A Real Time Social Norms Intervention to Reduce Male Sexism

College males’ overestimation of peers’ sexism may result in reluctance to challenge these toxic attitudes. Researchers investigated the power of a brief intervention to correct these cognitive distortions in Southeastern U.S. undergraduate samples of unacquainted (N?=?65; 86.2% Caucasian) and acquainted males (N?=?63; 82% Caucasian). Participants first reported selfperceptions of attitudes toward women and then estimated the attitudes of other men present. Intervention participants attended brief presentations that included feedback on discrepancies between actual and perceived norms within their groups. At 3 week follow up, there was a significant decrease in perceptions of peers’ sexism for intervention groups, indicating that a brief intervention may be useful in sexism reduction.     

A Brief Social Skills Intervention to Reduce Challenging Classroom Behavior

Social skills instruction has been recommended as a way of improving behavioral and social outcomes for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). A brief social skills intervention (Stop and Think (Knoff in The stop & think social skills program, Sopris West, Longmont, CO, 2001) was used to extend the current literature base for students with EBD. A multiple-baseline across classrooms design was used to examine negative social behavior of five participants attending a self-contained school setting for students with challenging behavior. The primary intervention components included: (a) teach, (b) model, (c) role play, and (d) performance feedback. Specific social skills addressed in intervention were listening, using nice talk, accepting consequences, ignoring others, and following directions. Participants were taught to use a 5-step process for each social skill: (1) stop and think, (2) identify good and bad choices, (3) identify steps to performing the good choice, (4) implement steps, and (5) reflect on the good choice you made. Results indicated students benefitted from 12 sessions of explicit social skills instruction as evidenced by decreases in negative social behavior. Social behavior improvements maintained during 2-week follow-up observations. Decreasing negative social behaviors is important in improving general social and behavioral outcomes as well as demonstrating growth toward being prepared to transition back to less restrictive environments. Limitations, recommendations for future research, and practice implications are discussed.     

A Pilot Study of a Brief Motivational Intervention to Enhance Parental Engagement: A Brief Report

Although research has shown that multi-systemic interventions (MSIs) improve youth psychosocial functioning, MSI dissemination has been hampered by low levels of parent participation. The current pilot project was designed to examine the effectiveness of a brief motivational interviewing (MI) protocol to increase parental engagement in an MSI for youth suspended from middle and high school. Preliminary findings suggest that parents who received brief MI were more likely to attend a parent-training workshop and reported greater satisfaction with the parenting workshops than parents who did not. Parents in the brief MI group also reported a relatively high level of satisfaction with the MI procedures. Implications for future research and MSIs are discussed.     

The Before Baby Relationship Checkup: A Couples-Based Intervention to Reduce Relationship Risk Factors for Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders

Relationship conflict and lack of partner support are risk factors for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. An intervention to strengthen couples’ relationships before birth may reduce relationship risk factors for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, though no research has explored this to date. The aims of this Stage 1 open-series non-experimental proof of concept study were to adapt the ‘Marriage Checkup’, an evidence-based intervention for relationship distress, as a preventative intervention for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and to assess its feasibility and acceptability. Pregnant women receiving care at a university-based obstetric practice, and their partners, were recruited. Ten couples participated in the Before Baby Relationship Checkup, a personalized relationship health service offered in the obstetric clinic. Quantitative and qualitative data gathered suggests the intervention is feasible to implement in an obstetric setting, and acceptable to perinatal couples. Specific adaptations to the Marriage Checkup for perinatal couples are warranted and further testing is needed to evaluate efficacy.

     

Adolescent Pregnancy: A Model for Intervention

This article reviews current demographic data regarding adolescent pregnancy in conjunction with current approaches to family planning and presents an interdisciplinary (counselor-physician) intervention model.     

A Mental Imagery Intervention to Increase Future Self‐Continuity and Reduce Procrastination

This research examined how mental imagery practice can increase future self‐continuity to reduce procrastination. A total of 193 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to a present‐focused meditation or to a future self‐focused mental imagery condition. Participants in both conditions were asked to listen to their respective audio recording twice per week for four consecutive weeks and to complete a pre‐intervention, half‐point, and post‐intervention questionnaire. At the four‐week mark, hierarchical regression analyses revealed that both future self‐continuity and empathic perspective taking were significantly higher for the mental imagery condition than the meditation condition. While vividness of future self moderated change in future self‐continuity, affective empathy for future self mediated the relation between vividness of future self and future self‐continuity. Lastly, only empathic perspective taking was a significant moderator of change in procrastination across time. The influence of empathy and future self‐continuity on procrastination is discussed.     

Parenting Intervention to Reduce Attention and Behavior Difficulties in Preschoolers: A CUIDAR Evaluation Study

In this study, we evaluated CUIDAR, a program that provides community-based 10-week parent training to reduce attention and behavior problems in preschool children. We recruited 154 predominantly low-income and Latino preschoolers and their parents to participate in this evaluation study. We collected data prior to and immediately following intervention and one year later. At the time of follow-up, we also recruited 15 parents who had initially enrolled, but never participated in the program to serve as a comparison group for a limited set of analyses. From pre to post intervention, we observed significant, positive changes in eight out of ten measured parenting behaviors. From pre intervention to follow-up, improvements in the use of transitional statements and planning ahead were significant. Children’s SDQ Total Difficulties scores significantly decreased from pre to post intervention (d = .36), and we observed significant, positive changes in all SDQ subscales. From pre intervention to follow-up, children’s SDQ Total Difficulties scores significantly decreased (d = .71) and all SDQ subscales reflected significant, positive changes. We observed no significant differences in reported barriers to participation between parents who participated in the program and those who enrolled, but never participated. Intervention gains were moderated by several factors, including history of out-of-home care and family structure. Our results should be interpreted cautiously because not all analyses included a comparison group, and a randomized trial of CUIDAR effectiveness is still needed.     

