An Evaluation of a Holistic Program for at-Risk Teens and Their Parents

Increasing evidence indicates that adolescent behavior problems are related to family functioning. In general, findings have demonstrated the family’s critical role in facilitating developmental outcomes. This study evaluated a 6-week holistic program for at-risk teens and their parents entitled Creating a Responsible Thinker at baseline, post-test, and 3-month follow-up. Results demonstrated gender differences in the program’s effects on self-efficacy, specifically increased self-efficacy for females and reduced self-efficacy among males. Follow-up results suggested that teens reported better communication with their parents. These results underscore the appropriateness of a family-based approach to treatment for at-risk teens and their parents.     

强制戒毒机构医疗工作存在的问题及对策

强制戒毒是我国戒毒工作的主要形式,是国家有关法规赋予强制戒毒机构的重要职能,针对目前强制戒毒所医疗工作存在的问题,如强制戒毒机构基本医疗条件欠缺、戒毒治疗手段单一、医疗经费不足等,为改善医疗工作薄弱的现状,从提高认识、重视队伍建设、加强缺席化等方面提出了对策。     

解答加减文字题中情境复杂性对问题难度的影响

过去人们基于语言复杂性探讨加减文字题的难度成因,本研究将探讨情境复杂性对问题难度的影响。被试为北京市一城区小学二年级共108名学生（男52,女56）,平均年龄8岁4个月。采用2(问题类型：“给”问题和“拿”问题)×2(事件类型：增多事件和减少事件)混合设计。对于“给”问题,增多题中各语句的主语不一致,减少题中一致,对于“拿”问题则相反。根据语言复杂性解释,因为各语句的主语一致有利于加工,“给”问题有减少题加工优势,“拿”问题有增多题加工优势;根据情境复杂性解释,因为减少情境有利于加工,两类问题均有减少题加工优势。实验表明不论“给”问题还是“拿”问题,均有减少题的加工优势,支持情境复杂性解释     

加减文字题解决研究概述

加减文字题指应用加减法运算解答的简单数学应用题。基本类型有合并题、变化题和比较题。人们主要采用四种方法研究解题过程：解答问题、回忆和构造问题、建立计算机模型和眼动记录。过去研究发现语义类型、年龄、难以理解的词句、问题陈述的简约性、题材个人化、问题陈述结构、数量大小、未知集类型和解答问题的方式等因素显著影响解题过程。人们对解题过程提出了两种理论模型,一是数学知识应用模型,一是语言理解模型     

我国心理学的现状与发展对策

本文从比较宏观的角度对我国心理学的现状进行了客观的分析。可以看出,中国的心理学在最近20多年中,通过全国心理学家的努力,已经获得了令人瞩目的成绩。同时,也应该看到,在表面繁荣的同时,还存在一些值得重视的问题。为了使我国的心理学能够健康地发展并服务于全面建设小康社会的战略目标,需要从政策导向、资源分配、科学普及和人才培养诸方面做更多的工作。     

Effectiveness of a Parent Training Program for Improving Children’s Social Behavior

We tested the efficacy of a social skills training program for the parents of school-aged children experiencing socio-emotional problems. Participating families (N = 42) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: parent social skills training; parent plus parallel child social skills training; or no-treatment control. The two treatment groups did not differ on any of the outcome measures. Treatment was associated with improvements in parent and child social skills knowledge, parent social problem solving, and child emotional functioning. In follow-up analyses examining mechanisms of change, parental attendance and change in child social skills knowledge predicted response to treatment. Overall, our results highlight the utility of engaging parents as primary participants in the treatment of children’s socio-emotional problems and suggest methods for maximizing the impact of such an intervention.     

Cognitive-behavioral Strategies for Parkinson’s Disease: A Report of Three Cases

Three patients diagnosed with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (PD) were treated with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT): a 43-year-old woman suffering from depression and social anxiety, a 45-year-old man with sexual problems and maladaptive coping strategies, and a 78-year-old man with freezing of gait. On the basis of functional analyses, interventions were selected, including cognitive methods, social skills training, paradoxical instructions and strategies to improve management of freezing. The interventions were related to improved adaptation to motor impairments and better ability to cope with the disease. These case presentations suggest that CBT can improve quality of life in PD by modifying maladaptive cognitive, emotional and behavioral reactions to the disease and its symptoms.     

School social climate and teachers’ perceptions of classroom behavior problems: a 10 year longitudinal and multilevel study

Using longitudinal and cross-sectional data, the present research sought to identify school social climate predictors of teachers’ perceptions of classroom behavior problems. The social climate and classroom behavior in 107 public and private French speaking Canadian high schools was evaluated by 1399 teachers. The present analysis is unique in its ability to control for school differences in the enrollment of students with a history of problem behavior. As hypothesized, between-school variation in the proportion of students with histories of disruptive problems predicted high school classroom behavior problems. Moreover, when controlling for these between-school differences, concurrently measured school-level variables (type of school, location of school, and academic emphasis) are found to be significant predictors of classroom behavior problems. The theoretical and practical implications of the present findings are examined and recommendations are made for future research.     

Stability and prediction of parenting stress

The study focused on stability and prediction of parenting stress experiences over a 6‐year period. Mothers (N=93) who had received a clinical intervention for feeding or sleeping problems during infancy (Time 1; T 1) were followed‐up when the children were 5–10 years old (Time 2; T 2). An age‐ and sex‐of‐child matched normal group was used for comparison of stress levels at T 2. Parenting stress was measured by the Swedish Parenthood Stress Questionnaire, which consists of a general parenting stress scale and sub‐scales tapping different aspects of parenting stress experiences. T 1 predictors were clinical assessments of child problem load, maternal unresponsiveness, and family psychosocial problems. T 2 predictors were mother‐reported concurrent child problem load and psychosocial problems. The individual stability in stress experiences was moderate. Effect sizes indicated that mothers with early clinical contacts had reduced their stress to levels close to those in the normal sample. Parenting stress at T 2 could be predicted from early and from concurrent child and family problems. The results point to the relevance of early clinical assessments and to the importance of a sub‐area approach in parenting stress research, as there were differences between stress sub‐areas regarding both prediction and stability. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Early Student-Teacher Relationships of Children With and Without Intellectual Disability: Contributions of Behavioral, Social, and Self-Regulatory Competence

We investigated the student-teacher relationships (STRs) of 6-year-old children with (n = 58) and without (n = 82) intellectual disability (ID). We also examined early (age 3) and concurrent (age 6) child behavioral, self-regulatory, and social characteristics as predictors of age 6 STR quality. Children with ID experienced significantly poorer relationships with their teachers, marked by less closeness and more conflict and dependency, compared to typically developing children. This group difference was not accounted for entirely by IQ differences. Child characteristics and parent-child interactional variables at age 3 and 6 accounted for 53.5% of the variance in age 6 STR quality. The relation between ID status and STR quality was fully mediated by three child variables-global self-regulation at age 3, mother-reported behavior problems at age 6, and teacher-reported behavior problems at age 6- and was partially mediated by mother-reported behavior problems at age 3. Our findings demonstrate the importance of child behavioral and social characteristics in predicting relationships with teachers for children with and without ID.