A Review of: “Todres,L. (2007). Embodied enquiry: Phenomenological touchstones for research,psychotherapy and spirituality.”

In the brief essays that follow, failing narcissistic defenses are associated with two tragic events: the murder of a young woman by her ex-boyfriend that became a national media event, and the portrayal in a major motion picture of the gradual disintegration of a marriage that ended in the wife's death.     

A Review of: “Bear,G. G. (2010). School Discipline and Self-Discipline: A Practical Guide to Promoting Prosocial Student Behavior.”

Previous research demonstrates that children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can experience social difficulties. Therefore, the current study examined the effects of cross-age peer coaching on social behaviors of first graders with significant symptoms of ADHD using a multiple baseline design. Four students who met criteria for ADHD participated, along with four third- or fourth-grade coaches without ADHD. Coaching pairs met each morning to establish a goal for the younger child to meet during free time. Although results were variable, findings suggested that the cross-age coaching program led to decreases in negative social behavior, and was highly acceptable to participants.     

A Review of: “Nelson,C. Ellis. (2008). Growing up Christian: A Congregational Strategy for Nurturing Disciples”

A quasi-experimental design was used to statistically compare academic achievement among 277 students in single-grade and multigrade classrooms in the Pacific Northwest. Adjustments were made using analysis of covariance to help insure comparable group means. Results indicate that academic achievement with a single exception is not related to enrollment in single grade or multigrade classrooms even after the effects of gender and length of years in classroom were held constant. Less direct instruction and more process time was observed in multigrade rooms.     

A Review of: “Greenwald,R. (2009). Treating Problem Behaviors: A Trauma-Informed Approach.”

This single-case-design experiment examined an intervention to decrease bed-sharing in children, ages 2 through 6. Three sessions were conducted with each parent. At the first session, parents described bed-sharing history and began collecting baseline data. At the second session, parents were instructed to employ the intervention. At the third session, parents were interviewed and offered continued support, if needed. Participants included three children who slept with their parents 4 or more nights per week. The intervention resulted in a substantial decrease in bed-sharing behavior for all participants, and parents reported being satisfied with the intervention.     

A Review of: “Hollander,M. (2008). Helping Teens Who Cut: Understanding and Ending Self Injury.”

Based upon informal observation of adverse effects arising during behaviorally oriented parent-training programs, 119 parents attending such programs answered a structured questionnaire regarding six specific adverse effects. Each of the “side effects” were reported by a substantial portion of the participants. In most cases, the severity of effects was not extreme. The mean number of side effects reported by each parent was 1.70. Based upon these findings, clinicians conducting such parent-training programs are encouraged to provide content material to prevent or ameliorate these adverse effects.     

A Review of: “Kennedy-Moore,E., & Lowenthal,M. S. (2011). Smart Parenting for Smart Kids: Nurturing Your Child's True Potential.”

Behavioral procedures aimed at decreasing disruptiveness through increasing self-evaluative skills and programming generalization in a class of disruptive retarded children were examined. Phases of the study included: (a) baseline; (b) systematic feedback; (c) a token economy; (d) matching of teacher's ratings by students; (e) four fading phases during which progressively fewer students were required to match the teacher; (f) self-evaluation during which each student received the amount of points self-allotted regardless of teacher's ratings; (g) doubling of point costs of back-up reinforcers ("Inflation"); (h) complete removal of back-up reinforcers ("Points Only"); and (i) return to baseline conditions. The class was observed 5 days per week dueing a morning experimental period and several times per week in the afternoon as a measure of generalization. Additional measures of generalization included days when the token program was not in effect ("Off Days") and when the class was taught by a substitute teacher. Behavior was recorded according to an interval sampling observational code. The results showed that systematic feedback was effective in significantly reducing disruptiveness with even greater reductions resulting from the token program and the subsequent matching and fading phases. Decreased levels of disruptiveness were maintained throughout self-evaluation and the phases which followed. Decreased levels of disruption also generalized to afternoon sessions, to days when the experimental procedures were not in effect, and to self-evaluate, the class initially matched the teacher's ratings with about 50% accuracy. This gradually increased to consistently above 90% during the latter phases. The study demonstrated that retarded children can learn to accurately observe and veridically evaluate their own behavior, and that this has beneficial effects in terms of decreased disruptiveness.     

A Review of: “Woolfolk,R. L., & Allen,L. A. (2007). Treating Somatization: A Cognitive-Behavioral Approach.”

A 5-year old subject was treated for molestation-induced behavior problems consisting of excessive verbal ruminations and concamitant negative emotional responding. Treatment invovled utilization of a modified operant DRO procedure using the subject's mother as primary behavior change agent. Data based observations predicated on home-environment and generalization probe sources demonstrated dramatic reductions in problem behaviors targeted for intervention. Treatment gains remained stable over a 12-month period as indicated by extended follow-up assessment queries.