Multicultural Competence and Counselor Training: A National Survey

The extent to which practicing professional counselors perceive themselves as multiculturally competent and the basis for their training experiences in multicultural counseling have not been determined. This article reports the results of a survey on practicing professional counselors' perceptions of their multicultural competence and the nature of their pre- and in-service professional preparation in this area. There was no significant difference in self-perceived multicultural competence between graduates of Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) accredited and nonaccredited programs. However, ethnicity was related to higher levels of perceived multicultural competence.     

Stress Inoculation Training For Impulsive Behaviors In Adults With Traumatic Brain Injury

A stress inoculation training program involving relaxation, self-instructional, and coping skills training was delivered to 5 persons with traumatic brain injury in an attempt to reduce the frequency of their impulsive behaviors. A multiple-baseline across subjects design was utilized to evaluate the effectiveness of the 10-week intervention. Dependent measures included frequency of impulsive behaviors as recorded by staff members at the residential facility where all 5 participants resided, ratings of role-play-probes, effectiveness ratings by the participants' rehabilitation counselors, and interview information obtained from the participants and their counselors. The data showed a small, but consistent reduction in impulsive behaviors across the 5 participants. Additionally, results indicated changes in role-play ratings did not correspond to changes in in-vivo behavioral frequency recordings for 4 of the 5 subjects. These findings suggest that individuals with moderate to severe impairments may require more salient behavioral contingencies and consistent cuing procedures to control their impulsive behavior.     

Research ethics committees: a regional approach

Guidelines for Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) or research ethics committees exist at national and international levels. These guidelines are based on ethical principles and establish an internationally acceptable standard for the review and conduct of medical research. Having attained a multinational consensus about what these fundamental guidelines should be, IRBs are left to interpret the guidelines and devise their own means of implementing them. Individual and community values bear on the interpretation of the guidelines so different IRBs attain different levels of effectiveness. In the Caribbean and Pan American regions there are few IRBs. Obstacles to the establishment and function of IRBs are exacerbated in developing regions like these by differences in language, literacy, and local value systems; education, administrative expertise, facilities, and access to information are also limited. A regional IRB network might facilitate more uniform ethical review in developing countries, and simplify IRB procedures. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Pragmatism and bivalence

The success of the pragmatic account of truth is often thought to founder on the principle of bivalence—the principle which holds that every genuine statement in the indicative mood is either true or false. For pragmatists must, it seems, claim that the principle does not hold for theoretical statements and observation statements about the past. That is, it seems that pragmatists must deny objective truth‐values to these perfectly respectable sorts of hypotheses. In this paper, after examining three pragmatist attitudes towards bivalence, I shall suggest that the pragmatist's proper stance is to treat bivalence as a regulative assumption of inquiry.     

Perceptions of Peer Sexual Harassment Among High School Students

Perceptions of peer social–sexual interactions were examined in a group of high school students (N=150). Participants were presented with six brief vignettes that described three types of sexual harassment between adolescent peers: physical, verbal/visual, and derogatory. Two vignettes were written for each type of behavior to reflect either a sexually explicit or implicit behavior. Participants responded to Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale and the Attitudes toward Women Scale for Adolescents (AWSA), and then rated the sexually harassing nature of the behaviors. Sexual harassment ratings varied as a function of the type of behavior and the sexual explicitness with which it was displayed. Although consensus was reached regarding the sexually harassing nature of both the sexually implicit and explicit physical forms of behaviors, only when the verbal/visual behavior was explicitly displayed was it perceived as sexually harassing. Interactions among self-esteem, gender attitudes, and type of behavior were also noted. Irrespective of the explicitness with which it was displayed, rater characteristics were influential for both the verbal/visual and derogatory forms of harassment.     

Criticism or praise? The impact of verbal versus text-only computer feedback on social presence, intrinsic motivation, and recall.

The Computers Are Social Actors (CASA) paradigm asserts that human computer users interact socially with computers, and has provided extensive evidence that this is the case. In this experiment (n = 134), participants received either praise or criticism from a computer. Independent variables were the direction feedback (praise or criticism), and voice channel (verbal or text-only). Dependent variables measured via a computer-based questionnaire were recall, perceived ability, intrinsic motivation, and perceptions of the computer as a social entity. Results demonstrate that participants had similar reactions to computers as predicted by interpersonal communication research with participants who received text-only criticism reporting higher levels of intrinsic motivation, perceived ability, and recall. Additionally, the computer was seen as more intelligent. Implications for theory and application are discussed.     

Eyewitness memory for a simulated misdemeanor crime: the role of age and temperament in suggestibility

The timing of misleading questions within an interview (immediate, 7‐week delay) and temperament characteristics as correlates of suggestibility were examined in two experiments. In Experiment 1, 6/7‐year‐olds, 9/10‐year‐olds, and adults were given general‐to‐specific questions at both intervals or misleading questions initially and general‐to‐specific questions at delay. In Experiment 2, 4/5‐year‐olds, 9/10‐year‐olds, and adults were given general‐to‐specific questions at both intervals or general‐to‐specific questions initially and misleading questions at delay. Introducing misleading questions in the initial interview increased suggestibility for peripheral features, whereas suggestibility for central features was found when misleading questions were asked in the delayed interview. Age changes in recall and elaboration for categorical information were found. Some temperament characteristics were associated with age‐related changes in compliance and suggestibility. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Efficacy of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy with Parents with Intellectual Disability

Parents with intellectual disability (ID) face many parenting challenges that may affect their ability to parent effectively, and such deficits are often associated with various poor child outcomes. Research findings are inconsistent for interventions targeting systematic skills for parents with ID. Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is an empirically supported treatment that incorporates performance-based training to enhance parenting ability. This study evaluated implementation of PCIT with parents with ID using a multiple baseline design across behaviors. Results suggest increases in positive parenting behaviors and consistent discipline. However, limitations related to poor maintenance and generalization warrant the need for future research.