A Brief Group Intervention Using Video Games to Teach Sportsmanship Skills to Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Impaired social skills represent a fundamental deficit for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Despite the potential importance of “good sportsmanship,” this social skill has received relatively little attention in the literature. The current study utilized a Behavioral Skills Training (BST) approach to teach three sportsmanship skills (i.e., complimenting, turn taking, and being a good sport) during video game play (Wii Sports). Six children with ASD completed this study. Findings suggest BST can be used effectively to teach sportsmanship skills to children with ASD. The use of video-game technology as part of social skills intervention programs is also discussed.     

Suicide and Suicidal Attempts in the United States: Costs and Policy Implications

The national cost of suicides and suicide attempts in the United States in 2013 was $58.4 billion based on reported numbers alone. Lost productivity (termed indirect costs) represents most (97.1%) of this cost. Adjustment for under‐reporting increased the total cost to $93.5 billion or $298 per capita, 2.1–2.8 times that of previous studies. Previous research suggests that improved continuity of care would likely reduce the number of subsequent suicidal attempts following a previous nonfatal attempt. We estimate a highly favorable benefit–cost ratio of 6 to 1 for investments in additional medical, counseling, and linkage services for such patients.     

Narratives of escape: A hermeneutic study of resiliency

This study examines the structure of narratives told by well-functioning adults who were at-risk as children. Participants told stories of their childhood based on pictures they selected from the TAT test (Thematic Apperception Test). Analysis of their narratives resulted in a set of hermeneutic rules which may be useful in interpreting the structure of narratives and in understanding the relationship between internalized images, reality construction, and resiliency. Two types of images were identified: negative images of stress and darkness and more positive images of escape and hope. Implications for helping clients develop images of strength and competence are discussed.The authors wish to thank an anonymous reviewer for his or her very helpful suggestions.     

Clarifying subsystem boundaries in grandfamilies

This article explores the benefits of clarifying subsystem boundaries in grandfamilies, families in which grandparents are primary caregivers to their grandchildren. The author reviews what is known about grandfamilies, presents the theory and research behind the importance of clear subsystem boundaries, and argues that grandfamilies are particularly vulnerable to problematic subsystem boundaries. Case examples are used to demonstrate how clarifying subsystem boundaries with grandfamilies in family therapy can open up resources for improved family functioning.     

Effects of semantic and cheremic context on acquisition of manual signs

In two experiments, sign-naive subjects acquired the meanings for manual signs of American Sign Language by learning to respond with the English word equivalents when signs were presented. The results showed that when the signs on a to-be-learned list were related to each other in handshape configuration (cheremically similar), they were more difficult to acquire than when semantically similar. Whether the similar signs were grouped together during presentation or were separated by other dissimilar signs had no effect on the number of signs correctly acquired. These results were the same for the identical signs learned in the cheremically or semantically similar contexts as for the fists as a whole. The results have implications for teaching sign language to hearing adults.     

Processes that mediate the relationship between a group goal and improved group performance

The relationships between the level of a group performance goal for quantity, group process, and group performance were assessed. Forty groups of 3 people performed 3 trials of a production task. One half of the groups were assigned a low goal for Sessions 2 and 3, and one half were assigned a high goal. To measure group process, videotapes of each group were analyzed and self-reports of behavior were collected. A significant difference in performance across the high and low goal conditions was found for Session 3, and measures of group process showed that effort, group planning, changes in individual and group performance plans, and reduced concern for quality mediated the group goal effect. These results are discussed in relation to Weldon and Weingart's (1988) model of group goals and group performance.     

Mechanisms underlying priming on perceptual tests.

Four experiments examined perceptual, lexical, and conceptual processing effects in priming on word fragment completion (WFC) and perceptual identification (PID). In Experiment 1, visual words produced more priming than auditory or generated words, and pictures produced the least priming, suggesting that the effects of different encoding processes can be distinguished. In Experiments 2 and 3, Ss studied anagrams (e.g., tripocs), but only Ss instructed to think of the original words by mentally interchanging the vowels exhibited significant priming. Thus, lexical access is more important than surface similarity in priming. In Experiment 4, Ss studied compounds that either preserved the target's meaning (e.g., scotch bottle) or altered its meaning (e.g., scotch tape). Encoded meaning affected priming on WFC but not on PID, suggesting that conceptual processing plays a larger role in WFC. Overall the results suggest that priming must be understood in terms of multiple processes.     

Family therapy in israel: A review of therapy done under unusual circumstances

Major issues affecting family therapy practice in Israel are discussed. Issues making family therapy in Israel unique include historical topics such as the legacy of the Holocaust, the emergence of the family therapy movement from the cradle of the kibbutz; and more recent events such as constant wars, the specter of terrorist threat, and coping with the everyday pressures of life in Israel—stress, loss, and bereavement. Future trends in family therapy in the Israeli context include the peace process and the adjustment it requires from families living in the West Bank and the Golan Heights. The advent of peace and normalization will force family therapists to grapple with issues until now not given the attention they require by a country always on the brink of war, including family violence, feminist issues and patriarchal family orientations, single-parent families, and cultural diversity.The authors would like to acknowledge the help of Israel Charny, Yael Geron, Tzipi Glick, Ruth Malkinson, Judith Wertheimer, and Susan Zeidel.