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This study assesses postoperative quality-of-life outcomes via the Glasgow Benefit Inventory (GBI) in patients undergoing transnasal endoscopic pituitary surgery for pituitary adenoma.This was a retrospective cohort study in a UK tertiary referral centre. 145 patients who had undergone transnasal endoscopic pituitary surgery for pituitary adenoma over a 6-year period at one institution completed the GBI with at least 3 months' follow up. Patients with prior radiotherapy were excluded. The GBI is a patient-reported outcome measure that assesses post-intervention outcomes in three domains: 'general' functioning, 'social support' and 'physical' functioning. Pre- and post-operative visual loss scores were additionally assessed via a 1-5 Likert scale. GBI scores were assessed alongside these visual loss scores, clinical and surgical parameters and demographics.Mean age was 59.5 years (range 20-87 years) and mean follow up was 36 months. A total of 46 of 145 (31.7%) patients had secreting tumours. The most common primary symptom was visual loss. Mean total score for all patients was positive (+8.4); with 'general' domain score the most positive (+10.5). All patient groups had overall positive, 'general' and 'social support' domain scores. Patients with Cushing's disease reported significantly higher mean total scores (+29.6) than all other groups. Acromegaly (+7.9) and non-functioning adenoma (NFA) groups (+5.2) reported lower mean total scores. 'Physical' domain mean scores were negative for acromegaly and NFA groups. There was statistical significance between a pre- to post-operative improvement in visual score and mean total GBI score (These findings can aid preoperative counselling of patients undergoing this surgery. Those with NFA and no anticipated improvement to visual loss symptoms may be advised of possible worsened physical outcomes and of the option to delay the surgery until symptoms are present.

Bullying victimisation is a serious risk factor for mental health problems in children and adolescents. School bullying prevention programs have consistently produced small to moderate reductions in victimisation and perpetration. However, these programs do not necessarily help all students affected by bullying. Paradoxically whole-school programs lead to higher levels of depression and poorer self-esteem for students who continue to be victimised after program implementation. This may be because some elements of whole-school programs make victims more visible to their peers, thus further eroding their peer social status. Three main identified risk factors for children and adolescents who continue to be victimised following school bullying prevention programs are peer rejection, internalising problems, and lower quality parent-child relationships. All are potentially modifiable through family interventions. A large body of research demonstrates the influence of families on children's social skills, peer relationships and emotional regulation. This paper describes the theoretical foundations and empirical evidence for reducing the incidence and mental health outcomes of school bullying victimisation through family interventions. Family interventions should be available to complement school efforts to reduce bullying and improve the mental health of young people.

Low-resource communities that rely on the environment face challenges in the forms of climate change and the overuse of natural resources. Behaviour science offers methods and strategies to mitigate behaviours that contribute to environmental degradation, as well as promote the adoption of desirable behaviours. We investigated the attitudes and beliefs of vulnerable communities. We conducted surveys across five villages on Selayar Island, a small island in Sulawesi Indonesia. Our results suggest a willingness to participate in behaviour-based programmes and concern for families. When offering development programmes to communities, the needs of the community should inform the design and implementation process.

Psychology and the social sciences have an important role to play in developing innovative solutions to pressing global mental health and social problems. Programs developed by psychologists and other social scientists have immense potential to alleviate suffering and to promote healthy human development across the lifespan. In order to realise this potential program developers must manage the research and development challenges involved in testing an intervention, evaluating, and then preparing it for wider dissemination and scaling. Particular challenges and conflicts can occur in managing the joint roles of being a program developer and a researcher evaluating an intervention or innovation. This article examines the management of various forms of conflicts of interest that have the potential to produce bias and decrease the confidence of policy makers, funders, practitioners, fellow researchers, and the public in the value of psychological interventions. We argue that best practice guidelines are needed to assist developers negotiate the predictable, sometime unavoidable but challenging conflicts of interest that arise in the research process.

