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T J Power

Publications and source records attributed to T J Power.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Assessing ADHD across settings: contributions of behavioral assessment to categorical decision making.

Adapted methods of behavioral assessment to assess home and school functioning in a way that maps directly to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., [DSM-IV]; American Psychiatric Association, 1994). The study was conducted in a school-based sample with 5- to 12-year-old children referred to a school intervention team. A multigate set of procedures was used to assign children to one of 3 groups: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), inattentive group; ADHD, combined group; and a non-ADHD control group. The ADHD Rating Scale-IV was used to assess parent and teacher ratings of ADHD symptoms as delineated in DSM-IV. The findings suggest that the use of a fixed cutoff point (i.e., 6 or more symptoms), which is employed in the DSM-IV, is often not the best strategy for making diagnostic decisions. The optimal approach depends on whether diagnostic information is being provided by the parent or teacher and whether the purpose of assessment is to conduct a screening or a diagnostic evaluation. Also, the results indicate that a strategy that aggregates symptoms in the order in which they are accurate in predicting a diagnosis of ADHD is a more effective strategy than the approach used in DSM-IV, which aggregates any combination of a specific number of items. Implications for using methods of behavioral assessment to make diagnostic decisions using DSM-IV criteria are discussed.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗
PubMed2000

Assessing ADHD and comorbid disorders in children: the Child Behavior Checklist and the Devereux Scales of Mental Disorders.

Evaluated discriminant validity and clinical utility of selected subscales of the Devereux Scales of Mental Disorders (DSMD; Naglieri, LeBuffe, & Pfeiffer, 1994) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach, 1991a) in 228 children referred to a clinic for the evaluation and treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The DSMD is a multiaxial behavior rating scale that measures symptomatology for a broad range of child psychopathology as described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev. [DSM-R-III] and 4th ed. [DSM-IV]; American Psychiatric Association, 1987, 1994). Discriminant function analyses as well as sensitivity, specificity, and predictive power analyses were computed to evaluate the discriminant validity and clinical utility of selected DSMD and CBCL subscales for assessing ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and anxiety disorders. Results indicated that the DSMD compared very favorably with the CBCL in the ability to discriminate between children with ADHD and those without ADHD and between children with comorbid ODD and anxiety disorders and children who did not meet criteria for these disorders. The DSMD Attention subscale may be somewhat better at ruling in ADHD combined subtype (ADHD-C) and ADHD inattentive subtype (ADHD-I) than the CBCL Attention Problems subscale, but the CBCL Attention Problems subscale may have slightly better utility than the DSMD Attention subscale in ruling out these subtypes. Both the CBCL and DSMD were more useful for ruling out than for ruling in ODD and anxiety disorders.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗
PubMed1998

Assessing culturally different students for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder using behavior rating scales.

Behavior rating scales are commonly used in the assessment of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, there is little information available concerning the extent to which scales are valid with culturally different students. This study explored the use of the ADHD-IV Rating Scale School Version with male Caucasian (CA) and African American (AA) students from ages 5 to 18 years. Teachers rated AA students higher on all symptoms across all age groups. LISREL analysis indicated that scale does not perform identically across groups. This was supported by the results of multidimensional scaling with suggested that there is a different relation between items across groups. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Patterns of comorbidity associated with subtypes of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder among 6- to 12-year-old children.

