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When individuals with autism and intellectual and developmental disabilities exhibit severe problem behavior, assessment and treatment are often warranted. Parents of such individuals are at high risk for developing parenting stress. In this study, 194 parents completed the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form at their child's time of admission to and discharge from inpatient or outpatient treatment for severe problem behavior. Parent stress was examined in relation to rate and function of child problem behavior as determined via functional analysis. Repeated measures analyses of variance were conducted, and differential effects were observed when child participants exhibited an attention, automatic, or mands function for problem behavior. These findings highlight the importance of considering function of problem behavior in relation to parenting stress.

Multidimensional variables linked to repetitive behavior, hyperactivity, and mood dysregulation are correlated with the prevalence and severity of self-injurious behavior (SIB) in individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine differences in Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) subscales between individuals with socially maintained SIB and automatically maintained SIB (ASIB). Overall, there were not significant differences in ABC subscale elevations between the SIB and ASIB groups. However, when ASIB was stratified into distinct subtypes, notable differences in subscale elevations were observed. Our results indicate the ABC may have utility for further characterizing the neurobehavioral divergence among individuals with IDD who engage in self-injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To optimize learning in lectures, students need to maintain a sustained level of attention to the lecture material. Previous research has suggested, however, that student attention declines over the course of the lecture. One strategy suggested to improve sustained attention of students during the lecture is to encourage note-taking by students. The provision of partial notes, where parts of the lecture slide materials are removed, has been associated with improved academic outcomes of students. Few studies, however, have directly compared the effects of partial notes on student attention with the provision of complete notes or no notes at all. This study investigated the effects of the provision of these three types of lecture notes on note quality through the lecture, a proxy measure of sustained attention, and on subsequent short-term factual retention of the lecture material. In total, 41 students were randomly assigned to one of the three notes groups. They listened to a lecture while taking notes and then completed a multiple-choice quiz. Their notes were evaluated for note quality. No advantage of using partial notes was found on the measures of sustained attention or on the results of the multiple-choice quiz, contrary to previous findings. Student sustained attention did degrade over the course of the lecture; this degradation occurred for all note type groups. This study suggests that educators within the higher education system reconsider the use of partial notes in lectures.

Transcription is an important component of the writing process that affects the quality of children's compositions. However, little is known about how transcription mode influences productivity or spelling accuracy, two word-level markers of compositional quality, among children learning to write in an additional language. To address this issue, we compared the effects of handwriting and keyboarding on text length and spelling in the compositions of L2 French learners. Grade 2 to 4 students (n = 48) in French Immersion were given two writing prompts and asked to produce one text on paper and one using a keyboard. The prompts were counterbalanced across the two writing conditions. The total number of words, total number of words spelled correctly, and proportion of correctly spelled words were calculated. A series of repeated measures ANOVAs revealed an advantage in both the average number of correctly spelled words and the proportion of correctly spelled words in the students' compositions favouring the keyboarding condition. Conversely, the total number of words across conditions was not significantly different. Our findings suggest that keyboarding may offer an advantage over handwriting with respect to spelling accuracy in the context of L2 composition in the elementary years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Severe problem behaviors such as self-injury and aggression are frequently observed in young children under age 5 with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Although early identification of problem behavior is critical to effective intervention, there are few standardized measures available that identify severe problem behavior in this population. The Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Community (ABC-C; Aman & Singh, 1994) is a rating scale that measures the severity of a range of problem behaviors commonly observed in individuals with IDD. While it has been used with children under 5, investigations into the fit of the ABC-C for this population are sparse. The purpose of the present study was to report on ABC-C scores in a sample of 97 children under age 5 with problem behavior. Analyses included evaluating differences in scores between age groups, comparing sample norms to established norms for older children, and conducting a confirmatory factor analysis. Results indicated differences in mean scores based on age with younger children generally scoring higher on some subscales of the ABC-C. Furthermore, the original 5-factor structure of the ABC-C was not fully supported. In general, the ABC-C may over- or underestimate behavior problems in younger children; therefore more extensive investigation into the utility of the ABC-C for children under age 5 is warranted. (Contains 4 tables.)

Self-injurious behavior (SIB) is a chronic disorder that often begins in early childhood; however, few studies have examined the onset of SIB in young children. This preliminary study reports on the identification, assessment, and observation of SIB in 32 children who had begun to engage in SIB within the previous 6 months. Participants were under 5 years of age and presented with or were at risk for intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. Assessment measures included parental interviews, developmental and language measures, standardized measures of problem behavior, and direct observations conducted in the home. Results indicated that for most children, SIB emerged prior to age 1 year, and most children developed multiple topographies of SIB and other problem behaviors. Multiple measures were useful in identifying SIB and in characterizing the behavior by topography, frequency, and severity. Findings from the examination of child communication in relation to SIB were inconclusive. Results are discussed in relation to theories of SIB emergence and previous observational studies of young children with SIB. (Contains 5 tables.)

