Numerous studies have identified that delays in diagnosis related to the mishandling of abnormal test results are an import contributor to diagnostic errors. Factors contributing to missed results included organizational factors, provider factors and patient-related factors. At the diagnosis error conference continuing medical education conference…

Using data gathered from the "Childhood Bipolar Disorder Survey," this study explored Pennsylvania school psychologists' knowledge and practices when evaluating children for Bipolar Disorder (BPD). Results indicate that only a small percentage of school referrals involved children or adolescents with BPD. Participating school…

"Child Care Health Connections" is a bimonthly newsletter published by the California Childcare Health Program (CCHP), a community-based program of the University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing, Department of Family Health Care Nursing. The goals of the newsletter are to promote and support a healthy and safe environment for all…

This study examines how teachers of young children in Denmark perceived challenging behaviours in children who have characteristics consistent with Deficit in Attention, Motor Control and Perception (DAMP) or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This study was conducted in schools and kindergartens in three demographically different…

The cognitive and behavioral symptoms of nonverbal learning disabilities (NLD) have been described by previous investigators. Nevertheless, we know far less about the potential genetic contributions that may predispose a child to have NLD. An endophenotype model was investigated in 5 samples of children ages 9 to 15 years: NLD (n = 32); reading…

Researchers and clinicians have generally agreed that persons with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are susceptible to other DSM Axis I disorders. However, to date, little has been done to establish the specific disorders, their rate and severity of occurrence, and their interrelationship with ASD symptoms. One reason for the lack of research has…

In the current investigation, the authors examined the validity of the L-r and K-r scales on the recently developed Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF; Y. S. Ben-Porath & A. Tellegen, in press) in measuring underreported response bias. Three archival samples previously collected for examining MMPI-2…

Every day physicians make judgments about patient management and diagnosis based on less than perfect information from many different sources. Judgment and decision-making research has taught us a great deal about such decisions, but these insights rarely find their way into the medical curriculum. One productive line of investigation in the study…

Diagnosing begins by generating an initial diagnostic hypothesis by automatic information processing. Information processing may stop here if the hypothesis is accepted, or analytical processing may be used to refine the hypothesis. This description portrays analytic processing as an optional extra in information processing, leading us to…

In this article we discuss the traditional behavioral models of depression and some of the challenges analyzing a phenomenon with such complex and varied features. We present the traditional model and suggest that it does not capture the complexity of the phenomenon, nor do syndromal models of depression that dominate the mainstream…

The authors investigated measurement properties of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition," generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) criteria in the National Comorbidity Survey and the Virginia Adult Twin Study of Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders (VATSPSUD). The two studies used different widely used…

For many years there has been debate over Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and whether this condition, which commonly afflicts adolescent children, is a medical or social condition and whether it is exclusively an American phenomenon. This article reviews the basis of ADHD's definition, diagnosis, treatment, and educational…

An empirically based 78 question self-rating scale based on DSM-IV-TR and ICD-10 criteria was developed to assist clinicians' diagnosis of adults with autism and Asperger's Disorder-the Ritvo Autism and Asperger's Diagnostic Scale (RAADS). It was standardized on 17 autistic and 20 Asperger's Disorder and 57 comparison subjects. Both autistic and…

Purpose: The impact of major depression on quality of life (QOL) and aging experiences in older adults has been reported. Studies have demonstrated that the clinical diagnosis of major depression is the strongest predictor for QOL. We postulate that some findings are biased because of the use of inadequate instruments. Although subsyndromal…

Objective: To study the correlation between symptoms of ADHD in adults, obtained with different methods and from different sources. Method: Information was obtained from 120 adults with ADHD, their partners, and their parents, using the ADHD Rating Scale, the Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scales (CAARS), the Brown Attention-Deficit Disorder Scale…