Paul Austin McDermott, Jr. Professor

Education
1967: B.A. General Experimental Psychology, Fairleigh Dickinson University
1969: Ed.M. Educational Psychology, Temple University
1975: Ph.D. School Psychology, Temple University, APA approved

Areas of Expertise
Multivariate statistics
Multilevel modeling
Item response theory
Test construction

Professional Biography
Dr. McDermott is a psychometrician and quantitative psychologist. He is former director of Clinical and Industrial Measurement for The Psychological Corporation and holds a Diplomate from the American Academy of Assessment Psychology. He is also a licensed psychologist and certified school psychologist with extensive clinical practice and holds a secondary appointment as professor of psychology in psychiatry with the School of Medicine.

Research Interests and Current Projects
Dr. McDermott specializes in measurement theory, test construction, applied multivariate statistics, and multilevel and longitudinal modeling. He develops computerized expert systems and standardized measures of psychopathology, addiction severity, and learning behaviors. Recent nationally standardized measures include the Adjustment Scales for Children and Adolescents and the Learning Behaviors Scale. He directs several national epidemiological studies that examine the role in protection from social/emotional maladjustment and academic failure that is provided by children’s and adolescents’ stylistic learning behaviors. He also directs a large-cohort longitudinal investigation of the developmental trajectories and protective functions of children’s differential learning behaviors through Head Start and primary school. Dr. McDermott is co-principal investigator for curriculum integration and randomized field trials in Head Start, as funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Courses Taught
EDUC 768: Measurement Theory and Test Construction
EDUC 771: Factor Analysis and Scale Development
EDUC 880: Complex, Multilevel, and Longitudinal Research Models
EDUC 881: Applied Multivariate Statistics

Selected Publications
McWayne, C.M., McDermott, P.A., Fantuzzo, J.W., & Culhane, D.P. (in press). Defining social and structural dimensions of neighborhood context: A population-based examination. American Journal of Community Psychology.

Bulotsky-Shearer, R., Fantuzzo, J.F., & McDermott, P.A. (in press). An investigation of the situational dimensions of preschool emotional and behavioral adjustment: A study of problems within the classroom context. Developmental Psychology, 34.

Fantuzzo, J.F., Bulotsky-Shearer, R., McDermott, P.A., McWayne, C., Frye, D., & Perlman, S. (in press). Investigation of dimensions of social-emotional classroom behavior and school readiness for low-income urban preschool children. School Psychology Review, 34.

Meyers, K., Hagan, T.A., McDermott, P.A., Webb. A., Randell, M., & Frantz, J. (2007). Factor structure of the Comprehensive Adolescent Severity Index. (CASI) American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

McDermott, P.A., Goldberg, M.M., Watkins, M.W., Stanley, J.L., & Glutting, J.J. (2006). A nationwide epidemiologic modeling study of LD: Risk, protection, and unintended impact. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 39, 230-251.

Glutting, J.J., Watkins, M.W., Konold, T.R., & McDermott, P.A. (2006). Distinctions without a difference: The utility of observed versus latent factors from the WISC-IV in estimating reading and math achievement on the WIAT-II. Journal of Special Education, 40, 103-114.

McDermott, P.A., Steinberg, C.M., & Angelo, L.E. (2006). Situational specificity makes the difference in assessment of youth behavior disorders. Psychology in the Schools, 42, 121-136.

Fantuzzo, J.W., Rouse, H.L., McDermott, P.A., Sekino, Y., Childs, S., & Weiss, A. (2006). Early childhood experiences and kindergarten success: A population-based study of a large urban setting. School Psychology Review, 34, 571-588.

Meyers, K., McDermott, P.A., Webb, A., & Hagan, T.A. (2006). Mapping the clinical complexities of adolescents with substance use disorders: A typological study. Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse, 16(1), 5-24. Reprinted (2006) in K.C, Winters (Ed.), Adolescent Substance Abuse: New Frontiers in Assessment (pp. 5-24).New York: Haworth.