Bender Gestalt Screening for Brain Dysfunction

by Lacks, Patricia

• ISBN13: 9780471242574
• ISBN10: 0471242578
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-10-26
• Publisher: Wiley
• More Book Details
• Purchase Benefits

Summary

Reviews of the First Edition . . . "This is the first major manual on Bender Gestalt testing in over 30 years, and includes detailed administration and scoring instructions, and data on validity and reliability." --Epilepsia. "This book will provide both psychologists and psychiatrists [with] a comprehensive yet easy-to-use manual for screening brain dysfunction." --Contemporary Psychiatry. "Dr. Lacks should be complimented for her treatment of the use of the BGT in screening for organic brain dysfunction." --Book Reviews in Neurosciences. Utilized for over 60 years by clinicians worldwide, the Bender Gestalt Test (BGT) today continues to be a widely used assessment tool to measure the cognitive domain of visuoconstructive abilities and to screen for brain dysfunction. Much of the BGT's popularity rests on its brevity, simplicity, and proven effectiveness with individuals from age 4 to 100. The test is often employed in inpatient psychiatric settings because of its ability to discriminate between brain impairment and serious mental disorders like schizophrenia. More recently, the BGT has also been used to identify older adults at high risk for cognitive decline. This Second Edition is fully revised and includes an up-to-date review of the relevant scientific literature on the test's reliability, validity, and diagnostic accuracy. The book also contains additional normative data, a discussion of malingering, and almost all new examples and practice case materials. Five new chapters address issues in neuropsychological screening, eight steps to interpretation of test results, and use of the Bender Gestalt Test with children, adolescents, and older adults. The book serves as a comprehensive manual for the administration, scoring, and interpretation of the Bender Gestalt Test. The diagnostic significance of general and specific behavioral observations is stressed and a format for recording them is included. For scoring, there are descriptions and multiple examples within the author's adaptation of the 12 errors of the Hutt and Briskin scoring system. The reader can use the 12 varied clinical case examples with explication of the scoring and 10 additional practice cases to gain rapid scoring facility and accuracy. Norms are provided for adult non-patients and psychiatric inpatients, nonpatient and demented older adults, and adolescents. Designed for practical use and adhering to APA standards for test manuals, Bender Gestalt Screening for Brain Dysfunction is a comprehensive and easy-to-use manual that will enable psychology clinicians, psychometricians, and graduate students to increase their level of diagnostic accuracy in screening for brain damage.

Author Biography

PATRICIA LACKS, PhD, has been a faculty member of the Psychology Department at Washington University in St. Louis for 20 years and has published numerous journal articles and chapters in the area of psychological assessment and treatment evaluation. Since retiring in 1991, Dr. Lacks has taught at several local universities in Santa Barbara, California, and currently provides clinical services at the Sleep Disorders Center of Santa Barbara.

Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION TO THE BENDER GESTALT TEST	1	(18)
Clinical Usage of the BGT	1	(2)
History of the BGT	3	(1)
Determinants of BGT Performance	4	(4)
Differential Diagnosis	8	(11)
Methodological Shortcomings of BGT Research	8	(1)
Diagnostic Utility of the BGT	9	(4)
The BGT versus Other Single Neuropsychological Tests	13	(1)
Single versus Multiple Neuropsychological Tests	14	(5)
2. NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL SCREENING	19	(16)
Organization of the Central Nervous System	19	(1)
Neuropathology	20	(1)
Neuropathology Associated with Perceptual-Motor Deficits	21	(2)
Alcohol Abuse	21	(1)
Demantia	22	(1)
HIV Disease/AIDS	22	(1)
Hypoxemia	23	(1)
Screening for Brain Impairment	23	(7)
The Diagnostic Setting	23	(1)
Discrimination of Brain Damage from Schizophrenia	23	(3)
Neuropshchological Screening as a Continuum	26	(1)
The BGT as a Screening Test	27	(2)
Comprehensive Neuropshchological Assessment	29	(1)
What Does the BGT Measure?	30	(1)
Myths about the BGT	31	(4)
3. CLINICAL JUDGMENT VERSUS OBJECTIVE SCORING SYSTEMS	35	(6)
Objective Scoring Systems	35	(2)
Pascal-Suttell Method	36	(1)
Hain Method	36	(1)
Hutt-Briskin Method	36	(1)
Pauker Quick-Scoring Method	37	(1)
Marley Differential Diagnostic Method	37	(1)
Possible Reasons Psychologists Don't Utilize Scoring Systems	37	(4)
Comparative Usefulness of BGT Scoring Methods	38	(1)
BGT Evaluation through Clinical Judgment	38	(1)
Level of Experience	39	(2)
4. ADMINISTRATION	41	(16)
Test Materials	41	(1)
Standard Administration	41	(3)
Diagnostic Significance of Behavioral Observations	44	(2)
Malingering	46	(6)
Definition and Prevalence of Malingering	47	(1)
Markers of Malingering	47	(1)
Malingering and the BGT	48	(1)
A Case of Malingering	49	(2)
Recent Research on Detection of Feigned Cognitive Deficits	51	(1)
Possible Actions for Suspected Faking	52	(1)
Variations in Administration	52	(5)
Recall Method	52	(1)
Tachistoscopic Presentation	53	(1)
Background Interference Procedure	54	(3)
5. DESCRIPTION OF THE SCORING SYSTEM	57	(10)
6. DETAILED SCORING INSTRUCTIONS AND EXAMPLES	67	(30)
7. VALIDITY	97	(28)
Issues of Validity	98	(2)
Diagnosis as a Criterion	98	(1)
Reporting Diagnostic Accuracy	98	(1)
Standard versus Optimal Cutoff Scores	99	(1)
Base Rates	99	(1)
Normative Data	100	(7)
College Students	100	(1)
Nonpatient Adults	100	(4)
Neuropsychiatric Patients	104	(3)
Diangnostic Accuracy	107	(3)
Comparison with Other Scoring Systems	110	(2)
Comparison with Other Tests for Brain Dysfunction	112	(2)
Other Clinical Applications of the BGT	114	(1)
Comparison of Level of Expertise of Scorer	115	(1)
Relationship of BGT Scores to Demographic Variables	116	(5)
Gender	116	(1)
Ethnicity	117	(1)
Age	118	(2)
IQ and Education	120	(1)
Effects of Medication and Electroconvulsive Treatment upon BGT Performance	121	(2)
Medication and the BGT	121	(1)
Electroconvulsive Treatment and the BGT	122	(1)
Summary	123	(2)
8. RELIABILITY	125	(6)
Test-Retest Reliability	126	(2)
Interscorer Reliability	128	(3)
9. INTERPRETATION OF BENDER GESTALT TEST RESULTS	131	(10)
Eight Steps for Interpretation	131	(8)
Caveats	139	(1)
Computer-Assisted Interpretation of the BGT	140	(1)
10. USE OF THE BENDER GESTALT TEST WITH THE OLDER ADULT	141	(10)
Cognitive Implications of Normal Aging	141	(1)
Effects of Age upon Congnitive Functions	141	(1)
Other Variables That Affect Cognitive Performance in Older Persons	142	(1)
Aging and the BGT	142	(9)
Test Administration Issues with the Older Client	142	(1)
Bender Gestalt Norms for Older Adults	143	(1)
Should the BGT Have Age-Corrected Norms?	144	(1)
Specific BGT Errors of Older Adults	144	(1)
BGT Case Example of a Normal Older Adult	144	(1)
Specific Uses of the BGT with an Older Population	145	(6)
11. USE OF THE BENDER GESTALT TEST WITH CHILDREN	151	(22)
The Work of Lauretta Bender	151	(1)
The Work of Elizabeth Koppitz	152	(2)
Administration of the BGT to Children	154	(3)
Behavioral Observations	154	(1)
Malingering in Children	154	(1)
Variations in Administration for Children	155	(2)
Koppitz Scoring Systems for the BGT	157	(1)
Developmental Scoring	157	(1)
Validity of the Koppitz Scoring System	158	(10)
Standardization	158	(1)
Relationship of BGT Performance to Other Variables	158	(5)
Prediction of School Readiness and Academic Achievement	163	(1)
Detection of Learning Disabilities	164	(3)
Brain Damage	167	(1)
Reliability of the Koppitz System	168	(1)
Other Objective Scoring Systems for the BGT with Children	169	(1)
Emotional Indicators	169	(1)
Interpretation of Children's BGT Results	170	(3)
12. THE BENDER GESTALT TEST WITH ADOLESCENTS	173	(10)
BGT Scoring for Adolescents	173	(2)
Adolescent Normative Data	173	(2)
Demographic Variables and the BGT	175	(1)
BGT Recall Method	175	(1)
Assessment of Emotional Disturbance	175	(3)
Two Adolescent Case Examples	178	(3)
Summary	181	(2)
13. SELECTED CLINICAL CASES	183	(52)
Scored Examples	184	(24)
Practice Scoring Exercises	208	(20)
Scoring for Practice Cases	228	(7)
14. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS	235
References	241	(12)
Appendix: BGT Scoring for Cases Presented in Chapter 5	253	(2)
Author Index	255	(6)
Subject Index	261