Examination of the Effects of Intelligence on the Test of Variables of Attention for Elementary Students.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the performance differences on the Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA) among different IQ level groups. METHOD: The present study examined the results of the TOVA with 138 elementary students aged 6 to 10 years who were assigned to one of four different groups based on their scores from the Wechsler Nonverbal Scale of Ability (WNV; low average: IQ < 90, average: IQ between 90 and 109, high average: IQ between 110 and 119, superior: IQ between 120 and 129, and very superior: IQ > 129). The latter two groups were combined. RESULTS: On all TOVA measures (response time, response time variability, errors of omission and commission, and ADHD scores), intellectual functioning significantly influenced performance. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study indicate that performance on the TOVA was affected by intellectual functioning.

Examination of the diurnal assumptions of the test of variables of attention for elementary students.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the diurnal assumptions of the test of variables of attention (TOVA). METHOD: The present study assessed 122 elementary students aged 5.5 to 10.0 years who were randomly assigned to one of four different groups based on time of administration (M-M: morning-morning, M-A: morning-afternoon, A-M: afternoon-morning, and A-A: afternoon-afternoon). Morning administration occurred between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m., and afternoon administration occurred between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. RESULTS: Reliability was consistent across groups, and there were no significant differences between groups. Classification of the students into ADHD or non-ADHD groups was similar across groups, and the children who were identified as ADHD with the Vanderbilt ADHD diagnostic teacher rating scale were consistently classified as ADHD on the TOVA regardless of time of day. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study indicate that the psychometric values of the TOVA remain intact whether its administration was in the morning or afternoon.

The relationship between depression and smoking in adolescents.

The literature suggests that smokers are more likely to be depressed, while people who are depressed are more likely to smoke. The purpose of the present study was to determine the strength of the relationship between smoking, depression, intention to smoke, and several psychosocial and environmental factors. The participants (98 high school and college students aged 16 to 19 years) completed a paper-and-pencil questionnaire consisting of the Multiscore Depression Inventory (MDI) and items regarding smoking behavior as well as psychosocial and environmental factors. Correlation, stepwise regression, and discriminant analyses were then conducted. It was found that participants were more likely to smoke if their parents smoked, if their scores on the MDI indicated instrumental helplessness and social isolation/withdrawal, or if they were older. Participants were more likely to state intention to smoke in the future if they had MDI scores indicating instrumental helplessness, if they were older, if their parents smoked, if their MDI scores indicated social intro-version, or if they resided with a guardian. Participants were also more likely to have smoked for more years if their parents smoked or if their scores on the MDI indicated instrumental helplessness. Further, participants were more likely to have scores on the MDI indicative of higher depression levels if they had low grades or if their parents smoked.

Parental enabling attitudes and locus of control of at-risk and honors students.

Parental enabling attitudes and behavior interfere with the child's ability to take responsibility for his or her behavior. Enabling is expressed in overprotectiveness and manipulation in which parents insulate their children from unpleasant circumstances and from making mistakes. Unfortunately, these are the very situations in which most children learn self-control, independence, and strategies to correct aberrant behavior. Children of enabling parents often fail to learn that their actions have consequences. The Lynch Enabling Survey for Parents (LESP), a forty-item questionnaire designed to assess the enabling behavior of parents, was evaluated to establish its psychometric properties. In Experiment 1, 416 parents responded to the LESP. The instrument was determined to be reliable (rs = .84 and .92 for split-half and test-retest reliability, respectively) and valid. Factor analysis established four factors, assessing Direct Enabling Parent Involvement, Indirect Nonenabling Parent Involvement, Direct Nonenabling Parent Involvement, and Indirect Enabling Parent Involvement. In Experiment 2, the LESP and the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale were used to assess the differences between ninth-grade at-risk and honors students and their parents. The responses of parents of at-risk students on the LESP were significantly more enabling than were the responses of the parents of honors students. At-risk and honors students were also significantly different in their locus of control. Lastly, there was a significant relationship between parents' LESP scores and their children's locus of control scores.