REDUCTION OF CIGARETTE SMOKING IN A UNIVERSITY CAFETERIA

Passive smoking has been shown to be hazardous to the health of nonsmokers. Given this documented link between exposure to smoke-filled environments and deleterious health consequences, there is a need to develop effective procedures that establish and maintain no-smoking areas in various public settings. The present study focused on decreasing cigarette smoking in a section of a university cafeteria. Posting of no-smoking signs was found to decrease levels of smoking only minimally. However, when smokers were verbally prompted not to smoke, in the presence of the signs, marked decreases in smoking occurred in the target area.     

INCREASING APPROPRIATE SPEECH IN A CHRONIC SCHIZOPHRENIC

In a severely withdrawn schizophrenic, a combination of instructions, modeling, informational feedback, and noncontingent reinforcement was associated with a low rate of appropriate verbalizations. However, an increase in speech output was obtained using a combination of instructions, modeling, informational feedback, and contingent reinforcement. The design of this study thus permitted the conclusion that contingent reinforcement was crucial in bringing about the increase in appropriate verbalizations. The three verbal behaviors that increased in frequency were: (a) the number of socially appropriate words emitted, (b) declarative statements, and (c) appropriate replies to questions. The verbal behaviors of conversational questions and positive conversational feedback failed to be significantly affected by the experimental procedures. An attempt was also made to establish whether having the subject engage in the observable, information-gathering response of reading aloud would result in increased speech output during a subsequent conversation period. Having the subject read aloud failed to have any discernible positive effect on his speech output. A withdrawal design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the experimental procedures. The importance of assessing changes in verbal output with a variety of verbal response measures, stereotyped verbal behaviors, and carryover effects are discussed.     

Sharing in preschool children: Facilitation, stimulus generalization, response generalization, and maintenance

Three approaches to facilitating verbal and physical sharing and of the generalizability and durability of the behaviors that were trained were investigated. During a free play period, groups of preschool children were taught to share verbally, to share physically, or to share verbally and physically; another group was not trained. Immediately following free play, the children were observed in a different setting. Follow-up was conducted 4 weeks after training ended. Physical sharing that was durable and generalizable resulted only when children were taught to share verbally. Increases in physical sharing produced by training children to share only physically were not durable and did not generalize. Training both verbal and physical sharing produced results with a magnitude slightly greater than teaching just verbal sharing. Despite a lack of special programming, some of the treatment effects generalized to another setting and were maintained during the Follow-up. There was response generalization of the effects of training verbal sharing to physical sharing but not vice versa. Problems with the concept of response class, a methodological suggestion for studying response generalization, and possibilities concerning why generalization and maintenance occurred without specific programming are discussed.     

HOME SAFETY: DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF ONE COMPONENT OF AN ECOBEHAVIORAL TREATMENT PROGRAM FOR ABUSED AND NEGLECTED CHILDREN

Parents may be charged with child abuse or neglect or both on the basis of a variety of circumstances. Child neglect, for example, is often documented when caseworkers observe that the family's home itself is so poorly kept that it presents an environment in which young children have ready access to lethal hazards such as poisons, uncovered wall outlets, and firearms. In this study, we describe the development of a Home Accident Prevention Inventory (HAPI) which was validated and used to assess hazards in the homes of several families under state protective service for child abuse and neglect. The HAPI included five categories of hazards: fire and electrical, mechanical-suffocation, ingested object suffocation, firearms, and solid/liquid poisons. Following the collection of baseline data, parents were presented with a treatment package that included instructions and demonstrations on making hazards inaccessible to children, plus feedback regarding the number and location of hazards in the home. The multiple-baseline design across hazardous categories in each family's home showed that the package resulted in decreases in the number of these accessible hazards. These improvements were maintained over an extended period of unannounced follow-up checks. This research provides a model for the development and assessment of an area previously unexamined in the child abuse and neglect literature.     

情绪的动机强度与工作记忆任务类型的协调性对自我控制任务的影响

考察趋近动机强度不同的积极情绪和回避动机强度不同的消极情绪与工作记忆的协调性对自我控制任务的影响。结果发现,与高趋近动机的积极情绪、高回避动机的消极情绪以及中性情绪相比,在低趋近动机的积极情绪下完成言语工作记忆以及在低回避动机的消极情绪下完成空间工作记忆,工作记忆成绩提高,而Stroop分数降低,这表明情绪与工作记忆的协调性受到情绪动机强度的影响。     

Social and emotional outcomes of childhood sexual abuse: A review of recent research

A total of 41 articles examined the social and emotional outcomes of childhood sexual abuse. The outcomes examined included suicide and substance use, gang involvement, pregnancy, running away, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), risky sexual behavior, and behavioral problems. Results for each of these outcomes tended to vary by developmental period. However, problems of internalizing and externalizing behavior appeared to be specific to sexually abused children of all age groups. Some studies found differences in outcome according to gender, race, and age. Although findings related to abuse characteristics were found to vary from study to study, severity of the abuse, use of force, and victim's relationship to the perpetrator were found to be especially important. Other factors, such as family support and parental monitoring, were found to mitigate a negative outcome. Limitations are discussed along with suggestions for future research.     

Extended Analysis of Empirical Citations with Skinner's Verbal Behavior: 1984-2004

The present paper comments on and extends the citation analysis of verbal operant publications based on Skinner''s Verbal Behavior (1957) by Dymond, O''Hora, Whelan, and O''Donovan (2006). Variations in population parameters were evaluated for only those studies that Dymond et al. categorized as empirical. Preliminary results indicate that the majority of empirical research in the area of verbal behavior has been conducted with the younger developmentally disabled population and has focused on verbal operants from the introductory chapters of Skinner''s book. It is clear that Verbal Behavior has influenced empirical research over the past 50 years. We believe, however, that there are many underdeveloped research areas originating from Verbal Behavior that have not yet been addressed. Suggestions for extended areas of research are provided.     

The Impact of Sexual Assault on College Students’ Daily Occupations: A Phenomenological Approach

Abstract

Sexual assault is associated with a high degree of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) severity. Three in ten survivors of campus sexual assault develop PTSD over their lifetime. Occupational therapists treat veterans with PTSD, but limited research exists addressing college student survivors of sexual assault and occupational therapy. A phenomenological approach was used to understand meanings of sexual assault for college student survivors. Semi-structured interviews yielded rich data and themes of disruption and reduced quality of life. The author concludes there is potential for occupational therapists to play a collaborative role on college campuses.     

A group‐randomized evaluation of a theatre‐based sexual abuse prevention programme for primary school children in Germany

The study reports a group‐randomized trial of a theatre‐based intervention to prevent sexual abuse targeting first and second grade primary school children in Germany. A sample of 148 first and second graders saw a live performance of a play designed to promote skills in dealing with abuse‐prone interactions with adults, watched a recording of the play on DVD or were assigned to a no intervention control group. Both the live performance and the DVD groups showed significant increases in the target variables (distinguishing good/bad touch and secrets, getting help, rejecting unwanted touch) from baseline to post‐intervention and a follow‐up after 2 weeks, while the control group did not show changes. The live performance and DVD groups participated in a further follow‐up 30 weeks post‐intervention, which showed sustained effects of the intervention. The findings indicate that with appropriately culture‐sensitive measures, sexual abuse prevention programmes can have sustainable effects with young primary school children. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.