Deafness often leads to unnecessary communication deficits which produce developmental deviations in the psychological development of children. These deviations mesh with environmental frustrations and with a continuing lack of reciprocity in human relationships to produce psychopathological symptoms. The primary intervention in work with deaf…

The association of life events and mental health impairment in a community population of older adults (N=986) was investigated. Data, collected in 1972 and analyzed during 1979, examined the relationship between the two variables while controlling for age, sex, race, social resources (a measure of social support), economlc resources, and physical…

Specific ways were investigated for using evaluative date generated from two consumer satisfaction surveys in two different mental health settings. The first survey, consisting of 225 randomly selected current consumers of mental health services from Rochester Mental Health Center in Rochester, New York, explored global satisfaction, structural…

This study reports the initial results from a study designed to assess the perceived needs for mental health services and other types of services in a group of elderly black women who participated in an urban, federally subsidized luncheon program. The two hypotheses tested were: (l) that the majority of elderly persons participating in this…

This study examined cultural/ethnic similarities and differences in ways to promote resilience in children identified in the International Resilience Research Project (IRRP), focusing on Sudan, Namibia, and Armenia. Child resilience was assessed through the child's responses to a hypothetical situation in which a child is teased and frightened by…

This paper provides an introduction to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in a manner that facilitates the interested learner's further exploration. It presents theoretical references and reviews the social factors and epidemiology of PTSD in children and adolescents. The psychobiology of PTSD is described in relation to the types of memory it…

This study examined the utilization rate of behavioral health services by children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) over a 6-year period and compared this rate to the expected number of children with ASD in TennCare, Tennessee's managed care Medicaid program. Analysis of TennCare patient data found the rate at which children with ASD received…

During a symposium, three presentations described initiatives that exemplify the principles and components of the Ecology of Outcomes. Emphasis is on accountability for achieving measurable outcomes and use of outcome information in program planning and development. Summaries of individual papers are: (1) "The Ecology of Outcomes: System…

This paper critiques current models for evaluation of mental health services provided to children and adolescents with emotional disturbances and offers an alternative model. The most popular model, Donabedian's tripartite model, is described. This model separately evaluates three domains: (1) structure (characteristics of the care providers,…

This conference paper discusses the results of a study that investigated the validity of the Family-Centered Behavior Scale (FCBS) and its companion tool, the FCBS-Importance. On the FCBS, parents of children with special needs rate how often a professional with whom they work performs certain family-centered behaviors. On the FCBS-Importance,…

This paper and accompanying workshop address the changing and expanding role of school psychologists resulting from disasters and increasing violence in schools and communities. The objectives of this workshop were: to encourage school psychologists to expand their roles to include crisis intervention as an essential part of their service…

This study examined the validity of using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) Thought Problem sub-scale with urban low-income children (N=46) referred to a hospital-based mental health clinic. It was hypothesized that cultural, linguistic, or socio-economic status (SES) factors may influence the manner in which parents understand and respond to…

This paper reports on the University of South Carolina School-Based Mental Health Project, a program which provides mental health services within a public school setting in an effort to maximize the preventive and educational effects of mental health services within schools. The project is also developing a model to serve as a foundation for a…

Responses of 84 psychiatrists who completed a questionnaire as they thought a mentally healthy adolescent of their gender would respond compared well to 140 actual responses, but comparison of 61 psychiatrists' responses to responses of 70 disturbed patients showed that psychiatrists viewed these adolescents as more psychopathological than their…

Many women seek treatment for substance abuse problems during their child-bearing years. Evaluations of interventions for these women need to take into account other problems that women may have when they enter treatment. The effectiveness of residential treatment for women, some of whom reported a history of abuse and psychological problems, is…