OBJECTIVE: To study externalizing and internalizing comorbidity patterns in 6- to 12-year-old children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) combined subtype (n = 27), ADHD inattentive subtype (n = 26), and a normal control group (n = 33). METHOD: Children were assigned to groups on the basis of results of a parent structured interview, which reflected DSM-IV diagnostic criteria, and teacher ratings of ADHD symptoms. Comorbid problems were assessed via parent and child structured interviews and parent and teacher behavior ratings. RESULTS: Logistic regression analyses and multivariate analyses of covariance revealed that (1) children in the ADHD combined group were significantly more likely to have a diagnosis of oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder and had significantly higher scores on parent and teacher ratings of externalizing problems than children in the ADHD inattentive and control groups, (2) children in the ADHD combined and ADHD inattentive groups had significantly higher scores on parent and teacher ratings of internalizing problems than children in the control group, and (3) children in the clinical groups did not differ with regard to internalizing disorders. CONCLUSIONS: The results from this study indicate that a significant comorbidity exists between ADHD combined and oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder. Contrary to previous studies that were conducted using DSM-III diagnostic criteria for ADHD, no differences were found between ADHD combined and ADHD inattentive subtypes regarding internalizing disorders.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗
PubMed1996

Parent acceptability and feasibility of ADHD interventions: assessment, correlates, and predictive validity.

Examined variables related to parents' stated willingness to pursue treatment, and their actual adherence to treatment recommendations, for children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Parents (87 mothers; 63 fathers) of 91 patients seen for evaluation at an outpatient ADHD clinic completed the ADHD Knowledge and Opinions Survey-Revised (AKOS-R). A factor analysis of the AKOS-R revealed three relevant factors: Counseling Acceptability, Medication Acceptability, and Counseling Feasibility. Externalizing problems were positively related to parents' Counseling Acceptability ratings, while parents' ADHD knowledge was positively related to their Medication Acceptability ratings. However, Counseling Acceptability, Counseling Feasibility, and Medication Acceptability scores at intake failed to predict parents' pursual of recommended counseling and medication at follow-up. Association between treatment acceptability and adherence might be enhanced by assessing treatment acceptability at multiple points during the assessment and treatment process.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

The acceptability of interventions for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder among elementary and middle school teachers.

The acceptability of behavioral and pharmacological interventions for children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among elementary and middle school teachers was examined. Teachers (n = 147) from four suburban school districts read vignettes depicting the use of two behavioral interventions (i.e., daily report and a response cost procedure) and the use of psychostimulant medication in the treatment of ADHD and then rated the acceptability of each. Teachers' ratings of acceptability were examined as a function of knowledge of ADHD and level of teaching experience. Results demonstrated that elementary and middle school teachers each rated daily report as significantly more acceptable than response cost and stimulant medication. Also, teachers rated medication as more acceptable when used in combination with behavioral interventions than when used in isolation. Knowledge of ADHD and years of teaching experience generally were unrelated to ratings of acceptability. Cluster analyses demonstrated that teachers can be differentiated into several profile types with regard to their perceptions of treatment acceptability.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗
PubMed1993

Assessing parents' willingness to pursue treatment for children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated parents' willingness to pursue treatment for attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder (ADHD). METHOD: A self-administered questionnaire (the ADHD Knowledge and Opinion Scale--AKOS) was developed and administered to a sample of 116 families attending an outpatient ADHD clinic. Socioeconomic status, parenting stress, family adaptability and cohesion, degree of child's externalizing behavior, and treatment history were obtained for each family. RESULTS: Parents' willingness to use medication or to pursue counseling were not related to family factors. History of the child receiving medication was mildly correlated with willingness to use medication. History of counseling was mildly correlated with willingness to use medication and to pursue counseling. Mothers who viewed their family as "enmeshed" reported significantly higher sense of competence than those viewing the family as "connected" or "disengaged." CONCLUSION: The AKOS is an instrument that may help clinicians identify and address parents' concerns about treatment for ADHD as well as parents' perceptions about their parenting skills.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1992

Contextual factors in vigilance testing of children with ADHD.

The effect of contextual factors on continuous performance testing was examined by administering a vigilance task to 51 children with ADHD under conditions of examiner presence and absence at different times (i.e., beginning and middle) of an assessment battery. The results showed that the ability to differentiate target stimuli from distractors (d-prime) was related to examiner presence vs. absence, and that response bias (beta), a measure of the subject's carefulness in responding to stimuli, was associated with the time of task administration. The decline in d-prime under conditions of examiner absence was shown to be related more to level of aggression as opposed to level of inattention. Children with ADHD having relatively high levels of aggression demonstrated a significant decline in d-prime scores under conditions of examiner absence, but those with relatively low levels of aggression did not. The results demonstrated the importance of contextual factors on vigilance task performance and suggested a differential impact of contextual variables on children who are inattentive vs. aggressive.

