bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Jury Selection and Voir Dire
Authors: Blais Julie , Singh Jay P. , Pappas John
Published: January 2015

The right to a fair trial by an impartial jury of one's peers is guaranteed under the 6th and 14th Amendments of the United States' Constitution. Jury selection is accomplished through voir dire (“to speak the truth”), a process where potential jurors are questioned by attorneys and/or the judge in order to ascertain their suitability to serve on the jury. The goal of voir dire is to eliminate potential jurors who are ineligible due to statutory regulations, insurmountable biases, or refusal to apply the law as it is written. In the past 30 years, scientific jury selection (SJS), the process of applying scientific research methodology and psychological theory to jury selection, has become increasingly prevalent.
Combined Treatments (Medications plus Psychotherapy)
Authors: Dalrymple Kristy L.
Published: January 2015

Research has sought to examine how medication and psychotherapy can be combined to produce better outcomes. For most of the major mental disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, the evidence supports the use of combined medication and psychotherapy in their acute treatment. However, there is less evidence to support the long‐term efficacy of combined treatment over either monotherapy. The current literature on the treatment of anxiety disorders in adults, and depression and anxiety in children and adolescents, also suggests that combined treatment is more efficacious in the short term relative to monotherapy. However, research in these areas also indicates that over the long term, psychotherapy alone is more efficacious compared to combined treatment or medication alone. Limitations of the current state of the evidence are highlighted, as well as areas in which additional research is needed to better determine the efficacy of combined treatment over either monotherapy.
Medical Child Abuse/Munchausen by Proxy
Authors: Roesler Thomas A.
Published: January 2015

Medical child abuse (MCA) is the form of child maltreatment characterized by a child receiving unnecessary and harmful or potentially harmful medical care as the result of actions of a parent or caregiver. Previously known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy, pediatric condition falsification, or factitious disorder by proxy,MCAis similar to other forms of child maltreatment in many ways but differs in having the parent inflict harm by inserting false information in the medical treatment process. A parent can cause his or her child to have a symptom and then lie about it, falsify or exaggerate a symptom, or otherwise induce medical care providers to give care that is not necessary. Perpetrators may have many different motivations. Treatment consists of stopping the unnecessary care, reversing the harmful effects, and inducing the offending parent to interact with the medical care community in a healthy way.
Gestalt Therapy
Authors: Brownell Philip
Published: January 2015

Gestalt therapy is an experiential, evidence‐based approach originally developed by Frederick Perls (1893–1970), Laura Perls (1905–90), and Paul Goodman (1911–72) as a revision of psychoanalysis. The multifaceted options available to a gestalt therapist cluster around the four main tenets of its theory, unified in a process of contacting within the therapist–client field. Contact is defined as meetings of various kinds between self and other in which the therapist can follow the emerging experience of the client, engage the client in dialogue, purposefully address some aspect of the client's field, and/or negotiate an experiment. It is at once experiential and experimental, dialogical, field oriented, and phenomenological. The general theory of change is paradoxical—people become what they might be by being what they are. This entry explains gestalt therapy in terms of its originators, philosophical base, view of persons, view of pathology, approach to psychotherapy, and evidence base.
Logotherapy
Authors: Brownell Philip
Published: January 2015

Logotherapy is an existential and phenomenological approach to psychotherapy originating in the thinking of Viktor Frankl (1905–97). It was the third major school of psychotherapy arising from Vienna, Austria in the first half of the twentieth century, and can be seen as a revision of classic psychoanalysis. Its organizing construct is the will‐to‐meaning, which is not a drive theory but a theory of interest and of growth toward human actualization emerging from the spiritual nature of the human person. This entry describes logotherapy, including its founder, philosophical base, view of persons, view of pathology, and approach to psychotherapy.
K
raepelin,
E
mil (1856–1926)
Authors: Engstrom Eric J. , Weber Matthias M.
Published: January 2015

Emil Kraepelin (1856–1926) was a German clinical psychiatrist best known for his division of endogenous psychoses into two forms: dementia praecox and manic‐depressive illness. He became one of the most influential psychiatrists in the first quarter of the twentieth century. More recently he has inspired the work of so‐called neo‐Kraepelinians, who have ascribed to him paradigmatic status as a new, post‐Freudian “father” of clinical psychiatry, the
DSM
, and quantitative methodologies.
P
inel,
P
hilippe (1745–1826)
Authors: Charland Louis C.
Published: January 2015

Philippe Pinel (1745–1826) is often said to be the father of modern clinical psychiatry. He is most famous for being a committed pioneer and advocate of humanitarian methods in the treatment of the mentally ill, and for the development of a mode of psychological therapy known as moral treatment. Pinel also made important contributions to nosology and the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorder, especially the psychopathology of affectivity, stressing the role of the passions in mental disorder. Pinel also conducted what may be considered one of the first large‐scale clinical trials in psychiatry and was also arguably the first to introduce the new statistical methods of the time to that domain.
Esquirol, Jean‐Étienne (1772–1840)
Authors: C. Charland Louis
Published: January 2015

