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The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft launched on September 8, 2016, beginning a seven-year journey to return at least 60 g of asteroid material from (101955) Bennu to Earth. During the outbound cruise, Doppler tracking of the spacecraft observed a small but measurable acceleration when the sample return capsule (SRC) was first placed in sunlight. Subsequent analysis determined that outgassing from the SRC is the most likely cause for the acceleration. This outgassing received combined engineering and scientific attention because it has potential implications both for spacecraft navigation performance and for contamination of the collected samples. Thermal modeling, laboratory studies of SRC materials, and monitoring of the acceleration are all consistent with H2O as the main component of the outgassing. Dedicated, in-flight campaigns continued to expose the SRC to sunlight until the acceleration dropped to the acceleration noise floor. Any residual amounts of H2O outgassing are not considered to be a hazard with regards to mission operations or pristine sample acquisition. The sample stow procedure has been updated to ensure that no direct line of site exists between any residual outgassing and the samples during future operations. Similar outgassing of the Stardust SRC probably also occurred. No adverse contamination of Stardust samples was observed that could be associated with this process. Future missions that use similar reentry vehicles should consider procedures to test for and, if necessary, mediate such outgassing after launch.

Constituting a secondary preventive intervention, 61 low SES preschool children attending four inner-city day care centers were provided a program of social skills building exercises. In contrast to primary preventive efforts that focus on a central concern, secondary prevention attends to potentially serious concomitant issues. In this study the central concern was the signs of social or behavioral difficulties some of the children exhibited. The secondary concern was the possibility that individuals selected for treatment might be negatively labelled or stigmatized if singled out. Therefore, entire classes were involved in the program and no child was publicly identified as a target of intervention. Teachers designated 18 children with nascent social or behavioral problems, and a comparison group of 18 non-target children was formed. Delivered to small groups consisting of target and non-target children, the intervention program provided reinforcement of appropriate social behaviors, modelling of prosocial behaviors, use of peer models, and behavioral rehearsal. At the beginning and end of the 8-month intervention, both target and non-target groups were observed 10 times. Results indicated that target children showed significant increases in interacting with other children and significant decreases in playing alone. Decreases were found in agressive behavior. Results were viewed with caution due to the study's lack of a control group. (RH)

A project was developed to prevent problem behaviors in elementary school students. One of many projects initiated in recent years by the DePaul Mental Health Clinic, this project aims to create an ongoing, self-sustaining cmputer-assisted tutoring program at St. Mary of the Lake, a school located in Chicago's economically disadvantaged Uptown district. In the Comp-Tutor project, 6th- through 8th-grade students learn computer programming and tutoring skills and tutor 1st- through 4th-grade students. Most participants in the program had experienced academic or behavioral difficulties in school, and many of the tutors were reputed to be slow learners and disruptive students. However, program supervisors have enocuntered none of the rebellion or reluctance to learn that teachers often receive from troubled students. Most participants consistently exhibit cooperation and enthusiasm. During sessions, tutors spend 20 minutes working on their own programs and then spend the next 20 minutes helping younger students. Educational software used in the tutoring sessions is carefully selected, and teachers insure that the material is consistent with each child's educational needs. It appears that experience in the use of programming materials facilitates students' cognitive development and the tutoring experience enhances feelings of self-worth. Outcomes of the intervention suggest that projects such as this should be considered by mental health workers interested in making preventive, early interventions. (RH)

Peer tutoring programs represent an innovative approach for optimally utilizing resources existing within classrooms. While most tutoring programs are aimed at helping tutees or tutors with academic difficulties, this study involved all children in two classrooms in a peer tutoring project. A multiple baseline design indicated that prompting was effective in establishing tutoring behaviors among the children. By the end of the program, children were using corrective feedback, re-presenting questions, and employing contingent praise. Positive findings were found in academic, behavioral, and consumer satisfaction indices. Also evaluated were two interventions directed at enhancing social skills in groups of first and third grade children. Triads were taught one of four social skills -- touching, asking questions, sharing or praising through a behavioral intervention consisting of instructions, modeling, behavioral rehearsal, feedback and reinforcement. While increases in social behaviors were noted, follow-up indicated substantial erosion in gains. In the ecological intervention, dramatic increases in sharing were noted for an isolate child after he was placed in a group whose members displayed high levels of sharing. Comparisons were made of the differential effectiveness of behavioral versus ecological approaches in establishing and maintaining behaviors. (Author)

This article describes the use of the precise feedback and negative reinforcement to ameliorate problems at a community health center. Both procedures were successful in improving the performance (returning toys to their appropriate places) of undergraduate paraprofessionals involved in an educational program for disadvantaged children. The study indicates that both precise feedback and negative reinforcement are not restricted to clinically relevant individual behaviors and that the procedures can be effectively applied to community-centered programs. Implications for future research and application of these techniques to other community-based interventions and group situations are discussed. (Author)

This paper describes a first grader, manifesting high rates of problem behaviors in school, who was involved in two separate behavior management programs. Discussion of general behavior modification principles did not reduce problem behavior, but problem behaviors decreased considerably after daily letters from the teacher were sent to the child's mother (the mother made a family trip contingent upon receiving "good" conduct letters). Following the family trip, letters continued to be sent home, and the child's school misbehavior rates declined even further. This suggests that teacher and mother praise, and the good behavior note, successfully maintained the child's appropriate classroom behaviors. The author cautions that, given the case-study nature of this experiment, the findings need to be interpreted with caution. Replication with a larger sample would provide requisite data for determining the generalizability of findings. (Author/PFS)

