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J Beals

Publications and source records attributed to J Beals.

25 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Measurement issues in family assessment: the case of the Family Environment Scale.

The internal consistency reliabilities of 5 subscales of the Family Environment Scale were re-examined in a study of 311 stressed and 74 control families. The reliability coefficients generated were lower than those originally reported for this instrument; most coefficients generated were below the acceptable level for practical or research use, and there was considerable variation in the reliabilities across type of stressed family. An attempt to generate more reliable scales using the original items was unsuccessful, and questions about the validity of the subscales were raised. Our results illustrate the importance of examining reliabilities of instruments, even well-known and widely used instruments, for each sample studied.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Risk status of adolescent children of problem-drinking parents.

These studies assessed the risk status of children of untreated alcoholics. In Study 1, a cross-sectional survey of 208 high school students identified 18% as having serious concern about their parents' drinking. In Study 2, 32 children of problem-drinking parents and 39 others who participated in self-help groups were surveyed. Children of problem-drinking parents were more at risk of depression, low self-esteem, and heavy drinking than their peers in the general high school population. Within self-help groups, however, children's symptomatology was not related to their parents' drinking status. The results support the need for preventive intervention for children of problem-drinking parents and for developing strategies for improving the participation rate of such children in the intervention programs that are available.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1988

The children of alcoholics life-events schedule: a stress scale for children of alcohol-abusing parents.

Children of alcoholic parents have been shown to be at risk for the development of mental health problems. However, there is little empirical research that would allow one to determine which of these children are most at risk. Hypothesizing that the amount of parental drinking-related stress a child experiences may be a factor that discriminates those children of alcoholics who are most at risk from others, the Children of Alcoholics Life-Events Schedule (COALES) was developed. Using samples of high-school students, the COALES was found to have satisfactory test-retest reliability, internal-consistency reliability and construct and concurrent validity. Children who self-identified as having an alcoholic parent reported higher levels of negative events and lower levels of positive events than did their peers from nonalcoholic homes. Scores on the positive- and negative-event subscales were significantly correlated with the children's scores on measures of anxiety and depression.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Use of the CES-D in an American Indian village.

In this paper, we examine the performance of a pencil-and-paper screening questionnaire on depressive symptoms (the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, or CES-D) in a sample of 120 adult American Indians belonging to a single Northwest Coast tribe. Results of factor analyses suggest that somatic complaints and emotional distress are not well differentiated from each other in this population. CES-D scores (which have shown good sensitivity and specificity for depressive disorders in this sample) also show weak and apparently nonsignificant trends to be elevated in the presence of other psychiatric diagnoses (including alcoholism) or general impairment. However, because of the use of a convenience sample (rather than a probability sample), analyses of associations between study factors--including comorbidity--are liable to produce spurious results due to selection bias (including Berkson bias). On this basis, we suggest that the use of probability samples should assume a high priority in cross-cultural studies. The study of the entire population of interest is another solution to the sampling problem, particularly in small communities.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Commentary: quality of alcohol, drug, and mental health services for American Indian children and adolescents.

American Indian children and adolescents suffer from a high prevalence of alcohol, drug, and mental (ADM) disorders. Unfortunately, the systems of services for these children and youth have never been able to address adequately their mental health needs. Thus, the revolutionary changes now taking place within these service systems, in particular the marked increase in the direct provision of services by Indian tribes and organizations, provides a unique opportunity to address these historical shortcomings. In this paper, we describe our existing knowledge concerning the quality of ADM services for American Indian children and adolescents and their critical sociodemographic, sociocultural, and epidemiologic contexts. We then consider the implications of these studies for improving the quality of care as well as its measurement and monitoring.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Risk factors for suicide among Indian adolescents at a boarding school.

Suicide rates among American Indians, especially adolescents, are higher than those for the general population. This paper summarizes the relevant literature on prevalence of, and risk factors for, suicide among American Indian groups, with a strong emphasis on adolescents. Data concerning risk of suicide for a sample of high school students attending an Indian boarding school are presented. Approximately 23 percent of these students had attempted suicide at some time in the past, and 33 percent reported suicidal ideation within the past month. Students at greatest risk for suicide include those who reported having either family or friends who had attempted suicide and those who reported on standardized psychological measures as having experienced greater depressive symptomatology, greater quantity and frequency of alcohol use, or little family support. In a 1988 survey of community-based programs for Indian adolescents, 194 were identified as carrying out significant suicide prevention activities. Forty-one of those programs were school-based; they emphasized early identification of students' mental health problems and reduction of specific risk factors such as substance abuse.

Adolescent↗