Comparisons of Body Activity in Depressed, Manic, and Normal Persons

Films of three depress ed persons, one manic, and one normal individual were analyzed frame-by-frame to determine body activity rates. Speech rates were also determined. It was found that the manic had the highest activity rate, followed by the normal comparison, and with the depressed patients having the lowest activity rates. The depressed subjects also had lower speech rates than did the normal or the manic subjects. The term \u27psychomotor retardation 1 is called into question, as the frequency distributions of movement durations were similar for all subjects. Implications for treatment and for development are also discussed

Thinking about going to the dentist: a Contemplation Ladder to assess dentally-avoidant individuals' readiness to go to a dentist

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Transtheoretical Model suggests that individuals vary according to their readiness to change behavior. Previous work in smoking cessation and other health areas suggests that interventions are more successful when they are tailored to an individual's stage of change with regards to the specific behavior. We report on the performance of a single-item measure ("Ladder") to assess the readiness to change dental-avoidant behavior.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>An existing Contemplation Ladder for assessing stage of change in smoking cessation was modified to assess readiness to go to a dentist. The resulting Ladder was administered to samples of English-speaking adolescents (USA), Spanish-speaking adults (USA), and Norwegian military recruits (Norway) in order to assess construct validity. The Ladder was also administered to a sample of English-speaking avoidant adolescents and young adults who were enrolled in an intervention study (USA) in order to assess criterion validity. All participants also had dental examinations, and completed other questionnaires. Correlations, chi square, t tests and one-way ANOVAs were used to assess relationships between variables.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In two samples, participants who do not go to the dentist had significantly more teeth with caries; in a third sample, participants who do not go to the dentist had significantly worse caries. Ladder scores were not significantly related to age, gender, caries, or dental fear. However, Ladder scores were significantly related to statements of intention to visit a dentist in the future and the importance of oral health. In a preliminary finding, Ladder scores at baseline also predicted whether or not the participants decided to go to a dentist in the intervention sample.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The data provide support for the convergent and divergent construct validity of the Ladder, and preliminary support for its criterion validity. The lack of relationship between dental fear and Ladder scores suggests that avoidant individuals may be helped to decide to go to a dentist using interventions which do not explicitly target their fear.</p

The Feasibility, Appropriateness, Meaningfulness, and Effectiveness of Parenting and Family Support Programs Delivered in the Criminal Justice System: A Systematic Review

Children whose parents are involved in the criminal justice system (CJS) are at increased risk of developing social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties and are more likely than their peers to become involved in the CJS themselves. Parenting behaviour and parent-child relationships have the potential to affect children’s outcomes with positive parenting practices having the potential to moderate some of the negative outcomes associated with parental involvement in the CJS. However, many parents in the CJS may lack appropriate role models to support the development of positive parenting beliefs and practices. Parenting programs offer an opportunity for parents to enhance their parenting knowledge and behaviours and improve relationships with children. Quantitative and qualitative evidence pertaining to the implementation and effectiveness of parenting programs delivered in the CJS was included. Five databases were searched and a total of 1145 articles were identified of which 29 met the review inclusion criteria. Overall, programs were found to significantly improve parenting attitudes; however, evidence of wider effects is limited. Additionally, the findings indicate that parenting programs can be meaningful for parents. Despite this, a number of challenges for implementation were found including the transient nature of the prison population and a lack of parent-child contact. Based on these findings, recommendations for the future development and delivery of programs are discussed

Informant discrepancies in assessing child dysfunction relate to dysfunction within mother-child interactions.

We examined whether mother-child discrepancies in perceived child behavior problems relate to dysfunctional interactions between mother and child and stress in the mother. Participants included 239 children (6–16 years old; 58 girls, 181 boys) referred for oppositional, aggressive, and antisocial behavior, and their mothers. Mother-child discrepancies in perceived child behavior problems were related to mother-child conflict. Moreover, maternal stress mediated this relationship. The findings suggest that discrepancies among mother and child evaluations of child functioning are not merely reflections of different perspectives or artifacts of the assessment process, but can form components of conceptual models that can be developed and tested to examine the interrelations among critical domains of child, parent, and family functioning.This work was supported, in part, by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (MH67540) awarded to the first author and by grants from the Leon Lowenstein Foundation, the William T. Grant Foundation (98-1872-98), and the National Institute of Mental Health (MH59029) awarded to the second author

