Development and Preliminary Evaluation of a 1-Week Summer Treatment Program for Separation Anxiety Disorder

Numerous clinical trials have demonstrated the efficacy of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for the treatment of childhood Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD) and other anxiety disorders yet additional research may still be needed to better access and engage anxious youth. In this study, we investigated the acceptability and preliminary utility of a group cognitive-behavioral intervention for school-aged girls with SAD provided within an intensive, 1-week setting. The development of the proposed treatment strategy, a 1-week summer treatment program, was predicated on evidence supporting the need for childhood treatments that are developmentally sensitive, allow for creative application of intervention components, incorporate a child's social context, and ultimately establish new pathways for dissemination to the community. The summer treatment program for SAD was pilot-tested using a case-series design with 5 female children, aged 8 to 11, each with a principal diagnosis of SAD. For 4 of the 5 participants, treatment gains were evidenced by changes in diagnostic status, significant reductions in measures of avoidance, and improvements on self- and parent-report measures of anxiety symptomology. Specifically, severity of SAD symptoms decreased substantially at posttreatment for each participant and, 2 months following treatment, none of the participants met diagnostic criteria for the disorder. A fifth participant experienced substantive improvement in diagnostic status prior to the onset of treatment and, though she evidenced continued improvements following treatment, the role of the intervention in such improvements is less clear.     

Keeping it dull or making it fun: Task variation as a function of promotion versus prevention focus

The self-regulation of motivation model suggests that under certain circumstances, people will strategically vary a boring task to enhance their motivational experience. In three experiments we tested whether the likelihood of this task variation depends on a person’s orientation to promote success or prevent failure. Across studies, all participants engaged in a boring letter-copying task which was coded for task variation. Results showed that a promotion focus led to greater task variation, whereas a prevention focus led to lesser task variation. Furthermore, for those people who varied the task under a promotion focus, greater intrinsic motivation (defined as intent for future task-related behavior and as self-reported immediate task interest) was observed. Results were evident when the foci were induced below conscious awareness (Experiment 1), subtly (Experiment 2), and overtly (Experiment 3). Implications for academic and work-related tasks are discussed.     

Pattern separation, pattern completion, and new neuronal codes within a continuous CA3 map

The hippocampal CA3 subregion is critical for rapidly encoding new memories, which suggests that neuronal computations are implemented in its circuitry that cannot be performed elsewhere in the hippocampus or in the neocortex. Recording studies show that CA3 cells are bound to a large degree to a spatial coordinate system, while CA1 cells can become more independent of a map-based mechanism and allow for a larger degree of arbitrary associations, also in the temporal domain. The mapping of CA3 onto a spatial coordinate system intuitively points to its role in spatial navigation but does not directly suggest how such a mechanism may support memory processing. Although bound to spatial coordinates, the CA3 network can rapidly alter its firing rate in response to novel sensory inputs and is thus not as strictly tied to spatial mapping as grid cells in the medial entorhinal cortex. Such rate coding within an otherwise stable spatial map can immediately incorporate new sensory inputs into the two-dimensional matrix of CA3, where they can be integrated with already stored information about each place. CA3 cell ensembles may thus support the fast acquisition of detailed memories by providing a locally continuous, but globally orthogonal representation, which can rapidly provide a new neuronal index when information is encountered for the first time. This information can be interpreted in CA1 and other downstream cortical areas in the context of less spatially restricted information.     

From Rogers to Clinebell: Exploring the History of Pastoral Psychology

This essay explores the recent history of pastoral psychology by examining the transition from Carl Rogers’s client-centered therapy as a dominating force to the emergence of Howard Clinebell’s growth counseling. The theory and application of each approach is explored, including an analysis of how the cultural milieu of World War II and the shift to neofreudian thought influenced both Rogers and Clinebell. Finally, this essay demonstrates how Clinebell modified Rogers’s client-centered therapy by combining confrontation with unconditional positive regard.     

Mother-toddler play interaction: A contrast of substance-exposed and nonexposed children

Recent studies have raised concerns about whether the play of cocaine-exposed or polysubstance-exposed children is deficient or disturbed, presumably as a result of the prenatal exposure. In this study, the quality of toddler play did not differ between 13 low income polysubstance-exposed and 13 low income nonexposed toddlers when rated in a 16-minute play session in their own homes with their mothers. Specifically, there were no differences in either cognitive or affective dimensions of play, as rated by observers who were blind to exposure status. In addition, the quality of maternal support for the play, as rated using the Parent/Caregiver Interaction Scale, did not differ between the two groups. Positive aspects of the mothers' behavior in supporting her child's play were predictive of higher quality child play. Power analyses suggest that the sample size was sufficient to have detected group differences if they had in fact existed. © 1997 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health     

Meaning in the Lives of Caregivers of Individuals with Parkinson's Disease

This study explores the contribution of finding meaning in general and finding meaning specific to caregiving as potentially important explanatory variables in predicting well-being in caregivers of individuals with Parkinson's disease. Fifty-eight caregivers of individuals diagnosed with Parkinson's disease were provided self-report questionnaires to assess well-being and meaning (general and specific). Results showed a significant proportion of the variance of positive affect (PASS) and negative affect (DYS) related to well-being, as assessed by the Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist – Revised. Purpose and Existential Vacuum (two subtests of the Life Attitude Profile – Revised used to assess general meaning) predicted well-being. Purpose predicted 41.8% of the variance related to PASS; Existential Vacuum predicted 30.8% of the variance related to DYS. Meaning related specifically to caregiving (Finding Meaning Through Caregiving Scale) did not explain any additional variance. Our results suggest that finding meaning, beyond meaning specifically associated with caregiving, is the key to understanding well-being among caregivers of individuals with Parkinson's disease. The positive construct of finding meaning in general can empower researchers and professionals working with caregivers to better understand the variability in caregiver outcomes as well as assess and intervene more effectively.     

When the Advantaged Become Disadvantaged: Men's and Women's Actions Against Gender Discrimination

Intergroup theories suggest that different social identities will either discourage or encourage the taking of action against discrimination (Bartky, 1977; Jost & Banaji, 1994). However, research (e.g., Branscombe, 1998) has shown that discrimination is a less negative experience for men than for women. As such, it is possible that men may take greater action than women, regardless of identity. However, men's response to their perceived disadvantage had not yet been tested. Among those induced to ascribe to a gendered stereotype identity, men endorsed more action than women did. Among those induced to ascribe to an identity based on a gendered social experience, women endorsed marginally more action than men did. Differences in responses are proposed to be a function of the different efficacy levels developed by each gender within each social identity.