This mixed methods study describes attributions for improvement following reductions in victimization for children who were bullied at school. It also tests hypotheses from attribution theory about...

Course: Qualitative Research MethodsObjectives: To provide students with an experiential understanding of the six steps to conducting a thematic analysis: (1) gaining familiarity with the data, (2)...

Background Conflict among siblings is linked with potentially lifelong social, cognitive, and behavioural problems. Parents of siblings play a crucial role in the development of both the positive and negative relationships of their children. Despite this, relatively few parenting programmes specifically address how to manage sibling relationships marked by elevated levels of conflict. Methods This article presents the rationale, protocol, and potential implications of a randomised controlled trial evaluating a tailored version of the Triple P-Positive Parenting Program for managing sibling conflict. This body of research seeks to illustrate how an evidence-based parenting intervention can be successfully deployed to reduce rates of sibling conflict while improving children's social, emotional, and behavioural problems and enhancing parent competence and confidence. Conclusions Although sibling conflict is among the most widely reported and frequently cited concerns for parents, this is the first time a Triple P intervention has been used to target sibling conflict directly. If the intervention is found to be effective, it is hypothesised that the availability of an evidence-based parenting programme focusing on sibling conflict will be highly appealing to parents and help engender a further destigmatisation of the notion of parents seeking parenting support. Language: en

Flow is a psychological state people experience when performing highly challenging tasks with a high degree of skill. It is related to happiness, creativity, and productivity. In three experiments, we developed a manipulation of flow and assessed its effects on subsequent defensive behavior. In all three experiments, participants who played a game with more features of flow (e.g. engagement, match of challenge and skill, performance feedback) reported more feelings of flow (e.g. enjoyment, concentration and interest) and less downstream defensiveness. The results suggest that we developed a flexible, reliable manipulation of flow, and that inducing people to experience flow may reduce their subsequent defensive behavior.

Nonprofit organizations experience a significant dilemma: whether they are and/or should be business-like. Yet scholars know too little about how nonprofit practitioners themselves respond to and enact this tension. Through in-depth interviews, findings indicate that although nonprofit leaders claimed that their organizations were like businesses, they carefully constructed the meaning of “business-like” as compatible with and in service of their nonprofit mission. These findings support and extend previous ethnographic research and strengthen a communicative explanation of what it means to be business-like in nonprofit work.

To examine the challenges faced by parents of teenagers with a disability to determine the need for a tailored parenting program for this population.Focus groups were conducted with six parents and nine practitioners with experience supporting parents of teenagers with a disability.An inductive thematic analysis revealed close agreement between parents and practitioners and eight understandable and relevant themes. The results indicated that parents have difficulty planning and facilitating transitions for their adolescent children, managing behavioural problems due to these problems being unique to this developmental period and because some of the parenting strategies that were useful when their children were younger were no longer applicable. High levels of stress and feelings of grief were also described.These results suggest that parents of adolescents with a developmental disability could benefit from a parenting program and that an existing evidence-based parenting program should be modified. Implications for program design for this population are discussed.Parents have difficulty supporting their teenagers' behaviour. Some parenting strategies that were useful for young children are no longer applicable. Parents may benefit from a parenting program tailored for teenagers.

This study examined the psychometric characteristics of the Child Adjustment and Parent Efficacy Scale (CAPES). The CAPES was designed as a brief outcome measure in the evaluation of both public health and individual or group parenting interventions. The scale consists of a 30-item intensity scale with two subscales measuring children's behaviour problems and emotional maladjustment and a 20-item self-efficacy scale that measures parent's self-efficacy in managing specific child problem behaviours. A sample of 347 parents of 2-12-year-old children participated in the study. Psychometric evaluation of the CAPES revealed that both the intensity and self-efficacy scales had good internal consistency, as well as satisfactory convergent and discriminant validity. Potential uses of the measure and implications for future validation studies are discussed.

