Alcohol Counseling in Hospital Trauma: Examining Two Brief Interventions

Hospital trauma centers intervene with patients who incur alcohol‐related injuries. This prospective study, using professional counselors and trainees, investigated brief counseling interventions (BCIs). Participants were randomized to either a conventional BCI examining quantity and frequency of drinks or a personalized BCI exploring overintoxication. No statistically significant difference between risky drinkers randomized to either intervention in a hospital trauma center was observed. Findings indicate that a personalized BCI may be an alternative to a quantitative BCI in reducing risky alcohol consumption.     

The Relationship Between Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury and Suicidal Ideation

This correlational study was conducted with 403 undergraduate college students from 2 universities. The authors used path analysis and bootstrap regression to analyze the relationships between variables. Locus of control and family connectedness related to current nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) engagement. However, when entered into the same regression, the variables current NSSI engagement and current NSSI number of methods used mediated all other relationships with suicidal ideation. Implications to current theories and clinical practice are provided.     

Areas of Interest as a Signal Detection Problem in Behavioral Eye‐Tracking Research

Decision researchers frequently analyze attention to individual objects to test hypotheses about underlying cognitive processes. Generally, fixations are assigned to objects using a method known as area of interest (AOI). Ideally, an AOI includes all fixations belonging to an object while fixations to other objects are excluded. Unfortunately, due to measurement inaccuracy and insufficient distance between objects, the distributions of fixations to objects may overlap, resulting in a signal detection problem. If the AOI is to include all fixations to an object, it will also likely include fixations belonging to other objects (false positives). In a survey, we find that many researchers report testing multiple AOI sizes when performing analyses, presumably trying to balance the proportion of true and false positive fixations. To test whether AOI size influences the measurement of object attention and conclusions drawn about cognitive processes, we reanalyze four published studies and conduct a fifth tailored to our purpose. We find that in studies in which we expected overlapping fixation distributions, analyses benefited from smaller AOI sizes (0° visual angle margin). In studies where we expected no overlap, analyses benefited from larger AOI sizes (>.5° visual angle margins). We conclude with a guideline for the use of AOIs in behavioral eye‐tracking research. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparison of Explicit Forgiveness Interventions With an Alternative Treatment: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Forgiveness interventions can help people forgive past offenses. However, few studies have compared forgiveness interventions with genuine alternative treatments. The authors compared forgiveness interventions with a therapeutic alternative treatment. Participants reduced unforgiveness and increased forgiveness regardless of treatment condition. Trait forgivingness was not related to change in forgiveness, whereas greater offender contrition was related to greater reductions in unforgiveness. The type of treatment may not be as important as factors common to the interventions.     

Perceived strengths of urban girls and boys experiencing homelessness

Homelessness, with concomitant poverty and mobility, is often associated with multiple negative outcomes for school‐aged children; less is known about the positive characteristics of children experiencing homelessness. This study focused on understanding the mother‐perceived strengths of 50 elementary school‐aged children experiencing homelessness. Mothers typically identified multiple child strengths, even among children experiencing emotional or behavioural difficulties. These strengths included positive personality and behavioural characteristics, intelligence and academic achievement and positive physical attributes. Implications for intervention and further research are discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.