A preliminary evaluation of two behavioral skills training procedures for teaching abduction-prevention skills to schoolchildren

Although child abduction is a low-rate event, it presents a serious threat to the safety of children. The victims of child abduction face the threat of physical and emotional injury, sexual abuse, and death. Previous research has shown that behavioral skills training (BST) is effective in teaching children abduction-prevention skills, although not all children learn the skills. This study compared BST only to BST with an added in situ training component to teach abduction-prevention skills in a small-group format to schoolchildren. Results showed that both programs were effective in teaching abduction-prevention skills. In addition, the scores for the group that received in situ training were significantly higher than scores for the group that received BST alone at the 3-month follow-up assessment.     

The use of the Ego Impairment Index across the schizophrenia spectrum

The goal of this study was to assess perceptual and thought disturbance, as indexed by the Ego Impairment Index (EII; Perry & Viglione, 1991), a Rorschach-derived measure, across the schizophrenia spectrum. We hypothesized that there would be an increase in EII scores (indicating increased disturbance) across the spectrum from nonpatients to severely disturbed, hospitalized schizophrenia patients. Normal comparison participants (n = 66), students with elevated scores on either the Perceptual Aberration/Magical Ideation or the Physical Anhedonia Scales (n = 24), first-degree relatives of schizophrenia patients (n = 36), participants diagnosed with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed. [DSM-IV]; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) schizotypal personality disorder (n = 36), outpatient schizophrenia participants (n = 33), and hospitalized schizophrenia patients (n = 56) were studied. As hypothesized, we found increased EII scores in all of the schizophrenia spectrum groups when compared against normal comparison participants. Furthermore, the EII was significantly different between the schizophrenia patients and the other schizophrenia spectrum groups. These findings support the use of the EII as a sensitive measure of perceptual and thought disturbance across the schizophrenia spectrum that yields specific information regarding the type of thinking problems that occur within schizophrenia spectrum subgroups.     

A prescribed employee fitness program and job-related attitudes

A prescribed physical fitness exercise program was initiated in a small furniture manufacturing plant. The present purpose was to investigate the effect of an intervention to change employees' attitudes and sense of well-being. The objective was to evaluate the changes in employees' attitudes (well-being) attributable to the exercise program. The method of evaluation was the survey administered to a treatment (n = 22) and a mixed (n = 30) control group. A multidimensional attitude survey questionnaire was administered to assess effects over a 6-mo. period. While some changes in job attitudes were observed for the treatment group, those were not the expected changes. Possible explanations for the findings are discussed.     

Exploring the validity of the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) with established emotions measures

Emotions measures represent an important means of obtaining construct validity evidence for emotional intelligence (EI) tests because they have the same theoretical underpinnings. Additionally, the extent to which both emotions and EI measures relate to intelligence is poorly understood. The current study was designed to address these issues. Participants (N = 138) completed the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT), two emotions measures, as well as four intelligence tests. Results provide mixed support for the model hypothesized to underlie the MSCEIT, with emotions research and EI measures failing to load on the same factor. The emotions measures loaded on the same factor as intelligence measures. The validity of certain EI components (in particular, Emotion Perception), as currently assessed, appears equivocal.     

Strength-Based Assessment of Rural African American Early Adolescents: Characteristics of Students in High and Low Groups on the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale

Early adolescents strengths were examined in relation to factors that are associated with developmental risk or resilience in two rural low-income southern communities. The sample was comprised 279 students (101 boys, 178 girls), all of whom were African American and reflected the public school attendance of this community. Parent reports on the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS) were used to assess strengths. BERS scores were examined in relation to academic, behavioral, and social characteristics of participants. For girls, total strength scores on the BERS were positively associated with indices of high competence and negatively associated with problematic characteristics. For boys, high and low total strength scores differentiated between youth who did and did not have risks associated with externalizing behavior problems. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for assessment and prevention.     

