Self-administered videotape therapy for families with conduct-problem children: Comparison with two cost-effective treatments and a control group.

Parents of 114 conduct-problem children, aged 3–8 years, were randomly assigned to one of four groups: an individually administered videotape modeling treatment (IVM), a group discussion videotape modeling treatment (GDVM), a group discussion treatment (GD), and a waiting-list control group. Compared with the control group, all three treatment groups of mothers reported significantly fewer child behavior problems, more prosocial behaviors, and less spanking. Fathers in the GDVM and IVM conditions and teachers of children whose parents were in the GDVM and GD conditions also reported significant reductions in behavior problems compared with control subjects. Home visit data indicated that all treatment groups of mothers, fathers, and children exhibited significant behavioral changes. There were relatively few differences between treatment groups on most outcome measures, although the differences found consistently favored the GDVM treatment. However, cost effectiveness was the major advantage of the IVM treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An observational study of maternal models.

Observed 35 mothers in interaction with their 19-mo old infants in seminaturalistic settings. Mothers' modeling techniques, their reinforcements for imitation, and children's imitations were recorded. Imitation and reinforcement for imitation were complexly related; for some children maternal reinforcement appeared to control the amount of imitation, but equally prominent were patterns in which reciprocal or interactive mother-child influences were in evidence. Characteristics of the mother, other than reinforcement of imitation, were positively associated with the child's imitation, particularly the amount of variation and the enthusiasm in the mother's modeling. Interpretations of findings in a seminaturalistic setting and findings from the laboratory are discussed with regard to methodological issues and theories relating to imitative learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unmasking the phantom: Creative assessment of the adolescent.

Discusses the need for enhanced and more creative assessment techniques in evaluating the adolescent population. Creative alternatives for more accurate and inclusive assessment are described, with emphasis on issues of rapport and empowerment. Prior to the initial diagnostic interview, it is important to meet with the parents or caretakers to explore the presenting concerns and to set parameters for what the assessment process involves. The final stage of assessment, diagnosis, and recommendations needs to be an active process. An enhanced clinical and functional assessment of the adolescent may increase the success rate of various psychotherapeutic interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Privacy regulation, territorial displays, and effectiveness of individual functioning.

Examined privacy regulation in terms of (a) mechanisms used by college students to make themselves more or less accessible to one another; (b) dormitory room decorations; and (c) the relationships between privacy regulation, personal displays, and short- and long-term adjustment to a university setting. 102 freshmen completed a questionnaire that assessed privacy mechanisms, satisfaction with the university, and other topics. Content analyses of photos of room decorations were also completed. Results at follow-up, over 1 yr later, show that Ss who had dropped out of the university had fewer and less effective privacy mechanisms, were less satisfied with university life, and were less active in various campus events. Although dropouts tended to decorate their rooms more than did Ss who were still enrolled, their decorations showed less diversity and less commitment to the university setting. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Efficacy of participant modeling as a function of response induction aids.

Tested the efficacy of participant modeling as a function of the amount of response induction aids employed. 36 adult snake phobics (4 males, 32 females) received participant modeling with either a low, a moderate, or a high number of aids. Marked changes in behavior and attitudes were rapidly induced when a wide array of performance aids was available, whereas progress was retarded and attainments were substantially lower given limited auxiliary options. Therapeutic efficacy, however, was not monotonically related to number of performance facilitators. Modeling with moderate induction aids generally yielded comparable results to the more highly aided treatment and, on some measures, produced greater generalization effects. Supplementary findings indicated that generalized changes are best achieved by using aided participant modeling to restore inhibited behavior, followed by self-directed practice to extinguish residual fears and to reinforce personal mastery. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Therapist empathy, genuineness, and warmth and patient therapeutic outcome.

A study aimed at cross-validating previous research suggesting that the levels of the therapist's accurate empathy, nonpossessive warmth, and genuineness were causally related to the degree of patient improvement or deterioration. An equal number of "good" or "poor" therapy prospects were randomly assigned to 4 resident psychiatrists (10 patients each) for 4 mo. of psychotherapy. Results tended to confirm the importance of the 3 therapeutic conditions in combination and of empathy and genuineness separately. Negative findings for separate analysis of therapist's warmth were interpreted in terms of its negative correlation with empathy and genuineness in the present sample. On the overall measure for all patients, therapists providing high therapeutic conditions had 90% patient improvement while those providing lower conditions had 50% improvement. (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comprehension of arithmetic word problems: Evidence from students' eye fixations.

Students have difficulty solving arithmetic word problems containing a relational term that is inconsistent with the required arithmetic operation (e.g., containing the term less, yet requiring addition) rather than consistent. To investigate this consistency effect, students' eye fixations were recorded as they read arithmetic word problems on a computer monitor and stated a solution plan for each problem. As predicted, low-accuracy students made more reversal errors on inconsistent than consistent problems, students took more time for inconsistent than consistent problems, this additional time was localized in the integration/planning stages of problem solving rather than in the initial reading of the problem, these response-time patterns were obtained for high-accuracy but not for low-accuracy students, and high-accuracy students required more rereadings of previously fixated words for inconsistent than for consistent problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting participation in a dietary intervention to lower cholesterol among individuals with hyperlipidemia.

Adult men and women (N?=?8,748) were given blood cholesterol tests and completed a measure of fat intake and a staging questionnaire that assessed readiness to adopt a cholesterol-lowering diet. Eligibility for the trial was based on plasma cholesterol levels and self-reported dietary intake. Of 772 eligible participants, 545 (70.6%) agreed to join. In multivariate analyses, joiners did not differ from nonjoiners by age, total cholesterol levels, or self-reported dietary fat intake. Women were more likely than men to join the study. Individuals in the preparation stage (defined on the basis of a staging algorithm derived from the transtheoretical model of change) were more likely to join the trial than were precontemplators. An understanding of the determinants of participation in a dietary intervention may be important in the enhancement of high-risk individuals' acceptance of recommendations to make dietary changes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ratings of social support by adolescents and adult informants: Degree of correspondence and prediction of depressive symptoms.

It has been suggested that the personality of the individual influences appraisal processes that determine ratings of both social support and mental health, thus leading to an association between these variables that reflects only their shared self-report bias. To test whether ratings of social support made by someone other than the target individual would significantly predict outcomes, 115 pregnant adolescent girls and 115 adults who knew the adolescents well both completed ratings of the adolescent's social support. Results showed a moderate level of agreement between adolescent and informant support ratings. Both self-report and informant total social support ratings predicted pregnancy depression scores. Only informant social support ratings were significant predictors of postpartum depression scores. The ability of informants' ratings of social support to predict the adjustment of the adolescents to a major life stress was viewed as evidence that the commonly found link between social support and mental health reflects more than self-report biases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of activated gas plasma treatment time on adhesive bondability of polymers

The bondability of the following polymers as a function of length of exposure to excited helium or oxygen was investigated: low-density polyethylene, high-density polyethylene (two types), poly(4-methyl-1-pentene), poly(vinyl fluoride), poly(vinylidene fluoride), FEP Teflon, poly(oxymethylene) copolymer, nylon 6, nylon 66, poly(ethylene terephthalate), and polystyrene. Generally, the bond strength increase rapidly initially and then remains nearly constant, perhaps decreasing in some cases at long exposure times. A method is presented for calculating bond strength-versus-exposure time curves. The calculated curves generally fit the data reasonably well. Polypropylene showed a rapid increase in bondability with exposure to excited oxygen. Helium was ineffective toward this polymer under normal conditions, but could produce good bond strength at higher temperatures.