Family/media approach to HIV prevention: results with a home-based, parent-teen video program.

We describe the first study with a home-based HIV prevention video program for parents and young teenagers. The objectives of the program are to inform parents and teenagers about the causes and prevention of HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases, to increase family problem-solving skills, and to increase teen problem-solving and assertiveness skills. The objectives pertain to the goals of increasing skills needed to help teenagers avoid or manage high-risk behaviors and situations.

Cognitive-behavior therapy with nighttime fearful children.

In this study, the nighttime problems of two girls diagnosed as having separation anxiety disorder were treated with cognitive-behavioral procedures. Through the use of a multiple baseline design across subjects, the additive effects of self-control training and self-control training plus contingent reinforcement were determined. For both girls, self-report of anxiety and behavioral avoidance of sleeping in their own beds was reduced significantly only when to the self-control training the reinforcement condition was added.

Sociometric status: its stability and validity among neglected, rejected and popular children.

Although important distinctions among sociometrically rejected, neglected, and popular children have been reported in the literature, concerns have been raised about use of negative peer nominations in identifying these children. A revised procedure developed by Asher and Dodge [Developmental Psychology, 22, 444-449 (1986)] eliminates the need to obtain negative peer nominations. In the present study, the construct validity of this revised procedure was explored and its long-term stability examined over 6, 12 and 18 months.

Fears in British children and their relationship to manifest anxiety and depression.

In the present study, we examined the pattern and intensity of fears in 327 British school children and the relation of those fears to anxiety and depression. The fears reported by the British children were found to be nearly identical to those found in Australian and American children (Ollendick, King & Frary, 1989). Further, although a moderate relation was found between fear and anxiety, only a modest relation was found between fear and depression.

Origins of childhood fears: an evaluation of Rachman's theory of fear acquisition.

This study explored Rachman's (1977) theory of fear acquisition in a large sample of Australian and American children and adolescents. Participants completed a questionnaire that addressed different pathways of fear acquisition for 10 highly prevalent fears. The majority of children attributed the onset of their fears to vicarious and instructional factors, although these indirect sources of fear were often combined with direct conditioning experiences.

The predictive validity of teacher nominations: a five-year followup of at-risk youth.

The purpose of this study was to examine the predictive validity of a teacher nomination procedure for identifying at-risk children. Two hundred and twenty-five children were nominated by their teachers as well-adjusted (n = 75), socially withdrawn (n = 76), or socially aggressive (n = 74) during the fourth grade. Five years later, 198 of these children (88%) were located and their adjustment evaluated.

Depression in British and American children and its relation to anxiety and fear.

The relations between the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS), and the Fear Survey Schedule for Children-Revised (FSSC-R) were examined in 327 British and 336 American children. Relations were similar for both samples of children, with depression more closely related to anxiety than to fear. In addition, the utility of the Kovacs (1981) recommended cutoff score (CDI greater than or equal to 19) for identifying extreme groups of depressed children was evaluated.

Fears of children and adolescents: a cross-sectional Australian study using the Revised-Fear Survey Schedule for Children.

The Revised-Fear Survey Schedule for Children was administered to over 3000 Australian youths, aged 8-16 yrs. Consistent with previous findings, there was a significant age-related decline in fears. Females reported significantly more fears than males.

School refusal: graduated and rapid behavioural treatment strategies.

School refusal is a complex phenomenon that has been subject to definitional and diagnostic confusion. The aetiology of school refusal remains incompletely understood; heterogeneity rather than homogeneity prevails. In the behaviour management of school refusal, the clinician may plan either a gradual or rapid school return.

Treatment programs for severe night-time fears: a methodological note.

A multiple baseline design across subjects was used to examine the efficacy of a treatment package consisting of relaxation, reinforcement, and cognitive self-instruction in the reduction of severe night-time fears in six children. Although the disruptive bedtime behaviors of five of the six children were reduced, the multiple baseline analysis revealed that changes were not solely due to treatment. For children with extended baselines, improvement preceded treatment.

Role taking and social competence in autism and mental retardation.

Recent data suggest that individuals with autism show deficits in social cognitive abilities when compared with nonautistic persons matched for mental age. These deficits have been proposed as a basis for the social interaction difficulties seen in autistic persons. In the present study, autistic youth were compared with a matched group of nonautistic mentally retarded youth on three role-taking tasks and three measures of social competence.

Fears in children and adolescents: reliability and generalizability across gender, age and nationality.

In this study, the reliability and generalizability of the FSSC-R was explored across gender, age and nationality. 594 normal children and adolescents from the United States and 591 normal youths from Australia participated. Results confirmed that the schedule is internally consistent across these subject parameters, and that the factor structure is fairly robust.

Prevalence of bulimia in working and university women.

The authors determined the prevalence of binge eating and bulimia in samples of 139 working women and 234 women who were university students. Although binge eating was found in 57 (41%) of the working women and 161 (69%) of the university women, the syndrome of bulimia was found in only two (1%) of the working women and 12 (5%) of the university women. These findings, although significant, stand in sharp contrast to popular reports that one-half or more of young women suffer from eating disorders.

Correlates of adult and child perceptions of social competency.

In this study, the relationship between two commonly used measures of social competency, peer ratings of perceived status and adult ratings of assertiveness, were examined. In Phase I, high and low sociometric status children were videotaped responding to a series of role-play scenes; performance on these scenes was then rated retrospectively by adults for overall assertiveness. In Phase II, a second group of children who were unfamiliar with the videotaped children observed the taped scenes and provided ratings of likability, intelligence, working together, and attractiveness.

An empirical demonstration of the random stimulus design.

The random stimulus design, a single case methodology, was described. This design is a variant of the reversal or withdrawal design; however, the same set of items is presented to a subject only a small percentage of the total number of experimental conditions rather than across all conditions. The design is considered most applicable under conditions where numerous presentations are not desired since they may result in boredom, fatigue, or related variables that may adversely affect the evaluation of the dependent variables.

Vicarious reinforcement: Expected and unexpected effects.

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effects on one child of observing another child receive direct social reinforcement. In the first part of the study, pairs of same-sex children worked on puzzles for three sessions spaced 2 to 3 days apart. One child was praised on a continuous schedule for performance, whereas the other received no praise.