Predicting treatment outcome and recidivism among patients in a maximum security token economy

The relationship between program performance and outcome for patients in maximum security token economy programs has not been previously studied. We examined variables related to success in a token economy program and to postrelease failure for 92 men in a maximum security psychiatric hospital. Point earnings later in the program were best predicted by earlier point earnings. Variables that best predicted postrelease failure, defined in various ways, were similar to those found in other studies; youthfulness, having spent more time in institutions, a diagnosis of personality disorder or retardation rather than psychosis, not having been found not guilty by reason of insanity or unfit to stand trial, and having been referred from another psychiatric hospital. That program variables were generally unrelated to later outcome suggests that treatment programs for patients in maximum security settings must emphasize skills that are relevant to postrelease success.     

Determinants of satisfaction with specific job facets: A test of Locke's model

Survey results supported Locke's (1969, 1976) contention that facet job satisfaction is a function of three basic determinants: 1) facet amount; 2) wanted amount; and 3) facet importance. We found several three-way interactions that were generally consistent with Locke's model. Specifically, facet satisfaction was highest when employees wanted a large amount of the facet in question, were currently receiving a large amount, and felt that the facet was personally important. Conversely, satisfaction was lowest when employees wanted a large amount of the facet, were currently receiving only a small amount, and felt that the facet was personally important. When job facets were viewed as unimportant to employees, however, the amount of facet desired and currently possessed had little impact on satisfaction. Implications, limitations, and directions for research are discussed.Bob Rice passed away recently. He will be sorely missed.     

Jail‐based competency treatment comes of age: Multi‐site outcomes and challenges to the implementation of an evidence‐based forensic continuum

The jail‐based competency treatment (JBCT) model has become an established forensic practice across the country. From the perspective of implementation science and the three core elements of the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Service (PARiHS) framework, the JBCT model is a remarkable example of how context (an unrelenting and overwhelmingly strong demand for forensic beds) has driven multiple state governments to facilitate implementation of a methodology in the absence of empirical evidence supporting its efficacy. This 7‐year study of outcomes from four JBCT program sites provides this much‐needed evidence by showing that JBCT restored 56% of 1553 male and 336 female patients over an average of 48.7 days. At the same time, the study highlights how variations in JBCT models, methods, and preadmission stabilization time present challenges to planned and effective implementation of evidence‐based practice at the statewide system level. By identifying differential responsiveness to JBCT treatment by diagnosis and other factors, the study suggests preliminary implementation ideas for what types of patients are well served by the JBCT model as part of a continuum of restoration options that includes inpatient, outpatient and diversion. Significant findings showed that JBCT patients were restored at a higher rate and in a shorter time if they were female, < 20 years old (highest restoration rate; those < 60 years old also significantly better rates), free of co‐occurring intellectual and cognitive deficits, and malingering. Of the major diagnoses, schizoaffective disorder required a significantly longer length of JBCT treatment for restoration, and lower restoration rates than schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, although this was moderated by a significant interaction with abuse of amphetamines.     

Dispelling the illusion of invulnerability: the motivations and mechanisms of resistance to persuasion

Three studies examined the impact of a treatment designed to instill resistance to deceptive persuasive messages. Study 1 demonstrated that after the resistance treatment, ads using illegitimate authority-based appeals became less persuasive, and ads using legitimate appeals became more persuasive. In Study 2, this resistance generalized to novel exemplars, persevered over time, and appeared outside of the laboratory context. In Study 3, a procedure that dispelled participants' illusions of invulnerability to deceptive persuasion maximized resistance to such persuasion. Overall, the present studies demonstrate that attempts to confer resistance to appeals will likely be successful to the extent that they install 2 conceptual features: perceived undue manipulative intent of the source of the appeal and perceived personal vulnerability to such manipulation.     

Interpersonal problems of persons with personality disorders and group outcomes

This article examines the interpersonal problems of 42 persons referred for brief group treatment at a community mental health center. Measures of symptom severity, self-esteem, and interpersonal problems were administered pre- and posttreatment. Study participants' scores were analyzed to determine possible differences in the interpersonal problems experienced by those diagnosed with personality disorders and those without them. Results revealed that both groups improved significantly on the overall measure of symptom severity. Findings further revealed that self-esteem improved significantly more for those diagnosed with personality disorders. Analysis of interpersonal problems scores revealed differences between the two groups in the areas of support and involvement prior to treatment, but not after. Possible explanations for these differences and implications for treatment are discussed.     

Patterns of acquisition in the emerging mental lexicon: the case of to and for in English.

A corpus analysis of 32 English-speaking children's first usages of the prepositions to and for (which have similar properties semantically and grammatically) was undertaken for the purpose of tracking intralexemic sense acquisition and lexical organization in an often neglected word class. The earliest senses used by these children do not reflect historical patterns of semantic extension. Diachronically, concrete, spatial, and semantically transparent usages emerged before more abstract, nonspatial, and opaque usages. Developmentally, frequency of use in the child's linguistic environment and co-occurrence in collocations with favored verbs or other useful expressions proved to be the major determinant of early production, suggesting that external rather than internal/cognitive factors play the major role in lexical development.     

A longitudinal study of processes predicting the specificity of autobiographical memory in the adolescent offspring of depressed parents

Deficits in specific autobiographical memory retrieval are closely associated with depression. The ability to retrieve specific autobiographical memories develops throughout childhood and adolescence and is associated with adolescent depression within and across time. Studying young samples before they first experience depression provides an approach for testing processes that underlie reduced autobiographical memory specificity. This study is the first to examine the longitudinal association of rumination and executive function with autobiographical memory specificity in a sample of adolescents at elevated risk for future depression. A total of 259 adolescents (aged between 10 and 18 years) completed the Autobiographical Memory Test at baseline and 1-year follow-up. Measures of rumination, executive function, and depressive symptoms were obtained at baseline. The interaction between rumination and executive function predicted autobiographical memory specificity over time. Whereas rumination in the context of low executive function predicted reduced specificity, this was not the case in the context of high executive function. The interaction between rumination and executive function was independent of the effects of age, gender, IQ, baseline levels of memory specificity, and depressive symptoms.