Standardized Situation Research Articles

Do children do what they say? Responses to hypothetical and real‐life social problems in children with mild intellectual disabilities and behaviour problems

Most research on children's social problem-solving skills is based on responses to hypothetical vignettes. Just how these responses relate to actual behaviour in real-life social situations is, however, unclear, particularly for children with mild intellectual disabilities (MID). In the present study, the spontaneous and selected responses of 56 children with MID to hypothetical situations from the Social Problem-Solving Test for children with MID (SPT-MID) were compared to their actual behaviour in comparable staged standardized real-life conflict situations. Correlations to externalizing behaviour problems were assessed using the Teacher's Report Form (TRF). The results show children with MID and accompanying externalizing behaviour problems to behave more aggressively in the staged real-life conflicts and provide more spontaneous aggressive responses to the hypothetical vignettes than children with MID and no accompanying externalizing behaviour problems; they did not, however, select more aggressive responses from the hypothetical options provided. A moderate correlation was found between the aggressiveness of the spontaneous responses in the hypothetical situations and actual behaviour in the staged real-life situations. In addition, both the spontaneous aggressive responses under hypothetical circumstances and the actual aggressive behaviour under staged real-life circumstances were related to teacher-rated aggressive behaviour in the classroom. It is concluded that the hypothetical vignettes from the SPT-MID do provide information on both the actual behaviour and knowledge of social problem-solving skills of children with MID.

Déficits émotionnels chez des patients polytoxicomanes

Resume Cette etude a pour objectif principal d'etudier la regulation des emotions chez 13 patients dependants a plusieurs substances psychoactives. Nous suivons ici l'hypothese qu'il existe, au sein des conduites de consommations etudiees, une majorite de sujets presentant des deficits dans la perception et la regulation des emotions (alexithymie et niveau de conscience emotionnelle bas). Les resultats montrent des niveaux d'alexithymie generalement importants (TAS-20). Cette alexithymie n'est pas en relation avec les scores obtenus sur un instrument d'appreciation de niveaux de conscience emotionnelle (LEAS), montrant la diversite des processus d'evaluation mis en jeu dans les deux outils d'appreciation d'un deficit du traitement emotionnel. En revanche, la faiblesse des niveaux de conscience emotionnelle, en particulier en ce qui concerne la conscience de ses propres emotions, est correlee avec l'intensite de l'emoussement affectif evalue par le clinicien (echelle d'Abrams-Taylor).

Psychological determinants of the cortisol stress response: the role of anticipatory cognitive appraisal

Psychosocial stress is a potent activator of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. While the physiological mechanisms of HPA axis responses to stress as well as its short and long-term consequences have been extensively examined, less is known why someone elicits an acute neuroendocrine stress response, i.e. what are the psychological processes involved and how are they related to the acute neuroendocrine stress response. To examine this question, a questionnaire to assess anticipatory cognitive appraisal processes was developed and administered to 81 male healthy subjects in a standardized psychosocial stress situation (Trier social stress test). Cortisol stress responses were assessed with repeated measurement of salivary free cortisol. Hierarchical regression analyses show that anticipatory cognitive appraisal, in contrast to general personality factors and retrospective stress appraisal is an important determinant of the cortisol stress response, explaining up to 35% of the variance of the salivary cortisol response. The reported results emphasize the importance of psychological stress processing for the understanding of psychobiological stress responses. Since stress and its biological consequences have been shown to be associated with the onset and the maintenance of somatic illnesses and psychiatric disorders, psychological processes are prime targets for prevention and intervention.

Behavioural and morphological variation between captive populations of red junglefowl ( Gallus gallus) – possible implications for conservation

The escalating threats to ecosystems worldwide have lead to a need for efficient methods to breed animals in captivity and to prepare captive-born animals for release back to the wild. However, life in captivity may lead to modifications in the animal’s behaviour mainly by genetic changes, including behavioural adaptations such as reduced predator responses. Such modifications may seriously affect survival after a reintroduction. The present study was a first screening of behavioural and morphological variation between different captive populations in standardized test situations using red junglefowl as a model species. The birds were tested in three different test situations in order to measure anti-predatory behaviour, social behaviour and exploratory behaviour. The results of this study clearly show that there are behavioural differences between the captive populations which potentially can be crucial for the animals in a reintroduction situation. However, the extent to which these differences are due to genetic changes caused by small breeding populations or adaptations to the different captive environments is not yet known, although morphological differences found suggest that genetic variation may cause some of the behavioural differences as well. The differences found imply that life in captivity can affect an animal’s behaviour and even though the red junglefowl is merely used as a model here, this suggests that these aspects may be important to consider also in other species where reintroduction is a more central motive for keeping the animals in captivity.

