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Biomedical subjects

L C Whitaker

Publications and source records attributed to L C Whitaker.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1990

Standardization of the Whitaker Index of Schizophrenic Thinking (WIST) in a Mexican population: a multivariable study.

This study reports a study of Spanish translation of Form A of the Whitaker Index of Schizophrenic Thinking (WIST) administered to 104 Mexican subjects: 40 schizophrenic (20 acute and 20 chronic) and 64 nonschizophrenic (10 nonschizophrenic hospitalized, 10 alcoholics, and 44 normals). A multiple regression analysis was carried out in order to evaluate the existing relation between each of the MMPI and WIST forms. The results suggest that this translation effectively discriminates between schizophrenics and nonschizophrenics on the WIST Total Score, Time, and Index. A cut-off of 23 on the WIST Index correctly identified 79% of the total subjects. The WIST, as well as the MMPI, separately detects in a reliable way schizophrenic subjects, but the correlation between the Index of the WIST and the MMPI 8 or schizophrenia scale by itself is not significant.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1985

The measurement of schizophrenic conceptualization using a Spanish translation of the Whitaker Index of Schizophrenic Thinking.

The Spanish translation of Form A of the Whitaker Index of Schizophrenic Thinking (WIST) was administered to 50 schizophrenic (25 acute; 25 chronic) and 50 (25 = depressives; 25 = normals) nonschizophrenic residents of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Results suggest that this translation effectively discriminated between schizophrenics and non-schizophrenics on the WIST total score, time, and index. A cut-off of 25 on the WIST index correctly classified 98% of the schizophrenic volunteers.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

The Whitaker Index of Schizophrenic Thinking (WIST) and thirteen systems for diagnosing schizophrenia.

Developed the present study in conjunction with a project that evaluated the psychiatric diagnosis of schizophrenia (Landmark, 1982; Landmark & Leslie, 1982). This design, which included 13 different interview systems for diagnosing schizophrenic disorders, allowed for an in-depth analysis of the Whitaker Index of Schizophrenic Thinking (WIST). Eighty-five outpatients who were receiving long-term chemotherapy for schizophrenia at the Moditen Clinic of London Psychiatric Hospital were reassessed individually using each of the 13 systems, following a clinical interview format, and the WIST. Major statistical analysis evaluated the concurrent validity and discriminatory efficiency of the WIST in comparison to the 13 systems. The WIST was found to show a consistently high agreement with each of the 13 systems for an average WIST discriminatory efficiency of 70%. The WIST is suggested as a practical, easily administered, diagnostic tool that performs well in comparison to the interview systems.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Exploring schizophrenic thinking in older adolescents with the WAIS, Rorschach and WIST.

Literature that addresses the diagnosis of mental disorder in adolescents strongly suggests that it may not be possible to do so. Schizophrenic thinking, in particular, has been seen as generally characteristic of adolescents. Making judgments of specific responses from the Rorschach, the WAIS, and the WIST, 10 expert clinicians were able to make judgments with regard to 12 adolescents in the 16-19 age range that were surprisingly accurate in discriminating among schizophrenics, nonschizophrenic hospitalized adolescents, and a normal control group. Results indicate that schizophrenic thinking is not necessarily characteristic of adolescents and that information from the WIST may be helpful in identifying schizophrenic adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Randomness and the "streaking" phenomenon: attentional anomalies in performance on the Whitaker Index of Schizophrenic Thinking (WIST).

Examined in detail the performance of 36 hospitalized male schizophrenics on the Whitaker Index of Schizophrenic Thinking (WIST). Results indicated two interesting phenomena. First, the performance of patients with the highest level of cognitive deficit approached a random level of responding with respect to both the type of error made and the propensity to improve after an error. Second, a subgroup of these highly impaired Ss, identified as "streakers," displayed periods of virtually error-free responding, interspersed with periods of extremely impaired performance. The streaking phenomenon, as well as the tendency toward randomness, was discussed in terms of attentional anomalies.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Validity and usefulness in four WIST studies recently reported in the journal.

Four articles that reported studies that used the Whitaker Index of Schizophrenic Thinking (WIST) were published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology in early 1977. These articles are reviewed by the WIST's author in terms of necessary conditions for valid and useful studies of schizophrenic thinking. Two of the studies reported used the MMPI Sc Scale: one of them failed to note its limitations and used the WIST incorrectly; the other resulted in some useful data. The other two articles report ground-breaking investigations of schizophrenic thinking as conceptual rule-learning inability. They are viewed as providing a valuable new orientation in the study of schizophrenic thinking because they investigate the phenomena first-hand instead of relying simply on ordinary psychiatric diagnosis for a criterion. Some previously unpublished data on the WIST and intelligence relevant to all four studies are reported.

Humans↗
PubMed1977

Limits to conceptual rule-learing by schizophrenic patients.

Two studies of conceptual rule-learning by 36 hospitalized psychiatric patients revealed that (a) while all were clinically diagnosed as schizophrenic, they differed widely in their ability to discover abstract rules; (b) the Whitaker Index of Schizophrenic Thinking (WIST) strongly predicted the patients' ability to learn and to apply a conceptual rule; and (c) regardless of severity of conceptual impairment, the patients were unaffected by modest levels of externally generated irrelevant information as presented through the modality of vision. Deficits in abstractive ability, when they exist, are believed to be due to a schizophrenic patient's inability to prevent task-irrelevant information that originates in long-term memory from spilling into and despoiling the operations of working memory.

Adult↗