A psychological and educational intervention program for incarcerated youth

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the results of a deliberate psychological and educational intervention with at-risk youth (placed in a detention center) that have been identified as having the potential to benefit from a behavioral program. Design/methodology/approach The program provided systemic behavioral health assessments using trauma-informed care guidelines and then linked the participants to mental health and substance services to increase the children’s access to key health services and reduce the risk of recidivism. The program also provided psychoeducational resources to stakeholders including parents, judges and corrections officers. Comparisons were made between participants receiving the intervention to determine pre and post results. Findings Recidivism rates were also examined. Study participants included 395 at-risk youth between the ages of 13 and 17. In summary, the findings supported the use of this multi-pronged program with juveniles residing in detention centers. Originality/value All work on this research project was completed by the listed authors.

Secure Attachment Priming Amplifies Approach Motivation for Infant Faces Among Childless Adults

Existing studies have indicated that priming secure attachment alters adults’ neural responses to infant faces. However, no study has examined whether this effect exists for motivational behavioral responses, and none of the previous studies included adult faces as a baseline to determine whether the security prime enhances responses to human faces in general or infant faces alone. To address this limitation, the current study recruited 160 unmarried and childless adults in the first phase, and all of them completed a battery of questionnaires, including the Interest in Infants, the Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR), and State Adult Attachment Measure (SAAM). A week later, after priming, 152 (76 security-primed vs. 76 neutrally primed) participants completed the SAAM and a behavioral program assessing their motivational responses to both adult and infant faces (i.e., liking, representational, and evoked responses). A manipulation check showed that the security prime was effective. Then, generalized linear mixed-effects models (GLMMs) showed that security priming enhances adults’ liking, representational, and evoked responses (three components of the motivational system) only to infant faces and not to adult faces. Moreover, hierarchical regression analysis indicated that, even after security priming, there was a substantial linear relationship between positive motivation toward infant faces and the state of adult secure attachment. In summary, this study demonstrated for the first time that promoting the state of adult secure attachment can effectively enhance the effect size of the baby face schema. The current results were interpreted according to Bowlby’s view of the attachment behavioral system.

Behavioral Strategies to Minimize Procedural Distress During In-Office Pediatric Tympanostomy Tube Placement Without Sedation or Restraint

The purpose of this study was to evaluate behavioral strategies to minimize procedural distress associated with in-office tympanostomy tube placement for children without general anesthesia, sedation, or papoose-board restraints. 120 6-month- to 4-year-olds and 102 5- to 12-year-olds were treated at 16 otolaryngology practices. Mean age of children was 4.7 years old (SD = 3.18 years), with more boys (58.1%) than girls (41.9%). The cohort included 14% Hispanic or Latinx, 84.2% White, 12.6% Black, 1.8% Asian and 4.1% ‘Other’ race and ethnicity classifications. The in-office tube placement procedure included local anesthesia via lidocaine/epinephrine iontophoresis and tube placement using an integrated and automated myringotomy and tube delivery system. Behavioral strategies were used to minimize procedural distress. Anxiolytics, sedation, or papoose board were not used. Pain was measured via the faces pain scale-revised (FPS-R) self-reported by the children ages 5 through 12 years. Independent coders supervised by a psychologist completed the face, legs, activity, cry, consolability (FLACC) behavior observational rating scale to quantify children’s distress. Mean FPS-R score for tube placement was 3.30, in the “mild’ pain range, and decreased to 1.69 at 5-min post-procedure. Mean tube placement FLACC score was 4.0 (out of a maximum score of 10) for children ages 6 months to 4 years and was 0.4 for children age 5–12 years. Mean FLACC score 3-min post-tube placement was 1.3 for children ages 6 months to 4 years and was 0.2 for children age 5–12 years. FLACC scores were inversely correlated with age, with older children displaying lower distress. The iontophoresis, tube delivery system and behavioral program were associated with generally low behavioral distress. These data suggest that pediatric tympanostomy and tube placement can be achieved in the outpatient setting without anxiolytics, sedatives, or mechanical restraints.

Predictors of Retention and Recidivism of Justice-Involved Women in a Community-Based Gender-Responsive CBT Program

The purpose of this study was to evaluate pretreatment differences between program completers and noncompleters, as well as those who recidivated and those who did not, among a sample of 112 justice-involved women referred to a gender-responsive cognitive-behavioral program as part of supervision recommendations. Risk scores, adverse childhood experiences, emotion dysregulation, self-control, and various demographic variables were examined as predictors of program completion and 1-year recidivism. Results of logistic regression indicated that higher risk scores significantly predicted program noncompletion and 1-year recidivism, and noncompleters were 6 times more likely to recidivate than completers. These findings reveal characteristics of women as they relate to the likelihood of completing criminal justice treatment programs, and indicate a greater need for intensive support among high-risk women.

The Coping Power Program for Children with Aggressive Behavior Problems

Flexible adaptations of the Coping Power Program have been made for the delivery of the program. Coping Power is a structured, manualized cognitive-behavioral program, with components for children and parents designed to alter targeted mechanisms that contribute to children’s aggressive behavior problems. The program originated as a targeted prevention program, delivered in school settings, but also has been applied and tested in clinical settings. The contextual social-cognitive model is described, followed by a brief description of program components, of fidelity assessment, and of results from several initial randomized controlled efficacy studies. The bulk of the chapter describes two types of adaptations of the program. The first adaptation is evident in a field trial study of real-world school counselors’ use of the program, and was affected by the intensity of training that counselors received and by their own characteristics and the characteristics of their work setting. Appropriate and inappropriate adaptions were observed, with appropriate adaptations illustrating the concept of flexibility within fidelity. The second type of adaptation involves efforts to optimize the program and to test planned changes. The chapter describes evaluations of planned adaptations to the length of the program (including Internet components), to program targets through inclusion of mindfulness training, to delivery of the program in group versus individual formats, and to a variety of changes made in the structure and cultural relevance of the program in international adaptations.

The effectiveness of a rational, emotional, behavioral program in modifying the irrational thoughts related to the pressures of life for forced retirees

Thinking includes cognitive processes implicit or explicit, or an internal mental perception of events or things, or a mental means by which a person deals with facts, things and events through the cognitive processes that are represented in the use of symbols, concepts and words. Thinking and style are its types, it is the outcome of interaction between several changes, such as an individual’s past, past experiences, ability to teach, level of education, level of education and social upbringing, cultural and civilizational factors and the influence of the surrounding environment. Work is one of the important factors that affect the life of a pensioner. Without it, the individual suffers from many social and psychological diseases, such as isolation, depression, anxiety, stress and fear. Work is the basis of respect for the individual and the respect of people for him, and the individual achieves many gratifications through his work, and when he loses it, he is exposed to many frustrated situations related to his inaction. Compulsory retirement is the second of the growth crises experienced by the individual after the crisis of adolescence. Compulsory retirement from work has become one of the most important problems facing them. Here, there are many studies that dealt with adaptation to retirement, which emphasized the importance of preparing for the post-retirement phase so that the individual avoids potential psychological disorders and to achieve a sound psychological and social harmony and a smooth transition to the retirement stage. Irrational thoughts come as a result of false cognitive precipitations in forced retirees, resulting in many socio-psychological problems, such as the problem of family relationships and a tendency to depression. Accordingly, the problem of the study was determined in a question: What is the effectiveness of a professional intervention program within the framework of strategies and methods of rational emotional-emotional-behavioral therapy in modifying the irrational thoughts related to the pressures of life for forced retirees?