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Biomedical subjects

R A Steffy

Publications and source records attributed to R A Steffy.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1993

Long-term recidivism of child molesters.

We examined the long-term recidivism rates of 197 child molesters released from prison between 1958 and 1974. Overall, 42% of the total sample were reconvicted for sexual crimes, violent crimes, or both, with 10% of the total sample reconvicted 10-31 years after being released. Incest offenders were reconvicted at a slower rate than were offenders who selected only boys, with offenders against girls showing a rate intermediate between these two groups. Other factors associated with increased recidivism were (a) never being married and (b) previous sexual offenses. None of the mental health and personality tests used in this study (e.g., the Eysenck Personality Inventory and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) was significantly associated with recidivism.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

EEG "maturational lag" profiles: follow-up analyses.

Nineteen children who had EEG diffuse slow frequency profiles suggesting a maturational lag were retested 1 to 2 years later receiving both EEG and psychometric assessments. They were compared to 18 children who also had been tested previously but did not have the slow frequency profile. Children with the maturational lag profile displayed varying degrees of EEG developmental change upon retest; i.e., some showed the expected developmental change while others remained the same. Within this group, there were significant relationships between the degree of EEG change and psychometric scores. Those that demonstrated the most EEG change had higher psychometric indices, and these relationships were not obtained in the comparison group. These findings suggest developmental heterogeneity with respect to brain maturation as measured by the EEG and also suggest that test-retest EEG data can clarify a maturational lag diagnosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Prepreparatory interval effects on redundancy deficit reaction time patterns in schizophrenic and normal subjects using the embedded-set procedure.

The relative influence of genuine "redundancy deficit" and the artifactual effects of prepreparatory interval on measures of the redundancy deficit reaction time pattern (faster reaction time on trials with long preparatory intervals when the interval is of predictable vs. unpredictable length) was investigated in a study using the "embedded-set" procedure. Twenty normal and 20 schizophrenic subjects received two series of reaction time trials containing embedded sets (blocks) of four isotemporal 1-, 3-, and 7-second trials. The 7-second blocks (the blocks of interest for the calculation of redundancy deficit) were preceded by long prepreparatory intervals in one condition and by short intervals for the second. Each subject received both conditions, with the orders counterbalanced. The results indicated redundancy deficit for both schizophrenics and normals with short prepreparatory intervals, but in neither group with long prepreparatory intervals. This suggests that redundancy deficit in the embedded-set procedure (which is normally heavily biased with short prepreparatory intervals) may be more related to the enhancing effect of short prepreparatory intervals on the first (unpredictable) trial of the set than to impaired performance on the fourth (predictable) trial. The finding of similar effects in both schizophrenic and normal subjects raises questions about the specificity of redundancy deficit to schizophrenic reaction time performance. The results were discussed with reference to the original "long run" reaction time procedure for studying the same phenomenon, and theoretical issues related to the interpretation of results from the two procedures were considered.

Attention↗
PubMed1982

EEG slow frequency and WISC-R correlates.

On the basis of slow frequency indices obtained from computerized EEG assessments, 36 children were ranked the highest and 23 the lowest in a heterogeneous population of children involved in a brain-behavior assessment program. WISC-R results show the high or excess slow frequency group to have low verbal and normal performance subtest scores, while those with the least slow frequency activity were above normal on verbal and performance scores. Discriminant function analyses of the WISC-R profiles significantly separated the two EEG groupings, with the Information Subtest and Verbal IQ the best discriminating measures. The results suggested that diffuse EEG slow frequency reflected a "maturational lag." Cluster analyses showed that the subtest profile was constant independently of IQ. Other findings indicated that the presence of excessive slow frequency activity was associated with less electrophysiological and psychometric differentiation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Children at risk for schizophrenia. Clinical and attentional characteristics.

Adolescent high-risk subjects, offspring of schizophrenic mothers, who were placed in foster homes at an early age, are compared with foster children whose biological parents have no record of psychiatric hospitalization and with non-foster children. The high-risk group showed increased social isolation, difficulties in the student role, elevated total symptom scores on the Psychiatric Status Schedule, and elevated schizophrenic scale scores on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. Half of the high-risk subjects showed significant impairment on a battery of eight attention-demanding tasks.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Intensity of imperative signal influences on redundancy deficit and latency in process schizophrenics.

The resilience of the redundancy deficit pattern of schizophrenic reaction time performance was explored by examining the resistance of redundancy deficit to an experimental manipulation of imperative signal intensity. Aversive levels of stimulation have been used to alter motivation and shown to normalize schizophrenic performance in other research. In this study, 20 schizophrenic patients were administered a reaction time task under conditions of usual motivation and, 1 day later, under conditions of aversive motivation induced by high decibel levels of stimulation. The redundancy deficit pattern was observed with usual motivation but not with so-called biological motivation. The results are discussed from the points of view of the utility of redundancy deficit as an index of vulnerability to schizophrenia, implications for attentional and motivational theories of schizophrenia, and finally, in terms of the more general role of aversive stimulation in schizophrenic deficit. The finding that redundancy deficit is ameliorated by aversive motivation is consistent with theories suggesting that schizophrenics respond primarily to negative motivation. Garmezy's suggestion that the common denominator of the multiplicity of schizophrenic deficits may lie in motivational factors, particularly the prepotent avoidance motive, is supported by these results.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Taximetric strategies applied to psychiatric classification.

This article discusses limitations inherent in using unilevel behavioral descriptors as the basis for the construction of psychiatric classifications. As an alternative we consider the advantages of the polythetic classification strategy as suggested by Sokal and Sneath (1963) in their description of a "numerical taxonomic" approach. They argue for the development of naturally occurring, empirically defined classes rather than categories based on single domains of behaviors such as psychiatric symptoms. Typically the research into a topic such as schizophrenia starts with a behaviorally defined class of individuals who show schizophrenic symptoms, contrasted with a nonschizophrenic control group. These groups are then tested for aberrations in other systems of functioning (blood, neurophysiological, hormonal, attentional functioning, and the like). The approach offered here requires a classificatory strategy that treats data from all levels of functioning as equivalent in forming the classes of individuals rather than as secondary to the defining symptomatic attributes. Particular emphasis is given to the choice of measures with sufficiently broad and sensitive features to find natural classes. A set of standards is given for the selection of a test battery that might be used in a polythetic approach to the investigation of schizophrenia. Finally, the utility and limits of statistical clustering techniques for handling multilevel data banks are discussed.

Cultural Characteristics↗