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BackgroundCognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has demonstrated efficacy and effectiveness for treating mood and anxiety disorders. Dissemination of CBT via videoconference may help improve access to treatment. ObjectiveThe present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of CBT administered via videoconference to in-person therapy for a mixed diagnostic cohort. MethodsA total of 26 primarily Caucasian clients (mean age 30 years, SD 11) who had a primary Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition text revision (DSM-IV-TR) diagnosis of a mood or anxiety disorder were randomly assigned to receive 12 sessions of CBT either in-person or via videoconference. Treatment involved individualized CBT formulations specific to the presenting diagnosis; all sessions were provided by the same therapist. Participants were recruited through a university clinic. Symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, and quality of life were assessed using questionnaires before, after, and 6 weeks following treatment. Secondary outcomes at posttreatment included working alliance and client satisfaction. ResultsRetention was similar across treatment conditions; there was one more client in the videoconferencing condition at posttreatment and at follow-up. Statistical analysis using multilevel mixed effects linear regression indicated a significant reduction in client symptoms across time for symptoms of depression (P

Academic staff members encourage university students to use online student discussion boards within learning management systems to ask and answer questions, share information and engage in discussion. We explore the impact of anonymity on student posting behaviour. An online survey was completed by 131 second year undergraduate psychology students (91% response rate). Overall, students reported being significantly more likely to post to discussion boards when anonymous posting was enabled than when identified posting was required ("d" = 0.49). Students who preferred to post anonymously were significantly less likely to post on discussion boards requiring identification than other students ("eta"[superscript 2] = 0.27). The experimental manipulation of anonymous/identified postings using a simulated discussion board thread revealed no significant differences in the perceived credibility of authors of anonymous and identified messages, or in the likelihood of responding to these messages. A combination of individual level factors; including online privacy concern, self-consciousness and self-efficacy; were predictive of the likelihood of making identified postings ("R"[superscript 2] = 0.387), but only self-efficacy was a significant unique predictor of anonymous postings ("sr"[superscript 2] = 0.05). Educators can consider enabling anonymous postings and providing training to increase student self-efficacy as ways of increasing student engagement through decreasing concerns about self-presentation online.

Diffusion of pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) is known to be influenced by the perceived social status of those behaviors, but little is known about what gives PEBs social status. A sample of Australian residents (N = 601) were asked to rate the social status of 16 PEBs and report their self and public environmental identities. Environmental identities accounted for 18% to 19% of the variance in social status ratings. Efficiency behaviors were perceived as conveying the greatest social status, and activism behaviors the least. Visibility, cost, and effort also predicted perceived social status. Short-answer responses indicated the social status ratings of PEBs were also dependent on the perceived environmental motivations for performing those behaviors. Understanding which PEBs are seen as high status provides insight into PEBs that may be easiest to promote and sheds light on the broader social structures that influence social status perceptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports two experiments in which the prominence of university sponsorship on Web surveys was systematically manipulated, and its effects on dropout and item non-response were observed. In Study 1, 498 participants were randomised to online surveys with either high or low university sponsorship. Overall, 13.9 percent of participants commenced, but did not complete the surveys, and there was no difference between the proportions of participants dropping out of each condition. However, counter to our predictions, participants in the high sponsorship condition displayed significantly higher item non-response. In Study 2 (N = 159), which addressed a rival explanation for the findings in Study 1, the overall dropout rate was 23.9 percent and sponsorship prominence had no effect on either outcome variable. Overall, these findings suggest that hosting information pages on university Web sites, placing university logos on survey pages, and including the name of the university in survey URLs do not reliably impact on dropout or item non-response. Although it may seem disappointing that enhancing sponsor visibility is not sufficient to reduce dropout and item non-response, researchers without ready access to university Web servers or branding will appreciate these findings, as they indicate that minimally visible sponsorship does not necessarily compromise data quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]