Multidimensional Suicide Inventory-28 (MSI-28) Within a Sample of Military Basic Trainees: An Examination of Psychometric Properties

Suicide and suicidal ideation are serious public health concerns. Accurate detection and assessment are critical first steps in addressing this challenging issue. The present study examined self-reported suicidal ideation in a sample of United States Air Force enlisted active duty basic trainees (N = 470) using the Multidimensional Suicide Inventory (MSI-28). Exploratory factor analyses revealed a 4-factor structure for the MSI-28 in this sample. Together, these 4 factors explained approximately 72% of the variance in the MSI-28. The MSI-28 evidenced moderate to strong associations with measures of resilience (Dispositional Resilience Scale-15; DRS-15) and psychological distress (Outcome Questionnaire; OQ-30.2). These findings demonstrate that the MSI-28 is a promising tool for clinical measurement of self-reported suicidality. Future directions for further validation of the MSI-28 are discussed.     

The Impact of a Precision Teaching Intervention on the Reading Fluency of Typically Developing Children

This research investigated the efficacy of precision teaching (PT) on the reading fluency of typically developing children, aged 7–8 years. Seven participants were assigned to a PT intervention group and received 6 weeks of fluency training using Say All Fast a Minute Every Day Shuffled (SAFMEDS) fluency cards (Phase 1) and a Dolch story (Phase 2). Outcomes were measured using multiple baseline design (MBD) data, Standard Celeration Charts, and pre‐intervention–post‐intervention fluency scores. The MBD data show increased correct responding for PT participants from baseline to the end of each intervention phase. These improvements were maintained at a 3‐week post‐intervention follow‐up. The MBD clearly demonstrated a replication of intervention effects across participants. The study supports prior research in this area showing that PT can lead to large and socially relevant gains in children's reading fluency. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Processing of audiovisually congruent and incongruent speech in school‐age children with a history of specific language impairment: a behavioral and event‐related potentials study

Previous studies indicate that at least some aspects of audiovisual speech perception are impaired in children with specific language impairment (SLI). However, whether audiovisual processing difficulties are also present in older children with a history of this disorder is unknown. By combining electrophysiological and behavioral measures, we examined perception of both audiovisually congruent and audiovisually incongruent speech in school‐age children with a history of SLI (H‐SLI), their typically developing (TD) peers, and adults. In the first experiment, all participants watched videos of a talker articulating syllables ‘ba’, ‘da’, and ‘ga’ under three conditions – audiovisual (AV), auditory only (A), and visual only (V). The amplitude of the N1 (but not of the P2) event‐related component elicited in the AV condition was significantly reduced compared to the N1 amplitude measured from the sum of the A and V conditions in all groups of participants. Because N1 attenuation to AV speech is thought to index the degree to which facial movements predict the onset of the auditory signal, our findings suggest that this aspect of audiovisual speech perception is mature by mid‐childhood and is normal in the H‐SLI children. In the second experiment, participants watched videos of audivisually incongruent syllables created to elicit the so‐called McGurk illusion (with an auditory ‘pa’ dubbed onto a visual articulation of ‘ka’, and the expectant perception being that of ‘ta’ if audiovisual integration took place). As a group, H‐SLI children were significantly more likely than either TD children or adults to hear the McGurk syllable as ‘pa’ (in agreement with its auditory component) than as ‘ka’ (in agreement with its visual component), suggesting that susceptibility to the McGurk illusion is reduced in at least some children with a history of SLI. Taken together, the results of the two experiments argue against global audiovisual integration impairment in children with a history of SLI and suggest that, when present, audiovisual integration difficulties in this population likely stem from a later (non‐sensory) stage of processing.     

Effects of signaled and unsignaled alternative reinforcement on persistence and relapse in children and pigeons

Three experiments explored the impact of different reinforcer rates for alternative behavior (DRA) on the suppression and post‐DRA relapse of target behavior, and the persistence of alternative behavior. All experiments arranged baseline, intervention with extinction of target behavior concurrently with DRA, and post‐treatment tests of resurgence or reinstatement, in two‐ or three‐component multiple schedules. Experiment 1, with pigeons, arranged high or low baseline reinforcer rates; both rich and lean DRA schedules reduced target behavior to low levels. When DRA was discontinued, the magnitude of relapse depended on both baseline reinforcer rate and the rate of DRA. Experiment 2, with children exhibiting problem behaviors, arranged an intermediate baseline reinforcer rate and rich or lean signaled DRA. During treatment, both rich and lean DRA rapidly reduced problem behavior to low levels, but post‐treatment relapse was generally greater in the DRA‐rich than the DRA‐lean component. Experiment 3, with pigeons, repeated the low‐baseline condition of Experiment 1 with signaled DRA as in Experiment 2. Target behavior decreased to intermediate levels in both DRA‐rich and DRA‐lean components. Relapse, when it occurred, was directly related to DRA reinforcer rate as in Experiment 2. The post‐treatment persistence of alternative behavior was greater in the DRA‐rich component in Experiment 1, whereas it was the same or greater in the signaled‐DRA‐lean component in Experiments 2 and 3. Thus, infrequent signaled DRA may be optimal for effective clinical treatment.     

Race,Adolescent Binge Drinking,and the Context of Neighborhood Exposure

Drawing on theories of social structure and normative exposure, we examine how the neighborhood context of socioeconomic advantage and racial composition affects race/ethnic differences in youth binge drinking. Using data from Waves 1 and 2 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, logistic regressions reveal significant racial differences, with whites having higher odds of binge drinking than other groups. We also find that neighborhood advantage and racial composition have moderating effects on binge drinking; black youths’ odds of binge drinking are significantly lower than whites’ odds in highly advantaged neighborhoods, and Hispanics living in racially integrated neighborhoods have significantly lower odds of binge drinking than Hispanics living in white neighborhoods.     

The Effects of Stress and Social Support on Externalizing Behaviors Among Children in Military Families

Drawing on social support theory, this study examines the main and interactive effects of parental perceived stress and social support on externalizing behaviors in military youth. Findings reveal that not only do social support and stress affect the conduct of military children, but social support also moderately buffers the effects of parental stress. Given the increasing distance between military and American culture, more generally, this research is one opportunity to make sense of contradictory expectations about the well-being of military youth. In doing so, it provides implications for how a more supportive organization can benefit military families.     

To Know Another Inside and Out: Linking Psychic and Somatic Experience in Eating Disorders

ABSTRACT

This article explores the role of the body in the psychoanalytic treatment of eating disorders from a relational and developmental perspective. Many who struggle with eating disorders and related issues have had early experiences that adversely affected the development of flexible, adaptive self-regulation, including the ability to experience affects as psychic states that can be safely shared in the context of a relationship. Because of their difficulty symbolizing and expressing feelings, patients with eating disorders often experience affects as somatic problems, for which they seek somatic solutions. Tuning in to patients’ bodily experience can open up pathways for accessing and, eventually, verbalizing and reflecting on internal states in the therapeutic relationship. As shown through a detailed case illustration, the therapist can discover and engage aspects of the intersubjective matrix that may not meet the eye by attending to his or her own bodily experiences and associations in and out of sessions.