American Psychological Association Guidelines Research Articles

Developing Social Justice Competencies

The social science and education fields are increasingly looking to non-traditional pedagogical methods as a way to increase students’ awareness of social justice issues. Critical inquiry projects, human rights education, and service learning models are some of the theoretically grounded approaches that advocate for novel ways of increasing social justice awareness in education. In this article, we propose a model of social justice consultation training activities that build on key principles of social justice work, core components of social justice competencies, and the American Psychological Association Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists. We present the Climate Initiative case study to illustrate consultation training activities designed to promote social justice competencies. The Climate Initiative was a collaborative project between class members in a multicultural issues in counseling course and a social justice–oriented prison education program. We have included a summary of self-reflection experiences and evaluations of the process by counseling psychology trainees and students. Future recommendations for utilizing the consultation approach as a non-traditional teaching method are also provided.

A new pathway for Motriz: challenges and commitments

In recent years, Motriz Journal has shown important advances in both the content and quality of its published articles, and the volume of submissions has increased substantially. Since 2006, nearly 2,000 manuscripts have been processed (peerand editorial-reviewed, and accepted or rejected). Now indexed in major databases, Motriz has earned recognition as one of Brazil’s leading scientific journals in the area of physical education and movement sciences. This is reflected in its A2 status, as granted by the Brazilian Coordination of Higher Education (CAPES) for the classification of scientific publications. Additionally, Motriz has earned a current impact factor of 0.14, as reported in the 2012 JCR (Journal Citation Report). As a consequence of these accomplishments, members of the Board of editors-inchief and associate editors invited additional members to join them in an effort to make Motriz an international publication. In October 2012, Motriz guidelines and language were modified to meet the goal of making Motriz an international journal. Members of the Board decided that all manuscripts should be written in English and should comply with the APA (American Psychological Association) Guidelines for the writing style, references, citations, and other technical details. The APA system is the most commonly used citation and writing style in the fields of psychology, education, and the social and behavioral sciences, and replaces the previously adopted ABNT (The Brazilian Guidelines for Technical Issues) system. The last manuscripts written in Portuguese that were approved for publication under the ABNT guidelines are available in Motriz, Volume 19, Issue 2, dated April-June 2013. On May 29, 2013, Volume 19, Issue 3, July to September, launches a new phase of the journal “ahead of print.” This edition also includes a supplemental issue, with articles and abstracts approved for the 8 th International Congress of Physical Education and Human Movement Sciences and the 14 Sao Paulo Symposium of Physical Education (CIEFMH / SPEF), held concurrently. After July 2013, the journal’s guideline information will be uploaded to the SciELO open journal system. This first English edition also comes with a new graphic layout. These changes are taking place in order to increase Motriz’s international appeal, hopefully attracting authors, making articles enjoyable to read, and making them accessible to an international audience of readers. The conversion of the journal from Portuguese to its first English edition in less than a year is remarkable. The philosophy of “open access,” which allows free and unrestricted access to Motriz’s content, will pose unrestricted worldwide visibility.

Talking about the Trayvon Martin Case in Psychology and Conseling Training and Psychotheraphy

The Trayvon Martin tragedy (the shooting of a Black male adolescent in a Florida gated community) was covered frequently by media outlets for a few months before the level of coverage gradually became only periodic updates on the status of the case and court proceedings. In response to the coverage, the listserv of the American Psychological Association (APA) Division 45 (Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues) became a site for sharing information about the case, resources, comments and recommendations. Inspired by one of the comments regarding the importance of taking action in the form of conversations and dialogues in counseling and psychology training settings and psychotherapy, this article (1) reviews guidelines such as the APA Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists, (2) notes applicable literature on the importance of promoting discussions about multicultural issues in training settings and psychotherapy, (3) describes examples of discussions held in training settings following the tragedy, and (4) lists several recommendations for facilitating conversations about the tragedy.

Recruitment, Retention and Professional Development of Psychologists in America: Potential Issue for Training and Performance

The need for increased practitioner diversity, multicultural awareness, sensitivity and competence in the mental health field has been addressed multiple times in the decades following ethnic minority psychologists’ and others raising concern during the 1960’s in America. Specifically, the concern highlighted the issue that the mental health profession was not meeting the needs for people of color. The resulting American Psychological Association guidelines on multicultural education training, research and practice reflect an inclusive approach to multiculturalism and diversity. The conceptualization of diversity now includes multiple aspects of identity such as gender, race, ethnicity, age, ability and disability, sexuality and sexual orientation. However, review of the profession in America highlights incomplete progress in efforts to acknowledge, respect and embrace the multi-leveled facets inherent in diversity that potentially impact on efforts for recruitment, retention, training and professional development in the field of psychology.

