Effects of Noncontingent Reinforcement and Choice of Activity on Aggressive Behavior Maintained by Attention

Functional assessments identified that the grabbing behavior of a 24‐year‐old man with intellectual disability was maintained by social positive reinforcement, that is, attention. Aggression was more likely to occur when his social environment changed from high to low attention. An intervention that combined extinction with activity choice and noncontingent reinforcement was most effective at reducing grabbing. The intervention and beneficial effects were maintained over 17 months, although staff retraining was required at 6 and 16 months. Retraining was implemented successfully when aggression increased and procedural integrity had declined. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Two rooms,two representations? Episodic‐like memory in toddlers and preschoolers

Episodic memory involves binding together what‐where‐when associations. In three experiments, we tested the development of memory for such contextual associations in a naturalistic setting. Children searched for toys in two rooms with two different experimenters; each room contained two identical sets of four containers, but arranged differently. A distinct toy was hidden in a distinct container in each room. In Experiment 1, which involved children between 15 and 26 months who were prompted with a very explicit cue (a part of the hidden toy), we found a marked shift in performance with age: while 15‐ to 20‐month‐olds concentrated their searches on the two containers that sometimes contained toys, they did not distinguish between them according to context, but 21–26‐month‐olds did. However, surprisingly, without toy cues, even the youngest children showed a fragile ability to disambiguate the two containers by room context. In Experiment 2, we tested 34‐ to 40‐month‐olds and 64‐ to 72‐month‐olds without toy cues. The 5‐year‐olds were nearly perfect, and the 3‐year‐olds showed a significant preference for the correct container given only the context. In Experiment 3, we filled in the age range, and also investigated the effects of the use of labels (i.e. names of experimenters and rooms) and of familiarization time, in groups of 34‐ to 40‐month‐olds, 42‐ to 48‐month‐olds, and 50‐ to 56‐month‐olds. Neither labels nor familiarization time had an effect. Across experiments, there was regular age‐related improvement in context‐based memory. Overall, the results suggest that children's episodic memory may undergo an early qualitative change, yet to be precisely characterized, and that continuing increments in the use of contextual cues occur throughout the preschool period. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkwEFw0UEz4&list=PLwxXcOKHPC0llAPVcJyW4EtzlA934A2Rz&index=1     

Clinical Application of the Advantages of Technology in Couple and Family Therapy

While couples may be holding hands with one another, they are also holding their cell phones in the other hand. Technology is so woven into the fabric of our society that it is hard to separate it from the relationship itself. As such, the role of the marriage and family therapist demands that it attends to technology within the practice of couple therapy. This article describes strategies for couple and family therapists to use in the context of their treatment. The strategies are grounded in both theoretical and empirical knowledge and cover three categories of application: relationship initiation, relationship maintenance, and relationship enhancement.     

Executive function and memory in children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

A complex relation exists between memory and executive functioning (EF), particularly when learning and recalling multifaceted or extensive information (Moscovitch &; Winocur, 2002 Moscovitch, M. and Winocur, G. 2002. “The frontal cortex and working with memory”. In Principles of frontal lobe functioning, Edited by: Stuss, D. T. and Knight, R. T. 188–209. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.  [Google Scholar]). A common instrument for evaluating this relationship is the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF; Rey, 1941 Rey, A. 1941. L'examen psychologique dans le cas d'encephalopathie traumatique [Psychological examination of traumatic encephalopathy]. Archives de Psychologie, 28: 286–340.  [Google Scholar]; Osterrieth, 1944 Osterrieth, P. A. 1944. Le test de copie d'une figure complexe: Contribution à l’étude de la perception et de la mémoire [The test of copying a complex figure: A contribution to the study of perception and memory]. Archives de Psychologie, 30: 286–350.  [Google Scholar]). The ROCF has proved particularly useful in pediatric research; however, little research has been conducted among children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD).

Seventy children (35 FASD, 35 control), aged 6 to 12 years, were tested using the ROCF. All participants with FASD had received a diagnosis according to the Canadian guidelines for FASD (Chudley et al., 2005 Chudley, A. E., Conry, J., Cook, J. L., Loock, C., Rosales, T. and LeBlanc, N. 2005. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: Canadian guidelines for diagnosis. The Canadian Medical Association Journal, 172: 1–21. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) using the 4-digit diagnostic code (Astley, 2004 Astley, S. J. 2004. Diagnostic guide for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: The 4-digit diagnostic code, 3rd, Seattle, WA: University of Washington.  [Google Scholar]). Significant group differences were revealed with children with FASD demonstrating substantial difficulties in organization, accuracy, and memory. Among children with FASD, a distinctive profile emerged, lending support to the argument that children with FASD experience deficits in EF and memory throughout their development. Information from the present study will not only help to improve understanding of functioning in this population but also provide insight into how to deal with EF and memory deficits in terms of testing, treatment, and intervention.     

