Behaviour Change

PIP Behavior analysts conducted a functional analysis of different intervention strategies employed in 14 oral rehydration therapy (ORT) campaigns in 10 developing countries. The intervention researchers manipulated antecedents, behaviors, and/or consequences to improve diarrhea management. The strategies used radio announcements, posters, and pamphlets to promote behavior change. Only 2 campaigns (Thailand and Egypt) limited their intervention to these antecedents. Only 3 programs manipulated antecedents, behaviors, and consequences. The 1983 campaign in Bangladesh incorporated school instruction to siblings and home visits as part of skill training and provided incentives to trainers (US$30) as its consequences. The 1985 project in the Gambia used health workers to teach mothers at home about ORT and awarded happy baby lottery prizes (rice, sugar, and soap). The skills training component of the 1984 campaign in Honduras involved 1-on-1 instruction. A radio course on breast feeding, school instruction of siblings, and an illustrated health care manual. Its consequences were games and prizes on radio program call in, free calendars, key rings, t-shirts and a trip to Tegucigalpa. The only program limited to a skills training component was the campaign in South India in 1976. The training involved training nurses to instruct mothers about diarrhea management. An obstacle in all the campaigns was that ORT does not outwardly improve diarrhea and vomiting immediately. Those campaigns that had a skills training component were more effective than those that did not. Behavior analysts could contribute to ORT campaigns by developing simple and effective training programs and developing economical and effective mechanisms to evaluate the effectiveness of such campaigns.

Many researchers report the p value of an analysis to communicate whether findings are significant. This may be misinterpreted to imply that if p 

Examined the impact and side effects of a cognitive behavioral program for the treatment of recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) on behavioral adjustment and family functioning of 16 children (aged 6–12 yrs). The extent to which changes in Ss' pain symptoms covaried with family processes thought to be etiologically significant in cases of RAP was studied. Results show that pain symptoms of both experimental Ss and controls improved significantly after 6 mo. None of the measures of child adjustment or family conflict, expressiveness, independence, or achievement orientation were associated with changes in pain intensity ratings or parent observational measures of pain behavior. There was no evidence of any negative side effects of the program. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Presents a brief history and critique of behavioral parent training, followed by a description of an ecobehavioral approach to families with children with developmental disabilities and families involved in child abuse and neglect. In an ecobehavioral approach, all services are provided in situ because of the belief that generalization is best facilitated across behaviors and settings, and especially over time, if treatment is provided in the settings in which the problems occur. Two such programs are described in detail. Suggestions for future research are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

One aim of this study was to describe attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours concerned with testicular and breast self-examination (TSE, BSE); the second was to test the efficacy of the I. Ajzen and M. Fishbein (1980) theory of reasoned action in predicting self-examination behaviour. Participants comprised 116 male adults (aged 17–65 yrs) and 141 female adults (aged 18–63 yrs). The sample was relatively well-educated, with over half having engaged in some tertiary studies. They completed a questionnaire assessing self-examination behaviours, intentions, beliefs, attitudes, and perceived norms. Results indicated low rates of self-examination for both TSE and BSE. Barriers to self-examination included embarrassment, perceived unpleasantness and difficulty, concern about reliability, and worries about what the tests might reveal. Respondents perceived only moderate levels of support from salient others for engaging in the self-examinations. The theory of reasoned action was strongly supported by the study, with intentions to perform self examination being predicted by attitudes and subjective norms, and intentions in turn predicting self-examination behaviours. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Presents a behavioral analysis of community empowerment using a case study of an advocacy group of people with physical disabilities. Behavioral events that might comprise an empowering process are described, along with antecedent and consequent events possibly functional in controlling those behaviors. Existing behavioral studies are described that are related to processes in which participants are likely to be judged by independent observers as being empowered, thus extending that construct's contact with behavior-analytic dimensions. Possible benefits of closer contact between behavioral and community psychology researchers are also outlined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Describes a standardized behavioral checklist of career exploration activities that was designed for use in vocational guidance and research. It contains 40 career exploration activities grouped into 6 response classes (e.g., reading, writing, talking). The checklist was administered to 196 vocational guidance and senior high school students. Ss reported an average of 14.3 career exploration activities, with talking to friends being the most frequent (83%) and writing to unions the least frequent (2%). Analysis revealed 14 optimum groups of activities, which were generally grouped together based on response level. Activities involving talking and reading were most highly correlated. It is concluded that the data provide practitioners with a standardized list, a measure of current achievements, and some basis for individual comparisons in career exploration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

