A parametric analysis of errors of commission during discrete-trial training

We investigated the effects of systematic changes in levels of treatment integrity by altering errors of commission during error-correction procedures as part of discrete-trial training. We taught 3 students with autism receptive nonsense shapes under 3 treatment integrity conditions (0%, 50%, or 100% errors of commission). Participants exhibited higher levels of performance during perfect implementation (0% errors). For 2 of the 3 participants, performance was low and showed no differentiation in the remaining conditions. Findings suggest that 50% commission errors may be as detrimental as 100% commission errors on teaching outcomes.     

Noise on, voicing off: Speech perception deficits in children with specific language impairment

Speech perception of four phonetic categories (voicing, place, manner, and nasality) was investigated in children with specific language impairment (SLI) (n = 20) and age-matched controls (n = 19) in quiet and various noise conditions using an AXB two-alternative forced-choice paradigm. Children with SLI exhibited robust speech perception deficits in silence, stationary noise, and amplitude-modulated noise. Comparable deficits were obtained for fast, intermediate, and slow modulation rates, and this speaks against the various temporal processing accounts of SLI. Children with SLI exhibited normal “masking release” effects (i.e., better performance in fluctuating noise than in stationary noise), again suggesting relatively spared spectral and temporal auditory resolution. In terms of phonetic categories, voicing was more affected than place, manner, or nasality. The specific nature of this voicing deficit is hard to explain with general processing impairments in attention or memory. Finally, speech perception in noise correlated with an oral language component but not with either a memory or IQ component, and it accounted for unique variance beyond IQ and low-level auditory perception. In sum, poor speech perception seems to be one of the primary deficits in children with SLI that might explain poor phonological development, impaired word production, and poor word comprehension.     

Technological Advances and the Future of Suicide Prevention: Ethical,Legal, and Empirical Challenges

Technological advancements have brought multiple and diverse benefits to our human existence. In suicide prevention, new technologies have spurred great interest in and reports of the applicability to assessing, monitoring, and intervening in various community and clinical populations. We argue in this article that we need to better understand the complexities of implementation of technological advances; especially the accuracy, effectiveness, safety, ethical, and legal issues, even as implementation occurs at individual, clinical, and population levels, in order to achieve that measure of public health impact we all desire (i.e., greater benefit than harm).     

Suicide Intervention Skills and Related Factors in Community and Health Professionals

Health and community professionals have considerable exposure to suicidal people and need to be well skilled to deal with them. We assessed suicide intervention skills with a Dutch version of the SIRI in 980 health and community professionals and psychology students. Suicide intervention skills clearly differed among professional groups and were strongly related to experience, especially suicide‐specific experience. Some community professionals scored below acceptable levels on their ability to respond appropriately to suicidal people they encounter, and tended to overestimate their skills level. Training is therefore indicated for these groups, and may be useful to more highly experienced groups too.     

Hopelessness,Parent‐Adolescent Communication,and Suicidal Ideation among Chinese Adolescents in Hong Kong

Based on the responses of 5,557 Chinese secondary students in Hong Kong, the relationships among perceived hopelessness, family functioning, and suicidal ideation were examined. Results showed that suicidal ideation was positively related to hopelessness, but negatively related to parent‐adolescent communication. Compared with father‐adolescent communication, mother‐adolescent communication generally had a stronger association with adolescent suicidal ideation. It was further found that the linkage between hopelessness and adolescent suicidal ideation was stronger under a low parent‐adolescent communication condition, thus suggesting the moderating effect of parent‐adolescent communication on the effect of hopelessness on suicidal ideation. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Chaplains' Engagement with Suicidality among Their Service Users: Findings from the VA/DoD Integrated Mental Health Strategy

Chaplains play an important role in supporting the mental health of current and former military personnel; in this study, the engagement of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Army, Navy, and Air Force chaplains with suicidality among their service users were examined. An online survey was used to collect data from 440 VA and 1,723 Department of Defense (DoD) chaplains as part of the VA/DoD Integrated Mental Health Strategy. Differences were noted for demographics, work setting characteristics, encountering suicidality, and self‐perceived preparation for dealing with suicidality. Compared to DoD chaplains, VA chaplains encounter more at‐risk service users, yet feel less prepared for dealing with suicidality.