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Biomedical subjects

R A Gordon

Publications and source records attributed to R A Gordon.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

The relationship between residents' characteristics, their stress experiences, and their psychosocial adjustment at one medical school.

Empirical research focused on the stressful aspects of residency training has largely ignored the interactions between residents' psychosocial and demographic characteristics, stressful experiences, emotional responsivity, and coping styles. This article presents the results of a questionnaire, completed by 165 residents, that consisted of the Profile of Mood States, the Hassles Scale, the Ways of Coping Questionnaire, and a series of questions regarding demographic data, social support system features, and residency stress factors. The residents reported that time demands and indebtedness were the major sources of stress in their residency programs. Social support variables were significantly related to the degrees to which the residents successfully coped with daily stress factors. While the women residents reported higher stress levels than did the men, they did not report higher levels of emotional distress. Finally, the lengths of time residents had spent in training were significantly related to the levels of their mood disturbances and daily hassles.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1991

Rorschach Depression indices with children and adolescents: concurrent validity findings.

Exner (1983, 1986) developed and recently revised (1990b) a Rorschach Depression Index based on scores from variables in the Comprehensive System. This study evaluated both the original and the revised DEPIs for child and adolescent outpatient (n = 67) and inpatient (n = 99) samples in order to assess the diagnostic utility of these indices. There were no significant relationships between the original form and the revised form of the DEPI and clinical elevations on the Depression scale of the Personality Inventory for Children in the outpatient sample or treatment team diagnostic judgments in the inpatient sample. These findings sound a strong cautionary note for using only Rorschach Depression indices to diagnose depression in children and adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Acute-onset Brown's syndrome associated with pansinusitis.

We treated a 5-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy with acquired Brown's syndrome associated with pansinusitis. In both patients, the diagnosis was established roentgenographically, and the patients were treated with oral antibiotics. Systemic corticosteroids were used in one case, although their clinical value was uncertain. Patients presenting with acute-onset Brown's syndrome of undetermined cause should undergo computed imaging of the orbits and paranasal sinuses.

Amoxicillin↗
PubMed1989

The effect of applicant age, job level, and accountability on perceptions of female job applicants.

We used simulated videotaped employment interviews to assess the effect of accountability on impressions of female job applicants. One hundred and twenty American undergraduates majoring in business and personnel related areas were informed that they would be participating in the pilot testing of a new employee placement technique. The age of the job applicant (25, 40, or 55 years), the position for which they were being considered (assistant director or director), and the degree to which subjects were made to feel accountable for their impressions of the applicant (low or high accountability) were manipulated, resulting in a 3 x 2 x 2 between-subjects design. The predicted interaction between accountability and applicant age applicant age was found on age-related adjective checklist items. Increasing the subjects' accountability produced more stereotypical impressions of all applicants, along with a tendency to attribute the applicant's behavior to dispositional factors.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

The relationship of MMPI and Sensation Seeking Scales to adolescent drug use.

This study examined the relationship of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) measures, including the MacAndrew alcoholism (MAC) scale, and the Sensation Seeking Scales (SSS) to adolescents' drug use across nine drug categories. Subjects were 51 male and 72 female high school students between the ages of 14 and 18 (mean age = 16 years, 5 months). The drug use/abuse measure consisted of adolescents' self-reports on the Segal (1973) Alcohol-Drug Use Research Survey. Drug categories included for investigation were alcohol, amphetamines, barbiturates, caffeine, cocaine, hallucinogens, marijuana, narcotics, and tobacco. Scores from standard MMPI scales, the MAC scale, and the SSS were examined in relation to individual drug use outcomes, and multivariate procedures were used to predict polydrug versus single drug use patterns. Results demonstrated significant and meaningful relationships between personality measures and drug use among adolescents, with consistently strong findings for the SSS.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

MMPI special scale clinical correlates for adolescent inpatients.

Little research has focused on the clinical correlates of adolescents' Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) special scale responses. We investigated the clinical correlates of the MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale (MAC), Anxiety (A), Repression (R), and Ego Strength (Es) scales, based on self-reported data from 68 inpatient adolescents and ratings by their nursing staff and individual therapists. Parametric and nonparametric analyses revealed patterns of clinically relevant descriptors for these scales in a manner largely consistent with findings derived from studies of adult respondents. Results are discussed in terms of implications for interpretation of each of these special scales and in relation to a general approach to understanding adolescents' MMPI profiles.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Frozen section of the optic nerve in retinoblastoma surgery.

