The Interface between Mental Health Providers, Families, and Schools: Parent and Child Attitudes about Information-Sharing

Youth with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) are at an increased risk for school problems and negative consequences into adulthood, increasing the need for collaboration between families, school personnel and mental health providers. Current treatment guidelines emphasize the importance of information-sharing between providers and schools, yet few studies have addressed parents’ or students’ attitudes and preferences about this process or about the disclosure of mental health-related information to school professionals. Using a sample of 73 pairs of parents and their adolescents seeking outpatient treatment, this study assessed parental and adolescent attitudes about disclosure of mental health treatment information to school personnel. The majority of parents reported that the school should be informed that their adolescent was receiving counseling or medication for EBD, and that they should be the primary informant, rather than providers. By comparison, adolescents preferred more discretion about their involvement in treatment. Taken together, the study results highlight a number of implications relevant to the therapeutic relation and the process of obtaining and sharing mental health-related treatment information with various school personnel. Future research directions regarding the consultative and collaborative process with school personnel are also discussed.     

Assessing Perceived Health and Associated Health-Promoting Behaviors: An Investigation of Methods Used to Assess Health Status

Health assessments have been integral in the development of health behavior and policy recommendations. As the nation's health status improves, information about positive health is needed to continue development of appropriate behavior and policy recommendations. In this study, perceived health, health behaviors, health care usage, and how participants defined health were assessed. Using reported health-promoting behaviors, respondents were grouped into high-, middle-, and low-health groups. Analyses found statistically significant differences ( p <.05) for all health behaviors reported and for life satisfaction. Each group's understanding of health also differed significantly. Results document the discriminating value and importance of positive health-promoting behaviors beyond their traditional role in prevention. Recommendations for health professionals' use of positive health assessments are discussed.     

General and Domain-Specific Self-Esteem Among Regular Education and Special Education Students

We examined the global and domain-specific self-esteem of students who are emotionally disturbed, students who are learning disabled, and students who are in regular education classrooms. Students who were emotionally disturbed or learning disabled had lower global self-esteem than did students in regular education classes. The specific domains in which students in special education felt that they were less competent than students in regular education included social skills, leadership skills, and academics. However, the 2 groups of students in special education did not differ from one another. No differences emerged between the groups on a measure of self-esteem that is less subject to social desirability concerns. Implications of this research for education are discussed.     

Ministers’ Perceptions of Depression: A Model to Understand and Improve Care

While depression is a significant worldwide health problem, fewer than half of individuals seek care. Faith-based communities may play an important role in improving the knowledge of and linkage to depression care. Focus groups of Caucasian and African-American clergy were conducted to explore these issues. Using a grounded theory approach five themes emerged, including explanatory models of depression, barriers and facilitators to care, and recommendations for involving religious communities. A model of depression care pathways was constructed that integrates secular and spiritual approaches. The findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to build trust between clergy and mental health professionals. Teresa L. Kramer, Ph.D., is Chief Psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychiatry in the College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. She has conducted research in child, adolescent and adult mental health assessment, outcomes, and quality of care. Her current research on adolescent depression is funded through a Research Career Development Award from the National Institute of Mental Health. She is currently developing faith-based programs to educate ministers and their congregations about depression-related illness. Dean Blevins, Ph.D., teaches in the Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, at the university and is associated with the Center for Mental Health & Outcomes Research, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, and the South Central Mental Illness, Research, and Clinical Center in Little Rock. Terri L. Miller, Ph.D., also teaches in the Department of Psychiatry. Martha Phillips, Ph.D., is at the Department of Human Services in Little Rock. Vanessa Davis and Billy Burris are employed at the Division of Behavioral Health Services, also in Little Rock.     

The Devaluation of Relationships (not Individuals): The Case of Dyadic Relationship Stigmatization

This study addresses how people devalue romantic relationships without devaluing the individuals in the relationship. We examined perceptions of condom use in close relationships in 3 studies. Relationships of couples who used condoms were devalued, relative to relationships of those who used oral contraceptives. However, the perceptions of individuals in the relationships were unchanged by type of birth-control use. In 2 studies, the dyadic devaluation concept was extended to relationships in which one partner was significantly older than the other. Participants believed that relationships in which the woman was substantially older than the man were of lesser quality than relationships in which the man and woman were the same age. Implications for stigma and person perception research are discussed.     

The Power of Prestige: Why Young Men Report Having more Sex Partners than Young Women

In a survey of 48 men and 61 women from a southwestern US college, the gender difference in reported number of sex partners was mediated by the degree to which individuals felt that men and women who had many sexual partners were prestigious. In addition, men cared about the quantity and quality of their sex partners more than women did and these two factors were also related to reported number of sexual partners. The gender difference in reported sex partners is not veridical; it can be accounted for with attitudinal measures related to status and sex that are more common in men than women. Results are discussed in terms of understanding biased reporting in young American men and women.     

Generalizing Teaching Techniques from University to K-12 Classrooms: Teaching Preservice Teachers to Use What They Learn

Preservice teachers learn evidence-based practices in university classrooms but often fail to use them later on in their own K-12 classrooms. The problem may be a missing link in teacher preparation, i.e., failure to teach preservice teachers to generalize newly acquired techniques. Two experiments using multiple baseline designs across participants assessed effectiveness of a model to promote generalization and maintenance of a specific teaching skill. In Experiment 1, preservice teachers’ maintenance of behavior deteriorated from practicum to student teaching when intervention consisted of training to criteria alone. When a programming for generalization component (program common stimuli) was added to the intervention, teachers in Experiment 2 generalized and maintained behavior across settings (student teaching to own classrooms) at a higher average than occurred during intervention.     

A multipurpose voltage controlled oscillator

This report describes a multipurpose voltage controlled oscillator that is inexpensive, flexible, and adaptable to a variety of experimental purposes. Design features include the capability to (1) select a wide range of frequencies for experimental use, and (2) use the output to drive other digital circuits.