Screening,Brief Intervention,and Referral to Treatment for Military Spouses Experiencing Alcohol and Substance Use Disorders: A Literature Review

This paper provides an overview of alcohol and substance use issues in military spouses, and explore how the screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) model may enable health care providers to identify individuals at risk for developing substance use related disorders. The information presented is based on a broad literature scan relating to the characteristics of the military lifestyle, health infrastructure, screening and intervention processes, and the uses of SBIRT in military and civilian settings. Current literature suggests that military spouses, and families, tend to be at different points in their life course than civilian families of similar ages. Marrying earlier and having children sooner coupled with military lifestyle stressors place them at increased risk for developing adverse coping mechanisms, particularly during deployment. SBIRT has been recognized as an effective method among civilian patients although there is limited research on the efficacy of SBIRT for military spouses at risk of or experiencing substance use problems.     

Parental Monitoring and the Prevention of Child and Adolescent Problem Behavior: A Conceptual and Empirical Formulation

The present report accomplishes three goals. First, to provide an empirical rationale for placing parental monitoring of children's adaptations as a key construct in development and prevention research. Second, to stimulate more research on parental monitoring and provide an integrative framework for various research traditions as well as developmental periods of interest. Third, to discuss current methodological issues that are developmentally and culturally sensitive and based on sound measurement. Possible intervention and prevention strategies that specifically target parental monitoring are discussed.     

A Closer Look at Eyespot Effects on Voter Turnout: Reply to Matland and Murray

Implicit social pressure, applied via exposure to eyespots in nonpartisan, direct‐mail blandishments to vote, has been shown using randomized field experiments to raise turnout in elections. Similar eyespot effects have been observed across a wide range of prosocial behaviors. A series of recent replications conducted by Matland and Murray (2015) have failed to consistently produce statistically significant eyespot effects on voter turnout, however, leading the authors to conclude the effects observed in previous research were likely illusory. In this article, I rebut this claim, arguing that an alternative, more circumspect interpretation of the authors’ key results points to a different conclusion that supports the notion that eyespots likely stimulate voting, especially when taken together with previous findings.     

Development and preliminary validation of the Concise Neuropsychological Screening Inventory (CNSI): A clinical tool for use in psychiatric settings

We describe the development and preliminary validation of the Concise Neuropsychological Screening Inventory (CNSI), designed to afford clinical psychologists working in psychiatric settings a simple, rapid, and objective assessment of 10 vital left- and right-hemisphere brain functions: (1) Receptive and Expressive Language, (2) Orientation, (3) Attention/Concentration/Immediate Memory, (4) Recent Auditory and Visual Memory, (5) Remote Memory, (6) Motor/Sensory/Tactile Functioning, (7) Visual/Spatial/Motor Integration, (8) Academic Functioning, (9) Intellectual Processes, and (10) Judgment and Reasoning. Preliminary findings suggest that the CNSI can discriminate patients diagnosed with organic mental syndrome from patients with various psychiatric disorders, including chronic schizophrenia (i.e., specificity in screening). Moreover, with regard to predicting neuropsychological differences among various diagnostic groups, the CNSI is superior to some of the most commonly employed tests by psychologists in psychiatric settings (e.g., WAIS-R Digit Span, Digit Symbol, and Bender-Gestalt).     

Musical Training,Bilingualism, and Executive Function: A Closer Look at Task Switching and Dual‐Task Performance

This study investigated whether musical training and bilingualism are associated with enhancements in specific components of executive function, namely, task switching and dual‐task performance. Participants (n = 153) belonging to one of four groups (monolingual musician, bilingual musician, bilingual non‐musician, or monolingual non‐musician) were matched on age and socioeconomic status and administered task switching and dual‐task paradigms. Results demonstrated reduced global and local switch costs in musicians compared with non‐musicians, suggesting that musical training can contribute to increased efficiency in the ability to shift flexibly between mental sets. On dual‐task performance, musicians also outperformed non‐musicians. There was neither a cognitive advantage for bilinguals relative to monolinguals, nor an interaction between music and language to suggest additive effects of both types of experience. These findings demonstrate that long‐term musical training is associated with improvements in task switching and dual‐task performance.     

