1. Chapter 4 Assessing and Diagnosing Abnormality

2. The Clinical Interview

Intake interview

• Structured versus unstructured

Resistance from the client is a limitation of the interview.

3. Symptoms and History

Current symptoms

• How much do they interfering with the clients ability to function?

• How does he/she cope with stressful situations?

Self concept

• Does the client have a strong sense of self?

4. Symptoms and History,continued

Recent events

• Have any negative or positive events happened lately?

History of psychological disorders

• Has the client experienced symptoms similar to the current symptoms at some time in the past?

Family history of psychological disorders

• Does the clients family have a history of psychological disorders or symptoms?

5. Physiological and Neurophysiological Factors

Physical Condition

• Any medical conditions?

Drug and Alcohol Use

• Is the client taking any drugs that could cause symptoms?

• Is the client taking any prescriptions that could interact negatively?

Intellectual and Cognitive Functioning

• Any cognitive deficits that could cause symptoms?

6. Sociocultural Factors

Social Resources

• Friends and family, amount of contact, and the quality of these relationships

Sociocultural Background

Acculturation

• To what extent do they identify with group of origin vs. the mainstream dominant culture?

7. Assessment Tools 8. Types of Reliability

Test-Retest

Alternate Form

Internal

Interrater or Interjudge

Type Test produces similar results when given at two points in time. Two versions of the same test produce similar results.Different parts of the same test produce similar results. Two or more raters or judges who administer a test to an individual and score it come to similar conclusions.Description 9. Types of Validity Test appears to measure what it is supposed to measure.Test assesses all important aspects of phenomenon.Test yields the same results as other measures of the same behavior, thoughts or feelings. Test predicts the behavior it is supposed to measure. Test measures what it is supposed to measure and not something else.

Face

Content

Concurrent

Predictive

Construct

Description Type 10. Questionnaires

Symptom Questionnaires

• These questionnaires may cover a wide variety of symptoms, representing several different disorders.

Personality Inventories

• Questionnaires meant to assess peoples typical ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving.

• Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is the most widely used personality inventory.

11. Measuring Personality & Psychological Functioning

Objective testing

• Specific questions or statements to which the person responds by using specific, fixed answers or a rating scale

• Scores tabulated and compared to reference groups

Projective testing

• Ambiguous or unstructured stimuli to which client is asked to respond freely.

• Unconscious or conscious needs, motives, interests, dynamics are projected onto ambiguous stimuli revealing internal dynamics or personality

• More challenging to score and interpret than objective

12. Objective Tests

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI; MMPI-2)

Millon Multi-Axial Inventory III (MCMI-III)

16 Personality Factors (16PF)

NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI)

13. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - 2

First published in 1943 by Hathaway and McKinley

Designed for routine diagnostic assessments

Empirical keying approach

504 statements

724 Minnesotanormals and 221 psychiatric patients

Originally 8 clinical scales plus validity scales

• MF and Si added later (items increased to 566)

14. Administration and Scoring

Administered individually or in groups

• not a take home test

• computerized version available

Administration time is approximately 1 to 1.5 hours

Scored by hand or computer

Must be interpreted by qualified professionals

For use with individuals 18 years and older

Can break test session up into shorter segments

• MMPI-2 for 18-year-oldswho are in college, working or living independently

15. 16. Intelligence Testing 17. Origins of Intelligence Testing

Stanford-Binet

• the widely used American revision of Binets original intelligence test

• • revised by Terman at Stanford University

18. Intelligence Quotient

• defined originally the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100

• • IQ = ma/ca x 100)

• on contemporary tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100

19. Assessing Intelligence

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

• most widely used intelligence test

• subtests

• • verbal

• • performance (nonverbal)

20. Assessing Intelligence: Sample Items from the WAIS From Thorndike and Hagen, 1977 VERBAL General InformationSimilaritiesArithmetic Reasoning Vocabulary Comprehension Digit Span PERFORMANCE Picture CompletionPicture Arrangement Block Design Object Assembly Digit-Symbol Substitution 21. The Normal Curve 22. Intelligence testing

Arguments for

• reliable measure of individual differences important for identifying need, allocating resources

• reliable predictor of school achievement

• identify discrepancies between expected and actual performance

• allow for accountability, measurement of change and evaluation of program effectiveness

23. IQ tests

Arguments against

• measuresamplesof behaviour , i.e. are not exhaustive

• not theory driven less true now

• potential for cultural, SES bias

• IQs change, reflecting both measurement error + actual performance differences

• different tests yield different IQs

• not a magical manifestation of a childs innate potential

24. Projective Tests

Rorschach Inkblot Test

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

The Sentence Completion Test

Draw-A-Person Test

25. Behavior Observations and Self-Monitoring

Behavior Observation

• Example:Watching a child interact with another child to see what provokes him or her

Self-Monitoring

• Example:Asking a client to keep track of the number of times per day he or she engages in a specific behavior such as smoking a cigarette

26. Problems in Assessment

Evaluating Children

• Difficulties in communication and reporting

Cultural Bias

• Language barriers

• Different cultures experience different psychological disorders differently

27. Diagnosis 28. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV Axis I Clinical disorders Axis II Personality disorders Mental retardation Axis III General medical conditions Axis IV Psychosocial and environmental problems Axis V Global assessment of functioning