Feasibility of neurobehavioral screening following diagnosis of pediatric cancer.

Background: Neurobehavioral deficits will affect up to 50% of pediatric cancer survivors treated with central nervous system (CNS)-directed therapies. Guidelines suggest assessment of neurobehavioral skills at diagnosis be extended from patients with brain tumors to include all patients requiring CNS-directed therapies. However, comprehensive neuropsychological assessment at diagnosis is difficult to implement and resource intensive.

Coping and emotional adjustment following traumatic brain injury.

Objectives: To examine the association between coping style and emotional adjustment following traumatic brain injury.

Participants: Thirty three individuals who had sustained a traumatic brain injury (mean duration of posttraumatic amnesia = 32 days) between 1(1/2) months and almost 7 years previously.

Measures: Coping Scale for Adults, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, and the Sickness Impact Profile.

Evaluation of a coping skills group following traumatic brain injury.

Primary Objective: To examine the impact of a cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) based intervention programme, termed the Coping Skills Group (CSG), on coping strategy use and emotional adjustment.

Research Design: Thirty-one individuals with TBI participated and a wait-list control design was used.

Methods And Procedures: The CSG ran twice a week, for 5 weeks and focused on developing adaptive coping skills for the management of emotional and adjustment issues.

Who benefits? Outcome following a coping skills group intervention for traumatically brain injured individuals.

Primary Objective: To investigate the variables associated with positive psychological outcome following a group intervention for 33 individuals with traumatic brain injury.

Research Design: Evaluation study which used multiple regression analysis to examine the variables associated with change in psychological adjustment following a 10-session cognitive behaviour therapy-based group.

Methods And Procedures: The predictor variables were age at injury, time since injury, injury severity, self-awareness, pre-morbid intellectual function, memory function, executive function and level of depression and anxiety prior to intervention.

On the nature of cardiovascular activation at an arousal from sleep.

Study Objectives: The intent of the study was to explore the nature and function of the cardiovascular activation response that occurs at an arousal from sleep.

Design: Four experiments were conducted. The first compared the pattern of physiologic response to orienting and startle stimuli and arousal from sleep.