Behaviour therapy and encopresis: The complexities involved in treatment

This paper reports the treatment of continuous encopresis in an adolescent boy. The importance of careful analysis of the symptom; the selection of an appropriate method of treatment for a particular patient; and the complications which may arise during the course of treatment are discussed.     

Cognitive style and depressive symptoms in elderly people - Extending the empirical evidence for the cognitive vulnerability-stress hypothesis

Introduction

Depression is common in older people and its identification and treatment has been highlighted as one of the major challenges in an ageing world. Poor physical and cognitive health, bereavement, and prior depression are important risk factors for depression in elderly people. Attributional or cognitive style has been identified as a risk factor for depression in children, adolescents and younger adults but its relevance for depression and mood in elderly people has not been investigated in the context of other risk factors.

Method

Sixty-four older adults from an ‘extra care’ living scheme (aged 59-97) were recruited for a 6-week prospective study to examine the relationships between cognitive style and depressive symptoms.

Results

Regression analyses revealed that, when other risk factors were controlled for, cognitive style and its interaction with stress predicted changes in depressive symptoms, therefore partially replicating prior research.

Conclusion

Cognitive-stress-vulnerability models also apply to elderly populations, but may be rather predictive of changes in depression when facing lower levels of stress.     

When Sibling Becomes Competitor: A Qualitative Investigation of Same-Sex Sibling Competition in Elite Sport

Abstract

The effects of performance strategies, goal setting, and self-evaluative recording on the acquisition of a novel motoric skill were studied with 90 high school girls. It was hypothesized that greater acquisition would occur when (a) an analytic strategy was used instead of imaginal strategy, (b) practice goals were shifted dynamically during learning instead of remaining unchanging or fixed, and (c) self-evaluative recording of strategic performance processes was present rather than absent. Support for all three hypotheses was found. In addition to improving motoric skill acquisition, these same self-regulatory processes significantly enhanced three sources of learners' motivation: self-efficacy beliefs, self-satisfaction, and intrinsic interest. Additional analyses revealed that self-evaluative recording enhanced strategy attributions during learning which were predictive of improved self-efficacy, self-satisfaction, and intrinsic interest during posttesting. Self-efficacy was highly predictive of subsequent dart-skill performance. The results were discussed in terms of a strategic cycle view of self-regulation of motoric learning.