Coping in childhood: A comparative evaluation of different relaxation techniques

Abstract

This paper reports on the evaluation of relaxation trainings to improve the coping of children with stress situations. Over five training sessions, different relaxation techniques were presented to children to evaluate their short-term and long-term effects on different criteria. Included were a sensoric approach to relaxation (the Progressive Muscle Relaxation), an imaginative approach, and an imaginative approach with additional sensoric elements (combined training). Two control conditions were added. One of them presented non-tension producing stories instead of supplying a systematic relaxation training. The children of the second control condition participated at the measurements without any intervention. The participants were 826 children aged 7–14. The results show clear short-term effects on physiological parameters (blood pressure, pulse rate, body temperature) as well as on subjective ratings of the children's mood and somatic condition. In relation to the overall changes, the differences between the training conditions are comparatively small. Moreover, the long-term effects (recorded one week and two months after the five training sessions) were small in relation to the short-term effects.     

The prediction of turnover intention by means of employee engagement and demographic variables in a telecommunications organisation

This study sought to determine the prediction of turnover intention by employee engagement and demographic variables in a large South African information and communication technology (ICT) organisation. Cross-sectional survey data was collected from the organisation. Using a sample of 2276 participants the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) was employed to measure employee engagement, while the Intention to Stay Questionnaire (ISQ) measured turnover intentions. Employee engagement was significantly negatively related with turnover intentions. A factor analysis conducted on the UWES indicated that activation accounted for 10% of the variance in turnover intentions. Age and tenure had statistically significant negative relationships with turnover intentions, whilst qualification and race had significant positive relationships with turnover intentions. The results also confirmed the predictive model of employee engagement as well as the impact of the demographic variables of race, age, tenure on turnover intentions. The study has practical implications in relation to its ability to contribute to human resources activities in the form of differentiated remuneration and retention strategies based on differences in age and tenure.     

Strength Training Effects on Muscle Forces and Contributions to Whole-Body Movement in Cerebral Palsy

Strength training is often prescribed for children with cerebral palsy (CP); however, links between strength gains and mobility are unclear. Nine children (age 14?±?3?years; GMFCS I-III) with spastic CP completed a 6-week strength-training program. Musculoskeletal gait simulations were generated for four children to assess training effects on muscle forces and function. There were increases in isometric joint strength, but no statistical changes in fast-as-possible walking speed or endurance after training. The walking simulations revealed changes in muscle forces and contributions to body center of mass acceleration, with greater forces from the hip muscles during walking most commonly observed. A progressive strength-training program can result in isometric and dynamic strength gains in children with CP, associated with variable mobility outcomes.     

Muscle Damaging Exercise Affects Isometric Force Fluctuation as well as Intraindividual Variability of Cognitive Function

Healthy untrained men (N = 11) were asked to perform 10 series of 12 repetitions of knee eccentric extension (EE) at 160° per second. Quadriceps muscle torques evoked by electrical stimulation at 20 Hz (P20) and 100 Hz (P100), maximal voluntary isometric contraction torque (MVC), maximal isokinetic concentric torque (IT) at 30° per second, voluntary activation index (VA), simple reaction time (RTs), complex reaction time (RTc), and torque variability at 30% of MVC were measured before EE, immediately after EE, and 60 min and 24 hr after EE. MVC, IT, P20, P100, and VA decreased significantly after EE and remained depressed 24 hr later. Torque variability increased significantly after EE. Average RTs and RTc did not change after EE, whereas intraindividual variability in RTs and RTc increased significantly after EE.     

Response Facilitation and Inhibition in Manual,Vocal, and Oculomotor Performance: Evidence for a Modality-Unspecific Mechanism

In 2 experiments (N = 10, Experiment 1; N = 16, Experiment 2), the authors investigated whether evidence for response facilitation and subsequent inhibition elicited by masked prime stimuli can be observed for output modalities other than manual responding. Masked primes were followed by target stimuli that required a 2-choice manual, saccadic, or vocal response. Performance was measured for compatible trials in which primes and targets were identical and for incompatible trials in which they were mapped to opposite responses. When primes were presented centrally, performance benefits were obtained for incompatible trials; whereas for peripherally presented primes, performance benefits were found in compatible trials. That pattern of results was obtained for manual responses and for saccadic eye movements (Experiment 1), demonstrating that those effects are not mediated by specialized dorsal pathways involved in visuomanual control. An analogous pattern of effects was found when manual and vocal responses were compared (Experiment 2). Because vocal responding is controlled by the inferotemporal cortex, that result shows that prime-target compatibility effects are not primarily mediated by the dorsal stream, but appear to reflect modality-unspecific visuomotor links that allow rapid activation of motor responses that may later be subject to inhibition.     

