Behavioral group treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder in adolescence: a pilot study

This pilot study is a preliminary evaluation of the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral outpatient group treatment (CBT) protocol for adolescents with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Seven adolescents were treated in a 10-session group CBT program with weekly 2-hour sessions. The treatment protocol was an adaptation of approaches with established effectiveness and emphasized three main components: externalizing the OCD by cultivating mindful detachment; exposure and response prevention (ERP); and refocusing on alternative, constructive behaviors following exposure. An occupational therapy component played a significant role in designing creative exposure and refocusing challenges. Self-report measures at pre, post, and 12-month follow-up suggested clinical improvements for 5 of the 7 patients, thus partially supporting a group treatment format for adolescents with mild to moderate OCD.     

THE EFFECTS OF VISUAL,VERBAL, AND MOTOR ELABORATIONS ON PRESCHOOL CHILDREN'S RECALL AND COMPREHENSION OF PROSE

This study examined the differential effect of dynamic (visual and motor) and static (visual and verbal) elaborations on preschool children's Immediate and delayed memory (recall of explicit content) and comprehension (recall of Implicit content) of prose. Eighty children, ages 3 1/2 to 5 1/2 years were randomly assigned to five treatment groups: 1) Read (R) condition ‐ unelaborated single reading of story; 2) Read‐Read (RR) condition ‐ two consecutive readings (static verbal elaboration); 3) Visual (S) condition ‐ story + observation of stationary representational props (static visual elaboration); 4) Experimenter‐Manipulate (E‐M) condition ‐ story + observation of experimenter manipulating props (dynamic visual elaboration); and 5) Subject‐Manipulate (S‐M) condition ‐ story + self manipulation of props (dynamic visual‐motor elaboration). As predicted, Ss In E‐M and S‐M conditions generally exhibited greater Immediate and delayed recall of both explicit and Implicit content than did Ss In the R condition. Unexpectedly, few differences were obtained between the dynamic and static conditions, or between the static RR and S conditions, although these results were obscured by age differences and question set Interactions. However, a relatively consistent trend was revealed In the data ‐ while dynamic visual‐motor elaborations enhanced both explicit and Implicit memory, static verbal elaborations generally enhanced only explicit recall. The superior recall of children In the E‐M and S‐M conditions was Interpreted as supporting the proposition that dynamic visual and motor elaborations of prose Induce Interactive Imagery In children as young as 3 1/2 to 5 1/2 years of age, and thereby enhance both their rote memory and constructive Inferential processing of information.     

Linking actions and emotions: Evidence from 15‐ and 18‐month‐old infants

This study investigated 15‐ and 18‐month‐olds' understanding of the link between actions and emotions. Infants watched a videotape in which three adult models performed an action on an object. Each adult expressed the same emotion (positive, negative, or neutral affect) on completion of the action. Infants were subsequently given 20 seconds to interact with the object. Infants were less likely to perform the target action after the models' expressed negative as opposed to positive or neutral affect. Although infants' imitative behaviour was influenced by the models' emotional displays, this social referencing effect was not apparent in their more general object‐directed behaviour. For instance, infants in the negative emotion condition were just as quick to touch the object and spent the same amount of time touching the object as did infants in the neutral and positive emotion conditions. These findings suggest that infants understood that the models' negative affect was in response to the action, rather than the object itself. Infants apparently used this negative emotional information to appraise the action as one that was ‘undesirable’ or ‘bad’. Consequently, infants were now loath to reproduce the action themselves.