Replications and extensions in arousal assessment for sex offenders with developmental disabilities

Three adult male sex offenders with developmental disabilities participated in phallometric assessments that involved repeated measures of arousal when exposed to various stimuli. Arousal assessment outcomes were similar to those obtained by Reyes et al. (2006). Additional data-analysis methods provided further information about sexual preferences, thus replicating and extending previous research. The results provide preliminary data for establishing a preference gradient by age. Implications for the use of repeated measures and preference gradients in arousal assessments are discussed.     

C. I. Lewis on Intensional Predicate Logic: A Letter Dated May 11, 1960

The idea of an ‘inversion principle’, and the name itself, originated in the work of Paul Lorenzen in the 1950s, as a method to generate new admissible rules within a certain syntactic context. Some fifteen years later, the idea was taken up by Dag Prawitz to devise a strategy of normalization for natural deduction calculi (this being an analogue of Gentzen's cut-elimination theorem for sequent calculi). Later, Prawitz used the inversion principle again, attributing it with a semantic role. Still working in natural deduction calculi, he formulated a general type of schematic introduction rules to be matched – thanks to the idea supporting the inversion principle – by a corresponding general schematic Elimination rule. This was an attempt to provide a solution to the problem suggested by the often quoted note of Gentzen. According to Gentzen ‘it should be possible to display the elimination rules as unique functions of the corresponding introduction rules on the basis of certain requirements’. Many people have since worked on this topic, which can be appropriately seen as the birthplace of what are now referred to as “general elimination rules”, recently studied thoroughly by Sara Negri and Jan von Plato. In this study, we retrace the main threads of this chapter of proof-theoretical investigation, using Lorenzen's original framework as a general guide.     

Understanding the Mental Health Travails of Custodial Grandparents

Grandcarers are at-risk of poor mental health outcomes. Current knowledge of the support needs of grandcarers is fragmented. To help fill this knowledge gap qualitative analysis was undertaken on 49 interviews conducted with custodial grandparents. The findings reveal that conflicted occupational roles coupled with the complexity of the stressors facing grandcarers both contribute to their social isolation and to their self-doubts about their ability to adequately attend to their grandchildren’s needs. Greater awareness among occupational therapists (OTs) of custodial grandparents’ mental health travails and an increased understanding of key occupational therapy (OT) practice initiatives are central to addressing grandcarers’ mental health travails.     

Book reviews

DICKINSON,A. and BOAKES,R. A. (Eds). Mechanisms of Learning and Motivation: A Memorial Volume to Jerzy Konorski. Hillsdale, N. J.: Erlbaum Associates. 1979. Pp xiii+468. ISBN 0 470 26567 I. £18.25.

SLUCKIN, W. Fear in Animals and Man. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. 1979. Pp 317. ISBN 0 442 30164 2. £12.00.     

Individual and social network predictors of the short‐term stability of bullying victimization in the United Kingdom and Germany

Background. There is still relatively little research on the social context within which bullying develops and remains stable. Aim. This study examined the short‐term stability of bullying victimization among primary school students in the United Kingdom and Germany (mean age, 8.9 years) and the individual and social network factors that contributed to remaining a victim of bullying. Sample. The sample consisted of 454 children (247 males and 207 females). Methods. Participants completed questionnaires on bullying victimization at three assessment points over a 9‐week period. Other measures consisted of self‐reported demographic, peer, and family relationship characteristics. Social network indices of density, reciprocity, and hierarchy were constructed using friendship and peer acceptance nominations. Results. Relative risk analyses indicated a six‐fold increased risk of remaining a victim at consequent follow‐ups, compared to a child not victimized at baseline becoming a victim over the follow‐up period. Individual characteristics explained substantially more variance in the stability of bullying victimization than class‐level factors. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses revealed that being victimized by siblings and being rejected by peers predicted remaining a victim over a 9‐week period. Conclusions. Bullying victimization among primary school students proved moderately stable over a 9‐week period. Individual characteristics were more influential in predicting the stable victim role than class‐level factors. Our findings have implications for the identification of stable victims in primary school and early preventative bullying programs.     

EMERGENT INTRAVERBAL RESPONSES VIA TACT AND MATCH-TO-SAMPLE INSTRUCTION

The present investigation evaluated the effectiveness of category tact and match‐to‐sample instruction in facilitating the emergence of intraverbal responses (i.e., naming several items belonging to a specific category) for 2 children with autism. Results demonstrated the emergence of untaught responses, suggesting an effective instructional protocol for establishing intraverbal responses without direct instruction.