Interpersonal dependency refers to a complex of thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and behaviors revolving around needs to associate closely with valued other people. Its conceptual sources include the psychoanalytic theory of object relations, social learning theories of dependency, and the ethological theory of attachment. A review of existing self-report inventories revealed none that adequately assessed interpersonal dependency. A new 48-item self-report inventory which assesses interpersonal dependency in adults was developed using a sample of 220 normals and 180 psychiatric patients. It was cross-validated on two additional samples. Three components of interpersonal dependency emerged: emotional reliance on another person, lack of social self-confidence, and assertion of autonomy. The relationship of these components with normals and patients was discussed, as well as with the concepts of attachment and dependency.

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In the past 20 years, there have been endless arguments over the virtues, limitations, and utility of clinical psychological testing, and alternative perspectives have evolved tied to differing views of personality and clinical intervention. Although investment in the testing role has declined for several reasons, clinical assessment remains an important focus of the clinician's work, and new developments in several areas suggest a revitalization of the field as well as a rapprochement among competing orientations to clinical intervention. Korchin and Schuldberg review emerging trends in the use of protective and objective personality tests, behavioral assessment, clinical interviewing, environmental assessment, and medical uses of psychological assessment. The authors believe that clinical assessment is vital in clinical service, research, and the training of clinical psychologists. -The Editors At the Boulder Conference of 1946, which launched the postwar history of clinical psychology, the field was defined by the trinity of testing, therapy, and research. In earlier years, testing had been the sole function of the practicing clinician. As the concept of a "psychiatric team" evolved, psychologists functioned more as coequals than as technicians, sharing psychotherapeutic responsibilities. However, their primary and unique (if no longer sole) contribution was psychodiagnostic testing. Even today, as clinicians spend proportionately more time in therapeutic activities, assessment remains an important (if less central) clinical function. Over these years, controversy has raged over the virtues, limitations, and utility of clinical psychological testing. Some of these issues will be recalled here in an attempt to visualize the role of assessment in the future of the field. Alternate and new approaches will be considered, as well as trends suggesting increasing need for better assessment methods as clinical psychology grows and diversifies.Stated broadly, "clinical assessment is the process by which clinicians gain understanding of the patient necessary for making informed decisions" (Korchin, 1976, p. 124). Clinical diagnosis, in the restricted sense, may be included, but more usually

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