The psychologist's companion: a guide to writing scientific papers for students and researchers

Introduction 1. Eight common misconceptions about psychology papers 2. How to generate, evaluate, and sell your ideas for research and papers 3. Literature research 4. Writing a literature review 5. Planning and writing the experimental research paper 6. A word about content, language, and style 7. Commonly misused words 8. American Psychological Association guidelines for psychology papers 9. Guidelines for data presentation 10. What makes a good paper great? Standards for evaluating psychology papers 11. Ethics in research and writing 12. Submitting a paper to a journal 13. How to make your paper even better: proofreading, revising, and editing 14. Writing a grant or contract proposal 15. How to find a book publisher 16. Writing a lecture 17. Article writing 101.

Validity of 2 Sleep Quality Items to Be Used in a Large Cohort Study of Kidney Transplant Recipients

Poor sleep quality and poor daytime functioning affect many kidney transplant patients. To evaluate the validity of 2 items assessing sleep quality and daytime functioning using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index as reference standard before use in a large cohort study, following the American Psychological Association's guidelines. A cross-sectional study using a psychosocial questionnaire developed for a large cohort study and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. One hundred thirty-five home-dwelling kidney transplant patients aged 21 to 76 years (mean, 51.6 years; SD, 11.9 years). Evidence on content, internal structure, and relation to other variables. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index indicated a 47.4% prevalence of poor sleep quality; the sleep quality item in the psychosocial questionnaire showed a 30.7% prevalence of poor sleep quality and a 34.1% prevalence of poor daytime functioning. Content validity was good for the psychosocial questionnaire's sleep quality item but poor for its daytime functioning item. As hypothesized, the psychosocial questionnaire's sleep quality item was moderately correlated with its daytime functioning item (Spearman rho, p(s) = 0.520, P<.001), indicating related but distinct concepts. When combined, the 2 items from the psychosocial questionnaire showed significant correlations with the total score on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (p(s) = -0.784, P < .001), depressive symptoms (p = -0.680, P < .001), perceived health status (p(s) = 0.619, P<.001), and subjective health status (p(s) = 0.671, P<.001) in the expected directions. For kidney transplant patients, validity is strong for the psychosocial questionnaire's sleep quality item, but the mixed findings regarding the validity of the daytime functioning item suggest that additional items are needed to measure daytime functioning.

Revisioning Cultural Competencies in Clinical Social Work Practice

This article proposes a revision to the construct of cultural competencies into cross-cultural competencies (CCC), to include relational and dynamic aspects from clinical social work practice. This approach moves the construct beyond a 1-person system (i.e., cultural competence as a clinicians characteristic across diverse clients) to a 2-person system that interacts between 2 cultural beings, client and clinician. Comparing the National Association of Social Workers Standards for Cultural Competence in Social Work Practice with the American Psychological Association Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists, this article illustrates the unique emphasis of clinical social work practice on cross-cultural interactions. The implications of CCC for clinical social work practice are also discussed.

Utilizing Attachment Measures in Child Custody Evaluations: Incremental Validity

The American Psychological Association Guidelines for Child Custody Evaluations in Divorce Proceedings (American Psychological Association, 1994) stresses the need for a multi-method evaluation, reasoning that by considering data from different approaches, we can best ensure the validity of our findings in making custody recommendations. One of the primary issues in custody evaluations is assessing the quality of the child's attachment to each parent and parents’ potential for supporting the child's attachment security. The case study presented in this article demonstrates how research-based standardized assessments of the child's attachment and parents' adult attachment and caregiving adds to the validity of a standardized psychological test battery typically utilized in making custody recommendations.

Ethical and Professional Issues in Career Assessment With Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Persons

This article proposes a framework for the consideration of ethical and professional issues in career assessment with lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons. Themes are identified and structured based on an integration of the Division 44?Committee on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns Joint Task Force's "Guidelines for Psychotherapy With Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients"; the American Psychological Association's Guidelines for Multicultural Counseling Proficiency for Psychologists; and conceptual work by Prince and by Croteau, Anderson, DiStefano, and Kampa-Kokesch. The themes are organized under three domains: practice, research, and education. The first two domains are further divided into three categories: attitudes?awareness, knowledge, and skills. Applications of each theme to career assessment with lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons are discussed, drawing on relevant literature in vocational psychology.

