Susan Baer

Pilot Study of Community-Based Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy for Adolescents With Social Phobia

OBJECTIVE A pilot study to evaluate the efficacy of a cognitive-behavioral group therapy program for adolescents with social phobia, simplified both in terms of time and labor intensity from a previously studied program (Social Effectiveness Therapy for Children and Adolescents) to be more appropriate for a community outpatient psychiatric setting. METHOD Twelve adolescents with social phobia (ages 13-18), diagnosed by DSM-IV criteria and confirmed with Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for Children assessment, were randomly assigned to treatment (n=6) and waitlist (n=6) groups. The waitlist group was subsequently treated, and results were included in the data analysis. Assessments, including Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for Children interviews and self-report Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory and Beck Depression Inventory II questionnaires, were performed at baseline and immediately after treatment or waitlist. RESULTS All subjects completed the treatment program. Compared with the waitlist group, treated subjects showed significantly greater improvement in both examiner-evaluated (Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for Children) and self-reported (Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory) symptoms of social anxiety (effect sizes [d], 1.63 and 0.85, respectively). No significant change was seen in Beck Depression Inventory II scores for treatment or waitlist groups. CONCLUSIONS This study provides support for the use of simplified cognitive-behavioral interventions for adolescents with social phobia that are practical for community psychiatric settings.

Types of parental involvement in CBT with anxious youth: A preliminary meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE Meta-analytic studies have not confirmed that involving parents in cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for anxious children is therapeutically beneficial. There is also great heterogeneity in the type of parental involvement included. We investigated parental involvement focused on contingency management (CM) and transfer of control (TC) as a potential outcome moderator using a meta-analysis with individual patient data. METHOD Investigators of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of CBT for anxious children, identified systematically, were invited to submit their data. Conditions in each RCT were coded based on type of parental involvement in CBT (i.e., low involvement, active involvement without emphasis on CM or TC, active involvement with emphasis on CM or TC). Treatment outcomes were compared using a 1-stage meta-analysis. RESULTS All cases involved in active treatment (894 of 1,618) were included for subgroup analyses. Across all CBT groups, means of clinical severity, anxiety, and internalizing symptoms significantly decreased posttreatment and were comparable across groups. The group without emphasis on CM or TC showed a higher proportion with posttreatment anxiety diagnoses than the low-involvement group. Between posttreatment and 1-year follow-up, the proportion with anxiety diagnoses significantly decreased in CBT with active parental involvement with emphasis on CM or TC, whereas treatment gains were merely maintained in the other 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS CBT for anxious children is an effective treatment with or without active parental involvement. However, CBT with active parental involvement emphasizing CM or TC may support long-term maintenance of treatment gains. RESULTS should be replicated as additional RCTs are published.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Age Effects in Child and Adolescent Anxiety: An Individual Patient Data Metaanalysis

Investigations of age effects on youth anxiety outcomes in randomized trials (RCTs) of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) have failed to yield a clear result due to inadequate statistical power and methodologic weaknesses. We conducted an individual patient data metaanalysis to address this gap.

Stereotypic movement disorder: easily missed

Aim  To expand the understanding of stereotypic movement disorder (SMD) and its differentiation from tics and autistic stereotypies.

The thermal reaction rate of muonium with methane (and ethane) in the gas phase

Rates for the gas‐phase thermal reaction Mu+CH4→MuH+CH3 (Mu=μ+e−), have been measured using the μSR (muon spin rotation) technique, over the temperature range 625–820 K. A good fit is obtained to the usual Arrhenius expression, k=A exp(−Ea/RT), giving an activation energy Ea=24.6±0.9 kcal/mol, ∼12 kcal/mol higher than that of the H‐atom isotopic variant of this reaction, H+CH4→H2+CH3. This Ea difference is the largest yet seen at high temperatures between H and Mu in the gas phase, and seems much too high to be explained in terms of [zero‐point‐energy (ZPE)] differences in their respective transition states, indicating instead a dramatic difference in reaction dynamics. The possible sources of this difference include differing reactivities from vibrationally excited states and/or a more favorable tunneling path for the H+CH4 reaction due to its suspected much earlier (and thinner) reaction barrier. In contrast, the similar H‐atom abstraction reactions with H2 and C2H6 gave Ea differences which matched exp...

