Children's Inventory Research Articles

Yale Children's Inventory (YCI): an instrument to assess children with attentional deficits and learning disabilities. I. Scale development and psychometric properties.

The Yale Children's Inventory (YCI), a parent-based rating scale, and the scales derived from it have been developed to identify and measure multiple dimensions of learning disabilities with particular emphasis on attentional deficits. Scale construction was based on factor-analytic procedures. Measures of internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and coefficients of congruence support the reliability and stability of the 11 scales. A discriminant function classified normal and learning-disabled children with a relatively high rate of accuracy. The relationship and content of the three relevant YCI scales were compared to the DSM-III diagnostic categories for ADD. As operationalized, DSM-III criteria for hyperactivity formed a cohesive factor, while criteria for attention and impulsivity were not distinguishable from each other since they loaded together on a single factor. In contrast, the equivalent YCI scales for attention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity were found to be distinct.

The psychosocial adjustment of the Amerasian refugees. Findings from the Personality Inventory for Children.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychosocial adjustment of 24 Amerasian youths who had immigrated to the United States in 1983 and 1984. The Personality Inventory for Children (PIC) was translated into Vietnamese and administered to 18 mothers of Amerasian youths in a social service agency in a large southern city. Respondents reported significant mood disturbance and psychological distress in their children. Specifically, the depression, somatization, withdrawal, and psychosis subscales of the PIC were clinically elevated for the entire group. An evaluation of individual profiles revealed marked tendencies toward somatization and withdrawal. These findings are consistent with other studies on the psychosocial adjustment of Southeast Asian refugees.

Personality Inventory for Children-Short Form: Useful for Educational Screening?

The Personality Inventory for Children (PIC) has been investigated for its validity in identifying children in school and clinical settings. The current study, an extension of an earlier study, used a sample of 95 children participating in public school programs for the nonhandicapped, the learning disabled, the mentally disabled, and the emotionally disabled to establish the best predictors of placement using the short form of the PIC. Additional analyses relating to the application of the nine scales identified as predictors of group assignment are reported.

Interparent agreement on the Personality Inventory for Children: are substantial correlations sufficient?

Mothers' and fathers' responses on the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC) were compared for 360 clinic-referred children and adolescents. Interparent agreement was measured by several different indices. Correlations between parental pairs of scale T-scores derived from each parent averaged .66 for 13 of the profile scales; 9 of the scales exceeded this value. In contrast, mothers and fathers agreed in the classification of the presence of clinical significance an average of 77% of the time across these 13 scales, and pairs of parental PIC profiles contained an average of 3 scales in disagreement. The type of index used to measure interparent agreement was found to affect the results. The discussion examines the nature of interparent disagreement and addresses the implications regarding the use of fathers as informants on this instrument.

An Empirical Investigation of the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children

The Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children was individually administered to the parents of 660 children of various ethnic groups from both urban and rural areas. In addition, the other measures of the System of Multicultural Pluralistic Assessment were also administered. Criterion-related validity coefficients were determined and the performance of children of different ethnic status and community type was explored. Low to moderate validity coefficients were found. No significant differences were found as a function of ethnic status although urban children scored significantly higher on all of the areas. Implications of these results regarding cautions and directions for research were discussed.

Discerning Functionality of Children's Support Systems through Use of the Personal History Inventory for Children

Various support systems may malfunction in children's lives. The Personal History Inventory for Children was developed to survey teachers' perceptions of the functionality of several such support systems. Reliability of the scale over 1 mo. was quite high whether the children rated were from intact families ( r = .93) or divorced families ( r = .80). Results from the first assessment of teachers were generally significantly correlated with the 156 children's evaluations of themselves and of their parents, particularly if these children were from intact families.

1703 PLASMA MONOAMINE METABOLITES FOLLOWING DEBRISOQUIN IN ADD

We report an important new strategy in the investigation of the biology of ADD, the debrisoquin loading test. Debrisoquin, a unique monoamine oxidase inhibitor reduces the peripheral contribution to plasma catecholamine metabolites (HVA and MHPG, the principal metabolites of dopamine and norepinephrine, respectively), effectively minimizing the “noise” in the system, allowing central monoaminergic mechanisms to be more accurately examined. We studied the relationship between behaviors representing the cardinal symptoms of ADD and plasma monoamine metabolites in 5 boys with ADD (ages 7-14 years) before and after debrisoquin. Behavior was assessed by the Yale Children's Inventory (YCI) and a variety of cognitive and attentional tasks. Significant correlations were observed between plasma HVA and measures of impulsivity (YCI Impulsivity scale and Matching Familiar Figures Test), and plasma MHPG and measures of activity (YCI Activity scale) and attention (YCI Attention scale, Paired Associate Learning Test. Our findings suggest that dopaminergic systems influence those mechanisms responsible for impulsivity while noradrenergic systems relate to attention regulation and activity modulation.

The Personality Inventory for Children: Differential Diagnosis in School Settings

Differential diagnosis of the PIC-Shortened Form was assessed in four educational settings (regular education, learning disabilities placements, mental disabilities placements, emotional disabilities placements) using children assigned to each option. Analysis of responses provided by biological mothers resulted in specific profiles for each group on clinical scales, validity scales, and broad-band factor scales. Application of the instrument in educational decision making is discussed.

