Behavioral assessment of imipramine effects in a depressed child

A 7-year-old boy was diagnosed as suffering from childhood depression by two independent psychiatric evaluators who employed the Research Diagnostic Criteria. Multifaceted behavioral observations were performed on target behaviors which were identified as major problematic areas of functioning related to the child's depression. The behavioral assessment strategy included daily monitoring of on-task and disruptive behavior in the classroom, enuresis, and overall hygienic, social, and compliance behaviors as a means of identifying the specific drug-induced effects of an anti-depressant, imipramine. The assimilation and application of behavioral assessment strategies within child psychiatry have been slow and tenuous. Reasons for the resistance include theoretical differences and misconceptions among psychiatric personnel, who, although open to objective evaluations, may wish to employ nonbehavioral treatments such as pharmacologic agents. The primary purpose of this study was to demonstrate the viability of behavioral assessment as an integral adjunct to pharmacologic treatment in a psychiatric setting as a means of gauging the efficacy of a psychiatric intervention. Issues regarding the role of behavioral assessment in psychiatry and, in particular, pharmacologic interventions with depressed children are examined and discussed.This study was supported, in part, by NIMH Grant MH 30915.     

Cognitive-behavioral treatment of agoraphobia: paradoxical intention vs self-statement training

Twenty-six agoraphobics were randomly assigned to either Paradoxical Intention (PI) or Self-Statement Training (SST) which consisted of 12 weekly 90-min group sessions with 4–5 patients per group. Major assessments were carried out at pre-treatment, 6th week and 12th week of treatment, and at 1- and 6-month follow-ups. Measures included clinical ratings of severity of condition, phobia, anxiety and depression. Furthermore, a behavioral test was administered during which changes in subjective units of discomfort and cognitions were assessed. The results indicated statistically-significant improvement over time with both treatments. ANCOVAs performed revealed superior effects on several agoraphobia measures for the PI condition at post-treatment. However, by the 6-month follow-up assessment, the groups were equivalent due to marked improvement during the follow-up phase in the SST condition. Cognitive changes were marked by a decrease in self-defeating statements without concomitant increase in coping statements. These results and recommendations for future research are discussed.     

Patterns of psychophysiological change in the treatment of agoraphobia

Patterns of change and synchrony were studied in a group of 26 agoraphobics under-going a 12-week treatment program. Clinical, behavioral, physiological and subjective measures were taken at pre-, 4, 8 and 12 weeks of treatment and at 1-month follow-up.Clinically and statistically significant changes were found in all response systems and our results tentatively suggest that the order of change starts with behavioral and clinical measures followed by psychophysiological measures of which psysiological responsivity has the longest lag.Although the group as a whole changed synchronously, there was evidence of individual desynchrony between physiological and subjective measures of anxiety. The most common form this look was for SUDS to decline while heart rate increased. A closer look at desynchrony in the various time sequences revealed that both the form and occurrence of desynchrony vary according to phase of treatment and that time interval between assessment points might-be of crucial importance in the determination of synchrony-desynchrony.     

Masked priming of prefixes and the influence of spelling-meaning consistency

Two experiments are reported which examined whether a prefixed word can be primed by a word sharing only the prefix letters in a masked priming paradigm. In addition the studies examined whether the size of the priming effect is influenced by the consistency with which a prefix letter pattern appears in real prefixed words. The ratio of real prefixed words to all words containing a prefix letter pattern was calculated and used to identify high-consistency prefixes, which are frequently used as prefixes (e.g., UN in UNHAPPY) and rarely appear as pseudoprefixes (e.g., UNCLE), and low-consistency prefixes, which appear in many pseudoprefixed words (e.g., DE in DESERT) but fewer truly prefixed words (e.g., DECODE). In Experiment 1, decision latencies for both types of prefixes were facilitated when real prefixed target words were preceded by real prefixed prime words in a short SOA masked priming paradigm, although the size of the priming effect for low-consistency prefixes was similar in size to that for orthographic controls. In Experiment 2, real prefixed target words were preceded by pseudoprefixed prime words. Facilitation in performance remained for high-consistency prefixes but was absent for low-consistency prefixes. These results support models of morphological processing that are sensitive to the statistical nature of the relationships between orthographic and semantic representations in a language.     