Describing participants in aphasia research: Part 1. Audit of current practice

Background: In order for readers to fully understand the results of published studies of aphasia, and in order to replicate studies and conduct meta‐analyses, it is critical that authors adequately describe the participants in these studies. A number of authors have made recommendations as to which variables should be included in descriptions of participants in studies of aphasia. In addition, the American Psychological Association (APA) publication manual (2001)—the most widely recognised standard for the social sciences—includes specific guidelines for describing research participants.Aims: To review how aphasic participants in current studies are described, and to assess the adequacy of these descriptions in relation to both the APA guidelines (2001), and the recommendations made by Brookshire (1983).Methods & Procedures: We reviewed 100 articles on aphasia, published in 2001 and 2002, and identified which of 43 variables were included in the descriptions of participants. The audit included only articles that were peer‐reviewed and focused on the linguistic features of or treatment for aphasia subsequent to stroke. Separate results are reported for group studies and single case studies, and for studies of symptoms and treatment studies.Outcomes & Results: Most articles fell far short of the recommended standards. Only seven variables were reported in 65% or more of studies. Single case studies and group studies provided similar levels of detail.Conclusions: More complete descriptions of participants in aphasia research are needed if published studies are to meet the standard set by the APA, advance our understanding of aphasia, and inform future treatment studies.

Past and Future American Psychological Association Guidelines for Statistical Practice

We review the publication guidelines of the American Psychological Association (APA) since 1929 and document their advice for authors about statistical practice. Although the advice has been extended with each revision of the guidelines, it has largely focused on null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) to the exclusion of other statistical methods. In parallel, we review over 40 years of critiques of NHST in psychology. Until now, the critiques have had little impact on the APA guidelines. The guidelines are influential in broadly shaping statistical practice, although in some cases recommended reporting practices are not closely followed. The guidelines have an important role to play in reform of statistical practice in psychology. Following the report of the APA's Task Force on Statistical Inference, we propose that future revisions of the guidelines reflect a broader philosophy of analysis and inference, provide detailed statistical requirements for reporting research, and directly address concerns about NHST. In addition, the APA needs to develop ways to ensure that its editors succeed in their leadership role in achieving essential reform.

This issue of JAN

This issue of JAN

Psychologists' current practices and procedures in child custody evaluations: Five years after American Psychological Association guidelines.

Psychologists' current practices and procedures in child custody evaluations: Five years after American Psychological Association guidelines.

Colloquium on Effect Sizes: the Roles of Editors, Textbook Authors, and the Publication Manual

Reformers have long argued that misuse of Null Hypothesis Significance Testing (NHST) is widespread and damaging. The authors analyzed 150 articles from the Journal of Applied Psychology ( JAP) covering 1940 to 1999. They examined statistical reporting practices related to misconceptions about NHST, American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines, and reform recommendations. The analysis reveals (a) inconsistency in reporting alpha and p values, (b) the use of ambiguous language in describing NHST, (c) frequent acceptance of null hypotheses without consideration of power, (d) that power estimates are rarely reported, and (e) that confidence intervals were virtually never used. APA guidelines have been followed only selectively. Research methodology reported in JAP has increased greatly in sophistication over 60 years, but inference practices have shown remarkable stability. There is little sign that decades of cogent critiques by reformers had by 1999 led to changes in statistical reporting practices in JAP.

Psychologists' current practices and procedures in child custody evaluations: Five years after American Psychological Association guidelines.

Psychologists' current practices and procedures in child custody evaluations: Five years after American Psychological Association guidelines.

Model Training Program in Counseling Psychology

In response to the revision of the American Psychological Association's Guidelines and Principles of Accreditation, the Council of Counseling Psychology Training Programs (CCPTP) and Division 17formed a Joint Writing Committee to create a document that would present a modal or normative training program for counseling psychology. This article presents the Model Training Program, as endorsed by CCPTP and Division 17.

Applicability of Criteria for Empirically Validated Treatments to Family Interventions for Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease

One in every 400–500 African American babies carries a diagnosis of sickle cell disease (SCD). SCD, a congenital, hereditary hematologic disorder places youth at risk for developing potentially serious and life threatening disease related medical problems. Many SCD youth manifest neurocognitive impairments and learning problems, externalizing and internalizing behavior problems, difficulties in interpersonal relationships, low self-esteem, and problematic disease coping. Compared to control families, families with an SCD child have more conflict and lower levels of family organization. In contrast to the burgeoning research on medical advances, few researchers have examined the psychological sequelae of SCD or effective psychosocial interventions. With America's changing health care climate, the need for psychologists to work with medically ill individuals in primary care settings is increasing. In response to this need and to the 1995 American Psychological Association's guidelines for treatment efficacy studies, a manualized family-oriented treatment program for pediatric SCD patients was developed. This paper discusses the strengths and challenges associated with implementing a culturally and developmentally sensitive manual-based family intervention for a low SES African American chronically ill population. Possible solutions to the challenges of conducting family-oriented intervention efficacy studies with pediatric populations are presented.

