This article presents the author's comments on Simon and Lichten's "Defining Mental Retardation: A Matter of Life and Death." Lichten and Simon (2007) argued for the use of a Total Quotient (TQ) that combines existing IQ and adaptive functioning scores into a single index. They proposed that the TQ index will improve the accuracy of mental…

While the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) has retained its popularity within the clinical community for over 40 years, some investigators have criticized its ability to provide an accurate diagnosis. Codetype systems of MMPI score interpretations were developed and a predictive relationship between codetypes and diagnoses was…

Reviewed are the basic diagnostic features of 12 types of hereditary hearing loss with no associated abnormalities. (KW)

The process of psychiatric diagnosis has recently undergone major revision with the appearance of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual III (DSM III). The article examines the new system of multiaxial diagnoses in relation to existing special education categories. (Author)

Presents latent-class models that fall within the purview of the general model presented by C. Clogg and L. Goodman (1984, 1985) and S. Walter and L. Irwig (1988). These models allow the investigator to determine whether the criterion measure and the diagnostic or screening procedure should be considered error free. (SLD)

This paper considers the condition of Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD), which is defined as a separation of alternating personalities by rigid boundaries and amnestic barriers. It is proposed that MPD represents the end of a continuum of a defensive dissociation of the self that can result when a child employs a dissociative splitting of self…

Surveys empirical literature pertaining to phobias of blood, injury, or illness (BII); defines BII phobia as selectively associated with vasovagal fainting response upon exposure to phobic stimuli. Presents clinical, demographic, and etiological information from 15 BII phobics and suggests that BII phobia warrants diagnostic category separate from…

Assessment of pragmatic language skills in normal preschool children revealed high reliability in the use of a specially designed taxonomy; a decrease in the inappropriate responses used by children with an increase in age; and generally, inappropriate responses were confined to the same categories across age levels. (Author/CL)

Compared six Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) short forms with the full-length MMPI for ability to identify code-types and indices of psychopathology in renal dialysis patients (N=53) and paranoid schizophrenics (N=58). Results suggested that the accuracy of the short forms fluctuates for different patient populations and…

Describes basic ideas behind deconstruction, form of analysis that accounts for unconscious elements in human constructions, especially linguistic constructions. Defines linguistic dualities on which Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) is based, and analyzes these dualities in clinician-client relationship. Uses DSM-III…

The use of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM IV) as a teaching tool for social workers to understand mental illness has been debated for many years. The general consensus is that social workers need to be "familiar" with this classification system. Social Work's person in environment perspective, however, requires…

Objective: In the DSM-IV-TR, firesetting is included as a criterion for the diagnoses of conduct disorder and pyromania. The link between firesetting and antisocial behavior is well established in the empirical literature. Although theoretical models of firesetting often include fire interest as a putative risk factor, there is little research on…

This dissertation describes how the medical categories of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Reading Disability (RD) have become commonsense ways to understand educational problems. I explore historical precursors of ADD and RD followed by a report on fieldwork I conducted in a first grade classroom of mostly Latino and low-income children. I…