The use of functionalised metal sulphide nanoparticles (NPs) for nanoremediation and biomedical application is rapidly increasing, which could lead to significant inputs into the marine environment. The potential impact of some NPs on marine organisms is still poorly understood. In the present paper the genotoxic potential of Ag2S and CdS NPs on Mytilus edulis haemocytes was assessed. MPEG-SH (thiol-terminated methyl polyethylene glycol), was used as capping agent to avoid NPs agglomeration. TEM analysis showed that the Ag2S NPs size was 13±7 nm, whereas CdS quantum dots had an average diameter of 4±1 nm. DNA integrity was evaluated by Comet assay following exposure to increasing concentration series (0.01–10 mg/L). Both silver and cadmium NPs showed genotoxic effects at the highest dose. MPEG-SH was also found to exert a weak genotoxic activity, suggesting that at least part of the genotoxic potential of functionalised NPs on mussel cells might be attributable to the capping agent. These results confirm ...

This randomized controlled trial evaluated the efficacy of FamilyTransitions Triple P (FTTP), a 12-session, group-delivered positiveparenting program designed to prevent adverse outcomes for childrenfollowing parental divorce. Participants were 204 parentswho had been divorced less than 2 years and had a child ages 2 to14 years. Parents were randomized into 1 of 3 conditions: FTTP–Ewith enhanced engagement, FTTP–S with standard engagement, orwaitlist control. Interventions were delivered through communityrelationship centers by relationship counselors. Results showed thatparents in the FTTP conditions reported significantly greater reductionsin child behavior problems and coercive parenting comparedto the waitlist control condition. There were no significant differencesbetween the FTTP–E and FTTP–S conditions. At 12-monthfollow-up for both FTTP intervention groups, there were sustainedimprovements in the levels of parental distress (depression, anxiety,stress, and anger) and improvements in co-parent communicationand acrimony. Implications of findings are discussed Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Recent discussions about making the field of organizational communication more influential have given inadequate attention to how our pedagogical frameworks could more explicitly promote the distinct contributions of organizational communication scholarship. Embracing the classroom as an overlooked yet tremendously meaningful site for demonstrating the value of organizational communication theory and practice, we offer a guiding framework for teaching organizational communication that more clearly attends to the salient qualities of a communicative approach to the study of organization. We argue that this overarching approach to organizational communication pedagogy will help develop greater practical wisdom among students as they learn to apply communicative perspectives for understanding, critiquing, and engaging the problems of contemporary organizational life.

Child maltreatment is a major worldwide concern and continuing high rates of abuse demand action. This article examines the role of parenting programmes as a strategy to prevent child maltreatment in the population as a whole and also as a targeted intervention for parents who have abused, or are at risk of abusing, their children. We argue that a blend of universal and targeted interventions is needed to reduce the prevalence of child maltreatment. Parenting interventions that concurrently target positive parenting and effective child management skills, dysfunctional parental attributions, and increasing parents' capacity to regulate their emotions are particularly useful. A variant of the Triple P—Positive Parenting Program, known as Pathways Triple P, is discussed to illustrate the value of this approach. Contextual factors that need to be addressed in working with child protection cases are also discussed. The role of training and supervision is discussed in the context of disseminating evidence-based parenting programmes, and future directions for research are presented.

