Parent characteristics and parent-child interactions in families of nonproblem children and ADHD children with higher and lower levels of oppositional-defiant behavior

This study examined parent-child interactions and parent characteristics in families of nonproblem children and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) children with lower (ADHD-LOD) and higher (ADHD-HOD) levels of oppositional-defiant behavior. Families of ADHD children were recruited from a parent training program. Observed and parent-reported child behavior problems were highest in the ADHD-HOD group. Observed parent behavior revealed few differences, but daily reports indicated that parents in both ADHD groups used more negative-reactive and fewer positive parenting strategies than control parents. Maternal psychological functioning differed between the ADHD and nonproblem groups, but not between the two ADHD groups. Fathers of ADHD-HOD children reported more psychological disturbance than controls. Parenting self-esteem was lowest in the ADHD-HOD group and highest in the nonproblem group. The results support the LOD and HOD distinction, but also suggest that, although certain difficulties are more common in the families of ADHD-HOD children, families of ADHD-LOD children also differ from controls on a number of dimensions.This research was supported by grants from the Medical Research Council of Canada and the British Columbia Health Research Foundation. Appreciation is extended to Josie Geller, Kim Behrenz, Susan Greaves, and Sonia Pietzsch who assisted with data collection and coding, and to the families who generously gave their time to participate in the research. Thanks also to two anonymous reviewers for their comments.     

Reception of Morse code through motional, vibrotactile, and auditory stimulation

The potential for communication through the kinesthetic aspect of the tactual sense was examined in a series of experiments employing Morse code signals. Experienced and inexperienced Morse code operators were trained to identify Morse code signals that were delivered as sequences of motional stimulation through up-down displacements (roughly 10 mm) of the fingertip. Performance on this task was compared with that obtained for both vibrotactile and acoustic presentation of Morse code using a 200-Hz tone delivered either to the fingertip through a minishaker or diotically to the two ears under headphones. For all three modalities, the ability to receive Morse code was examined as a function of presentation rate for tasks including identification of single letters, random three-letter sequences, common words, and sentences. Equivalent word-rate measures (i.e., product of percent correct scores and stimulus presentation rate) were nearly twice as high for auditory presentation as for vibrotactile stimulation, which in turn was about 1.3 times that for motional stimulation. The experienced subjects outperformed the inexperienced subjects by amounts that increased with task complexity. For example, the former were able to receive sentences at 18 words/min with motional stimulation, whereas the latter, following 75 h of training, were unable to perform this task. The present results and those of other research with tactual communication systems are compared, particularly regarding estimates of information-transfer rates.     

The Gradual Deterioration of Syntax and Semantics in a Patient with Progressive Aphasia

FM is a progressive aphasic patient whose language comprehension we studied over a 4-year period. We developed a variety of implicit and explicit tasks to chart progressive changes in the representation of linguistic knowledge (in particular, syntax and semantics) and the automatic and controlled processes which operate on that knowledge. The representation of FM's semantic knowledge remained essentially intact over the years, but she became increasingly impaired at combining the meanings of words. She also showed progressive impairments in the processes of syntactic combination. Thus, FM's disease resulted in a progressive inability to engage in those combinatorial processes necessary for the normal comprehension of a spoken utterance. This is not a selective deficit in the traditional sense of the term, since aspects of both syntax and semantics are implicated; but it is selective in the sense that other aspects of language comprehension remain intact.     

Cholinergic receptor antagonists impair formation of intermediate-term memory in the chick

Several experiments examined the effects of cholinergic receptor antagonists on formation of memory in the chick. Scopolamine produced amnesia in chicks trained on a one-trial peck avoidance task in a dose-dependent manner. Pretraining injection of scopolamine produced amnesia that developed between 15 and 30 min after training, suggesting that scopolamine interferes with intermediate-term memory (ITM), previously described to be active during this time (Patterson, Alvarado, Warner, Bennett, & Rosenzweig, 1986). Pretraining injection of scopolamine or ouabain, an inhibitor of ATPase activity shown previously to inhibit formation of ITM, produced identical time courses of amnesia development, supporting the hypothesis that scopolamine interferes with ITM. Pirenzepine, an inhibitor of M1 muscarinic receptors, was effective in producing amnesia, whereas gallamine, an M2 receptor inhibitor, did not produce amnesia. These results suggest that M1, but not M2, receptors are involved in memory formation in the chick.     