Aggression↗
PubMed1989

The relationship of play behavior to cognitive ability in developmentally disabled preschoolers.

The relationship of play behavior to cognitive functioning in preschool developmentally disabled children was studied by comparing performance on Lowe and Costello's Symbolic Play Test (SPT) with that on the Bayley Scales and Stanford-Binet Scale. Subjects were 247 children referred for evaluation to a hospital-based child development clinic. Subjects were classified as mildly retarded, moderately retarded, atypical, borderline, and language disordered. Correlations between the Bayley/Binet and SPT for the whole sample were significant and in the low to moderate range. Correlations between cognitive and play measures for each clinical group were in the low to moderate range, except for atypical children where the correlations were negligible. The retarded and borderline groups achieved similar mental ages on the Bayley/Binet and SPT, but the language-disordered and atypical groups demonstrated marked differences in their Bayley/Binet and SPT functioning. Implications for using the SPT in clinical practice were discussed.

Child Development Disorders, Pervasive↗
PubMed1983

An electron-spin-resonance spin-label study of the interaction of purified Mojave toxin with synaptosomal membranes from rat brain.

The structural properties of isolated purified rat brain synaptosomal membranes, both in the presence and absence of purified active toxin of the Mojave snake Crotalus scutulatus scutulatus, were studied by spin-label electron spin resonance techniques. The spectra from eight different positional isomers of nitroxide-labelled stearic acids, a rigid steroid androstanol, and a spin-labelled phosphatidylcholine intercalated into the synaptosomal membranes, were obtained as a function of temperature from 4-40 degrees C. The flexibility gradient (from spin-label order parameters) and polarity profile (from isotropic splitting factors) across the synaptosomal membranes, was characteristic for lipid bilayers. The nitroxide spin-labelled steroid, androstanol, intercalated into the synaptosomal membrane, revealed the abrupt onset of rapid cooperative rotation about the long axis of the molecule at 12 degrees C showing that the lipid molecules are rotating rapidly around their long axes at physiological temperatures. The presence of the Mojave toxin affected the synaptosomal membrane in a complex manner, depending upon the temperature and the position of the nitroxide label on the alkyl chain of the stearic acid probe. Mojave toxin exerted little effect on the flexibility gradient of the synaptosomal membrane at 20 degrees C, a temperature at which the acyl chain labels detected a structural change in the membranes. At temperatures lower than 20 degrees C, the Mojave toxin produced a change in the flexibility gradient of the synaptosomal membrane which indicated an increased disordering in the upper region of the membrane and a concomitant increased ordering of the acyl chains in the deeper regions of the membrane. At temperatures higher than 20 degrees C, the order profile of the synaptosomal membrane was shifted by the presence of the Mojave toxin in a manner which indicated that the outer parts of the membrane were more rigid and the inner regions more fluid, than in controls. A cross-over point for the perturbation occurred at C8-9, which is about 12-14 A into the membrane. This is the approximate depth of the hydrophobic pocket shown in pancreatic phospholipase A2 [Drenth et al. (1976) Nature (Lond.) 264, 373-377], a protein likely to be homologous to the basic subunit of the toxin. At all temperatures, rotational lipid motion was inhibited by the toxin as indicated by the steroid probe. The electron spin-resonance spin-label results are interpreted in terms of the partial penetration of the basic subunit of the intact toxin into the membrane, disordering the ordered chains at low temperature and ordering the disordered chains at physiological temperatures. The purified individual toxin subunits did not perturb the membrane lipids at physiological temperatures implying that both subunits must be associated for activity of the toxin which is confirmed by toxicity studies.

Animals↗