Physiological and Behavioral Regulation in Two-Year-Old Children with Aggressive/Destructive Behavior Problems

A sample of 99 two-year-old children was selected on the basis of parents' responses to two administrations of the Child Behavior Checklist for two- to three-year-olds. Forty-nine of these children displayed symptoms of aggressive/destructive (externalizing) problems that were in the borderline clinical range (labelled high risk) and 50 children displayed few such symptoms (low risk). The children were assessed in a series of laboratory procedures that were intended to be emotionally and behaviorally challenging, during which time heart rate was recorded and behavior was observed. To assess physiological regulation, resting measures of heart period and respiratory sinus arrythmia (RSA), and heart period change and RSA suppression were derived from these procedures. To assess emotional and behavioral regulation, children's affect and on-task versus types of off-task behaviors were measured. Results indicated that children in the high-risk group did not differ from children in the low-risk group on the resting measure of heart period. Boys displayed lower heart rate than did girls, regardless of risk group. However, boys in the low-risk group differed from boys in the high-risk group in terms of resting measures of RSA. Children in the high-risk group did display significantly and consistently lower RSA suppression (physiological regulation) during the challenging situations than did the children in the low-risk group. High-risk children displayed more negative affect and dysregulated emotion regulation behaviors than did the low risk children. These findings are discussed in terms of the development of behavioral and emotional regulation that underlie adaptive versus maladaptive behavior.     

Compassion-Focused Therapy to Reduce Body Weight Shame for Individuals With Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Adults living in larger bodies (Body Mass Index > 30) often experience body weight shame, are highly self-critical, and are at increased risk for anxiety and depression. To date, there have been no RCTs examining the efficacy of Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) to help those experiencing body weight shame. The aim of the current study was to investigate the efficacy of CFT as a 12-session group intervention to reduce body weight shame for individuals living in larger bodies. The study used an RCT design with participants randomized to the CFT (n = 28) or waitlist control (n = 27) condition. Participants in both groups were assessed at pre- and postintervention, with the CFT group alone assessed at 3- and 6-month follow-up intervention. Both self-report and a physiological measure of parasympathetic nervous system activity were used (i.e., heart rate variability). Results indicated that CFT had a significant positive impact at postintervention compared to the control group for body weight shame (internal and external), increasing self-compassion, reducing fears of compassion (self, other, and receiving), reducing self-criticism, and reducing external shame. Although there were no significant group effects at postintervention on depression and anxiety, 66% of participants had clinical improvement on depression in the CFT group compared to 8% in the control group at postintervention. CFT did not shift baseline heart rate variability at postintervention. The evidence from this RCT supports CFT as an efficacious intervention to reduce body weight shame for individuals with obesity.     

Becoming a person: How long-distance walking can lead to personal growth – A cultural and health-related approach

Long-distance walking is an activity that has been practiced across cultures and ages. More recently, it has been associated with notions of mental health, and it has been suggested that long-distance walking may have psychotherapeutic effects. There is still, however, a lack of clarity regarding several central questions, including what long-distance walking is, and why it may be beneficial to mental health. In this article, we provide an overview of understandings and cultural expressions of the long-distance walk, and we provide a new definition, reaching across these various understandings and expressions. Next, we discuss the different explanations given regarding the therapeutic aspects of the long-distance walk, and suggest a new approach, leaning on an existential framework. Finally, we discuss the implications that the knowledge on long-distance walking has for notions of therapeutic interventions more generally.     

U.S. Complicity and Japan's Wartime Medical Atrocities: Time for a Response

Shortly before and during the Second World War, Japanese doctors and medical researchers conducted large-scale human experiments in occupied China that were at least as gruesome as those conducted by Nazi doctors. Japan never officially acknowledged the occurrence of the experiments, never tried any of the perpetrators, and never provided compensation to the victims or issued an apology. Building on work by Jing-Bao Nie, this article argues that the U.S. government is heavily complicit in this grave injustice, and should respond in an appropriate way in order to reduce this complicity, as well as to avoid complicity in future unethical medical experiments. It also calls on other U.S. institutions, in particular the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, to urge the government to respond, or to at least inform the public and initiate a debate about this dark page of American and Japanese history.     