Along with Philippe Pinel (1745–1826), Jean‐Étienne Esquirol (1772–1840) is often considered one of the fathers of clinical psychiatry. While his indebtedness to the views of his teacher, Pinel, is indisputable, his own later contributions to the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorder are often considered to be clinically superior and more sophisticated than those of his mentor. Esquirol's contributions to the psychopathology of affectivity are especially important and differ in many important respects from those of Pinel, who also stressed the role of the passions in mental disorder.
Social Constructionism
Authors: Averill James R.
Published: January 2015

Social constructionism presumes that objects of knowledge are contingent on social conditions and not just on inherent properties of an object or individual experience. In this entry, a social‐constructionist perspective is applied to three objects or conditions central to clinical psychology, viz. persons, emotions, and sickness.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Authors: Forman Evan M. , Juarascio Adrienne S. , Martin Lindsay M. , Herbert James D.
Published: January 2015

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that utilizes six core psychological process of change (acceptance, defusion, present moment awareness, self as context, values and committed action) to help individuals achieve psychological flexibility (i.e., the ability to choose one's behavior even when doing so brings a person into contact with aversive internal experiences).ACTshares many features of traditionalCBTand its distinctiveness has been a subject of debate. However,ACTappears to operate at least partially through distinct processes, and to emphasize experiential acceptance and valued behavior change over attempts to restructure thoughts or achieve symptom reduction. Empirical support forACTand its hypothesized therapeutic processes is mounting quickly, but much of it suffers from methodological shortcomings.
Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Psychological Problems
Authors: Hughes Brian M.
Published: January 2015

Complementary and alternative therapies are those therapies not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine, and are popularly used for both physical and mental health problems. Common classifications include therapies based on natural products, mind–body principles, body‐based practices, and other treatments. Such therapies can appear to be efficacious without actually being so, due to a number of psychological effects. Their standing remains controversial.
Mental Status Exam
Authors: Wiger Donald E. , Mooney Natale B.
Published: January 2015

The mental status exam (
MSE
) is an evaluation of a person's current mental state. It is an integral part of any mental health assessment, and can incorporate information from clinical interviews, testing, and self‐report information.
MSEs
usually gather information on an individual's appearance, activity level, speech/language, attitude, affect/mood, stream of consciousness, sensorium/cognition, insight, and judgment.
Dimensional versus Categorical Models of Psychopathology
Authors: Widiger Thomas A. , Gore Whitney L.
Published: January 2015

Mental disorders are currently diagnosed within the

DSM

as qualitatively distinct categories. However, the question of whether mental disorders are discrete clinical conditions or arbitrary distinctions along dimensions of functioning is a longstanding issue. The importance of this issue is escalating with the growing recognition of the frustrations and limitations engendered by the categorical model. The major innovation of the

DSM
‐5

was intended to be a further recognition of the dimensional perspective. An overview of the limitations of the categorical model and the potential advantages of the dimensional are provided herein, with a particular focus on depression, behavioral addiction, personality disorders, and intellectual disability.
G
oldberg,
L
ewis
R
. (b. 1932)
Authors: Saucier Gerard
Published: January 2015

This entry describes the scientific contributions of Lewis R. Goldberg (b. 1932). Goldberg's most influential work includes (a) explaining the rationale for lexical studies of the structure of personality attributes; (b) the Big Five model of personality attribute structure, its bases in the lexicon, and the optimal way to measure it; (c) the development of a large public domain item pool as a resource for measuring the full range of personality tendencies; (d) examinations of the comparative validity of varying assessment methods; and (e) earlier work on clinical inference and judgments.
Incomplete Sentences Blank
Authors: Weis Robert
Published: January 2015

The Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank (RISB) is the most frequently used sentence completion test of personality and socioemotional functioning. A performance‐based test, the RISB is used to screen for adjustment problems, to facilitate case conceptualization and diagnosis, and to monitor treatment. The RISB can be interpreted quantitatively using a semi‐objective scoring system or qualitatively to identify areas of psychosocial conflict among respondents. When scored quantitatively, interscorer reliability, temporal stability, and internal consistency are adequate. Validity is supported by correlations with other measures of psychological distress, peer and clinician ratings of functioning, and differences in RISB scores for clinic‐referred and nonreferred individuals. Recent research suggests the RISB may be used with adolescents and adults. Data supporting the qualitative interpretation of RISB responses are limited. However, responses may be useful to complement other, objective components of psychological assessment and to obtain a description of clients' concerns in their own words.
Authorship
Authors: Niederjohn Daniel , McCarthy Maureen
Published: January 2015

