Modeling population heterogeneity in appearance- and performance-enhancing drug (APED) use: applications of mixture modeling in 400 regular APED users

Appearance- and performance-enhancing drugs (APEDs) constitute a wide range of substances, including anabolic-androgenic steroids, nonsteroidal anabolics, and licit and illicit ergo/thermogenics. A great deal of heterogeneity exists in APED use patterns among weight-lifting men, and, consequently, little is known about how these patterns are related to side effect profiles or risk potential. In the current study, a sample of 400 adult men who were regular APED users completed an interactive Web-based instrument detailing information about APED use, side effects, and related indicators of risk. To explore the heterogeneity of APED use patterns, the authors subjected data on use patterns to (a) latent class analysis (LCA), (b) latent trait analysis (LTA), and (c) factor mixture analysis to determine the best model of APED use. Results indicated that a 4-class factor mixture model provided a better fit than LCA and LTA models. The authors also found that severity and latent class were uniquely associated with negative outcomes. Each of the 4 classes was associated with unique side effects, motivations, and participant use patterns. Implications for identifying pathological forms of APED use are discussed.     

The effects of consequence manipulation during functional analysis of problem behavior maintained by negative reinforcement

Two distinct analytic methods have been used to identify the function of problem behavior. The antecedent-behavior-consequence (ABC) method (Iwata, Dorsey, Slifer, Bauman, & Richman, 1982/1994) includes the delivery of consequences for problem behavior. The AB method (Carr & Durand, 1985) does not include consequence delivery, instead relying exclusively on antecedent conditions to evoke the behavior. The AB and ABC functional analysis methods were compared in this study with 4 children with developmental disabilities who engaged in task-related problem behavior. Results show that the ABC method identified an escape method for all four cases, whereas the AB method failed to identify a function for any case.     

Integrating Behavioral and Social Sciences in the Medical School Curriculum: Opportunities and Challenges for Psychology

The Institute of Medicine has reviewed and made recommendations concerning current teaching approaches, content, and barriers to the incorporation of behavioral/social sciences in medical school curricula (Cuff & Vanselow, 2004). This paper discusses those recommendations, the history of medical education reform, the barriers to and evolution of behavioral/social sciences’ inclusion, and the implications for psychology’s future role in academic medicine. Psychological concepts and technology permeate medical practice, but little progress has been made in integrating psychological and biological sciences. Looking to its basic science domains (e.g. cognition, learning, development, neuroscience), psychology can take scientific leadership in illuminating the mechanisms by which behavioral/social processes interact with biological functions in health, thereby providing the empirical basis for a truly integrated bio-behavioral curriculum. This article is based upon a symposium, “IOM Report on Enhancing Behavioral & Social Science in Medical Education: Impact and Opportunities for Psychology,” presented at the Annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C., August 21, 2005. Suzanne Bennett Johnson, Chair; Elena Reyes, John E. Carr, and Anthony Errichetti, participants; Eugene K. Emory, Discussant.     

“As soon as the bat met the ball,I knew it was gone”: Outcome prediction,hindsight bias,and the representation and control of action in expert and novice baseball players

A virtual-reality batting task compared novice and expert baseball players’ ability to predict the outcomes of their swings as well as the susceptibility of these outcome predictions to hindsight bias-a measure of strength and resistance to distortion of memory for predicted action outcomes. During each swing the simulation stopped when the bat met the ball. Batters marked where on the field they thought the ball would land. Correct feedback was then displayed, after which batters attempted to remark the location they had indicated prior to feedback. Expert batters were more accurate than less-skilled individuals in the initial marking and showed less hindsight bias in the postfeedback marking. Furthermore, experts’ number of hits in the previous block of trials was positively correlated with prediction accuracy and negatively correlated with hindsight bias. The reverse was true for novices. Thus the ability to predict the outcome of one’s performance before such information is available in the environment is not only based on one’s overall skill level, but how one is performing at a given moment.     

