Parent‐administered modified dry‐bed training for childhood nocturnal enuresis: evidence for superiority over urine‐alarm conditioning when delivery factors are controlled

We compared the relative efficacy of modified dry‐bed training and standard urine‐alarm conditioning for treating functional nocturnal enuresis in 36 children aged 7–12 years attending health centres in Glasgow, Scotland. A minimal intervention, self‐help approach was adopted. Parents and children received standardized instruction, which, for each method, consisted of one clinic interview and a manual and videotape for home viewing. Outcomes were contrasted with those from untreated controls. Twelve children were randomly assigned to each condition. All groups were matched for age, gender, social class (deprivation category), and baseline wetting frequency. In the two treated groups, an intake interview was followed by two review appointments, otherwise families carried out the programmes independently at home with fortnightly telephone support either until the success criterion of 14 consecutive dry nights was met or the 16 week maximum treatment period expired. Of the 12 children treated by dry‐bed training, eight achieved initial success compared with only three of the 12 treated by the conventional urine‐alarm method. One waiting‐list control child remitted spontaneously. ANOVA showed highly significant differences in wet nights per week immediately after intervention for both treatment and time factors (p < 0.001) and their interaction (p < 0.01). The dry‐bed group averaged 0.8 nights per week wet on treatment cessation, a frequency which was significantly superior to the average of 3.25 for the urine‐alarm group and 5.00 for the controls. Six months after attaining initial success, one child in each treated group had relapsed. Our results show an outcome of 58% long‐term remission (67% initial arrest, 13% relapse) for dry‐bed training when delivered by minimal intervention methods and indicate dry‐bed training as being more effective than orthodox urine‐alarm conditioning for the same input of clinic time and instruction. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How contextual and individual characteristics influence psychological needs satisfaction: The critical roles of political skill and political will

This two-study research package investigates the interactive effects of perceptions of organizational politics, political skill, and political will on psychological need satisfaction, which has been shown to predict a number of different important organizational outcomes. Drawing primarily on social/political influence and self-determination theories, we propose that although perceptions of organizational politics (i.e., as an important situational or contextual variable) can demonstrate need-thwarting effects for some, its effects can be need-satisfying for those individuals with high levels of political skill and political will. In Study 1, we analyze a sample of 142 individuals to demonstrate that possessing political skill attenuates the negative effects of perceptions of organizational politics on psychological need satisfaction. In Study 2, we analyze a sample of 420 individuals to demonstrate that respondents with high levels of both political skill and political will experience their highest levels of need satisfaction in highly political environments. Theoretical contributions, limitations and future research directions, and practical implications are discussed.