Authorship criteria and processes are becoming increasingly important for both faculty and students. This entry defines authorship, discusses ethical issues related to authorship, and provides guidelines for establishing authorship. We also briefly review an approach for determining authorship order that considers the potential power differential that occurs in situations that involve multiple authors.
Reactive Attachment Disorder and Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder
Authors: Black Corey , Zeanah Charles H.
Published: January 2015

Aberrant social behaviors in young children who experience serious neglect have been described for more than half a century and have been used as the basis for defining disorders of attachment. A broad consensus notes two phenotypes in early childhood—one characterized by socially withdrawn behavior and restricted positive affect and the other by disinhibited social behavior and repeated violations of conventional interpersonal boundaries. Reactive attachment disorder seems to be quite responsive to enhanced caregiving environments, although the indiscriminate behavior of disinhibited social engagement disorder persists in some cases even after affected children receive enhanced caregiving.
Rape Trauma Syndrome
Authors: Bliss Beth A.
Published: January 2015

Symptoms of rape survivors were first noticed and reported by Burgess and Holmstrom in 1974, who coined the termrape trauma syndrome.The two noticed that victims of rape not only reported physical symptoms, but also numerous psychological effects of rape. Short‐term effects for rape victims typically include fear, anxiety, and hypervigilance, as well as flashbacks and problems with romantic relationships. Long‐term effects might include avoidance of places or people associated with the assault, emotional numbness, reexperiencing of the trauma through flashbacks or nightmares, and long‐term relationship instability. Rape trauma syndrome has been debated in the field, especially with regard to whether it should be allowed as a topic of expert testimony. Rape trauma syndrome is not a psychological diagnosis, but individuals in the field equate it to posttraumatic stress disorder where the stressor is rape.
Jackson,JohnHughlings (1835–1911)
Authors: Harrington Anne
Published: January 2015

John Hughlings Jackson (1835–1911) was a British physician who helped to establish the emerging field of clinical neurology in the late nineteenth century, and argued for its relevance to the concerns of psychology, psychiatry, and philosophy of mind. In particular, his evolutionary‐dynamic approach to brain function and malfunction had a significant influence on twentieth‐century psychology, psychiatry, and psychoanalysis.
A
chenbach,
T
homas
M
. (b. 1940)
Authors: Achenbach Thomas M.
Published: January 2015

Thomas M. Achenbach (b. 1940) developed the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (
ASEBA
), which is used worldwide for ages 1½–90+ years and is available in 90 languages. Its use is reported in over 8,000 published studies from 80 societies. Achenbach earned his
BA
from Yale in 1962, was a German government fellow at Heidelberg University during the following year, obtained his
PhD
from the University of Minnesota in 1966, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Yale Child Study Center. Beginning in 1967, Achenbach was a faculty member at Yale and then research psychologist at
NIMH
. Since 1980, he has been professor of psychiatry and psychology at the University of Vermont, where he is president of the nonprofit Research Center for Children, Youth, and Families. Achenbach's research has identified numerous syndromes and broader groupings of problems, for which he coined the terms “internalizing” and “externalizing.” He authored the first book for the discipline that he dubbed “developmental psychopathology.”
W
echsler,
D
avid (1896–1981)
Authors: Wasserman John D. , Kaufman Alan S.
Published: January 2015

David Wechsler (1896–1981) was the author of the leading intelligence and memory tests in the U.S.A. in the second half of the twentieth century. Wechsler's legacy is highlighted by the continued popularity of his scales and his key role in transforming psychometric testing into clinical assessment.
Achievement Testing
Authors: Schneider Deborah , Mather Nancy
Published: January 2015

Achievement tests are assessments designed to evaluate skills, knowledge, or performance, primarily in the core academic areas of reading, writing, and mathematics. Achievement tests comprise three major forms: standardized assessments, curriculum‐based measurement, and informal teacher‐made evaluations. Achievement tests serve a variety of purposes in education, including comparing students' performance; assisting in grading, tracking, placement, promotion, and graduation decisions; determining eligibility for special services and programs; identifying patterns of strengths and weaknesses; diagnosing learning disabilities; determining response to intervention; and informing instructional planning. Standardized achievement tests are administered according to standardized protocols, and data derived from both standardized and informal achievement tests should be used in accordance with the purposes for which the tests were designed. Whatever the specific purpose of a given assessment, all achievement testing should be conducted with the aim of improving instruction and, consequently, the educational outcomes of the students being assessed.
Prisoner Ethics
Authors: Smith Shannon Toney
Published: January 2015