Exposure to fine particulate air pollution has been implicated as a risk factor for cardiopulmonary disease and mortality. Proposed biological pathways imply that particle-induced pulmonary and systemic inflammation play a role in activating the vascular endothelium and altering vascular function. Potential effects of fine particulate pollution on vascular function are explored using controlled chamber exposure and uncontrolled ambient exposure. Research subjects included four panels with a total of 26 healthy nonsmoking young adults. On two study visits, at least 7 days apart, subjects spent 3 hr in a controlled-exposure chamber exposed to 150-200 microg/m3 of fine particles generated from coal or wood combustion and 3 hr in a clean room, with exposure and nonexposure periods alternated between visits. Baseline, postexposure, and post-clean room reactive hyperemia-peripheral arterial tonometry (RH-PAT) was conducted. A microvascular responsiveness index, defined as the log of the RH-PAT ratio, was calculated. There was no contemporaneous vascular response to the few hours of controlled exposure. Declines in vascular response were associated with elevated ambient exposures for the previous 2 days, especially for female subjects. Cumulative exposure to real-life fine particulate pollution may affect vascular function. More research is needed to determine the roles of age and gender, the effect of pollution sources, the importance of cumulative exposure over a few days versus a few hours, and the lag time between exposure and response.

Purpose. To explore the unique parenting challenges that parents of children with cerebral palsy (CP) face and to explore the feasibility of a new parenting intervention, Stepping Stones Triple P (SSTP), for this population. Method. Focus groups were conducted with parents of children with CP (n ¼8) and health professionals with experience in working with families of children with CP (n ¼5). The discussion was transcribed verbatim and a descriptive thematic analysis was performed. Results. Parents stated that knowing whether a particular behaviour is the result of CP or a behavioural issue is challenging. Parents were also keen to promote communication, independence and socialisation in their child. In addition, parents also discussed the challenges of parenting under time pressure, with additional parenting tasks, under public scrutiny and with grief. Both parents and professionals found SSTP to be a feasible and appropriate intervention for parents of children with CP. Conclusions. The parents of children with CP in this study faced a range of parenting challenges that may be effectively targeted by a parenting intervention. In addition, parents and health professionals found SSTP content acceptable and feasible for use with parents of children with CP.

This study examines how students reconcile disappointing grades with feelings of personal success. Findings from 8 focus group interviews at 2 universities illustrate that this reconciliation is a communicative dilemma in which students regularly engage. To reconcile this dilemma, students draw on positive discourses of personal growth and genuine learning to describe their success. Findings suggest that, despite the conflict that arises in teacher–student communication about grades, such conversations can be engaged in a positive and constructive manner.

Courses: Interpersonal Communication, Communication and Conflict Objectives: Students will develop theoretical knowledge of specific student-selected interpersonal communication theories and concepts. Students will apply theoretical knowledge to their own communication practices and track improvement over time.

This study examined perceptions of male and female models depicted smoking or not smoking cigarettes. Undergraduate students viewed photographs of smoking or nonsmoking models and then rated the models' credibility, homophily, attractiveness, likeability, considerateness, cleanliness, and healthiness. Analysis indicated that being viewed as a cigarette smoker damaged people's images. With the exception of two dimensions of credibility, smokers, compared to nonsmokers, were rated less favorably on every variable examined in this study. These results are discussed.

This study explored the psychometric properties of the Parent Problem Checklist (PPC), a measure of parental conflict over child-rearing issues. Participants were a clinical sample of 391 parents of children aged 0–18 years presenting at a university paediatric psychology clinic for intervention in relation to their child’s behavioural or emotional problems. Exploratory factor analysis was done on the PPC Extent scale. It provided support for a revised three-factor model including dimensions of consistency in discipline, child care, and family processes. Modifications that could enhance the measures are discussed. The present results have implications for examining different aspects of parent conflict, and the assessment of parenting conflict in clinical practice. The PPC provides a valid and reliable means of assessing interparent conflict about child behaviour and parenting. Directions for further research are highlighted. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Parents are often targeted for childhood obesity interventions and parent training is regarded as an integral component of family-based treatments for obesity. However, few studies have examined what challenges parents of obese children face managing their children's behaviour, and how these challenges might be addressed in treatment. To address this gap in knowledge, we describe the development and evaluation of a new measure, the Lifestyle Behaviour Checklist (LBC).The LBC lists 26 concerns parents might have about children's eating behaviour, activity, and other weight-related behaviours; and includes a Problem scale (extent of problems) and Confidence scale (parents' confidence in dealing with these problems). This study explored the psychometric properties of the LBC in a sample of 182 parents of healthy weight, overweight, or obese 4 to 11-year-old children. A comparison is given for families with healthy weight children and families with obese children.The new measure successfully differentiated families with and without obese children, correctly classifying 91.1% of participants. Parents of healthy weight children reported lower levels of lifestyle behaviour problems (d=2.40) and higher levels of parenting self-efficacy (d=1.96) than parents of obese children. The LBC scales had high internal consistency and moderate test-retest stability (12 weeks).The lifestyle behaviour construct appears a useful way to conceptualise parenting challenges faced by parents of obese children, and the LBC a valid and reliable instrument. Routine administration of the LBC in childhood obesity research may assist in the development of more effective management approaches.