Rats distinguish between absence of events and lack of evidence in contingency learning

The goal of three experiments was to study whether rats are aware of the difference between absence of events and lack of evidence. We used a Pavlovian extinction paradigm in which lights consistently signaling sucrose were suddenly paired with the absence of sucrose. The crucial manipulation involved the absent outcomes in the extinction phase. Whereas in the Cover conditions, access to the drinking receptacle was blocked by a metal plate, in the No Cover conditions, the drinking receptacle was accessible. The Test phase showed that in the Cover conditions, the measured expectancies of sucrose were clearly at a higher level than in the No Cover conditions. We compare two competing theories potentially explaining the findings. A cognitive theory interprets the observed effect as evidence that the rats were able to understand that the cover blocked informational access to the outcome information, and therefore the changed learning input did not necessarily signify a change of the underlying contingency in the world. An alternative associationist account, renewal theory, might instead explain the relative sparing of extinction in the Cover condition as a consequence of context change. We discuss the merits of both theories as accounts of our data and conclude that the cognitive explanation is in this case preferred.     

"Princess Alice is watching you": children's belief in an invisible person inhibits cheating

Two child groups (5-6 and 8-9 years of age) participated in a challenging rule-following task while they were (a) told that they were in the presence of a watchful invisible person (“Princess Alice”), (b) observed by a real adult, or (c) unsupervised. Children were covertly videotaped performing the task in the experimenter’s absence. Older children had an easier time at following the rules but engaged in equal levels of purposeful cheating as the younger children. Importantly, children’s expressed belief in the invisible person significantly determined their cheating latency, and this was true even after controlling for individual differences in temperament. When “skeptical” children were omitted from the analysis, the inhibitory effects of being told about Princess Alice were equivalent to having a real adult present. Furthermore, skeptical children cheated only after having first behaviorally disconfirmed the “presence” of Princess Alice. The findings suggest that children’s belief in a watchful invisible person tends to deter cheating.     

Improvement of Thematic Classification in Offender Profiling: Classifying Serbian Homicides Using Multiple Correspondence,Cluster, and Discriminant Function Analyses

This paper investigates thematic classification of homicides for the purpose of behavioural investigative analysis (e.g. offender profiling). Previous research has predominantly used smallest space analysis (SSA) to conceptualise and classify offences into thematic groups based on crime scene behaviour data. This paper introduces a combined approach utilising multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), cluster analysis (CA), and discriminant function analysis (DFA) to define and differentiate crime scenes into expressive or instrumental and impersonal or personal crimes. MCA is used to derive the latent structural dimensions in the crime data and produce quantitative scores for each offence along these dimensions. Two‐step CA was then utilised to classify offences. Offence dimensional scores were then used to predict cluster membership under DFA, producing cluster centroids corresponding to MCA dimensions. Centroids were plotted on the MCA correspondence map to simultaneously conceptualise crime classification and the latent structure of the Serbian crime data. Classification of offences based on MCA dimensional scores were 91.5% accurate. This MCA–CA–DFA approach may reduce some of the more subjective aspects of SSA methodology used in classification, whilst producing a product more amenable to objective and cumulative review. Implications for offender profiling research utilising SSA and this approach are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How Does Homelessness Affect Parenting Behaviour? A Systematic Critical Review and Thematic Synthesis of Qualitative Research

The adverse social and physical conditions of homelessness pose significant developmental risks for children, which may be compounded or buffered by the quality of parenting behaviour they are exposed to. There is currently a limited understanding of how parents approach their care-giving role and responsibilities while adjusting to the experience of homelessness. Advancing knowledge in this area is essential for developing acceptable, appropriate and effective interventions to support highly marginalised and vulnerable homeless families. This review explored homeless parents’ perceptions of how homelessness affects their parenting behaviour and identified adaptive strategies that parents may use to mitigate the potentially negative impacts of homelessness on the quality of care-giving. A systematic search of four electronic databases (ASSIA, PsycINFO, Web of Science and MEDLINE) identified 13 published qualitative studies, all originating from the USA, which explored parenting behaviour in homeless contexts. The studies were critically appraised using the CASP qualitative assessment tool. Thematic synthesis identified the following determinants of parenting behaviour; negative self-concept in the parental role, parental mental health, material resources, challenges to autonomy and self-efficacy, daily hassles, physical environment and service context, stigma, child characteristics and lack of support. These were synthesised thematically using existing models of parenting determinants and positive parenting. Findings indicate substantive impacts of homelessness on parental mental health, parenting authority, material resources, parenting environments and social support. Parents developed a number of adaptive methods to negotiate the challenges of homeless parenting such as maintaining a positive mindset, cherishing the parental role and developing practical strategies. We conclude with recommendations that service providers should tailor parenting support to resource-constrained circumstances and that further research is required in order to better understand experiences of homeless parents in other international contexts.