Clinical intervention and research with offender populations are particularly challenging endeavors to successfully navigate in an ethical manner. Clinicians working with offenders must balance the therapeutic interests of the inmate with the safety of other inmates and staff in the institution. They must also remain cognizant of the many special circumstances to be considered when adhering to ethical standards, including dual roles, barriers to informed consent, and confidentiality concerns. Research with prisoners, designated a vulnerable research population, must also be conducted in a manner that ensures participants are free from infringements (e.g., staff or inmate coercion; illicit pressure to obtain privileges or compensation) on their ability to voluntarily decide whether to enroll in or decline research participation.
Milieu Therapy in Residential and Inpatient Settings
Authors: Paul (deceased) Gordon L.
Published: January 2015

Residential and inpatient settings are service sites when emotional, mental, and behavioral problems are severe enough to require 24‐hr treatment environments before clientele can return to less‐restrictive settings. The structure of staff and client responsibilities is the core of any residential program. Traditional inpatient wards are organized like medical hospitals for the physically ill, where staff administer psychosocial and biomedical treatments as more‐or‐less discrete entities. Here, the unit‐wide program provides supportive care. Treatment is

in

rather than
by
or
through
the unit‐wide program. Milieu therapy, in contrast, means treatment
by
the environment. Therapeutic community and social learning approaches to milieu therapy have emerged as the most promising alternatives. In both, an overriding set of principles and procedures is followed by all clinical personnel with all clientele. For milieu therapy units, treatment is
by
and
through
their psychosocial programs. Evidence clearly supports social learning programs and particular therapeutic community approaches as replacements for traditional practices.
Pain Management
Authors: McGeary Cindy A. , Swanholm Eric , Gatchel Robert J.
Published: January 2015

Effective pain management techniques are essential, particularly given the suffering and ever‐increasing costs associated with pain. Pain management techniques exclusively based on the biomedical model are insufficient to alleviate pain. Instead, pain management techniques should address biological, psychological, and social factors to treat the pain patient, as exemplified by the biopsychosocial model. One component of this model—cognitive behavioral therapy (
CBT
)—has proven effective in managing pain. Techniques that fall within the scope of
CBT
include psychoeducation, symptom monitoring, exercise, thought monitoring, communication skills training, pacing, relaxation, distraction techniques, problem‐solving skills, and self‐monitoring. These techniques can be used in conjunction with one another, and they are tailored to the individual needs of each patient. It is also important that individuals suffering from pain are educated about effective pain management techniques, relative to treatment modalities that have no empirical research support, so that pain sufferers can make the most educated decisions regarding their treatment.
Kleptomania
Authors: Guerdjikova Anna I. , McElroy Susan L.
Published: January 2015

Kleptomania is a disabling psychiatric illness characterized by stealing urges and behaviors that are experienced as uncontrollable. The urge to steal is often associated with tension or anxiety; the act of stealing may be pleasurable and gratifying at the moment, but it is often associated with guilt and remorse afterwards. Kleptomania is an impulse control disorder (ICD) that frequently emerges during adolescence. It is more common in women than men and is often comorbid with other psychiatric disorders, especially other ICDs, substance use, and mood disorders. Individuals with kleptomania suffer in their social and occupation functioning and many face legal consequences related to stealing. Although no specific treatment has been empirically supported, preliminary data suggest that the opioid antagonist naltrexone and cognitive behavioral strategies may be helpful. Management of co‐occurring conditions is also important. Further research into the epidemiology, psychology, neurobiology, and treatment of kleptomania is greatly needed.
Behavioral Observation
Authors: Bakeman Roger , Haynes Stephen N.
Published: January 2015

Behavioral observation is useful for the assessment of persons with limited verbal abilities, the measurement of persons' behavior in their natural environments, and the measurement of functional relations among contemporaneously occurring behaviors and environmental events. It is particularly useful for measuring clinically important sequences of interactions between persons and for examining how these sequences influence behavior and vary across contexts. Systematic behavioral observation is often applied within time‐series correlational or experimental (e.g.,
ABAB
) designs. The validity and clinical utility of behavioral observation data depend on selecting the best coding schemes, methods of recording behavior and events, time‐sampling strategies, subjects to observe, observation settings (e.g., analog or in the participants' natural environment), observers (e.g., participant or nonparticipant), and data analytic strategies for a given assessment context. Observer accuracy is an important dimension of behavioral observation and can be evaluated in several ways (e.g., Cohen's κ).
Syndrome, Disorder, and Disease
Authors: Peterson Destiny , Keeley Jared W.
Published: January 2015

Defining syndrome, disease, and disorder can be challenging since they are all terms used to define a person's state of being. All have similarities and differences. A syndrome is a constellation of signs and symptoms that occur together and covary over time. A disorder is also a collection of signs and symptoms, but it has known associated features that are presumed to be related. A disease is an involuntary physiological or biological illness that typically has some underlying cause.
J
uvenile Transfer/Waiver
Authors: Sellers Brian G. , Kimonis Eva R.
Published: January 2015