A case study is presented of a 13-year-old adolescent male with a long history of anxious symptoms related to school attendance. At the time of referral to the school refusal clinic, the adolescent had significant difficulty attending school, having attended for only 1 day in the past 3 weeks. A cognitive-behavioural treatment program was conducted over 3 weeks, consisting of seven sessions with the adolescent, seven sessions with his parents, and consultation to school personnel. Treatment focused on the implementation of behaviour management techniques by caregivers as well as teaching anxiety management skills to the adolescent. Positive treatment outcomes included the adolescent's return to full-time attendance at school as well as a decrease in emotional distress. The implications of treatment are discussed in relation to the simultaneous application of behaviour management and anxiety management strategies in the treatment of school refusal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Conducted a quantitative comparison, a meta-analysis, of the efficacy of cognitive restructuring techniques (CRSTs) with performance-based techniques (PBTs) for the treatment of unipolar depression and phobic anxiety. CRSTs were relatively superior in treating depression, while PBTs were more effective in treating phobic anxiety. The relative effectiveness of CRSTs and PBTs depended on differences in the specific type of affect-behavior-cognition interface that underlies and is controlling depression and phobic anxiety. Implications are offered for methodological problems resulting from psychotherapy meta-analyses that group different disorders and measures taken at different points in time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the revised Positive and Negative Affect Schedule for Children (PANAS-C; T. E. Joiner et al) in 228 nonclinical children and adolescents aged between 8 and 15 years. The results revealed that the PANAS-C possesses high internal consistency and encouraging convergent validity, as demonstrated by correlations with the theoretically related constructs of Neuroticism and Extraversion. Construct validity was supported through confirmatory factor analysis, which revealed a two dimensional structure comprising Negative and Positive Affect. Divergent validity was confirmed by the nonsignificant correlation between positive and negative affect. Thus, the PANAS-C was demonstrated to have good reliability and validity, subject to minor changes in item content. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Discusses how the use of visual analysis alone to determine the presence of significant and generalizable effects in typical behavioral interventions is subject to a series of possible errors (e.g., misinterpretations of the effects of variables due to changes in scale) that result in high levels of unreliability when data are analyzed in this way. The presence of autocorrelation in most behavioral data poses a serious threat to visual and traditional analysis of such data. This threat can be avoided by use of the more appropriate interrupted time-series (TMS) statistics. Although previously suggested as reasons for not using TMS procedures, the issues of model identification and number of data points required for TMS are discussed and shown to be invalid arguments against the use of TMS. A case is made for visual analysis of behavioral data as an appropriate procedure only under certain constrained clinical conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Notes that the constructions of the experiential sources of anger, both in ordinary language accounts and in scientific studies, are characterized by a proximity bias. Anger is commonly represented as being due to acute, proximate occurrences. However, anger can be alternatively understood to be a product of contextual conditions that may involve distal or ambient determinants. The themes of embeddedness, interrelatedness, and transformationality, derived from the contextual perspective of D. Stokols (e.g., 1988) in environmental psychology, are presented for the understanding of anger as pertinent to clinical concerns and as heuristics for anger management interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Investigated the effectiveness of posted feedback as a litter control strategy in a university cafeteria in the absence of written prompts. Patronage and litter rates were monitored daily throughout a school term. Posted feedback was effective in reducing litter rates relative to baseline. Reductions in litter rates were maintained following intervention and continued to be evident 2 wks after the completion of the study. Posted feedback was thus a simple and effective method of litter control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Offers a critical and integrative review of the research on the FQ developed by I. M. Marks and A. M. Mathews (1979). It was found that the discriminant validity of the FQ was greatest for clinical groups experiencing phobic anxiety. The subscales measuring agoraphobic and social phobias are reliable and valid measures, and are useful in cross-cultural research. They are also thought to be better indicators of change than the total phobia score. It is suggested that the FQ could be streamlined by removing the anxiety-depression and global phobia measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Describes a conditioning model of anxiety disorders whose main components are an associative process and a process which determines the evaluation of the unconditioned stimulus (UCS). It is argued that the inclusion of UCS revaluation processes enables conditioning models to explain a variety of anxiety-related phenomena that have been difficult to explain solely in associative terms. Experiments are described which suggest that incubation of the conditioned response can be explained in terms of processes contributing to UCS inflation. Experimental evidence on UCS revaluation is assessed in relation to cognitive processes that might lead to trauma revaluation within specific anxiety disorders. The role of personality factors in effecting UCS and trauma revaluation is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Examines the classification and reliability of childhood anxiety disorders and reviews recent research in relation to self-report instruments and behavioral avoidance tests. Findings suggest that the most influential classification criteria, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) and DSM-III—Revised (DSM-III—R), are reliable for diagnosis of separation anxiety disorder but are less reliable for the other anxiety disorders of childhood. Evidence suggests that the Fear Survey Schedule for Children, its 2 revisions, and the Behavioral Avoidance Test are useful for preintervention assessment/diagnosis and treatment evaluation. An integrative behavioral treatment model is presented in which the need for age-appropriate intervention is emphasized. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Compared 41 headache patients, 25 tinnitus patients, and 39 normal controls on the Neuroticism scale of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), Manifest Anxiety Scale (MAS), Beck Depression Inventory, Unpleasant Events Schedule, and measures of emotional control and cognitive appraisal of stressors. Ss were 17–71 yrs old. Headache sufferers scored in the more pathological direction than the controls on the EPQ, MAS, and the measure of cognitive appraisal of stressors. Tinnitus patients did not differ from normal controls on these measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Clinical observation and retrospective and prospective studies of relapsing psychosis have demonstrated that early symptoms of decompensation are observable in one-half to two-thirds of patients over a period of 1–4 wks. While the sensitivity of prodromal symptoms is established, their specificity is less certain, particularly at the 1st episode. The appearance of an "at risk" mental state may be part of a "transitional" stage to psychosis that is affected by psychological factors concerning the attributions that are made about a change in mental life. The research on prodromal signs is reviewed, with 3 areas of focus: prodromes as continuous vs discrete phenomena, sensitivity and specificity, and early intervention studies. A psychological model of the transitional process is described with case examples, together with an exploration of its implications for early intervention, again illustrated by case material. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