Computerized Psychological Assessment Programs

This article reviews the advantages and limitations of a number of computerized assessment programs for residential and day school facilities. The reviewed programs include the Rorschach Interpretation Assistance Program (RIAP), the Devereux Elementary School Behavior Rating Scale (DESB II), the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC), and the Kaufman Method of WISC-R Hypothesis Generation. The clinical utility and the limitations of these programs are discussed in the context of traditional psychological assessments; particular emphasis is placed on efficiency and ethics in their use. The authors conclude that these programs are consistent with the American Psychological Association guidelines, and make substantial contributions.

Ethical and professional considerations in psychological assessment.

Professional activities and ethical practices of psychologists who administer psychodiagnostic assessment and testing devices are explored. A return rate of 72% on a survey of WO subjects indicated considerable interest in the subject matter. A majority of the respondents' ethical practices were apparently in keeping with established ethical principles; however, a diversity of professional styles was evident. Most respondents gave feedback to the clients, with a large percentage willing to give feedback on projective as well as objective tests. Although most respondents kept old cases safely under lock, few appeared to have followed American Psychological Association guidelines to detach names from raw data on obsolete materials. Psychological or psychodiagnos tic testing is primarily taught by apprenticeshi p. Internships typically expect their better applicants to have had one or two courses on psychological testing and about 400 hours of practicum experience in testing (Petzel & Berndt, 1980). Further supervised experience for the aspiring young intern is provided in the internship. Despite formal training and supervision in testing, psychology trainees are likely to have encountered little discussion of ethical and professional standards for test administration and interpretation. Petzelt and Craddick (1978) have briefly discussed both the topic of ethics and the humanistic treatment of psychological testing, whereas Baldick (1980) has stressed that in the age of consumerism, psychologists should not underestimate the importance of ethics training. Baldick (1980) demonstrated a strong relationship between training in ethics and increased sensitivity to ethical problems by psychology interns. Unfortunately, even those groups with formal ethics training were not sufficiently sensitive, and Baldick advocated greater sensitization of students. The neglect of ethical implications of assessment procedures is particularly troublesome, and interns and students are often exposed to role models with value systems and professional practices that are contradictory or at best confusing to a trainee struggling with his or her professional identity. Nevertheless, ethical guidelines and standards for administration and interpretation of tests are available. Principle 8 of the Ethical Principles of Psychologists (American Psychological Association [APA], 1981) suggests that in using assessment techniques, psychologists respect the right of the clients to have full explanations of the nature and purpose of the techniques in language the clients understand, unless an explicit exception to this right has been agreed upon in advance.

Ethical and professional considerations in psychological assessment.

Professional activities and ethical practices of psychologists who administer psychodiagnostic assessment and testing devices are explored. A return rate of 72% on a survey of WO subjects indicated considerable interest in the subject matter. A majority of the respondents' ethical practices were apparently in keeping with established ethical principles; however, a diversity of professional styles was evident. Most respondents gave feedback to the clients, with a large percentage willing to give feedback on projective as well as objective tests. Although most respondents kept old cases safely under lock, few appeared to have followed American Psychological Association guidelines to detach names from raw data on obsolete materials. Psychological or psychodiagnos tic testing is primarily taught by apprenticeshi p. Internships typically expect their better applicants to have had one or two courses on psychological testing and about 400 hours of practicum experience in testing (Petzel & Berndt, 1980). Further supervised experience for the aspiring young intern is provided in the internship. Despite formal training and supervision in testing, psychology trainees are likely to have encountered little discussion of ethical and professional standards for test administration and interpretation. Petzelt and Craddick (1978) have briefly discussed both the topic of ethics and the humanistic treatment of psychological testing, whereas Baldick (1980) has stressed that in the "age of consumerism," psychologists should not underestimate the importance of ethics training. Baldick (1980) demonstrated a strong relationship between training in ethics and increased sensitivity to ethical problems by psychology interns. Unfortunately, even those groups with formal ethics training were not sufficiently sensitive, and Baldick advocated greater sensitization of students. The neglect of ethical implications of assessment procedures is particularly troublesome, and interns and students are often exposed to role models with value systems and professional practices that are contradictory or at best confusing to a trainee struggling with his or her professional identity. Nevertheless, ethical guidelines and standards for administration and interpretation of tests are available. Principle 8 of the Ethical Principles of Psychologists (American Psychological Association [APA], 1981) suggests that in using assessment techniques, psychologists respect the right of the clients to have full explanations of the nature and purpose of the techniques in language the clients understand, unless an explicit exception to this right has been agreed upon in advance.