The development of a clinical rating scale for the McMaster model of family functioning.

This article describes the development and validation of the McMaster Clinical Rating Scale (MCRS). The MCRS is a 7-item scale designed to be completed by a trained rater after completion of an in-depth interview of the family. We present data from four new studies and review previously published articles concerning the reliability, validity, and clinical utility of the MCRS. Adequate interrater reliability and rater stability were obtained. The MCRS was found to correlate significantly with the self-report Family Assessment Device and to discriminate between families in different phases of a depressive disorder.

The behavioral and linguistic interactions of specifically language-delayed and normal boys with their mothers.

3 studies were based on subgroups selected from larger pools of either normal children or children with delays in the expression and/or comprehension of language but normal nonverbal abilities. In Study 1, younger (28-50 months) and older (51-68 months) normal (N = 27) and language-delayed (N = 33) boys were observed interacting with their mothers in free play and structured task situations. Although language-delayed children initiated fewer interactions, their responsiveness to maternal interactions, questions, and commands did not differ from that of normal children. Mothers questioned language-delayed children less frequently during tasks but did not differ from mothers of normal children on other measures of interaction, responsiveness, control, or reward strategies. In Study 2, the complexity of maternal speech directed to normal (N = 11) and expressively delayed (N = 11) boys who were matched on the basis of comprehensive skills did not differ. Maternal speech to boys with delays in both language expression and comprehension (N = 11) was significantly less complex. In Study 3, the discrepancy between the speech complexity of mothers and that of their language-delayed children (N = 47) was greatest in younger children with greater expression and comprehension delays, who initiated fewer interactions and proved less responsive to maternal interactions and questions.

Hypnotherapy as a treatment for enuresis.

The main objective of this study was to provide an adequately controlled experimental and clinical study to assess the efficacy of hypnotherapy in the treatment of nocturnal enuresis. Subjects were 48 nocturnal enuretic boys, aged 8-13 yr. Treatment consisted of six standardized sessions, one hourly session per subject per week. Results indicated that hypnotherapy was significantly effective over 6 months in decreasing nocturnal enuresis, compared with both pretreatment baseline enuresis frequency and no-treatment controls. It also suggested that trance induction was not a necessary prerequisite for success. Comparison with other methods of treatment provided evidence that hypnotherapy was an effective alternative or adjunctive form of treatment for enuresis.

Interactions of language-delayed and normal preschool boys with their peers.

This study examined the impact of specific language delay (LD) on peer interactions in preschool children. Three groups of dyads were studied: normal children interacting with normal children, normals interacting with LD children and LD children with each other. The normal children were more likely to initiate interaction when the partner was non-responsive and to attempt to dominate the interaction. The results of this study illustrate reciprocity in the social interactions of young children, the significant role of dominance and control in interaction and the sensitivity of preschool children to the characteristics of their peers.

Intellectual development and nutrition.

One newborn child was selected from 14 families in which kwashiorkor had occurred. Undernutrition in this test group was prevented for the first two years of life by the provision of supplementary feeding. Controls who were the siblings directly preceding each of the 14 test children received no supplementary feeding, but received medical attention and management. In each family an older child who previously had kwashiorkor (kwashiorkor group), and the nearest sibling who had received neither extra feeding nor medical management (kwasiorkor control group) were also available for comparison. A battery of psychologic tests was administered when the mean age of the test group was 8.9 years. The mean full-scale IQ of the supplementary feeding group at an average age of 8.9 years was significantly higher than that of any of the other three groups. There was no significant difference between test and control groups on nonverbal IQ. Measures of "brain damage" did not discriminate between any of the four groups. The results suggest that nutritional factors contribute especially to the elevation of verbal intelligence. Environmental stimulation (daily contact with a more alert child) apparently contributed to the elevation of the nonverbal scores of the controls.

The age variable in alcoholism.

The younger the alcoholic at the onset of excessive drinking, the greater his emotional problems, the more severe his parents' drinking habits and the more negative the quality of his parents' marriage.

Emotional disturbance in unplanned versus planned children.

PIP: In 2 studies, 2 samples of planned and unplanned children (mean ages, 13.45 and 13.27), matched for education and divided into middle and lower class, were compared for emotional disturbances. Also, in the 2nd study, mothers were compared for neuroticism and attitudes to the child, and family size was determined. The comparisons were made on the basis of personality inventories completed by the children, questionnaires completed by their teachers, and personality and attitude surveys taken by their mothers. Hypotheses were: 1) unplanned children would be significantly more emotionally disturbed than planned ones (confirmed), 2) mothers of unplanned children would be significantly more neurotic and rejecting than mothers of planned ones (not confirmed), 3) unplanned children would belong to significantly larger families (confirmed). Unplanned children scored higher for emotional disturbance, particularly the lower class children; it is suggested that the greater the adversity of circumstance of the family, the more negative the effects of unplanned status will be on emotional adjustment.^ieng