Predicting educational achievement levels of the severely mentally ill: Implications for the psychosocial program administrator.

Abstract

In order to assist psychosocial administrators in understanding the educational needs of their members, this study explores the correlates of achievement levels in reading and mathematics among a population of 248 urban psychiatric rehabilitation clientele at time of intake. Because academic assessment assists the staff in addressing the functional limitations of clients, such information can be used to design a set of rehabilitative services specifically tailored for individual members. Results revealed a specification effect in the data in which factors related to academic performance among minorities were different from those factors related to performance among non-minorities. Regression analysis indicated that age had greater predictive power for the scores of minority members, while parental marital status and clients' gender were significant only in the non-minority equations. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for program development and planning by the psychosocial administrator.

Clinical Services Research

“…In recent years, much attention has been given to negative symptoms of schizophrenia (Andreasen 1985;Bilder et al 1985;Carpenter et al 1985;Cornblatt et al 1985;Crow 1985;Gibbons et al 1985;Goldberg 1985;Lewine 1985;Mayer et al 1985;Pogue-Geile and Harrow 1985;Sommers 1985;Strauss 1985;Zubin 1985). These symptoms appear to be highly relevant to clinical services research, for they may account for the "chronicity" and difficulty of treating severe mental illness.…”

“…Each domain contains several dimensions that need to be measured. And for areas of specific importance to the research question, measures from multiple perspectives within a domain are important (Cook and Campbell 1979).…”

Program evaluation and research at thresholds

“…Several studies conducted at Thresholds have documented members' needs for remedial education when they enter the agency. One study of math and reading skills among 248 incoming members (Cook, Wessell, and Dincin, 1987) found an average score of grade 8 for mathematical computation and grade 9 for reading comprehension, despite the fact that the mean number of years of education for this group was twelve years. Over half (55 percent) of all incoming members scored below grade 10 in reading while over three-quarters (77 percent) did so in mathematics.…”

The Cultural Relevance of Community Support Programs

“…A study targeting educational needs of ethnic minority participants in vocational training, predominantly African Americans, found that they needed more remedial services because of deficits in math and reading skills (57). The implication for rehabilitation is that these clients may need age-appropriate motivational approaches to counteract possible frustration with educational systems.…”