The usefulness of the frozen section examination to determine the extension of retinoblastoma into the optic nerve is discussed. Frozen sections performed at the time of surgery in seven retinoblastoma patients revealed the presence of tumor at the resection margin of the optic nerve in two cases.

Eye Enucleation↗
PubMed1988

The MMPI and clinical diagnosis: a comparison of classification system outcomes with discharge diagnoses.

This study examined the agreement or congruence rate between clinical-discharge diagnoses rendered by a psychiatrist, and admission and discharge MMPI-derived diagnoses from four diagnostic classification systems that have been developed for the MMPI. The four classification systems included a simple high-point code based on the most elevated clinical scale in the profile, the Henrichs revision of the Meehl-Dahlstrom rules, the Goldberg equations, and a system developed by Lachar. Subjects consisted of 150 patients selected from a larger pool of patients who had completed a 9-week adult residential treatment program. Overall, this study yielded modest hit rates between 26% and 34% for MMPI-derived diagnoses and psychiatric diagnoses across the various classification systems. In addition, stability of MMPI-based diagnoses from admission to discharge assessments ranged from 48% to 51% depending on the classification system employed. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the use of the MMPI in patient diagnosis. It is recommended that the MMPI be used in conjunction with other sources of clinical and test information in deriving clinical diagnoses.

Hospitals, Psychiatric↗
PubMed1988

MMPI and Rorschach indices of schizophrenic and depressive diagnoses among adolescent inpatients.

Although adolescent norms have been developed for the MMPI (e.g., Marks, Seeman, & Haller, 1974) and Rorschach (e.g., Exner, 1986a), little is known regarding the discriminate diagnostic validity of these measures with adolescents. This study investigated the usefulness of these measures in the detection of depression and schizophrenia among adolescent inpatients. Subjects (mean age = 15.3) consisted of 134 adolescents who received Rorschach and MMPI administrations at hospital admission. Clinical diagnoses resulted in the following groupings for this sample: schizophrenia = 15, dysthymic disorder = 41, major depression = 26, conduct disorder = 28, personality disorder = 18. MMPI scale Sc elevation was found to be the most effective single predictor of schizophrenic diagnoses, with a hit rate of .76, sensitivity of .62, and specificity of .78. Neither MMPI scale D scores nor Rorschach DEPI scores were found to be significantly related to patients' diagnoses. Results were interpreted in terms of prior findings in adult psychiatric populations and in relation to implications for the clinical assessment of adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

MMPI scale clinical correlates for adolescent inpatients.

This study examined descriptive correlates of single-scale, high-point elevations for Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) scales D, Hy, Pd, Sc, and Ma in a sample of 112 adolescent inpatients undergoing psychiatric treatment. Clinical descriptors were collected for subjects based on their psychometric self-reports and on ratings and evaluations of these patients by parents, nursing staff, and individual psychotherapists. Subjects were assigned to a high-point category based on their highest, single clinical scale elevation, with the restrictions that such elevations be greater than or equal to T-score values of 65 and that high-point groups contain a minimum of 10 subjects. Clinical descriptors for subjects in each high-point group were compared to descriptors for all remaining subjects by means of chi-square, Fisher's Exact Test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) techniques. Findings were interpreted in terms of their general consistency with descriptors derived for these MMPI scales in the adult literature.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

MMPI correlates of a controversial EEG pattern among adolescent psychiatric patients.

Relative to adult MMPI studies, few investigations address adolescent correlates of the MMPI. A particularly neglected area of potential importance has been the relationship between adolescent MMPI profiles and electroencephalographic (EEG) disturbances. This study examined EEG recordings, MMPI results, and psychiatric diagnosis of 99 (49 male; 50 female) psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents. Because there was a high incidence of 14 and 6 per second positive spike EEG patterns among males, one-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were employed to compare MMPI results for 31 males with normal EEG patterns and 17 males with 14 and 6 per second positive spiking. The 14 and 6 per second positive spike EEG signal was related to significantly higher MMPI T score elevations on Hs, PD, and MF. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for both EEG and MMPI interpretations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

MMPI response-set characteristics among adolescents.

