Objective: Assess the effects of videoconferencing-based counseling on the psychosocial functioning of rural teenagers with epilepsy. Setting: University and rural communities. Participants: Twenty-two teenagers with epilepsy and their parents. Interventions: Six sessions of home-based video counseling, homebased speakerphone counseling, or office-based counseling. Main Outcome Measures: Problem severity and frequency, Social Skills Rating System, modified Working Alliance Inventory, and treatment adherence. Results: Teenagers and parents reported significant reductions in both problem severity and frequency across all 3 conditions from pre-to post-6th session to the 6-month follow-up. Parents reported significant increases in prosocial behaviors from pre-to post-6th session to follow-up. In contrast, both parents and teachers reported no change in problem behaviors over time. No differences in adherence were found across the 3 modalities. Overall therapeutic alliance was high but varied as a function of family member and treatment. Conclusions: Mode of delivery did not influence initial treatment outcomes or adherence.

To provide a critical review of studies on the impact of telecommunication-based interventions for persons with chronic disabilities. Design: Only those studies that focused on specific health care or clinical interview outcomes and included at least 1 comparison condition were selected for review. Ten studies met these criteria. Results: Overall, the results of initial studies suggest that telecommunication-based interventions may be an efficient and effective way of providing services for chronically disabled populations, even for those who have no previous experience with the technologies. Conclusions: The number of controlled trials examining telecommunication-based interventions for those with chronic disabilities remains small. Future research should endeavor to increase sample size, use conceptually meaningful control groups, focus on cost utility, and investigate which types of telecommunication-based interventions provide the best match with specific populations.One of the most exciting developments in health care and rehabilitation today is the growing use of telecommunication technologies to provide health informa-

Responses to the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI; Kovacs, 1992), administered during intake, were collected from 521 children and adolescents (aged 7 to 17) at an inpatient crisis stabilization unit. Participants were grouped into 1 of 3 diagnostic groups: solely depressive, solely aggressive, or both depressive and aggressive. Self-report of symptoms for each diagnostic group, age and gender differences, and racial and ethnic differences in symptoms were examined in this study. There was a significant difference between the endorsement pattern of solely depressive and solely aggressive participants, whereas those categorized as both depressive and aggressive displayed an endorsement pattern similar to those who were solely aggressive. There was a significant gender difference in overall symptom report, with girls showing higher overall symptom levels than boys. This gender difference was significant for both the younger and the older age groups. These results held true even when gender was covaried out of the diagnostic group analyses and when diagnostic group was covaried out of the gender analyses. Symptom endorsement did not differ based on race and ethnicity. The primary contribution of this study centers around the findings from the item analyses of the CDI. These results are discussed in relation to the discriminant validity of the CDI and the need for additional research into comorbidity.

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School districts are increasingly initiating random drug-testing (RDT) programs in an effort to curb substance-use rates among students, yet little is known about student attitudes toward RDT and potential obstacles to program acceptance and effectiveness. The authors surveyed 1011 9th through 11th grade students in 2 rural high schools in North Florida regarding the pending implementation of one of the most aggressive RDT programs in the nation. A significant majority of students predicted that RDT would be effective, yet students were more clearly divided in their perceptions of the fairness and the accuracy of testing. Student perceptions of whether there is a drug problem at their school proved to be a robust predictor of perceptions of policy fairness. Student substance-use rates were more limited predictors of policy effectiveness and fairness. These results may prove useful to school administrators, health professionals, and policy makers seeking to build acceptance for RDT in their schools.