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PubMed1998

Attributional style and its relation to other personality dispositions.

BACKGROUND: People vary greatly with respect to the way they explain negative events (personal failures), and this variation in attributional style seems to be related to various personality traits and also academic performance. For example, the theory of learned helplessness regards a pessimistic attributional style as an important determinant in the development of depression. AIM: The primary purpose of the present study was to compare attributions for positive and negative events with respect to correlations with seven personality dispositions. The comparisons concern the three attributional dimensions internality, stability and globality, as well as their combination. The hypothesis was that attributions for positive events are differently correlated with the seven personality dispositions than are attributions for negative events. SAMPLE: 166 advanced teacher students (132 females and 34 males). METHOD: On the basis of an inventory the students were given scores on the attributional variables (related to imagined positive and negative academic events), global and academic self-esteem, motive to seek success, motive to avoid failure, self-efficacy, defensiveness, and depression. RESULTS: The hypothesis was confirmed. Attributions for positive events correlated differently with the seven personality dispositions than attributions for negative events. Also, factor analysis of the attributional dimensions indicated that attributions for positive events measured quite different components than attributions for positive events. CONCLUSION: The general conclusion is that both event kinds should be considered when using attributional style for predicting or explaining personality and behavioural variables.

Achievement↗
PubMed2006

Verbal abuse by the teacher and child adjustment from kindergarten through grade 6.

OBJECTIVES: Many adults mention past incidences of verbal abuse by the teacher as the most overwhelming negative experience in their lives. The present study examined (1) the course and stability of verbal abuse by the teacher from kindergarten through grade 4 and (2) the link between verbal abuse by the teacher and children's behavioral, emotional, and academic adjustment. DESIGN: Participants were 399 children (177 girls) who were assessed yearly over a period of 7 years, starting in kindergarten. Verbal abuse by the teacher, as well as acceptance versus rejection by the peer group from kindergarten through grade 4, were assessed through peer nomination. Child adjustment from kindergarten through grade 4 (antisocial behavior, attention problems, anxiety) was evaluated by the teacher. Child adjustment in early adolescence (delinquent behavior, depressive feelings, academic performance) was assessed by teacher evaluations and self-reports. RESULTS: The vast majority of children (approximately 85%) have almost 0 risk of becoming a target of verbal abuse by the teacher over the course of elementary school. However, a small minority of children (15%) seems to be at relatively high risk of verbal abuse by the teacher in kindergarten, and this risk increases even further over the course of elementary school. Boys, as well as children with high levels of early antisocial behavior and attention problems in kindergarten, are at high risk of verbal abuse by the teacher during elementary school. In turn, verbal abuse by the teacher is significantly related to subsequent delinquent behavior and academic difficulties in early adolescence, although this effect depends on child characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: Verbal abuse by the teacher seems to be a highly stable phenomenon for at-risk children. Children who are relatively well adjusted are at low risk of becoming the target of verbal abuse by the teacher. If they do, however, these children are the most vulnerable to subsequent developmental difficulties.

Child↗
PubMed1994

In-office cancer-screening education of primary care physicians.

In a demonstration project, education representatives were trained to perform "academic detailing" of cancer control information for physicians and for staff members of family physicians' offices. One-hour visits were arranged at specific times so as to avoid disruption of patient care activities. The representatives led discussions of salient tissues regarding early detection of cancer at three sites (breast, colon-rectum, and prostate) and left relevant patient education materials. Seventeen visits were made to 11 practices involving 22 physicians and 85 staff members. Ten items were selected as evidence of favorable cancer control activities: ashtrays had been removed from the waiting room, patient information was displayed in a wall rack, medical records contained a method for prompting the physician about preventive or screening services that were due to be performed, a recall system reminded patients of services that were due to be performed, the receptionist was involved, the nurse was involved, American Cancer Society (ACS)-recommended services were used or had been added, the physician talked to other physicians about the visit discussions, services or materials had been requested from the local ACS unit, and staff members or physicians had volunteered to serve the ACS. The compliance rate was 35% at baseline. At post-intervention assessment, the compliance rate had increased by 35%, for a final compliance rate of 70%.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

American Cancer Society↗
PubMed1995

Childhood precursors of psychosis as clues to its evolutionary origins.

