Injury characteristics across functional classes of self-injurious behavior

Self-injurious behavior (SIB) is inherently problematic because it can lead to injuries, including those that are quite severe and may result in loss of function or permanent disfigurement. The current study replicated and extended Rooker et al. (2018) by classifying the physical characteristics of injuries across groups of individuals with automatically maintained SIB (ASIB Subtypes 2 and 3) and socially maintained SIB. Individuals with Subtype 2 ASIB had the most frequent and severe injuries. Further, an inverse relation was found between the level of differentiation in the functional analysis and the number of injuries across groups. Studying the response products of SIB (the injuries) documents the risks associated with SIB, justifies the need for research and the intensive intervention, and advances knowledge of SIB. Additional research is needed to replicate these findings, and determine the variables that produce different characteristics of injury secondary to SIB.     

Mitigating resurgence of destructive behavior using the discriminative stimuli of a multiple schedule

Results of several recent translational studies have suggested that correlating contextual or discriminative stimuli with the delivery and withholding of reinforcement for the functional communication response (FCR) may mitigate resurgence of destructive behavior, but few, if any, have isolated the effects of those stimuli. In the present study, we first trained the FCR, brought it under stimulus control of a multiple schedule, and thinned its reinforcement schedule in one stimulus context. Next, we conducted resurgence evaluations (i.e., baseline, functional communication training [FCT], extinction challenge) in two novel contexts to test the effects of the discriminative stimuli on resurgence. We programmed one context to include the (a) S^D during the FCT phase to signal the availability of reinforcement for the FCR and (b) S^Δ during a subsequent extinction challenge to signal the unavailability of reinforcement for the FCR. The other context did not include the S^D during the FCT phase, nor the S^Δ during the extinction challenge. We expected to see greater persistence of the FCR in the context that included the S^D during FCT and less persistence of the FCR and less resurgence of destructive behavior in the context that included the S^Δ during the extinction challenge. Obtained results confirmed this latter prediction, but we observed no reliable difference when the S^D was present or absent during the FCT phase. Our results have relevance for practitioners in that they provide further empirical support for the use of discriminative stimuli when treating destructive behavior.     

CBT for Anxiety and Associated Somatic Complaints in Pediatric Medical Settings: An Open Pilot Study

Objective To examine the initial feasibility and potential efficacy of a cognitive-behavioral intervention for youth with anxiety disorders and non-medical somatic symptoms. Background Based on a strong relationship between somatic complaints and anxiety disorders, screening youngsters seeking medical care due to physical symptoms with no organic basis may enhance the recognition of anxiety disorders and facilitate access to appropriate services. Method Seven boys and girls, ages 8 through 15, with medically unexplained gastrointestinal complaints and anxiety disorders received a 12-session cognitive-behavioral intervention targeting anxiety and physical symptoms. Assessments were conducted at baseline and following treatment. Results All participants were classified as treatment responders. Three of the seven participants no longer met diagnostic criteria for their principal anxiety disorder. Children’s physical discomfort decreased from a moderate to minimal level based on self- and parent-reports. Conclusions Our modified cognitive-behavioral approach has promise for reducing anxiety and somatic symptoms in children seeking medical care.     

How great is great ape foresight?

Osvath and Osvath (Anim Cogn 11: 661–674, 2008) report innovative studies with two chimpanzees and one orangutan that suggest some capacity to select and keep a tool for use about an hour later. This is a welcome contribution to a small, but rapidly growing, field. Here we point out some of the weaknesses in the current data and caution the interpretation the authors advance. It is not clear to what extent the apes really engaged in any foresight in these studies. This is an invited response to Osvath and Osvath (2008).     

Individual differences in cognitive control: The role of psychoticism and working memory in set‐shifting

Set‐shifting refers to a process of cognitive control which is shown through flexible behavioural adaptation to changes in task parameters or demands, such as the switching of an explicit rule (extra‐dimensional rule shifting) or the reversal of a reinforcement‐contingency (reversal‐learning). Set‐shifting deficits are widely documented in specific neuropsychological disorders, but seldom investigated in relation to normally‐occurring individual differences. In a sample of healthy adults (N=78, 28% male), we demonstrate that Working Memory and trait Psychoticism have independent involvement in extra‐dimensional rule shifting as measured using an analogue of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Only Psychoticism, however, was involved in reversal‐learning, as assessed using a recent modification of the Iowa Gambling Task. Individual differences in extra‐dimensional rule shifting were explained in terms of rule abstraction speed, while individual differences in reversal‐learning were explained in terms of response perseveration. These results clarify component processes in different forms of set‐shifting, and highlight the role of individual differences, especially personality, in cognitive control.     

