Functional analysis skills training for residential caregivers

Functional analysis is the most effective assessment for identifying the maintaining contingencies of aberrant behavior. However, it is suggested that functional analyses are not conducted regularly due to the level of skill required. A multiple baseline design across participants was used to assess if four residential caregivers, with limited experience with applied behavior analysis, could be trained to implement the standard analog functional analysis conditions. The training consisted of a lecture, written information, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback. Results showed that all participants attained percentage correct responding scores above 95% on three consecutive trials following training. One caregiver showed positive generalization of skills to the assessment of another behavioral topography. The result of this study provides further evidence that lay individuals can be trained to assist in conducting functional analyses. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Religious and National Identity after the Belfast Good Friday Agreement

National and religious identification processes can be seen as the basis of the conflict in Northern Ireland, and over the course of the conflict preferred social and political identities became increasingly oppositional and entrenched. This paper reviews this evidence using population-level studies of self-categorized national and religious identity. In an attempt to explore the bases of these identities, two interrelated qualitative studies examining the constructions of national and religious identification are reported. The findings presented suggest the continuing predominance of national and religious identities that have generally been constructed as opposing. Evidence of complete overlap of the identities is evidenced in conflation of religion and nationality in adolescents' essays. Theoretical sampling of adults living on the border between Northern Ireland, the republic of Ireland, and those in mixed marriages highlight the strategic use of national and religious identities that may act to support divisions in post-Agreement Northern Ireland.     

Creating Supportive Environments for Children Who have had Exposure to Traumatic Events

The prevalence of trauma among young children and its impact on educational outcomes is gaining attention. It is probable that the needs of children who have experienced or been exposed to trauma have long gone unmet due to identification challenges and a lack of knowledge concerning best practices. For this study, qualitative interviews were conducted to gather perspectives of 14 community-based service providers who worked with children and families regarding trauma-related concerns. Each shared his or her perspectives on knowledge and skills early childhood education teachers need to support children who have experienced traumatic events and partner with their families. Research questions were: What should early childhood teachers know about (1) trauma experiences among young children; (2) the emotional and behavioral patterns of children who have experienced traumatic events; and (3) supporting the social and emotional well-being of children in the classroom setting, including partnering with families, who have experienced or been exposed to traumatic events? Participants indicated that teachers might not readily connect children’s behaviors and emotions to trauma. However, teachers can use approaches and strategies (e.g., being attuned and supporting positive social and emotional and communicative responses) that promote social and emotional well-being for children who experience trauma. Participants also noted that teachers can resist re-traumatization by making adaptations to social, physical, and temporal aspects of the classroom environment. Findings indicate that trauma-informed care might be viable in early childhood classroom settings. Implications for research are discussed.     

Creating a dialogic space for prospective teacher critical reflection and transformative learning

This research highlights the pedagogical significance of dialogic spaces in supporting critical reflection and transformative learning among prospective teachers in the United States. It finds that, with elucidation of the multiple voices and texts from prospective teachers’ field experience, teacher educators can stimulate deep reflection to springboard transformative learning. It also finds that ePortfolios have strong potential to support a dialogic approach to reflection. However, it is also clear that, absent systematic observation and careful follow-up dialogue, the potential to move from reflection to transformative learning is limited. The findings will help teacher educators rethink the design and practice of supervision with ePortfolios, reinforcing that critical dialogue between the supervisor and the prospective teachers is key to supporting prospective teachers’ critical reflection and transformative learning, and to improving their teaching practice.     

Gender variance in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder from the National Database for Autism Research

Previous studies suggest elevated rates of gender variance (GV), the wish to be of the other gender, in those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study aimed to understand the rate of GV in children and adolescents with ASD and explore differences in sex, age, and emotional-behavioral problems relative to those referred to clinical services for mental health concerns (“referred”) and to the general population (“non-referred”). A secondary analysis of data from the National Database for Autism Research was used to explore GV using a child behavior checklist, parent report, in 176 children aged 6 to 18 year with ASD compared to referred and non-referred cohorts. GV was present in 4.0% of the ASD group, higher than for the non-referred group (0.7%) but similar to the referred group (4.0%). There were no significant sex differences in GV prevalence (males 3.7%, females 6.0%) in the ASD group. That the GV rate was elevated in ASD relative to non-referred samples but similar to clinically referred samples suggests that elevated rates of GV were not specific to ASD and may be more broadly associated with neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders of childhood. Further population-based research using clinical assessment for gender dysphoria is required in individuals with ASD and other neurodevelopmental disorders.     

Fear and the amygdala: manipulation of awareness generates differential cerebral responses to phobic and fear-relevant (but nonfeared) stimuli

Rapid response to danger holds an evolutionary advantage. In this positron emission tomography study, phobics were exposed to masked visual stimuli with timings that either allowed awareness or not of either phobic, fear-relevant (e.g., spiders to snake phobics), or neutral images. When the timing did not permit awareness, the amygdala responded to both phobic and fear-relevant stimuli. With time for more elaborate processing, phobic stimuli resulted in an addition of an affective processing network to the amygdala activity, whereas no activity was found in response to fear-relevant stimuli. Also, right prefrontal areas appeared deactivated, comparing aware phobic and fear-relevant conditions. Thus, a shift from top-down control to an affectively driven system optimized for speed was observed in phobic relative to fear-relevant aware processing.     

Prior knowledge and subtyping effects in children's category learning

Two experiments examined how 5- and 10-year-old children revise their category representations when exposed to exemplars that are congruent or incongruent with existing knowledge. During training children were presented with exemplars containing features that were congruent or incongruent with children's social stereotypes together with a stereotype-neutral feature. In the knowledge-subtyping condition this neutral feature predicted the stereotype-congruence of the other features. In the knowledge-standard condition the neutral feature was uncorrelated with stereotype-congruence. At test children made judgements about feature co-occurrence within the learned category. In each experiment these judgements were influenced by both stereotypical beliefs and exemplar observation. Stereotypical beliefs, however, had a greater influence on co-occurrence judgements in the knowledge-subtyping than in the standard conditions. In Experiment 2 these effects were shown to generalize to judgements about features that were not presented during training. These results challenge current models of knowledge-based categorization by showing that exemplar structure determines whether novel exemplar features are incorporated into category representations.     

Tridimensional personality traits of college student marijuana users

The present study examined the possibility that marijuana use among college students might be associated with particular personality traits. College student volunteers (N = 176) were administered the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire and a drug-use questionnaire. Analysis of variance showed that the mean score on Novelty Seeking was significantly higher and on Persistence significantly lower among lifetime marijuana users than among nonmarijuana using peers. Programs for prevention among college students may be enhanced by approaches tailored to individuals scoring high on Novelty Seeking and low on Persistence.