Social behaviour of pigs

Improper social behavior development brings problems in later social life. Several time points are known to be crucial for the development and in other words, susceptible to interruptions during those time points. In conventional pigs, those time points could be categorized to three interaction periods, the period for piglet-sow interaction (suckling), between littermates interaction (before weaning), social interaction with other littermates (after weaning). In this research, 4 cages (51 pigs) of pigs were observed for figuring out circadian rhythm and social behavior pattern. In group observation, the circadian rhythm of conventional pigs was established as a pair of active hours in early morning and early evening. Over three recordings of three different time points of day 10, 14 and 24, the behavior status ‘active’ increased with their physical developmental status and this is suggesting increase in potential social behaviors. In individual observation, the environmental change induced by maternal separation and mixing of other littermates resulted change in specific social behavioral pattern. Additional second individual observation also showed changed social behavioral pattern. The results in this research could suggest the needs for proper social behavioral development according to the critical time points and social environmental changes so that prevent existing behavioral problems and improve the welfare of conventional farm pigs

Comparing Alliance in Two Cognitive-Behavioural Therapies for Adolescents With ADHD Using a Randomized Controlled Trial

Alliance is defined as the client-therapist bond and their ability to collaborate on therapeutic activities. Treatment for adolescents with ADHD is rarely studied in terms of alliance. In this study, two cognitive-behavioral treatments (CBT; one structured treatment aimed at planning skills and one less- structured solution-focused treatment, both delivered in the style of Motivational Interviewing) were compared with regard to alliance and alliance-outcome association. The influence of therapist competence on this alliance-outcome association was also evaluated. The alliance between 69 adolescents diagnosed with ADHD and their therapists was measured early in treatment, using the Therapy Process Observational Coding System for Child Psychotherapy– Alliance scale. Observer-rated therapist competence was measured using the Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity scale (version 3.1.1.). Outcome variables were the adolescents’ reduction in planning problems and ADHD symptoms. The alliance, and, more specifically, collaboration on therapeutic activities, was significantly higher for the more structured CBT (p = .04; moderate effect size). Alliance was not related to outcome in the more structured CBT, while the alliance was positively related to the reduction in planning problems in the less structured CBT. Finally, alliance was a significant mediator between therapist competence and treatment outcome for the less-structured CBT. The clarity and structure of CBT may help facilitate alliance formation for adolescents with ADHD who often have difficulty implementing structure themselves. Therapists may need to invest more in alliance formation in less structured CBT as the alliance affects outcome. Moreover, enhancing therapist competence in less structured CBT may help improve outcomes in less structured CBT, as therapist competence may impact outcome through alliance

Treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children: Predictors of Treatment Outcome

Objective: The present study investigated the predictive power of anxiety, IQ, severity of ADHD and parental depression on the outcome of treatment in children with ADHD. Method: Fifty children with ADHD (ages 8-12) were randomized to a 10-week treatment of methylphenidate or to a treatment of methylphenidate combined with multimodal behavior therapy. Prior to treatment predictors were assessed. Outcome was assessed separately for parents and teachers on a composite measure of inattentive, hyperactive, oppositional- and conduct disorder symptoms. Results: There was neither a significant difference between the two treatments at baseline nor did treatment condition predict outcome. Therefore the data were collapsed across the two treatments. A combination of anxiety and IQ predicted teacher-rated outcome, explaining 18% of the variance. Higher anxiety and higher IQ's indicated better treatment outcome. There were no significant predictors of the parent-rated outcome. Conclusions: This study showed a small but significant predictive effect of IQ and anxiety on treatment outcome in children with ADHD. Clinical Clinical: This study supports the idea that for the treatment of ADHD children with comorbid anxiety and higher IQ respond better to the two most used treatments for ADHD. © 2007 Steinkopff Verlag