Elimination of soiling behavior in an elementary school child through the application of aversive techniques

A case study illustrating the application of aversive techniques in a school setting was presented. Soiling behavior, which had occured as often as three times per day before aversive procedures were initiated, was eliminated in this child with no reoccurence in a six month follow-up. This report lends additional confirmation to the feasibility of employing aversive conditioning or punishment in modifying or eliminating socially unacceptable behavior. Also, it is another example in which amelioration of symptomology appropriately seemed to precede a thorough investigation of etiological factors.     

Religious and non-religious predictors of life satisfaction in a sample of American college students

To promote understanding of young people behavioural mechanisms related to health, we evaluated religious attribution, meaning in life, and emotion regulation strategies as predictors of life satisfaction in the sample of 791 religious and non-religious American college students. Participants completed Religious Attribution Scale, Meaning in Life Questionnaire, Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. A multiple linear regression revealed that the strongest predictor of life satisfaction for both groups was the presence of meaning in life, followed by the use of cognitive reappraisal. We found that participants with high levels of presence of meaning in life, regardless of their religious identity, were able to benefit from the use of cognitive reappraisal. Presence of meaning in life and emotion regulation strategy reside outside of the religious confines, supporting the notion that religiosity is not a singular meaning making system. By identifying constructs related to life satisfaction, we can acquire better understanding of what mechanisms contribute to positive coping strategies that religious and non-religious young adults use to achieve positive life outcomes.