Short-term child-centered play therapy training with Israeli school counselors and teachers.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of short-term intensive child-centered play therapy training with school counselors and teachers in Israel. Results of the analysis of covariance revealed that trainees in the experimental group demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in the group’s play therapy knowledge as measured by the Play Therapy Attitude, Knowledge and Skills Survey. The experiential group did not demonstrate statistically significant improvement in their attitudes and beliefs toward children or confidence in applying play therapy skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of semester length on play therapy training.

Examined whether the length of semester impacts play therapy training for master's level graduate students. A total of 29 students participated. The various semesters studied were a 3-wk mini-session, a regular 5-wk summer session, and a regular 15-wk semester. The Play Therapy Attitude-Knowledge-Skill Survey (PTAKSS) was used to collect pre- and post-training data. This instrument measures three aspects of child-centered play therapy training: (a) the attitudes regarding essential beliefs and interaction patterns, (b) the knowledge of what should be known, and (c) the level of confidence in applying play therapy skills. There was significant change within each group of students in all three aspects of training as computed with Paired Differences t-test. Results of the analysis of covariance indicated no significant difference in any aspect of the child-centered play therapy training between semester length. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effectiveness of Teaching Play Therapy Attitudes and Skills to Undergraduate Human Services Majors.

This study investigated the effectiveness of an undergraduate human services course based on Landreth's (1991, 2002) 10-week model of filia, therapy and Adlerian principles as in Kinder therapy (White, Flynt, and Draper, 1997). Specifically, this research determined whether the training received in this course facilitated change in the undergraduate students' attitudes toward and empathic behavior with children, the students' parenting attitudes, and their play therapy attitude, knowledge, and skills. Experimental and control groups of undergraduate human services majors completed pretest and posttest measures. Each group also had a 30-minute videotaped play session with a young child. The results revealed the undergraduate students in the course had significantly better scores. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of attitudinal, cognitive, and situational variables on recall of biased communications.

Investigated the attitudinal congeniality hypothesis (the assumption that people learn material congenial to their attitudes more easily than uncongenial material) in a 2 by 2 design: instruction set (learn vs judge) by essay bias (pro vs con), with attitude toward student activism as the focal ex post facto variable. 120 college students served as Ss. Verbal skills, quantitative skills, and overlap of prior knowledge structure with essay content were treated as covariates. A number of variables related to quality of essay content and demand characteristics were controlled and/or measured to achieve the maximum possible control over recall variance. Results indicate that greater recall was associated with greater intellectual skills, greater overlap of prior knowledge, more positive attitudes toward the experimental setting, instructions to learn the essay, and the attitudinal congeniality effect (indexed by the Attitude by Essay Bias interaction). Interpretation is based on the effect of each variable on the perceived utility of the essay's content. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of geropsychology training.

What effect does a geropsychology practicum placement have on graduate students' knowledge of and attitudes toward older adults? Ninety psychology externs and interns were surveyed at the beginning of the training year and then 9 months later. About half of the trainees provided services in settings that served older adults, whereas the remainder did not. At the end of training, those with a geropsychology placement maintained higher interest in geropsychology, had lower negative attitudes toward older people, and had greater knowledge of mental health and aging than trainees without a geropsychology placement. There were no differences between the two placement groups in knowledge of general facts on aging and positive attitudes toward the aged. The implications of the findings for graduate program directors, training psychologists, and graduate students are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Knowledge of and interest in geropsychology among psychology trainees.

Given the increasing number of older people in the U.S. population, how well prepared are graduate students to deliver services to older adults? Do graduate students want to see older adults in clinical practice? Ninety-four psychology externs and interns were surveyed about their knowledge of and attitudes toward older people. Although trainees evidenced gaps in knowledge, they indicated interest in expanding that knowledge. They also reported favorable attitudes toward the aged and interest in practice with them. This article summarizes geropsychology resources for graduate program directors, students, and practitioners who want to expand practice to include older adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical teachers as humanistic caregivers and educators: perceptions of senior clerks and second-year residents