Happiness and Well-Being of Young Carers: Extent, Nature and Correlates of Caring Among 10 and 11 Year Old School Children

Young carers often take on practical and/or emotional caring responsibilities that would normally be expected of an adult. For many of these children and young people, caring has been shown to have a detrimental effect on their lives. For example, caring at a young age appears to be associated with poor health and well-being, bullying and poorer educational outcomes. However, previous research has tended to be retrospective, carried out using small surveys of secondary school-aged children or to use qualitative methods with young people associated with caring projects. In contrast, little is known about the extent and nature of caring undertaken by younger children. This paper reports findings from a random sample survey of 10 and 11 year old children in the final year of their primary school education. 4,192 children completed the Kids’ Life and Times (KLT) online survey in 2011. Twelve percent of respondents to KLT said they helped look after someone in their household who was sick, elderly or disabled. Supporting previous qualitative research, this survey showed that children who were carers had poorer health and well-being, reported less happiness with their lives, were more likely to be bullied at school and had poorer educational aspirations and outcomes than their peers who were not carers. These findings suggest that teachers need to discuss the issue of caring with children in the classroom in a general and supportive way so that young carers feel able to confide in them and seek support if they need it.     

Health Beliefs and Practices in an Isolated Polygamist Community of Southern Utah

Short Creek is a largely closed and isolated community on the border between Utah and Arizona, made up of the sister towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona. Beginning from childhood, the 6,000 or so members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) are brought up in a lifestyle of plural marriage, meaning a marriage among one man and more than one woman, and are surrounded by their peers in “the covenant.” A lifestyle of plural marriage is likely to affect the health of community members, but its effects have not been studied because of the community’s isolation and distrust of outsiders. This paper addresses several questions that arise in contemplating the health of the Short Creek community: What are the health beliefs in this community, and what are their historical bases? Where do families seek medical care, and for what or at what threshold of illness or injury? What is the attitude of care providers serving this community, and how are the providers viewed by the community? More broadly, this paper examines the ways in which polygamy configures health. In order to meet this objective, this paper aims first to provide a brief account of this community’s history and demographic profile, followed by a discussion of health care in this community and how it is affected by the practice of plural marriage, with the data comprised of qualitative interviews with health care providers to the community. The goals of this project are to gain a rich, historically nuanced understanding of the health of community members, and to identify directions for further academic and policy research. Our findings indicate that health in this community is shaped by limited resources, an attitude of health fatalism, and a profound insularity and corresponding isolation from the outside world.     

The role of ethnocultural variables in response to terrorism

The threat of terrorism is having a profound impact on Americans. This study examined ethnocultural variables of ethnic background, gender, age, and educational background to better understand first reactions to, explanations for, and responses to what happened on September 11, 2001. Data were obtained from a sample of university students, church and civic group members, and people of the general community. Results suggest that ethnic background, gender, and age influence reactions to terrorism. Ethnic background and gender influenced causal explanations about the attacks. Strong gender differences were noted in how participants were affected by the attacks; strongest similarities were observed in reports of first reactions to news of the events, with most people experiencing shock and disbelief. Conclusions stress the importance of future mental health interventions and research giving strong consideration to ethnocultural variables when dealing with victims of terrorism.     

What works in prevention. Principles of effective prevention programs

The high prevalence of drug abuse, delinquency, youth violence, and other youth problems creates a need to identify and disseminate effective prevention strategies. General principles gleaned from effective interventions may help prevention practitioners select, modify, or create more effective programs. Using a review-of-reviews approach across 4 areas (substance abuse, risky sexual behavior, school failure, and juvenile delinquency and violence), the authors identified 9 characteristics that were consistently associated with effective prevention programs: Programs were comprehensive, included varied teaching methods, provided sufficient dosage, were theory driven, provided opportunities for positive relationships, were appropriately timed, were socioculturally relevant, included outcome evaluation, and involved well-trained staff. This synthesis can inform the planning and implementation of problem-specific prevention interventions, provide a rationale for multi-problem prevention programs, and serve as a basis for further research.