A large body of literature exists describing the harmful effects of prenatal drug exposure on infant and child development. However, there is a paucity of research examining strategies to ameliorate sequelae such as externalizing behavior problems. In the present study, functional analysis procedures were used to assess challenging behavior exhibited by two children who were prenatally exposed to drugs of abuse. Results for both children indicated that challenging behavior was maintained by access to positive reinforcement (adult attention and tangible items). For one child, challenging behavior was also maintained by negative reinforcement (escape from activities of daily living). Function-based interventions were effective in reducing challenging behavior for both children. Implications for utilizing methods of applied behavior analysis in research with children with prenatal drug exposure are discussed. (Contains 3 figures.)

Studies of interest groups and Congress generate conflicting perspectives about the influence of campaign contributions on legislative decisions. In choosing between constituent and donor interests, electorally minded legislators always (a) pay attention to their campaign contributors and (b) attend 'slavishly' to constituents. But do donor 'fat cats' indeed get preferential treatment at the expense of constituents? I replicate an experimental design reported by Chin, Bond, and Geva (2000) to test whether organized groups with a history of high campaign contributions are more likely than groups with a history of low campaign contributions to gain access to members of the U.S. Congress. Ninety-six congressional staffers participated in this experiment. I find that members' access decisions are influenced primarily by constituency status rather than an access-seeker's contribution history or PAC status. There are no interactive effects between the PAC, constituency, or contribution history variables. Keywords: Congress; interest groups; PACs; campaign contributions; political influence; congressional staff

The assessment and treatment of self-injurious behavior (SIB) has received much attention in the literature; however, few studies have focused on early intervention for this behavior. In the current study, functional analyses with developmentally appropriate modifications were conducted in an outpatient clinic with 30 children (aged 10 months to 4 years 11 months) to assess SIB and problem behavior in its early stages. The reported mean age of SIB onset was 17 months, and head banging was the most prevalent topography. Functional analyses identified sources of reinforcement for SIB in 62.1% of cases; with the inclusion of all forms of problem behavior, sources of reinforcement were identified for 87.5% of cases. Function-based treatments were developed for 24 cases, with functional communication training prescribed most often (70.8% of cases). Implications of these findings for the development of early intervention programs for SIB are discussed. DESCRIPTORS: caregivers, development, functional analysis, self-injurious behavior

Administrative Renewal: Reorganization Commissions in the 20th Century. By Ronald C. Moe. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2003. 154 pp. Six months after September 11, 2001, the U.S. Immigration [...]

Adopting the notion that environmental factors affect employees, we investigated the importance of management trust climate as a precursor to job resources (i.e., personal development), positive work outcomes (engagement and job performance) and better well-being (i.e., avoidance of burnout and sleeping problems). Because the Malaysian society is considered to have a higher level of trust than other Asian countries, we used a snowball sampling method and recruited 377 employees from 44 private organisations (62% response rate) in Malaysia as participants in the current study. Multilevel analyses revealed that management trust climate led to higher levels of personal development and job performance; however, it showed no relation to sleeping problems. In addition, personal development mediated management trust climate and job performance, whereas engagement mediated personal development and job performance. Higher burnout led to increased sleeping problems. This study showed organisational level to be an antecedent of job resources and its job resource-engagement model. Since trust conveys a soft psychological contract between two parties, organisations should be aware of the ways trust can be cultivated within the organisation, such as by allowing employees to grow and develop their skills. This may be an effective strategy for ensuring that employees are able to grow within their organisations and execute their duties effectively, without reprisals from higher management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to examine the vancomycin initial dosing and the resultant trough level in paediatric patients. In this retrospective observational study, all therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) records of paediatric patients admitted to Sabah Women and Children Hospital (SWACH) from January 2011 to September 2013 were reviewed and 116 patients without renal disease were included in the study. Of the total, 38.8% were neonates, 32.8% were infants and 28.4% were children. The majority of the patients were intensive care patients (69.0%) and the most common clinical indication for vancomycin was sepsis (44.8%). The four initial dosing regimens identified were 40 mg/kg/day (38.8%), 30 mg/kg/day (31.0%), 60 mg/kg/day (25.0%) and 45 mg/kg/day (5.2%). The distribution of initial dosing regimen was significantly different between the three age groups (p<0.001). The proportion of those who achieved the target therapeutic range (10--20 mg/L) was 39.7% whereas the proportions of those who were in sub-therapeutic range (<10 mg/L) and supra-therapeutic range (>20 mg/L) were 43.1% and 17.2% respectively. The distribution of trough level was significantly different between those who received ≤40 mg/kg/day and those who received >40 mg/kg/day (p=0.007). The proportions of those who achieved the target therapeutic range (10-20 mg/L) in the 2 dosing groups were 30.9% and 60.0% respectively. In conclusion, the study showed that the initial dosing of >40 mg/kg/day is more likely to achieve the target therapeutic range (10-20 mg/L) compared to the initial dosing of ≤40 mg/kg/day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]