Faking good and faking bad on the Personality Inventory for Children—Revised, shortened format.

Faking good and faking bad on the Personality Inventory for Children—Revised, shortened format.

Evaluating subscale performance on the adaptive behavior inventory for children

Statistics are presented to allow ipsative interpretation of the scaled scores for the six subscales of individual children on the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children. Included are the standard error of the difference between each part score and the mean of all scores and values required for statistical significance at the traditional significance levels of .05 and .01, with the Bonferroni adjustment for the number of comparisons included. The ready availability of this information should enhance application of the ABIC in clinical practice and facilitate research on its efficacy for educational planning and placement of children in various regular and special education programs.

The Personality Inventory for Children and Hyperactivity: Clinicai Utility and Generalizability Problems

The Personality Inventory for Children and Hyperactivity: Clinicai Utility and Generalizability Problems

Psychological Adjustment in Learning Disabled, Hyperactive, and Hyperactive/Learning Disabled Children as Measured by the Personality Inventory for Children

Psychological Adjustment in Learning Disabled, Hyperactive, and Hyperactive/Learning Disabled Children as Measured by the Personality Inventory for Children

External validation of the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC) profile and factor scales: Parent, teacher, and clinician ratings.

External validation of the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC) profile and factor scales: Parent, teacher, and clinician ratings.

A note on the congruence of the WISC-R and the cognitive development scales of the Personality Inventory for Children.

A note on the congruence of the WISC-R and the cognitive development scales of the Personality Inventory for Children.

Pic Delinquency Scale

This study further evaluated the Personality Inventory for Children's Delinquency Scale (DLQ) in terms of its dual purpose as a measure of delinquent tendencies and as an aid in identifying male and female adolescents who commit serious offenses. The DLQ cutoff scores were supported as identifying nonapprehended adolescents who showed stronger delinquent tendencies, defined as reporting significantly more frequent delinquent acts. The male and female groups scoring above the DLQ cutoff scores were found to report significantly more delinquent acts and to score below the delinquency cutoff scores of the CPI Socialization Scale. The DLQ cutoff scores were not supported, however, as identifying “serious offenders,” defined as those adolescents who reported at least one offense rated as a serious crime.

Objective Personality Assessment: The Personality Inventory for Children and Its Applications in the School Setting

Objective Personality Assessment: The Personality Inventory for Children and Its Applications in the School Setting

Young children in alcoholic families: A mental health needs?Assessment and an intervention/prevention strategy

This study of children at risk for the development of mental health and/or chemical dependency problems utilized the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC) (Wirt, Seat & Broen, 1977) on 50 children of alcoholic families currently involved in treatment for alcoholism. Significant differences were discovered, with the subject children being deviant from normal on several of the clinical scales of the PIC. An innovative intervention/prevention strategy employing cognitive behavior modification principles was successfully used to teach a similar group of 18 children to understand and overcome upsetting feelings. Implications of the use of the PIC and the intervention/prevention strategy are explored.

A multimethod approach to measuring anger in children.

In order to investigate the relationship between self-reported anger, peer-report of anger, teacher ratings of anger, and the presence of anger management problems in emotionally disturbed children, 38 children in a psychiatric hospital served as subjects. Results indicated that there was a significant relationship between a child's self-report score obtained on the Children's Inventory of Anger and his or her behavior as perceived by peers and as presented at the time of admission to the hospital. Teacher ratings were related to peer reports but not to either self-report or the presenting problems that brought the child to the hospital. Results were discussed in terms of their implications for future research and the need to view anger from different perspectives.

Gender Differences in the Relationship of Nascent Conservation and Reading Abilities

Eighty five-year-old children were administered the Reading Recognition subtest of the Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAI ), the Concept Assessment Kit-Conservation (CAK), the Concepts About Print test (C AP), and Taking Inventory of Children’s Literary Background in a study of gender differences in the relationship of early conservation ability with reading and linguistic awareness. Regression analyses revealed a correlation of .72 between the C AK and PIAI for the girls, but the same coefficient was only - .10 for the boys. A similar difference also occurred in the relationship between the C AK and C AP. These findings and available evidence from other studies consistently support the hy pothesis that conservation ability is more highly correlated with performance on reading and reading-related tasks in girls than in boys.

Concurrent Validity of the Personal Attribute Inventory for Children with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children and the Behavior Rating Profile-Student Scales

The present study examined the relationships between the Personal Attribute Inventory for Children (PAIC) and each of two other widely utilized psychosocial indices, i.e., the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) and the Behavior Rating Profile-Student Scales (BRPSS). A total of 628 children (352 males and 276 females), in grades 5 through 10, voluntarily participated in this study. The scores of respondents on the PAIC were found to be significantly correlated (p < .0001) with their scores on the two subscales of the STAIC as well as with the three subscales of the BRPSS. These results provide evidence of the validity in using the PAIC as an educational, clinical and/or research instrument.