Although the methodological problems associated with the use of children's self-report depression inventories have previously been discussed in detail, the ethical problems related to the use of these instruments have been largely ignored. The primary purpose of this survey study was to determine how childhood depression researchers have prepared for and responded to children from community (i.e., nonclinic) samples whose nonanonymous scores on self-report depression inventories have indicated that they might be severely depressed or suicidal. Several recommendations, based upon the results of this survey study, the existing literature relevant to the ethical responsibilities of investigators who conduct research with children, and our own experiences with these instruments and populations, are made to assist researchers in their attempts to use these inventories in an ethical manner.

The present study investigated the effects of informed consent regarding upcoming, aversive stimuli on autonomic and self-report measures of anxiety. Physiological and self-report measures were recorded prior to the subject receiving information regarding the nature of the upcoming stressor (naive baseline block), following the receipt of this information (informed baseline block), during the anticipation of the stressor (anticipation block), and following the expected stressor (post-stressor baseline block). Examination of mean levels of autonomic activity during the naive and informed baseline blocks and the patterns of correlations involving those blocks indicated that the naive and informed baseline blocks were noncomparable. Implications of these findings for experimental design and clinical assessment are discussed.

Data are presented on the clinical utility of two Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) indices, the Pseudo-Neurologic (Pn) Scale developed by Shaw and Matthews and the configural rule system developed by Wilkus et al. for the prediction of pseudoseizures. Particular attention is given to base rates, hit rates, and error rates in the analyses. Only the configural rule system was found to be of clinical value in ruling out the probability of pseudoseizures.

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