Michael Hirt

Self-statement modification in the treatment of child behavior disorders: a meta-analysis.

Reviews 48 outcome studies that applied self-statement modification (SSM) to childhood behavior disorders. Selection criteria restricted the review to controlled experimental studies and to children with disorders of clinically relevant severity. Meta-analysis was used to provide summary information about the observed effects of SSM. Collectively, SSM outcomes surpassed no treatment and placebo treatment by roughly a half of a standard deviation, on the average. Efficacy varied considerably with length of follow-up, experience level of therapists, age of children, outcome content area, and a number of other clinical and methodological differences among the studies. These qualifiers of observed efficacy are summarized and discussed in terms of implications for further research and application of SSM in child psychotherapy.

Pursuit gain and saccadic intrusions in first-degree relatives of probands with schizophrenia.

Oculomotor functioning of 26 probands with schizophrenia, 12 spectrum and 46 nonspectrum first-degree relatives, and 38 nonpsychiatric control subjects was evaluated. Spectrum relatives had more anticipatory saccades (ASs) and lower pursuit gain than nonspectrum relatives, who had more ASs and lower pursuit gain than control subjects. Probands also had lower pursuit gain than nonspectrum relatives and control subjects but did not differ from other groups on AS frequency. Control subjects had more globally accurate pursuit tracking (root mean square [RMS] error deviation) than both relative groups, whereas probands had the poorest RMS scores. Square wave jerk frequency did not differentiate the groups. Attention enhancement affected the frequency of ASs but did not affect either the other intrusive saccadic event or RMS scores. These results offer evidence that eye-movement dysfunction may serve as a biological marker for schizophrenia.

Rapists and child molesters: psychometric comparisons

The availability of psychosocial treatment for sex offenders is influenced to a considerable extent by the process of adjudication. Convicted rapists are usually incarcerated, and thus receive treatment in a high-structure setting. Convicted child molesters are usually paroled and receive treatment in the low-structure setting of outpatient psychotherapy. In the present study, three types of sex offenders (child molesters, child rapists, and adult rapists) were compared to examine the validity of the match between type of sex offender and type of treatment modality. No differences were found on factoranalytically derived psychological and social historical factor scores between child molesters and child rapists. Adult rapists, however, demonstrated considerably higher levels of pathology characterized by dysphoria, subjective distress, and inhibition, than child molesters and child rapists. The egodystonic psychopathology of the rapists suggests a more favorable prognosis.

Variables Associated with Violence in a Forensic Population

Cautious optimism has returned among practitioners and researchers involved in the prediction of violent behavior as a consequence of what has been termed “second-generation thinking” on the prediction of violence. New emphases have been suggested on actuarial techniques, alternate research methodologies, and comparisons between various clinical populations. In the present study, four clinical variable domains were sampled in a forensic population (psychiatric diagnosis, electroencephalographic measures, psychological test data, and social history data) in order to examine the absolute and relative strengths of their relationship with acts of severe violence. A characterological type of dysphoria was found to have the strongest association with violence, followed by the absence of temporal lobe damage, and a passive style of response to threat.

Alcohol Abuse, Violence, and Neurological Impairment A Forensic Study

The relationship between the frequency and severity of violence and three parameters of alcohol abuse (acuteness, chronicity, and age of onset) was examined retrospectively in a sample of forensic psychiatric patients. Subjects were further compared with respect to electroencephalographic characteristics. Acuteness and chronicity of alcohol abuse were found to be related to severity but not to frequency of violence. Acute alcohol abusers appeared to suffer from more severe central nervous system impairment than did nonabusers. Age of onset of alcohol abuse was found to have little impact on the variables examined. Results are discussed in the framework of empirically derived typologies of psychopathology.

Race effects in modifying cognitive impulsivity through self-instruction and modeling

Abstract Seven-year-old children, identified as impulsive on the basis of MFF performance, were given a training program intended to modify their impulsivity through modeling and self-instruction. All the subjects were of comparable intelligence, social class, geographic residence, and were matched on sex. The 40 experimental subjects were paired on the basis of race. Half the pairs were trained by white models and half by black models. While the results do not provide unequivocal support for the effectiveness of such training, they do demonstrate selective changes in impulsivity based upon racial similarities of models and subjects. The construct validity of the MFF as a measure of reflection-impulsivity and the relevance of social class membership is discussed.

Immunization and reversibility of cognitive deficits due to learned helplessness

Abstract Predictions made from the learned-helplessness model received support in three experiments. The effects of response-outcome independence, as well as immunization and reversibility of such effects were demonstrated with human subjects. It was also demonstrated that differences in locus of control, sex and attribution, influenced those results. Furthermore, the effects of modeling and the use of cognitive tasks for both pretreatment and reversibility were examined.

Factors related to patient dispositions from psychiatric hospitals

The records of 1100 patients admitted to a short-term state-supported psychiatric hospital were searched. From this sample 174 patients who were transferred to a long-term institution were compared to a matched sample of released patients. Initial comparisons on numerous socioeconomic, diagnostic, behavioral and demographic variables yielded many significant differences. When the subjects were equated for diagnosis, the only variable which appeared to differentiate the groups was age at admission. The implications of these findings, particularly in reference to the role of socioeconomic factors in determining the type, quality and duration of psychiatric treatment were discussed.