The Relationship Between Treatment Acceptability and Youth Outcome in Group CBT for Youth with ASD and Anxiety

Anxiety is one of the most common co-occurring diagnoses in youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based treatment that has been tailored for youth with ASD and anxiety and has shown good efficacy in reducing youth anxiety immediately after treatment. One area that has not been widely studied is acceptability of CBT for anxiety in this population. Acceptability includes beliefs about the potential helpfulness and satisfaction with a given treatment and may be important in understanding treatment outcomes. This study focuses on parent, youth, and clinician acceptability of a well-researched CBT program, Facing Your Fears, for youth with ASD and anxiety. Data was collected as part of a larger multi-site study that compared three different instructional conditions for clinicians learning the intervention. Results indicated that parents rated acceptability as higher for the overall treatment compared to youth. Further, youth and parents rated exposure related sessions as more acceptable than psychoeducation, and higher exposure acceptability ratings were predictive of lower youth anxiety levels post-treatment. Clinicians who received ongoing consultation rated treatment acceptability lower than clinicians in the other training conditions. While some clinicians may be hesitant to implement exposure techniques with this population, findings suggest that it is the technique that parents and youth rated as the most acceptable. Results are discussed in terms of treatment and research implications for youth with ASD and their families.     

Evaluation of a statewide initiative to reduce expulsion of young children

This program evaluation study describes 3 years of implementation of Arkansas's BehaviorHelp (BH) system, a statewide expulsion prevention support system for early care and education (ECE). BH coordinates three tiers of supports to ECE professionals, including phone support, on‐site technical assistance (TA), and infant and early childhood mental health consultation (IECMHC). We examine differences in characteristics of those served across BH service tiers, describe short‐term case outcomes, and explore factors associated with expulsions. BH accepted referrals for 1,195 children in 488 ECE programs. The majority of referrals involved male children over the age of three, and most cases were assigned to the TA tier (68.5%). Cases assigned to receive IECMHC (28.4%) were more likely to involve children in foster care, receiving developmental therapies, and with higher rates of exposure to potentially traumatic events. The expulsion rate among referred children was 2.9%, and reported teacher engagement with the support process was high. Teachers receiving IECMHC services reported significant improvements in children's symptoms of emotional and behavioral problems. Exploratory analyses revealed that risk factors for expulsion included being a male, in foster care, in a lower quality ECE environment, and having a teacher with less training in social–emotional development.     

Exploring Counselor Experiences of Training in Relational Depth: An Interpretative Phenomenological Inquiry

Relational depth is an emergent counseling construct that captures the profound connection felt by client and counselor in moments of therapeutic encounter. We used interpretative phenomenological analysis to understand how 10 doctoral counseling students perceived curricular experiences designed to facilitate their ability to engage in relational depth. We identified the following themes: mutuality, counselor growth, externalized to internalized expectations, authenticity, impact of relational depth educational experiences, and relational depth reflection and articulation.     

Reproductive Decision-Making in MMR Mutation Carriers After Results Disclosure: Impact of Psychological Status in Childbearing Options

Reproductive techniques such as prenatal diagnosis (PND) or preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), although debated, are legally forbidden in France in case of Lynch syndrome. The preference of mutation carriers about their reproductive options is not systematically considered in France. We aimed to prospectively assess the reproductive preferences of mismatch repair mutation carriers consulting in our institution (2003–2010, n?=?100). We also considered the short- and long-term post-disclosure psychological impact using the Impact of Events Scale-Revised questionnaire to measure the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in those patients. Complete data were obtained for 34 respondents (17 males, 17 females, median age of 33.5 years [22–59]). Seventeen respondents (57 %) preferred spontaneous natural conception versus 28 % and 35 % choosing PND and PGD, respectively. At results disclosure, respondents mainly explained their distress by fear of premature death (43 %) and transmitting mutated genes (42 %). One year later, this last fear remained predominant in 55 % of subjects. None of the main socio-demographical, psychological or medical variables (including fear of transmitting mutations) was significantly associated with the reproductive preferences. Results disclosure had a real and time-decreasing psychological impact on mutation carriers. Reproductive techniques, expected to decrease the hereditary risk, were not significantly preferred to natural conception.     

“What is a class?”

Conclusion The argument of this paper suggests that for the last hundred years or so fundamental premisses of logic have been incorrect. From these premisses a vast superstructure has been developed which, it would seem, is no more meaningful than a game such as chess.The basic errors in current class theory, it seems to me, have impeded progress in the fields of mathematics and logic. I am certain that on the theory proposed, the correct definition of a natural number can be provided. I can, in fact, provide this. What benefits it will bring to logic only time will tell.Of the greatest importance is the fact that if the theory is true, at last, there will be a firm link between the Humanities and the Sciences.     

Learned helplessness in social situations and sociometric status

Learned helplessness theory may provide a framework within which the correlates of sociometric status in children can be fruitfully investigated. Several parallels between learned helplessness and the characteristics of sociometric status groups are noted. It is argued that children who are rejected, and especially neglected, by peers are likely to manifest learned helplessness in social situations. In addition, reanalysis of Goetz and Dweck's (1980) study on learned helplessness in social situations provides data to support this viewpoint as: (a) rejected and neglected children resembled learned helpless children in regard to both attributions and behaviour following social rejection; (b) neglected children showed greater behavioural deterioration following rejection than rejected children. The implications of the proposed integration of research on learned helplessness and sociometric status are outlined, especially in relation to clinical disorders in children.     

Body image,self-esteem,and depression-proneness: Closing the gender gap

Gender differences in body image and related correlates have received increasing attention in recent psychological research. The purposes of the present study were to further examine gender differences in body image and its relationship to depression-proneness and self-esteem. The Body Cathexis Scale, the Depression-Proneness Inventory, the Janis-Field Feelings of Inadequacy Scale, and a background questionnaire were administered to 176 female and male undergraduates at a small Midwestern college. Responses were analyzed by gender and by participants' perceived and actual weight. Findings were consistent with sociocultural messages, and showed a pervasive preoccupation with weight and appearance for both men and women. The importance of considering weight, environment, and other demographic data when studying body image is discussed.All authors contributed equally. Authorship order was determined by coin toss.We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Laurie Phillips in the data collection for this study.