The Effects of a Learning Station on the Completion and Accuracy of Math Homework for Middle School Students

We studied the effects of a Learning Station on the completion and accuracy of math homework of middle school students who had chronic homework problems. The Learning Station was a three sided free-standing panel with theoretically and empirically-based components involving (a) stimulation (color, music, activity breaks, and choice) and (b) self-attention (mirror and self-monitoring). Two students who used the Station tripled their accuracy and the amount of homework completed as assessed in a multiple baseline across participants design. One student with high academic abilities elected not to use the intervention, because he worked quickly (albeit carelessly) at school to complete his homework during baseline and during intervention. The practical and research implications of the findings are discussed.     

Accessing semantic knowledge in dementia: evidence from a word definition task

We examine production of word definitions by people with probable Alzheimer's disease (pAD). In the first experiment, healthy young adults defined concrete, imageable nouns to provide a baseline of definitional ability. Analysis of these definitions identified the key defining features of each target item. In the second experiment, pAD participants and elderly controls produced definitions of the same items. In the third experiment, healthy young participants rated the adequacies of these definitions. Although as expected the pAD participants produced fewer good definitions than the other two groups, most of their responses still contained some relevant information. pAD definitions contained fewer pieces of information and the information they produced was more tangential to the primary concept than that provided by the young or elderly participants. We identify two possible explanations in semantic loss and metalinguistic impairment. We consider metalinguistic impairment to provide the more plausible explanation of pAD patients' definitional performance.     

Working systemically with family violence: risk, responsibility and collaboration

In this article we describe a project which aims to ensure prevention and continued protection from violence for family members. We outline our theoretical approach to assessment and working with violence in family relationships and the associated ethical problems. We identify three recurrent themes: risk, collaboration, and responsibility. We focus on our work with couples, where the man is violent towards the woman. Within this discussion we identify other important clinical issues.     

A short-term group treatment model for gay male survivors of childhood sexual abuse living with HIV/AIDS

HIV-positive gay male survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) face three layers of trauma: childhood abuse, homophobic oppression, and HIV/AIDS. Additionally, CSA has been shown to increase HIV risk behavior among gay men, and the trauma of HIV infection often parallels the experience of CSA. Effective coping strategies are particularly important for people living with HIV/AIDS in order to adapt to physical, psychological, and social implications of infection. However, coping strategies once adaptive in the context of CSA may become maladaptive in adulthood. Interventions are needed that enhance coping and address CSA for survivors living with HIV/AIDS to protect their own health and to prevent new transmissions. This article presents a group model found to be efficacious for treating gay male survivors of CSA living with HIV/AIDS.     

The Role of Maturity in the Cognitions that Govern Love Relationships and Sexual Satisfaction

This article discusses the Stage Climbing model, a cognitive behavioral therapy based system designed to identify the beliefs and attitudes typical of different developmental life stages that may explain or identify obstacles to resolving present day relationship issues. We suggest that self-defeating beliefs and behaviors characteristic of dysfunctional couples give evidence of one or both partners operating from a stage of development or level of maturity in that aspect of the relationship that is different from what would be optimal given their presenting issues and therapeutic goals.     

Intelligence and school readiness in preschool children with prenatal drug exposure.

This prospective, longitudinal study examined factors affecting intelligence and school readiness in children 4-5 years of age with prenatal cocaine/opiate exposure. Intelligence and school readiness scores were not significantly different for the drug-exposed group (N = 104) than for unexposed, demographically matched controls (N = 35), although both groups scored slightly below average. Caregivers of drug-exposed children scored significantly lower in intelligence and reading achievement than caregivers of controls; both were below average. Caregiver reading scores accounted for the largest variance in both child intelligence and school readiness; for school readiness, birth weight also contributed but was less important in the model. Neither prenatal drug exposure nor continuing caregiver drug use was significant in the regression analyses. The relationship between child scores and caregiver reading achievement is consistent with studies showing the importance of a stimulating, supportive home environment, and suggests interventions to foster caregiver literacy skills and facilitate caregiver-child cognitive interactions such as reading to the child.     

Longitudinal Changes in Acculturation for Immigrant Women from the Former Soviet Union

Most research on immigrant acculturation has been conducted with cross-sectional samples, using statistical designs that may not capture different trajectories for the components that contribute to this complex concept. The purpose of this study was to examine change over time in acculturation for 226 women from the former Soviet Union who had lived in the US fewer than eight years when recruited. Using self-report data from four annual waves, growth trajectories were examined in four components of acculturation (American behavior, Russian behavior, English language proficiency, and cultural generativity). Results indicate that these components changed at varying rates. Acculturation is a process with multiple distinct components which should be measured separately to obtain a full profile of change over time.