TRAINING FAMILY THERAPISTS: AN EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS

This study implemented and evaluated a training program (a written manual, videotaped models, rehearsal, role plays, and performance feedback) designed to teach five subjects the skills to become effective family therapists. The study examined the therapists' use of three target behaviors: instructing, informing, and praising. The therapists, each paired with a parent and a preschool-aged child (2 1/2–4 1/2 yr old), were trained in the clinic to use, and to teach to the parents, several behavioral skills (e.g., praising, planned ignoring, and time-out) relevant to teaching children compliance to parental instructions. A multiple-baseline design across triads (therapist/parent/child) demonstrated that after the training program was instituted, the therapists increased their rates of instructing, praising, and informing the parents; all parents increased attention to compliance, decreased attention to noncompliance, and increased rates of praise to their children; and all children increased their compliance and decreased their noncompliance.     

A conceptual model of child psychopathology: implications for understanding attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and treatment efficacy

Highlights the desirability of using a theoretical framework for guiding the design and evaluation of therapeutic interventions for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A general conceptual model is introduced and used to evaluate ADHD treatment outcome research. Treatments designed to target the substrate level (pharmacological interventions) result in broad, robust improvement in both core and peripheral areas of functioning. Those targeting hypothesized core features of the disorder (i.e., attention, impulsivity-hyperactivity) produce corresponding improvement in core and peripheral outcome measures with the exception of studies employing cognitive-behavior therapy. Those targeting peripheral features of the disorder effect change only in corresponding peripheral areas of functioning. Implications for clinical practice are discussed, and an alternative conceptual model of ADHD is introduced and compared with existing models.     

Relationship between reaction time variability and motor skill development in ADHD

Slower and more variable reaction times to computerized tasks have been documented in children diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Recent research supports a role for attentional lapses in generating abnormally variable and slow responses. However, given the association between ADHD and impairments in motor control, we hypothesized that slower or more variable reaction times might also correlate with motor development. The aim of this case-control study was to explore the relationship between motor function, reaction speed and variability, and ADHD. After comprehensive educational and clinical assessments, motor skill development was evaluated in 35 children ages 9 to 14 (19 with ADHD) using the Physical and Neurological Examination for Subtle Signs (PANESS) test battery. Finger-sequencing speed and variability were quantified with goniometers. Reaction times were measured with 20 trials each of computerized simple and choice (binary) tasks. Compared to healthy controls, children with ADHD had slower and more variable reaction times, and these findings correlated with impaired motor development (PANESS) and slow and variable finger sequencing (goniometers). Further studies of motor development in ADHD may identify factors influencing speed and variability of reaction times.     

On motor creativity,age, and self‐concept in young learning disabled boys

In the beginning of the 21st century, creativity has been highly esteemed not only in the arts and sciences, but also in economy, politics, and individual welfare. Most theories and practical applications stem from individual sciences and frequently conclude with generalizations that cannot be derived from the specific scientific paradigm. It seems necessary to mark the limitations of individual scientific approaches and to detect where interdisciplinary perspectives are indispensable. This article is an attempt to investigate the interdependence and complementarity of neurobiological, psychological, and socio-cultural, as well as practical, aspects of creativity. It is shown that creativity is often a dialectical process apparent in psychological, cultural, and even neurobiological research. The dialectic of order and chaos seems to be a general concept that is conceived differently by the individual sciences and transports different meaning. However, it is shown that different scientific concepts also contain corresponding and complementary knowledge which amplifies scientific perspectives through interdisciplinary interpretation. The dialectics between coherence–incoherence, stabilization–destabilization, construction–deconstruction of cognitions, emotions, and actions are shown to be corresponding and complementary principles. The interdisciplinary interpretation of the findings of individual sciences leads to practical implications.     

Confidant Relations Among Taiwanese: Implications for Ethnic Chinese Health Care Treatment

The select individual(s) whom one trusts in sharing important personal matters is sometimes referred to as a confidant. The confidant relationship has received increasing attention in recent years as a major social factor contributing to individual health and wellness. Yet, little empirical data has been available to guide health researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners. In this study, 142 adult Taiwanese responded to a structured questionnaire. Participants comprised 105 females, 32 males, and five with sex unspecified (overall mean age?=?33.8, age range?=?18 to 74 years). They were asked whether they had a confidant, and if so, to describe various features of this relationship. Contrary to previous studies conducted in Europe and the Americas, our investigation found that Taiwanese men were equally likely as Taiwanese women to have a confidant (87.5 % of males and 89.5 % for females). Taiwanese women were significantly more likely to have a female rather than a male confidant, whereas males showed no such sex difference. A significantly higher percentage of confidants were non-family members rather than spouses or other immediate/extended family members. This finding is consistent with research on the relatively minor salience of emotional intimacy in Taiwanese marriages and the hierarchical structures of many Taiwanese families. The implications of our findings for enhancing Taiwanese and broader ethnic Chinese health treatment are discussed.