Adrenocorticotrophic hormone modulates Escherichia coli O157:H7 adherence to porcine colonic mucosa

Exposure to stress is associated with susceptibility to disease and one stress mediator, norepinephrine, has been reported to enhance the adherence of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 (EHEC) to the colonic mucosa. We tested the hypothesis that adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and other stress-related hormones may act in a similar fashion. Explants of distal colonic mucosa from young pigs were mounted in Ussing chambers and their luminal aspect was exposed to EHEC strain 700728 for 30-90 min. When added to the contraluminal, but not luminal bathing medium, ACTH increased EHEC adherence within 90 min in a concentration-dependent manner (EC50 = 1.2 nM), but did not alter tissue electrical conductance. ACTH had no effect on the adherence of a pig-adapted non-O157 E. coli strain. The effect of 0.1 microM ACTH on luminal EHEC adherence was prevented in tissues pretreated contraluminally with the type 2 melanocortin receptor antagonist ACTH7-38, the neuronal conduction blocker saxitoxin, or the muscarinic cholinergic antagonist atropine. Moreover, ACTH7-38 decreased EHEC adherence in the absence of ACTH. These results suggest that ACTH acts via melanocortin receptors located on enteric nerves to enhance mucosal adherence of EHEC.     

Mortgaging the future: Dumping ethics with nuclear waste

On August 22, 2005 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued proposed new regulations for radiation releases from the planned permanent U.S. nuclear-waste repository in Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The goal of the new standards is to provide public-health protection for the next million years — even though everyone admits that the radioactive wastes will leak. Regulations now guarantee individual and equal protection against all radiation exposures above the legal limit. Instead E.P.A. recommended different radiation exposure-limits for different time periods. It also recommended using only the arithmetic mean of the dose distribution, to assess regulatory compliance during one time period, but using only the median dose to assess compliance during another period. This piece argues that these two changes — in exposure-limits and in methods of assessing regulatory compliance — have at least four disturbing consequences. The changes would threaten equal protection, ignore the needs of the most vulnerable, allow many fatal exposures, and sanction scientifically flawed dose calculations.     

Can children recognize pride?

Recent research has shown that pride, like the "basic" emotions of anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise, has a distinct, nonverbal expression that can be recognized by adults (J. L. Tracy & R. W. Robins, 2004b). In 2 experiments, the authors examined whether young children can identify the pride expression and distinguish it from expressions of happiness and surprise. Results suggest that (a) children can recognize pride at above-chance levels by age 4 years; (b) children recognize pride as well as they recognize happiness; (c) pride recognition, like happiness and surprise recognition, improves from age 3 to 7 years; and (d) children's ability to recognize pride cannot be accounted for by the use of a process of elimination (i.e., an exclusion rule) to identify an unknown entity. These findings have implications for the development of emotion recognition and children's ability to perceive and communicate pride.     

Acute nicotine withdrawal symptoms and anxious responding to bodily sensations: a test of incremental predictive validity among young adult regular smokers

Although previous work has found associations between panic and smoking, little research has investigated potential mechanisms by which smoking may contribute to panic problems. The present investigation evaluated the incremental validity of acute nicotine withdrawal symptoms (elicited by an average of 2 h of nicotine deprivation) relative to negative affectivity, anxiety sensitivity, and nicotine dependence in predicting anxiety responding to 3-min voluntary hyperventilation. The sample consisted of 90 regular smokers (46 females), as defined by smoking 10 cigarettes per day for at least 1 year, recruited through the general community. Consistent with prediction, greater levels of pre-challenge nicotine withdrawal symptoms uniquely predicted post-challenge intensity of panic symptoms and anxiety relative to other established factors. Findings are discussed in the context of how regular smoking may promote panic symptomotology.     

A public/private partnership in offering relationship education to the Norwegian population

This article is an overview of the relationship education field in Norway. We explain the roles of the national authorities and private organizations in education, and analyze achievements and challenges in the field. Involvement and economic support from the national authorities have made relationship education available to large groups of the population, though the characteristics of those who choose to attend are largely unknown. To ensure recruitment of those most in need of education, new strategies based on systematic information on barriers among different groups of the population must be developed. A variety of relationship education programs are offered by public and private organizations, with the U.S.-developed Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) being the most widespread. We present preliminary data of an effectiveness evaluation of PREP workshops in Norway. In general, participants evaluate the workshops positively. It is important to tailor relationship education to fit the various customs, beliefs, and challenges of couples attending programs.