Image Attributions and Smoking Intentions Among Seventh Grade Students

Previous research has indicated that adolescents who intend to smoke differ from those who do not intend to smoke in the imagery they associate with smoking. The present study examined relationships among self-image, ideal self-image, image of smokers in general and image of models in cigarette ads for seventh-grade students. The strongest finding was a positive correspondence of smokers image to self-image in predicting intention to smoke cigarettes. This correspondence between smokers image and self-image derived from a relative depression of self-image in combination with a relative elevation of smokers image for youth who were more likely to report intentions to smoke. There was also a trend for the ideal self-image of youth with greater intentions to smoke to be similarly depressed. It is suggested that when both self-concept and aspirations for self-improvement are diminished, smoking may seem particularly desirable as a means of enhancing identity.     

Complex decision making: A longitudinal study of process and performance

Two studies using a computer-simulated, strategy-formulation game and business students were conducted using simultaneous verbal protocols. It was found that a number of information-processing and information-evaluation thought processes were significantly related to game performance. Consistent with what is known about individual decision making, the present results suggest that, for the task used in this study, individuals who engage in causal analysis perform better than those who do not. But those who focus on negative emotions, blindly repeat previously successful decisions, and engage in illogical through processes perform more poorly than those who do not. Causal replication using real managers within organizational settings, however, is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn from this research.     

Spiritual support for caregivers of dementia patients

Dementia is considered the major psychiatric disorder of old age and affects over 4 million people in the United States. As Alzheimer's disease and other dementias progress, the patient can become increasingly dependent on the family for care. This dependency can place the caregiver in a role that is both difficult and demanding. In this study coping strategies used by family caregivers of dementia patients and caregivers' sense of burden were assessed. Burden scores were significantly correlated with spiritual support, an external coping strategy. When spiritual well-being is integrated with medical and psychosocial needs, the clergy and spiritual community can play an integral role in the care for families and dementia patients.     

Context effects in episodic studies of verbal and facial memory: A review

Memory research has in the last fifteen years been marked by a considerable interest in context effects. This review begins by examining experimental manipulations of verbal and environmental context in verbal memory. This is followed by a more extensive review of episodic studies of face recognition that have examined the effects of varying the background in which a face is portrayed, the room of testing, and the presence of guided instructions. The relevance of these findings to eyewitness memory is also considered. Discrepancies in the literature are pinpointed with theoretical discussion centering around encoding specificity theory (Tulving & Thomson, 1973) and Baddeley and Woodhead’s (1982) distinction between “independent” (extrinsic) and “interactive” (intrinsic) context effects. The review ends with an evaluation of some recent models of memory and face recognition in an attempt to provide a framework within which to interpret the context effects in the literature.     

Phonological coding in word reading: Evidence from hearing and deaf readers

The ability of prelingually, profoundly deaf readers to access phonological information during reading was investigated in three experiments. The experiments employed a task, developed by Meyer, Schvaneveldt, and Ruddy (1974), in which lexical decision response times (RTs) to orthographically similar rhyming (e.g., WAVE-SAVE) and nortrhyming (e.g., HAVE-CAVE) word pairs were compared with RTs to orthographically and phonologically dissimilar control word pairs. The subjects of the study were deaf college students and hearing college students. In Experiments 1 and 2, in which the nonwords were pronounceable, the deaf subjects, like the hearing subjects, were facilitated in their RTs to rhyming pairs, but not to nonrhyming pairs. In Experiment 3, in which the nonwords were unpronounceable, both deaf and hearing subjects were facilitated in their RTs to both rhyming and nonrhyming pairs, with the facilitation being significantly greater for the rhyming pairs. These results indicate that access to phonological information is possible despite prelingual and profound hearing impairment. As such, they run counter to claims that deaf individuals are limited to the use of visual strategies in reading. Given the impoverished auditory, experience of such readers, these results suggest that the use of phonological information need not be tied to the auditory modality.     

Access to spoken language and the acquisition of orthographic structure: Evidence from deaf readers

Sensitivity to two types of orthographic structure was investigated: linguistically based orthographic regularity and summed single letter positional frequency. Deaf college students were found to make use of positional frequency information no less than hearing college students; however, the extent to which they made use of orthographic regularities in word recognition was related to their speech production skills. In one task, subjects were presented nonword letter strings for short durations, each followed by a masking stimulus and a target letter. They were asked to indicate whether or not the target had been present in the letter string. It was found that the accuracy of deaf subjects with good speech, like that of hearing subjects, was considerably greater for orthographically regular than irregular strings. In contrast, the accuracy of deaf subjects with poor speech was much less related to orthographic regularity. In a second task, in which subjects made judgements about how word-like various letter strings appeared, the judgements of the hearing subjects were more influenced by regularity than those of deaf subjects with poor speech. These results are discussed in terms of how expertise in speech relates to appreciation of orthographic regularity.     

Self-reported assessment practices of school psychologists: Implications for training and practice

This study reports the results of an investigation of the assessment views and practices of school psychologists in the United States. Results of the investigation indicated that respondents are predominantly behavioral and cognitive behavioral in orientation; spend most of their professional time in the public schools; and engage in a great deal of assessment. Behavioral assessment and projective testing occupies the greatest amount of their social-emotional assessment time. Behavioral interviewing is the most used behavioral technique, followed by behavioral observation, which is reportedly used by approximately one third of the respondents with from 41% to 100% of clients. Although most of the respondents report a preference for continuing to do approximately the same amount of the various social-emotional assessment activities as they are presently doing, very high percentages of respondents indicate that their use of behavioral assessment strategies would increase with development of published instrumentation, normative standards, and standardized out-of-setting behavioral procedures.     

Incarnation and pastoral care

This essay is an examination of the usefulness of incarnation as a theological metaphor for pastoral care and counseling. Understanding the incarnation as both an event and as a paradigm of God's relationship to the world provides a theological perspective for examining four interrelated questions about identity and the helping relationship frequently asked by the pastoral care-giver. The incarnation metaphor finally frees us to care in the confidence that in God the Incarnating One, all things, including our care for the sick, are held together.Dr. Anderson is Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology and Counseling at Wartburg Theological Seminary, 333 Wartburg Place, Dubuque, Iowa 52001.     

Centering culture in the treatment of opioid use disorder with American Indian and Alaska Native Communities: Contributions from a National Collaborative Board

American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities are disproportionally impacted by the opioid overdose epidemic. There remains a dearth of research evaluating methods for effectively implementing treatments for opioid use disorder (OUD) within these communities. We describe proceedings from a 2-day Collaborative Board (CB) meeting tasked with developing an implementation intervention for AI/AN clinical programs to improve the delivery of medications to treat OUD (MOUD). The CB was comprised of Elders, cultural leaders, providers, individuals with lived experience with OUD, and researchers from over 25 communities, organizations, and academic institutions. Conversations were audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded by two academic researchers with interpretation oversight provided by the CB. These proceedings provided a foundation for ongoing CB work and a frame for developing the program-level implementation intervention using a strength-based and holistic model of OUD recovery and wellbeing. Topics of discussion posed to the CB included engagement and recovery strategies, integration of extended family traditions, and addressing stigma and building trust with providers and clients. Integration of traditional healing practices, ceremonies, and other cultural practices was recommended. The importance of centering AI/AN culture and involving family were highlighted as priorities for the intervention.