Use of clustering techniques in deriving psychoeducational profiles |
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| Authors: | Esther Sinclair Leeka Kheifets |
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| Institution: | Neuropsychiatric Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, USA |
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| Abstract: | This study explores whether a synthesis of clinical and statistical data taken from the psychoeducational reports completed on a group of 42, 9- to 11-year-old boys referred to a Child Psychiatric Outpatient Department for school-learning problems, would yield discrete clinical categories or clusters of children. An amalgamated hierarchical clustering technique which formed clusters by subjects based on a measure of euclidean distance was used. Forty-two reports were evaluated by licensed educational psychologists in five input areas: Developmental History, School History, Cognitive Functioning, Sensorimotor/Perceptual Functioning, and Academic Achievement. One of three educational placement recommendations was identified for each subject: No Educational Placement Intervention Necessary, Special Tutoring or Remediation, and Special Class Placement. Using clinical characteristic ratings given by the evaluators on each variable, a similarity-dissimilarity matrix was formed which classified subjects into four discrete clusters based on their clinical profiles. A χ2 test determined that there was a significant association (p < .01) between cluster membership and educational placement recommendations. |
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| Keywords: | Request for reprints should be sent to Esther Sinclair Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Neuropsychiatric Institute 760 Westwood Plaza Los Angeles CA 90024 |
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