Recently, investigators in behavior and community disciplines have advocated the adoption of positive prevention approaches for life transition problem-solving. Techniques in physiological, cognitive, and behavioral modalities were incorporated into a broad-based intervention program focusing on the acquisition of coping responses to handle life transitions for a group of adolescent high school seniors. It was hypothesized that students exposed to such a program would evidence higher self-efficacy and would use more cognitive restructuring strategies and problem-solving skills. Three classes of inner-city high school seniors were randomly assigned to an experimental (intervention) or control group. Results supported the hypothesis. Additionally, the program was positively perceived by both the seniors and school staff. (Author/HLM)

This study investigates the reactive effects of observers on interactions between teachers (undergraduates and mothers) and toddlers in a preventive educational program. Findings indicate that the presence of an observer differentially affects interactional patterns in the home. More specifically, undergraduates and toddlers are relatively unaffected by an observer, whereas mothers evidence dramatic reactive effects. (Author)

People seeking help for personal problems usually turn to family, friends, and relatives first and then to sources such as neighborhood support systems, self-help groups, and community helpers such as physicians and clergy. These natural support systems need to be used and supported more by mental health professionals. One relationship which could be encouraged is the one between the clergy and self-help groups. The relationships and communications between these two groups were clarified in a two-part study. In the first part of the study, religious leaders (N=200), within Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran and Baptist organizations in Chicago were surveyed concerning their attitudes toward self-help groups. Results showed that 70 percent of the respondents (N=64) had made at least one referral to a self-help group and that the religious leaders had generally positive feelings towards these groups. Even though they felt that self-help groups would be helpful, the religious leaders were aware of specific self-help groups to whom they could refer for only 54 percent of the problems brought to them by congregation members. In the second part of the study, a consultation session was provided for a sample of the religious leaders who had never made a referral to a self-help group. The results showed an observable increase in activities involving self-help groups following consultation, suggesting that mental health professionals can provide the clergy with information and resources about self-help groups in their communities. (ABB)

A babysitting exchange program was created for a group of women in order to build a social support network and to provide a test of the buffer hypothesis (i.e., the idea that social support may shield an individual from the negative physical and mental consequences of stress, particularly when stress is at high levels). The sample consisted of 30 inner-city women with children younger than 12 years of age. Prior to the first general co-op meeting, mothers were interviewed and pretests were administered. Measures included the Life Experience Survey, the Behavior Stress Index, and the Social Network Assessment Scale. At the first general meeting, the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised, the Tension and Depression Subscales of the Profile of Moods States, and the Proxy Measure of Health Status were administered. During the 28th week of operation, co-op members were reinterviewed and posttested. Two months after posttesting, a follow-up measure of co-op use was obtained. A steady increase in use of the co-op was observed as the women formed small groups and pairs that traded babysitting services. About half the women indicated that they found the co-op helpful. Co-op use continued after the study ended. Participation in the babysitting co-op did not have a differential impact on high- and low-stressed mothers. The implications of these findings are discussed. (RH)

Although studies have linked stressful life events with illness, good support resources have been found to mediate these effects. To investigate the processes involved in assessing one's social network, identifying areas where change is desired, and modifying specific social network variables, 18 undergraduate students (14 females, 4 males) participated in a semester long study. Each student monitored a problematic personal behavior and implemented a self-control intervention. During the third and last weeks of class, students completed a social support scale and a social network assessment questionnaire. An analysis of the results showed that in the majority of cases, social network variables were modified by the undergraduates. While greater satisfaction was reported on a variety of support functions with the target individuals, the undergraduates' overall social networks were relatively stable during the time of the study. These findings suggest that it is possible to make self-initiated changes in one's social network. (BL)

Although research on the role of social support in psychological well-being has increased, little attention has been given to behavioral methods for measuring these supportive mechanisms. To study the support exchanged in marital dyads, a behavioral observation system was designed and used to detect changes in the marital relationship of one white, middle class family participating in an Early Intervention parent training program. The behavioral observation system recorded supportive functions (cognitive guidance, social reinforcement, tangible assistance, socializing, and emotional support) at 30 second intervals as well as the directionality of the support. Observations were recorded during evening, home-based family interactions every 2 weeks for 5 months. Concurrent with the observed interaction periods, the parents proceeded through the parent training program from baseline to Intervention Level 3. An analysis of the results showed that it was possible both to monitor supportive behaviors reliably in a home setting, and to document changes in these behaviors. Changes in inter-parent support were found concurrent with involvement in the parent training program. Individual modification of dimensions of emotional support were also increased through the use of feedback and goal setting, as monitored by the observational system. (BL)

While many studies have documented the negative consequences of excessive television watching, few behavioral programs have investigated techniques for reducing television viewing. A 13-year-old girl who watched from 6 to 9 hours of television daily was provided a behavioral program featuring a token-actuated timer in an attempt to reduce her television viewing time. Baseline data were obtained from parent reports of viewing time for 7 days, and by timer assessed viewing patterns for 10 days. This was followed by a 10-day interval when tokens to be used with the timer were earned by prosocial activities. Each token activated the television for 30 minutes. Immediate reductions in television viewing were found when the child was on the token exchange system. During a 9-day return to baseline phase, increases in viewing were noted, and reductions again occurred with re-exposure to the token condition for 45 days. Following this more extensive intervention, improvement was maintained during the subsequent return to baseline phase. At a 6-month follow-up, when the token-actuated meter was re-attached to the television and the child was given free access to tokens, the child averaged 2.1 hours of television viewing per day. (Author/NRB)