The Long-Term Effects of Group-Based Psychological Interventions for Children With Tourette Syndrome: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This randomized controlled trial examined the long-term effects of group-based psychological interventions on measures of tic severity, self-reported quality of life (QOL), and school attendance. Children (n = 28) with Tourette syndrome (TS) were assessed 12 months after completing a course of either group-based Habit Reversal Training (HRT) or Education.Both groups demonstrated long-term improvement in tic severity and QOL, which included significant continued improvement during the follow-up (FU) period. Both groups also showed significant posttreatment improvement in school attendance. Further research is required to explore potential therapeutic mechanisms, independent or mutual, which may underlie long-term symptom improvements.     

A Survey of Rewards for Teens: Extension and 25-Year Follow-Up

Extant reward surveys and item preferences assessments have shown to be a reliable mode of ascertaining potential reinforcers for various populations; however, many are outdated and may comprise of items or rewards that contemporary populations may not value. The purpose of this research is to extend upon the Houlihan, Jesse, Levine, and Sombke (1991 Houlihan, D., Jesse, V. C., Levine, H. D., &; Sombke, C. (1991). A survey for use with teenage children. Child &; Family Behavior Therapy, 13(1), 1–11.[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) Survey of Rewards for Teens (SORT) and assess whether there is evidence of a potential, generational shift in reward preferences in high school students from 1991 to 2016. This inquiry is of particular importance to behavior analysts due to the idiosyncratic nature of reward preference, a tendency for rewards to shift over time, and the salient role played by rewards in behavior therapy programs. Results suggest that the reward preferences of contemporary high school students differ when compared to the sample of adolescents in Houlihan et al. (1991 Houlihan, D., Jesse, V. C., Levine, H. D., &; Sombke, C. (1991). A survey for use with teenage children. Child &; Family Behavior Therapy, 13(1), 1–11.[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) study. In addition, a proposed revision of the SORT is provided, whose development was derived based on the resulting component structure from a principal components analysis (PCA) and inspection of component psychometric properties.     

The Role of Science in Evangelical Hermeneutics

In this article, I argue that evangelical Christians can accommodate science within the limits of strict Biblical exegesis governed by grammatical-historical hermeneutics. To this end, I describe the grammatical-historical method to show how science enters into it. I then distinguish between theological and exegetical uses of science. Next, I use Lakatos’ philosophy of science to distinguish between ad hoc and well-motivated exegetical moves. Based upon these criteria, I then present the gap- and day-age theories as examples of hermeneutical failure in the accommodation of science. Finally, I use the framework interpretation to illustrate a hermeneutically successful accommodation of science.     

Mind the gap: evolutionary psychological perspectives on human thriving

The amount of psychological literature focusing on human thriving and flourishing has grown in recent years, but this topic is currently subject to much conceptual ambiguity. Evolutionary psychology, though often not included in discussions on optimal human development, provides a framework that benefits considerations of human thriving. Humans exhibit a high degree of niche construction by which they alter their environment, in turn affecting their offspring. Such niche construction is enabled by unique human capacities, but these same capacities are then required to ‘mind the gap’ between human nature and the altered environmental niche. As such, thriving may in part be understood as the ability of the individual to navigate difficulties resulting from a mismatch between their nature and niche. Three unique features of the human species that are used to both create and navigate this gap are considered as they relate to the existing literature on human thriving.     

The Sacred Sites of Houston: A Novel Experiential Course for Undergraduate Medical Education on Religion and Spirituality

Journal of Religion and Health - Medical schools are charged to deliver a curriculum on religion and spirituality (R/S), so a novel experiential course, the Sacred Sites of Houston, was developed....     

Concepts of Health-Related Quality of Life of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children: Parent Perceptions

Applied Research in Quality of Life - Health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) is a valued patient-related outcome measure. HR-QoL is typically measured using a psychometric tool. Although there are...     

The use of commitment techniques to support weight loss maintenance in obese adolescents

Objectives: Obesity is a rising problem in adolescents related to unhealthy behaviours. Commitment devises are one type of behavioural intervention that may help people change their behaviours. The current pilot trial tests whether commitment devices delivered via text message help adolescents maintain their recent weight loss.

Methods: During a 12-week pilot trial, adolescents who attended a weight loss camp were randomly assigned to either received text messages that contained only information, i.e. advice, about weight loss management (n = 13) or asked for them to commit to following the same advise (n = 14).

Results: The BMI of the adolescents in the commitment group did not change. In contrast, the BMI of adolescents in the information group increased. A linear regression revealed that group was a significant predictor of BMI change. A logistic regression revealed that adolescents in the information group were nearly eight times more likely to regain weight than those in the commitment group.

Conclusions: This is the first study with adolescents to show weight maintenance using a commitment device. The results suggest that commitment devices can help adolescents maintain their recent weight loss.     

Imagining Garage Start-Ups: Interactive Effects of Imaginative Capacities on Entrepreneurial Intention

This article describes a structural examination of the interaction among different imaginative capacities and the entrepreneurial intention of electrical and computer engineering students. Two studies were combined to confirm the factor structure of survey items and test the hypothesised interaction model. The results indicated that imaginative capacity has 3 dimensions: conceiving, initiating, and transforming, whereas entrepreneurial intention comprises 2 factors: conviction and preparation. In addition, the results indicated that initiating imagination strongly affected entrepreneurial conviction and preparation; conceiving imagination positively predicted entrepreneurial conviction, whereas transforming imagination negatively predicted entrepreneurial preparation. The results also indicated that students possessing high, as well as those possessing low, conceiving and transforming imaginations demonstrated a high level of entrepreneurial preparation. In addition, an increase in transforming imagination increases the preparation of students possessing low initiating imagination and reduces the preparation of students possessing high initiating imagination. For developing a novel approach to conduct research on entrepreneurial intention and for discussing the practical implications of the findings, this study explicates alternative methods of cultivating students, promoting their interests, and enabling entrepreneurial behaviour in them by stimulating their imaginative capacities.