BACKGROUND: The acquisition and nurturing of humanistic skills and attitudes constitute an important aim of medical education. In order to assess how conducive the physician-learning environment is to the acquisition of these skills, the authors determined the extent to which clinical teachers are perceived by their trainees as humanistic with patients and students, and they explored whether undergraduate and graduate students share the same perceptions. METHODS: A mail survey was conducted in 1994/95 of all senior clerks and second-year residents at Laval University, University of Montreal and University of Sherbrooke medical schools. Of 774 trainees, 259 senior clerks and 238 second-year residents returned the questionnaire, for an overall response rate of 64%. Students' perceptions of their teachers were measured on a 6-point Likert scale applied to statements about teachers' attitudes toward the patient (5 items) and toward the student (5 items). RESULTS: On average, only 46% of the senior clerks agreed that their teachers displayed the humanistic characteristics of interest. They were especially critical of their teachers' apparent lack of sensitivity, with as many as 3 out of 4 declaring that their teachers seemed to be unconcerned about how patients adapt psychologically to their illnesses (75% of clerks) and that their teachers did not try to understand students' difficulties (78%) or to support students who have difficulties (77%). Compared with the clerks, the second-year residents were significantly less critical, those with negative perceptions varying from 27% to 58%, 40% on average. Except for this difference, their pattern of responses from one item to another was similar. INTERPRETATION: This study suggests the existence of a substantial gap between what medical trainees are expected to learn and what they actually experience over the course of their training. Because such a gap could represent a significant barrier to the acquisition of important skills, more and urgent research is needed to understand better the factors influencing students' perceptions.     

Beliefs and attitudes about bupropion: Implications for medication adherence and smoking cessation treatment.

Beliefs about medication are associated with treatment adherence and outcome. This is a secondary analysis of the role of beliefs and attitudes about bupropion in treatment adherence and smoking cessation outcomes using data from a smoking cessation trial of open-label sustained-release (SR) bupropion therapy reported previously (Toll et al., 2007). Positive beliefs and attitudes were positively correlated with intentions, desire, confidence, and motivation to quit smoking; expectation of quitting success; perceived benefits of quitting; and perceived disadvantages of smoking. Positive beliefs were also associated with greater medication adherence, an increased likelihood of completing treatment and being continuously abstinent, and a delayed latency to smoking lapse. These findings provide preliminary support that positive beliefs and attitudes about bupropion are associated with positive attitudes toward quitting, better treatment adherence, and potentially better treatment response. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes and behavior in counseling skill development.

To examine the association between attitudes and skill performance under laboratory conditions, 37 undergraduates received brief training in 2 counseling skills (reflection of feeling and interpretation) and then conducted interviews with coached clients. Ss with positive attitudes toward using reflection of feeling produced significantly higher quality reflective responses than did those with negative attitudes toward the use of this skill. By contrast, no significant association between attitudes toward interpretive responses and interpretation quality was found. In addition, Ss were able to use reflective responses when instructed, whereas they were less able to respond to instructions about the timing of interpretive responses. Results suggest that when trainees are relatively facile in the use of a skill, quality is associated with attitudes, whereas when facility is less, the association is attenuated. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

High school students as therapeutic agents with young children experiencing school adjustment difficulties: The effectiveness of a filial therapy training model.

Filial therapy has been used since the early 1960s to train parents as therapeutic agents for children experiencing a broad range of social, emotional and behavioral difficulties. Using a pretest-posttest control group design, this study examined the efficacy of a filial therapy model in training high school students to be effective helpers with young children experiencing school adjustment difficulties. 32 high school students enrolled in a Peer Assistance and Leadership course titled PALs were trained to become therapeutic change agents for identified prekindergarten and kindergarten students. The PALs students received training and supervision in child-centered play therapy skills that they practiced in weekly play sessions with their assigned child. Results from the statistical analyses reveal that the experimental group of high school students receiving filial therapy training demonstrated a significant increase in their empathic interactions with children and that the experimental group of children receiving the play therapy intervention experienced a significant reduction in problem behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mothers' supervision of their children's peer play: Relations with beliefs, perceptions, and knowledge.