Those who as adults will be admitted to a psychiatric ward with a psychotic illness can be distinguished (on the basis of group differences) from others by their behaviour and academic performance at the ages of 7 and 11 years. Pre-schizophrenic boys are anxious and hostile towards adults and peers at the age of 7 years and show poor concentration. By age 11 years these boys are also rated as depressed, and pre-schizophrenic girls as depressed and withdrawn. Pre-affective psychotic boys show minor changes (for example an increase in hostility and restlessness) at age 7 years, although these features are not obvious at age 11 years. Abnormalities that in some respects resemble those in pre-schizophrenic boys are present at age 11 years in a group of females who will be admitted to psychiatric units with non-psychotic diagnoses by the age of 28 years. Academic impairments (including speech and reading difficulties) at ages 7, 11 and 16 years are more severe in pre-schizophrenics than in the other groups. Schizophrenics-to-be are slow to develop continence and show poor coordination and vision at age 7 years, and are rated clumsy at age 16 years. Psychosis reflects a disturbance of aspects of central nervous system function that are time-dependent and in certain respects gender specific. It is argued that the psychoses represent extremes of variation in a gene (or genes) that differs between sexes and controls the timing of development of the two cerebral hemispheres.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Achievement↗
PubMed2006

Children with new-onset epilepsy: neuropsychological status and brain structure.

Abnormalities in cognition, academic performance and brain volumetrics have been reported in children with chronic epilepsy. The nature and degree to which these problems may be present at epilepsy onset or may instead become more evident over time remains to be determined. This study characterizes neuropsychological status, brain structure and their interrelationship in children with recent-onset epilepsy compared with healthy controls. Children (age: 8-18 years) with recent-onset idiopathic epilepsy (n = 53) and healthy controls (n = 50) underwent comprehensive neuropsychological assessment and quantitative volumetric measurement of segmented (grey and white matter) volumes of total cerebrum and lobar regions. Compared with controls, children with recent-onset epilepsy exhibit a pattern of mild diffuse cognitive impairment, regardless of epilepsy syndrome, as well as academic underachievement that in a subset of children antedates the first recognized seizure. There are no overall differences in MR morphometric analyses of total cerebral or lobar tissue volumes. Controls show a strong association between cognitive development and increasing cerebral tissue volume (especially white matter volume), an association that is absent in children with epilepsy. Children with a history of academic achievement problems exhibit the most abnormal cognitive function and have significant volumetric reductions in left occipital and parietal lobe grey matter. Patients with idiopathic epilepsy exhibit cognitive dysfunction and academic underachievement at the onset of the disorder, irrespective of epilepsy syndrome, and indications of antecedent neurocognitive impairment are present in a subset of children. Volumetric abnormalities are not yet apparent in the epilepsy group as a whole, but there are indications of an altered structure-function relationship in epilepsy, and the subset of children with prior history of academic problems have abnormal volume of posterior left hemisphere grey matter. These early abnormalities need to be integrated into lifespan models of the neuropsychology of epilepsy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

A token system for a class of underachieving hyperactive children.

Using a BAB design, a token system requiring cooperative interaction was used to change the reading and vocabulary performance of an 18-member class of third-grade hyperactive boys. Four different colored tokens, which could be exchanged for 15 minutes of play on electrovideo games, were earned by successful completion of two tasks that involved learning to read and to use new vocabulary words in sentences, and two tasks in which the student served as a proctor to a student who had not yet completed those tasks. The mean number of tasks completed during the intervention periods rose to over nine times the number completed during reversal. Additionally, the average completion rate for the school district's standardized weekly reading level examinations rose from four to eight fold during the token conditions. All 18 students responded to the token program by increasing their academic performance.

Antisocial Personality Disorder↗
PubMed1990

The long-term effects of early kwashiorkor compared with marasmus. IV. Performance on the national high school entrance examination.

