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Biomedical subjects

B P Rourke

Publications and source records attributed to B P Rourke.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

A five-factor model for motor, psychomotor, and visual-spatial tests used in the neuropsychological assessment of children.

Previous confirmatory factor analysis has supported a distinction between simple and complex motor skill tests in a modified and expanded Halstead Reitan test battery (HRB). The present study used a sample of 722 right-handed boys and girls, aged 9 through 12, and expanded the sample of motor, psychomotor, and visual-spatial tests to further clarify this distinction. Restricted maximum-likelihood factor analysis resulted in correlated factors of Simple Motor Skill, Complex Visual-Spatial Relations, Simple Spatial Motor Operations, Motor Steadiness, and Speeded Motor Sequencing. These results provide additional evidence for the discriminant validity of this particular battery of tests, and explicate further the skills and abilities measured in neuropsychological assessments of children referred for evaluation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Assessing the reliability of clinical scales when the data have both nominal and ordinal features: proposed guidelines for neuropsychological assessments.

The purpose of this article is to present, for the first time, a comprehensive methodology for assessing the reliability of a clinical scale that is frequently utilized in neuropsychological research and in biomedical studies, more generally. The dichotomous-ordinal scale is characterized by a single category of "absence" and two or more ordinalized categories of "presence" of a symptom trait, state, or behavior, and it also has special properties that need to be understood in order for its reliability to be appropriately assessed. Using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) as a clinical example, we cover the principles of expressing scale reliability in terms of a dichotomy ("absence" - "presence" of a given BPRS symptom); as a trichotomy ("none"; "mild to moderate" symptomatology; and "severe" symptomatology); and as the full 7-category dichotomous-ordinal scale: "none," "very mild," "mild," "moderate," "moderately severe," "severe," and "extremely severe." Criteria are presented that can be used to evaluate which of these three formats produces the most reliable results. Finally, we address, with a second sample, the important issue of replication, or whether the original reliability findings generalize to other independent populations.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

The validity of discrepancy-based definitions of reading disabilities.

This study addressed the validity of distinguishing children with reading disabilities according to the presence or absence of discrepancies between intelligence test scores and academic achievement. Three definitions of reading disability were used to provide criteria for five groups of children who (a) met a discrepancy-based definition uncorrected for the correlation of IQ and achievement; (b) met a discrepancy-based definition correcting for the correlation of IQ and achievement; (c) met a low achievement definition with no IQ discrepancy; (d) met criteria a and b; and (e) met none of the criteria and had no reading disability. Comparison of these five groups on a set of 10 neuropsychological tests corrected for correlations with IQ showed that group differences were small and accounted for little of the variability among groups. These results question the validity of segregating children with reading deficiencies according to discrepancies with IQ scores.

Achievement↗
PubMed1992

Emotional adjustment of children with hydrocephalus and of their parents.

Emotional and behavioral adjustment after infantile hydrocephalus were investigated. Children's and parents' adjustments were assessed by means of questionnaires (PIC-R, SCL-90-R) in a sample of 48 children with shunted hydrocephalus. The PIC-R patterns of the children were mostly reflective of their anomalous physical and cognitive development, but there was no evidence for a specific "hydrocephalic personality" pattern. Discriminant analyses revealed that there were no strong relationships between distress of the parents (as assessed by the SCL-90-R) and a variety of physical and psychosocial variables, despite the fact that many parents were significantly distressed. It was concluded that the majority of children with hydrocephalus do not present with a specific psychiatric profile, that clinically significant levels of distress are quite common in their parents, and that such distress is typically not related to the hydrocephalus per se.

Child↗
PubMed1991

Neuropsychological functioning of hydrocephalic children.

A group of 30 five- to eight-year-old hydrocephalic children was administered a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests. As a group, they displayed a pattern of lower PIQ than VIQ. Their performance was within the average range of many neuropsychological tests, but they performed poorly on some measures of complex visuospatial functioning. It is concluded that hydrocephalic children at this early age exhibit relatively reduced efficiency in processing complex or novel nonverbal stimuli. The possibility of dysfunction in the posterior regions of the right cerebral hemisphere is discussed.

Brain Damage, Chronic↗
PubMed1990

Psychometric intelligence after infantile hydrocephalus. A critical review and reinterpretation.

Methodological issues in research concerning intellectual sequelae of infantile hydrocephalus are reviewed, and a multivariate statistical approach to this problem is proposed and exemplified. The significance of a variety of medical history variables with regard to psychometric intelligence was assessed in a sample of 5- to 8-year-old children who had been shunted in the 1st year of life. Stepwise discriminant analyses revealed that many medical history variables were neutral with regard to intellectual outcome (as assessed by performance on psychometric tests). The presence of additional medical problems in infancy, as well as current ocular defects, were the most significant variables that were associated with a high likelihood of mental retardation. Implications for further research are discussed.

Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts↗
PubMed1990

Long-term effects of severe penetrating head injury on psychosocial adjustment.