Mothers (N?=?76) of 3- to 5-year-old children completed questionnaires assessing beliefs in the importance and modifiability (vs. innateness) of children's peer relationship skills, perceptions of their children's social competence with peers, and strategies they would use in response to children's peer interaction problems. A subsample of mothers (n?=?34) was observed supervising the play of their own children and a peer. Maternal perceptions of children's competence were negatively associated with the extent of mothers' involvement in children's play, whereas the quality of supervision was predicted by knowledge of socialization strategies and the interaction of beliefs and knowledge. Beliefs appeared to moderate the effects of maternal knowledge on mothers' behavior in that knowledge was associated with the quality of supervision only when mothers believed social skills were important and modifiable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of occupational therapy education on students' perceived attitudes toward persons with disabilities

OBJECTIVES: The effect of occupational therapy education on students' perceived attitudes toward persons with disabilities was studied. METHOD: The perceived attitudes of 144 occupational therapy students toward persons with disabilities were measured before (retrospective pretest) and after (posttest) the students attended formal professional education at the University of Alberta. RESULTS: Posttest scores were significantly higher than the retrospective pretest scores, indicating that students' attitudes became more positive after they commenced formal professional education. The posttest scores of students at various levels of education, however, did not show any significant difference. CONCLUSION: On the basis of these observations, a positive but nonlinear relationship between occupational therapy education and attitudes toward persons with disabilities was postulated.     

Integrating play and family therapy methods: A survey of play therapists' attitudes in the field.

The researchers surveyed 295 members of the Association for Play Therapy on their attitudes related to working with families when treating children. The results indicated the majority of play therapists held attitudes conducive to involving families in their approaches with children. However, mixed findings were found in specific areas related to the implementation of play therapy with families, suggesting barriers may exist. These mixed findings included a decreased percentage of play therapists that felt like play therapy was effective in family therapy when compared with the high level who felt that play and family therapy approaches could be integrated. Moreover, the respondents were divided on issues such as parents' willingness to be involved in therapy with their children and if parents were actually resistant to being included in sessions with their children. These mixed findings suggest that a wide range of attitudes and experiences about parental involvement exist among play therapists in the field. The authors raise key questions for the play therapy field to consider in more depth and suggest improvements that may be needed in play therapy education to increase the efficacy of play therapists' skills in working with families. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Native Canadians, First Nations, or Aboriginals: The effect of labels on attitudes toward native peoples.

The labels that we use to identify groups may play a role in the attitudes that are expressed toward members of these groups. Based on a multicomponent model of intergroup attitudes, 108 university students responded to a questionnaire assessing attitudes toward Natives, as well as three important components of these attitudes: stereotypes (characteristics attributed to the group), symbolic beliefs (beliefs that the group promotes or threatens cherished values, customs, and traditions), and emotions. Five different labels were utilized for the group: Aboriginal Peoples, First Nations People, Native Canadians, Native Indians, Native Peoples. Results indicated that attitudes toward Natives were less favorable when the labels Native Canadians and First Nations People were utilized, and this effect was partially mediated by the symbolic beliefs that came to mind in response to these labels. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's attitudes toward peers with disabilities: the Israeli perspective

Attitudes toward peers with disabilities were compared in two groups of elementary school children, Israeli (2845 children) and Canadian (1831 children), using the Chedoke-McMaster Attitudes Toward Children with Handicaps (CATCH) scale. Israeli children expressed significantly more positive general attitudes (P=0.0001). The more favourable attitudes were seen in both areas evaluated by the CATCH, the cognitive and the affective-behavioural. In both groups, children who had had previous experience with a disabled person expressed more positive attitudes (P=0.001). An effect of gender was seen in the Canadian but not in the Israeli children. Cultural factors appear to play a role in modelling children's attitudes toward their disabled peers and therefore should be considered before educational programmes are implemented.     

The Relationship of Symbolic Beliefs and Prior Contact to Heterosexuals' Attitudes Toward Gay Men and Lesbian Women.

