USING DIFFERENTIAL REINFORCEMENT TO DECREASE ACADEMIC RESPONSE LATENCIES OF AN ADOLESCENT WITH ACQUIRED BRAIN INJURY

The present study investigated the effects of contingency‐specifying rules and a token economy to decrease the latency to comply with academic instructions by a 16‐year‐old girl with acquired brain injury. Results showed that treatment was successful in reducing academic response latencies. These results replicate previous research in which differential reinforcement was used to decrease slow responding to academic tasks.     

Deficits in executed and imagined aiming performance in brain-injured children

Motor disorders are a frequent consequence of acquired brain injury (ABI) in children and much effort is currently invested in alleviating these deficits. The aim of the present study was to test motor imagery (MI) capabilities in children with ABI (n=25) and an age- and gender-matched control group (n=25). A computerized Virtual Radial Fitts Task (VRFT) was used to investigate the speed-accuracy trade-offs (or Fitts' law) that occur as target size is varied for both executed and imagined performance. In the control group, the speed for accuracy trade-off for both executed and imagined performance conformed to Fitts' law. In the ABI group, only executed movements conformed to Fitts' law. These findings suggest that children with ABI show an inferior ability to imagine the time needed to complete goal-directed movements with differential difficulty levels.     

Introducing the concept of spirit injury in education‐to‐work transitions

This paper introduces the topic of spiritual injury and the possible influences and relationships it might share with education‐to‐work transitions of young adults. Students of both dominant and minority cultural backgrounds were interviewed to gain a detailed understanding of how perceptions of transitions came about. Further, I sought to understand what role spirituality and experiences of spirit injury have in the decision‐making processes.     

Impaired embodiment and intersubjectivity

This paper considers the importance of the body for self-esteem, communication, and emotional expression and experience, through the reflections of those who live with various neurological impairments of movement and sensation; sensory deafferentation, spinal cord injury and Möbius Syndrome (the congenital absence of facial expression). People with severe sensory loss, who require conscious attention and visual feedback for movement, describe the imperative to use the same strategies to reacquire gesture, to appear normal and have embodied expression. Those paralysed after spinal cord injury struggle to have others see them as people rather than as people in wheelchairs and have been active in the disability movement, distinguishing between their medical impairment and the social induced disability others project onto them. Lastly those with Möbius reveal the importance of the face for emotional expression and communication and indeed for emotional experience itself. All these examples explore the crucial role of the body as agent for social and personal expression and self-esteem.     

基于心理痛苦理论与决策树的中学生心理危机分类模型

中学生心理危机分类模型属于复杂数据模型，本文采用分类树算法探究家庭、校园、同伴和个体因素在中学生心理危机分类中的相对重要性差异，尤其是心理痛苦三因素对致死性危机的独特作用。结果显示：（1）中学生自杀危机和非致死性危机分类树的分类效果良好，自伤危机分类树的分类效果欠佳；（2）中学生自杀危机中，痛苦逃避最为重要，痛苦唤醒次之，之后为痛苦体验和学校满意度；（3）中学生自伤危机中，同伴问题行为最为重要，之后为父母陪伴和家庭监督；（4）中学生非致死性危机中，歧视知觉最为重要，之后为痛苦唤醒和同伴支持。提示中学生不同心理危机的促发机制存在差异，心理痛苦三因素模型在自杀分类模型中作用显著，但并非自伤危机和非致死性危机的关键变量。     

Psychological aspects of scuba diving injuries: Suggestions for short-term treatment from a psychodynamic perspective

Dive medicine is described as an area of practice in which psychologists may choose to expand their clinical service and research activities. The author argues that most research studying risk behavior and sports take into account biological, behavioral or cognitive approaches, while ignoring unconscious conflict in risk-taking and injury management. The present paper uses a psychodynamically-oriented, interview-based approach to studying psychological reactions to decompression sickness in three experienced scuba divers. Brief interventions and their outcomes are described.     

脑外伤患者内隐记忆康复护理可行性研究

探讨脑外伤患者在高强度练习和准确反馈条件下,内隐学习知识效应和底层规则迁移易化能力。结果发现：①脑外伤患者在汉字整体偏好深加工的非显著特征学习与对照组一样有效;在笔划浅加工的显著特征学习,明显低于对照组;在自由回忆和再认的重复测验中,患者组与对照组存在显著性差异。②脑外伤患者学习记忆具有整体性、直观性、模糊抽象性、无意识性等特点。③脑外伤患者存在着内隐学习知识效应和内隐知识学习效应,且随着训练强化和训练方法的改进,有增强和外显记忆转化的趋势。     

A behavioral analysis of peaking in residential electrical-energy consumers

This study was concerned with "peaking", which is the tendency for electrical-energy users to consume at high rates for brief periods during the day. Peaking results in the inefficient use of generating facilities, which may lead to unfavorable effects on the environment, such as the construction of new energy producing facilities or the activation of older, less safe, generating units. A continuous data collection system to monitor consumption of electrical energy was installed in the homes of three volunteer families. Information, feedback, and incentives were evaluated for their effects on peak energy consumption. A combination of feedback plus incentives was most effective and reduced peaking about 50%. Removal of experimental treatments resulted in a return to pre-treatment patterns of consumption.     

EFFECT OF SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT ON THE VOCATIONAL OUTCOMES OF PERSONS WITH TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY

This paper reports the job placement of 5 males with severe traumatic brain injury. An individual placement model of supported employment was used. All individuals were placed in competitive employment and received staggered intervention over time by trained employment specialists. A multiple baseline design across persons was used to evaluate results. All individuals had been unable to work consistently or at all in competitive work environments. The range of wages was $4.25 to $5.00 per hour with an average of 339 hours of employment specialist intervention time required per case. The major problems experienced by employment specialists were insubordinate and disruptive behaviors as well as other inappropriate social behaviors displayed at the job site.     

Adapting Cognitive Processing Therapy to Treat Co-Occurring Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Case Study

This case study aims to provide evidence for the effectiveness of adapting a particular manualized cognitive behavioral therapy intervention to treat co-occurring posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). This study presents the treatment of a woman who experienced co-occurring mTBI and PTSD following a motor vehicle accident, a dual diagnosis that was established through a flexible assessment approach involving interviews as well as standardized psychological, neuropsychological, and neurobehavioral testing. Treatment planning led to a-priori adaptation of Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) to treat both her PTSD symptoms and the sequelae associated with her mTBI. The therapist maintained fidelity to the manualized structure and content of CPT protocol, adapting portions of the treatment to add specific emphasis on issues of identity confusion and role loss in service of addressing these common functional impairments that can accompany mTBI. Discussion focuses on application of CPT for future treatment of comorbid PTSD and TBI amidst complicating factors, including role losses and medical and safety issues. This case study is especially relevant due to the prevalence of co-occurring PTSD and TBI across a variety of populations.