Using Structural Analysis in Natural Settings: A Responsive Functional Assessment Strategy

Since the reauthorization of IDEA (1997), the use of functional assessments to examine factors that are related to students challenging behaviors has gained increasing attention in the literature. Over the past five years, several groups of investigators have conducted systematic analyses of the current status of the use of functional assessment in relation to students with or at risk for emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD). Their findings outline a number of critical, applied research issues for the field to consider. The purpose of this paper is to respond to a number of these issues by highlighting the relevance of structural analysis in addition to and in some cases in lieu of more traditional functional assessments. A brief review of current trends in the functional assessment research is presented as well as a rational for the use of structural analysis to examine the occurrence of appropriate behavior for students with EBD. Finally, illustrations of studies conducting structural analyses in classrooms settings are provided.     

Virtual environments for motor rehabilitation: review.

In this paper, the current "state of the art" for virtual reality (VR) applications in the field of motor rehabilitation is reviewed. The paper begins with a brief overview of available equipment options. Next, a discussion of the scientific rationale for use of VR in motor rehabilitation is provided. Finally, the major portion of the paper describes the various VR systems that have been developed for use with patients, and the results of clinical studies reported to date in the literature. Areas covered include stroke rehabilitation (upper and lower extremity training, spatial and perceptual-motor training), acquired brain injury, Parkinson's disease, orthopedic rehabilitation, balance training, wheelchair mobility and functional activities of daily living training, and the newly developing field of telerehabilitation. Four major findings emerge from these studies: (1) people with disabilities appear capable of motor learning within virtual environments; (2) movements learned by people with disabilities in VR transfer to real world equivalent motor tasks in most cases, and in some cases even generalize to other untrained tasks; (3) in the few studies (n = 5) that have compared motor learning in real versus virtual environments, some advantage for VR training has been found in all cases; and (4) no occurrences of cybersickness in impaired populations have been reported to date in experiments where VR has been used to train motor abilities.     

Temperamental emotionality in preschoolers and parental mood disorders

A number of models developed in the adult psychopathology literature (i.e., L. A. Clark & D. Watson, 1991) have asserted that low levels of positive emotionality (PE) are predisposing factors or precursors for depression and represent a form of temperamental risk for depression. Further support for this claim would derive from evidence linking low PE to known indicators of risk for depression. The authors examined the association between temperamental emotionality in young children and parental mood disorders. One hundred unselected preschool-aged children completed a battery of emotion-eliciting tasks tapping aspects of PE, negative emotionality (NE), and behavioral inhibition (BI). Parental psychopathology was assessed with semistructured diagnostic interviews. Low PE in children was associated with maternal, but not paternal, mood disorder. The low PE-maternal depression link was relatively specific, as there were few associations between low PE and other forms of parental psychopathology or between NE and BI and parental mood disorders.     

How Françoise Dolto links Lacanian psychoanalysis with the Christian Gospels

This article introduces to an English-speaking audience of pastoral therapists, the writings of the French Lacanian psychoanalyst, Fran?oise Dolto (1908-1988) on the links she discovered between the most profound question raised by Lacanian psychoanalysis in its dynamics effects and the questions raised by the Christian Gospels. The author summarizes the main points of Dolto's Lacanian thought and where she departed from Lacan in her interpretation of the unconscious ethic of desire. Using Dolto's three writings on Lacanian psychoanalysis and the Bible, as well as material from her published clinical studies, the author illustrates Dolto's approach to the Bible, the parable of the Good Samaritan, and her application of the dialectical principles of desire in three case studies.     

Future work self and career adaptability in the prediction of proactive career behaviors

This study examined the motivational resource of future work self salience and the additive effect of career adaptability dimensions in the prediction of career planning, proactive skill development, and proactive career networking in a sample of university students (N = 113). It was hypothesized that greater clarity of future work self would predict engagement in each of the proactive career behaviors and that specific dimensions of career adaptability would have an additive effect in predicting particular proactive career behavior in line with the theory of career construction. Results indicated that future work self predicted career planning and that career concern had an additive effect. Future work self also predicted proactive skill development and proactive career networking. However, career confidence and career curiosity mediated these relationships in the prediction of skill development and networking respectively. In sum, results suggest that future work self and career adaptability play an influential role in the engagement of proactive career behavior.     

Predictors of Mental Health Among College Students in Guam: Implications for Counseling

The authors investigated sociodemographic predictors of the mental health status of college students (N = 308) in Guam. Results indicated prevalence rates of 17.8%, 40.2%, and 25.6% for moderate or more severe levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. Psychological distress was found to be predicted by gender, ethnicity, living arrangement, and academic level. Comparisons with college students in the U.S. mainland and Hong Kong were also examined. Implications for counseling services and strategies are discussed.     

Validation of a Standardized Multiple‐Choice Multicultural Competence Test: Implications for Training,Assessment, and Practice

The Multicultural Counseling and Psychotherapy Test (MCPT), a measure of multicultural counseling competence (MCC), was validated in 2 phases. In Phase 1, the authors administered 451 test items derived from multicultural guidelines in counseling and psychology to 32 multicultural experts and 30 nonexperts. In Phase 2, the authors administered the top 50 discriminative items to licensed mental health professionals (N = 227) and compared MCPT scores to external indicators of MCC. Evidence was found for the construct validity and internal consistency reliability of the MCPT. El Test de Consejería Multicultural y Psicoterapia (MCPT, por sus siglas en inglés), una medida de la competencia en consejería multicultural (MCC, por sus siglas en inglés) fue validado en dos fases. En la Fase 1, los autores administraron 451 elementos del test derivados de las pautas multiculturales en consejería y psicología a 32 expertos multiculturales y 30 no expertos. En la Fase 2, los autores administraron los 50 elementos más discriminativos a profesionales licenciados de la salud mental (N = 227) y compararon los puntajes del MCPT con indicadores externos de MCC. Se hallaron evidencias de la validez del constructo y la fiabilidad de la consistencia interna del MCPT.     

Verbal working memory predicts co-speech gesture: Evidence from individual differences

Gesture facilitates language production, but there is debate surrounding its exact role. It has been argued that gestures lighten the load on verbal working memory (VWM; Goldin-Meadow, Nusbaum, Kelly, & Wagner, 2001), but gestures have also been argued to aid in lexical retrieval (Krauss, 1998). In the current study, 50 speakers completed an individual differences battery that included measures of VWM and lexical retrieval. To elicit gesture, each speaker described short cartoon clips immediately after viewing. Measures of lexical retrieval did not predict spontaneous gesture rates, but lower VWM was associated with higher gesture rates, suggesting that gestures can facilitate language production by supporting VWM when resources are taxed. These data also suggest that individual variability in the propensity to gesture is partly linked to cognitive capacities.