This is one of a series of studies on the long-term effects of early childhood malnutrition in Barbadian school children. This is the first report of the relationship between early malnutrition and later performance on a national examination administered to all 11-y-old children in Barbados to assign high school seats. We compared scores achieved on the 11-plus examination by 103 boys and girls with histories of marasmus or kwashiorkor with those obtained by 63 healthy comparison children and also with scores obtained by the total island population of children during the same years. We report that children with histories of either type of malnutrition confined to infancy had significantly lower scores on the national high school examination than healthy comparison children. Reduced 11-plus scores were closely associated with teacher reports of attention deficits in the classroom documented when the children were as young as 5 to 8 y of age and also with IQ and academic performance. Early malnutrition had independent effects on performance on the 11-plus examination even when home environmental conditions were controlled for. These findings have important implications for future opportunities available to children with histories of infantile malnutrition.

Barbados↗
PubMed2003

Long-term neuropsychologic and health outcomes of children with facial nerve palsy attributable to Lyme disease.

BACKGROUND: There is little information about the long-term outcomes of children with facial nerve palsy attributable to Lyme disease, a group putatively at high risk for poor neurologic outcomes. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to assess the long-term neuropsychologic and health outcomes of children with facial nerve palsy attributable to Lyme disease. METHODS: We conducted a matched cross-sectional study of children with facial nerve palsy in Connecticut who met the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention national surveillance case definition for Lyme disease. We identified children with facial nerve palsy attributable to Lyme disease from population-based data for the state of Connecticut from 1984 to 1991 as well as from selected clinical practices from 1984 to 1998. For each case, 2 controls without Lyme disease, matched by age, were selected by sequential digit dialing technique. Both patients and controls (or their parents) were interviewed using structured questionnaires. Outcomes included self/parents' reports both of symptoms and of abilities to perform normal daily activities since the diagnosis was made (or for an equivalent period of time for controls). In addition, the patients with facial nerve palsy attributable to Lyme disease were evaluated with a battery of neuropsychologic tests. RESULTS: Of the 43 patients, 30% were female and 93% were white. Median age at diagnosis was 8 years (range: 2-18 years). Mean time to follow-up was 49 months (range: 7-161 months). Of the patients, 16% had been treated parenterally with ceftriaxone and 84% had been treated orally with either doxycycline or amoxicillin. Overall, 79% believed they were cured of Lyme disease, 9% believed they were not cured, and 12% did not know. The proportions of patients and of matched controls that reported increased problems with normal daily activities (eg, exercise, academic performance, word recall, sleeping) were similar. Patients with facial nerve palsy attributable to Lyme disease were more likely than matched controls to report symptoms of neck pain, changes in behavior, pains in joints or muscles, numbness or funny sensations in nerves, and problems with memory, but three quarters of them did not attribute these problems to Lyme disease. Twenty patients agreed to undergo neuropsychologic testing; all had average to above average scores on tests of IQ (eg, mean IQ was 110.2), memory, learning, attention, concentration, math, reading and spelling performance, executive functioning, abstract thinking, sequential processing, visuospatial scanning, and motor speed. There were no apparent differences in outcomes between children who received oral versus parenteral treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The neuropsychologic and health outcomes of children with facial nerve palsy attributable to Lyme disease 7 to 161 months earlier are comparable to those who did not have Lyme disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Physical disability among American medical students.

The present survey aimed to assess the prevalence and nature of physical disabilities among medical school graduates and to investigate the academic performance of these new physicians with disabilities. A questionnaire was sent to the deans of student affairs of each of the then existing 128 United States and Puerto Rican medical schools, addressing the profiles of students with physical disabilities in the 1987 through 1990 graduating classes. Seventy-seven (60%) United States and Puerto Rican medical schools responded to the questionnaire, of which 67 were able to complete it. A total of 67 students with physical disabilities (40 males and 27 females) were reported. Three of the 67 students were excluded from the study because their conditions did not match our definition of physical disability. The remaining 64 students (38 males and 26 females), ranging from 0 to 10 per school, comprised 0.19% of the 33,138 students who graduated from the 67 medical schools during these 4 academic yr. The disabilities represented by the 64 students encompassed a wide spectrum of etiologies, including neurologic (39%), musculoskeletal (20%), medical-surgical (13%), visual (13%), and auditory (9%) problems. The majority of students with disabilities had above average (36%) to average (48%) academic standings. The actual prevalence of medical students with disabilities might be higher than reported because of the underreporting of the less noticeable types of disabilities.

