EFFECTS OF EXTINCTION ALONE AND EXTINCTION PLUS FUNCTIONAL COMMUNICATION TRAINING ON COVARIATION OF PROBLEM BEHAVIORS

In this investigation, extinction (EXT) was applied alone or in combination with functional communication training (FCT) to less severe topographies of problem behavior while more severe topographies continued to be reinforced. EXT alone decreased less severe and increased more severe topographies of problem behavior (i.e., response covariation), whereas EXT with FCT reduced all topographies of problem behavior to near-zero levels.     

Revalidation of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sat</Emphasis>-<Emphasis Type="Italic">Chit</Emphasis>-<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ananda</Emphasis> Scale

Sat-Chit-Ananda is an indigenous construct that refers to absolute bliss and consciousness. The present study aimed to strengthen the psychometric properties of the newly developed Sat-Chit-Ananda scale (Singh et al. in Int J Vedic Found Manag 1(2):54–74, 2014). A total of 398 students aged 17–36 years (mean age = 21.33 years, SD = 2.2, 70% males) participated in this study. An exploratory as well as confirmatory factor analysis was computed for the 17-item scale. Its’ concurrent validity was established by assessing its correlation with other well-being measures, namely Flourishing (Diener et al. in Soc Indic Res 97:143–156 2010) and Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (Diener et al. 2010). Satisfactory results were obtained from both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Sat-Chit-Ananda and its factors were found to be significantly positively correlated with Flourishing and Positive Experiences and were negatively correlated with Negative Experiences. Thus, the validity of the Sat-Chit-Ananda (Singh et al. 2014) scale stands further substantiated—offering this scale as a promising new assessment tool.     

Implementing Parent Management Training in the Context of Poverty

Parent management training (PMT) is a well-investigated, effective, and preferred treatment for children's externalizing behaviors and related disorders. Unfortunately, PMT is not as effective for children living in poor families, who disproportionately exhibit the behaviors that PMT is designed to correct. We suggest that PMT is less successful for poor children because (1) the same factors that explain the relation between economic hardship and children's externalizing behaviors also are related to unsuccessful PMT outcomes; and (2) PMT interventions are less acceptable to poor parents, and therefore less likely to be adopted. Clinical implications are drawn from the analysis.

     

Adult Influence on the Participation of Peers Without Disabilities in Peer Support Programs

Three peers without disabilities who volunteered to serve as peer supports and were identified by general education teachers as having academic difficulties were studied across three conditions. In baseline, a peer without disabilities worked alone, while the student with severe disabilities was supervised by an adult. In the Peer Support condition, peers without disabilities worked with the student with severe disabilities, and both individuals were supervised by an adult. In the Adult Involvement condition, peers without disabilities were supervised by an adult as in the Peer Support condition, but peers worked separately from the student with severe disabilities. Dependent measures included the active engagement of peers without disabilities and students with severe disabilities, and social interactions between students and peers. Our data indicate that the Peer Support and Adult Involvement conditions resulted in higher, but similar, levels of active engagement for two of three peers without disabilities when compared to baseline. For the third peer, high levels of active engagement occurred across all conditions. Active engagement varied across students with severe disabilities, but was typically highest in conditions where peers without disabilities were involved. For all students with severe disabilities, social interactions were more frequent and longer in the Peer Support condition.     

Indian Health Care Professionals’ Attitude Towards Spiritual Healing and Its Role in Alleviating Stigma of Psychiatric Services

Persons with mental illnesses in India and rest of developing world continue to consult religious/spiritual (R/S) healers or traditional, complementary and alternative medicine (TCAM) professionals prior to seeking psychiatric services that are devoid of spiritual components of care. We aim to understand TCAM and allopathic professionals’ perspectives on patients’ R/S needs within mental health services, cross-sectional study was conducted at five TCAM and two allopathic tertiary care hospitals in three different Indian states; 393 participants completed RSMPP, a self-administered, semi-structured survey questionnaire. Perspectives of TCAM and allopathic health professionals on role of spirituality in mental health care were compared. Substantial percentage, 43.7 % TCAM and 41.3 % allopathic, of participants believe that their patients approach R/S or TCAM practitioners for severe mental illness; 91.2 % of TCAM and 69.7 % of allopaths were satisfied with R/S healers (p = 0.0019). Furthermore, 91.1 % TCAM and 73.1 % allopaths (p = 0.000) believe that mental health stigma can be minimized by integrating with spiritual care services. Overall, 87 % of TCAM and 73 % of allopaths agreed to primary criterion variable: ‘spiritual healing is beneficial and complementary to psychiatric care.’ A quarter of allopaths (24.4 %) and 38 % of TCAM physicians reportedly cross-refer their grieving patients to religious/TCAM healer and psychiatrist/psychologist, respectively; on logistic regression, significant (p < 0.05) predictors were clinical interactions/references to r/s healers. Providing spiritual care within the setup of psychiatric institution will not only complement psychiatric care but also alleviate stigma against mental health services. Implications on developing spiritual care services like clinical chaplaincy are discussed.