Graduated exposure plus feedback in the treatment of speech anxiety

This study investigated the effectiveness of a graduated exposure procedure, combined with peer feedback, in the treatment of speech anxiety. Subjects were assigned to one of two conditions: (a) graduated exposure/shaping plus feedback or (b) no-treatment control. Results indicated that the graduated exposure/shaping plus feedback treatment group demonstrated significantly greater speech anxiety reduction than the no-treatment control group at post- and follow-up assessment.     

How Does the Analytic Supervisor Teach Group Therapy?

This paper presents a detailed account of the role of the analytic supervisor of group therapy. In addition to overseeing the teaching of clinical skills, the analytically-oriented supervisor monitors the dynamics of the supervisee and the supervisory relationship itself. Unconscious processes may both interfere with, and shed light on what is occurring in the treatment. The author suggests that a collaborative relationship characterized by safety and mutual reflection promotes learning. The distinctions between analytic and nonanalytic supervision of groups are discussed.     

The Student Guided Functional Assessment Interview: An Analysis of Student and Teacher Agreement

Functional assessment strategies are used to guide the treatment of problem behavior with individuals who have severe disabilities. Also, researchers have extended functional assessment applications to individuals with emotional and behavioral disabilities. One such extension is the use of students as informants in the functional assessment process. The present study assessed an interview tool designed to elicit information directly from students regarding their problem behaviors. We examined agreement between students and their teachers. Results showed high agreement on the causes and functions of problem behavior with mixed agreement on support plan recommendations.     

EFFECTS OF REINFORCEMENT CHOICE ON TASK RESPONDING IN INDIVIDUALS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

The effects of reinforcement choice on task performance were examined with 6 individuals who had been diagnosed with severe to profound mental retardation. Five highly preferred items were identified for each participant via stimulus preference assessments. Participants then were exposed to choice and no-choice conditions that were alternated within reversal and multielement designs. During choice sessions, participants were permitted to select between two preferred stimuli contingent on responding. During no-choice sessions, the therapist delivered a single item contingent on responding. Preference for the stimuli was held constant across conditions by yoking the items delivered during no-choice sessions to those selected during the immediately preceding choice sessions. All participants exhibited similar rates of responding across choice and no-choice conditions. These findings indicate that for individuals with severe disabilities, access to choice may not improve task performance when highly preferred items are already incorporated into instructional programs.     

ASSESSMENT OF PREFERENCE FOR VARIED VERSUS CONSTANT REINFORCERS

One method that has been demonstrated to improve the effectiveness of reinforcement is stimulus (reinforcer) variation (Egel, 1980). Egel found that bar pressing increased and responding occurred more rapidly during varied reinforcement than during constant reinforcement when identical stimuli were used across phases for 10 individuals with autism. The purpose of the current investigation was to assess the preferences of 7 individuals for varied presentation of slightly lower quality stimuli relative to constant access to the highest quality stimulus. Varied presentation was preferred over constant reinforcer presentation with 4 participants, and the opposite was true for 2 participants. One participant did not demonstrate a preference. These results suggest that stimulus variation may allow less preferred reinforcers to compete effectively with a more highly preferred reinforcer for some individuals.     

Psychiatric Disorders Associated with Substance Use Among Children and Adolescents: Findings from the Methods for the Epidemiology of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders (MECA) Study

The relationships between specific quantities and frequencies of alcohol, cigarette, and illicit substance use and substance use (SUD) and other psychiatric disorders were investigated among 1,285 randomly selected children and adolescents, aged 9 to 18, and their parents, from the Methods for the Epidemiology of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders (MECA) Study. Logistic regressions indicated that daily cigarette smoking, weekly alcohol consumption, and any illicit substance use in the past year were each independently associated with an elevated likelihood of diagnosis with SUD and other psychiatric disorders (anxiety, mood, or disruptive behavior disorders), controlling for sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity, family income). The associations between the use of specific substances and specific psychiatric disorders varied as a function of gender.     

Sex differences in factors of romantic attraction

Subjects were asked to rate various physical features, demographic characteristics, and personal qualities in terms of their degree of importance in determining choice of romantic partners in both sexual and meaningful or long-term relationships. Consistent with the sex-role stereotype, males placed relatively greater emphasis than females on the physical characteristics of their prospective romantic partners. Females more strongly emphasized the personal qualities of their prospective partners than did males. Both sexes more heavily weighed various personal qualities than physical characteristics in the context of romantic choice in a meaningful relationship.