The Treatment of Substance‐Abusing Clients in Multiservice Mental Health Agencies: A Practice Analysis

This article examines the work behaviors related to counseling substance‐abusing clients by mental health service providers in multiservice mental health agencies. The results support the need for specialized knowledge and skills in working with substance‐abusing clients.     

The structure of effortful control in preschoolers and its relation to externalizing problems

The first aim of the present study was to examine the structure of effortful control. The second aim was to determine whether components of effortful control relate to conduct problems and hyperactivity. Effortful control was measured in 3‐year‐old children (N= 89) with an observational measure, the effortful control battery (ECB), and a parent report, the Children's Behaviour Questionnaire (CBQ). Principal component analysis showed that the ECB measures five components, assessing two higher‐order constructs, which can be labelled as Self‐Control and Attention/Motor Control. The five scales of the CBQ appeared to measure one construct – a more general measure of effortful control. The components and constructs of the ECB as well as the scales of the CBQ were differently related to conduct problems and hyperactivity. Conduct problems were most strongly predicted by observed Delay of Gratification and parent‐reported Inhibitory Control, whereas Hyperactivity was most strongly predicted by observed Delay of Gratification, and the higher‐order construct Attention/Motor Control, as well as parent‐reported Attentional Focusing and Inhibitory Control. It is important to keep in mind that effortful control is composed of heterogeneous components, all having their own unique values.     

Psychoneuroendocrine effects of resource-activating stress management training.

OBJECTIVE: The stress-induced release of cortisol has been linked to detrimental health outcomes. Therefore, strategies to attenuate cortisol stress responses are of interest for prevention and treatment of stress-related symptoms and problems. Previous studies have found protective effects of cognitive-behavioral stress management training--which focuses on the modification of stress-inducing cognitions--on cortisol stress responses; however, the effects of resource-oriented interventions on cortisol stress responses are unknown. DESIGN: The longitudinal effects of resource-oriented stress management training (Zurich resource model training) on cortisol stress responses and cognitive appraisal of a standardized psychosocial stress test were evaluated in 54 healthy male participants assigned randomly to treatment and control groups. The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST; C. Kirschbaum, Wust, & Strasburger, 1992) was administered to all participants 3 months after the treatment group underwent stress management training. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Saliva cortisol samples were taken before, during, and after the TSST, and cognitive stress appraisal was assessed before the test. RESULTS: The treatment group had significantly attenuated cortisol responses and stress appraisals in comparison to the control group. The endocrine differences were mediated by differences in cognitive appraisals. DISCUSSION: These results indicate that resource-oriented stress management training effectively reduces endocrine stress responses to stress in healthy adults.     

Effects of Tactile Sensations during Finger Painting on Mindfulness,Emotions, and Scope of Attention

Research has shown that creative performance, such as painting, influences affective and cognitive processes. Yet little is known about how tactile sensations experienced during painting determine what individuals feel and how they think while they create. Based on prior research, finger painting (compared to brush painting) was expected to generate more tactile sensations, enhance state mindfulness, and broaden the scope of attention. An effect of painting on emotional processing was also expected. Volunteers (N = 54) were randomly assigned to finger painting or brush painting sessions. The global-local test was used to measure scope of attention. Participants reported state mindfulness with a cued-recall rating dial method. Automated facial expression analysis provided a continuous index of emotions. In support of the hypotheses, finger painting was related to more tactile sensations, more state mindfulness, and a broader attentional focus. These results suggest that assigning finger painting to individuals is a viable method for improving state mindfulness and enhancing scope of attention. The effects for affective processes, however, are mixed.     

Meat on the menu? How the menu structure can stimulate vegetarian choices in restaurants

Excessive meat consumption has a negative impact on people's health, animal welfare, and the environment in general. Remarkably, however, despite the growing number of flexitarians, only a small number of people choose a vegetarian dish at a restaurant. Therefore, in the current study, we tested how vegetarian dishes need to be presented in order to stimulate the choice for these dishes. In an online study, participants were presented with one of four different menus: Either an all vegetarian menu, an all vegetarian menu with the possibility to add meat to each dish, a menu with increased offer on vegetarian dishes with explicit indication, and a menu with increased offer on vegetarian dishes without explicit indication. Subsequently, participants indicated how likely it was that they would eat in this restaurant and which dish they would choose (i.e., vegetarian or not). Additionally, they completed a reactance questionnaire. Results show that when people get the option to add meat to the vegetarian dishes on a menu this increases the choice for a vegetarian dish. No effect of menus on reactance and willingness to eat at a restaurant was found. These findings suggest that presenting meat as an alternative or additive option can help to change behavior toward a flexitarian lifestyle.     

Response–response binding across effector-set switches

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review - A single encounter of a response together with a stimulus results in short-lived binding between the stimulus and the response. A repetition of any part of such...