Juvenile transfer, or waiver, is the legal mechanism through which youthful offenders are certified to be adjudicated in criminal court. Four waiver methods exist and vary greatly in process and the amount of discretion given to judges, prosecutors, and state legislators. The major criteria used in transfer determinations include potential dangerousness, sophistication‐maturity, and amenability to treatment. Current trends reflect an increased use of automatic forms of waiver that focus primarily on potential dangerousness and may present a host of ethical concerns if developmental maturity and treatability are not given appropriate weight in transfer decisions. Juveniles who are waived to criminal court also face adult sanctions that may have an adverse impact on their prosocial development and future prospects for successful reintegration into society as productive members.
Tarasoff
and the Duty to Warn
Authors: Foellmi Melodie , Rosenfeld Barry
Published: January 2015

The case of
Tarasoff v. California Board of Regents
(1976) shocked the mental health community by imposing civil liability (i.e., damages and financial compensation) for a psychotherapist's failure to warn an individual of the risk posed by his patient. As a consequence of
Tarasoff
, many jurisdictions now require mental health professionals to take action if they determine that their patient presents a risk of danger to another person. This requirement has been operationalized in some jurisdictions as a “duty to warn” their patient's potential victim, whereas other jurisdictions have imposed a “duty to protect,” which requires the mental health professional take steps to protect the potential victim(s). Protecting the potential victim might involve warning him or her directly, alerting the authorities, or taking other actions to prevent the harm from occurring (e.g., initiating psychiatric hospitalization). The manner in which courts have applied these legal concepts has varied depending on the specific details of the case and the jurisdiction.
Treatment Adherence/Compliance
Authors: Miller Tricia A. , Robin DiMatteo M.
Published: January 2015

Nonadherence to treatment recommendations is a significant barrier to the improvement of health outcomes. Patient nonadherence (also called noncompliance) refers to the failure of a patient to follow specific treatment recommendations as directed by a health‐care professional. Patient nonadherence varies widely across different conditions and patient populations. Current empirical research continues to examine, assess, and predict the challenges patients face in their self‐care. Improvement in patient adherence depends on several key factors, including a realistic assessment of the patient's knowledge and understanding of their specific treatment regimen, and a collaborative partnership between the patient and clinician. Provider–patient communication can help to increase patient satisfaction and improve adherence. Health professionals can use the elements of the information‐motivation‐strategy (IMS) model to assist patients in building effective disease management strategies to maximize treatment adherence.
Attorney–Client Privilege
Authors: Klotzle Rebecca Gray
Published: January 2015

The attorney–client privilege is a legal protection that prevents the disclosure of confidential communications made between an attorney and client for the purposes of legal advice or assistance. Based on the attorney's duty to protect a client's confidences, the attorney–client privilege is one of the oldest privileges recognized by American courts and requires the existence of an attorney, a client, a communication made for the purpose of obtaining legal advice or assistance, and an anticipated confidentiality. With few exceptions, the attorney–client privilege serves as an absolute protection unless the litigant waives the privilege through disclosure of the confidential communications.
Item Response Theory, Approach to Test Construction
Authors: Lutz Megan E. , Embretson Susan E.
Published: January 2015

Item response theory (IRT) has had a major impact on instrument design and analysis, both in academic and clinical settings. This entry provides an introduction to the common dichotomous and polytomous IRT models and motivates the use of IRT in the test design process by comparing it with the previously dominant classical test theory. This entry provides a brief introduction to IRT to provide a foundation for the reader to develop a functional instrument within the IRT framework.
Admissibility Standards
Authors: Klotzle Rebecca Gray
Published: January 2015

Admissibility standards are the formal rules and court‐developed procedures that govern what evidence is considered during a trial or other courtroom proceeding. The general rule is that evidence should be admitted when it is relevant to the case at hand and consideration of the evidence tends to prove or disprove the truth of a disputed issue. Admissibility standards vary according to the type of evidence being presented, with the guidelines concerning the opinion testimony of expert witnesses being among the most complex. Before a proposed expert is permitted to testify before a jury, the trial judge holds a
Daubert
hearing in order to evaluate the reliability and relevance of the expert's credentials and ensure that the expert opinion is the product of sound scientific methodology.
Sexually Violent Predator Statutes
Authors: Jackson Rebecca
Published: January 2015

Sex offender civil commitment statutes (“sexually violent predator/sexually dangerous person” statutes) have been adopted in 21 U.S. jurisdictions since 1990. These statutes allow for the indefinite commitment of sexual offenders following a term of incarceration. This entry reviews the development of these laws, the clinical assessment of potential sexually violent predators, and significant legal challenges to their constitutionality.
Taxometrics
Authors: Ruscio John
Published: January 2015