Psychologists conducting interventions usually think in terms of assisting individuals, families, or small groups. Reaching large segments of a population is typically not the way most psychologists, in particular clinical and counseling psychologists, conceptualize intervention. In the parenting field, however, where large numbers of parents and children can benefit from evidence-based information and assistance, combining population-level strategies such as the use of the mass media with parenting and family support strategies is one worth considering. This article explores that possibility.

Divorce is a major life Stressor and life transition for parents and children. It places parents and children at risk of developing psychological problems that can have long-term negative consequences for children. Family Transitions Triple P is an adaptation of Triple P-Positive Parenting Program that has been specifically developed to address risk factors and enhance protective factors for parents who are divorced. This paper presents the rationale, theoretical foundations, historical development, and distinguishing features of this program. The multilevel intervention promotes parental self-sufficiency, self-efficacy, self-management skills, personal agency, and problem-solving skills to promote short- and long-term positive outcomes for children and parents after divorce.

The outcomes of a randomized clinical trial of a new behavioral family intervention, Stepping Stones Triple P, for preschoolers with developmental and behavior problems are presented. Forty-eight children with developmental disabilities participated, 27 randomly allocated to an intervention group and 20 to a wait-list control group. Parents completed measures of parenting style and stress, and independent observers assessed parent-child interactions. The intervention was associated with fewer child behavior problems reported by mothers and independent observers, improved maternal and paternal parenting style, and decreased maternal stress. All effects were maintained at 6-month follow-up.

Stepping Stones Triple P is the first in a series of programs based on the Triple P – Positive Parenting Program that has been specifically designed for families who have a child with a disability. This paper presents the rationale, theoretical foundations, historical development and distinguishing features of the program. The multi‐level intervention adopts a self‐regulation framework in consulting with parents that involves the promotion of parental self‐sufficiency, self‐efficacy, self‐management skills, personal agency and problem‐solving skills. This paper describes the key program design features, intervention techniques, model of clinical consultation, its clinical applicability, and empirical base. The 10‐session individually administered version of the program, known as Standard Stepping Stones Triple P is described and the important role of training, supervision and agency support in disseminating the program is discussed.

Childhood disruptive disorders are characterised by a high intensity and frequency of externalising problems, such as lack of self‐control, non‐compliance, and displays of physical and aggressive b...

Assessment issues with families of disruptive children ages 3 to 8 years, and depressed mothers are of significant clinical and research importance. Given the long-term deleterious effects that parenting styles of depressed mothers may have on children, and given that interventions for families with disruptive children frequently include behavioral family therapy, clinical assessment should include some evaluation of how parenting is related to the behavior of children of depressed mothers. Previous observational studies of depressed mothers and their disruptive children have failed to identify behavioral differences between these families and families of similarly disruptive children whose mothers are not depressed. This failure to identify differences presents a conundrum for clinicians: a widely reported parenting style, with well-reported child behavior sequelae has not yet been linked with identified moment-to moment interactions between mother and child. This paper investigates some charact...

