APPARENT COVARIATION BETWEEN CHILD HABIT DISORDERS: EFFECTS OF SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT FOR THUMB SUCKING ON UNTARGETED CHRONIC HAIR PULLING

We evaluated the effects of aversive taste treatment of thumb sucking on untreated trichotillomania (habitual hair pulling) in two children who chronically pulled their hair and sucked their thumbs. A combination of withdrawal and nonconcurrent multiple baseline designs showed that, concomitant with the successful treatment of thumb sucking, hair pulling was also eliminated. The results suggest an efficient method for changing behaviors that are difficult to treat directly.     

TESTICULAR SELF-EXAMINATION: VALIDATION OF A TRAINING STRATEGY FOR EARLY CANCER DETECTION

Testicular self-examination (TSE) can lead to early diagnosis and treatment of testicular cancer, the third leading cause of death in young men. We evaluated the effectiveness of a brief and specific checklist for teaching TSE skills. Ten men were videotaped while performing testicular self-examinations before and after training. The TSE training resulted in large and significant increases in the number of TSE steps completed and duration of the TSE. Two urological validation measures supported the improvements observed in the mens' self-examinations. Subjects reported continued performance of TSE during a follow-up telephone interview. This pilot study indicates that a brief and specific checklist is an effective strategy for teaching early cancer detection skills.     

APPLICATION OF A SOCIAL SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAM IN THE MODIFICATION OF INTERPERSONAL DEFICITS AMONG RETARDED ADULTS: A CLINICAL REPLICATION

Six mentally retarded adults, equally divided into two treatment groups, were provided with individualized social skills training programs. Treatment, evaluated via a multiple-baseline design strategy, was sequentially and cumulatively applied across target behaviors over a four-week intervention period. Behavioral observation probes and social validation measures served as the primary dependent variables. Results indicated that (a) treatment was effective for virtually all behaviors across all subjects, (b) improvements occurred for both training and generalization scenes, and (c) behavioral performance was maintained one month following the termination of treatment.     

THE EFFECT OF TOKEN REWARDS ON “INTRINSIC” MOTIVATION FOR DOING MATH

This study used a multielement baseline design to analyze the effects of token rewards delivered contingent upon completion of math problems by 2 middle-school boys. Time spent on math and number of work pages completed increased (with high accuracy) during reward conditions and were maintained during fading and withdrawal. At follow-up, time spent and work pages completed remained well above baseline for 1 boy and fell below for the other, while accuracy remained high and ratings of liking math were the highest possible for both boys. Overall, the results are inconsistent with warnings about use of token rewards to motivate children.     

A case study of behavioral assessment and treatment of insect phobia

We assessed the academic performance of a 14-year-old boy with insect phobia in the context of feared stimuli. The dependent measure was math calculation rate across three conditions that varied therapist statements about the presence of crickets and the actual presence of live crickets. Subsequent treatment consisted of graduated exposure and contingent rewards for math problem completion. Assessment results indicated that the boy's performance was consistently low in the presence of live crickets but not when he was spuriously informed that crickets were present (the primary referral concern). Treatment results indicated no effect from exposure alone and a dramatic effect when exposure was combined with contingent rewards.     

Publishing in Journals Outside the Box: Attaining Mainstream Prominence Requires Demonstrations of Mainstream Relevance

Primary pediatric medical care is as mainstream as any major cultural practice in the USA. Thus, publishing behavior analytic papers that pertain to problems that present in pediatric settings in pediatric medical journals is one route to mainstream relevance. With sufficient numbers of such papers, it could even lead to prominence. This article describes examples of publishing in pediatric journals and some lessons I learned from the experience. For example, (1) all child behavior problems that present in pediatric settings are of social importance but most are high-frequency, low-intensity problems that are not necessarily exotic or representative of serious pathology, and they usually respond to straightforward behavioral applications; (2) it is usually best to use a “colloquialized version of learning theory” when writing for and speaking to pediatric providers (and the families for whom they provide care); (3) pediatricians often have limited knowledge about behavior analytic research designs; and (4) when submissions are rejected by pediatric journals, the rejection can be exploited as an opportunity to educate pediatric editors and reviewers.     

Koran reading and negotiation with jinn: strategies to deal with mental ill health among Swedish Somalis

In this paper, we discuss traditional Somali concepts of mental ill health. Qualitative interviews were conducted with some 20 Swedish Somali interviewees about factors causing mental ill health, traditional classification, strategies to deal with mental ill health, and attitudes to the mental health care services in Sweden. Social mobilisation and religious healing are cornerstones of traditional Somali measures to deal with mental suffering. Traditional Somali views of mental ill health stand in stark contrast to classification of mental ill health in the western biomedical model. These views deserve attention since they may have an impact on health-seeking behaviour among Somali immigrants in western countries. Yet a too strong focus on cultural aspects may over-shadow the fact that much mental suffering among Somali migrants must be understood within social, economic, and political contexts.     

Effects of encoding strategy,presentation modality,and scoring method on STM performance with the Peterson and Peterson technique

The Peterson and Peterson (1959) STM experiment was replicated with variation of presentation modality and encoding strategy. The effect of various scoring criteria was also analyzed. The recall data showed that a Peterson and Peterson type forgetting curve was obtained using auditory presentation and instructions to rehearse vocally the trigrams when scoring only completely correct recall within the first 3 sec of the recall interval. With visual presentation and instructions to find meaningful trigram interpretations, the forgetting curve was higher and much more flat, especially when scoring position correct recall within the total 0-10-sec recall interval. In a buildup of PI experiment, no buildup of PI could be detected when visual presentation was used together with instructions to find meaningful trigram interpretations. The importance of the different encoding activities for recall performance was discussed.     

Autonomic Activity, Pain, and Perceived Health in Patients on Sick Leave Due to Stress-Related Illnesses

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to compare autonomic activity, pressure-pain thresholds, and subjective assessments of health and behavior between patients with stress-related illnesses and healthy control subjects. METHODS: Twenty sick-listed patients with stress-related illnesses and 20 age- and gender-matched healthy subjects performed tests of autonomic regulation and algometric tests, and completed questionnaires about physical and mental health and behavioral patterns. RESULTS: Patients exhibited higher autonomic reactivity to cognitive and physical laboratory tasks (p < 0.05), and had lower pressure-pain thresholds in the shoulders and lower back than healthy control subjects (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the patients rated considerably poorer health and health behavior than the control subjects (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate an engagement of the autonomic nervous system in stress-related illnesses. Furthermore, they show that patients with stress-related illnesses experience symptoms of musculoskeletal pain, and it is therefore recommended that assessments of musculoskeletal pain be incorporated in the clinical examinations and the rehabilitation of patients with stress-related illnesses.