Dialectical Behavior Therapy Modified for Adolescent Binge Eating Disorder: A Case Report

Given the lack of empirically supported treatments available for adolescents with eating disorders, it is important to investigate the clinical utility of extending treatments for adults with eating disorders to younger populations. Dialectical behavior therapy for binge eating disorder, based on the affect-regulation model, conceptualizes binge eating as a behavioral attempt to influence, change, or control painful emotional states. With promising research findings in adult women, it is of clinical interest whether the dialectical behavior therapy for binge eating disorder treatment manual could be usefully adapted for an adolescent population. This report describes adolescent-specific modifications (including the use of family sessions) to standard dialectical behavior therapy for binge eating disorder, with an illustrative case study. While more rigorous case studies are needed prior to establishing justification for a randomized trial, this pilot case provides preliminary support for a modified version of dialectical behavior therapy for binge eating disorder as a therapeutic option for adolescents with binge eating disorder.     

TouchStat v. 3.00: A new and improved Monte Carlo adjunct for the sequential touching task

The sequential-touching procedure is employed by researchers studying nonlinguistic categorization in toddlers. TouchStat 3.00 is introduced in this article as an adjunct to the sequential-touching procedure, allowing researchers to compare children's actual touching behavior to what might be expected by chance. Advantages over the Thomas and Dahlin (2000) framework include ease of use, and fewer assumptive limitations. Improvements over TouchStat 1.00 include calculation of chance probabilities for multiple "special cases" and for immediate intercategory alternations. A new feature for calculating mean run length is also included.     

Working alliance for clients with social anxiety disorder: relationship with session helpfulness and within-session habituation

It has been suggested that a strong working alliance encourages clients to take risks during therapy (Raue, Castonguay, & Goldfried, 1993). This encouragement may be important for clients who fear negative evaluations as they engage in risk-taking elements of therapy. This study examined the relationship between working alliance, session helpfulness and measures of emotional processing in 18 clients undergoing cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for social anxiety disorder. Results indicate a positive correlation between client-rated, but not observer-rated, working alliance and session helpfulness. Moderate levels of working alliance were associated with higher initial anxiety and deeper within-session habituation. Overall, a strong alliance was associated with clients engaging with the session and finding the session helpful. Implications for the use of CBT for social anxiety are discussed.     

Use of a differential observing response to expand restricted stimulus control

This study extends previous work on the use of differential observing responses (DOR) to remediate atypically restricted stimulus control. A participant with autism had high matching-to-sample accuracy scores with printed words that had no letters in common (e.g., cat, lid, bug) but poor accuracy with words that had two letters in common (e.g., cat, can, car). In the DOR intervention, she matched the distinguishing letters of the overlapping words (e.g., t, n, r) immediately prior to matching the whole words. Accuracy scores improved, and accuracy remained high when DOR requirements were withdrawn.     

Cognitive Acrobatics in the Construction of Worker–mother Identity

This study uses dialectical theory to explore the interaction of worker identity (perceived financial need and job/career identity) and intensive mothering expectations in mothers’ identity construction. This study is based on extensive interviews with 98 at-home, part-time employed and full-time employed mothers of one or more pre-school children from the Midwestern United States. The narrative analysis reveals that mothers embrace intensive mothering expectations. Because of these cultural expectations, mothers must modify either societal mothering expectations or worker expectations in order to construct an integrated worker–mother identity. We found that while at-home mothers can embrace intensive mothering expectations, employed mothers engage in cognitive acrobatics to manage the tension between employment and the dominant mothering ideology. Deirdre D. Johnston is Professor of Communication and Debra H. Swanson is Professor of Sociology at Hope College. This research was funded by grants from Hope College Frost Center for Social Science Research and the Ruth M. Peale faculty development fund.     

Disconfirmed hedonic expectations produce perceptual contrast, not assimilation

In studies of hedonic ratings, contrast is the usual result when expectations about test stimuli are produced through the presentation of context stimuli, whereas assimilation is the usual result when expectations about test stimuli are produced through labeling, advertising, or the relaying of information to the subject about the test stimuli. Both procedures produce expectations that are subsequently violated, but the outcomes are different. The present studies demonstrate that both assimilation and contrast can occur even when expectations are produced by verbal labels and the degree of violation of the expectation is held constant. One factor determining whether assimilation or contrast occurs appears to be the certainty of the expectation. Expectations that convey certainty are produced by methods that lead to social influence on subjects' ratings, producing assimilation. When social influence is not a factor and subjects give judgments influenced only by the perceived hedonic value of the stimulus, contrast is the result.     

Use of an analog task to study effects of diazepam on taste perception, consummatory behaviors, and risk taking in a social context

In the present study, the authors examined the effects of diazepam (Valium) on various physical, social, and emotional variables within the framework of a task designed to test risk-taking behavior. Participants received either 10 mg of diazepam or a placebo. After the participants tasted strong-flavored liquids, they were able to engage in a risky behavior (i.e., drinking from a confederate's "used" water bottle). Half the participants received additional verbal pressure to drink from the bottle. The authors expected that diazepam would increase health-risk behavior, but the results were inconsistent with that prediction. The second goal of the experiment was to explore diazepam's effects on arousal, mood, social anxiety, and taste. Diazepam users exhibited differences in taste perception and social anxiety, which might in part explain the health-risk results.     

Comprehension of Idioms by Children with Learning Disabilities: Metaphoric Transparency and Syntactic Frozenness

Third and fifth grade children with and without learning disabilities participated in this study. Syntactically frozen and flexible idioms and transparent and opaque idioms were used as stimuli to examine the ability to identify the correct idiom and to explain idiom meanings. Grade and diagnostic category affected performance on the explanation task but not on the forced choice task. Idiom type was also a factor affecting comprehension and explanation. Literal responses occurred rarely and were more likely to occur on the forced choice task.