Motivational Effects of Outcome Feedback on Motor Performance

This study examined the effects of success and failure feedback on subsequent motor performance. Based upon the general motivation (or level-of-aspiration) hypothesis, initial success should lead to better subsequent performance than does initial failure, while the reverse prediction was derived from the cognitive dissonance theory. To test these rival hypotheses, two experiments were conducted on undergraduate male students (n =120) performing a motor maze task. Initial failure improved subjects’ subsequent performance, thus supporting the dissonance theory. However, this effect was observed only under low-ego-involving conditions, thereby suggesting that the effects of dissonance and ego involvement are interdependent. The findings were discussed in terms of motivational and informational/attributional effects of outcome feedback on motor performance.     

Motor Response Variations: Peripheral and Central Sources of Error

The purpose of this research was to test the hypothesis that the relative involvement of peripheral versus central nervous system activity during response variations determines the locus of error production in a subsequent criterion response. The hypothesis was tested by comparing ipsilateral and contralateral transfer of a criterion response following response variations that emphasized proportionately different involvement of the peripheral and central systems. When subjects were provided with knowledge of results (KR) to maintain a 30% maximum voluntary contraction (MVC), ipsilateral but not contralateral bias errors occurred on a subsequent dynamic response. When subjects maintained a 30% MVC without KR, however, subsequent ipsilateral bias errors were greater than contralateral bias errors. Finally, when subjects imaged a 30% MVC, subsequent bias errors were equivalent across limbs. These results are interpreted as support for the hypothesis.     

Efficacy of guided self-help behavioural activation and physical activity for depression: a randomized controlled trial

Behavioural activation and physical activity have received empirical support that highlight their efficacy in reducing depression. Even though both behavioural activation and physical activity share the common goal of reactivating the individual, limited research has directly compared these interventions, and more research is required to evaluate their efficacy when offered in low-intensity formats. The present study involves a randomized controlled clinical trial comparing the efficacy of two guided self-help interventions for the treatment of depression: behavioural activation and physical activity. Fifty-nine participants presenting mild-to-moderate symptoms of depression were randomized either to a behavioural activation intervention (n = 20), a physical activity intervention (n = 19) or a wait-list control group (n = 20). All participants completed symptom measure pre-, mid- and post-intervention, as well as at a two-month follow-up. Mixed-model analyses of variance revealed that both interventions were significantly more efficacious in reducing depressive symptoms in comparison with the control group. Physical activity involved significantly less time-investment compared to the behavioural activation condition (less than half the amount of time). These results indicate that physical activity and behavioural activation both effectively reduce depressive symptoms and are favourably applicable in low-intensity formats. Implications of these results and avenues for future research are discussed.     

Development of a Behavioral Activation–Based Intervention for Cigarette-Smoking Young Adults

Quitting smoking during young adulthood can substantially reduce tobacco-related morbidity and mortality later in life. Depressive symptomatology is prevalent among smokers and increases risk for poor smoking cessation outcomes. However, few integrated behavioral interventions simultaneously target smoking and depressive symptoms and rarely have young smokers been included in the development of these interventions. In this paper we describe an 8-session behavioral activation–based treatment for smoking (BATS; MacPherson et al., 2010) adapted for youth. We conducted a series of focus groups with young adult smokers with depressive symptoms in order to modify treatment manuals to be developmentally appropriate. Subsequently, we completed a small pilot group (n = 5) of the intervention to provide preliminary data on feasibility, acceptability, and outcomes. We provide a case series of the participants in order to provide clinical illustrations of how the modified BATS treatment was implemented among young adults. Most pilot study participants exhibited smoking abstinence and smoking reductions at the end of treatment, as well as improvement in depressive symptoms and maintenance of levels of activation and environmental reward. Participants provided positive qualitative constructive feedback regarding the intervention.     

状态不确定独立否定句的加工机制

采用自定步速阅读方法与图片核证范式(picture verification paradigm)探讨状态不确定独立否定句(如“裙子不是红色的”)的动态表征过程, 包括3个实验。结果发现：(1)在否定加工的初期, 即250 ms间隔时间条件下, 读者表征事件的否定状态; 肯定句已经通达事件的实际状态。(2)在否定加工的中期, 即750 ms间隔时间条件下, 读者仍然表征事件的否定状态, 但已开始对事件的备择选项进行搜索; 肯定句仍然保持对事件实际状态的表征。(3)在否定加工的后期, 即1500 ms间隔时间条件下, 读者表征否定标记与事件的否定状态, 同时完成对备择选项的搜索; 肯定句依旧保持对事件实际状态的表征。据此, 本文提出的锚激活与限制满足模型(anchor-based activation and satisfaction constrained model)得到初步证明。