The Australian Psychology Workforce 3: A national profile of psychologists in salaried employment or in independent private practice

A detailed analysis of the different sectors of the psychology workforce was conducted as part of the National Psychology Workforce Survey: Independent Private Practice (IPP), Employed in Public Sector (EPuS) and Employed in Private Sector (EPrS). A total of 11,897 psychologists responded to the workforce survey, a response rate of 48%. Of these 8,086 were fully registered and currently working in a psychology role. Sectors were compared on a range of practice characteristics and differences were explored using a series of ANOVAs and post‐hoc analyses. Results of analyses revealed qualitative differences between the three sectors. Strategies for maintaining the employed workforce were also collected and are reported to be as much about increasing work satisfaction and support for professional and development opportunities as about salary.     

Media violence exposure in aggressive and control adolescents: differences in self‐ and parent‐reported exposure to violence on television and in video games

The purpose of present study was to investigate differences in media violence exposure between groups of adolescents with and without Disruptive Behavior Disorders with Aggressive Features, using a case‐controlled design and multimethod assessment. Samples of 27 adolescents aged 13‐17 with Disruptive Behavior Disorder with Aggressive Features and 27 age‐gender‐IQ matched controls completed a semistructured interview about exposure to violence on television and video games; parents completed a corresponding questionnaire measure. Moderate intercorrelations were found between most self‐ and parent‐report television and video game violence exposure measures. Compared to control adolescents, adolescents with Disruptive Behavior Disorder with Aggressive Features had higher aggregate media violence exposure, higher exposure to video game violence, and higher parent‐reported exposure to television violence. Results show that adolescents and parents agree about the adolescent's level of media violence exposure, that exposure to violence on television tends to be accompanied by exposure to violence in video games, and that the association between media violence exposure and Disruptive Behavior Disorder with Aggressive Features is not due to a spurious effect of gender or IQ. Aggr. Behav. 31:000–000, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Is the Role of the School Psychologist in Early Childhood Truly Expanding? A National Survey Examining School Psychologists' Practices and Training Experiences

Historically, the role of school psychologists in early childhood settings has been limited to the identification and evaluation of children who may be in need of special education services under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It has been suggested that the role should reflect a more proactive model; specifically, it should continue to expand to include involvement in school readiness and early intervention for all students. The purpose of this study was to examine the present role of school psychologists in early childhood settings and investigate the graduate-level training provided to school psychology graduate students. Results of the survey found that a significant percentage of school psychologist practitioners continue to spend a substantial portion of their professional time completing special education evaluations. Furthermore, respondents reported minimal to moderate graduate training in the area of early childhood populations. Implications for school psychology practitioners and school psychology graduate training programs are discussed.     

Editors As Authors: Publication Trends Of Articles Authored By JABA Editors.

Journal editors are gatekeepers; they review and shape the work of others, and influence the journal's direction and quality. They also contribute to the body of knowledge within a field as authors. The author role of editors of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis is described. Annual publication rates of the 55 former and current editors and associate editors are presented and discussed.     

BEHAVIOR CHANGE IN THE FUNNY PAPERS: FEEDBACK TO CARTOONISTS ON SAFETY BELT USE

A multiple baseline across 8 nationally syndicated cartoonists evaluated the effects of personal advocacy letters encouraging presentations of a specific prevention message—the depiction of safety belt use in comic strips showing motor vehicle occupants. During baseline these cartoonists depicted safety belt use in only 15% (6 of 41) of their strips with occupied vehicles, but following receipt of a personal letter requesting safety belt use 41% (42 of 102) of their strips depicted safety belt use. Four cartoonists showed clear and immediate increases in depiction of safety belt use, 2 demonstrated delayed and somewhat less consistent belt use, and 2 cartoonists showed no change. The approach and results are discussed with regard to advocacy efforts intended to influence presentation of prevention messages in the media.     

TEACHING YOUNG CHILDREN TO USE CONTACT LENSES

Young children with surgically removed lenses and extreme nearsightedness can benefit from contact lenses, but their parents may need instruction to teach their children to accept lenses. In this study, 4 children under the age of 5 years were taught contact lens wear using a shaping procedure. Compliance was rewarded with praise and tangibles, and noncompliance was followed with brief time-out for 3 of the children and restraint for the 4th. Three children showed high compliance during an initial shaping procedure, with a decrease in compliance during initial insertion of the lenses. At 3- to 10-month follow-up, levels of compliance were high. Insertion and removal of lenses were accomplished in substantially less time, with little crying and no need for time-out. All 3 children continue to use the lenses daily, and 2 have shown improved visual acuity. The 4th child, who has Down syndrome, showed low levels of compliance with need for physical restraint throughout. Although his parents reported high compliance when he first went home, fitting difficulties and an infection resulted in plummeting of compliance, and contact lens use was discontinued. This procedure has been used successfully at the same hospital with 11 of 13 other children between the ages of 14 months and 7 years 4 months. Implications for selection of suitable candidates for this intervention and ways to decrease costs are discussed.     

The phonology-morphosyntax interface: affixed words in agrammatism.

In three experiments with nondysarthric agrammatics, we explored the association between phonology and morphosyntax. (1) Contrasting phonological and nonphonological factors on inflectional-affix production of English verbs across three tasks in eight agrammatics, longer stem-syllabic length and stem-final-CC status resulted in poorer affix-production. (2) Studying verb inflections in six agrammatic Spanish-speakers, affix-length and affix-stress correlated with poorer repetition, as did low affix frequency. (3) Four English-speaking agrammatics read aloud and repeated derived words varying in syllable-length and stem-stress reassignment; both contributed independently to word-production difficulty. Phonological complexity of affixes and stems appears to reduce resources for morphological processing in nondysarthric agrammatics.     

Behavioral Gerontology: State of the Science

Baer, Wolf and Risley's (1968) dimensions of applied behavior analysis are used as an organizing framework to review and discuss current research on the application of behavioral principles to the solution of social problems faced by older adults. Implications for future research are discussed.