship between having a schizophrenic parent and problems in school. The implications of these findings for interventions with the children of disturbed parents and for high-risk research are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Cognitive and attentional deficits in children vulnerable to psychopathology.

Cognitive and attentional deficits were assessed in children with either a schizophrenic, and affectively disordered or a normal parent. The children were grouped both by their parents' DSM-II diagnoses (broadly defined group of schizophrenics and heterogeneous group of depressives)and by a new set of diagnoses (narrowly defined group of schizophrenics, unipolar depressive group and bipolar group). Children whose parents met the more stringent criteria for schizophrenia performed somewhat more deviantly than children whose parents met only DSM-II criteria. In addition, the importance of splitting the heterogeneous depressive group into more homogeneous subgroups is indicated by the findings that children of unipolar parents generally could not be distinguished from children whose parents are schizophrenic. On the other hand, children of bipolar parents performed reliably better than children of schizophrenics. These findings are viewed within the context of current high-risk studies and psychological deficit literature and suggest that diagnostic issues require more attention by researchers in these areas.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Hypochondriasis and tendency to adopt the sick role as moderators of the relationship between life-events and somatic symptomatology.

The relationship between measures of hypochondriasis and the tendency to adopt a sick role, life-events and somatic symptomatology was explored. A sample of 85 married couples drawn from the community (n = 170) completed mailed questionnaires about the past year's events and symptoms and about hypochondriasis and sick-role tendency. Life-events were related to symptoms (r = 0.17) as were hypochondriasis, sick-role tendency, and subjects' sex (rs = 0.23, 0.16, 0.22, respectively). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated that hypochondriasis and sick-role tendency were also related to the association between events and symptoms, such that subjects with high scores on the former measures showed a reduced event-symptoms correlation compared with low and moderate scorers. Low scorers on hypochondriasis and sick-role tendency had a considerably stronger relationship between events and symptoms compared to those typically reported in the literature. It was suggested that hypochondriasis and sick-role tendency may be moderators of the life-event-symptom relationship and as such deserve more widespread use in life-events research.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Cognitive slippage in children vulnerable to schizophrenia.

Psychological deficit research with adult schizophrenics has been hindered by numerous methodological problems that may be avoided by the prospective study of children vulnerable to the disorder. An object sorting task was administered to 156 children of schizophrenic patients, 102 children of depressed patients, and 139 children of normal parents. The children were between 6 and 15 years old. The children of schizophrenic parents made fewer "superordinate" sorting responses than those of normal parents, and more "complex" sorts (a category of inadequate responses) than children of either normal and depressed parents. Our analyses showed that these deficits could not be explained by differences in intelligence. These deficits in conceptual performance may reflect the genotypic predisposition to schizophrenic and/or represent an early precursor of later maladjustment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Peer evaluations of the competence of children vulnerable to psychopathology.

Peer evaluations of the behavior of 75 children of schizophrenic mothers, 57 children of depressed mothers, and 153 controls were collected using the Pupil Evaluation Inventory. The children, both boys and girls, were in grades 2 through 9. Both male and female children of schizophrenics were viewed more deviantly than controls on Aggression and Unhappiness-Withdrawal factors. Only the female children of schizophrenics were viewed as less likable than controls. In general, children of schizophrenics did not differ from children of depressives. The exception was the older daughters of schizophrenics, who were rated as more deviant than members of both the remaining groups.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

ASSESS: Adjustment Scales for Sociometric Evaluation of Secondary-School Students.

The Adjustment Scales for Sociometric Evaluation of Secondary-School Students (ASSESS) was designed to assess peer ratings of the behavior of male and female adolescents. Five scales were developed and cross-validated: Aggression-Disruptiveness, Withdrawal, Anxiety, Social Competence, and Academic Difficulty. Evidence of adequate internal consistency and test-retest reliability was presented. Evaluations by male and female classmates were highly correlated. Sex and age differences accounted for only a small proportion of the total variance.

Achievement↗
PubMed1976

The Pupil Evaluation Inventory. A sociometric technique for assessing children's social behavior.

The Pupil Evaluation Inventory was developed to assess peer ratings of the behavior of male and female children in grades one through nine. Three homogeneous and stable factors emerged from a factor analyss: Aggression, Withdrawal and Likeability. High interrater agreement between male and female raters, stability of factorial structure, high internal consistency, and moderate concurrent validity were found across sex and grade levels. Test-retest reliability was high for a separate sample of third and sixth graders. There was a tendency for higher internal consistency and teacher-peer correlations for the Aggression factor.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Children vulnerable to psychopathology: the Stony Brook high-risk project.

The study of children at risk for the development of schizophrenia is a promising research strategy for increasing our understanding of the etiology of schizophrenia. This paper describes the methods and procedures of such an investigation. Three groups of children are being followed: those who have a schizophrenic parent, those who have a depressive parent, and tose whose parents have no psychiatric history. There are three major foci of our assessment procedures. First, the patient, spouse, and family environment are examined. Second, the children are assessed in school from the vantage point of both peers and teachers. Finally, the children are tested with several laboratory measures of cognitive processes, attention, emotional responsivity, and social interaction.

Achievement↗
PubMed1975

Teacher ratings of children vulnerable to psychopathology.

Teacher behavior ratings were collected on children of schizophrenic, depressed, and normal mothers. Children of schizophrenic and depressed mothers were rated higher than were children of normal mothers on classroom disturbance, impatience, disrespect-defiance, and inattentiveness-withdrawal; they were rated lower on comprehension, creative initiative, and relatedness to teacher.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Abstract conceptualization in schizophrenia: a fundamental psychological deficit?

Wright (1975) has recently argued that impairment in abstract conceptualization is an important schizophrenic deficit. We contend that the data to which he refers are insufficient support for that conclusion. Although schizophrenics' performance on sorting tasks may be less efficient than that of some other groups, the significance of this finding is debatable. A differential deficit in conceptual ability has not been shown and the confounding effects of third variables have not been ruled out. In addition, the validity of sorting techniques in measuring abstraction has not been adequately established. These methodological issues have a more general applicability to the study of psychopathology. Appreciation of them and a more specific definition of "acceptable evidence" would reduce considerably the continuing state of confusion in research on psychological deficit.

Association↗