Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in the Treatment of Internalizing Disorders in High-Functioning Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Anxiety and depression are often comorbid with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). There is empirical support to suggest that cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is an efficacious treatment for comorbid anxiety disorders in youth with ASD. Modifications to CBT for youths with ASD have been made with emphasis on exposure being a critical component. Few studies have evaluated the efficacy of CBT on symptoms of depression in youths with ASD. Modifications to CBT will be outlined in this review, as will implementation suggestions for the clinician practicing CBT with ASD youth. Limitations of the studies investigating this intervention include small sample sizes, clinician- and parent-report of symptom change but not consistent self-identified change, limited validated tools for assessing change, and lack of long-term follow-up.     

African American Adolescent-Caregiver Relationships in a Weight Loss Trial

Successful family-based weight loss interventions for African American adolescents are rare. Parent-adolescent interactions supporting adoption of healthier nutrition and physical activity practices are not well understood. African American caregivers' and adolescents' perspectives on how they worked together to achieve weight loss need further exploration. This study describes the relationships experienced by adolescents and caregivers during the 6-month, evidence-based FIT Families weight loss trial and explores differences between families whose adolescents were successful and unsuccessful with weight loss. Exit interviews conducted with 136 adolescents (age 12–16 years; BMI percentile ≥95) and their caregivers (primarily mothers) were taped and transcribed verbatim. Content and thematic analysis was conducted to explore differences between groups stratified by weight loss. Five adolescent-caregiver relationship patterns emerged which describe dyads working together, working alone, working against each other; caregiver support and caregiver working on self. When relationship patterns were compared between groups stratified by weight loss, three themes emerged: motivation, support, and persistence. Families that achieved the greatest weight loss referred more often to working together to reach weight loss goals, attributed their success to adolescent self-motivation, with engaged caregiver support which allowed families to persist in change efforts. Family relationships involving adolescent autonomy, engaged parental support, and persistence despite challenges, clustered differently among adolescents who were successful at weight loss compared to those who were not. Interventionists trained to reinforce effective adolescent-parent interactions will advance behavioral interventions for families who have typically benefited least in prior interventions.     

Emotion Dysregulation Mediates the Relationship Between Child Maltreatment and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury

One risk factor for non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in adolescents is exposure to traumatic experiences, particularly child maltreatment. However, the mechanisms through which childhood maltreatment predicts NSSI are largely unknown. Emotion dysregulation (ED) is likely an important mechanism in this relationship. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between childhood maltreatment, ED, and NSSI in a sample of adolescent inpatients (n = 53). Results demonstrated that child physical and emotional maltreatment, but not child sexual abuse, was significantly associated with NSSI frequency. More specifically, ED mediated the relationship between child physical and emotional maltreatment and NSSI frequency. Findings support the importance of ED as a mediating factor in the relationship between childhood maltreatment and NSSI behaviors and highlight the need for teaching emotion regulation skills to youth affected by trauma.     

How honest are the signals? A protocol for validating wearable sensors

There is growing interest among organizational researchers in tapping into alternative sources of data beyond self-reports to provide a new avenue for measuring behavioral constructs. Use of alternative data sources such as wearable sensors is necessary for developing theory and enhancing organizational practice. Although wearable sensors are now commercially available, the veracity of the data they capture is largely unknown and mostly based on manufacturers’ claims. The goal of this research is to test the validity and reliability of data captured by one such wearable badge (by Humanyze) in the context of structured meetings where all individuals wear a badge for the duration of the encounter. We developed a series of studies, each targeting a specific sensor of this badge that is relevant for structured meetings, and we make specific recommendations for badge data usage based on our validation results. We have incorporated the insights from our studies on a website that researchers can use to conduct validation tests for their badges, upload their data, and assess the validity of the data. We discuss this website in the corresponding studies.     

Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration performance in children with traumatic brain injury and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Evaluation of visuoconstructional abilities is a common part of clinical neuropsychological assessment, and the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (VMI; K. E. Beery & N. A. Beery, 2004) is often used for this purpose. However, few studies have examined its psychometric properties when used to assess children and adolescents with traumatic brain injury (TBI) or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), even though these are among the most common acquired and neurodevelopmental forms of brain dysfunction in children. This study examined the validity of VMI scores in 123 children with TBI and 65 with ADHD. The TBI and ADHD groups performed significantly worse than the standardization sample, obtaining VMI mean scores of 87.2 (SD = 13.7) and 93.5 (SD = 11.27). Previous research has noted decrements in visuoconstructional abilities in TBI but relative sparing in ADHD. To examine the criterion validity of VMI scores, the authors therefore compared these 2 groups. As anticipated, the TBI group performed significantly worse than the ADHD group, but receiver operator characteristic analysis indicated that VMI scores were poor at discriminating between groups. Nonetheless, convergent validity evidence supported interpretation of VMI scores as measuring perceptual organization in both groups. In particular, principal components analysis indicated that VMI total scores loaded with perceptual organization tests from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 3rd ed. (WISC-III; D. Wechsler, 1997), and its highest correlation was with the WISC-III Perceptual Organization Index. Also, the VMI correlated significantly with the Grooved Pegboard test for the group with TBI. These findings suggest that VMI scores are sensitive to visuoconstructional and motor deficits in children with developmental and acquired brain dysfunction.     

Fear of Anxiety in Fearful Adults: An Analysis of Heterogeneity Among Phobia Types

Fear of anxiety, the fear of developing physiological symptoms associated with anxiety, is investigated in this study and the extent to which fear of anxiety is differentially present in the various subtypes of specific phobias. Participants were 260 undergraduate students divided into those having fears corresponding to one of the specific phobia types and those having no reported fears. Participants completed a variety of measures including the Agoraphobic Cognitions Questionnaire and the Body Sensations Questionnaire. Results indicated fearful participants had more fear of anxiety than non-fearful participants. In addition, non-fearful participants reported significantly less frequent catastrophic cognitions than fearful participants of the situational and other types. Non-fearful control participants also reported less fear of bodily sensations than fearful participants of the animal and other subtypes. This study provides supporting evidence that the phenomenon of fear of anxiety is present in fears similar to specific phobias.     

Emotion Regulation and Stress

This paper examines the similarities and differences between emotion regulation and stress coping and reviews research that suggests that the association between emotion regulation and stress may be explained by the common neural structures. Developmental changes related to emotion regulation and stress are also discussed. Overall, the research suggests that individuals vary in their ability to regulate emotions and cope with stress, and these abilities may differ across age. Little is known, however, about the factors that influence individual differences in emotion regulation and stress coping. We suggest that behavioral genetic designs may be an important avenue for future research. Such research would indicate the extent to which variation in emotion regulation and stress are due to genetic and/or environmental influences and further the extent to which common genetic and/or environmental factors explain the links between emotion regulation and stress.