Distraction intervention for preschoolers undergoing intramuscular injections and subcutaneous port access.

This study evaluated a distraction intervention designed to reduce the distress of preschool children undergoing repeated chemotherapy injections. Twenty-nine children aged 2-5 years were randomly assigned either to distraction by a developmentally appropriate electronic toy or to a wait-list control. Children who received the distraction intervention demonstrated lower overt behavioral distress and were rated by parents and nurses as less anxious than children in the control condition. The improvements were maintained over the 8-week intervention. The results suggest that a developmentally appropriate, multisensory, variable-distracting activity that requires active cognitive processing and active motor responses may be a viable cost-effective alternative to more time-intensive parent-training programs for preschool-age children.     

Cognitive categories of raters and rating accuracy

This research investigated cognitive processes affecting the accuracy of performance evaluation. One hundred and twenty-five nurses from three hospitals completed questionnaires measuring their cognitive categorization processes and then rated a videotaped nurse's performance. Results focusing on the match between raters' cognitive categories and rating scales indicated that: a) rating accuracy was related to the match between raters' cognitive category dimensions and rating scale dimensions, but b) not related to the match between rating scales and raters' general tendency to describe ratees in terms of behavioral or trait characteristics. Raters' ability to differentiate clearly between rating dimensions was related to accuracy and to halo in ratings. Finally, work experience was related to raters' cognitive systems while prior rating experience was important for accuracy. Limitations of the study and implications for future research are discussed.     

Presentation modality and proactive interference in short-term retention using a mixed-morality distractor task

Two experiments investigated the release from PI following a shift in mode of presentation of the study words. In each experiment, the interpolated task required processing of both auditory (A) and visual (V) information. The results were the same with mixed lists (Experiment I) and with independent groups (Experiment II): A release from PI was obtained following an A to V shift but not following a V to A shift. It was concluded that the mixed-modality filler task has functional characteristics very similar to those of an A filler and that the filler task influences the memory code for study items.     

Behavioral versus Behavioral and Pharmacological Treatment in ADHD Children Attending a Summer Treatment Program

As part of the behavioral treatment in the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD (MTA), children participated in an intensive summer treatment program (STP). This study examined the differences between 57 children in the combined treatment (Comb) group, who were medicated, and 60 children in the behavioral treatment (Beh) group, who were unmedicated throughout the STP. Comb children were significantly better than Beh on 5 measures: rule following, good sportsmanship, peer negative nominations, and STP teacher posttreatment ratings of inattention/overactivity. Groups did not differ on any of the other 30 measures, and responded similarly to the STP over time. Comparisons to normative data revealed that Comb children were more likely to fall within the normative range on 6 measures. The differences between these results and the main MTA results, in which Comb was always superior to Beh, are discussed in terms of the relative intensity of combined treatments. The implications for future studies of pharmacological and behavioral treatment for ADHD are discussed.     

Negative Affectivity, Social Support, and the Prediction of Depression and Distress

ABSTRACT In the work we present in this article, we examined the contaminating effects of trait negative affectivity (TNA) on the relations between social support and psychological distress among college undergraduates. In the first study, it was suspected that controlling for TNA would substantially alter the associations between social support (as measured by the Social Provisions Scale) and depression at the initial assessment and later with negative mood prior to a course examination. Actual results from cross-sectional hierarchical regression analyses revealed that controlling for TNA reduced-but did not nullify-associations between reassurance of worth support and depression. TNA did not mediate the relation of reliable alliance support to state NA measured 2 weeks later prior to a course examination. Finally, a second study controlling for TNA found reassurance of worth support remained a significant prospective predictor of depression during the week of final examinations. Results are integrated with theoretical and measurement issues in social support research.     

Thermoregulation and performance of heat-reinforced autoshaped keypecking in chicks

Performance of autoshaped keypecking reinforced by heat was found to increase and then to decrease when chicks were exposed to training under a constant thermal load on a daily basis over the first 1-2 weeks after hatching. The decline in performance was not affected by variation in US duration (Experiment 1). No decline in performance was observed when food reinforcement was used (Experiment 2), suggesting that the effect depended on the use of thermal motivation. When thermoregulation was disrupted by pharmacological blockade using propranolol hydrochloride (10 mg/kg), keypecking was reinstated (Experiment 3). The increase in keypecking produced by propranolol was not due to a nonspecific energization of behavior inasmuch as the drug depressed autoshaped keypecking established with food reinforcement (Experiment 4). These findings support the conclusion that the decline in autoshaped keypecking reinforced by heat is due to development of the chick's thermoregulatory system. Various physical changes (e.g., feathering) and the increasing effectiveness of autonomic and behavioral thermoregulatory responses reduce the net motivational value of external heat sources, thus leading to a decline in the likelihood of approach and contact with signals for heat.     

Anxiety,self-discrepancy,and regulatory focus theory: acculturation matters

Previous research has found that Asians (vs. Caucasians) exhibit higher levels of ought and undesired self-discrepancies and prevention focus, all of which have been linked with anxiety. We examined these ethnic differences in the context of acculturation. Participants (N=155) completed two sessions scheduled a week apart. In Session 1, participants completed a computer task to measure self-discrepancy and prevention focus. In Session 2, participants' ought self-discrepancies and closeness to an undesired self were primed. Moderation analyses indicated that Asian participants who were highly assimilated to an Asian culture exhibited higher levels of a prevention focus. Acculturation also had significant moderation effects for affect when self-discrepancies were primed. Our results suggest that interventions based on these systems (i.e., self-system therapy) should consider acculturation when treating diverse individuals.     

Prolonged Exposure Therapy Following Awareness Under Anesthesia: A Case Study

Awareness during surgery is estimated to effect between 40,000 to 140,000 patients per year in the United States, and there is a growing literature suggesting that this event can lead to the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The current article describes treatment implemented from a manualized protocol of a woman diagnosed with PTSD following awareness during a routine surgery. Prolonged exposure therapy was delivered to the client over 12 sessions. Treatment consisted of psychoeducation, imaginal exposure, in-vivo exposure, breathing retraining, progressive muscle relaxation, and homework assignments. At treatment completion and at follow-up 10 weeks after completion of therapy, the client no longer met criteria for PTSD. Prolonged exposure therapy for PTSD is an effective treatment that alleviates symptoms of PTSD from awareness during surgery.