ECOBEHAVIORAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A PEDIATRIC BURN INJURY UNIT

Behavioral observations were conducted on 40 children admitted consecutively to an inpatient pediatric burn care unit (PBCU) over a 6-month period. Children's responses to the PBCU environment as well as adult responses to patients were assessed. Data indicated that children most frequently (a) were oriented and alert, (b) emitted vocalizations or verbalizations, (c) were environmentally engaged, (d) and demonstrated positive or neutral affective responding. Adult-child interactions occurred during the majority of observations. Age was found to be significantly related to the type of distress response exhibited. Positive responses indicative of patient well-being were found to be associated with environmental engagement and the presence of other patients. In general, little evidence emerged to support the notion of a PBCU response pattern which resembles that observed in pediatric intensive care units (i.e., ICU syndrome). The use of observational methods for studying the behavioral adaptation of children in medical settings and the implications of the data for the design of interventions on PBCUs are discussed.     

Developmental differences in visual processing: strategy versus structure

The present study was an examination of two contrasting explanations for the finding that young children tend to classify objects according to similarity relations whereas adults emphasize dimensional structure. Subjects from three different age groups were given tasks that tapped different aspects of the visual process: Feature search, Conjunction search, and Restricted Classification tasks. In addition, three different stimulus objects (a highly separable, a highly integral, and an intermediate dimensional combination) were studied to explore the contribution of stimulus structure in dictating the nature of the processing mode. The results provided evidence against the view that children perceive objects according to a more primitive holistic structure. Rather, the results can be taken with past research to suggest that less efficient visual processing may lead the younger subjects to adopt a classification strategy that emphasizes similarity relations. In addition, the current research supported Garner's (1974, The processing of information and structure, Potomac, MD: Erlbaum) suggestion that the nature of the processing mode is stimulus-driven.     

A CRT graphics system for experimental research

A graphics system to create, display, store, and print stimuli in a hardware-enhanced, microcomputer-driven CRT environment is described. This graphics system is compared with other computer-based systems, as well as with systems requiring the use of tachistoscopes.     

Pattern alternation: Effects of spatial frequency and orientation

Campbell and Howell (1972) reported an effect called “monocular pattern alternation.” They found that a pattern composed of two orthogonal sinusoidal gratings, one horizontal and the other vertical, underwent rivalry when viewed monocularly for a period of time. In the present study, it has been shown that monocular pattern alternation depends upon the orientation of the pattern and the spatial frequency of its components. Fewer reversals were found for an obliquely oriented pattern than for a pattern with components in the horizontal and vertical meridians. Alternation rate was higher when the gratings were similar in frequency but differed in orientation than when the components of the pattern differed in both dimensions. It was concluded that pattern alternation reflects an antagonistic interaction between interdependent channels in the human visual system that respond to orientation and spatial frequency.     

Family patterns leading to learning disability: A cognitive approach

Traditional treatment of the learning disabled child seeks to offer an individualized remediation. The authors offer as an alternative the innovative use of the family therapy modality for treatment of the learning dysfunction. This approaches the source of the learning dysfunction embedded in the faulty communication patterns within the family. The child has the opportunity to experience and more accurately comprehend the communication patterns, become more adept at interpretation of implicit meanings, and to transfer these developing skills to the formal learning situation.     

Spirituality in Disability and Illness

Spirituality appears with increasing frequency in the research literature, and a paradigm involving mind-body-spirit interaction is emerging. The relationship of spirituality to disability and illness is at the center of a growing body of knowledge. A comprehensive literature review supported spirituality as coping method among individuals experiencing a variety of illnesses including hypertension, pulmonary disease, diabetes, chronic renal failure, surgery, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, polio and addictive illnesses. Additionally, spirituality is a resource when dealing with critical illness as well as terminal illness and end of life issues, and it is utilized by both patients, and family members. Discussion of research findings, implications for health care practice and future research is also presented.