Biomedical subjects

Herbert Roeyers

Publications and source records attributed to Herbert Roeyers.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

Socioeconomic status as a common factor underlying the association between enuresis and psychopathology.

The association between enuresis and psychopathology (e.g., attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder) has been well studied. However, past research failed to adjust this relationship for the influence of sociodemographic variables underlying both problems. This study, using the Child Behavior Checklist and the Disruptive Behavior Disorder Rating Scale, compares 154 enuretic children with a control group of 153 children who had urinary control. The results reveal that enuretic children show significantly higher scores on both questionnaires. However, when sociodemographic variables are entered in the analysis, group differences disappear, and social class category, as a measure of socioeconomic status (SES), becomes a significant factor in explaining the variance in problem scores. Although children with enuresis have more internalizing, externalizing, and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms than continent children, when the analysis is performed controlling for SES, this relationship is no longer present.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2003

A simple and sensitive method to measure timing accuracy.

Timing accuracy in presenting experimental stimuli (visual information on a PC or on a TV) and responding (keyboard presses and mouse signals) is of importance in several experimental paradigms. In this article, a simple system for measuring timing accuracy is described. The system uses two PCs (at least Pentium II, 200 MHz), a photocell, and an amplifier. No additional boards and timing hardware are needed. The first PC, a SlavePC, monitors the keyboard presses or mouse signals from the PC under test and uses a photocell that is placed in front of the screen to detect the appearance of visual stimuli on the display. The software consists of a small program running on the SlavePC. The SlavePC is connected through a serial line with a second PC. This MasterPC controls the SlavePC through an ActiveX control, which is used in a Visual Basic program. The accuracy of our system was investigated by using a similar setup of a SlavePC and a MasterPC to generate pulses and by using a pulse generator card. These tests revealed that our system has a 0.01-msec accuracy. As an illustration, the reaction time accuracy of INQUISIT for a few applications was tested using our system. It was found that in those applications that we investigated, INQUISIT measures reaction times from keyboard presses with millisecond accuracy.

Humans↗

PubMed2003

STIVID: A VBSCRIPT-based program for adding visual and auditory stimuli on videotapes.

Some psychological experiments require placement of visual and auditory stimuli on predefined frames in a videotape. We introduce STIVID (STImuli on VIDeo) as a method of performing this task STIVID can add images, words, simple shapes, and audio tones to specific frames of existing video files created in AVI format. STIVID is written in Visual Basic and uses VBScripts to modify the AVI files. Three applications of this program are discussed: adding stimuli for reaction time experiments with couples watching a relational conflict, use of distractors in ADHD experiments, and placing eye masks on actors in existing videotapes to manipulate perceptibility of the target's facial expression during the mind-reading process.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

PubMed2002

Stimulation seeking and hyperactive behavior in children with ADHD: a re-analysis.

To examine the stimulation-seeking function of hyperactivity in children with ADHD, Antrop and colleagues analyzed the behavior of 30 hyperactive and 30 nonhyperactive children during a waiting situation, either with or without extra stimulation. The behavior was assessed by frequency measures. In their study it was hypothesized that children with ADHD would show a greater decrease in activity in the presence of stimulation than control children. Since confirmation for this hypothesis was only found for 2 of 25 target behaviors, the present re-analysis included other behavioral measures to assess two relationships: first, how hyperactivity varies under fixed time conditions, using measures of duration and intensity of behavior instead of frequency measures, and second, how the perceived duration of waiting time affects behavior. Analysis indicated that children with ADHD showed a greater decrease in behavior in the presence of stimulation for touching objects and movements of trunk, as reported. Further, children who underestimated the waiting period were more apt to seek additional stimulation in its absence than those who overestimated the waiting period.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