Taxometric analyses examine the relationships among a set of indicator variables to determine whether a latent construct is categorical or dimensional in nature. What makes the taxometric method unique is its reliance on consistency testing, checking for coherence among nonredundant lines of evidence obtained using a series of data analytic procedures. Historically, taxometric results were interpreted in a somewhat subjective manner by making reference to prototypical results based on idealized data sets that varied in several important ways. More recently, the generation and parallel analysis of categorical and dimensional comparison data provides an interpretive aid and affords an objective index of the relative fit of the two competing structural models. By examining the consistency of results obtained using multiple taxometric procedures, one can differentiate categorical and dimensional data with high accuracy after setting aside relatively few results as interpretationally ambiguous.
Content Overlap
Authors: Uliaszek Amanda A.
Published: January 2015

The issue of content overlap has the potential to influence the results of any psychological researcher examining the relationship between two related variables. Instances of content overlap can be split into two groups; the first involvesconstruct overlap, where an unclear boundary exists between two constructs, and the second involvesmeasurement overlap, where a measure is potentially contaminated with items that better assess a different construct. There are several methodological and statistical ways to further assess the nature of content overlap. These include thoughtful content analysis and an examination of inter‐item correlations. If content overlap exists, there are several methods available for researchers to employ. One set of methods involves the deletion of conceptually or empirically redundant items. These techniques should be used with caution, as they are based on subjective interpretations and item deletion comes with many methodological and theoretical pitfalls. The gold standard method involves the use of hierarchical factor models. In this method, the common and specific variance between the general construct and the potentially overlapping content is separated and then relationships can be examined.
Treatment Dissemination
Authors: Lau, Nancy , Ng, Mei Yi , Weisz John R.
Published: January 2015

Recent efforts to identify “evidence‐based psychotherapies” (EBPs) have focused attention on strategies for treatment dissemination; that is, the movement of EBPs into everyday clinical care. Dissemination is complicated by a variety of patient, family, therapist, provider organization, and service system characteristics, including concerns by some that EBPs lack the flexibility needed to fit treatment to individual patient characteristics. The classic book
Diffusion of Innovations
, and psychotherapy‐specific perspectives such as the
deployment focused model
of intervention development and testing, offer strategies for addressing such dissemination challenges. Prospects for successful dissemination are illustrated by examples of EBP implementation at national, regional, and state levels, and by the rapid spread of specific intervention programs such as dialectical behavior therapy and the Triple‐P Positive Parenting Program. Important directions for the future include enriching dissemination models, strengthening methods for evaluating dissemination success, and designing and developing more user‐friendly EBPs that are well suited to dissemination.
DSM

‐

IV
Authors: Widiger Thomas A. , Crego Cristina
Published: January 2015

The American Psychiatric Association's
Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders
(

DSM

) provides the authoritative list of what are considered to be mental disorders and how to best diagnose them. The

DSM
‐5

is the current version of the diagnostic manual. This entry concerns an earlier version,

DSM‐IV

. The primary decisions and features of

DSM‐IV

will be discussed herein.
Persistent Depressive Disorders: Dysthymia and Chronic Major Depressive Disorder
Authors: Cristancho Mario A. , Thase Michael E.
Published: January 2015

Chronic forms of depression are considered formal affective disorders and are conceptualized as the presence of persistent dysphoric mood and a protracted duration of illness. Dysthymia and chronic major depression are persistent depressive disorders recognized by

DSM
‐5

. Chronic forms of depression are prevalent and have the potential for significant functional and occupational impairment. Persistent depressive disorders should be promptly recognized and treated. The use of psychopharmacologic agents alone or in combination with psychotherapy has shown to be effective in the treatment of these conditions.
T
ourette's Disorder
Authors: Masselink Brian W. , Singer Harvey S.
Published: January 2015

Tourette syndrome (TS), also referred to as Tourette's disorder, is a clinical diagnosis of chronic motor and phonic tics with a fluctuating symptomatic course. It has a complex genetic and neurobiological basis and a prevalence of around 1%, with higher rates among boys and in special education classrooms. This entry describes the presentation of tics (the cardinal feature of TS); the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of TS; and frequently comorbid psychopathologies such as obsessive–compulsive disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, personality disorders, and cognitive dysfunction. Effective management of TS requires an understanding of the impact of tics, a comprehensive assessment of comorbidities, and the identification of areas of greatest impairment.
Instrumentalism and Intervening Variables
Authors: Kostko Aaron
Published: January 2015

The scientific legitimacy of explanatory variables in psychology was a central debate among behavioral theorists beginning in the 1930s. In 1948, MacCorquodale and Meehl proposed a useful distinction between intervening variables and hypothetical constructs. Hypothetical constructs entail the existence of unobservable entities or processes, whereas intervening variables are merely convenient labels used to describe the relationship between environmental stimuli and behavioral responses and do not imply the existence of any unobservable entity or process. Philosophical issues associated with each type of variable are discussed.
Specific Phobia
Authors: Muris Peter
Published: January 2015