Residents lack knowledge and practical skills in handling the difficult airway.

Full-scale simulators have been developed in anaesthesia. We aimed at assessing Danish anaesthesia residents' knowledge and management of a standardized difficult airway situation in an advanced airway simulator. The reliability of the assessment was also determined. Thirty-six residents answered a questionnaire testing their knowledge on difficult airway management and practice patterns. Secondly, all residents attempted management of a standardized 'cannot ventilate, cannot intubate' airway scenario. Three observers independently assessed a video recording of the performance. Only 17% of the residents passed the written test. Ninety-seven per cent stated that they had difficulties recalling the American Society of Anesthesiologists'(ASA) difficult airway algorithm and 53% did not know how to oxygenate through the cricothyroid membrane. Seventeen per cent had previously been involved in emergency situations with severe complications due to insufficient airway management. In the scenario 75% of the residents established ventilation using a laryngeal mask airway. After establishing ventilation, 26% would continue with surgery without a definitive airway, despite the risk of aspiration. Analysis of the interobserver agreement showed good (Kappa = 0.63) to excellent (Kappa = 0.78) consistency for objective parameters in the scoring scheme. Inter-observer reliability was satisfactory (R = 0.43) for trained Crisis Resource Management evaluators. Theoretical and practical education in difficult airway management needs to be improved among Danish anaesthesia residents. Simulator assessment should only be performed using well-defined objective parameters and trained assessors.

University of California, Irvine, College of Medicine.

University of California, Irvine, College of Medicine.

Expression des états mentaux chez les enfants atteints du Syndrome de Williams : analyse d'interactions collaboratives mère–enfant

People affected by Williams syndrome (WS), a rare genetic disease, are characterized by a personality noted for its “hypersociability” along with relatively spared language in the face of significant cognitive deficit. Our research focuses on the intersection of two domains by examining linguistic markers of this sociability: how do children with WS perform in a collaborative interaction? Do they express mental states, how and what kind? And do they answer to the mental states expressed by others? We present data from three matched groups of 12 each: children with WS, children with Down syndrome (DS) and control group (CO) in a task in which the mother and child interacted in a standardized collaborative situation with a social stake (a precise aim to reach). The children with WS had comparable difficulties to those with DS in the interaction: they produced fewer turns and fewer utterances than controls. Children with WS produced more expressive mental states than either the DS or CO group. The WS children had more difficulties cooperating than did either the DS or CO children: the unrealized requests by the children are more numerous in the WS group. Thus in a collaborative interaction, the children with WS present a unique profile: difficulty in maintaining and participating in the interaction contrasting with a facility in expressing mental states about feelings and emotions.

Estimation of X-ray beam quality by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy

A novel dosimetry-based technique using EPR spectroscopy to determine X-ray beam quality is proposed. The radiation-sensitive material is made of a mixture of two polycrystalline substances with different X-ray absorption properties. The composite samples, consisting of polycrystalline lithium formate monohydrate and calcium formate, were prepared as pellets, X-irradiated, and analyzed with EPR spectroscopy. The ratio of the EPR signal amplitudes of the two constituents can serve as a measure of the X-ray beam quality given by the equivalent photon energy. The calculation of the signal amplitude ratio involves a reconstruction of the composite EPR spectrum. The logarithm of the signal amplitude ratio appears to be linearly correlated with the logarithm of the equivalent photon energy. The linear relationship can be used as a calibration for estimating the equivalent photon energy from the composite EPR spectrum. The composite material was used to investigate the changes in the equivalent photon energy in a Perspex phantom with increasing depth. When a 220 kV X-ray beam with an equivalent photon energy of about 100 keV was used, changes in the EPR signal amplitude ratio revealed a buildup of scattered photons with increasing depth in the phantom. This change could be related to the equivalent photon energy using the logarithmic calibration curve. It was found that the equivalent photon energy at the depth of 13 cm in the phantom was 25% lower than on its surface. The proposed method can be used for estimating equivalent photon energy in both standardized and non-standardized situations, the latter corresponding to beam setups where use of filters and ionization chambers is difficult or impossible. Also, the system can provide a means for measuring photon energy in X-irradiated phantoms.