The long-term effects of severe penetrating head injury on adjustment levels were studied. Forty-one World War II veterans who suffered penetrating injury to the brain were interviewed 40 years after their initial injury using the Washington Psycho-Social Seizure Inventory (WPSI). The results support a comparable behavioral impact of right and left hemispheric lesions. Similarly, no significant relations were found between anterior and posterior locus of damage and psychosocial difficulties, although the results pertaining to the right-anterior group could be interpreted as suggestive of much greater maladjustment in all life dimensions assessed by the WPSI. Findings are discussed in terms of theoretical positions on hemispheric specialization and long-term expectancies that hold implications for planning rehabilitation programs for such patients.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Psychosocial functioning of learning-disabled children: relations between WISC Verbal IQ-Performance IQ discrepancies and personality subtypes.

A total of 132 children with learning disabilities (LD) between the ages of 6 and 12 years were divided equally into 3 groups on the basis of the difference between WISC VIQ-PIQ scores (viz., VIQ greater than PIQ, VIQ = PIQ, and VIQ less than PIQ). The mean Personality Inventory for Children (PIC) profiles for the VIQ = PIQ and VIQ less than PIQ groups were normal; however, the VIQ greater than PIQ group showed pathological elevations on some PIC scales. Group average linkage cluster analysis using 10 PIC scales revealed 6 psychosocial subtypes. Within these subtypes, children with VIQ greater than PIQ were found at lower than expected frequencies in normal and mildly disturbed subtypes, but at higher than expected frequencies in seriously disturbed subtypes. These results support the notion that patterns of cognitive performance are related to patterns of psychosocial functioning in children with LD.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1989

Psychosocial functioning of learning-disabled children: replicability of statistically derived subtypes.

The PIC scores of 132 learning-disabled children between the ages of 6 and 12 years were investigated using Q-factor analysis, four hierarchical-agglomerative clustering techniques, and one iterative partitioning clustering technique. Results revealed excellent correspondence between the subtypes derived by all grouping methods in terms of both misclassifications and mean PIC profile similarity of the subtypes across techniques. The mean PIC profile of one subtype indicated normal psychosocial adjustment; a second subtype exhibited evidence of significant internalized psychopathology; a third subtype had a mean PIC profile suggestive of externalized psychosocial maladjustment. These subtypes were virtually identical to three subtypes reported by Porter and Rourke (1985) in another study of learning-disabled children. The results indicate that learning-disabled children comprise a heterogeneous population in terms of psychosocial functioning and that subtypes of learning-disabled children with similar patterns of socioemotional adjustment can be recovered reliably from this population across samples and statistical grouping techniques.

Child↗
PubMed1989

Recovery of memory after severe closed head injury: dissociations in recovery of memory parameters and predictors of outcome.

This study examined selective reminding and recognition memory performance of 21 severe closed-head injured patients tested within 6 months of regaining consciousness and then again after at least 1 year. Performances on selective reminding parameters were highly correlated and patients performed significantly worse at both testings than did hospitalized controls matched for age, education, and sex. Patients improved from testing 1 to testing 2 on only four of six memory variables. Average Impairment Rating at testing 1 was a marginally better predictor of memory performance at testing 2 than was length of coma. Results are discussed in terms of (a) utility of selective reminding parameters and predictors of outcome and (b) dissociations in recovery of memory parameters.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

A childhood learning disability that predisposes those afflicted to adolescent and adult depression and suicide risk.

A particular subtype of learning disability (nonverbal learning disability) is described. This subtype of individuals with learning disability is seen to be at particular risk for depression and suicide. The origins of the study of this subtype of learning disability, its incidence in various forms of neurological disease, disorder, and dysfunction, and its behavioral and socioemotional manifestations (including its association with significant internalized forms of psychopathology) are described. A case history of a young woman who manifests this disability and who has attempted suicide on three occasions is also presented.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1988

Discriminant validity of lateral sensorimotor tests in children.

The discriminant validity of left- (LH) and right-hand (RH) sensorimotor measures from a comprehensive neuropsychological battery was tested using confirmatory factor analysis. A group of children (primarily learning disabled) was divided into analysis (n = 488) and cross-validation (n = 400) samples and the following measures were taken for both the LH and the RH Tactile Perception, Finger Agnosia, Fingertip Number Writing, Tactile Form Recognition, Finger Tapping, Grip Strength, Grooved Pegboard, and Mazes. RH- and LH scores from these tests, and scores from five WISC subtests (Information, Similarities, Vocabulary, Block Design, and Object Assembly) were analyzed in a series of four nested confirmatory factor models. Models distinguished between LH and RH skill factors, and/or between simple- and complex-skill factors. Models were compared using incremental fit ratios and chi 2 difference tests (Bentler & Bonnett, 1980). Model comparisons revealed little evidence for discriminant validity of LH and RH measures, but strong support for distinctions between measures of simple- and complex-skills. These findings were replicated in the cross-validation sample.

Adolescent↗