Niels C. Beck

Academic Achievement of Children with Epilepsy

Summary: The academic achievement scores of 122 children with epilepsy were examined in relation to demographic and clinical seizure variables. As a group, these children were making less academic progress than expected for their age and IQ level. Academic deficiencies were greatest in arithmetic, followed by spelling, reading, comprehension, and word recognition. Results of the multiple regression analyses indicated a modest combined predictive significance of the demographic and clinical seizure variables for academic performance. In addition, the magnitude of these relationships varied by academic area. Among the individual variables examined the strongest correlates of academic performance were age of the child, age of seizure onset, lifetime total seizure frequency, and presence of multiple seizures (absence and tonic‐clonic). These results are discussed in relation to developing an understanding of the factors which underlie academic vulnerability in children with epilepsy.

The prediction of pregnancy outcome: Maternal preparation, anxiety and attitudinal sets

Abstract Anxiety, participation in preparatory classes and maternal attitudinal sets were examined in a population of women attending a University Hospital outpatient obstetrical clinic. Using a multiple regression model of statistical analysis, class participation and maternal attitudes were found to be significantly predictive of pain ratings during labor. State anxiety on admission to the labor room was predictive of labor length; social class and maternal attitudes were predictive of patient manageability during labor. None of these variables were found to be associated with the incidence of complications, fetal apgar scores, or the use of analgesia and anesthesia. The implications of these findings are discussed from the perspective of research on developing screening instruments for identifying pregnancy complications and from the standpoint of designing new and potentially more effective preparatory treatment methods.

Athletes and Energy Drinks: Reported Risk-Taking and Consequences from the Combined Use of Alcohol and Energy Drinks

This study measured athletes’ alcohol, energy drink, and combined-use. It also compared athletes’ reported risk-taking and consequences while using alcohol-only and in combination with energy drinks. From the total sample of 401 intercollegiate student-athletes, 315 (78%) used alcohol, 150 (37%) combined alcohol with energy drinks, and 194 (48%) used energy drinks (EDs) without alcohol. Ninety-two percent of drinkers participated in binge drinking. Sixty-one percent of combined users participated in high risk “energy binge” drinking episodes (using 3+ EDs on one occasion). Results indicated combined users (n = 150) consumed significantly more alcohol and had riskier drinking habits (e.g., heavy binge drinking) than athletes who used alcohol only (n = 165). The combined use of alcohol and energy drinks could potentially contribute to increased risk-taking and negative consequences. Results suggest a possible need to include information about energy drinks in existing athlete alcohol education and prevention programs.

The Reliability and Validity of the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2) in a Female Incarcerated Population

This study examined the psychometric properties of the revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2) with one specialized population. A sample of 264 incarcerated women in a large, Midwest, maximum security correctional center reported on the conflict tactics they employed against their partner (self as aggressor) and their partner employed on them (self as victim). High chronicity and severity rates of partner violence were reported, and the psychometric properties of the CTS2 were altered. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a four-factor solution for both the Self as Victim and Self as Aggressor subscales. These factors were labeled Negotiation, Sexual Coercion, Injury, and General Assault, which combined the Physical Assault and Psychological Aggression subscales originally proposed by the instruments developers. Implications for the general use of the CTS2 and for use with incarcerated women are discussed.

The efficacy of a targeted personalized drinking feedback intervention among intercollegiate athletes: a randomized controlled trial.

College athletes are an at-risk population for excessive alcohol use and subsequent alcohol-related harms. The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of an electronically delivered personalized drinking feedback (PDF) intervention targeted specifically to college athletes, both in comparison with a standard (i.e., nontargeted) PDF intervention and an education-only (EO) condition that also included targeted information. Data were collected on 263 intercollegiate athletes from three colleges (76% women, 86% White) who were randomly assigned to one of the conditions. Results provided partial support for the efficacy of the targeted PDF intervention. Students in the targeted PDF condition reported a lower peak blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at the 6-month follow-up than those in the other conditions. Heavy drinking students in the targeted PDF condition reported a lower peak BAC than those in the other conditions at the 1-month follow-up and a lower peak BAC than those in the EO condition at the 6-month follow-up. Finally, in-season athletes in the targeted PDF condition reported fewer drinks per week than those in the PDF-standard condition at the 1-month follow-up. These findings provide preliminary support for the use of targeted PDF interventions with at-risk alcohol users, such as college athletes.

