Criterion validity of interpreting scores from multi-informant statistical interactions as measures of informant discrepancies in psychological assessments of children and adolescents.

Parents and adolescents often provide discrepant reports of adolescent and family behavior. Recent work indicates that scores from indirect measures of discrepancies between parent and adolescent reports, namely, statistical interactions between reports, longitudinally predict adolescent psychopathology. However, no previous work supports the criterion validity of interpreting scores from these interactions as indirect measures of informant discrepancies. In a community sample of 50 parents and adolescents ages 14-17 years (M = 15.4 years, 20 males and 30 females), we examined indirect measures of parent-adolescent reporting discrepancies, using parent and adolescent reports of parents' awareness of adolescents' whereabouts and activities (i.e., parental monitoring). We examined these reporting discrepancies in relation to a structured interview that directly assesses "discrepant beliefs" or perceived discrepancies between parent and adolescent views of daily life topics (e.g., doing chores and homework). Greater parent- and adolescent-reported parental monitoring related to lower perceived discrepant beliefs. Importantly, the interaction between parental monitoring reports provided additional information. Specifically, when adolescents provided relatively high parental monitoring reports, we observed greater parents' parental monitoring reports relating to lower perceived discrepant beliefs, but no such relation when adolescents provided relatively low parental monitoring reports. Overall, findings suggest that indirect assessments of parent-adolescent discrepancies in reports of parental monitoring relate to direct assessments of how parents and adolescents perceive everyday life topics differently. These findings have important implications for understanding the longitudinal links between informant discrepancies and adolescent psychopathology, as well as developing multimethod assessments of informant discrepancies in psychological assessments.

Dinámica poblacional de Haematobia irritans en un hato de bovinos de Soto la Marina, Tamaulipas, México / Population dynamics of horn fly Haematobia irraitans in a bovine herd from Soto la Marina ina the state of Tamaulipas in Mexico

El objetivo del presente estudio fue determinar la dinámica poblacional de H. irritans en un hato de bovinos de Soto la Marina, Tamaulipas, México; con ese propósito se obtuvieron conteos de esa mosca mediante la observación directa (OD) sobre 12 bovinos en pastoreo y sin tratamiento mosquicida. A partir del 6 de septiembre de 1998 al 29 de agosto de 1999, en el Rancho "Los Pinos", municipio de Soto la Marina, Tamaulipas, se determinó la correlación entre la población de moscas con los factores climáticos de temperatura (T) y precipitación pluvial (PP). La presencia de H. irritans durante el año fue continua, con picos poblacionales mayores de 200 moscas por animal en septiembre, abril, mayo y junio, y poblaciones menores de 100 moscas por animal en noviembre, diciembre, enero, julio y agosto. La correlación entre la población de moscas con la T fue de 0.57 (P < 0.05), y con la PP, de 0.32 (P < 0.05). El análisis de las dos variables, en conjunto, mostró una correlación de 0.70 (P < 0.05). Se concluye que H. irritans se encuentra presente durante todo el año en el rancho en estudio, con variaciones relacionadas con las variables climatológicas de T y PP.