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Limited Validity (limited + validity)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

Using the SWAP-200 in a personality-disordered forensic population: is it valid, reliable and useful?

CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR AND MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 1 2005
Luisa E. Marin-Avellan
Background Treatment and risk management of forensic patients relies heavily on diagnosing psychopathology, yet the reliability of clinical diagnoses of personality disorder has been found to be only fair to low. Structured instruments for the global assessment of personality disorder are infrequently used in clinical assessments possibly due to their limited validity and clinical utility. Aims/methods The Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure-200 (SWAP-200) was developed in an effort to address these limitations. Although good reliability and validity in relation to clinicians' diagnosis of personality disorder has been reported, to date the validity of this instrument has not been assessed in relation to other standardized instruments or in a personality-disordered, forensic population. This study aims to establish the reliability and validity of the SWAP-200 against other diagnostic instruments and measures of interpersonal functioning in a personality disordered forensic population. Results This paper reports the results of 30 subjects from a high secure hospital in the UK who were assessed with the SWAP-200, the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders (SCID-II), the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and the Chart of Interpersonal Reactions in Closed Living Environments (CIRCLE). Preliminary results suggest that the SWAP-200 is a reliable instrument for the diagnosis of personality disorder in forensic patients. Conclusions Although the small sample size allows only preliminary conclusions about the validity of this instrument, early results show a reduction of the diagnosis of comorbidity compared with the SCID-II, together with an increased number of expected associations between independent measures of interpersonal functioning and categories of personality disorder. Copyright © 2005 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source]

Modelling the long-term sustainability of indigenous hunting in Manu National Park, Peru: landscape-scale management implications for Amazonia

JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2009
Taal Levi
Summary 1. ,Widespread hunting throughout Amazonia threatens the persistence of large primates and other vertebrates. Most studies have used models of limited validity and restricted spatial and temporal scales to assess the sustainability. 2. ,We use human-demographic, game-harvest and game-census data to parameterize a spatially explicit hunting model. We explore how population growth and spread, hunting technology and effort, and source,sink dynamics impact the density of black spider monkeys Ateles chamek over time and space in the rainforests of south-eastern Peru. 3. ,In all scenarios, spider monkey populations, which are vulnerable to hunting, persist in high numbers in much of Manu National Park over the next 50 years. Nonetheless, shotguns cause much more depletion than traditional bow hunting by Matsigenka (Machiguenga) indigenous people. 4. ,Maintenance of the current indigenous lifestyle (dispersed settlements, bow hunting) is unlikely to deplete spider monkeys and, by extension, other fauna, despite rapid human population growth. This helps explain why large, pre-Colombian human populations did not drive large primates to extinction. When guns are used, however, spider monkeys quickly become depleted around even small settlements, with depletion eventually reversing the short-term harvest advantage provided by shotgun hunting. Thus, our models show that when guns are used, limits on settlement numbers can reduce total depletion. 5. ,Synthesis and applications. Our framework lets us visualize the future effects of hunting, population growth, hunting technology and settlement spread in tropical forests. In Manu Park, the continued prohibition of firearms is important for ensuring long-term hunting sustainability. A complementary policy is to negotiate limits on new settlements in return for development aid in existing settlements. The advantage of the latter approach is that settlement numbers are more easily monitored than is hunting effort or technology. Similar policies could help to reduce landscape-scale depletion of prey species in human-occupied reserves and protected areas throughout the Amazon. [source]

Assessment of occupational health and safety risks of farmworkers in Colorado ,

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue S2 2002
Martha Soledad Vela-Acosta MD
Abstract Background Migrant farmworkers face a variety of hazards including exposure to pesticides and agricultural chemicals. However, few studies have quantatively evaluated these risks. Methods Hazards were assessed during 32 field surveys conducted in the agricultural fields and 15 surveys at five camps. Observations of 1,461 farmworkers for potential hazards were recorded. Estimated risk was evaluated on a four-point scale (no hazard, minor, serious, and critical). A total of 229 farmworkers were interviewed about field conditions. Results Two out of the five camps did not have safe drinking water. Risks for farmworkers were lower when a manager was living on site. Field surveys estimated higher risk when provision of sanitation was deficient (P,<,0.05). Farmworkers' responses concerning field conditions differed from the survey findings. Conclusions Risks for farmworkers depended largely on the environment provided. Discordances between survey results and farmworkers' interview responses suggested that self-reported data might have limited validity for this population. Working and living conditions require improvement to decrease occupational risks for farmworkers. Am. J. Ind. Med. Suppl. 2:19,27, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Revising the Personality Disorder Diagnostic Criteria for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fifth Edition (DSM-V): Consider the Later Life Context

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 4 2009
Steve Balsis PhD
The categorical measurement approach implemented by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) personality disorder (PD) diagnostic system is theoretically and pragmatically limited. As a result, many prominent psychologists now advocate for a shift away from this approach in favor of more conceptually sound dimensional measurement. This shift is expected to improve the psychometric properties of the personality disorder (PD) diagnostic system and make it more useful for clinicians and researchers. The current article suggests that despite the probable benefits of such a change, several limitations will remain if the new diagnostic system does not closely consider the context of later life. A failure to address the unique challenges associated with the assessment of personality in older adults likely will result in the continued limited validity, reliability, and utility of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) system for this growing population. This article discusses these limitations and their possible implications. [source]