Exploring Issues of Generalization and Maintenance in Training Instructional Aides in a Public School Setting

In today’s climate, with the ever-increasing demand for competent behavior analytic services, it is necessary for behavior analysts to work across a variety of settings, including home, school, and community, overseeing instructional aide staff as the frontline providers of applied behavior analysis (ABA) services. It is common practice for ABA practitioners to provide the supervision and training to parents, caregivers, and direct-care staff, who may have limited knowledge and experience within the field of ABA. In 2013, the Behavior Analysis Certification Board (BACB^®) initiated an effort to establish standards for the training of instructional aides and direct-care staff in the delivery of instructional and treatment services based on the principles of ABA. This new standard and credential is known as a Registered Behavior Technician? (RBT^®). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the training process outlined by the BACB, focusing specifically on the generalizability and long-term maintenance of newly acquired skills taught through a competency-based approach, to novel opportunities for implementation. Training was conducted through two methods: in vivo training with clients versus role-play with peers. Both these types of staff training approaches are commonly used instructional practices in the field of ABA.     

Comparing Live and Video Observation to Assess Early Parent-child Interactions in the Home

Observation is the ‘gold standard’ for assessing parent-child behavior, however few studies have compared coding live, in real time, versus coding from videotapes in terms of their achievable levels of coder reliability within the field of parent programme research. This is important for practitioners and researchers for whom decisions might be influenced by time and financial constraints, but where outcomes may have real practical and clinical implications. Trained coders in the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System Revised, coded 40 half-hour videotapes of 33 parent-toddler dyads interacting in the home on 29 items of dyadic behaviour. Four theorised composite variables were constructed. Videotaped data were compared to data drawn from the same interactions previously coded ‘live’ in the home. Correlations indicated significant agreement between the two modes at the item by item level (p?<?.001). Wilcoxon Rank tests revealed significant differences (p?<?.001) between the two modes. Eight items exceeded a ±30% change in median score suggesting clinically relevant differences. Although both methods achieved acceptable levels of inter-rater reliability, video coding achieved higher levels of agreement. Subtle differences exist between the two modes. Whilst neither mode proved superior it is suggested that they should not be used interchangeably.     

Conscientiousness and adherence to the oral contraceptive pill: a cross-sectional analysis of the facets of conscientiousness

We examine the association between a six-facet model of conscientiousness and adherence to the Oral Contraceptive Pill (OCP), to investigate if these 6 facets can account for variation in adherence to the OCP. Cross-sectional data were collected from an opportunity sample of 243 female participants who were current users of the OCP, via online survey. Data were analysed using correlation and standard regression. The 60-item Chernyshenko Conscientiousness Scale (CCS), the 10-item IPIP Conscientiousness (IPIP C) subscale and the 5-item OCP Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS) were employed. Both the total CCS (ρ = ?0.26, p < 0.01) and the IPIP C scale (ρ = ?0.22, p < 0.01) were associated with MARS. All facets measured by the CCS had small to medium-sized statistically significant correlations (r > ?0.18 and r < ?0.23, p < 0.05) with OCP adherence with the exception of traditionalism. Within a multivariable model, the six facets accounted for 7.1% of variance (p < 0.01) in adherence to the OCP. No one facet made a significant unique contribution to the model. These findings replicate and extend previous links between conscientiousness and OCP adherence. Further research should be conducted to establish the reliability of these findings in a general population of OCP users. Future interventions should focus on the development of interventions which take conscientiousness into consideration.     

Mourning’s dissonance; who am I who mourns and whom do I mourn?

In this article I explore how a relational psychoanalytic and phenomenological perspective can open out new possibilities for interpretations of experiences of bereavement. I critically discuss Freud’s acclaimed paper, ‘Mourning and melancholia’ in the light of work by philosophers Merleau-Ponty (a phenomenologist) and Judith Butler (a contemporary post-modern feminist philosopher). I reflect on how questions of identity, language, and embodiment, crucial themes in Merleau-Ponty’s and Butler’s theorising of human subjectivities, emerge in two literary/autobiographical accounts of mourning: Nora Webster, by the contemporary Irish writer, Colm Tóibín, and Mourning Diary by the French philosopher, Roland Barthes. Through my discussion of these philosophical and literary texts I argue for a psychoanalytic perspective which is attuned to the conscious and unconscious subtleties and complexities of mourning and engages with the ways in which the identities of the mourner and the mourned and the relations between them are, for the mourner, constantly in flux. I emphasize the importance of attending in the psychoanalytic relationship to the specificity and uniqueness of individuals’ languages of mourning and to the effects on experiences of bereavement of gender, race, class, sexuality, age, and physical ability within particular socio-historical and cultural contexts.     

“You Have to Sit and Explain it All,and Explain Yourself.” Mothers’ Experiences of Support Services for Their Offspring with a Rare Genetic Intellectual Disability Syndrome

The experiences of mothers of adult offspring with Angelman, Cornelia de Lange, or Cri du Chat syndrome have not been previously explored in research. The current study focuses on experiences with social and medical services and the impact the rareness of an adult offspring’s syndrome has on the experiences of mothers. Eight mothers of adults with Angelman, Cornelia de Lange, or Cri du Chat syndrome were interviewed. Thematic Content Analysis was used to interpret the interviews. Four themes emerged from the analysis: (i) The rarity of their offspring’s syndrome, (ii) Uneven medical and social care service provision, (iii) The inertia of social care services, and (iv) Mothers as advocates. Mothers felt that the rareness of their offspring’s syndrome did not affect experiences with social care services, but did affect access to medical services and some aspects of day-to-day living. Accessing appropriate social care services was reported to be a lengthy and complex process. These data may help inform care service providers about how best to support adults with rare genetic syndromes and their families.     

Validation of a Self-Concept Scale for Lynch Syndrome in Different Nationalities

Learning about hereditary cancer may influence an individual’s self-concept, which otherwise represents a complex but stable cognitive structure. Recently, a 20-statement self-concept scale, with subscales related to stigma-vulnerability and bowel symptom-related anxiety, was developed for Lynch syndrome. We compared the performance of this scale in 591 mutation carriers from Denmark, Sweden and Canada. Principal component analysis identified two sets of linked statements—the first related to feeling different, isolated and labeled, and the second to concern and worry about bowel changes. The scale performed consistently in the three countries. Minor differences were identified, with guilt about passing on a defective gene and feelings of losing one’s privacy being more pronounced among Canadians, whereas Danes more often expressed worries about cancer. Validation of the Lynch syndrome self-concept scale supports its basic structure, identifies dependence between the statements in the subscales and demonstrates its applicability in different Western populations.     

The interim test effect: Testing prior material can facilitate the learning of new material

A wealth of prior research has shown that testing can improve subsequent learning of the initially tested material. In contrast, only one recent study has shown that an interim test over prior material can improve learning of subsequent new material (i.e., an interim-test effect). Five experiments replicated and extended this initial work by exploring the extent to which interim test effects generalize to complex text material. Participants were prompted to recall each section of an expository text before moving on to study the next section, or were only prompted to recall after the final section. In all experiments, recall of the final, target section was greater when prior sections had received interim tests versus no interim tests. Experiment 3 established that the effect was due to interim testing in particular rather than to intervening activity in general. Experiment 4 established that the effect was not due to test expectancy differences. In contrast to prior research, Experiment 4 also provided evidence that the effect is not due to release from proactive interference. We discuss other possible mechanisms underlying interim-test effects with text, including shifting to more effective encoding strategies.