Parent-related stress of male and female carers of adolescents with intellectual disabilities and carers of children within the general population:a cross-sectional comparison

Background Carers of children with intellectual disability show high rates of parent-related stress and are at an increased risk for deleterious physical and mental health. Materials and Methods This study investigated the relationship between demographic and social characteristics and parenting stress, within two different cross-sectional samples of carers: those who care for an adolescent with an intellectual disability and carers from a population based sample. Participants were 1152 carers from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia study and 284 carers of adolescents with intellectual disabilities from the Ask study. Results and Conclusions The results supported previous research suggesting carers of children with intellectual disabilities experience high parent-related stress. The results also support the buffer model of social support, as high social support was related to lower parent related stress. Self-rated prosperity, financial pressure and relationship status were also related to lower levels of parent-related stress

Additive effectiveness of mindfulness meditation to a school-based brief cognitive-behavioral alcohol intervention for adolescents

This randomized controlled trial is the 1st study to evaluate the additive efficacy of mindfulness meditation to brief school-based universal cognitive behavior therapy (CBT + MM) for adolescent alcohol consumption. Previous studies have lacked strong controls for nonspecific effects, and treatment mechanisms remain unclear. The present study compared a CBT + MM condition to an active control CBT intervention with progressive muscle relaxation (CBT + PMR) for nonspecific effects and an assessment-only control (AoC).Cluster sampling was used to recruit Australian adolescents ( = 404; 62% female) ages 13-17 years ( = 14.99, = .66) of mostly Australian-New Zealand or European descent. School classes were randomized to 3 intervention conditions (CBT + PMR = 8 classes, CBT + MM = 7 classes, AoC = 7 classes), and adolescents completed preintervention, postintervention, and 3- and 6-month follow-up assessments, including measures of alcohol consumption, mindfulness, impulsivity, and the alcohol-related cognitions of alcohol expectancies and drinking refusal self-efficacy.Multilevel modeling analyses revealed that both intervention conditions reduced the growth of alcohol consumption compared to the AoC ( = -.18, = .014), although CBT + MM was no more effective than was CBT + PMR ( = -.06, = .484). Negative alcohol expectancies increased for adolescents in the intervention conditions compared to the AoC ( = 1.09, = .012), as did positive alcohol expectancies ( = 1.30, = .008). There was no effect of interventions on mindfulness, drinking refusal self-efficacy, or impulsivity.There was no evidence of mindfulness-specific effects beyond existing effects of CBT within a brief universal school-based CBT intervention. Hypothesized mechanisms of change were largely unsupported. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)

Measuring adolescent drinking-refusal self-efficacy: development and validation of the Drinking Refusal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire-Shortened Adolescent version (DRSEQ-SRA)

Background: This study aimed to develop and validate a shortened version of the Drinking Refusal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire-Revised Adolescent version (DRSEQ-RA) using a large sample of adolescents

Does designing patient observation charts using human factors principles decrease reliance on working memory and reduce errors due to working under time-pressure?

The current research investigated whether time-pressure and working memory capacity influenced the detection of abnormal vital signs on six differently designed patient observation charts. These charts have varying levels of compliance with human factors design principles that take into account knowledge about human cognitive abilities and limitations. Nursing (n = 35) and psychology students (n = 73) were recruited and randomly assigned to two experimental conditions (time-limit vs. no time-limit). All participants viewed 48 observation charts (eight per chart design). For each chart, they were asked to indicate whether: (a) all patient data were within the normal physiological ranges, or (b) any abnormality was present. Participants in the timelimit condition had 7 seconds to review each chart, whereas those in the no time-limit condition had as much time as they needed. The results replicated previous findings in which the charts with higher compliance with human factors principles yielded fewer errors in detections of abnormal vital signs and faster reaction times. Time-pressure increased error rate for all six charts. But contrary to predictions, it affected the human factors designed charts to the same extent as the poorly designed charts. This indicates the importance of reducing perceived timepressure on medical staff in hospitals, in that using human factors principles did not lessen the effects of the time-limit. Finally, it was found that working memory capacity was not related to individual variance in error rates across the six charts. Thus, average working memory capacity may be adequate when evaluating observation charts

Parent-related stress of male and female carers of adolescents with intellectual disabilities and carers of children within the general population: a cross-sectional comparison

Background: Carers of children with intellectual disability show high rates of parent-related stress and are at an increased risk for deleterious physical and mental health. Materials and Methods: This study investigated the relationship between demographic and social characteristics and parenting stress, within two different cross-sectional samples of carers: those who care for an adolescent with an intellectual disability and carers from a population based sample. Participants were 1152 carers from the Household Income and Labour Dynamic in Australia study and 284 carers of adolescents with intellectual disabilities from the Ask study. Results and Conclusions: The results supported previous research suggesting carers of children with intellectual disabilities experience high parent-related stress. The results also support the buffer model of social support, as high social support was related to lower parent-related stress. Self-rated prosperity, financial pressure and relationship status were also related to lower levels of parent-related stress

Social cognitive mediators of the relationship between impulsivity traits and adolescent alcohol use: Identifying unique targets for prevention

Highlights • The bSCT showed acceptable-to-good prospective fit across two adolescent cohorts. • Targeting impulsivity and self-efficacy may be effective for 13–15-year-olds. • Targeting alcohol expectancies and self-efficacy may benefit 11–13-year-olds. • Impulsivity had an increasing effect on alcohol use as adolescents aged. • Decreasing positive expectancies may provide a pathway to improving self-efficacy

From impulse to action? Cognitive mechanisms of impulsivity-related risk for externalizing behavior

Trait impulsivity is an established risk factor for externalizing behavior problems in adolescence, but little is understood about the cognitive mechanisms involved. Negative automatic thoughts are associated with externalizing behaviors and impulsivity is associated with less cognitive reappraisal. This study sought to adapt the bioSocial Cognitive Theory (bSCT) of impulsivity and substance use (an externalizing behavior) for externalizing behavior in general. It was predicted that only the component of impulsivity characterized by lack of forethought (rash impulsiveness; RI) would be associated with (non-substance use-related) externalizing behaviors, not reward sensitivity/drive. Further, this association would be mediated by negative automatic thoughts. Participants were 404 (226 female, 63%) adolescents from 6 high schools across South-East Queensland (age = 13-17 years, mean age = 14.97 years, SD = 0.65 years) of mostly Australian/New Zealand (76%) or European (11%) descent. Participants completed self-report measures of impulsivity, negative automatic thoughts, and externalizing behaviors. Path analysis revealed that, as predicted, only RI was uniquely associated with negative automatic thoughts and externalizing behaviors. However, only negative automatic thoughts centered around hostility mediated the positive association between RI and externalizing behaviors, with the indirect mediation effect being smaller than the direct association. In contrast to substance use, only one component of impulsivity, RI, was associated with general adolescent externalizing behavior. Hostile automatic thoughts may be an important mechanism of risk, supporting a role for cognitive-behavioral interventions. Other biopsychosocial mechanisms are clearly involved and the bSCT may provide a useful framework to guide future research