Parents of 468 children aged between 12 and 14 years in ten high schools in a city in regional north Queensland and metropolitan Melbourne participated in a survey of early adolescent behaviour. The major undesirable behaviours experienced by parents were fighting with siblings, talking back to adults, moodiness, and school difficulties. Frequently listed desirable behaviours that were experienced were related to housework and communication. Parents indicated a desire for education to help them assist their teenage children develop more appropriate behaviour, and in particular in regard to better managing their emotions. The findings are discussed in the context of the challenge of designing and delivering effective early intervention programs to large numbers of parents of early adolescents.

Group Teen Triple P is a brief group parenting program for parents of teenagers. It is based on the successful Triple P – Positive Parenting Program for parents of children aged from 0 to 12, with a focus on helping parents manage the transition from late childhood to early adolescence. This paper describes the initial evaluation of a universal trial of the program offered to all parents of students entering their first year of high school at age 12 in a regional north Queensland school. Twenty-seven parents completed a battery of self-report questionnaires immediately before and after participating in the 8-week program. Participating parents reported significant reductions in conflict with their teenager, and on measures of laxness, over-reactivity, and disagreements with their partner over parenting issues. These are well-established parenting risk factors. In addition, parents reported significant improvements on measures of self-regulation, including self-efficacy, selfsufficiency, and self-management, and reductions on measures of depression, anxiety, and stress. It was concluded that a preliminary evaluation of the Group Teen Triple P program achieved its goals of reducing targeted risk factors associated with the development of behavioural and emotional problems in teenagers. The paper concludes with an examination of issues around parent recruitment and engagement which are crucial for the successful provision of effective and timely advice and support for parents of teenagers.

Conduct problems in children are common, and are associated with significant costs to the family, schools, and society at large. Behavioural Family Intervention (BFI), which targets family interactions, is known to be one of the most effective interventions for the management of child behaviour problems. The school environment is an important aspect of a child’s life, and the degree to which parenting interventions impact on the children’s classroom behaviour has not been adequately assessed. The present research aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a parenting intervention, namely The Positive Parenting Program – Triple P, in reducing child behaviour problems in the classroom. Year One teachers at 25 state primary schools in Brisbane completed a standardised teacher report measure of child behaviour on all children in their classrooms (n=495 children in control schools, n=490 children at intervention schools). Compared to control schools, the levels of teacher reported conduct problems were significantly lower in the intervention schools. The results of this study provide evidence that a parent training program such as Triple P can be effective in reducing the impact of child behaviour problems in the classroom.

It is now widely accepted that dysfunctional parenting practices and family conflict are generic risk factors related to a wide variety of behavioural and emotional problems in children and adolescents. Indeed of all the potentially modifiable risk and protective factors that can affect children’s development, improving parenting skills and confidence holds the greatest potential in improving children’s health status and well being, and in reducing the risk of developing serious mental health problems. Evidence to support the importance of good parenting in the aetiology, maintenance, treatment and prevention of childhood problems is substantial. This evidence comes from diverse fields and areas of inquiry including animal research, behavioural genetics, developmental studies using both cross sectional and longitudinal designs, and intervention research where parenting variables are manipulated in both treatment and prevention trials (see Sanders, 1999).

Family conflict and poor parenting are generic risk factors associated with a wide variety of adverse developmental outcomes in children including increased risk for conduct problems, drug abuse, delinquency and academic underachievement. This paper makes the case for a multi-level population based approach to the development of parental competence. Evidence is reviewed showing that while parenting interventions based on social learning approaches are effective, they have significant limitations in achieving a level of population reach that will do enough to decrease the prevalence of dysfunctional parenting. A case is made for a contextual approach targeting the media, primary care services, schools, and worksites as basic institutions within the community which can potentially support the task of disseminating more widely evidence-based approaches to parenting intervention. Evidence is reviewed for the efficacy and effectiveness of the Triple P-Positive Parenting Program as a comprehensive, multilevel system of parenting and family intervention. The evidence reviewed shows significant effects across several trials on both child and parent mental health outcomes. Challenges in disseminating empirically supported interventions and possible future directions for family intervention research are discussed.