Achievement↗
PubMed1999

The role of curriculum in influencing students to select generalist training: a 21-year longitudinal study.

To determine if specific curricula or backgrounds influence selection of generalist careers, the curricular choices of graduates of Mount Sinai School of Medicine between 1970 and 1990 were reviewed based on admission category. Students were divided into three groups: Group 1, those who started their first year of training at the School of Medicine; Group 2, those accepted with advanced standing into their third year of training from the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, a five-year program developed to select and produce students likely to enter primary care fields; and Group 3, those accepted with advanced standing into the third year who spent the first two years at a foreign medical school. All three groups took the identical last two years of clinical training at the School of Medicine. These were no significant differences with respect to initial choice of generalist training programs among all three groups, with 46% of the total cohort selecting generalist training. Of those students who chose generalist programs, 58% in Group 1, 51% in Group 2, and 41% in Group 3 remained in these fields rather than progressing to fellowship training. This difference was significant only with respect to Group 3. However, when an analysis was performed among those students providing only primary care as compared to only specialty care, there were no significant differences. Analysis by gender revealed women to be more likely to select generalist fields and remain in these fields without taking specialty training (P < .0001). Differentiating characteristics with respect to choosing generalist fields were not related to either Part I or Part II scores on National Board Examinations or selection to AOA. However, with respect to those specific specialties considered quite competitive (general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, and ophthalmology), total test scores on Part I and Part II were significantly higher than those of all other students. The analysis indicated that, despite the diverse characteristics of students entering the third year at the School of Medicine, no one group produced a statistically greater proportion of generalists positions than any other, and academic performance while in medical school did not have a significant influence on whether a student entered a generalist field.

Career Choice↗
PubMed1976

A study of women students at King's College Hospital Medical School.

The admission statistics between 1967 and 1975 were studied and it was found that of the students applying a higher proportion of women than men have been admitted to King's College Hospital Medical School and that the percentage has also risen during the period for 20% in 1967 to 38% in 1975. The performance of 206 students was examined and it was found that in the A-level examinations the women studentss had significantly higher score in Zoology/Biology than the men, higher score but not significantly so in Chemistry and lower scores in Physics. It was found that the women students had higher scores than the men in the multiple choice examinations in medicine and surgery at the end of the first clinical year but that these differences were not statistically significant. In their firm reports during the first clinical year the women students had higher scores than the men in both ability and effort, but only significantly so in the case of the score for effort. In the Final London MB BS examinations in Medicine and Surgery the women had significantly higher marks than the men in both subjects. This superior academic performance and motivation at undergraduate level is discussed in the light of the lower work record of women medical graduates, and the government's policy of equal opportunity for men and women.

