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Biomedical subjects

M J Paulson

Publications and source records attributed to M J Paulson.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1990

School performance, academic aspirations, and drug use among children and adolescents.

The relationship between drug use, school performance, and academic aspirations among 446 Anglo and Hispanic youths, age nine to seventeen, is explored. Two groups of subjects--current substance users and non-users--were interviewed. Subjects in each comparison group were similar in age, ethnicity, and gender. Overall results, consistent with prior research, indicate a significant relationship between current school performance, future educational aspirations, and drug use. No difference was noted between substance use groups on indicators of general interest in school work or probability of dropping out of school. Important differences in response patterns occurring with age, ethnicity, and gender were found.

Achievement↗
PubMed1978

Suicide potential and behavior in children ages 4 to 12.

From a population of 662 children 12 years of age and under, seen at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, during the years 1970 to 1974, 34 severely depressed children were identified who were also self-abusive and/or suicidal. Case study revealed fragmented, pathological homes, where the children's affect disorders and behaviors were symptomatic of acute family breakdown, marital disharmony, and observed and experienced violence, both verbal and physical. Follow-up on all available children, at least three years posttreatment, revealed that no child had committed suicide. Treatment evaluation by the parents was highly positive, with the great majority of children showing fair to good recovery and adjustment.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed1977

Parent Attitude Research Instrument (PARI): clinical vs. statistical inferences in understanding abusive mothers.

Attitudes toward child rearing and early experiences in childhood traditionally have been regarded as psychodynamic factors that influence adult behavior. The present study assessed the capacity of the Parent Attitude Research Instrument (PARI) to differentiate between court-identified abusive mothers and a control sample of nonabusive, well-baby clinic mothers of comparable socioeconomic status. While univariate t-tests showed statistical significance for 3 of the 23 PARI scales, more sophisticated and appropriate multivariate tests (Discriminant Function Analysis) demonstrated that the PARI correctly classified the experimental and control Ss only 65% of the time. It appears that the PARI alone should not be used to identify potentially abusive mothers. Even more important, the results caution and alert non-statistically informed clinicians and researchers to the pitfall of over-interpreting clinical data that are based on the more simple univariate tests of statistical significance.

Attitude↗
PubMed1975

A discriminant function procedure for identifying abusing parents.

From 60 abusive parents was selected a sample of 15 males and 18 females, each identified as the primary abusive parent in the home. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory of each was subjected to a series of discriminant function analyses. Recognizing that sex is an important determinant in understanding and predicting child abuse, separate scales were derived for males, females, and sexes combined. A graph is included that allows for estimating the probability of an individual's being an abusive parent. Using these scales in conjunction with clinical interviews and medical history, there is thus an increased probability of identifying parents "at risk." Content analyses of the scale items reflect specific conflict areas for males and females that make for increased understanding of the psychology of child abuse.

Child Abuse↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The stiff man syndrome: a psychiatric disease?

Although the Stiff Man Syndrome has been traditionally viewed as a neurologic disorder, a number of recent articles have documented a pattern of familial, interpersonal, and intrapsychic stress which suggests that this disease may be, to a considerable degree, psychosomatic in origin. The present paper reviews several recent articles and focuses on a single case study. Although the medical diagnosis was earlier confirmed, an in-depth psychiatric evaluation and extensive psychological assessment showed many psychopathological concomitants associated with the severe muscle spasm and stiffness. A follow-up after about a year of group and individual psychotherapy showed that the symptoms were still in remission, and that the patient was functioning personally and occupationally on a significantly improved level.

Adult↗