THE EFFECTS OF VIDEO MODELING ON STAFF IMPLEMENTATION OF A PROBLEM‐SOLVING INTERVENTION WITH ADULTS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

We investigated the effects of video modeling on the percentage of correctly implemented problem‐solving steps by staff in a group home for adults with developmental disabilities, using a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across participants. The treatment consisted of staff watching a video model demonstrating the correct implementation of a problem‐solving intervention (i.e., teaching clients to identify problems, possible solutions, and consequences to each solution, and to choose the best solution). The percentage of correctly implemented problem‐solving steps increased for all participants, and the effect was maintained over time, generalized to novel problems, and generalized from role play with a researcher to actual clients.     

A LABORATORY MODEL FOR STUDYING RESPONSE‐CLASS HIERARCHIES

If the members of a functional response class occur in a predictable order, a response‐class hierarchy is said to exist. Although this topic has received some attention in the applied literature, it remains relatively understudied. The purpose of the current investigation was to develop an analogue model of a response‐class hierarchy. Children with and without developmental disabilities were first taught three responses in an attempt to develop a functional response class ordered along the dimension of response effort (Experiment 1). Following response‐class development, an extinction analysis was used to determine whether the responses were hierarchically related (Experiment 2). Results of Experiment 1 indicated that a functional response class was developed, and that there was a relation between response rate and effort for the established response class. Results of Experiment 2 indicated that a response‐class hierarchy existed within the previously developed response classes for 3 of 4 participants.     

Functional analysis and generalized treatment of disruptive behavior during dental exams

Patient disruption during dental visits can impede treatment and may result in invasive approaches to care. The current study evaluated the efficacy of graduated exposure with and without extinction to decrease disruption during dental treatment for 4 young men with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Modified functional analyses confirmed that disruption was maintained by escape from dental demands for all four young men. Initial treatment consisted of graduated exposure, whereby exam steps were initially removed and then gradually reintroduced as disruption remained low; throughout this phase, disruption resulted in a break from the exam. During the subsequent treatment phase, graduated exposure procedures continued and extinction for disruption was added. Graduated exposure alone did not result in sufficient treatment effects; however, the addition of extinction resulted in greater reductions in disruption and increases in exam completion for all 4 young men, and treatment effects generalized to a dental clinic setting.     

Imprecise evidence without imprecise credences

Philosophical Studies - Does rationality require imprecise credences? Many hold that it does: imprecise evidence requires correspondingly imprecise credences. I argue that this is false. The...     

Community Psychology in higher education in Europe: Results of a survey and discussion of the basic competency approach

This report from the Standing Committee on Community Psychology of the European Federation of Psychological Association provides an overview of higher education in Community Psychology (CP) in 14 European countries. Our findings show that 10 countries have some kind of CP teaching in their educational system. Twenty European universities offer a CP‐oriented Master degree, two universities at the Bachelor level and 16 universities also have CP‐oriented Ph.D. programmes. The profiles of the universities focus on two areas: Community psychology in a pure form and a combination of social psychology and community psychology. The other universities vary between clinical, organisational psychology, and a pedagogical focus. Within a certain European emphasis, these universities are analysing and changing the social conditions of community life and mental health. The responding universities failed to report adequately on comprehensive core competences and key elements in CP. To compensate for this deficit, the Standing Committee on Community Psychology proposes to develop a primer of basic CP competences for inclusion in programmes like EuroPsy.     

Evidence-Based Practice in Family Therapy and Systemic Consultation II

Evidence for the effectiveness of family-based treatments from critical literature reviews and controlled trials is considered for the following list of adult-focused problems: marital distress, psychosexual problems, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, psychotic disorders, alcohol abuse, chronic pain, and the family management of neurologically impaired adults. Evidence-based practices which may be used within the context of marital and family therapy and systemic consultation arising from the review are discussed.