Acquired equivalence and distinctiveness of cues using a sensory-preconditioning procedure

In Experiment 1 rats were presented with two flavours, A and B, that were accompanied either by a third common flavour, X, or by two different flavours, X and Y, respectively. An aversion was then established to A, and the extent to which this aversion generalized to B was measured. Stimulus generalization was found to be more marked when A and B had both been presented with the same flavour, X, during pre-exposure than when A and B had been presented with X and Y. In Experiment 2 three target flavours, A, B, and C, were initially presented. In one pre-exposure condition presentations of A and B were accompanied by X, and C was presented alone; in a second condition A and B were presented in isolation, and C was accompanied by X. After an aversion had been established to A, half of the animals in each of the pre-exposure conditions were tested with B, and the remainder were tested with C. In both of the pre-exposure conditions the generalized aversion was more substantial to B than to C. An analysis of these results in terms of the mechanisms that have been supposed to underlie sensory preconditioning is presented.     

Contextualizing Gender and Acculturative Influences on Sexual Initiation of Asian Indian Emerging Adults

Although Asian Indians represent one the fastest growing demographics in the United States, no studies exist on the sexual behavior of Asian Indian youth or its association with acculturation. Previous research has demonstrated a link between earlier sexual initiation and subsequent sexual risk and the role of acculturation and sexual initiation in other Asian groups. The present exploratory study examined gender and acculturation with regard to sexual initiation in Asian Indians (n = 37). Results reveal no significant gender differences in sexual initiation and total acculturation scores. Gender differences did emerge for the association among sexual behaviors and the influence of specific areas of acculturation on sexual initiation. Findings suggest that gender and acculturation may be important variables in understanding sexual behavior but that current acculturation measures may be insufficient to adequately assess acculturation levels of Asian Indian youth. Future research should focus on Asian Indians as an understudied minority group.     

Self–Compassion as Self-Care: A Simple and Effective Tool for Counselor Educators and Counseling Students

This article explores teaching self-compassion as a means of self-care for counseling graduate students. Self-care is vital to helping professionals, but few students learn specific self-care skills to integrate into their own self-care practice. Self-compassion is a simple practice used in the immediate moment or as an activity at home. The authors describe Kristen Neff’s model of self-compassion. The authors discuss the benefits of self-compassion as self-care and explain its practice as an effective avenue to increase compassion and relationship building with clients. In addition, they clarify how self-compassion practices strengthen relational connection. The writers describe three examples of self-care practices, and share suggestions for counselor educators to integrate self-care into graduate counselor training.     

Maternal Depression and Child Psychopathology: A Meta-Analytic Review

Although the association between maternal depression and adverse child outcomes is well established, the strength of the association, the breadth or specificity of the outcomes, and the role of moderators are not known. This information is essential to inform not only models of risk but also the design of preventive interventions by helping to identify subgroups at greater risk than others and to elucidate potential mechanisms as targets of interventions. A meta-analysis of 193 studies was conducted to examine the strength of the association between mothers’ depression and children’s behavioral problems or emotional functioning. Maternal depression was significantly related to higher levels of internalizing, externalizing, and general psychopathology and negative affect/behavior and to lower levels of positive affect/behavior, with all associations small in magnitude. These associations were significantly moderated by theoretically and methodologically relevant variables, with patterns of moderation found to vary somewhat with each child outcome. Results are interpreted in terms of implications for theoretical models that move beyond main effects models in order to more accurately identify which children of depressed mothers are more or less at risk for specific outcomes.