Reengagement With Education: A Multidisciplinary Home-School-Clinic Approach Developed in Australia for School-Refusing Youth

School refusal (SR) can result in decreased academic achievement, impaired social connections, and family stress. Current interventions for SR include behavioral and cognitive-behavioral treatments that are not always effective. Incorporating multidisciplinary work that includes therapeutic and educational interventions may enhance outcomes for youth displaying SR. The In2School program fosters a working partnership between mental health clinicians and teachers. It was designed to meet the needs of young people missing more than 50% of school in the previous 6 weeks due to mental health disorders, including anxiety or depression. This paper reports on an action research study in which the In2School program was piloted. Over a 14-week period, therapeutic and educational interventions were integrated into the learning environment via a transitional classroom to support youths’ return to school. Outcomes of this program are reported for the first cohort of 7 youth. Of these youth, 6 returned to mainstream schooling with attendance levels being maintained for 6 months after completing the intervention. Progress was observed in mental health recovery, quality of life reports, increased social interactions with peers, and positive experiences at school. The preliminary results presented in this paper suggest that a multidisciplinary, home-school-clinic intervention holds promise for helping school-refusing youth to return to school.     

Meta-analysis of the effects of third-wave behavioural interventions on disordered eating and body image concerns: implications for eating disorder prevention

Third-wave behavioural interventions are increasingly popular for treating and preventing mental health conditions. Recently, researchers have begun testing whether these interventions can effectively targeting eating disorder risk factors (disordered eating, body image concerns). This meta-analysis examined whether third-wave behavioural interventions (acceptance and commitment therapy; dialectical behaviour therapy; mindfulness-based interventions; compassion-focused therapy) show potential for being effective eating disorder prevention programs, by testing their effects on eating disorder risk factors in samples without an eating disorder. Twenty-four studies (13 randomized trials) were included. Most studies delivered selective prevention programs (i.e. participants who reported elevated risk factor). Third-wave interventions led to significant pre–post (g = 0.59; 95% CI = 0.43, 0.75) and follow-up (g = 0.83; 95% CI = 0.38, 1.28) improvements in disordered eating, and significant pre–post improvements in body image (g = 0.35; 95% CI = 0.13, 0.56). DBT-based interventions were associated with the largest effects. Third-wave interventions were also significantly more efficacious than wait-lists (g = 0.39; 95% CI = 0.09, 0.69) in reducing disordered eating, but did not differ to other interventions (g = 0.25; 95% CI = –0.06, 0.57). Preliminary evidence suggests that third-wave interventions may have a beneficial effect in ameliorating eating disorder risk.     

A Kuhnian critique of Hume on miracles

In Part I of “Of Miracles,” Hume argues that belief in miracle-testimony is never justified. While Hume’s argument has been widely criticized and defended along a number of different veins, including its import on scientific inquiry, this paper takes a novel approach by comparing Hume’s argument with Thomas Kuhn’s account of scientific anomalies. This paper makes two arguments: first that certain types of scientific anomalies—those that conflict with the corresponding paradigm theory—are analogous to miracles in the relevant ways. Note, importantly, that the argument applies only to the first definition of ‘miracle’ that Hume offers (i.e. ‘miracle’ as a “violation of the laws of nature.”) Second, it argues that we are sometimes rationally justified in believing testimony for scientific anomalies (that conflict with the corresponding paradigm theory), because there have been several cases of scientists accepting such anomalies and—assuming certain criteria are met—we are rationally justified in believing these scientists. If both arguments are successful, then it is possible to be rationally justified in believing miracle-testimony, though the extent of justification depends on various criteria and comes in degrees. After examining a few objections, the paper concludes by contextualizing this argument in relation to Part II of Hume’s essay and in relation to broader apologetic concerns. In short, it is vital to recognize that this paper’s focus is Hume’s first account of ‘miracle,’ rather than his argument against miracle-testimony more broadly, but the argument could be coupled with other arguments against Hume’s broader attack on miracle-testimony.

     

The approach–avoidance dilemma at the heart of group-based support: Evidence that group identification increases willingness to seek support at the same time that identity-based support threat reduces it

Despite the benefits of shared group membership, group members often experience an approach–avoidance dilemma when seeking support. At the same time that group members’ willingness to seek support is increased by the positive implications of group identification (the approach hypothesis), it is reduced by negative implications, including the capacity for support to threaten their standing in the group (the avoidance hypothesis). As this dilemma predicts, we find evidence that as participants’ group identification increases, their willingness to seek support increases, but that this willingness is simultaneously reduced by increased identity-based support threat (Study 1, N = 125; Study 2, N = 161). Furthermore, manipulated support threat decreases willingness to seek support. In a team-based game (Study 3, N = 117), support threat is reduced when group norms encourage support-seeking, leading to increases in support-seeking behavior through increases in willingness to seek support, as predicted by the avoidance-reduction hypothesis. Implications for strategies to promote effective social support in intragroup contexts are discussed.     