Status cues and the formation of expectations

This paper presents an elaboration and formalization of the theory of nonverbal cues and status ( Berger et al., 1986; Ridgeway et al., 1985) which is a theory within the expectation states theoretical research program. This elaboration and formalization also integrates the theory of nonverbal cues and status with the theory of status characteristics and expectation states ( Berger et al., 1977). The concepts of weak and strong cue gestalts generated by status cues, and a new kind status typification, that of apparent competence–incompetence, are introduced. The results of four experiments conducted in the Nemeth and Wachtler (1974) situation, and four experiments conducted in the standardized experimental situation of expectation states theory are examined and shown to be consistent with the formulation. Thus a more complete mathematical formulation of status organizing processes which now includes status cue processes as well as the processes formalized earlier, that is, status characteristics processes, behavior-expectation processes, and communicated evaluation processes has been obtained.

Evaluation of training in patient handling and moving skills among hospital and home care personnel

The aim of the study was to evaluate the training programme in patient handling and moving skills according to the Stockholm Training Concept. The evaluation focused on work technique, musculoskeletal problems, job strain and the experience of the person being transferred. The training programme consisted of two models of learning: traditional groups and quality circles. Fifty-one people employed at geriatric hospitals and in primary care, participated in the training programme. For the evaluation, the participants were video-recorded in one standardized transfer situation: moving the patient from bed to wheelchair, before and after the training. The participants' work technique during the patient transfer was assessed using seven items. A questionnaire covering individual factors, physical exertion, job strain, and musculoskeletal problems, was filled in by the participants before training and also six months after. The results showed improvements in six of the seven work technique items, directly after training. A decrease in the participants' physical exertion during transfers of patients from ‘bed to chair’ was shown six months after completion of the training programme. There was no significant decrease in the participants' musculoskeletal problems and job strain after training. Ninety-eight per cent of the participants were positive about having participated in the training. Training in patient handling and moving skills led to improved work technique. The participants improved their transfer technique and experienced less discomfort during the transfer, and patients experienced greater comfort and safety when being transferred.

Psychophysiologie der Expositionstherapie – eine Pilotstudie bei Patienten mit Agoraphobie und Panikstörung

The Psychophysiology of Exposure Therapy – a Pilot Therapy Study with Patients Suffering from Agoraphobia with Panic Disorder This pilot study investigates individual response patterns in agoraphobic situations. Patients with an ICD-10 diagnosis of agoraphobia and panic disorder underwent ambulatory psychophysiologic monitoring in standardized agoraphobic situations before (n = 14) and after (n = 15) brief standardized cognitive behavioral treatment (pre as well as post values could be collected from 8 patients). Nine controls underwent the same monitoring procedure. The particular design of the ambulatory monitoring allowed very high control of the most important variables. Group means are in accordance with previous findings: in the agoraphobic situations slightly higher psychophysiologic activation for the patients than for the controls, and a reduction of that reaction after therapy. However, the large variance between subjects seems to favor individual response patterns. Examples of proto-typic responses – concordance, asynchrony, prolonged activation, and negative concordance – are presented. Only one of these responses is in accordance with the cognitive model of panic attacks and fits into the habituation model of exposure therapy. Hypotheses regarding the importance of the other patterns for the therapy of agoraphobia and panic disorder are discussed.

UCSD Performance-Based Skills Assessment: development of a new measure of everyday functioning for severely mentally ill adults.

Instruments to assess everyday functioning have utilized self-report, proxy report, clinician ratings, or direct observation of performance. Each of these methods has strengths and weaknesses. In this article we argue for the inclusion of performance-based measures of functional capacity in studies of severely mentally ill persons and describe a new measure, the UCSD Performance-Based Skills Assessment (UPSA). We administered the UPSA to 50 middle-aged and older outpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, and 20 normal comparison subjects. Participants' performance in five domains of functioning (Household Chores; Communication; Finance; Transportation; and Planning Recreational Activities) was assessed in standardized role-play situations. Administration of the UPSA required an average of 30 minutes to complete. Interrater reliability of ratings was excellent. Patients' performance was significantly more impaired than that of normal subjects. Among patients, the UPSA performance correlated significantly with severity of negative symptoms and of cognitive impairment but not with that of positive or depressive symptoms. The UPSA scores correlated highly with those on another performance-based measure. We believe that UPSA would be useful for assessing everyday functioning in severely mentally ill adults.

