An instrument for identifying disturbed and normal third to fifth grade children was evaluated. The instrument employs verb choices in a forced-choice sentence-completion format. A cross-validation procedure established high percentages of correct classifications. (Author/JKS)

Rorschach inkblot tests were administered to 25 second graders who had been classified either as poor or excellent readers. The poor readers showed perceptual difficulties, less capacity for organizing or integrating separate facts, and less emotional reactions to the environment. Implications for teaching poor readers are suggested. (Author/GDC)

This study found that, although the mental representations of 20 sexually abused and 20 physically abused females (ages 7-12) did not differ, the internal images of the abused groups differed from images of 20 nonabused but distressed children. Thus it is abuse, and not simply family distress, that results in impaired object relations. (Author/JDD)

Presents globally oriented scoring sheet, reference guide, and rating scale for facilitating clinical hypotheses from children's Kinetic School Drawings (KSDs) and further empirical evaluations of KSD technique. Provides information on instrument construction and preliminary findings in terms of procedures' reliability and discriminant validity.…

Examines early recollections' value as a personality assessment tool for the elementary school counselor. Suggests guidelines for eliciting and interpreting early memories, and provides a case study. Concludes that early recollections, as a projective technique, enhance the counseling relationship, increase understanding of clients, and clarify…

Examines whether some of the most common assessment tools used in foster care programs are capable of identifying young peoples' competencies, strengths, and weakness. Describes the limited role assessment presently plays in foster care and its potential as a policy tool to promote accountability and interest in the independent living skills of…

The Koppitz Minibattery, that is, the Bender Gestalt Test, the Visual Aural Digit Span Test (VADS), and the Human Figure Drawing (HFD), was adopted and extended for use with middle school pupils (aged 11 to 14). Similarities and differences for older and younger children are described in behavior observation, objective scores and the qualitative…

Studied attitudes of 210 Navajo seventh graders toward nontraditional occupations. Participants expressed less negative attitudes than expected. Significant effects were found for both school setting and the interaction of setting and occupational sex type. Suggests that limited contacts may have contributed to less awareness of the sex types…

In five articles provides a rationale for the development of culturally specific tests, presents research on their use, and discusses clinical uses. Focuses on two Afro-centric projective tests: The Thematic Apperception Test and Themes Concerning Blacks. Criticizes use of traditional projective tests and points out viable alternatives. (JAC)

The study compared human figure drawings (using the Goodenough-Harris Drawing Test and Koppitz' Emotional Indicators) of 26 hearing-impaired and 26 normal-hearing children and adolescents. No significant differences were found between groups but the Emotional Indicators did not perform as predicted in determining emotional disturbance. (Author/DB)

These papers on child and adolescent sexual abuse address the psychological consequences, psychological assessment techniques, and clinical issues in group therapy with sexually abused girls. In the first paper. H. Elizabeth King discusses the psychological consequences of sexual assault and incest on minors particularly in regard to family…

Reported at this symposium were investigations using the projective "Tree Drawing" test in (1) a case study of the impact of natural and cultural environments on Japanese children attending elementary and junior high schools in Singapore by Kimio Yoshikawa and K. Loganathan Mutharayan; (2) a study comparing cognitive processes of normal,…

Findings of a study of a nonclinical sample of 30 kindergarten children and elementary school students in foster care suggest that few had mastered many of the fundamental psychosocial tasks of childhood. Primary measures were obtained by administering the Task of Emotional Development test (TED) -- a picture projective test designed to index…

Undergraduate females were classified either as traditional or nontraditional in their views of appropriate occupations for women, based upon scores on Spence and Helmreich's Attitudes Toward Women Scale. Each group was then administered an occupationally stereotyped or a non-stereotyped version of Horner's Item Test (describing Anne who is a…

Provides a comprehensive meta-analysis of gender differences in aggression; offers estimates of the magnitude of differences; provides a developmental analysis of effects for all ages for which data are available; and includes a total of 143 studies. Basic techniques of meta-analysis are presented and then applied to analyze studies of gender…