Worksite intervention model for facilitating changes in physical activity, fitness, and psychological parameters

The purpose was to examine the effectiveness of a physical activity intervention which combined behavior-change strategies with a variety of physical activities for 30 sedentary adults in a 12-wk. intervention that included behavior-change strategy sessions and supervised physical activity. Before and after the intervention, psychological and physiological variables were measured. Statistically significant changes right after the intervention included (1) an increase in physical activity participation, (2) an increase in muscular endurance, flexibility, and predicted VO2 max, and (3) a decrease in the number of barriers to physical activity. Changes in physical self-perception, a psychological variable often linked to increased physical activity, were not statistically significant, but effect sizes were large. The use of behavior-change strategies in conjunction with a variety of physical activities may be useful in improving physical and psychological well-being in previously sedentary adults. Stability of change requires study.     

Neuropsychological screening for cognitive impairment using computer-assisted tasks

The aim of this study was to validate a computer-assisted screening battery for classifying patients into two groups, those with and without cognitive impairment. Participants were all patients referred to the neuropsychology clinics at four VA medical centers during a 1-year period. Patients meeting the study inclusionary criteria (N = 252) were administered the Neurobehavioral Evaluation System-3 (NES3) computer-assisted battery. A detailed neuropsychological examination was carried out by an experienced neuropsychologist, who diagnosed the patient as cognitively impaired or not impaired. The neuropsychologist's diagnosis was the gold standard. Recursive partitioning analyses yielded several classification procedures using the NES3 data to predict the gold standard These procedures produced a set of six NES3 tasks that provide good sensitivity and specificity in predicting di- agnosis. Sensitivity and specificity for the least random classification procedure were 0.87 and 0.67, respectively. The results suggest that computer-assisted screening methods are a promising means of triaging patients.     

Instructions for Authors

Instructions for Authors

Instructions for Authors     

Teaching teenagers with autism to seek assistance when lost

Three teenagers with autism were taught to respond to a vibrating pager to seek assistance in community settings when physically separated from their parents or teachers. A multiple baseline probe design across participants demonstrated that, upon being paged, participants successfully handed a communication card to a community member indicating that they were lost. Generalization was assessed in nontraining community sites and on outings with the participants' parents.     

Sex-related difference in amygdala activity during emotionally influenced memory storage

We tested the possibility suggested by previous imaging studies that amygdala participation in the storage of emotionally influenced memory is differentially lateralized in men and women. Male and female subjects received two PET scans for regional cerebral glucose-one while viewing a series of emotionally provocative (negative) films, and a second while viewing a series of matched, but emotionally more neutral, films. Consistent with suggestions from several previously published studies, enhanced activity of the right, but not the left, amygdala in men was related to enhanced memory for the emotional films. Conversely, enhanced activity of the left, but not the right, amygdala in women was related to enhanced memory for the emotional films. These results demonstrate a clear gender-related lateralization of amygdala involvement in emotionally influenced memory, and indicate that theories of the neurobiology of emotionally influenced memory must begin to account for the influence of gender.     

Separating From the Mothership: A Coordinated Individual and Parent-Based Approach to Severe Agoraphobia in a Young Adult

Families are invested in an older adolescent gradually separating from the family to live independently as an adult, but for many families, adolescent psychopathology makes this transition difficult. Addressing such psychopathology is critical in preventing “failure to launch,” a breakdown in gaining age-appropriate independence from parents. This case study illustrates a promising approach directed at helping an 18-year-old female with agoraphobia and panic disorder who, upon intake, was at risk for long-lasting, prohibitive dependence on her parents. The clinical approach entails the convergence of two psychological treatments conducted in the same treatment center. One provider, working directly with the patient, delivered traditional cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety. A second provider, working with the parents, delivered Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) a parent-based treatment focused on reducing family accommodation of the patient’s anxiety. Behavioral indices and self-report scores indicated clinically significant improvement following the combined intervention. Attention is drawn to the convergence of those treatments and the utility and special considerations in taking this kind of approach. Overall, the combined treatment may have been more successful than the sum of its parts at preventing failure to launch. This case study, the first to describe the integration of CBT and SPACE, can provide useful guidance for clinicians helping families of adult children to transition to independence.     

Life Interrupted: Family Routines Buffer Stress during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Adoption of certain behavioral and social routines that organize and structure the home environment may help families navigate the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. The current cross-sectional study aimed to assess family routines prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic and examine associations with individual and family well-being. Using a national sample, 300 caregivers of children ages 6-18 were surveyed using Amazon Mechanical Turk platform during the first three months of COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Caregivers reported on family demographics, COVID-19-related stress, engagement in family routines (prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic), stress mindset, self-efficacy, and family resiliency. Overall, families reported engaging in fewer routines during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to prior to the pandemic. COVID-19-related stress was highest in low-income families, families of healthcare workers, and among caregivers who had experienced the COVID-19 virus. Moreover, COVID-19-related stress was negatively related to self-efficacy, positively related to an enhancing stress mindset, and negatively related to family resilience. Engagement in family routines buffered relations between COVID-19-related stress and family resilience, such that COVID-19-related stress was not associated with lower family resilience among families that engaged in high levels of family routines. Results suggest that family routines were challenging to maintain in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, but were associated with better individual and family well-being during this period of acute health, economic, and social stress.

     

Optimising Exposure for Children and Adolescents with Anxiety,OCD and PTSD: A Systematic Review

Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review - Cognitive behavioural therapy is an effective treatment for anxiety disorders in children and young people; however, many do not benefit. Behavioural...