A specific phobia is an anxiety disorder that is characterized by excessive, unreasonable fear related to a clearly discernible, circumscribed stimulus or situation. The fear response observed in a phobic individual consists of subjective distress, physiological arousal, and avoidance behavior, but may vary in expression from one phobia to another. Specific phobias have a multifaceted origin, in which genetic and environmental factors (conditioning and other learning experiences) are involved. The effective treatment of this disorder always involves some kind of exposure, preferably in vivo, as this appears to yield the most optimal effects.
Clinical versus Statistical Prediction
Authors: Grove William M. , Menton William H. , Huber Joseph C.
Published: January 2015

In clinical decision making, clinical (i.e., impressionistic) or statistical (i.e., mechanical) methods may be employed in making specific predictions. Since these methods will not always produce the same results, clinicians must implicitly or explicitly choose, when faced with any predictive task, whether to use their informal clinical judgment or a formal statistical process. Paul Meehl (1920–2003) notably explored this issue, comparing the relative strengths of the two methods and examining a modest sample of comparative studies. He concluded that statistical prediction tends to be more accurate and less costly than clinical prediction, and should therefore always be preferred by the clinician when it is available. These conclusions were controversial, sparking decades of debate and further research. Follow‐up studies have generally provided strong support for Meehl's original findings, suggesting that statistical prediction is equal or greater in accuracy to clinical prediction across a range of qualitatively diverse domains.
Mechanisms of Action in Psychotherapy
Authors: Alavi Sanam Bamshad , Sanderson William C.
Published: January 2015

With regard to psychotherapy,mechanisms of actionrefer to the processes by which psychotherapeutic change occurs. Since there are many approaches to psychotherapy (e.g., psychodynamic, interpersonal, cognitive behavioral), specifying the mechanisms of change is a complicated endeavor. The most comprehensive approach to identifying mechanisms of change in psychotherapy is to consider bothnonspecific factors(i.e., those mechanisms that are common among different schools of psychotherapy) andspecific factors(i.e., those mechanisms that are unique to one or more approaches to psychotherapy). In light of the research evidence, this entry discusses the specific and nonspecific factors that have been proposed to be responsible for change that occurs in the psychotherapeutic process.
Applied Behavior Analysis
Authors: Fisher Wayne W. , Piazza Cathleen C.
Published: January 2015

Applied behavior analysis (
ABA
) is the clinical or applied branch of the field of behavior analysis. Its focus is the prediction and control of socially important behavior using technologically precise procedures that conform to the basic processes and principles of the experimental analysis of behavior. The goal is to produce effective and generalizable changes in behavior. Behavior analysts define
behavior
broadly to include anything an individual does while interacting with the environment, including observable behavior (e.g., running and playing tennis) and private events (e.g., thinking and imagining).
ABA
focuses on objective measurement and analysis of the environmental variables of which problem and appropriate behaviors are functions (i.e., functional analysis). Applied behavior analysts use this functional approach to develop effective treatments for a wide variety of socially important behaviors (e.g., autism and feeding problems).
Educational Psychology
Authors: Perez Tony , Bergey Bradley W. , Dai Ting , Cromley Jennifer G.
Published: January 2015

Educational psychology is an interdisciplinary field that uses psychological principles to understand and improve learning in and out of schools and across the lifespan, with a focus on typically developing learners. The field bridges basic and applied research, and most research considers a combination of cognitive (how people learn) and/or motivational (what energizes people to learn) variables. The field uses a range of research designs, from large‐scale international longitudinal questionnaire studies, to classroom experiments, laboratory studies, interviews, and mixed‐methods research. Clinical psychologists working with clients who present with learning or motivational difficulties at school might benefit from educational psychology findings in these areas. The entry concludes with some common theoretical constructs employed within both educational and clinical psychology, such as self‐efficacy and self‐determination theory.
Vulnerable Populations in Research
Authors: McCauley Kay
Published: January 2015

Researching vulnerable populations presents many challenges to researchers. However, it is important that research includes vulnerable people, such as those with mental illness, the dying, prisoners, and children. It is not uncommon to involve multiple sites in research to achieve an adequate sample size and ensure greater reliability and validity. Attaining ethical approval across multiple sites can be time‐consuming and necessitates a commitment to networking with other individuals, researcher teams, and organizations. Guidelines are available to assist new researchers through the process of multicentered ethical approval. This protracted process is an issue for national and international researchers, and is currently being addressed to some degree by the introduction of streamlined approaches by many human research ethics committees. Still researchers are faced by the complexity of multicentered ethical approval process. Consideration must be given to the need for a multicentered research approach and the development of streamlined processes within.
Ethnocultural Psychotherapy
Authors: Nelson Tamara , Cardemil Esteban V.
Published: January 2015

