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Biomedical subjects

D Lachar

Publications and source records attributed to D Lachar.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Interparent agreement on the Personality Inventory for Children: are substantial correlations sufficient?

Mothers' and fathers' responses on the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC) were compared for 360 clinic-referred children and adolescents. Interparent agreement was measured by several different indices. Correlations between parental pairs of scale T-scores derived from each parent averaged .66 for 13 of the profile scales; 9 of the scales exceeded this value. In contrast, mothers and fathers agreed in the classification of the presence of clinical significance an average of 77% of the time across these 13 scales, and pairs of parental PIC profiles contained an average of 3 scales in disagreement. The type of index used to measure interparent agreement was found to affect the results. The discussion examines the nature of interparent disagreement and addresses the implications regarding the use of fathers as informants on this instrument.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

MMPI diagnosis of psychosis in epilepsy.

Clinical experience suggests that the diagnosis of psychosis in epilepsy with the MMPI is problematic, perhaps because the symptomatology of epilepsy and psychosis overlap. This study attempted to differentiate psychotic and nonpsychotic epileptics using the MMPI clinical and content scales, code-type categories, and modified Goldberg rule. A comparison group of schizophrenics was employed to explore differences between epileptic and schizophrenic psychoses. The failure of clinical scales and profile classification systems to differentiate the two epileptic groups implies that the MMPI might be insensitive to differential psychopathology in seizure-type subgroups.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1981

A data-based analysis of the psychometric performance of the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC): an alternative to the Achenbach review.

This paper, in response to Achenbach's review of the Personality Inventory for Children manual and actuarial interpretive guide recently published in the Journal of Personality Assessment, summarizes some of the empirical data that support the validity and potential application of the PIC profile scales. In contrast to Achenbach's subjective critique of selective inventory items, review of scales and scale items provides evidence of their temporal stability, and their ability to classify criterion groups and to predict external correlates obtained independently from parents, teachers, and clinicians. It was also noted that Achenbach's concern over potential distortion of PIC descriptions because they are obtained from informants must be tempered by evidence of scale validity obtained despite the possible presence of such distortion, as well as by direct evidence that suggests the independence of scale elevation and informant psychopathology.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1980

A methodological consideration in the construction of actuarial interpretation systems.

Several actuarial interpretive systems have been constructed utilizing medical records as the source of criterion data. The present study compared adjective frequencies tabulated on a 100-item checklist from two samples of behaviorally disturbed children and adolescents employing different data collection procedures. Frequencies for the medical record sample (n = 79) were obtained by raters who reviewed case history materials and completed the checklist. The checklist sample (n = 79) was comprised of subjects matched on sex, age, and race and on whom the checklist was completed following a diagnostic evaluation. Significant differences in adjective frequencies were obtained on more than one-third of the items. When descriptors reflected syndrome-specific behaviors, minimal or no differences were found. However, consistent under-reporting of less diagnostically specific though clinically relevant characteristics was indicated in the medical record sample. This was attributed to the lack of systematic review of potential correlates. The implications for the development of actuarial systems, conduct of retrospective investigations, and construction of empirical classification systems based on medical record data were discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Correlates of broad MMPI categories.

Investigated behavioral correlates of MMPI profiles of 363 male psychiatric Ss, classified by the Goldberg system and by two systems based on Welsh's factor scales A and R. For each profile category, frequency of occurrence for 81 behavioral descriptors from an adjective check-list was compared with frequency in the remaining categories. Two of the systems were compared with classification by code-type. Categories were not differentiated strongly on the basis of behavioral descriptors, although some trends were indicated. This study supports the position that interpretive systems that provide relatively few classification alternatives are of limited value in the interpretation of individual profiles. The results are discussed in terms of category heterogeneity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

The MMPI as a predictor of early termination from polydrug abuse treatment.

The MMPI protocols obtained upon admission to an inpatient program for treatment of polydrug abuse were studied to determine if they could identify abusers who terminated prematurely from treatment. Individual scale T scores, profile code types and discriminant scores were evaluated for 104 patients who completed treatment ("stayers") and 72 patients who left prematurely ("quitters"). Although quitters and stayers did not differentiate on primary drug of abuse, age, sex, race, or IQ, quitters were less likely to obtain normal limits or neurotic code profiles, Univariate analyses revealed that quitters obtained higher mean elevations on 6 of the 15 scales studied (F, 4/Pd, 6/Pa, 8/Sc, 9/Ma, A). Discriminant scores based on a stepwise discriminant analysis correctly identified 71% of the study sample, representing a 13.7% improvement over base rate prediction. The probable importance of initial level of psychological discomfort and ability to delay gratification, and the need to examine varied treatment modalities for polydrug abusers identified as at risk for premature termination from treatment were explored.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

A heroin addiction scale for the MMPI: effectiveness in differential diagnosis in a psychiatric setting.

This study examined the discriminative utility of the Cavior Heroin Addiction Scale (HE) in separating samples of male heroin addict, alcoholic, and polydrug abuser samples from psychiatric control samples matched on sex, age, race, and education level. Heroin addicts were the only substance abuser samples that did not differentiate from its control sample. Heroin addicts obtained higher mean HE values than did the alcoholics although the polydrug abusers obtained higher mean HE values than both alcoholics and heroin addicts. HE was found to be less successful in separating these samples than was the MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale. This poorer performance is related to HE's confounding systematic relation to subject age and race, or to differences in scale construction methodology.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Objective personality assessment of children: an exploratory study of the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC) in a child psychiatric setting.

Some initial data are presented on the clinical utility of a new multidimensional objective personality inventory, the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC), Tabulation of symptoms and family characteristics independently derived from the chart data generated by 79 preadolescent outpatient evaluations resulted in an average of 12 correlates for each of the 16 profile scales. These correlates provided substantial support for the basic interpretive intent of at least 14 of these scales, as well as additional serendipitous construct validity in the form of PIC scale-parent descriptor relationships. The presentation of case findings of two adolescents with dissimilar PIC profiles demonstrated the potential value of this diagnostic instrument.

Journal Article↗