Reflective team in caring for people living with dementia: a base for care improvement

A reflective team (RT) is a team of professional carers who reflect on a specific caring issue under the direction of an RT leader. The goal for the reflective process is to accomplish care improvement based on research and proven experience, and the first step is to reflect upon the competence that already exists in the context in which RT takes place. This study aims to bring previous unarticulated competence in caring for people living with dementia to the surface after it has been reflected during RT sessions. Ten assistant nurses who work closely with patients who have dementia and attend RT sessions on a regular basis were interviewed about their competence for caring for people living with dementia. Using a phenomenographic analysis, two qualitatively separate categories emerged: general caring skills and dementia-specific caring skills. It was concluded that specific skills in caring for people living with dementia build in caring skills and that tacit knowledge can be explicit and be expressed when it has been reflected in RT.     

A Study of Clinical Supervision Techniques and Training in Substance Abuse Treatment

Data from 57 clinical supervisors in licensed substance abuse treatment programs indicate that 28% had completed formal graduate course work in clinical supervision and 33% were professionally licensed or certified. Findings raise concerns about the scope and quality of clinical supervision available to substance abuse counselors.     

Children's social behavior: Reliability and concurrent validity of two self-report measures

In this study the psychometric qualities of Deluty's Children's Action Tendency Scale (CATS) and Michelson and Wood's Children's Assertive Behavior Scale (CABS) were assessed with 157 Dutch children. Both instruments are designed to assess children's self-reported responses to interpersonal situations, whereby aggressive, assertive, and submissive scores are obtained. In general acceptable psychometric properties were obtained for both the CATS and the CABS, except for the assertive scale of the CATS. Furthermore, it was found that the ability of both the CATS and the CABS to discriminate between submissiveness and assertiveness was low. Important gender differences that were found regarding the relations with measures of perceived competence and social desirability are offered as a possible explanation for the relative failure of the CABS and the CATS to unbind submissive from assertive behavior. The parent version of the CABS is offered as a possible alternative or additional source of information for the assessment of children's submissiveness. Recommendations for future applications and research are presented.This research was supported by Grant 2843 from the NFGV to the second author.     

国内元认知的相关研究及其展望

元认知这一概念是由美国发展心理学家弗莱维尔(Flavell)在1976年正式提出来的。至今,学者们对其进行了广泛深入的研究,无论是在理论还是实证方面都取得了丰硕的成果。文章首先对元认知(metacognition)的概念作了阐述,接着陈述了当前关于元认知的结构比较认可的两分法以及三分法,并提出了关于元认知结构的看法。然后对目前国内元认知的相关研究做一综述,最后文章在分析过去研究所存在问题的基础上提出了对元认知研究的展望。     

Ruminative and reflective forms of self-focus: Their relationships with interpersonal skills and emotional reactivity under interpersonal stress

Self-focus can be divided into adaptive and maladaptive aspects, that is, self-reflection and self-rumination respectively. This study explores how these distinctive forms of self-focus are associated with interpersonal skills required for beginning and maintaining social relationships, and with negative emotional regulation when one experiences interpersonal problems. A survey of 150 undergraduates (Study 1) indicated contrasting cross-sectional associations between self-reflection and self-rumination and interpersonal skills; self-rumination is associated with perceived impaired interpersonal skills, whereas self-reflection is associated with the improved skills. In Study 2, using a four-wave longitudinal design, we investigated the buffering effects of self-rumination and self-reflection on negative emotional reactivity to interpersonal conflicts. Analysis of multilevel models indicated that self-rumination predicts a greater increase in negative affect after one experiences negative interpersonal events, whereas self-reflection had no such effects on the negative affect. These results suggest that self-rumination is associated with perceived impaired interpersonal skills, which could delay problem solving and exacerbate the effect of interpersonal problems, thereby leading to dysphoria. In contrast, self-reflection might contribute to the maintenance of relationships in usual or stable conditions but does not aid emotion regulation or problem solving in difficult or negative situations such as when one experiences interpersonal problems.     

Where should the balance be between “scientist” and “practitioner” in Australian undergraduate psychology?

The scientist—practitioner model of training in psychology has been widely influential in the development of undergraduate curricula in Australia. The model had its origins in post‐war America and has formed the basis for accreditation of psychology courses in Australia since the late 1970s. Recently a reconsideration of the model in Australian undergraduate psychology was argued for, suggesting that the absence of significant practical skills development in most curricula is detrimental to the discipline's graduates and their employers. The authors agree that the need for some practical skills development in undergraduate curricula is becoming increasingly important for psychology. Many of the exemplars of curriculum revision provided, however, are impractical and are unlikely to make significant contributions to Australian programs. There is an urgent need to consider the graduate attributes desired for 3‐year and 4‐year trained psychology graduates who will go on to employment without completing postgraduate study. Curriculum innovation to enhance graduates' employability will flow from this development, and will be likely to incorporate information technology solutions, rather than placement experience. This process is entirely compatible with the scientist—practitioner model of training and education in psychology.     

Fixed-time schedule effects in combination with response-dependent schedules

We evaluated the effects of fixed-interval (FI), fixed-time (FT), and conjoint (combined) FI FT reinforcement schedules on the responding of 3 adults who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Responding on vocational tasks decreased for 2 of 3 participants under FT alone relative to FI alone. Responding under FI FT resulted in response persistence for 2 of 3 participants. Results have implications for the maintenance of desirable behavior, as well as for situations in which FT treatment has been implemented for problem behavior and problem behavior is nevertheless reinforced by caregivers.     

Mentoring Nurses in Familial Cancer Risk Assessment and Counseling: Lessons Learned From a Formative Evaluation

Background. As familial cancer genetic services moves into community practice increased numbers of trained health professionals are needed to counsel individuals seeking cancer risk information. Nurses have been targeted to provide cancer risk assessment and counseling. To help prepare nurses for this role, a 5-day training in familial cancer risk assessment and counseling followed by a long-distance mentorship to support continued skill development in the work environment was conducted by Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA. Methods. Four cohorts (N = 41) have completed the training and were randomized to either an immediate or delayed mentorship. A formative evaluation assessed the nurse’s ability to consult with other genetic health professionals and build self-efficacy in counseling skills via responses to questionnaire. A post-mentorship interview evaluated the usefulness, timing and length of the mentorship. Results. For both groups, there was a statistically significant improvement in self-efficacy for all skills from baseline to 6 months and an increased number of nurses consulting with genetic health professionals. All the nurses reported the value of the mentorship and those with less cancer risk counseling experience prior to the training needed support and resources for further skill and program development. Lessons learned from this formative evaluation are provided.     

Improving the Social-Behavioral Adjustment of Adolescents: The Effectiveness of a Social Skills Group Intervention

We evaluated the efficacy of a social skills training intervention designed to improve adolescents’ social, emotional and behavioral adjustment, Social Skills Group Intervention-Adolescent (S.S.GRIN-A). Seventy-four adolescents (ages 13–16 years) and their parents were randomly assigned to either the treatment group (N = 40) or a wait-list control group (N = 34). Adolescents in the treatment and control groups were compared on global self-concept, social self-efficacy, internalizing problems, and externalizing problems pre- and post-intervention. Youth in the treatment group demonstrated enhanced global self-concept, increased social self-efficacy, and decreased internalizing problems as compared to youth in the control group. No differences in externalizing behavior were found. We discuss the effectiveness of S.S.GRIN-A as a general program designed for addressing a range of adjustment issues and social skill deficits in adolescents.