The Head,the Heart,and the Community: Piloting a Brief Home-Based Mindfulness Intervention for Couples With Low Income

Although mindfulness is documented to reduce both individual and relationship stress and has the flexibility to be taught anywhere (e.g., at home, clinic setting, etc.), research examining mindfulness interventions among individuals with low income and economic marginalization (LIEM; APA, 2019), or persons whose economic position negatively impacts their health or well-being due to factors such as access to healthcare, is limited. To address this gap, the author and colleagues used Community Based Participatory Research methods to develop a brief, couple-based, mindfulness intervention tailored for communities with LIEM (see Lenger et al., 2022). The present study tested this newly developed brief, couple-based, mindfulness intervention's effectiveness in improving individual and relationship health through 1- and 2-months post-intervention. The intervention was piloted on a sample of 39 couples with an overrepresentation of couples with LIEM. To improve access to care, couples could participate in their home or a variety of local clinics. Thirty-nine couples received the intervention and completed assessments on mindfulness, depression, anxiety, stress, relationship satisfaction, and communication at baseline, 1-month, and 2-months post-intervention. Results revealed that mindfulness, depression, and relationship satisfaction improved from baseline to 1-month post-intervention. Mindfulness improved at a greater rate for couples with LIEM relative to couples with higher incomes. From baseline to 2-months post-intervention, depression and stress significantly improved at similar rates for couples with higher income and couples with LIEM. Thus, this study indicates that mindfulness can be taught in a brief, two-session format, and can have favorable outcomes on individual and relationship functioning.     

The Contribution of Temperamental and Cognitive Factors to Childhood Anxiety Disorder Symptoms: A Closer Look at Negative Affect,Behavioral Inhibition,and Anxiety Sensitivity

This study examined the role of anxiety sensitivity as an explanatory variable in the link between two temperamental dimensions (i.e., behavioral inhibition and negative affect) and anxiety disorder symptom severity in a sample of children with anxiety disorders. Forty-four children (52?% African American) between 8 and 12 years of age and their mothers participated in this study. An assessment battery consisting of diagnostic interviews, questionnaires, and behavioral assessment of behavioral inhibition was administered. Findings revealed that anxiety sensitivity was a significant explanatory variable linking child self-reports of behavioral inhibition and negative affect to anxiety disorder symptom severity. For parent-completed measures, only direct effects of behavioral inhibition on anxiety disorder symptom severity were found. The clinical implications of our findings, including the importance and feasibility of anxiety sensitivity and behavioral inhibition assessments as part of routine clinical care of children with anxiety disorders are discussed, along with the limitations of our study.     

A Closer Look at Life Goals Across Adulthood: Applying a Developmental Perspective to Content,Dynamics, and Outcomes of Goal Importance and Goal Attainability

It is well established that goals energize and direct behaviour across the lifespan. To better understand how goals are embedded in people's lives across adulthood, the present research examined life goals' content (health, personal growth, prosocial engagement, social relations, status, work), dynamics (interplay between goal importance and goal attainability), and outcomes (subjective well‐being) from a developmental perspective. We argue that people rate those goals as important and attainable that enable them to master developmental tasks, that they adapt their goals to personal capacities, and that goals predict subjective well‐being after 2 and 4 years. The sample included 973 individuals (18–92 years old, M = 43.00 years) of whom 637 participated 2 years later and 573 participated 4 years later. Goal importance and well‐being were assessed at all occasions and goal attainability at the first two occasions. Results indicated that age was negatively associated with importance and attainability of personal‐growth, status, and work goals but positively associated with importance and attainability of prosocial‐engagement goals. The association between goal importance and attainability was largely bidirectional over time; and goal attainability, rather than goal importance, was positively linked to later well‐being. Implications of these findings are discussed in light of adult lifespan development. © 2019 European Association of Personality Psychology     

浅谈中学生学业自我设限行为及其干预策略

自我设限是指个体针对可能到来的失败威胁而事先设置障碍,以达到自我保护或自我提升的目的,是一种消极的应对方式。自我设限在学业中的具体体现就是学业自我设限。中学生学习负担重,心理压力大,学业自我设限行为较为普遍。下文所述的自我设限的行为表现、不良后果和干预策略旨在为学校教育提供科学信息,帮助自我设限的学生走出学业困境,从容的应对学习中的困难和挑战。     

Internet-Delivered Targeted Group Intervention for Body Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating in Adolescent Girls: A randomized controlled trial

This study evaluated a targeted intervention designed to alleviate body image and eating problems in adolescent girls that was delivered over the internet so as to increase access to the program. The program consisted of six, 90-minute weekly small group, synchronous on-line sessions and was facilitated by a therapist and manual. Participants were 73 girls (mean age=14.4 years, SD=1.48) who self-identified as having body image or eating problems and were randomly assigned to an intervention group (n=36) (assessed at baseline, post-intervention and at 2- and 6-months follow-up) or a delayed treatment control group (n=37) (assessed at baseline and 6–7 weeks later). Clinically significant improvements in body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and depression were observed at post-intervention and maintained at follow-up. Internet delivery was enthusiastically endorsed. The program offers a promising approach to improve body image and eating problems that also addresses geographic access problems.     