Maternal characteristics,ratings of child behavior,and mother-child interactions in families of children with externalizing disorders

Relationships among maternal characteristics, ratings of child behavior, and observed mother-child interactions were examined in a sample of 40 4- to 12-year-old children with externalizing disorders. Mothers and children were observed in a task interaction and mothers provided self-reports of depressed mood, parenting self-esteem, marital satisfaction, social support, and life stress. Child behavior was rated by both mothers and teachers. Several significant correlations were found among observed mother and child behaviors and among maternal self-report measures. However, few significant relationships were found between maternal characteristics and observed mother or child behavior. Although life stress predicted increased child negativity, maternal depressed mood was related to more appropriate child behavior. Mother and teacher ratings of child behavior demonstrated few significant relationships with other measures. These results suggest that, in samples comprised primarily of children with attention deficit disorder from socially advantaged families, few relationships exist between maternal characteristics, parenting behavior, and child behavior.This study was part of a doctoral dissertation conducted by the first author at Florida State University, under the direction of the second author, and supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Portions of the data also appear in a chapter by Johnston titled A behavioral-family systems approach to assessment: Maternal characteristics associated with externalizing behavior in children. In R. Prinz (Ed.),Behavioral assessment of children and families (Vol. 4, pp. 163–189). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press. The authors express appreciation to Alan Lang, Barbara Licht, and Richard Tate, for their thoughtful comments. We are grateful to Beverley Atkeson and a dedicated group of coders and to Dr. C. E. Cunningham and the staff of the Chedoke Child and Family Center for their support. Finally, our thanks to the families who participated.     

Phonological spelling

A case study is presented of phonological spelling, an acquired spelling disorder in which the primary symptom is the occurrence of phonologically plausible errors (e.g. "flood" → flud). Not all of the patient's spelling errors are as phonologically "perfect" as this example; but it is arguable that the errors primarily derive from a routine which segments a phonological code and assigns orthographic representations to these individual segments. This account of errors in phonological spelling is contrasted with an interpretation of oral reading errors in surface dyslexia. We conclude that errors in the two disorders do not reveal a precise parallel, and that the contrast is partly attributable to the differential role of comprehension in reading and spelling.     

Behavior modification consultation in a Mexican-American school

Following consultation by two psychologists with an elementary school populated primarily by Mexican-American students, absenteeism was chosen as the first problem area to attempt to change. A between-groups experimental design was used to evaluate the effect of contigent rewards on the students' attendance. Analysis of the data showed no improvement in attendance. The results of the study were discussed in terms of (1) a more thorough behavior analysis of the absenteeism problem, (2) methodological restraints of a between-groups experimental design, (3) the need for consultants to be familiar with the community in which they work, and (4) relatedly, the success of the local school psychologist in implementing behavior modification programs.     

Conditioning and post-hospital generalization of nondelusional responses in a chronic psychotic patient

An operant conditioning approach was successful in getting a chronic psychotic patient to give factual answers to direct questions that had previously elicited only delusional responses. Multiple baseline and reversal controls established that the changes were due to the experimental procedure. The subject was a female patient classified as paranoid schizophrenic who had persisted in giving bizarre responses to direct questions regarding her identity, age, and personal history during 26 yr of hospitalization. She was discharged after factual answers to these questions had been obtained, but operant conditioning trials were continued in the community to promote generalization. Two follow-up interviews were conducted 36 and 52 days after discharge to evaluate generalization. No generalization was found in the first interview, but the second gave evidence of some generalization.