Families in global and multicultural perspective /

The Second Edition of Families in Global and Multicultural Perspective travels across geographic, cultural, and historical boundaries to explore the diversity of the world's families in family structure, processes, history, and social and environmental contexts. Editors Bron B. Ingoldsby and Suzanna D. Smith examine a full range of topics including family origin and universality, family functions, marital structure, kinship rules, comparative research methods, family development, marriage adjustment, parenting, divorce, and aging. This comprehensive text increases students' recognition of and respect for cultural diversity as it influences family life; meets educators' needs for a comparative family text; and contributes to the development of new ways of thinking about families that highlights culture and context. The editors, both qualified scholars with a comparative perspective, have been successful in finding well-known authors for the various chapters. Both theoretical and methodological issues are dealt with in a nuanced and qualified manner . The book is to be highly recommended to students, faculty, and libraries. Jan Trost, Professor Emeritus, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden "The strength of this book is its comparative approach under several theoretic frameworks This book appears to be the most comprehensive study of global families. Heying Jenny Zhan, Georgia State University New to the Second Edition: Includes new chapters focussing on the Middle East and Pacific regions to introduce students to the variations in family life across such diverse areas Provides updated information about families around the world by expanding the contents to incorporate recent trends in family life Discusses increasingly salient topics that are rarely found in comparative family texts, such as social inequality as manifested in gender stratification, oppression of certain ethnic and cultural groups, and poverty Includes student exercises intended to increase stRev. ed. of: Families in multicultural perspective. 1995.Includes bibliographical references and index.Foundations of comparative family studies -- Family structure -- Family development -- International family variation -- Social inequality in the contemporary world.The Second Edition of Families in Global and Multicultural Perspective travels across geographic, cultural, and historical boundaries to explore the diversity of the world's families in family structure, processes, history, and social and environmental contexts. Editors Bron B. Ingoldsby and Suzanna D. Smith examine a full range of topics including family origin and universality, family functions, marital structure, kinship rules, comparative research methods, family development, marriage adjustment, parenting, divorce, and aging. This comprehensive text increases students' recognition of and respect for cultural diversity as it influences family life; meets educators' needs for a comparative family text; and contributes to the development of new ways of thinking about families that highlights culture and context. The editors, both qualified scholars with a comparative perspective, have been successful in finding well-known authors for the various chapters. Both theoretical and methodological issues are dealt with in a nuanced and qualified manner . The book is to be highly recommended to students, faculty, and libraries. Jan Trost, Professor Emeritus, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden "The strength of this book is its comparative approach under several theoretic frameworks This book appears to be the most comprehensive study of global families. Heying Jenny Zhan, Georgia State University New to the Second Edition: Includes new chapters focussing on the Middle East and Pacific regions to introduce students to the variations in family life across such diverse areas Provides updated information about families around the world by expanding the contents to incorporate recent trends in family life Discusses increasingly salient topics that are rarely found in comparative family texts, such as social inequality as manifested in gender stratification, oppression of certain ethnic and cultural groups, and poverty Includes student exercises intended to increase s

Extreme Community: Floyd County, Virginia Elders and Youth Keeping Stories in a Digital Age

Join us for a discussion of a unique ten-year partnership in Floyd County, Virginia. The community non-profit Floyd Story Center, Radford University, and Floyd County High School connect elders and youth in ROOTS WITH WINGS: Floyd County Place-based Education Oral History Project. The Project plants the roots of the “web of meaningful relationships” (found to be a factor in community resilience), as well as affixing state-of-the-art technology wings. An intergenerational team of university students and adult mentors teaches high school students how to conduct ethical, methodologically sound interviews; record state-of-the-art audio and video; transcribe full hour-long interviews; create searchable tables of content; research historical background; archive cultural materials; discover stories and themes in interviews; and create original short movies. A unique aspect of the project is that the work of the students has a life beyond the classroom. It is rendered into professional quality products and archived at the Floyd Story Center. The ultimate goal is community access via Internet, likely in partnership with the regional library system. Our panel includes university student mentors and faculty, high school teachers, and a local historian and archivist to consider the current challenges of pedagogy, professionalism, and keeping the archives of a long-term project digitally viable. Viewing sample video products will give the audience a glimpse of community strength