Decision versus policy in crises intervention

The paper describes procedures for contrasting actions taken by crises intervention outreach workers and consumers with administrative policies. The data used to exemplify the procedures came from the outreach projects of six county MH/MR programs in Central Pennsylvania during the year following the flood caused by Hurricane Agnes, in 1972. The procedure identifies and counts the ways through which consumers entered the outreach process; the major outreach worker decision; and the immediate disposition of each consumer's case. The six county MH/MR program administrators were asked to consider program policies and show how they would ideally expect 1,000 hypothetical consumers to come into, to be processed through, and to be referred out of their respective outreach programs. Contrasts of the ideal and actual consumer data, along with consumer follow-up questionnaires, provided the basis for evaluating the six county MH/MR program outreach projects. These experiences provided the basis for a generalized model of evaluating crises intervention activities.     

Improving Self-Concept and Learning Skills of Marginal Black Students: A Seminar Approach

In this article, an eight-session seminar model is presented. This seminar is designed to increase participants' study skills and to redefine participants' self-concepts from those characterized by feelings of inadequacy and frustration to concepts of selves as competent and capable. Specific study skills content covers learning strategies, two-way communication, learning styles, note making, test taking, vocational planning, and academic coping strategies. This seminar model has been used to meet the above goals with considerable success; relevant data from the evaluation of a class taught using this model is included.     

A prospective naturalistic study of the impact of an intensive medical treatment on the social behavior of child and adolescent cancer patients

The impact of intensive chemotherapy and prolonged hospitalization on the social behavior of child and adolescent cancer patients was assessed. Twenty-three patients, aged 18 months to 21 years, were observed while they received chemotherapy in a protected environment or in a regular hospital room. Single-subject analyses were used to examine changes on six behaviors in relation to changes in physiological status. Fourteen patients showed significant change in the frequency of at least one behavior. Play and sleep were the behaviors most likely to change. The changes began to occur as patients experienced the systemic toxic effects of the drugs, although a dissipation of drug toxicity generally was not accompanied by a corresponding behavior change. The findings are discussed in relation to age-developmental and interindividual heterogeneity in response to treatment.     

Processing locational and orientational information

In choice reaction time (RT) tasks, college students verified the truth of displays expressing spatial relations between two objects. The relations werelocational (A is left of B) ororientational (A and B are horizontal). The objects were names of states in the United States, symbols, or letter arrays. The objects were memorized prior to the display (states and letters) or were presented as part of the display (symbols and letters). In the location tasks with both states and symbols, locatives were spatial (right, left, above, below) or compass (north, south, east, west). Distance between states was also varied. When location was judged, horizontally aligned stimuli resulted in slower responses than vertically aligned stimuli, independently of materials and locative set. Reaction time was inversely related to distance. When orientation was judged, responses to horizontal pairs of states were slower than responses to vertical pairs of states, responses to horizontal pairs of letters were faster than responses to vertical pairs, and RT did not depend upon the orientation of symbols. This pattern of results suggests that orientational judgments are influenced by type of materials and the entext to which the material has been encoded (i.e., memorized). Locational judgments reflect a potent source of difficulty not present in orientation tasks, namely, telling left from right. Alternative explanations of the right-left effect are discussed.     

Additional evidence from a paradigm for inferring discriminative processes in children and adults

A previously developed paradigm which incorporates a correlational methodology into an experimental context was used in the present study to specify more definitely the attribute(s) underlying verbal discrimination learning under normal conditions. In the case of fifth- and sixth-grade children, it was found that frequency theory is sufficient to account for performance on the task. However, older subjects were less homogeneously reliant on the frequency attribute. While many older subjects appeared to utilize frequency cues, others adopted strategies that resulted in the utilization of attributes other than frequency.     

A counselling group for adolescents

This paper outlines the aims and objectives of a group for young adolescents set up by two counsellors in an area youth counselling service. It examines the contract made between the counsellors and the group members, the methods used, and some current areas of conflict and potential growth.     

Commercial cognitive/memory systems: A case study

Commercial cognitive/memory systems are products that enhance human cognition and memory. Using one of our own product developments as a case study, we describe three phases of commercial systems development and evaluation. We review published examples of Phase One research, report two quasi-experimental investigations that are representative of successful Phase Two research, and provide some measures used to assess the product's success in the early stages of Phase Three. Finally, we discuss the use of theories and findings from basic research in cognitive psychology to develop products of value to individuals and society.     

Depression combined with somatic symptomatology among adolescent females who report concerns regarding maternal achievement

Recent research suggests that many females who mature during periods of great change in women's roles develop, beginning at adolescence, depressive symptomatology combined with such somatic problems as headache, dyspnea, insomnia, disordered eating, and preference for thinness. In this study of possible psychological mechanisms underlying the apparently paradoxical development of such symptomatology during periods of increased opportunity for women, 20% of females attending a suburban high school reported concerns regarding the limited achievements of their mothers and the limitations being female had placed upon their mothers. Compared to other female students, these respondents exhibited a greater correlation between depressive and somatic symptomatology and a higher prevalence of depression combined with somatic symptomatology. Prevalence of combined symptomatology was particularly high among respondents who also reported paternal biases against females and among those who indicated concerns regarding the limitations that being female had placed upon themselves.     

Implications of human genome research: Impact on graduate education in genetic counseling

A conference of genetic counseling and clinical nurse specialist graduate program directors was hosted by the National Society of Genetic Counselors and funded by the Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications Program of the National Center for Human Genome Research in June 1992. One aspect of the conference addressed implications of the Human Genome Initiative for graduate education in genetic counseling. Within this paper, the topics of human variation and diversity, genetic discrimination, issues in non-directiveness, and genetic screening and policy development are reviewed and recommendations made for graduate curricula development and enhancement. In addition, suggestions are included for practicing genetic counselors.