The relationships among verbal short-term memory, phonological awareness, and new word learning: evidence from typical development and Down syndrome

This study examined the correlates of new word learning in a sample of 64 typically developing children between 5 and 8 years of age and a group of 22 teenagers and young adults with Down syndrome. Verbal short-term memory and phonological awareness skills were assessed to determine whether learning new words involved accurately representing phonological information in memory. Results showed a relationship between verbal short-term memory measures and typically developing individuals’ ability to learn the phonological form of novel words but not their ability to learn the physical referent of new words. Similarly, individuals with Down syndrome showed impaired verbal short-term memory and impaired form but not referent learning. Together, these findings specify the circumstances in which an accurate phonological representation within short-term memory is required for new word learning.     

A Review of Childrearing in African American Single Mother Families: The Relevance of a Coparenting Framework

Clinical research on African American single mother families has focused largely on mother-child dyads, with relatively less empirical attention to the roles of other adults or family members who often assist with childrearing. This narrow definition of “family” fails to take into account the extended family networks which often provide support for African American single mother families and the influence of these other adults on maternal parenting and youth adjustment. Our review integrates the literature on the role of extended family members, highlights the strengths and limitations of this work, and proposes the use of theory and methods from the coparenting literature to guide future study in this area. The relevance of the study of coparenting for family-based intervention efforts targeting African American youth from single mother homes is addressed.     

Ethnographic Invention: Probing the Capacity of Laboratory Decisions

In an attempt to shape the development of nanotechnologies, ethics policy programs promote engagement in the hope of broadening the scope of considerations that scientists and engineers take into account. While enhancing the reflexivity of scientists theoretically implies changes in technoscientific practice, few empirical studies demonstrate such effects. To investigate the real-time effects on engineering research practices, a laboratory engagement study was undertaken to specify the interplay of technical and social considerations during the normal course of research. The study employed an ethnographic invention in the form of a decision model to structure reflection on ongoing social processes. A short series of interactions with one engineering researcher illustrates the deployment of the model in the form of an interview protocol. The cultural embedment of the protocol allowed it to function as a feedback mechanism, creating a more self-critical environment for knowledge production, and perturbing the system in research-tolerable ways.

Effects of Trainee Characteristics on Training Effectiveness

Six employee characteristics (conscientiousness, self‐efficacy, motivation to learn, learning goal orientation, performance goal orientation, instrumentality) and one work environment characteristic (transfer of training climate) were captured for 130 trainees in a large industrial company in an attempt to predict training effectiveness (training grade, supervisor evaluation of the application of training). The results strongly support the predicted links, although not all the predictor variables contributed a statistically significant share of the explained variance of the training outcomes. Motivation to learn and learning goal orientation were found to contribute most to predicting training outcomes. The implications of the results are discussed and the limitations of the study are noted, along with suggested avenues for future research.     

Normality and impairment following profound early institutional deprivation: a longitudinal follow-up into early adolescence

Longitudinal analyses on normal versus impaired functioning across 7 domains were conducted in children who had experienced profound institutional deprivation up to the age of 42 months and were adopted from Romania into U.K. families. Comparisons were made with noninstitutionalized children adopted from Romania and with nondeprived within-U.K. adoptees placed before the age of 6 months. Specifically, the validity of the assessment, the degree of continuity and change in levels of functioning from 6 to 11 years, and the factors in the pre- and postadoption environment accounting for heterogeneity in outcome were examined. Pervasive impairment was significantly raised in children experiencing institutional deprivation for > or =6 months of life, with a minority within this group showing no impairment. There was no additional significant effect of duration of deprivation beyond the 6-month cutoff, and few other predictors explained outcome. The pattern of normality/impairment was mainly established by 6 years of age, with considerable continuity at the individual level between 6 and 11 years. The findings are discussed in terms of the possibility of a sensitive period for development.