Visual and verbal modes of information processing and their relation to the effectiveness of cognitively-based anxiety-reduction techniques

This study examined the interaction between preferred modes of information processing (visual and verbal) and two cognitively-based anxiety-reduction techniques. One technique was based on the use of images as a coping strategy while the other employed a self-instructional approach. Thirty-six subjects reporting high levels of dental fear were assigned to one of three groups (two types of treatment and a no-treatment control). One-half of the subjects in each group had been identified as preferring the visual mode of information processing while for the other half the verbal mode was preferred. After treatment, subjects viewed an anxiety-inducing videotape depicting a visit to the dentist. Results indicated that, while both treatments were significantly effective in reducing self-reports of discomfort while viewing the videotape, there was no significant interaction between the type of treatment and preferred cognitive mode. The results were interpreted as indicating that treatment may override individual cognitive styles. Furthermore, the data suggested that the normal individual has the ability to adapt to divergent and non-preferred forms of information processing.     

The Assertive Interaction Coding System

Conceptual and theoretical issues concerning the assessment of assertive behavior are discussed. A summary of a variety of instruments utilized in experimental and clinical settings is offered that reflects these issues. This review is followed by the presentation of a new assessment device developed by the authors—the Assertive Interaction Coding System. Research evidence as to its reliability and validity in experimental and clinical settings is presented. Implications for its use in clinical and research protocols are addressed.     

Validity of Social Behavior Assessment in discriminating emotionally disabled from nonhandicapped students

Discriminant analyses and stepwise multiple regression techniques were applied to teacher ratings of 184 kindergarten through eighth-grade students using Stephen's Social Behavior Assessment (SBA) inventory and were used to predict group membership as emotionalyy disabled (ED) or non-ED. The results suggested that the SBA was highly effective in correctly discriminating ED from non-ED students. The linear discriminant function derived from the 30 SBA subcategories correctly classified 83% of the subjects, yielding a highly significant separation of groups of ED and non-ED children. While the results of the discriminant analyses have not yet been cross-validated, these findings support the discriminant validity of the SBA for ED versus non-ED classification and suggest that the SBA is potentially a useful instrument for school psychologists as one source of information in a multifactored assessment regarding the identification of children as ED.     

The interrelationships and reliability of a multilevel behavior-based assessment package for distressed couples

Twenty-six couples interested in improving their marital relationships participated in a multi-level behavior based assessment battery. The measures included self-reported, self-monitored, and observed components, all of which were examined for their interrelationships. Test-retest reliability was carried out with six of the couples. Self-reported measures, self-monitored pleasing behaviors, observed positive nonverbal and some negative verbal interactions were found to be consistent. In general, the various levels of measurement were found to be significantly related to each other. Some of the findings were applied to coercion and reciprocity formulations of marital interactions.     

MULTIVARIATE ASSESSMENT OF CONFLICT IN DISTRESSED AND NONDISTRESSED MOTHER-ADOLESCENT DYADS

A battery of measures was used to assess conflict between mothers and young adolescents (females and males, 11 to 15 years of age). Two groups of families, one composed of a distressed clinical sample (N = 38), the other a nondistressed normative sample (N = 40), participated. The assessment battery included retrospective judgments, frequency estimates, self-monitored home recording, and tape-recorded discussion of a home problem. Content of assessment measures tapped aspects of parental control, decisionmaking, self-reported interaction behavior, arguments, interaction behavior rated by independent “blind” observers, frequency and anger-intensity of specific problematic issues, and perceptions of positive and negative behaviors of the other family member. Based on univariate analyses, 21 of the 26 defined variables discriminated significantly in the predicted direction. Maternal and adolescent reports of behavior and independent ratings of tape-recorded interaction emerged as strong and consistent discriminators. Stepwise multivariate discriminant analysis provided successful classification of 100% of the families based on the inclusion of nine variables. In a cross-validation sample, 84% of the families were correctly classified. Implications for systematic outcome research as well as clinical application are discussed.     

BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT FOR PEDIATRIC INTENSIVE CARE UNITS1

Two studies were conducted to analyze behaviors of staff and patients on a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). In the first study, behavioral observation procedures were employed to assess patient state, physical position, affect, verbal behaviors, visual attention and activity engagement, and staff verbal behavior. On the average, one-third of the patients were judged to be conscious and alert but markedly nonengaged with their environment. In the second study, a member of the hospital staff provided alert patients with individual activities to determine whether a simple environmental manipulation could positively affect behavior of children in intensive care. Employing a reversal design, the activity intervention was found to increase attention and engagement and positive affect, and to decrease inappropriate behavior. Both studies demonstrate that behavioral assessment procedures can provide an empirical basis for designing PICU routines affecting children's psychosocial status, and, thus, complement current procedures designed to provide quality medical care.     

New assessment systems for residential treatment,management, research,and evaluation: A symposium

An introduction and overview are presented to new observational assessment systems for ongoing assessment and monitoring of both staff and resident (client or patient) functioning in residential treatment programs for emotionally disturbed and mentally retarded adults.Preparation of articles and the research and development on which the articles are based was supported, in part, by Public Health Service Grants MH-15553 and MH-25464 from the National Institute of Mental Health, and by grants from the Joyce Foundation and the Illinois Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities.A symposium presented at the 87th Annual Meetings of the American Psychological Association, New York City, September 1979.