Aurora Gavino

Information-Gathering Strategies in Behavioral Assessment

Summary: In behavioral assessment, the strategy theoretically most coherent for case formulation is to carry out a functional analysis aimed at discovering, among other factors, functionally relevant stimuli acting upon the problem-behavior. However, little is known about the decision-making processes involved in this task. Although many authors have suggested prescriptive models for this process, the strategies used by clinicians when gathering information seem to be left to experience and common sense. The present research is an attempt to increase the knowledge about this process of information gathering. The study was carried out with psychology students in their final year who already had enough theoretical knowledge to gather this kind of information, but still lacked practical experience. Subjects were asked to gather information aimed at checking a hypothesis about the functional role on a given behavior of either an antecedent or a subsequent (i.e., reinforcing) stimulus. The results show that in...

Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance of the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory – Child Version (OCI-CV) in General Population

Evidence-based assessment is necessary as a first step for developing psychopathological studies and assessing the effectiveness of empirically validated treatments. There are several measures of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and/or symptomatology in children and adolescents, but all of them present some limitations. The Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R) by Foa and her colleagues has showed to be a good self-report measure to capture the dimensionality of OCD in adults and adolescents. The child version of the OCI (OCI-CV) was validated for clinical children and adolescents in 2010, showing excellent psychometric properties. The objective of this study was to examine the factor structure and invariance of the OCI-CV in the general population. Results showed a six-factor structure with one second-order factor, good consistency values, and invariance across region, age, and sex. The OCI-CV is an excellent inventory for assessing the dimensions of OCD symptomatology in general populations of children and adolescents. The invariance across sex and age warrants its utilization for research purposes.

How can behavior therapy treat the same disorder with different techniques and different disorders with the same technique

Traditional psychiatric diagnostic labels fail to differentiate patients on the basis of the function of the problematic behavior because such labels do not specify the nature of the individuals behavioral deficits or excesses. In contrast, behavior therapy strives to classify clinical phenomena based upon their functional characteristics guided by theoretical considerations. Yet, the anomaly exists that for a given disorder there is frequently a long list of suggested treatments that all have some degree of demonstrated efficacy. Similarly, there are a number of apparently different disorders that have been successfully treated with the same general technique. The implications of this paradox will be discussed in the context of treatments for depression. Our recent work suggests that different types of depression respond to different interventions depending on whether interventions match or do not match those types.

Psychometric Properties of the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale in Spanish Children and Adolescents

The Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS) is one of the most used instruments to assess perfectionism. The FMPS assesses six dimensions: Concern over Mistakes (CM), Parental Expectations (EP), Parental Criticism (PC), Doubts about Actions (DA), Organization (OR), and Personal Standards (PS). CM, PE, PC, and DA are facets of a more general dimension considered Maladaptive Perfectionism. PS is frequently considered Adaptive Perfectionism. FMPS psychometric properties have been studied in adults but scarcely in children. We adapted the FMPS for Spanish children and adolescents and studied these properties in a sample of 1,648 Spanish young people (mean age = 13.36; SD = 2.28). Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses were used to test whether the FMPS dimensions found in adults are applicable to children. Results supported this hypothesis. The FMPS dimensional structure was invariant across gender and age. FMPS subscales showed good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α: .71-.92) and test–retest reliability (intraclass correlations: .70-.85). Moderate and high correlations with measures of dysfunctional beliefs, anxiety, and depression supported the validity of the FMPS scores. Results from regression equations showed that the relationship of perfectionism with anxiety and depression is mostly due to Maladaptive Perfectionism.

Valor terapéutico de las técnicas de terapia de conducta: una hipótesis de trabajo

ResumenLa literatura cientifica y la propia experiencia clinica nos muestra que las tanicas terapeuticas d la terapia d conducta son bastante eficaces. Sin embargo, esta eficacia no es cercana al 100%. ?Por que? Por otra parte, se puede constatar que una misma tecnica es eficaz muchas veces en el tratamiento de diferentes trastornos, y al contrario, varias tecnicas, diferentes entre si, se revelan optimas para el tratamiento del mismo trastorno. Sin embargo, todo ello no es constante a lo largo de diferentes casos. Este trabajo pretende reflexionar sobre todos estos aspectos y ofrecer algunas explicaciones del por que de este estado de la cuestion. Posibles vias de investigacion se sugieren a lo largo del articulo.