Education, Medical, Undergraduate↗
PubMed2005

Psychosocial characteristics of diabetic students at Sporting Students Hospital in Alexandria.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease that may have an impact on children's psychosocial adjustment. The aim of the present work was to study the psychosocial characteristics of diabetic students and to determine predictors of diabetes control. A cross-sectional study of 150 diabetic students who attended the diabetic school health insurance clinic of Sporting Student's Hospital in Alexandria governorate within a period of one month was conducted. A pre-designed interviewing questionnaire was used to collect--from the child and/or his/her parents--personal data, data about the child social relationships and school and disease characteristics. School adjustment index and stress symptom index were used to assess the school performance and the stress symptoms respectively. The result revealed that 34% of the diabetic students were maladjusted to school and 31.3% were symptomatic based on the stress index. Generally speaking, diabetic children reported good relationship to peers (65.3%), parents (57.3%) and siblings (51.3%), most of them have good friendship (82%) and those involved in one or more kind of hobby were about three fourth of all. Both age (P<0.05), sex (P<0.05), social class (P<0.05), disease duration (P<0.05) and stress symptoms (P<0.05) were all significantly associated with the disease control. However after adjustment for other variables, students of low social class families (OR=5.1, p<0.01) and those of longer disease duration (6-10 years) (OR=7.9, p<0.05) were significant predictors of diabetes control. In conclusion diabetes per se might have no significant association with academic performance or social relationship. Students with large diabetic duration-especially those of low social class families--are at increased risk of suboptimal glycaemic control and should be targeted for interventional strategies.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2005

Ocular profile among hearing impaired children.

OBJECTIVE: To report ocular abnormalities among identified hearing impaired children and their prevalence in relation to normal hearing children. METHODS: A sample of 302 identified children with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss at King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital and Rehabilitation Medical Center of the Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, after full audiological assessment, aged below 15 years, were screened ophthalmologically during the period from December 1997 to December 2002. Visual testing and cycloplegic refraction using 1% Cyclogyl was performed followed by retinal examination using direct and indirect ophthalmoscopy. Electroretinography was recorded for those with retinal pigmentary changes. One hundred control normal hearing children were examined, and chi square test applied. RESULTS: A total of 302 hearing impaired children were examined, 199 (66%) were boys and 103 (34%) were girls, age ranged between 2-15 years. Hearing loss was bilateral severe to profound. One hundred and eighty-four (61%) have one or more ocular abnormalities, while 147 (48.7%) had one or more significant error of refraction. In the control cases, 23% had error of refraction with a chi square test of 20.2 (p<0.001), which is significant. CONCLUSION: Ocular anomalies are more commonly found among deaf children than those with normal hearing. Early ophthalmological assessment of hearing impairment is advisable to detect any ocular anomalies, followed by correction to help in the academic performance of these children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Out-of-school settings as a developmental context for children and youth.

