Evaluating a brief prevention program for improving marital conflict in community families.

Marital conflict is related to well-being in children and adults (E. M. Cummings & P. T. Davies, 2002). Marital conflict is likely most effectively ameliorated before it becomes clinically significant. However, families without significant problems may be unwilling to participate in couples therapies or other lengthy or intensive interventions. Responding to this gap, the authors developed a 4-session psychoeducational program about marital conflict for community families. Couples with children 4-8 years of age were randomly blocked into 1 of 3 groups: (1) a parent-only group (n = 24), (2) a parent-child group (n = 33), or (3) a self-study group (n = 33). Pre- and posttest and 6-month and 1-year assessments were conducted. This report evaluates (a) whether participation in a psychoeducational program for parents improved marital conflict, especially concerning ways of expressing disagreements, and (b) whether changes in marital conflict subsequently improved marital satisfaction, parenting, and child adjustment. Greater constructive and less destructive marital conflict was observed at all assessments for treatment groups, and these changes were linked with improvements in other family processes. The findings support the promise of brief, psychoeducational programs for improving marital conflict for community samples.     

That Was a Great Commercial,but What Were They Selling? Effects of Violence and Sex on Memory for Products in Television Commercials1

College students (N = 324) watched a television program containing violence, sex, or no violence or sex. Each program contained 3 violent ads, 3 sexual ads, and 3 neutral ads. Participants were less likely to remember the advertised brands when the ads were embedded in a violent or sexual program than when the ads were embedded in a neutral program. Violent ads were the least memorable. This memory impairment occurred for both males and females, regardless of the content of the ads. If advertisers want viewers to remember advertised brands, they should think twice about sponsoring programs containing violence and sex.     

Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for PTSD symptoms after a road accident: an uncontrolled case series

This report examined whether Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) could be used in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in the aftermath of a serious motor vehicle accident. Six individuals reporting either full or severe subsyndromal PTSD completed 10 sessions of VRET, which was conducted using software designed to create real-time driving scenarios. Results indicated significant reductions in posttrauma symptoms involving reexperiencing, avoidance, and emotional numbing, with effect sizes ranging from d=.79 to d=1.49. Indices of clinically significant and reliable change suggested that the magnitude of these changes was meaningful. Additionally, high levels of perceived reality ("presence") within the virtual driving situation were reported, and patients reported satisfaction with treatment. Results are discussed in light of the possibility for VRET to be useful in guiding exposure in the treatment of PTSD following road accidents.     

A Psychometric Analysis of the Child Behavior Checklist DSM-Oriented Scales

The Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6–18 (CBCL/6-18) possesses newly developed DSM-Oriented Scales, constructed through expert clinical judgment to match selected categories for behavioral/emotional problems as described in the DSM-IV. The present investigation examined the basic psychometric properties for all six DSM-Oriented Scales (i.e., Affective, Anxiety, Somatic, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity, Oppositional, and Conduct Scales) in a large clinical sample of children and adolescents (N = 673). Findings from the present study provide strong evidence for the reliability, as well as convergent and discriminative validity, of these scales. It appears that the DSM-Oriented Scales may provide accurate supplementary information that may be considered when formulating clinical diagnoses.

Humor Reconsidered: The Cultivation of “Accurate Perception” as a Contribution to the Care of Souls

Cultivating a sense of humor that has redemptive possibilities for the soul in a post-Christendom era is an important but nonetheless risky act of pastoral ministry. Humor, like the soul, involves ambiguity, incongruity and paradox. Insufficient appreciation of the paradoxical nature of humor contributes to views that are both overly suspicious as well as insufficiently cautious where humor is concerned. A redemptive sense of humor is explored as a virtue analogous to the Greek virtue of eutrapelia in tension with bomocholia (buffoonery/flippancy) and agroikia (boorishness/excessive seriousness). The work of Erik and Joan Erikson on the needed tension between the syntonic and dystonic further clarifies how humor best serves the soul. I conclude that the willingness to cultivate a sense of humor is an act of faith.     

Perceptions of campus climate, academic efficacy and academic success among community college students: an ethnic comparison

The present study examined whether there are ethnic differences in perceptions of campus climate, social support, and academic efficacy among community college students, and whether student perceptions were associated with academic success. A total of 475 community college students completed a questionnaire that measured students’ perceptions of cultural congruity, college environment, mentoring, peer social life and academic self efficacy. Ethnic differences were observed, as African American and Caucasian students reported higher levels of cultural congruity than Asian students and higher academic self efficacy than Asian and Latino students. There were also ethnic differences in the relationship between the students’ perceptions and GPA. Cultural congruity and efficacy correlated with GPA among Latino students, academic efficacy correlated with GPA among Asian students, peer social support and college environment correlated with GPA among Caucasians, however, none of the perceptions scales correlated with GPA among African American students. The lack of relationship between academic efficacy and GPA among African American and Caucasians students is discussed.     

The utility of the AusEd driving simulator in the clinical assessment of driver fatigue

Several driving simulators have been developed which range in complexity from PC based driving tasks to advanced "real world" simulators. The AusEd driving simulator is a PC based task, which was designed to be conducive to and test for driver fatigue. This paper describes the AusEd driving simulator in detail, including the technical requirements, hardware, screen and file outputs, and analysis software. Some aspects of the test are standardized, while others can be modified to suit the experimental situation. The AusEd driving simulator is sensitive to performance decrement from driver fatigue in the laboratory setting, potentially making it useful as a laboratory or office based test for driver fatigue risk management. However, more research is still needed to correlate laboratory based simulator performance with real world driving performance and outcomes.