Attitudes toward human service organizations: perspectives from an urban black community.

Previous research has suggested that black Americans tend to view mental health services and community mental health centers more negatively than do white Americans. This article discusses a recent study that sought to determine whether black persons possess positive or negative attitudes, what factors influence attitude formation, and the implications of these findings. Based on a sample of black residents in a city in the Northeast, the study found that fewer than 20% of black persons possess negative attitudes toward community mental health centers, that 34% possess positive attitudes, that women and married persons tend to possess more positive attitudes than do men and unmarried persons, that those with high levels of racial consciousness tend to possess more positive attitudes than those who do not, and that those with a high tolerance of substance use tend to possess more negative attitudes than do less tolerant persons. The author suggests that human service agencies should educate social and health workers to become more aware of the cultural diversity and attitudes of the black community so that they may more effectively serve black clients.     

A Scorekeeping Error

Philosophical Studies -     

On the Unity of Compound Things: Living and Non-Living

There appear to be at least two kinds of compound physical substances: compound pieces of matter, which have their parts essentially, and living organisms, which do not. Examples of the former are carbon atoms, salt molecules, and pieces of gold; and examples of the latter are protozoa, trees, and cats. Given that there are compound entities of these two kinds, and given that they can be created or destroyed by assembly or disassembly, questions naturally arise about the nature of the causal relations which unite their parts. In answer to these questions, we first argue that the parts of a compound piece of matter are connected via a relation of dynamic equilibrium of attractive and repulsive forces. We then argue that the parts of an organic living thing are united in a different way: they are functionally connected in a broadly Aristotelian sense which is compatible with an ultimately non-teleological, naturalistic biology.     

Decision‐making concerns in British Islamic environments

The paper surveys aspects of Islamic decision‐making within the United Kingdom's Muslim communities, in terms of the approaches towards different priority issues including ‘family values’, leadership, and inter‐Muslim relations. Fieldwork interviews incorporate diverse perspectives within different communities, in particular those seeking to approach the interpretation of Islamic primary sources in the minority, secularizing context of the UK.     

Physical Attractiveness and Psychological Adjustment Among Substance Abuse Inpatients: A Longitudinal Study1

Relations between psychological adjustment and physical attractiveness were examined longitudinally in substance abuse inpatients, controlling for the effects of length of drug abuse, length of inpatient stay, age, and socioeconomic status. Measures of adjustment and attractiveness were obtained during the first week of admission and six weeks later (within two weeks of discharge). Regression analyses indicated that initial attractiveness did not predict later adjustment, and initial adjustment did not predict later attractiveness. Partial correlation analyses revealed a positive association between attractiveness and adjustment at the first time point, but not at the later time point. These results suggest that physical attractiveness exerts only a temporary effect on judgments of adjustment in an inpatient setting. Attractiveness may affect decisions made when screening patients at mental health facilities, but may not affect decisions made over the full course of inpatient treatment.     

The acquisition of spatial knowledge under conditions of temporospatial discontinuity

Summary Three experiments were conducted to examine the effect of temporospatial discontinuity on route learning. Discontinuity was created by showing subjects in a route-learning task a set of environmental scenes comprising a route in scrambled, rather than logically sequenced, order. Results from Experiments 1 and 2 indicated that discontinuity during learning affected the accuracy and the quantity of the route knowledge acquired, but suggested that the processes underlying acquisition were relatively robust. Results from Experiment 3 suggested that learning routes under conditions of discontinuity leads to a greater exaggeration of distance between route segments than is the case without discontinuity.     

Decompressing aggressive inpatients: Breaking the aggression cycle to enhance positive outcome

Prolonged seclusions can result in exacerbation of psychotic symptomatology, self-injurious behavior, and increased likelihood of subsequent aggression. A patient's aggression can be contextualized as an interpersonal and cyclic series of events in which both the staff and the patient can play a contributing role. If this cycle can be interrupted, the likelihood of aggression decreases. The authors describe this aggression cycle and some strategies for interrupting it via a “decompression” treatment modality. Four case examples illustrate the range of outcomes achieved with patients who had been secluded for between 2 to 5 years due to their chronic history of aggression. The authors offer suggestions for developing a decompression treatment program.     

EFFECTS AND SIDE EFFECTS OF DRO AS TREATMENT FOR SELF-INJURIOUS BEHAVIOR

A three-part controlled case study is presented in which severe and longstanding self-injurious behavior exhibited by a 9-year-old-boy was treated successfully with differential reinforcement of other behavior. In Phase 1, an experimental analysis demonstrated that the boy's scratching was not maintained by environmental contingencies; instead, it appeared that the self-injurious behavior was a stereotypic (automatically reinforced) response. In Phase 2, the effects of an escalating differential-reinforcement-of-other-behavior schedule mediated through token reinforcement (pennies) were evaluated in a reversal design. Results showed that differential-reinforcement-of-other-behavior eliminated self-injurious behavior very quickly and for periods of time as long as 30 min. A noteworthy side effect observed during Phase 2 was the occurrence of crying behavior following the nondelivery of reinforcement. In Phase 3, the token program was gradually extended in 30-min increments throughout the day. Additionally, results of a brief multielement manipulation showed that the effects of token reinforcement were superior to those of a more easily administered differential reinforcement of other behavior based on social reinforcement, which differed little from baseline.