Research has examined the relation of prior contact and/or symbolic beliefs on attitudes toward homosexuals or gay men. Little research though has been conducted on attitudes toward lesbian women. We examined the simultaneous relationships of symbolic beliefs and prior contact on attitudes toward gay men and attitudes toward lesbian women. Regression analyses indicated that on their own either symbolic beliefs or prior contact were significant predictors of attitudes towards both groups. When examined together though symbolic beliefs predicted attitudes toward lesbian women whereas prior contact predicted attitudes toward gay men. Overall, participants had more contact with gay men than lesbian women. The implications of our results are discussed in terms of the contact hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Decrease of insulin resistance after splenectomy in a diabetic patient with liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension. Physiopathologic evaluation

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of a course in physical diagnosis on the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of internal medicine trainees. DESIGN: A controlled, prospective assignment of housestaff to a year-long curricular program, linked to a set of pre- and posttests. Houseofficers who could not attend the teaching sessions functioned as control subjects. SETTING: An internal medicine training program at an urban medical school. SUBJECTS: 56 (86.1%) of 65 eligible internal medicine housestaff (post-graduate years 1 through 3) participated in the intervention and assessment. A comparison group of 14 senior medical students participated in the pretest. INTERVENTION: 12 monthly lectures emphasizing skills useful in emergencies or validated by the literature. MEASUREMENTS: The pre- and posttests included: 1) a multiple-choice questionnaire to assess knowledge; 2) professional standardized patients to assess selected skills; and 3) Likert-type questionnaires to assess self-motivated learning and attitude toward diagnosis not based on technology. MAIN RESULTS: The residents expressed interest in the program and on a six-point scale rated the usefulness of lectures and standardized patients as 3.5 +/- 1.3 and 4.3 +/- 1, respectively. For no system tested, however, did they achieve more than 55.2% correct answers (range: 24.2%-55.2%, median = 41.04), and their performance did not differ from that of the fourth-year medical students. There was no significant difference in pre/posttest improvement between the control and intervention groups. CONCLUSIONS: These data confirm the deficiencies of physical diagnostic skills and knowledge among physicians in training. These deficiencies were not corrected by the classroom lecture series. Improvement in these skills may require a more intense experiential program made part of residency requirements.     

Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: A new area of cognitive–developmental inquiry.

Studies suggest that young children are quite limited in their knowledge about cognitive phenomena—or in their metacognition—and do relatively little monitoring of their own memory, comprehension, and other cognitive enterprises. Metacognitive knowledge is one's stored knowledge or beliefs about oneself and others as cognitive agents, about tasks, about actions or strategies, and about how all these interact to affect the outcomes of any sort of intellectual enterprise. Metacognitive experiences are conscious cognitive or affective experiences that occur during the enterprise and concern any aspect of it—often, how well it is going. Research is needed to describe and explain spontaneous developmental acquisitions in this area and find effective ways of teaching metacognitive knowledge and cognitive monitoring skills. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The immunological aspects of systemic enzyme therapy in the combined treatment of recurrent nephrolithiasis

BACKGROUND: Despite the popularity of complementary therapies with the public, knowledge and use of these therapies among doctors appear limited. However, studies show that physicians and medical students are positive toward complementary therapies and have a high level of interest in learning about them. METHODS: The attitudes of medical students toward complementary therapies were examined using a questionnaire distributed to 800 first-, third-, and fifth-year medical students at two universities in Melbourne, Australia. RESULTS: The survey revealed that whereas Australian medical students were positive toward complementary therapies, their self-reported knowledge was low, with 56% having no knowledge of the principles of complementary therapies. Attitudes toward different therapies were found to vary widely, with students having little knowledge of chiropractic and naturopathy, the two therapies most commonly used by Australians. Students consistently scored meditation, massage, and acupuncture the highest with regard to knowledge, perceived usefulness, intended patterns of referral after graduation, and desire for education in the undergraduate degree. CONCLUSIONS: When the medical course included some tuition on complementary therapies, students were more positive toward them. A single lecture on complementary therapies was found to have significant impact on medical students' views. Medical students have a high level of interest in complementary therapies that is not being satisfied by their undergraduate curricula.     

Filial therapy with incarcerated mothers: A five week model.

Filial therapy, a method of training parents to respond and interact therapeutically with their children, focuses on enhancing the parent–child relationship. This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of a 5-wk model of filial therapy with incarcerated mothers as a method of increasing empathic behaviors with their children, increasing attitudes of acceptance toward their children, and reducing stress related to parenting. The results support filial therapy as an effective intervention for enhancing the parent–child relationship with incarcerated mothers and their children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)