Linked Life Data

10412223

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/10412223

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1
pubmed:dateCreated
1999-9-21
pubmed:abstractText
We are impressed with the magnitude and potential importance of the studies presented by Sigman and Ruskin in this monograph. The within-syndrome findings for the children with autism concerning relations between early joint attention and a range of cognitive abilities a full 9 years later provide the strongest evidence so far that early nonverbal communication skills play an important role in the later development of language, intelligence, and social relations with peers. The purpose of the monograph was not limited to within-syndrome research questions, however. Sigman and Ruskin state that a major goal of the research reported in the monograph was to identify specific, unique, and universal deficits for autism and Down syndrome. They base their method of identifying such syndrome characteristics on the group-matching procedure. Given that this procedure is fraught with difficulties, we are concerned that many of Sigman and Ruskin's cross-syndrome comparisons may be incorrect. We do not mean to single out Sigman and Ruskin. The group-matching method is frequently used in special populations research, with the null hypothesis of no differences on the control variable being accepted at dangerously low p values. Our concerns with the group-matching problem extend to much of the extant research that attempts to identify characteristics of individuals based on the performance of their syndrome group relative to a control group. The profiling procedure we outlined seems more fruitful and conceptually satisfying than the traditional matching method. When profiling is not possible, however, it is important to consider the impact of CA confounds and statistical decision procedures used to ensure matching on the control variable, when interpreting syndrome differences on variables of interest.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:commentsCorrections
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:issn
0037-976X
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
64
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
115-30; discussion 131-9
pubmed:dateRevised
2007-11-14
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1999
pubmed:articleTitle
Methodological issues in cross-syndrome comparisons: matching procedures, sensitivity (Se), and specificity (Sp).
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Psychology, University of Louisville, KY 40292, USA. cbmervis@louisville.edu
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Comment, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.