The Effects of a Multiple Family Therapy on Adolescents with Eating Disorders: An Outcome Study

Multiple Family Therapy (MFT) has gained increasing popularity in the treatment of eating disorders and many programs have been developed over the past decade. Still, there is little evidence in the literature on the effectiveness on MFT for treating eating disorders. The present study examines the effects of a particular model of Multiple Family Therapy on eating disorder symptoms, quality of life, and percentage of Expected Body Weight (%EBW) in adolescents with eating disorders (ED). Eighty‐two adolescents with ED, aged between 11 and 19 years, were assessed before and after treatment using the Eating Disorders Inventory 2 (EDI‐2), the Outcome Questionnaire 45 (OQ‐45) and %EBW. Results showed a significant increase in %EBW between the beginning and end of treatment, with a large effect size. 52.4% of patients achieved an EBW above 85%. Symptoms relative to all EDI dimensions (except for bulimia) significantly decreased during treatment. The three dimensions related to quality of life assessment also improved over the course of MFT. At the end of treatment, 70.7% of patients had a total OQ‐45 score below clinical significance. This study suggests that Multiple Family Therapy may benefit adolescents with eating disorders, with improvement on several outcome measures (%EBW, ED symptoms, and quality of life). However, the lack of a comparison group entails caution when drawing conclusions.     

The Divergent Paths of Behavior Analysis and Psychology: Vive la Différence!

Twenty years ago I suggested that behavior analysts could effect a quiet and covert takeover of the American Psychological Association (APA). I gave as precedents the operation of similar initiatives in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the Darwinian-inspired X-Club, and the psychoanalytically-oriented Secret Ring. Though a conscientious program of working within established APA bylaws and rules, behavior analysts could ensure that behavior analysts were nominated for every significant elective position within the APA, and move to get their colleagues placed in appointive positions, such as journal editorships, review boards, and major committees. This would be one approach to remake psychology along behavioral lines, which was an early ambition of B. F. Skinner. The community of behavior analysts ignored my suggestion, and instead pursued the path of creating an independent discipline of practitioners, one with its own degree-granting programs, conventions, journals, and legal regulation. This effort has been immensely successful, although much critical work remains to be done. In retrospect, I was wrong to suggest changing psychology from within, and I have been delighted to witness the emergence of our new and independent field.     

A General Methodology for the Translation of Behavioral Terms into Vernacular Languages

As the field of behavior analysis expands internationally, the need for comprehensive and systematic glossaries of behavioral terms in the vernacular languages of professionals and clients becomes crucial. We created a Spanish-language glossary of behavior-analytic terms by developing and employing a systematic set of decision-making rules for the inclusion of terms. We then submitted the preliminary translation to a multi-national advisory committee to evaluate the transnational acceptability of the glossary. This method led to a translated corpus of over 1200 behavioral terms. The end products of this work included the following: (a) a Spanish-language glossary of behavior analytic terms that are publicly available over the Internet through the Behavior Analyst Certification Board and (b) a set of translation guidelines summarized here that may be useful for the development of glossaries of behavioral terms into other vernacular languages.     

What do We Know about Family Interventions for Psychosis at the Process Level? A Systematic Review

The evidence regarding effectiveness of family interventions for psychosis (FIP) is strong and consistent. However, there is a gap in the research on the process of these interventions, and little is known about their active ingredients. This review aims to identify the active ingredients of FIP. We conducted a systematic literature review, focusing on qualitative research, and analyzed 22 papers in total. We found a single study comprehensively exploring the process of FIP. All other studies focused on particular aspects of process‐related variables. The key elements of FIP seem to be the so‐called “common therapeutic factors”, followed by education about the illness and coping skills training. This review supports the value of a stepped model of intervention according to the needs of the families. However, the evidence reviewed also reveals a gap in the research findings based on the limited research available. FIP are complex, psychosocial interventions with multiple components, and more intensive, qualitative research is needed to establish linkages between process and outcome.     

The FOCUS Family Resilience Program: An Innovative Family Intervention for Trauma and Loss

This article describes the core principles and components of the FOCUS Program, a brief intervention for families contending with single or multiple trauma or loss events. It has been administered nationally to thousands of military family members since 2008 and has been implemented in a wide range of civilian community, medical, clinical, and school settings. Developed by a team from the UCLA and Harvard Medical Schools, the FOCUS Program provides a structured approach for joining with traditional and nontraditional families, crafting shared goals, and then working with parents, children, and the entire family to build communication, make meaning out of traumatic experiences, and practice specific skills that support family resilience. Through a narrative sharing process, each family member tells his or her story and constructs a timeline that graphically captures the experience and provides a platform for family discussions on points of convergence and divergence. This narrative sharing process is first done with the parents and then the children and then the family as a whole. The aim is to build perspective‐taking skills and mutual understanding, to reduce distortions and misattributions, and to bridge estrangement between family members. Previous studies have confirmed that families participating in this brief program report reductions in distress and symptomatic behaviors for both parents and children and increases in child pro‐social behaviors and family resilient processes.