Since the 1990s, there has been a growing recognition of the importance of the out-of-school context for children and adolescents. Fueled in part by family demographics that include substantial numbers of employed mothers and single mothers, in part by concerns about poor academic performance and problem behaviors, and in part by intensified efforts to find ways to promote positive youth development, researchers and practitioners have focused their attention on two particular out-of-school settings: after-school programs and structured activities. The research findings pertaining to full-time (i.e., 5 days a week) after-school programs are mixed, which may reflect the substantial heterogeneity of the programs in terms of children being served, the types of activities offered, and the training and background of the staff. The federal funding of the 21st Century CLCs and various state and local initiatives has increased the numbers of low-income and English-learning students participating in after-school programs. A substantial number of programs are becoming more school-like. The available research suggests that (under some conditions) attending after-school programs is linked to improved social and academic outcomes. Children are more likely to show academic and social benefits when staff-child relationships are positive and nonconflictual, when programs offer a variety of age-appropriate activities from which children can select those of interest, and when children attend on a regular basis. The research findings about voluntary structured activities are more straightforward. Participation in these activities has been consistently linked to positive academic and social developmental outcomes in numerous studies. What appears to be key is that the activities are voluntary, are characterized by sustained engagement and effort, and provide opportunities to build or develop skills. Although the available research has begun to inform our understanding of the out-of-school context, further research is sorely needed. First, there is a need for research to identify the social, cognitive, and linguistic processes by which participation in programs and structured activities influences child and youth developmental outcomes. For example, researchers need to consider the competitiveness of sport activities in relation to children's social and emotional functioning. Researchers also might examine after-school experiences as settings in which complex thought processes can develop. Heath (1999) has conducted initial work in the area of language development by obtaining language samples during voluntary structured activities and analyzing their content. In the initial samples, students engaged in few sustained conversations on a topic and they frequently changed topics. After 3-4 weeks at the program, however, Heath noted substantial changes in the students' conversations and language. The use of conditionals (should, would, could) increased. She also noted increases in strategies to obtain clarifications from others and increases in the use of shifted registers and genres. Heath's (1999) linguistic analyses in conjunction with research that considers social and motivational processes underscore the broader point that the out-of-school context is complex and multi-layered and likely to be of substantial importance in the lives of children and youth. Research is needed to identify other important developmental processes in programs and structured activities. A promising procedure for identifying these processes is experience sampling (Csikszentmihalyi & Larson, 1987; Larson, 1989). Experience sampling methodology allows researchers to collect systematic data about an individual's activities, thoughts, and affective states by obtaining reports from participants at multiple randomly sampled points in time. Participants are signaled to provide a report in a variety of ways, such as with beepers or alarm watches. This record of experiences is not usually captured by other data collection methods. For example, program observations provide data on observed activities, interactions, and program climate, but do not offer insights into students' feelings and experiences within the after-school environment. Questionnaire and survey data are retrospective, asking respondents to recall past experiences and feelings regarding their after-school activities. Experience sampling could be used to examine any number of processes in after-school programs and structured activities. A better understanding of the effects of program content also is needed. Whether after-school programs should focus exclusively on enrichment activities or exclusively on academic activities, or include both enrichment and academic components, is the subject of heated debate. Some after-school scholars (Halpern, 1999; Heath, 1999; Eccles, in press) have argued forcefully that a focus on academics undermines the unique strengths and role of programs, and that programs should emphasize extracurricular enrichment activities. Others (Noam, 2004) have supported the move by policy makers and educators to make programs more academic, with an emphasis on homework help, tutoring, and preparation for academic achievement tests. The effects of different approaches to after-school programming have not been evaluated systematically. Research that describes, compares, and then tests effects of different program content models is needed to determine which types of programs are successful in attracting and keeping students (a necessary condition for programs to effect change), and to determine whether different types of programs are differentially associated with improvements in student outcomes such as school attendance, academic achievement, social competencies, and behavioral adjustment. A related question is whether structured activities that are obligatory or required have the same effects as voluntary structured activities do. Researchers also should further examine the impact of different attendance patterns on child developmental outcomes. We do not have solid information about optimal intensity and duration of attendance in terms of outcomes. There are suggestions in the literature that long-term, frequent attendance at programs is associated with positive outcomes for low-income children. Research needs to examine whether these results hold for middle-income children and youth as well. Finally, experimental studies should be conducted in which children and adolescents are randomly assigned to after-school programs and structured activities. All of the research to date on structured activities, and most of the research on after-school programs, has been nonexperimental, so questions about selection bias remain. Experimental studies in which children and adolescents are randomly assigned to participation in programs and activities would be a valuable next step in understanding relations between participation and child and youth outcomes. Such research should not be conducted until we have more information about the components of high-quality programming in terms of program content and developmental processes, however.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Is relatively young age within a school year a risk factor for mental health problems and poor school performance? A population-based cross-sectional study of adolescents in Oslo, Norway.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have shown that children who are relatively young within a school year are at greater risk for poorer school performance compared with their older peers. One study also reported that relative age within a school year is an independent risk factor for emotional and behavioral problems. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that relatively younger adolescents in the multiethnic population of Oslo have poorer school performance and more mental health problems than their relatively older classmates within the same school year. METHODS: This population-based cross-sectional study included all 10th-grade pupils enrolled in 2000 and 2001 in the city of Oslo. The participation rate was 88%. Of the 6,752 pupils in the study sample, 25% had a non-Norwegian background. Mental health problems were quantified using the abbreviated versions of Symptom Check List-25 (SCL-10) and the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Information on school performances and mental health problems were self-reported. We controlled for confounding factors including parental educational level, social support, gender, and ethnicity. RESULTS: The youngest one-third of pupils had significantly lower average school grades than the middle one-third and oldest one-third of their classmates (p < 0.001). Of the mental health problems identified in the questionnaires, the groups differed only on peer problems; the youngest one-third reported significantly more problems than the middle and oldest groups (p < 0.05). Age within a school year and gender showed significant interactions with total SDQ score, SDQ peer problems score, SDQ pro social score, and SCL-10 score. After stratifying for gender, the peer problem scores differed significantly between age groups only among boys. The SCL-10 score was significant, but only in girls and in the opposite direction to that expected, with the oldest pupils having significantly higher scores than the other two groups (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: In adolescents from a multicultural city in Norway, relative age within a school year significantly influenced academic performance. In contrast to data from Great Britain, relative age within a school year was not an important risk factor for mental health problems in adolescents in Oslo.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Evaluation of an early medical school selection program for underrepresented minority students.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the academic performance in the first two years of medical school of underrepresented minority students (URMS) who participated in an early identification and admission program. METHOD: The study involved 39 early-selection URM students who entered one medical school from 1992 through 1999. Successful completion of the first two years of medical school and passing the United States Medical Licensure Examination (USMLE) Step 1 were correlated with Scholastic Aptitude Test I (SAT I) scores and Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores. The students were required to maintain an overall grade-point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale to remain in the program. RESULTS: Students who had combined scores of at least 900 on the SAT I and total scores of at least 18 on the three multiple-choice sections of the MCAT had more success completing the first two years of medical school and passed USMLE Step 1 with greater frequency than did those students who scored at lower levels on these tests. CONCLUSION: An early-selection program for URM students can identify early in their academic careers students who can complete the first two years of medical school and pass the USMLE Step 1.