Ethnocultural psychotherapy refers to any form of psychotherapy that takes into consideration the multiplicity of sociocultural contexts that affect the psychotherapy process. Some of these contexts include race/ethnicity and culture, national origin, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, and ability/disability; although most of the existing research has focused on race/ethnicity and culture. Ethnocultural psychotherapy presumes that culture influences how people conceptualize and experience mental illness, seek help, and respond to treatment. Further, psychotherapy posits that culture influences the assumptions clinicians hold about their work, their role in therapy, their clients, and their overall clinical practice. Therefore, ethnocultural psychotherapy approaches maintain that it is critical to consider culture throughout the therapeutic process, particularly when working with individuals from particular sociocultural backgrounds. This entry provides an overview of the different conceptualizations of ethnocultural psychotherapy and makes recommendations to help psychotherapists more effectively attend to culture.
Practice Research Networks
Authors: Youn Soo Jeong , McAleavey Andrew A. , Castonguay Louis G.
Published: January 2015

Practice research networks (
PRNs
) are infrastructures that allow for the collaboration of researchers and clinicians in conducting clinically meaningful and scientifically rigorous research. Despite the variety of
PRNs
, they can be broadly grouped into three clusters: (a)
PRNs
sponsored by professional organizations, such as American Psychiatric Association or American Psychological Association; (b) specific disorders
PRNS
, which conduct studies focused on particular clinical problems such as substance abuse, disruptive behavioral problems in children, child maltreatment, eating disorders and autism; and (c) common clinical settings
PRNs
, which are based in specific clinical environments, such as counseling centers.
Analysis of Covariance
Authors: Verona Edelyn , Miller Gregory A.
Published: January 2015

Analysis of covariance (
ANCOVA
) is a statistical strategy helpful in evaluating the relationship between an independent variable and a dependent variable.
ANCOVA
can be employed to clarify relationships, including confounds, even when independent variables are correlated.
ANCOVA
is also subject to misunderstanding, misuse, and underuse. With proper use, it can be applied in a wide variety of contexts to improve statistical power and clarify relationships.
Adaptive Sampling Designs
Authors: Huston Carolyn
Published: January 2015

Some studies involving rare or stigmatized populations, such as sex trade workers or drug addicts, can be difficult to sample using conventional sampling designs. Individuals belonging to such populations are sometimes not on census lists, or they are difficult to contact. To study such hard‐to‐reach populations, adaptive sampling designs have been developed. They allow researchers to develop sampling designs based on the spatial distribution or the social network structure of such populations. Such designs are considered adaptive because the selection of new members to bring to the survey depends on information collected on members already present in the sample. Although corrected estimation approaches exist, they can be difficult to calculate. Despite this challenge, such designs can be an important tool, enabling researchers to increase the sample size for a hard‐to‐reach target population.
Intermittent Explosive Disorder
Authors: Donovan Stephen J.
Published: January 2015

The diagnosis of intermittent explosive disorder constitutes an attempt to characterize episodic violent behavior not better explained by another psychiatric diagnosis. This entry traces the evolution of the thinking that led to formulation of this disorder and examines future directions for aggression research.
Juvenile Court
Authors: Iselin Anne‐Marie R.
Published: January 2015

From its inception, the juvenile court sought to maintain community safety while redirecting delinquent youth toward positive adult adjustment. At different points in its development, the juvenile court has prioritized one of these objectives over the other. The current juvenile court is heavily guided by scientific evidence as demonstrated in key Supreme Court decisions, and the rise in evidence‐based assessment and treatment practices.
DSM‐III

and

DSM‐III

‐
R
Authors: Sprock June
Published: January 2015

The
Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, third edition
(

DSM‐III

) (American Psychiatric Association, 1980) is considered the first of the modern
DSM
s. The
DSM‐III
represented a paradigm shift from the etiologically based classification of previous editions of the manual to a descriptive approach that emphasized observable behaviors and reported symptoms, and provided specific operational definitions of diagnoses to improve reliability. The
DSM‐III
also introduced a multiaxial diagnostic format, new diagnostic categories, new names for existing diagnoses, and significant reorganization of diagnostic groups. The revisions were substantial, and shortly after its publication it was recognized that modifications were necessary to address concerns with the new classification. A task force was formed, and a revised edition of the
DSM‐III
(
DSM‐III‐R
) was published in 1987 (American Psychiatric Association, 1987). The revolutionary new approach introduced in the
DSM‐III
provided the basis for the
DSM‐IV
and
DSM‐IV‐text‐revision
(
DSM‐IV‐TR
), as well as the current classification of mental disorders, the
DSM‐5
.