In Search of Meaning: A Preliminary Typology of Gay Male Spiritual Identity Development

Reconciliation of the conflict between religious identity and sexual orientation has been related to a number of psychological challenges (Lease, Horne, & Noffsinger‐Frazier, 2005; Schuck & Liddle, 2001), and little is known about the convergence of spiritual identity, distinctly defined as separate from religious identity, and sexual orientation identity. This qualitative inquiry investigated the process by which 7 Caucasian gay men from a variety of religious backgrounds constructed spiritual identities outside the realm of institutionalized religion. From the findings, the authors hypothesize a typology of spiritual development influenced by religions of origin. Limitations of the study, implications, and future directions in research are also addressed.     

‘It’s the unknown’ – understanding anxiety: from the perspective of people with multiple sclerosis

Objective: A qualitative study of PwMS who had clinically significant levels of anxiety was conducted to gain a richer perspective on their experience. The objective was to explore PwMS’ experiences of anxiety and their perspectives on causes and outcomes. Design: Twenty in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with PwMS consecutively recruited from the Neurology Department of a NHS University Hospital. Sixteen had a relapsing-remitting course, three had a secondary progressive course and one person had primary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Results: Although participants thought different factors had initially triggered their anxiety, being given the diagnosis of MS appeared to be the most significant factor for many participants. Difficulties in the workplace and in relationships, particularly related to perceived dependence on others were also important themes. A wide range of emotional responses and negative thinking patterns were associated with anxiety; this suggested the presence of comorbid depression. Participants were able to acknowledge the positive and negative coping strategies that impacted on their anxiety. Conclusion: This review confirms that anxiety can have many negative implications for PwMS and suggests that early detection and intervention are necessary in order to improve patient’s well-being.     

Implementation intentions facilitate prospective memory under high attention demands

An implementation intention is a planning technique that involves specifying a situation for initiating an intended action and linking these specific cues to the intention. In two experiments with young adults, we found significant increases in prospective memory with implementation intentions. With an implementation intention, but not with standard instructions, prospective memory performance was maintained under demanding attentional conditions (Experiment 2). Ongoing task performance did not decline, however, in relation with a no prospective memory control. Positive effects were not observed when the imagery component of the implementation intention was isolated from the verbal component. We suggest that implementation intention planning (relative to standard instructions) increases the likelihood that people will encode a robust associative link between the target cue and the intended action, thereby promoting reflexive triggering of the intended action on presentation of the target cue.     

Feedback enhances the positive effects and reduces the negative effects of multiple-choice testing

Multiple-choice tests are used frequently in higher education without much consideration of the impact this form of assessment has on learning. Multiple-choice testing enhances retention of the material tested (the testing effect); however, unlike other tests, multiple-choice can also be detrimental because it exposes students to misinformation in the form of lures. The selection of lures can lead students to acquire false knowledge (Roediger & Marsh, 2005). The present research investigated whether feedback could be used to boost the positive effects and reduce the negative effects of multiple-choice testing. Subjects studied passages and then received a multiple-choice test with immediate feedback, delayed feedback, or no feedback. In comparison with the no-feedback condition, both immediate and delayed feedback increased the proportion of correct responses and reduced the proportion of intrusions (i.e., lure responses from the initial multiple-choice test) on a delayed cued recall test. Educators should provide feedback when using multiple-choice tests.     

Toddlers' use of cues in a search task

Search for a ball that has undergone hidden motion rapidly improves during the second year of life (Dev. Psychol., 2000; 36 :394–401). In three experiments we investigated whether the poor performance of younger toddlers was due to attentional failure by highlighting the major cue for the hidden object. We observed only slight improvement in search behaviour. We performed two other experiments that tested the depth of understanding of 3‐year‐olds in this task and found that their performance was robust to changes in the apparatus and experimental procedures. Overall, the results point to a rapidly developing ability in the second year of life to either reason about space or select the correct motor response in search tasks. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Maternal and child contributions to cortisol response to emotional arousal in young children from low-income, rural communities

Relations of maternal and child characteristics to child cortisol reactivity to and recovery from emotional arousal were examined prospectively at approximately 7 months of age (infancy) and then again at approximately 15 months of age (toddlerhood). The sample was diverse and population based (N = 1,292 mother-infant dyads) and included families from predominantly low-income, rural communities. Maternal behavior, family income-to-need ratio and social advantage, and child temperament, attention, and mental development were assessed, and children's saliva was sampled before and after standardized procedures designed to elicit emotional arousal. Maternal engagement in infancy was associated with greater cortisol reactivity at the infancy assessment and with reduced overall cortisol level at the toddler assessment. Also at the toddler assessment, child attention, mental development, and temperamental distress to novelty were associated with increased cortisol reactivity and regulation, whereas temperamental distress to limitations and African American ethnicity were associated with reduced cortisol reactivity. Findings are consistent with prior work linking early caregiving to the development of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis stress response system and with a conceptual model in which developing temperament is characterized by the interplay of emotional reactivity and the emergence of the ability to effortfully regulate this reactivity using attention.