Use of the Rorschach Inkblot Test to aid in diagnosis of bipolar disorder in children and adolescents

dc.contributor.advisorMcCarthy, Christopher J.en
dc.creatorKellerman, Tonya Lynnen
dc.date.accessioned2008-08-28T22:25:00Zen
dc.date.available2008-08-28T22:25:00Zen
dc.date.issued2005en
dc.descriptiontexten
dc.description.abstractAlthough Bipolar Disorder was once considered rare in children and adolescents, in recent years it has become a frequent diagnosis for youth. However, diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder (BPD) in children is complicated by ambiguous symptoms and co existence with other psychiatric disorders. Existing research into differential diagnosis of BPD in children focuses on interviews and parent report instruments. This study sought to give counseling psychologists more tools with which to make differential diagnosis, by ascertaining what variables and indices of the Rorschach Inkblot Test might signal the presence of BPD. v The present study examined differences in Rorschach profiles of psychiatric inpatient youth diagnosed with bipolar disorder as compared to those given another DSM-IV-TR Axis I diagnosis. A hierarchical discriminant function analysis was used to examine the ability of selected Rorschach variables to improve accuracy of diagnosis beyond the use of historical and behavioral variables alone. A discriminant function analysis with historical and behavioral information was able to classify children into BPD and Depression groups beyond what would be expected by chance. Although the discriminant function was still significant when Rorschach variables were added, Rorschach variables did not significantly improve the ability of the function to classify children as BPD or Depressed. A discriminant function including behavioral and historical variables was unable to predict diagnostic group membership in Bipolar Disorder Type I or a broader Bipolar diagnosis, regardless of whether Rorschach variables were included in the equation. T-tests were performed to examine differences in selected Rorschach variables between diagnostic groups; again, no significant results were found. Results, implications, and limitations of the study as well as future research directions are discussed.
dc.description.departmentEducational Psychologyen
dc.format.mediumelectronicen
dc.identifierb60769890en
dc.identifier.oclc67839014en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2152/1948en
dc.language.isoengen
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author. Presentation of this material on the Libraries' web site by University Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin was made possible under a limited license grant from the author who has retained all copyrights in the works.en
dc.subject.lcshRorschach Testen
dc.subject.lcshManic-depressive illness in adolescenceen
dc.subject.lcshManic-depressive illness in childrenen
dc.titleUse of the Rorschach Inkblot Test to aid in diagnosis of bipolar disorder in children and adolescentsen
dc.type.genreThesisen
thesis.degree.departmentEducational Psychologyen
thesis.degree.disciplineEducational Psychologyen
thesis.degree.grantorThe University of Texas at Austinen
thesis.degree.levelDoctoralen
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophyen

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