This study examined the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MPPI) profile characteristics for five different response sets in adolescent populations employing adolescent MMPI norms. In general, findings for "all-true" and "all-false" adolescent profiles were highly similar in shape and elevation to those reported in the adult literature (Graham, 1977; Lachar, 1974), whereas random profiles on adolescent norms differed substantially from adult-norm random profiles in shape but not elevation. The characteristics of "fake good" or "fake bad" response sets were investigated by the use of adolescent subjects in two settings. Ninety-four public high-school students were administered the MMPI with standard and "fake bad" instructions, and 24 adolescents in inpatient psychiatric treatment were administered the MMPI under standard and "fake good" instructions. The MMPI profiles generated by special instructional sets were analyzed in relation to the subject's age, sex, race, and actual MMPI profile features. Findings indicated that although sex and race effects were evident in normal adolescents' attempts to simulate psychopathology on the MMPI, teenagers generally produce profiles containing grossly exaggerated symptom patterns that are relatively easy to detect as invalid. In contrast, it was found that a substantial number of psychiatrically disturbed adolescents may effectively simulate normal profiles and that effectiveness in these attempts was related to greater age and lower actual MMPI T-score values on the Hs and Hy scales.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Parent and child MMPI responses: characteristics among families with adolescents in inpatient and outpatient settings.

The relationship of parent personality to child psychopathology has been investigated in numerous MMPI studies over the past three decades. Very few of these studies, however, have directly analyzed MMPI response patterns of both parents and offspring. The current study included the MMPI responses of 199 families with adolescents entering inpatient and outpatient psychiatric setting (N = 542). Inpatient parents and adolescents had significantly higher mean scores across a variety of MMPI scales than did their outpatient counterparts. The linear combination of adolescent and maternal MMPI scale data, in a stepwise discriminative function analysis, resulted in accurate classification of 75% of all children in inpatient treatment and 74% of all children assigned to outpatient treatment. Findings were discussed in terms of salient MMPI differences between inpatient and outpatient families and shared psychopathological characteristics among family members with offspring in psychiatric treatment settings.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Androgen priming and response to chemotherapy in advanced prostatic cancer.

A total of 67 patients with progressive stage D2 prostatic cancer refractory to orchiectomy was entered in a controlled clinical trial to test whether androgen priming enhances the efficacy of cytotoxic drugs. All patients were treated continuously with aminoglutethimide and hydrocortisone to lower adrenal androgen secretion and were given cyclic intravenous chemotherapy. In addition, the 34 patients randomized to the stimulation arm received fluoxymesterone for 3 days before and on the day of chemotherapy. There was 33 controls. The median duration of followup was 24 months. A modestly higher response rate (objective remission plus disease stabilization) was observed in the stimulation arm (85 versus 72 per cent, p less than 0.05) when the analysis was restricted to the evaluable patients. However, a larger fraction of unevaluable patients was present in the stimulation group (41 versus 16 per cent), mostly as a result of toxicity from fluoxymesterone, which prompted early discontinuation of treatment. Thus, when data analysis included all patients the response rate actually was slightly higher in the control than in the stimulation arm (60 versus 50 per cent, p not significant). No difference was observed in median duration of response (9 months in both groups) or over-all survival. Our data suggest that at least in those patients with advanced disease androgen priming does not seem to enhance significantly the antitumor effect of the combination of amino-glutethimide and chemotherapy, and is associated with significant toxicity. These largely negative results may be explained by the large number of hormone-resistant cells present in tumors that have become refractory to orchiectomy.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Myopia associated with retinopathy of prematurity.

A complete analysis of the components of refractive error was performed on ten eyes of five patients with myopia and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). In comparison to an age-matched control group, these eyes exhibited both lenticular and axial myopia. Only the high crystalline lens powers, which ranged from 22.20 to 44.13 diopters (D) (mean value, 31.27 D), were found to be statistically significant. In two patients, only one eye had high myopia. The lens power in these eyes was approximately 11 D more powerful than the lens of the fellow eye. Further investigation into the ocular changes induced by prematurity and abnormal oxygen metabolism is needed to determine the reason for the high degree of lenticular myopia.

Child↗