The Hispanic Treatment Program: Principles of effective psychotherapy

The Hispanic Treatment Program was an inpatient psychotherapy Unit at the Colorado State Hospital that operated from October 1979 to February 1982. Staffed exclusively with personnel of Hispanic heritage, the Program emphasized the use of linguistic and cultural elements, as well as the customs and beliefs characteristic of Hispanic culture. A specialized inpatient treatment unit for Hispanic patients with psychotic (especially, schizophrenia) disturbances, the Program offered a unique opportunity to these patients by providing a variety of psychotherapies conducted in a culturally-sensitive manner. Spanish and English were used in a manner conducive to enhancing the treatment process, with flexibility in use of language.This project was supported by Grant No. ROlMH29016-01A2, awarded by the National Institute of Mental Health, Center for Minority Group Mental Health.The authors acknowledge Gregorio Kort, M.D. and Wayne Smyer, M.A. and other staff for their contributions to the development and success of the Hispanic Treatment Program.Original version of paper was selected for the First Senior Award given by the Psychological Services Center's (NYSCP) Minority Mental Health Award Competition.     

Telehealth parent training for a young child at risk for autism spectrum disorder

The global pandemic has highlighted the importance of telehealth to access behavioral interventions. Face-to-face parent training improves the development and behaviors of young children at risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We evaluated a telehealth parent training intervention for a child at risk for ASD. Two parents identified possible early ASD symptoms in their 30-month-old son (lack of imitation, pointing, and vocal manding). Both parents simultaneously received telehealth behavioral skills training on the Parent Intervention for Children at Risk for Autism program for 1 hour per week over 29 weeks. Multiple baseline designs across parent and child behaviors showed that both parents improved their parent teaching fidelity above 80% and the child improved on all trained behaviors. This study expands the utility of telehealth behavioral parent training to young children at risk for ASD to mitigate early symptoms of ASD.     

RALPH WENDELL BURHOE AND THE TWO CULTURES

Abstract. Ralph Burhoe developed his proposals for a social reformation at a time when the “two cultures” debate was still active. It is suggested here that Burhoe, sharing with his contemporaries an understanding of culture that was Western and normative in character, overlooked the distinction between the culture of the elites and popular culture, and consequently between religion as presented by theologians and church officials and popular religion. Therefore, his proposals for the revitalization of traditional religions, even if implemented, would not work. Some contradictions within his own program are pointed out, and the social role of the sciences after World War II, as well as the ambiguities of their presence in the so-called underdeveloped nations, is analyzed. As a positive conclusion, it is suggested that Burhoe's main contribution should be sought, not in his outline for a social reformation, but in his role as an organizer of the dialogue between religion and science.     

A comparison of observed and reported adult-infant interactions: Effects of perceived sex

Interactions of 16 adults (eight married couples whose youngest child was less than 2 1/2 years old) with a single actor infant, dressed as either a male or a female, were recorded and analyzed in four categories: direction of gaze, facial expression, physical contact with the infant, and toy used. After the interaction period, a 45-minute interview on child rearing was conducted with each member of the couple. Observed interactions were then compared with interview data. The results support previous studies which show that both male and female parents behave differently toward unfamiliar infants on the basis of perceived sex. However, parents, especially mothers, appeared unaware of their differential treatment of male and female infants. These results suggest subtle sex-typing of infants by adults.     

Behavioral changes over several successful agonistic encounters between male mice: Effects of type of “standard opponent”

This study assessed whether two types of non-aggressive “standard opponents” (“intact” and “anosmic” group-housed males) produced similar behavioral changes in isolated OF1 male mice given several experiences of victory. Experimental groups confronted either intact or anosmic opponents every two days until they had completed four encounters. The behavioral changes were recorded using a detailed ethologically inspired analysis. These changes were clearly different depending on the opponent type. When intact opponents were used, experimental subjects increased the time spent in digging, non-social exploration, explore from a distance, and attack over encounters, but showed decreased time spent in threat and a decreased latency to the first attack. In encounters with anosmic opponents, only declines in the latencies to threat and attack were noted. Moreover, the experimental groups differed in their behaviors over encounters. Those confronting intact opponents spent less time in social investigation, more time in explore from a distance and threat, and showed a shorter latencies to threat and attack than counterparts confronting anosmics. These results suggest that, although both types of “standard opponents” are similar in their non-aggressiveness, they elicit rather different behavioral responses in their adversaries. These findings provide additional support for the view that the type of opponent used in studies on intermale aggression is of paramount importance. Indeed, the use of different types of “standardized non-aggressive opponents” appears to be an important source of variability between studies. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Teaching children with autism spectrum disorder to ask “where” questions using a speech-generating device

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who have limited speech are often taught to communicate using a speech-generating device (SGD). We evaluated procedures for teaching a mand for information (i.e., Where is [item]?) using an interrupted behavior chain procedure. In Experiment 1, all participants (3 children with ASD who communicated using an SGD) acquired the target mand but transfer to a novel stimulus did not occur. In the second experiment, 2 participants were taught to approach alternative communication partners when the first partner did not provide the information. The second experiment also included procedures to test whether the responses were under the control of appropriate motivating operations (MOs). Generalization across communication partners occurred with both participants, but transfer across behavior chains with only 1 participant. The results of both experiments suggest that teaching multiple behavior chains and evaluating MO control may be necessary to establish generalized manding for information.     

Testosterone and cortisol responses to competitive fighting in human males: A pilot study

Serum testosterone and cortisol levels were measured by radioimmunoassay in 14 young male judo competitors, in samples taken 10 minutes before and 45 minutes after two different procedures. The first involved physical exercise and the second competitive fighting. Both procedures were of 5 minutes duration and sessions took place at the same time (between 10:00 A.M. and 12:00 P.M. local time) but on different days. Comparing the two situations over all subjects revealed that testosterone increased after exercise and decreased slightly after Competition. Between subject comparisons suggested that contrary to previous claims, winning or losing did not significantly change the testosterone and cortisol levels. Comparisons of subjects who were members of the Regional Team with individuals who were not part of that group confirmed that members increased their testosterone levels after competition, whereas the nonmembers showed a significant decrease. Moreover, success of the individuals, in their sporting record, correlated positively and significantly with the changes of testosterone observed during the competition. These preliminary results suggest that previous personal experience of success can influence the pattern of the psychoendocrine response to a contest situation.     

Civilian PTSD scales: relationships with trait characteristics and everyday distress

Strong associations between civilian posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) scales and measures of general psychological distress suggest that the scales are nonspecific to PTSD. Three common PTSD scales were administered to 122 undergraduates who had experienced an emotionally salient, nontraumatic event: a college examination. Results indicated that normal levels of anxiety associated with the examination were positively correlated with scores on the Impact of Event Scale-Revised, Revised Civilian Mississippi Scale, and PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version. Multiple regression analyses indicated that substantial variance in the PTSD scales was accounted for by trait characteristics such as negative and positive affectivity and affect intensity (R2 .29 to .53). Negative affectivity correlated as highly with PTSD measures (r = .46 to .71) as those measures correlated with each other (r = .48 to .65). A high proportion of participants exceeded clinical cutoffs on these measures. The findings suggest that these PTSD scales may be overly sensitive to nontraumatic stressors such as everyday distress and trait characteristics.