Negative Treatment Effects in Dyadic Psychotherapy: A Focus on Prevention and Intervention Strategies

Therapy holds the potential to harm as well as help. This paper highlights approaches that may help prevent or decrease the incidence of negative effects in psychotherapy. These approaches include supervision, peer consultation, ongoing assessment of the therapeutic process, therapist-client matching, and referrals and transfers. We hope that this paper will serve as a stimulus for clinicians, psychotherapy researchers, and educators to put forth collabo-rative effort into identifying variables directly associated with adverse treat- ment outcomes and determining appropriate prevention and intervention strategies.     

A Brief,Hospital-Initiated Motivational Interviewing and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Intervention to Link Postpartum Mothers Who Use Illicit Drugs With Treatment and Reproductive Care: A Case Report

Maternal substance use during the prenatal period often results in infants with compromised health outcomes. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommends screening, brief motivational interviewing, and referral to existing treatment for women who use illicit substances prenatally. However, many of these women do not present for prenatal care and are not identified as using substances until delivery of their infants, many of whom are admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (ICU). We describe a case from a novel, hospital-initiated intervention study, Moms in ACTion (MIACT) that combines motivational interviewing (MI) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to target new mothers with an infant in the neonatal ICU who screen positive for illicit substance use prenatally or at delivery. The MIACT program consists of an adaptive intervention that includes up to three sessions. Initiation of substance use treatment and reproductive care via a gynecological visit are the primary targets of the intervention. Urine samples were collected at 2- and 6-month follow-up visits. The participant successfully completed the program, achieved both treatment outcomes, and had negative urine drug screens at follow-up visits. Improvements in readiness to change and psychological flexibility were also observed. The present case report of a new mother who used substances demonstrated feasibility for combining MI and ACT treatments and the potential for MIACT to increase treatment and contraception initiation, ultimately preventing future substance-exposed pregnancies.     

Duties to the Distant: Aid, Assistance, and Intervention in the Developing World

In his classic article, Famine, Affluence, and Morality (Philosophy and Public Affairs 1 (1972), pp. 229–243), Peter Singer claimed that affluent people in the developed world are morally obligated to transfer large amounts of resources to poor people in the developing world. For present purposes I will not call Singers argument into question. While people can reasonably disagree about exactly how demanding morality is with respect to duties to the desperate, there is little question in my mind that it is much more demanding than common sense morality or our everyday behavior suggests. Even someone who disagrees with this might still find some interest in seeing what a demanding morality would imply for well-off residents of the rich countries of the world. I proceed in the following way. First, I survey humanitarian aid, development assistance, and intervention to protect human rights as ways of discharging duties to the desperate. I claim that we should be more cautious about such policies than is often thought. I go on to suggest two principles that should guide our actions, based on an appreciation of our roles, relationships, and the social and political context in which we find ourselves.     

Self-Esteem, Teasing and Quality of Life: African American Adolescent Girls Participating in a Family-Based Pediatric Overweight Intervention

Two studies investigated overweight in African American girls. First, African American adolescent girls (BMI was ≥ 85th percentile) and their mothers participated in focus groups addressing weight and eating. Although mothers and daughters shared some similar views on these issues, there were important discrepancies, with mothers expressing greater doubt about the potential success of a healthy weight program. The second study evaluated baseline data from 39 African American girls participating in a weight management program; mothers' reports were also analyzed. In both studies, adolescents reported significant teasing, and in the second study, teasing was inversely associated with social quality of life (β=.55, t=3.01, p=.007). Motivation to participate was positively associated with teasing (r=.50, p < .01). Self-esteem was inversely related to positive health habits (all p < .05). Mothers who viewed their daughters as having higher self-esteem were less concerned about their daughters' weight. Differences in mothers' and daughters' perceptions highlight the importance of a family approach in pediatric overweight interventions. Results provide evidence that overweight African American girls face significant weight stigmatization and suggest areas to target regarding intervention implementation.

