Multimodal Rehabilitation: A Mind-Body Family-Based Intervention for Children and Adolescents Impaired by Medically Unexplained Symptoms. Part 2: Case Studies and Outcomes

In Part 2, we describe three cases implementing our mind-body, family-based, multimodal rehabilitation approach for treating children and adolescents presenting with medically unexplained symptoms. For each child and family, treatment interventions were selected and implemented, simultaneously or sequentially. In a cohort of 100 consecutively referred children, 56 suffered from, and were treated for, significant physical or chronic school absenteeism. Thirty-five of these children (63%) recovered fully, 10 (18%) had a relapsing course, 7 (12.5%) had chronic symptoms, and 4 (7%) were lost to follow-up. These outcomes suggest that mind-body multimodal rehabilitation is a successful, cost-effective model of treatment.     

The Influence of Race and Income on Community Mothers’ Acceptance of Child Management Methods

The consideration of diverse family factors on parents’ acceptance of behavioral parent training (BPT) components aids in the development and delivery of culturally sensitive parenting programs. Perceptions of acceptability are particularly important to investigate among low-income and racial-minority families, as they are less likely to engage in nonadapted BPT programs. Therefore, the current study examines the synergistic effects of race and income on mothers’ acceptance of five common child management methods relevant to BPT. The relationship between mothers’ acceptability ratings and self-reported parenting practices was also explored. Participants were 106 White and Black mothers from different income levels who completed measures related to the acceptability of response cost, positive reinforcement, time-out, spanking, and medication. The results indicated that mothers from varying backgrounds differed in their acceptance of child management methods, particularly with regard to corporal punishment. Additionally, a relationship was found between parents’ acceptability ratings and their self-reported parenting behavior. The findings support the consideration of parents’ perceptions of child discipline methods when recommending and delivering BPT programs to diverse parents.     

Thinking,Doing, and the Ethics of Family Therapy

In this article, we examine how family therapists develop their capacity to make ethical decisions in clinical practice. We present an approach to clinical ethics that builds upon, and integrates the central features of, professional training and development in family therapy itself. We also explore the similarities and differences between the theoretical, top-down approach of bioethics, with its emphasis on “principled decision making,” and the clinical, pragmatic, bottom-up approach discussed here.     

Interactive Effects of Discrimination and Racial Identity on Alcohol-Related Thoughts and Use

The interrelationships among racial discrimination, non race-based rejection, racial identity (RI), and alcohol cognitions and use were assessed in this research. In Study 1, individuals who experienced overt discrimination and who were high in RI were less likely than those low in RI to meet criteria for alcohol abuse disorder. In Study 2, discrimination and rejection were causally related to a faster reaction time in a lexical decision task to alcohol-related concepts as compared to neutral words, especially for those low in RI. Implications of discrimination and rejection on substance use and other risky health behaviors are discussed.     

Inhibitory control interacts with core knowledge in toddlers’ manual search for an occluded object

Core knowledge theories advocate the primacy of fundamental principles that constrain cognitive development from early infancy. However, there is concern that core knowledge of object properties does not constrain older preschoolers’ reasoning during manual search. Here we address in detail both failure and success on two well-established search measures that require reasoning about solidity. We show that poor performance arises from an inability to engage the appropriate search strategy rather than a simple failure of core knowledge. Moreover, we demonstrate that successful search is positively correlated with inhibitory control. We believe that toddlers’ manual search for an occluded object reflects a general capacity to deploy inhibition so that search behaviour can be guided by core knowledge.     

Learning strategy trumps motivational level in determining learning-induced auditory cortical plasticity

Associative memory for auditory-cued events involves specific plasticity in the primary auditory cortex (A1) that facilitates responses to tones which gain behavioral significance, by modifying representational parameters of sensory coding. Learning strategy, rather than the amount or content of learning, can determine this learning-induced cortical (high order) associative representational plasticity (HARP). Thus, tone-contingent learning with signaled errors can be accomplished either by (1) responding only during tone duration (“tone-duration” strategy, T-Dur), or (2) responding from tone onset until receiving an error signal for responses made immediately after tone offset (“tone-onset-to-error”, TOTE). While rats using both strategies achieve the same high level of performance, only those using the TOTE strategy develop HARP, viz., frequency-specific decreased threshold (increased sensitivity) and decreased bandwidth (increased selectivity) (Berlau & Weinberger, 2008). The present study challenged the generality of learning strategy by determining if high motivation dominates in the formation of HARP. Two groups of adult male rats were trained to bar-press during a 5.0 kHz (10 s, 70 dB) tone for a water reward under either high (HiMot) or moderate (ModMot) levels of motivation. The HiMot group achieved a higher level of correct performance. However, terminal mapping of A1 showed that only the ModMot group developed HARP, i.e., increased sensitivity and selectivity in the signal-frequency band. Behavioral analysis revealed that the ModMot group used the TOTE strategy while HiMot subjects used the T-Dur strategy. Thus, type of learning strategy, not level of learning or motivation, is dominant for the formation of cortical plasticity.     

Sex Differences in Furniture Assembly Performance: An Experimental Study

This study examined sex differences in furniture assembly performance by manipulating the availability of instructions. Two groups of participants with an equal number of men and women assembled a kitchen trolley from IKEA. One group received step‐by‐step instructions, and the other group a diagram of the finished product. In addition, individual spatial ability was measured with the mental rotation test (MRT) and added to the analyses. Our results showed that men assembled the furniture faster (d = 0.78) and more accurately (d = 0.65) than women. Overall, participants performed better with step‐by‐step instructions than without (d = 0.61), and the time spent on instructions was negatively related to MRT scores, r = ?.428, p = .006. Aside from the time spent on instructions, women assembled the furniture nearly as fast as men did, and the sex difference in assembly score could be explained by differences in individual spatial ability. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Examining Individual Differences in Social Reward Valuation: a Person-Based Approach

Social reward refers to the motivational and pleasurable aspects of our interactions with other people. While some people experience social encounters as pleasurable, others experience them as aversive. However, the current knowledge on individual differences in social reward valuation in relation to pro- and antisocial personality characteristics is limited. The Social Reward Questionnaire (SRQ) was developed to assess individual differences in the value of different types of social rewards. First, the present study examined the validity and reliability of the Dutch version of the SRQ in a Dutch and Flemish community sample (N?=?1892). Second, using latent profile analysis (LPA), it was investigated whether subgroups of participants existed with distinctive patterns of social reward valuation, and whether these subgroups differed in their level of psychopathic traits, aggression, and social anxiety. The results confirmed the original six-factor structure and showed good reliability and validity. The LPA identified four classes of individuals, labelled as: Low Social Interest, High Social Interest, Undifferentiated Social Reward-seekers, and Socially Cruel. These classes were further typified by distinct levels of psychopathy, reactive and proactive aggression, and social anxiety. The present findings contribute to our understanding of individual variability in the underlying motives of social behaviors.