GIV CARE: A Group Intervention to Reduce Accommodation Among Relatives of Individuals With Fear-Based Disorders

Fear-based disorders (FBDs) occur in an interpersonal context as relatives (e.g., partners, parents) often accommodate symptoms. Symptom accommodation, which is ubiquitous and reinforces FBD behavior, is associated with increased FBD symptom severity and interferes with treatment. Accordingly, reducing accommodation represents a crucial aim for intervention. We describe a brief, manualized group intervention to decrease symptom accommodation and caregiver burden among cohabitating relatives of individuals with FBDs. The intervention is the first to date that (a) jointly includes parents and partners to target symptom accommodation, and (b) uses a transdiagnostic group treatment approach. We also provide preliminary empirical support for this group-based intervention among adult relatives (N = 20) that participated in the five weekly intervention sessions and completed assessments at baseline, posttreatment, and 1-month follow-up (1MFU). Preliminary results suggest that the group intervention is feasible and acceptable. Completers (n = 18) exhibited significant reductions in symptom accommodation and self-reported burden between baseline and 1MFU. The discussion identifies study limitations and future directions.     

An Acceptance-Based Psychoeducation Intervention to Reduce Expressed Emotion in Relatives of Bipolar Patients

Expressed emotion (EE) is a robust predictor of outcome in bipolar disorder. Despite decades of research, interventions to reduce EE levels have had only modest effects. This study used an expanded model of EE to develop an intervention. Research has demonstrated a strong link between attributions and EE in families of patients with psychiatric disorders. There is also substantial research to suggest that anger can drive blaming attributions. Combining these ideas, this study built on previous psychoeducation interventions through the addition of an acceptance component designed to decrease anger and blaming attributions among family members of those with bipolar disorder. Twenty-eight family members attended a 1-day or 2-evening multifamily group workshop and completed a follow-up assessment 1 week later. At follow-up, participants demonstrated more knowledge about bipolar disorder. Anger, blaming attributions, and number of criticisms remained unchanged. Results of this study are consistent with others in that it is difficult to change EE. Implications for future clinical research in this area are addressed.     

Early Parenting Intervention: Family Risk and First-time Parenting Related to Intervention Effectiveness

The effects of cumulative risk and parity on the effectiveness of a home based parenting intervention were tested in a randomized controlled trial with 237 families with 1- to 3-year-old children screened for high levels of externalizing behavior. The intervention was aimed at enhancing positive parenting and decreasing externalizing behaviors. The results showed that cumulative risk was not associated with either change in child externalizing behaviors or change in positive parenting. When intervention effectiveness was compared for primiparas (i.e., first-time mothers) versus multiparas (i.e., mothers with more than one child), we found that intervention mothers of first-born children displayed an increase in their use of positive discipline strategies as compared to first-time mothers in the control group, whereas a similar effect for multiparas was absent. Among multiparas we found an intervention effect on sensitivity, with control group mothers showing an increase in sensitivity, whereas the intervention group showed a constant level of sensitivity over time. These results suggest that parity may be a moderator of intervention effectiveness. Implications for investigating moderators of intervention effectiveness are discussed.     

A Defense of Motivational Externalism

Philosophical Studies -     

Description of a Behavioral Intervention to Reduce Substance Use and Related Risk and Increase Positive Parenting among Urban Mothers with Alcohol and Other Drug Problems

The abuse of alcohol and other substances by mothers raising adolescent children has serious adverse effects on family functioning and youth outcomes, and on mothers’ own health and adaptation. Mothers who are also HIV-infected face additional challenges. In the present report, we describe a multi-session intervention conducted in individual sessions for mothers with alcohol and other substance use problems who are raising adolescent children. We outline the primary components of the intervention and include case studies and examples of exercises and tools. We found that engagement with the intervention and high rates of attendance were facilitated by tapping into mothers’ desires to improve their relationships with their adolescent children, the use of a harm reduction approach toward substance use, and intensive outreach. We also discuss lessons learned in the course of implementing and evaluating the intervention.     

Why People Turn to Religion: A Motivational Analysis

The Reiss Profile of Fundamental Goals and Motivational Sensitivities, a standardized psychological measure that assesses 15 fundamental desires, was administered to college students (n= 214) and to mental retardation service providers (n = 344), total N = 558, who rated themselves as “very,”“somewhat,” and “not” religious. How religious a person rated himself, call dereligiosity, was associated with high desire scores for honor and family, and with low desire scores for vengeanceand independence. The investigation provided evidence that the desire for dependence on God is unrelated to any desire for psychological weakness (submission to another person or political leader.)     

The Role of Perfectionism in Relation to an Intervention to Reduce Anxious and Depressive Symptoms in Children

Research has demonstrated an association between perfectionism and depressive and anxious symptoms in children. We examined whether a school-based program targeting anxious and depressive symptoms would reduce perfectionism, and whether perfectionism would interfere with intervention outcomes. The participants were 78 school-age children identified as at-risk for anxiety and/or depression. At-risk children took part in a randomized controlled trial of a school-based intervention program. Levels of perfectionism, depression, and anxiety were assessed at pre-treatment (Time 1) and again at post-treatment (Time 2) after participating in either a cognitive behavioral group or a structured activity group. Participation in either group was associated with significant reductions in overall levels of self-oriented perfectionism, anxious symptoms, and depressive symptoms. Supplementary analyses indicated that pre-treatment self-oriented perfectionism influenced post-treatment depression scores, suggesting that perfectionism interferes with treatment outcome. Perfectionism in children appeared amenable to group-based intervention, and identifying perfectionism may be important for treating children with depressive symptoms.