Examined the efficacy of behavioral family intervention (BFI) for the treatment of child oppositional and conduct behavior problems in stepfamilies. Forty-two stepfamilies were randomly assigned to wait list control, therapist-directed BFI, or self-directed BFI. No significant differences were obtained for self-directed vs. therapist-directed BFI. Families receiving BFI reported significantly greater reductions from pre- to post-intervention in child behavior problems and couple conflict over parenting, and were more likely to show clinically significant and statistically reliable improvements on a range of family and child measures than control families. Future research should focus on developing and evaluating preventive interventions for stepfamilies.

There is a pressing need for the development of effective early family intervention programs for children showing Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) behaviours with Conduct Disorder (CD) or Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) behaviours. Previous research has indicated that children with ADHD are at risk of developing comorbid CD or ODD behaviours. In addition, it has been shown that ODD or CD behaviours in childhood tend to persist and to have adverse effects on later social adjustment. However, ODD or CD behaviours are not necessary concomitants of ADHD, and it has been demonstrated that behavioural intervention can have both short- and long term beneficial effects for children showing early signs of ODD or CD behaviours. In short term, behavioural family interventions may be able to reduce oppositional behaviour, particularly in the preschool years. In the long term, early intervention has shown to reduce the incidence of later antisocial behaviour in children at risk for this developmental trajectory. In this paper, it will be argued that behavioural family interventions have not been effectively utilised or promulgated in the community for children with ADHD despite the demonstrated efficacy of these types of interventions. A model of a multilevel system of intervention that can be tailored to the individual family’s needs is presented.

The interpersonal context within behavioral family intervention is a potentially important determinant of therapy outcome. This paper highlights the importance of identifying and explicating specific consultation skills associated with successful clinical outcomes. The discussion of assessment findings with families is an important phase of therapy for laying the foundations for skill training. These discussions are important in developing a working relationship with the family and for creating appropriate expectations of therapy process and outcome. A guided participation model of information transfer is described and illustrated with examples from the author’s work with families of behaviourally disturbed children. Commonly encountered difficulties are highlighted and possible solutions to individual consultation problems are proposed. Specific suggestions are made for enhancing therapy outcome with difficult to treat families and those at high risk of dropping out of therapy. Implications of this work for research into the mechanism of change in behavioral family intervention are discussed.

This study evaluated two procedures for assessing the cognitive constructions of family interactions of conduct- disordered children and their mothers. Video- mediated recall (VR) uses videotaped replays of family interaction as a cue to elicit cognitions about the interaction; thought listing (TL) involves writing down cognitions about the interaction. Twenty-five conduct- disordered children and 17 nonproblem children and their parents participated in the study. Cognitions were coded into self-referent positive, self-referent negative, family-referent positive, family-referent negative, other-referent positive, and other referent- negative. There was a significant effect of clinical status on cognitions using the VR measure for both children and parents, but not using the TL method. As hypothesized, conduct- disordered children on the VR method had higher levels of self-referent negative cognitions, lower levels of self-referent positive cognitions, and lower levels of family-referent positive cognitions than comparison children.

A 12-session group program of cognitive therapy, designed by the first author, was evaluated with 35 persons suffering from major or minor depressive disorders. Effect-size scores were generated using the method of Nietzel, Russell, Hemmings, and Gretter (1987) and compared with cut-off points calculated using the method of Jacobson and Revenstorf (1988) and the norms established by Nietzel et al. (1987) in their metaanalysis. The effects of the Group Cognitive Therapy Program were found to be clinically significant according to the criteria of Jacobson and colleagues (Jacobson and Revenstorf, 1988; Jacobson, Follette and Revenstorf, 1984) for 73% of patients. It is concluded that the Group Cognitive Therapy Program is a clinically efficacious and cost-effective treatment for persons suffering from nonpsychotic, primary, unipolar depression.