Education, Medical, Undergraduate↗
PubMed1993

Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and neuropsychological evaluation in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia at a young age.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the adverse late effects of ALL treatment on cognitive functions and brain morphology; to integrate the results of a neuropsychological and neuroradiological study. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and neuropsychological assessments (NA) were performed in 35 children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with cranial irradiation (CI) and intrathecal and intravenous methotrexate. Patients were under the age of 7 years (MD: 3.5 years) at diagnosis; median follow-up at MRI and NA was 8 years since diagnosis. RESULTS: MRI's were classified as definitely abnormal in 51% and as probably abnormal in another 17% of the patients. White matter damage was most frequently seen. MRI abnormalities were not related to CI dose or age at diagnosis. Patients showed significantly lower scores, compared to the norm group on measures of intelligence, verbal auditory memory, visual motor integration, and fine motor functioning. Lower scores significantly correlated with higher CI dose (25-32 Gy compared to 18-20 Gy) and younger age at diagnosis (< 4.0 years compared to > or = 4.0 years). Forty percent of the patients had to be referred to schools for learning disabled. CONCLUSIONS: ALL treatment, including CI and MTX, at a young age is associated with persistent cognitive impairment and MRI abnormalities. However, no correlation was found between MRI results and neuropsychological or academic performance.

Brain↗
PubMed2005

A method for predicting a student's risk for academic probation in a professional program in allied health.

Identification of students at risk for academic difficulty in a physical therapy program would provide opportunities to implement preemptive measures designed to enhance successful academic performance. The purpose of this study was to determine if a method advocated for use in evidence-based practice could be adapted for use in predicting probationary status for students in a program in allied health, specifically physical therapy. Preadmission combined math and science grade point average; cumulative grade point average (TGPA); verbal Graduate Record Examination score (VGRE), quantitative Graduate Record Examination score (QGRE), and analytic Graduate Record Examination score; and probation status were obtained for 305 students (mean age, 25.5 years; SD, 4.14) accepted into one physical therapy program from 1995 to 2000. Predictors of probation were identified using stepwise logistic regression. Likelihood ratios were calculated for three score intervals derived from receiver operating characteristic analysis. TGPA, VGRE, and QGRE were significant predictors in the regression model (p < 0.05). VGRE was the only variable that consistently showed predictive capability (likelihood ratio, 2.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-6.9). Quantitative preadmission data can be used in combination to improve the predictive power of estimates of probation risk. We contend that the analytic methods illustrated in this report could be used in academic programs to assist faculty with management of students who are at risk for academic difficulties.

Adult↗