Treatment Foster Care in a System of Care: Sequences and Correlates of Residential Placements

We examined Treatment Foster Care (TFC) in residential trajectories for youth with psychiatric disorders and aggressive behavior. We analyzed residential placements of a statewide sample of youth during the 12 months preceding and following admission to TFC. Prior to TFC, the majority of youth were residing in more restrictive settings (group homes or residential treatment). Two-thirds of youth remained in TFC throughout the follow-up year. Of those who left, nearly half returned home, and slightly fewer were discharged to group homes. By the end of the 12-month follow-up period, rates of group home use were similar to those seen in the pre-TFC period. Movement out of TFC during the year was associated with being older at placement and with increased problem behavior (particularly externalizing behaviors). TFC serves as a step-down placement for a substantial number of youth. However, this is not the only way it is used, and models based on short-term transitioning or reunification with families may not be widely implemented or relevant in practice. Additional research is needed to understand current functions of TFC in residential trajectories and to maximize its utility in systems of care.     

The Kahn Test of Symbol Arrangement: a suggested index for specific learning disabilities

An index for specific learning disabilities of six signs or symptoms, taken as a group, is described. Preliminary work encourages cross-validation.     

Emotion regulation difficulties in anorexia nervosa: Relationship to self-perceived sensory sensitivity

Changes in sensation (e.g., prickly skin) are crucial constituents of emotional experience, and the intensity of perceived changes has been linked to emotional intensity and dysregulation. The current study examined the relationship between sensory sensitivity and emotion regulation among adults with anorexia nervosa (AN), a disorder characterised by disturbance in the experience of the body. Twenty-one individuals with AN, 20 individuals with AN who were weight–restored, and 23 typical controls completed self-report measures of sensory sensitivity and emotion regulation. AN participants reported heightened sensory sensitivity and greater difficulty regulating emotions relative to controls. Self-perceived sensory sensitivity was associated with greater emotion dysregulation. Weight-restored AN participants reported greater ability to regulate emotions than their currently underweight counterparts, despite heightened sensitivity. Findings suggest that hypersensitivity may be a persisting feature in AN, and that weight restoration may involve improved ability to cope with sensation.     

Comparison of Rorschach anatomy responses from psychosomatic out-patients and a matched group of psychiatric controls.

35 out-patient Ss with demonstrable psychosomatic symptoms were matched with 35 psychiatric out-patients with "milder" forms of psychopathology, i.e., neurosis, personality disorders and latent schizophrenia. The psychosomatic group showed significantly more anatomy responses on the Rorschach but there was much overlap, leading to the conclusion that anatomy does not directly reflect simply psychosomatic disturbances but, rather, is associated with psychodynamics which tend to underlie psychosomatic illnesses.     

Parameters of digitally averaged potentials of individual motor units]

Of sixty normal subjects of different age six different muscles each were examined electromyographically. The activity pattern was recorded for moderate voluntary innervation and superposed digitally. The parameters of digitally averaged summation action potentials were compared with those of manually assessed potentials. The two methods gave identical results: The duration of potentials was between 5 and 10 ms. It increased in the younger and older age groups and showed only slight changes in middle-aged persons. Only minor differences were found between the muscles of one age group, an exception being the orbicularis oris muscle. The results obtained are compared with values reported in the literature.     

The tonic immobility reaction in chickens: Response characteristics and methodology

A total of 379 chickens were run in five studies to assess the effect of different procedures on tonic immobility and to measure some of the response components of the reaction. The optimal period of manual restraint, by way of producing the most durable immobility response, was found to be 15 sec, and pretest holding conditions were shown to exert a significant influence on the reaction in naive birds. Birds who defecated during immobility or shortly after termination, remained immobile longer than comparable nondefecators. Duration of eye closure and latency of vocalization were also found to be good predictors of the duration of an immobility episode.