The role of echolocation in the hunting of terrestrial prey - new evidence for an underestimated strategy in the gleaning bat, Megaderma lyra

The observation that gleaning bats detect prey by its noises, together with difficulties in recording their faint sonar calls, have led some authors to conclude that gleaning bats may not use echolocation in certain hunting situations. In particular, it is conjectured that echolocation plays no role in the classification and tracking of prey. In the present study, we show that the gleaning bat, Megaderma lyra, is able to find silent and motionless prey on the ground. The significance of sonar for catching a variety of terrestrial prey is established in a standardized situation. Sonar calls were found to be emitted during all stages, i.e. approach, hovering above the prey, and return to the roost, of every hunting flight. The harmonic pattern of the calls differed significantly between these stages, calls with three or more prominent components prevailing during hovering. Bats identified prey and rejected dummies while hovering above them. During this stage, increased call rates and reduced call durations were found. Echolocation activity during, and the duration of, the hovering phase depended on prey type, in particular on prey movement. The prey-dependent shifts in sonar activity, the broadband call structure with an emphasis on higher harmonics, and a systematic shift of the calls' peak frequencies during hovering, are discussed as adaptations to identifying prey by sonar.

Psychometric properties of the schedules for clinical assessment in neuropsychiatry (SCAN-2.1).

The Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN), the successor of the ninth version of the Present State Examination (PSE-9), is one of the latest instruments developed by the World Health Organisation for the assessment of psychiatric disorders. So far, the psychometric properties have only been established for certain sections of the instrument. The present study is the first to test the psychometric properties of SCAN-2.1 for most of the disorders covered by the SCAN, and was carried out prior to a survey conducted in the Nijmegen Health Area (the Netherlands). Interviewers were psychology graduates with little clinical experience. Two designs were used. In one design, pairs of independent live interviews with the same respondent were compared (test-retest situation). In the other, ten videotaped interviews by experts were rated by each of the interviewers (standardized situation), and the outcomes were compared with those of the other interviewers as well as with a reference score. In the test-retest situation the kappa coefficient for diagnostic caseness was qualified as substantial (0.62) and for diagnostic categories and diagnostic groups as moderate to good (0.24 to 0.64). In the standardized situation using videotaped interviews by experts, sensitivity as well as specificity proved to be substantial to almost perfect. The agreement per interviewer with regard to the reference diagnoses ranged from 87% (diagnostic group) to 94% (diagnostic caseness). Agreement on the syndrome level (without duration and interference criteria of DSM-IV) was excellent. Although the instrument is traditionally used by experienced clinicians, this study shows that less experienced (but well trained) interviewers can apply SCAN reliably. Special attention should be paid to the items without explicit interview questions, as they tend to be more sensitive to neglect than the items with interview questions.

Early temperament and stranger wariness as predictors of social inhibition in 2‐year‐olds

Forty‐five infants were followed from age 5 months to 25 months with the aim of studying the stranger wariness phenomenon from a temperamental perspective. Observations and heart rate reactions in a standardized situation of stranger approach, as well as maternal ratings of temperament at infant age 5 months and 10 months, were used for predicting inhibition in social situations at 25 months of age. Stranger wariness as reflected in heart rate measures at 10 months proved to be predictive of social inhibition in toddlerhood and both wariness at 10 months and social inhibition at 25 months were found to be related positively to reactivity to sensory stimulation and negatively to frustration at age 10 months. It was suggested that stranger wariness during the first year of life reflects individual dispositions to respond with withdrawal in response to social novelty and that there are common temperamental underpinnings, such as reactivity to sensory stimulation and to frustration, to both stranger wariness at age 10 months and social inhibition in toddlerhood.

Discrimination between Envenomated and Nonenvenomated Prey by Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes (Crotalus atrox): Chemosensory Consequences of Venom

Snake venoms have multiple consequences on prey, ranging from immobilizing and digestive effects to enhancing the salience of envenomated prey and their chemical trails. Although the toxic and lytic effects are reasonably well understood, the chemosensory effects have been little studied. Experiment 1 showed that western diamondback rattlesnakes (Crotalus atrox) preferred envenomated (E) over nonenvenomated (NE) prey in a standardized choice situation, as other species have done in previous studies. In Experiment 2, E prey were prepared by injecting reconstituted lyophilized venom, so that dosage could be controlled, something not possible when snakes envenomated prey as in Experiment 1 and in most previous studies of rattlesnake response to E and NE prey. Prey injected with 10 mg of lyophilized venom were reliably discriminated from NE prey by C. atrox. A dose-response curve was established in Experiment 3 to assess the lowest dose to produce E prey that were preferred over NE prey. Two statistical techniques were used to estimate minimum perceptible dose (MPD), giving values of 6.0 and 7.1 mg, respectively. These values were compared with the amount of venom snakes actually injected during predatory strikes and with various measures of lethality. Chemosensory effects of venom probably facilitate rattlesnake predatory behavior in that adult rodents are usually released after envenomation, requiring that the snake follow the prey's trail to recover the carcass. This trail-following task depends upon the snake's ability to discriminate trails of E prey from those deposited in the vicinity by other (NE) rodents as they engaged in foraging activities.

