Shock intensity and signaled avoidance responding

Five rats were submitted to a signaled free-operant avoidance contingency. Throughout the experiment, shock intensity was varied from 0.1 to 8.0 mA, with shock duration constant at 200 milleseconds. Results indicate: (a) an all-or-none effect of shock intensity on response and shock rates, on percentage of shocks avoided, and on frequency of occurrence of responding during the preshock stimulus; and (b) no systematic effect of shock intensity on stimulus control, measured either by the percentage of stimulus presentations accompanied by a response or by the percentage of responses that occurred during those preshock stimuli. Such results indicate that for each subject there is a minimum shock intensity necessary to establish and maintain avoidance responding; intensities higher than this minimum value have little or no effect on responding (with an upper limit for those strong intensities with a general disruptive effect on behavior).     

Crisis intervention and the prevention of institutionalization: An interrupted time series analysis

In the context of the community mental health movement in Illinois, the evolution and development of a crisis intervention program aimed at avoiding state hospitalization and bringing more appropriate and efficacious resources to bear on the difficulties of the individual and/or family is described. This intervention program is characterized by a more active-seeking style of delivering mental health services. With the novel application of interrupted time series analysis to both the targeted and matched nonequivalent control communities the efficacy of this more active intervention in reducing the number of state hospital administrations diagnosed as "mentally ill" is highlighted. The cost/benefit to the taxpayer is also discussed.     

INSTRUCTIONS,FEEDBACK, AND REINFORCEMENT IN REDUCING ACTIVITY LEVELS IN THE CLASSROOM

The biomotometer, an electronic device which simultaneously measures motor activity and provides auditory feedback, was used in combination with material reinforcers in an experiment to reduce children's activity level in a classroom setting. Subjects were nine boys and two girls, aged 9–13, from a day hospital program for emotionally disturbed children. After five baseline trials, each child had five contingent reinforcement trials in which he/she received feedback “beeps” from the biomotometer and was given toy or candy rewards after each trial in which activity fell at least 20% below mean baseline level. Then five noncontingent reinforcement trials were run in which children received rewards for wearing the apparatus without the feedback attachment. Results indicated that the intervention “package,” including instructions, feedback, and contingent reinforcement, was successful in all five trials for 8 of 11 children. Activity levels increased during the final noncontingent phase.     

Cathedral sex

Sexual dysfunctions may develop out of relationship problems, from poor or ineffective techniques, or from other influences, as overemphasis on performance. This article provides a framework for determining the basis of sexual dysfunction and offers constructive guidelines for dealing with these sexual problems.     

L-Type Voltage-Dependent Calcium Channel Blocker Nifedipine Enhances Memory Retention When Infused into the Hippocampus

Wistar rats with cannulae bilaterally implanted in the CA1 region of the dorsal hippocampus were trained in a step-down inhibitory avoidance task. Through these cannulae they received an infusion of 28 or 280 ng per side of the L-type voltage-dependent calcium channel antagonist nifedipine, or of its vehicle (20% dimethyl sulfoxide in saline). The two doses of the drug were studied by administration 0 or 30 min after training; in addition, the higher dose was studied by infusion 10 min before training. A retention test was carried out 24 h after the training session. The highest dose of nifedipine administered 0 min post-training enhanced test session performance of the animals compared to the control group; the effect of the lower dose was not statistically significant. There was no effect of the drug given 30 min post-training or 10 min pretraining. Despite the inability to discriminate direct neural from indirect vascular effects, these results are consistent with previous reports on nootropic actions of the dihydropyridine class of calcium channel blockers. The data are at variance with the amnestic effect of intrahippocampal nifedipine described by Lee and Lin (1991,Life Sciences,48,1333–1340), which may be attibuted to the different range of doses studied here. This might resemble the inverted U-shaped dose–response curve observed with another dihydropyridine, nimodipine, by other authors.     

Do Marriage Problems Affect Fathering More than Mothering? A Quantitative and Qualitative Review

The important question of whether marital problems disrupt fathering more than mothering is addressed in (a) a quantitative review of evidence on marital conflict and parenting in intact families, and (b) a qualitative review of research on mother and father involvement with their children following divorce. We conclude that (a) there is limited evidence that, relative to mothering, fathering is more likely to be affected by marital conflict, but suggest that (b) marital status (i.e., divorce) affects fathering notably more than it affects mothering. We further suggest that marital problems may disrupt father involvement which, in turn, weakens the quality of father–child relationships; there likely are multiple alternative pathways through which marriage problems affect parenting, including both spillover and compensation; researchers need to examine more carefully how marital problems disrupt coparenting; child age and gender may moderate linkages between the parental and marital subsystems; and coparenting, marital happiness, and the institution of marriage itself may be essential first avenues of intervention for those who wish to improve or maintain fathers' involvement with their children.     

Piloting ‘Clever Kids’: A randomized-controlled trial assessing feasibility,efficacy, and acceptability of a socioemotional well-being programme for children with dyslexia

Children with dyslexia are at elevated risk of internalizing (emotional) and externalizing (behavioural) problems. Clever Kids is a nine-week socioemotional well-being programme developed specifically for upper primary school children with dyslexia. In a small randomized-controlled trial, we tested the feasibility, efficacy, and acceptability of the Clever Kids programme. ‘Forty children (M_age = 10.45 years, 65% male) with clinically diagnosed dyslexia too part in the study. Children were randomized to either attend Clever Kids (n = 20) or to a wait-list control condition (n = 20). Coping skills, self-esteem, resilience, emotion regulation, and internalizing and externalizing symptoms were measured at pre-programme, post-programme, and at three-month follow-up. Recruitment and retention rates indicate high feasibility for further evaluation of the programme. There was a significant interaction between intervention condition and time for non-productive coping [F(2, 76) = 4.29, p = 0.017, f² = 0.11]. Children who attended Clever Kids significantly reduced their use of non-productive coping strategies, and this was maintained at three-month follow-up assessment. For all other outcomes, the interactions between intervention condition and time were non-significant. The programme appears acceptable to children with dyslexia and their families, but may be improved by further reducing the number of activities involving reading and writing. Clever Kids improved the coping skills of children with dyslexia; however, a larger trial is needed to replicate this finding and investigate whether programme attendance is associated with additional improvements in children’s socioemotional well-being.     

Psychometric Parameters of the Cyberbullying Attitude Scale in Brazil

This study aimed to determine the psychometric properties of the Cyberbullying Attitude Scale (CBAS) in the Brazilian context. Three empirical studies were conducted for this purpose. Study 1 (N = 202) sought to ascertain the psychometric properties of the CBAS using exploratory factor analysis. Study 2 (N = 211) sought to gather additional evidence regarding the validity and reliability of the CBAS using confirmatory factor analysis. Study 3 (N = 279) aimed to verify the CBAS’s convergent validity. The results revealed that the two-factor structure was the most pertinent. In addition, the CBAS demonstrated convergent validity with other cyberbullying measures, good internal consistency for the Negative Cyberbullying Attitudes factor, and reasonable internal consistency for the General Cyberbullying Characteristics factor. In general, the CBAS appears to be a valid and reliable measure for evaluating attitudes toward cyberbullying.