64 Australian veterans (aged 42–70 yrs) of combat in the Vietnam War were divided into 4 groups based on combat exposure and status as a regular or conscripted soldier. Ss were assessed 23 yrs after service for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psychiatric symptomatology using a PTSD inventory based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III—Revised (DSM-III—R) criteria, the Beck Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and other scales. 29.85% of the Ss had a positive diagnosis of PTSD, while 54.89% of the remaining Ss suffered major symptoms of PTSD. Neither the level of combat exposure nor the army status of the Ss had any significant effect on their psychiatric symptomatology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Presents an interview schedule used by the authors in the initial stages of behavioral assessment of children. It is considered that a crucial aspect of assessment and intervention is the initial interview with the client. Although the interview is the most frequently employed method of assessment, few published behavioral interview schedules are available to clinicians. The interview schedule typically requires 0.75–2.5 hrs to administer and is usually conducted with the care provider. Involvement of the child in the interview is a clinical judgment. It is suggested that the interview be conducted warmly, with a minimum of psychological jargon. This interview schedule and other such devices may improve the reliability and validity of problem identification and facilitate effective case management. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

While structured behavioural interviews are often used in the assessment of problem behaviours among persons with developmental disabilities, there are no data on the reliability of this assessment methodology. In the present study, the reliability of a 15 item interview protocol was determined by comparing the answers provided by different staff concerning the aggressive behaviours displayed by 18 persons with severe disabilities. Agreement was generally low with an overall mean of 43% across clients and questions. The results suggest that information obtained from structured behavioural interviews should be verified by direct observation.

Examined the predictive value of self-efficacy (SE) and strength of temptation in determining whether a person will try to give up smoking, and successfully do so for at least 1 day. 62 smokers (mean age 30 yrs) who called a quit-smoking telephone service were assessed by self-report questionnaire. 56.5% had managed a quit attempt, and of these, 48.6% had remained abstinent for at least 1 wk. On average, Ss had a high level of SE, and they rated themselves as fairly likely to quit. Further, Ss reported being quite tempted in affective situations, while social situations were regarded as less tempting. SE and temptations were not highly correlated. High intention, low addiction, and low affective temptation were significantly related to making a quit attempt. It is suggested that among those about to make quit attempts, SE for outcome of the attempt and perceived task difficulty (temptation strength) play different roles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Suggests that short-term decisions have long-term consequences, and to reduce anxious avoidance in youth is to increase long-range opportunities. Teaching behavioral and cognitive skills to increase social competence and adaptation will increase opportunities and increase choice. In the ideal situation, the plan is to encourage the development of coping skills. Behavioral and cognitive theories that explain the nature of anxiety in youth are reviewed. Intervention strategies that build childhood coping are described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Evaluated the impact of a large scale campaign to encourage increased protection from solar ultra violet radiation. Representative household interview surveys were conducted both before (252 men and 308 women, age 14 to 50+ yrs) and after (291 men and 314 women, age 14 to 50+ yrs) the campaign. The initial survey showed high levels of awareness of a skin protection message. The survey following the campaign showed large increases in awareness of the campaign slogan. There were high levels of reporting about taking extra precautions for sun protection and of encouraging other people, particularly children, to increase their sun protection. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Emphasizes the importance of basic research in the advancement of theory and clinical technique. To illustrate the power of such a strategy, the theory and imagery technique of Implosive (Flooding) Therapy is described along with a recent modification that has resulted in the development of a new technique which is capable of reactivating all past traumatic memories responsible for the development and maintenance of psychopathology. This new approach has resulted in a number of important discoveries that challenge many currently held beliefs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)