A method for measuring the CO2 dead space volume in facial visors and respiratory protective devices in human subjects.

The external CO2 dead space volume (Vd) in facial visors and respiratory protective devices is difficult, but important, to measure in human subjects. The lack of proper methods for its assessment has hampered the development of standards and the improvement of visor and device design. We have improved and evaluated a method for measuring Vd and the mean inspired fraction of CO2 (FI,CO2) in human subjects wearing facial visors or respiratory protective devices. The method is based on indirect measurements of inspiratory volumes using a calibrated respiratory inductive plethysmograph (RIP), and measurements of FCO2 with a mass spectrometer. The accuracy of the RIP method was assessed in eight subjects and its repeatability was studied during nasal and oral breathing, at rest and after bicycle ergometer work. We related the Vd,RIP results to two known external VdS (with the effective Vd equal to the geometric volume; 15 ml and 320 ml), through which the subjects breathed, using RIP and a pneumotachometer (PTM) simultaneously (Vd,RIP and Vd,PTM). The repeatability of Vd and mean FI,CO2 results was determined from duplicate recordings during the wearing of a welding visor. Initial RIP calibration was accepted if the inspiratory tidal volume error was < or = 10%. This resulted in an acceptable Vd,RIP error (< or = 20%; Vd = 320 ml) in six eight subjects. The validation technique allowed us to separate the Vd,RIP error into a volumetric error and an error related to CO2 measurement. Poor RIP volumetric accuracy over the initial portion of inspiration was detrimental to Vd accuracy. Using the welding visor, Vd and mean FI,CO2 were less at rest than after work and less during nasal breathing than during oral breathing. The intra-individual variability of Vd and mean FI,CO2 were lower during nasal breathing than during oral breathing. To summarize, the improved RIP based method can accurately (< or = 20% error) assess Vd and mean FI,CO2 in facial visors and respiratory protective devices in standardized work situations. A meticulous RIP calibration procedure and repeated validations of RIP volume and CO2 measurement accuracy must, however, be applied.

Supporting Fathers and Supported Mothers in Families with Disruptive Boys: Who are they?

What are the personal characteristics of supported mothers and supporting fathers, in the context of families having disruptive boys? The supportive and unsupportive behaviors of fathers towards mothers (N = 44) were rated by observers in standardized situations. Characteristics of both fathers and mothers were used to predict support: age, education, IQ, reported parental care during childhood, symptoms of distress and marital satisfaction. The joint characteristics of both spouses were better predictors than fathers' or mothers' characteristics alone. Unexpectedly more support and less stress correlated with more unfavorable characteristics of the father compared to the mother for the same marital dyad. Both spouses' reports on parental care were highly predictive of fathers' supportive and unsupportive behaviors towards mothers, whereas higher intellectual abilities of fathers predicted unsupportive behaviors. Results are discussed in relation to marital relations and differences between behavioral versus reported assessments of spouse support.

Subjective probability

Subjective probability aims to solve a big problem: how to calculate probability when none of the definitions examined in the previous chapters is applicable. The probability that it will rain tomorrow, that a newly graduated student will find a job, or that a basketball player will pass the basket record are examples of the subjective conception of probability, as they require neither the knowledge of the mechanism that regulates the phenomenon nor the repeatability of the phenomenon. The value attributed depends on the state of information of the person making the assessment. The already mentioned Bayes' Theorem shows how to make probability evaluations and subsequently modify them in the presence of new data. Faced with the vast field of application, there is a very scarce (one would have to say nothing) attention on the part of the teachers who prefer to concentrate the little time dedicated to the subject to more standardized situations.

The Role of Negative Self-Statements During Exposure in Vivo

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the pattern of cognitive change, and in particular the role of negative self-statements, in relation to improvement during an in vivo exposure treatment. Eight panic disordered patients with agoraphobia, of whom 4 were most and 4 were least improved on a composite measure, were exposed to standardized agoraphobic situations. During the exposure, heart rate, self-statements, and subjective anxiety were registered throughout the sessions. Fixed criteria were set for habituation of heart rate and reduction of subjective anxiety within a session. Results showed that the total frequency of negative self-statements at the start, during, as well as at the end of treatment differentiated best between the most and least improved patients. These results suggest that it may be therapeutically wise to continue exposure therapy not only until habituation of anxiety (subjectively and physiologically) is achieved, but also until the frequency of negative self-statements is reduced until zero.