Measuring motivations for intercollegiate athlete alcohol use: a confirmatory factor analysis of the drinking motives measure.

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Drinking Motives Measure (DMM) on a sample of 227 collegiate athletes. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the 4-factor structure of the DMM provided a better fit than either 2- or 1-factor models, but the overall fit of the 4-factor model was moderate at best. A revised 3-factor model consistent with prior research (M. L. Cooper, M. Russell, J. B. Skinner, & M. Windle, 1992) provided the best fit. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that the 3 DMM factors included in the revised model accounted for 17%-21% of the unique variance on alcohol consumption variables. Results provide preliminary evidence supporting the internal consistency, construct validity, and convergent validity of the revised 3-factor DMM with collegiate athletes.

Development of the athlete drinking scale.

Prior research has found that intercollegiate athletes consume more alcohol and experience more negative alcohol-related consequences than nonathletes, but no measure of sport-related reasons for alcohol use currently exists. The purpose of this study was to develop such a measure, which the authors termed the Athlete Drinking Scale (ADS). An exploratory factor analysis supported the existence of 3 subscales: Positive Reinforcement, Team/Group, and Sport-Related Stress. Additional analyses supported the internal consistency and construct validity of the subscales, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that the ADS accounted for a significant amount of variance in both alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems among intercollegiate athletes. The ADS appears to be a promising tool for measuring sport-related reasons for intercollegiate athlete alcohol use.

Trajectories of adaptation in pediatric chronic illness : The importance of the individual

This study used individual growth modeling to examine individual difference and group difference models of adaptation. The adaptation of 27 children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) and 40 children with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) was tracked for 18 months from diagnosis. A control group of 62 healthy children was followed over the same time period. Clustering procedures indicated that child and family adaptation could be described by a number of distinct adaptation trajectories, independent of diagnostic group membership. In contrast, parental adaptation trajectory was associated with diagnostic group membership and control over disease activity for the JRA group and with diagnostic group membership for healthy controls. The observation of common patterns across trajectory sets, as well as the finding that trajectories were differentially related to a number of variables of interest, support the use of trajectories to represent adaptation to chronic disease.

Social-learning procedures for increasing attention and improving basic skills in severely regressed institutionalized patients

Seven severely debilitated and chronically institutionalized forensic psychiatric patients were enrolled in intensive shaping classes as part of a comprehensive social-learning treatment program. Results compiled over 1 year reveal that six of these patients demonstrated marked improvements in their ability to attend to basic academic tasks and five also showed consistently high rates of successful task completion or increased rates over time. Evidence for the generalization of these effects comes from the fact that all four of the residents who went on to regular academic classes demonstrated consistently high rates of successful task completion. Recommendations are made for further applications of intensive shaping procedures for such severely impaired subgroups.

Preparation for childbirth and contemporary research on pain, anxiety, and stress reduction: a review and critique.

&NA; The literature on psychoprophylaxis (prepared childbirth) manifests little interface with contemporary psychosomatic research, despite the fact that psychosomatic variables are intimately involved in the treatment process. Comments are made regarding the application of research on pain and anxiety reduction to labor preparation, and the employment of this knowledge in the development of more efficacious treatment methods. In addition, an examination of studies designed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of psychoprophylaxis reveals that a variety of methodological errors have confounded the measurement of treatment effects. It is concluded that preparation for labor is a valid and desirable subject of inquiry for psychosomatic medicine, with particular relevance for researchers engaged in a study of the cognitive, behavioral, or psychophysiological manifestations of pain, anxiety, or stress.