Louis H. Primavera

Imitating the autistic child: Facilitating communicative gaze behavior

The nonverbal autistic child exhibits a persistent and characteristic feature known as gaze aversion. Since gaze interaction between the autistic child and the clinician [or adult] is a requisite experience in therapeutic learning, procedures that modify gaze behavior in autistic children serve an important clinical function. The present research was designed to investigate three kinds of adult-child interaction that differentially affected changes in gaze behavior. The interaction procedure in which the experimenter imitated the autistic childs object and action performances resulted in the greatest change in the frequency and the duration of gaze behavior. An analysis of these methodologies reveals information concerning contextual and therapeutic variables that affected the gaze behavior in six autistic children.

Convergent validity of the BASC and SSRS: Implications for social skills assessment

The present study examined the psychometric relationship between two new rating scales, the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 1992) and the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS; Gresham & Elliott, 1990), for a sample (N = 53) of minority kindergarten children using both parent and teacher ratings. The similarities and differences between these instruments were investigated through correlational and content analyses. In general, the results provide preliminary convergent validity evidence for the BASC and SSRS. In regard to the Social Skills subscale of the BASC, convergent validity evidence was demonstrated for the parent form of this instrument, but not the teacher form, when the SSRS Social Skills scale was used as the criterion. In addition, the correlations between the various scales of the BASC and SSRS were in the expected direction. That is, the correlation between the BASC Adaptive Skills Composite and the SSRS Social Skills scale was moderate in the teacher group (r = .44) and high in the parent group (r = .54). Similarly, correlations between the BASC Hyperactivity, Aggression, and Externalizing scales and the SSRS Problem Behaviors scale ranged from .50 to .60 and .50 to .56 in the teacher and parent groups, respectively. Implications regarding the practical utility of the BASC and SSRS for assessing social skills functioning, in particular, were presented.

Object Manipulation: An Interactional Strategy with Autistic Children.

The present research compared the effect of three play procedures upon the frequency and duration of object manipulation by six autistic children. The three interaction play procedures varied in the degree of similarity between the adults and the childs performances. In procedure 1, the experimenter imitated the subjects movements with her duplicate object. In procedure 2, the experimenter performed a different movement with her duplicate object. In procedure 3, the experimenter performed a different action on a different object. The interaction procedure, in which the experimenter imitated both the material and the method of play chosen by the autistic child, resulted in greater frequency and duration of object manipulation.

Interpersonal perceptions of depressed and borderline inpatients

Distortions in interpersonal perceptions among patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) were explored to investigate the validity of object relations theories. Depressed patients with BPD were compared to patients with major depressive disorder (MD) without BPD. Subjects were 77 male and female inpatients (BPD = 55, MD = 22). The mean ages were 30.5 for BPD subjects and 36.3 for MD subjects. Perceptions of patients, relatives, and interviewers were compared on the following measures: Structural Analysis of Social Behavior, Perceived Criticism Scale, and Camberwell Family Interview. Findings are consistent with object relations theory. BPD patients saw themselves as hostile, labile, and unstable. MD patients avoid acknowledging and responding to relatives criticallity.

POWPAL: A Program for Estimating Effect Sizes, Statistical Power, and Sample Sizes

POWPAL is a simple, interactive computer program that computes effect sizes and power estimates from summary statistics. Additionally, the program provides estimates of future sample sizes needed for various combinations of power, significance levels, and effect sizes.

Predicting successful smoking cessation.

Summary Many studies cite specific influences on the maintenance of cigarette smoking, but few focus on successful smoking cessation. In a retrospective study, 138 ex-smokers and 143 smokers, ranging from 17 to 93 years old, were interviewed to determine whether multiple physiological, environmental, social, and demographic variables could be used as predictors of successful smoking cessation. The ex-smoker group had abstained from smoking cigarettes for at least six months prior to the investigation. Smokers consumed at least three cigarettes a day or one pack a week. Regression analyses found that the order of variables differed for males and females in predicting successful cessation. For males, the significant predictors were (a) the absence of other smokers in the household; (b) whether the brand of cigarettes was high, medium, or low in nicotine content; (c) if the Ss father was unable to quit; (d) marital status; (e) length of time smoked; and (f) age. For females, predictors were (a) length of ti...

Motivating smoking cessation among dental patients: Smokers' interest in biomarker testing for susceptibility to tobacco-related cancers

This study examined interest in receiving biomarker testing for tobacco-related cancer susceptibility among 148 smokers seeking routine oral health care in a public dental clinic. Patients completed a brief, self-report survey assessing their smoking history, tobacco-related illness history, readiness to quit smoking, perceived risk and worry about cancer, and their interest in being tested for genetic susceptibility for tobacco-related cancers. Participants were socioeconomically and ethnically diverse, and were primarily long-standing, nicotine-dependent smokers. Most reported (83%) interest in biomarker feedback, and most (86%) understood that a certain genetic make-up could place them at increased risk for tobacco-related cancers. Those participants who felt that quitting smoking would reduce future cancer risk, were at least in the contemplation stage of quitting readiness, felt more worried and more at risk for developing cancer, women and younger smokers were more interested in genetic testing (all ps < 0.20). Multivariate logistic regression analyses indicated that gender and risk perceptions were associated with interest in testing. The public dental clinic setting holds potential for innovative smoking cessation interventions using personalized risk feedback.

The cost of psychotherapy.

This article examines the relationship between psychotherapy funding policies and concepts of mental health. Three levels of mental health - necessity, improvement, and potentiality - are proposed. Necessity represents basic adaptation, the current dominant level illustrated by brief psychotherapy funded through managed mental health care. Improvement is the phase beyond necessity aimed at prevention and heightened quality of life, and potentiality is the ideal. The latter two now receive limited funding and emphasis.

A Comparison of Male Users and Nonusers of Marijuana on the Perceived Harmfulness of Drugs

Subjects (n = 108) who volunteered to participate in a study in which they expected to smoke marijuana were asked, as part of a screening procedure, to rate the harmfulness of a number of illicit drugs including marijuana. Subjects were separated into three groups according to their reported history of use of marijuana. The three groups were: naive users (at least 1 but no more than 25 incidences of use in a lifetime), light users (1 to 3 incidences of use per week), and heavy users (at least 5 incidences of use per week). Groups did not differ in terms of their perceived harmfulness of any of the drugs. Cluster analyses of the results for each group and for the total group indicated three distinct clusters: the drugs perceived to be the most harmful were heroin, morphine, and LSD; drugs perceived to be less harmful were cocaine, amphetamines, barbiturates, and nicotine; and the drugs perceived to be the least harmful were caffeine and marijuana, with marijuana being judged the least harmful of all the drugs.

Mca: A Simple Program for Multiple Correspondence Analysis

MCA.EXE is a program that performs multiple correspondence analysis of categorical data on MS/DOS and PC/DOS computers. Using the formulas provided by Carroll and Green, the program also generates matrices for further INDSCAL analysis.