Rising to the Occasion of This COVID-19-Impacted Nation: Development,Implementation, and Feasibility of the Brief Assessment-Informed Skills Intervention for COVID-19 (BASIC)

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the global economy, physical health, and mental health. This pandemic, like previous viral outbreaks, has resulted in spikes in anxiety, depression, and stress. Even though millions of individuals face the physical health consequences of infection by COVID-19, even more individuals are confronted with the mental health consequences of this pandemic. This significantly increased demand for mental health services cannot be easily met by existing mental health systems, which often rely on courses of therapy to be delivered over months. Single session interventions (SSIs) may be one important approach to meeting this increased demand, as they are treatments designed to be delivered over the course of a single meeting. SSIs have been found to be effective for a range of mental health challenges, with durable effects lasting months to years later. Here, we describe an SSI designed for the COVID-19 pandemic. This Brief Assessment-informed Skills Intervention for COVID-19 (BASIC) program draws upon therapeutic skills from existing empirically supported treatments to target common presenting complaints due to this pandemic. We discuss the process of developing and implementing this intervention, as well as explore feasibility and initial clinical insights. In short, BASIC is an easy-to-adopt intervention that is designed to be effective in a single session, making it well-suited for handling the increased demand for mental health services due to COVID-19.     

Developments in Classification,Identification, and Intervention for School Refusal and Other Attendance Problems: Introduction to the Special Series

The literature on school attendance problems (SAPs) is diverse and sometimes confusing, but it is also promising. This special series presents seven articles and a discussion that attest to the diversity, complexity, and exciting developments associated with SAPs. While some articles focus on school refusal in particular, others have relevance for school refusal, truancy, and other types of SAPs. Collectively, the seven articles provide direction in thinking about two key questions: (1) How can SAPs best be classified and identified?; and (2) Which innovative approaches can be applied when a SAP is severe, chronic, and/or complex? In this way the series has direct relevance for Tiers 1 and 3 of the Response to Intervention model for managing school absenteeism (Kearney & Graczyk, 2014). Three innovative treatment programs presented in this series illustrate ways in which mental health interventions and educational interventions can be combined to address Tier 3 SAPs. The discussion article presents thought-provoking reflections on the topics covered in the seven articles and on the gaps in practice and research in the field of SAPs. You are invited to critically and creatively respond to the ideas offered in this series.     

Response to name in children with autism: Treatment,generalization, and maintenance

Deficits in response to name (RTN) are an early indicator of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and RTN is a treatment goal in many early intervention curricula for children with ASD. However, little research has empirically evaluated methods for increasing RTN in children with ASD. We evaluated a series of conditions designed to increase RTN for 4 children with ASD using a multielement experimental design. The schedules of tangible reinforcement were thinned after mastery and generalization was tested across people and contexts. Tangible reinforcers were necessary to increase RTN for all 4 participants, and the schedule of reinforcement was successfully thinned with all participants after intervention. Generalization was also observed across people and experimental contexts.     

King,C. A., Foster,C. E., & Rogalski,K. M. (2013). Teen Suicide Risk: A Practitioner Guide to Screening,Assessment, and Management.

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of response interruption and redirection (RIRD) to reduce vocal stereotypy in a student with Autism Spectrum Disorder in a special education classroom during group instruction. This study extends the literature on the use of RIRD, examining effectiveness with an adolescent with intellectual disability and limited functional language in a naturalistic setting. Results indicated that RIRD was effective in decreasing vocal stereotypy in this student.     

The More the Better,Only in the Longer Term: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate a Compound Intervention Among Mainland Chinese Immigrants in Hong Kong

Barriers to adaptation faced by mainland Chinese immigrants to Hong Kong can be reduced by improving two targets of adaptation: information about negotiating their new environment and psychological well-being. We developed and evaluated a Compound intervention to address these two domains simultaneously and compared its effects to two separate interventions exclusively targeting either information about Hong Kong or psychological well-being. This cluster randomized controlled trial assigned 251 immigrants to an information provision arm (IP, n = 84) targeting knowledge and adaptation difficulties, a psychological well-being enhancement arm (WBE, n = 80) targeting resilience and mental health, or a Compound arm (i.e., IP + WBE, n = 87). The Compound arm showed stronger effects from baseline to postintervention on knowledge than the WBE arm. From postintervention to 6-month follow-up, the Compound arm showed better sustained effects on knowledge and adaptation difficulties than the IP arm and on resilience and mental health than the WBE arm. Additionally, participants in the Compound arm with more baseline depressive symptoms showed greater improvements in adaptation difficulties and general mental health than those with fewer symptoms. The study demonstrated the longer-term effectiveness of the Compound intervention and its greater benefits for immigrants with more depressive symptoms.