This paper examines the organisational, interpersonal, and political processes involved in setting up specialised clinical research and training facilities within Australian universities. The Behaviour Research and Therapy Centre (BRTC) at the University of Queensland is discussed as an example to illustrate the tasks involved in setting up and maintaining a clinical research and training facility. We also discuss some of the organisational obstacles to designing clinical facilities and possible strategies for overcoming them. Designing a training environment creates opportunities to apply principles of environmental design, organisational psychology, and behaviour modification.

This study evaluated the effects of a leisure activities program for six adults with intellectual disabilities in an institutional setting. Specifically, using a BCBCD experimental design, the study compared the effects of a “prompting independent use of activities” procedure and a more intensive “activities manager” routine on levels of engagement in activities, vocalisation, self- stimulatory behaviour, disruptive behaviour, and staff implementation of procedures. Results showed that the activities manager routine was the more effective of the two conditions and produced a marked increase in levels of engagement, which maintained at follow up. However, there was little change in resident vocalization, self-stimulation or disruptive behaviour. Social validation measures also indicated that staff perceived the activities manager procedure more favourably than “prompting independent use of activities”. Staff implemented both procedures accurately, but there was little evidence of generalization of staff be...

This paper critically reviews research on the use of self-management procedures to enhance generalization and maintenance effects in behavioural parent training. It is argued that while many training programs for parents implicitly expect parents to engage in self-controlling behaviors, specific training in these skills is rarely provided. Research evidence relating to teaching parents goal selection, self-monitoring, self-determination of rewards and punishments, self-specification of performance standards, self-administration of rewards and punishments, techniques to rearrange the physical environment and problem solving skills are reviewed and discussed. Of these techniques only self-monitoring procedures has adequate empirical support. Methodological issues are raised and several areas for future research are pinpointed.

We conducted systematic observations of parent- parent interactions for 4 families undergoing behavioral parent training. The families all presented with an oppositional child and showed evidence of concurrent marital discord. Families underwent baseline, child management training (CMT), partner support training (PST), and follow-up in a multiple-baseline-across-families design. Measures of parent and child behavior were obtained by independent observers, who recorded the family interaction in the home during the evening meal and in other settings. Results showed that at baseline and CMT, parents engaged in aversive interchanges with their spouses, especially concurrently with child misbehavior. For most parents, successful implementation of the child management techniques was observed despite the aversive parental interchanges. Low rates of supportive interchanges were observed. During PST, aversive behavior decreased and problem solving increased for the majority of parents. Little change was noted for supportive behaviors. The results support the theories of Patterson and Reid (1984) and others, which emphasize the functional relationship of aggressive child behaviors to marital and other family interactional systems.

This paper reviews recent research on the effectiveness behavioural self‐control procedures with children and adolescents. A range of procedural variations relevant to children's problems is discussed, and empirical evidence on the use of self‐control procedures in educational settings is evaluated. Methodological issues are considered, and suggestions for further research and application are made. Although reports on the effectiveness of various techniques have been encouraging, further systematic analysis is required in order to delineate specific variables responsible for behaviour change and to determine limits of applicability with children and adolescents.

We examined the relationship between contextual variables and ongoing patterns of aversive interchange between parents and children in families of oppositional and nonproblem children. We obtained observational measures of child and maternal aversiveness and setting events (maternal activity, physical location, persons present) in each of five home settings on two separate occasions to derive a profile of families' typical patterns of interaction. We sought to determine how much levels of oppositional child and aversive maternal behavior varied as a function of contextual variables. As expected, the results showed that oppositional children and their mothers engage in higher levels of aversive interchange, compared to controls. However, both groups obtained a very similar profile in terms of how long mothers engaged in different household activities and stayed in different locations and how long children spent in the presence of their mother, father, and siblings. A regression analysis showed that a combi...