Spin relaxation of muonated radicals in the gas phase

We report on recent results obtained for longitudinal field (T1) spin relaxation of the muonium-substituted (“muonated”) free radicals MuCO, MuC2F4, MuC2H3F, and MuC4H8 (t-butyl), comparing with results reported earlier for MuC2H4 (and MuC2D4). Some comparison with transverse field (T2) data is also given. These data are fit to a phenomenological model based on NMR theory of spin relaxation in gases. The parameters of these fits are presented and discussed.

Transverse field dependence of muonium relaxation: Spin exchange and chemical reaction

It has been shown experimentally that the muonium relaxation due to spin exchange is 1.5 times faster in intermediate transverse fields (say, atB=50 G, where the so-called two-frequency muonium signal is observed) than in low fields (say, atB=5 G), in agreement with an earlier theoretical prediction. It has also been confirmed experimentally that this distinct field dependence is totally absent in the case of chemical reaction.

Electronic Media Use and Addiction among Youth in Psychiatric Clinic versus School Populations

Objective: Electronic media use is highly prevalent among todays youth, and its overuse in the general population has been consistently associated with the presence of psychiatric symptoms. In contrast, little information exists about electronic media use among youth with psychiatric disorders. Our study aims to compare patterns of television and computer and gaming station use among youth in psychiatric clinic and community-based school populations. Method: Surveys were completed by 210 youth and parents, from school (n = 110) and psychiatric clinic (n = 100) populations. Duration and frequency of television, video gaming, and nongaming computer activities were ascertained, along with addictive features of use. Descriptive and comparative analyses were conducted, with a statistical threshold of P < 0.05. Results: Quantitative and qualitative differences were identified between the patterns of use reported by the 2 groups. The mean reported daily duration of exposure to electronic media use was 6.6 hours (SD 4.1) for the clinic sample and 4.6 hours (SD 2.6) for the school sample (P < 0.01). Self-reported rates of addictive patterns related to computer and gaming station use were similar between the 2 populations. However, the clinically based sample favoured more violent games, with 29% reporting playing mature-rated games, compared with 13% reported by the school-based sample (P = 0.02). Youth with externalizing disorders expended greater time video gaming, compared with youth with internalizing disorders (P = 0.01). Conclusions: Clinically based samples of youth with mental illnesses spend more time engaged in electronic media activities and are more likely to play violent video games, compared with youth in the general population. Further research is needed to determine the long-term implications of these differences.

Rate of abstraction of hydrogen atoms from ethane by muonium

Thermal reaction rates for the gas-phase reaction Mu+C2H6→MuH+C2H5 have been measured byμSR over the temperature range 510–730 K. The usual Arrhenius expression,k=Aexp(−Ea/RT), fits the data well, giving parametersA=1.0×10−9 cm3 molecule−1 s−1 andEa=15.35 kcal/mol. The activation energyEa is 5.5 kcal/mol higher than for the H atom variant of this reaction, indicating a marked difference in reaction dynamics. Preliminary analysis indicates a still greater difference between Mu and H for the corresponding CH4 reaction.

First spectroscopic evidence for a muonium‐containing molecule: NeMu* chemiluminescence

Evidence for the formation of NeMu*, an isotopic analog of the Rydberg molecule NeH*, has been obtained from the observation of chemiluminescent emission in the near‐infrared region. This is the first spectroscopic detection of a muonium‐containing molecule. NeMu* was formed by stopping a 4 MeV muon (μ+) beam in a target vessel containing 1–6 atm of Ne and ∼1 Torr Ar. The wavelength spectrum of the emission, from ∼680–1000 nm, was measured using a variable‐wavelength filter, with a resolution of ±12.5 nm. Lower resolution spectra were also taken with a series of long pass filters. A complete histogram of photon events vs time was collected for each wavelength. Two strong transitions are observed, centered at 818 and 943 nm. Identification of NeMu* was made by a comparison of the experimental spectrum with a simulated spectrum based on detailed ab initio calculations, extended to higher excitation levels than had heretofore been reported. Both experimental and theoretical results are reported here. Althoug...