Appropriate Classification of Obesity in Mentally Retarded Adults

Triceps skinfold thickness and body weight measures were obtained for 44 female and 40 male mentally retarded adults participating in a sheltered workshop setting. Subiects\u27 relative weights and skinfold thicknesses were found to correlate reasonably well for females and males, rs = .88 and .59, respectively. Use of only height and weight tables for determining the presence of obesity, however, resulted in 22.5 percent of the males and 13 .7 percent of the females being misclassified as nonobese. The distinction between overweight and obesity was discussed. Clinical/research implications of the findings were delineated

Parenting Latino Toddlers and Preschoolers: Clinical and Nonclinical Samples

Parenting practices contribute significantly to the social-emotional development of young children. There is limited literature that addresses the role of culture in parenting, particularly among Latino families who have very young children with significant behavior problems. The current study compared the parenting practices of 30 low-income Latino mothers whose young children had been referred for mental health services for their behavior problems with a similar group of 30 mothers of children without behavior problems. Results showed that mothers in the clinical sample nurtured their children less often and used more frequent verbal and corporal punishment as discipline than the nonclinical sample. The clinical sample also had a significantly higher incidence of mental health problems in their families. Results also showed the significant toll that raising young children with challenging behaviors takes on their mothers. The implications of these findings for the early identification of these children are discussed

Screening for Significant Behavior Problems in Diverse Young Children Living in Poverty

The development and use of first line screening instruments is an essential first step in assessing behavior disorders in very young children. The Early Childhood Behavior Screen (ECBS) is a parent-report measure for behavior disorders and is normed on young children (1–5 years old) living in poverty. The current study presents psychometric support for the discriminative validity of the ECBS’s 10-item Challenging Behavior Scale (CBS) as a first-line screener for externalizing behavior problems for preschool aged-children in poverty. The study’s sample included 673 participants (M age years = 2.81; 63.2 % male; 65.8 % African American) that all met the federal definitional standard for living in poverty. A confirmatory factor analysis was run to provide support for the ECBS factor structure. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analyses were used to test the CBS’s ability to distinguish between 428 clinic-referred children and 245 non-clinic-referred children. Results showed an acceptable fit model for the ECBS, providing further evidence of its construct validity. Optimal cut-scores by child age derived from the ROC curve analyses were provided with corresponding levels of sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values. Sensitivity rates for cut scores ranged from 0.76 to 0.83 and specificity rates ranged from 0.88 to 0.95. Acceptable test–retest reliability and good internal consistency also was observed. The CBS quickly identifies young children from low-income, urban, diverse populations that may be at-risk for developing significant behavior disorders and should be considered by health care professionals who work with very young children

Predicting Treatment Success in Child and Parent Therapy Among Families in Poverty

Behavior problems are prevalent in young children and those living in poverty are at increased risk for stable, high-intensity behavioral problems. Research has demonstrated that participation in child and parent therapy (CPT) programs significantly reduces problematic child behaviors while increasing positive behaviors. However, CPT programs, particularly those implemented with low-income populations, frequently report high rates of attrition (over 50%). Parental attributional style has shown some promise as a contributing factor to treatment attendance and termination in previous research. The authors examined if parental attributional style could predict treatment success in a CPT program, specifically targeting low-income urban children with behavior problems. A hierarchical logistic regression was used with a sample of 425 families to assess if parent- and child-referent attributions variables predicted treatment success over and above demographic variables and symptom severity. Parent-referent attributions, child-referent attributions, and child symptom severity were found to be significant predictors of treatment success. Results indicated that caregivers who viewed themselves as a contributing factor for their child\u27s behavior problems were significantly more likely to demonstrate treatment success. Alternatively, caregivers who viewed their child as more responsible for their own behavior problems were less likely to demonstrate treatment success. Additionally, more severe behavior problems were also predictive of treatment success. Clinical and research implications of these results are discussed

Eating Behavior of Obese and Nonobese Retarded Adults

An obese group and a nonobese group of moderately mentally retarded adults were identified through use of body weight and tricep skinfold thickness measures. Subjects were observed individually in a sheltered workshop cafeteria during their normal lunch period. A variety of eating behavior measureswere obtained. Results indicated that the obese retarded subjects did not differ from their nonobese peers in eating rate, total meal time, or caloric intake. Large variability was observed in the measures for both groups. Implications of these data for behavioral treatments of obesity and the need for alternative explanations of an obese condition were discussed

Early Pathways Therapy for Young Children in Poverty: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Early Pathways is a home-based, parent and child therapy program for the treatment of disruptive behaviors among young children living in poverty. In this study, 199 clinically referred children were randomly assigned to an immediate treatment (IT) or wait-list control (WL) conditions. Results indicated that parents in the IT condition reported significant improvements in their child’s disruptive and prosocial behaviors and increased nurturing and decreased use of corporal and verbal punishment by their parents compared to the WL families. Gains were maintained for children in both the IT and WL conditions at 3-month follow-up

Obesity of Mentally Retarded Individuals: Prevalence, Characteristics, and Intervention

Research on the prevalence, characteristics, and treatment of obesity of mentally retarded individuals within the context of research findings with the obese nonretarded population was selectively reviewed. According to the available literature, obesity is a prevalent problem in the retarded population, and there is a greater incidence among females than males. The literature also suggests that obese retarded subjects as a group can be distinguished from their nonobese peers by their physical condition, but not by their eating style or personality characteristics. Behavioral self-control strategies have been found to be effective in producing weight loss in obese retarded children and adults. Further research is needed to reduce the high interindividual variability observed in treatment outcome studies and to address problems of long-term maintenance of weight loss

Prediction of stall characteristics of straight wing aircraft

Digital computer program considers an unswept wing with a circular or elliptical fuselage. Wing has partial or full span deflected flaps and must have an aspect ratio of 6 or greater

Treatment Outcomes for At-Risk Young Children With Behavior Problems: Toward a New Definition of Success

This study examined the outcomes of Early Pathways (EP), an in-home parent–child therapy program with 447 at-risk children younger than 5 years of age who were referred for severe behavior and emotional problems, such as aggression, oppositional behavior, and separation anxiety. EP emphasized parent-directed training of child behavior strategies including psychoeducation regarding child development, child-led play, and cognitive-behavioral techniques. Outcomes were assessed using a unique 2-dimensional definition of treatment completion, which consisted of treatment duration and an assessment of reliable change for the primary outcome measure of child behavior problems. Results showed that the majority of children (63.4%) met or exceeded treatment completion. In addition, repeated-measures multivariate analyses of variance at pretest, posttest, and follow-up revealed increased child prosocial behaviors, reduced child behavior problems, improved caregiver nurturing, an increase in parents’ developmentally appropriate expectations of children, improved parent–child relationships, and a decrease in clinical diagnoses following treatment. This study offers guidance for developing effective early-intervention services for families in poverty to enhance outcomes for their young children. Along with its existing large-scale, community-based effectiveness studies, future research should establish additional statistical support including a randomized, waitlist control design of EP