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Biomedical subjects

R A Javier

Publications and source records attributed to R A Javier.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

A comparison of dose-response curves in cognitive-behavioral and psychodynamic psychotherapies.

Changes in patient- and therapist-rated process items, and patient-rated symptom severity assessed over a maximum of 30 sessions of psychodynamic or cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy were compared in an outpatient mental-health clinic. Patients' ratings in psychodynamic psychotherapy on two of the process items were superior to ratings by patients in cognitive-behavioral therapy, and interactions with time were discovered for an interpersonal item. Comparisons between patients who reported their initial symptom severities as most severe and those with less severe symptoms also were made, with results indicating differential effects of treatment according to perceptions of symptom severity. Interactions between length of stay in treatment and number of sessions also were investigated. Findings indicated that patients benefit from psychotherapy over time and support the usefulness of a contextual model for psychotherapy funding.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Ethnic diversification in clinical psychology graduate training.

Thirty-eight directors and 334 advanced graduate students from clinical psychology programs completed a survey on ethnic minority training offered in clinical doctoral programs. Comparisons were made between directors' and students' ratings on the following variables: students' level of interest in ethnic minority training, the importance of this training, and the effectiveness of the clinical programs' minority-related education. Minority and nonminority students' responses were also compared on these variables. Supplementary data were collected on ethnic minority education in coursework, research, and clinical practica. Findings indicate that students, relative to clinical directors, assign more importance to ethnic minority training and lower efficacy ratings to their programs' ethnic minority education. The results also suggest that minority students feel more strongly about the value of ethnic minority training than do their nonminority peers and the directors. The implications of these results are discussed, and recommendations are made to address identified problems.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1997

Methodological problems encountered in research with psychiatric inpatients: a case example.

In this article, problems associated with several methods commonly employed in research with psychiatric inpatients are discussed and the implications that these problems have for the validity of research with this population are explored, using an investigation of the relationship between moral reasoning and aggression among psychiatric inpatients as a case example. Specific issues examined include the adequacy of hospital records for diagnosing patients, the difficulty of determining when it is appropriate to approach recently admitted patients for research, and problems in the measurement of behavioral and psychological variables such as aggression and moral reasoning. Suggestions and recommendations for addressing these issues in future research are offered.

Aggression↗
PubMed1996

Factors predicting participant attrition in a community-based, culturally specific smoking-cessation program for Hispanic smokers.

Factors predicting participant attrition in a community-based, culturally specific smoking-cessation program enrolling 93 Hispanic smokers were examined. Analysis of univariate predictors showed noncompleters (n = 18) to have lower incomes, to have expressed greater initial confidence in their ability to stop smoking, and to have perceived themselves to be in poorer general health and poorer health in relation to peers, than completers. Noncompleters were also more likely to have reported cardiovascular problems. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that confidence in stopping smoking, health compared with that of peers, and reported cardiovascular problems contributed significantly to prediction while controlling for other significant univariate predictors. The results are discussed in terms of factors that might mitigate premature termination in community-based smoking-cessation interventions targeting Hispanic smokers.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

The problem with interpreters: communicating with Spanish-speaking patients.

The information obtained from a non-English-speaking psychiatric patient through an untrained interpreter can be inaccurate and misleading. The authors briefly outline the most common errors that untrained interpreters make, including omission, addition, condensation, substitution, and role exchange. They present two case examples, one in which misinterpretation led to minimization of a patient's suicide attempt and the other in which a patient's suicidality was exaggerated. They conclude that clinicians should observe the behaviors of both the patient and the interpreter for indications of errors that might distort or obscure the communication.

Depressive Disorder↗
PubMed1989

The role of stress on the language-independence and code-switching phenomena.

This investigation studies the extent to which stress affects the assumed functional separation of coordinate bilingual's linguistic organization. Spanish/English bilinguals were subjects in a GSR linguistic conditioning experiment using two intensities of buzzer sounds (stressful conditions) and two lists of words. One word for each list functioned as the conditioned stimulus. Generalization to semantically, phonemically, and unrelated words occurred in both languages and buzzer conditions. We found a differential impact of the buzzer on the functional separation of the languages, although not in the direction predicted. We concluded that stress produced code-switching, and hence, a primitivization of the subject's cognitive and linguistic functioning is assumed to have occurred. These findings are important in understanding the way stress affects the bilingual's languages at the linguistic and cognitive levels. They are also important in understanding the role of stress in language development and in the transfer of linguistic information.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

The effect of stress on the linguistic generalization of bilingual individuals.

Spanish-English coordinate bilinguals were subjects in a GSR linguistic conditioning experiment using strong and mild buzzer conditions and spoken stimuli. Each subject was randomly assigned to one of two lists of words and one of two levels of buzzer sounds. A Spanish word from the Spanish list and an English word from the English list functioned as a conditioned word (CS). The lists were Spanish and English words related semantically and phonemically and unrelated to the CS. Generalization was studied under conscious and unconscious conditions. We found that both buzzer conditions resulted in significantly greater GSR responses to semantic and phonemic words than to words unrelated to the CS. Generalization to semantic words was not significantly greater than to phonemic words. There was a tendency toward greater phonemic than semantic generalization in the strong buzzer condition. The opposite was observed regarding the mild buzzer. The results were the same in both lists and languages. Under a conscious and unstressful condition, generalization to semantic words was found to be more prominent than to phonemic words. This suggests that under normal condition semantic generalization is mediated by conscious cognition. We concluded that strong emotion produces an increase in phonemic, as compared to semantic, generalization in both languages. Hence, primitivization of the subjects' cognitive and linguistic functioning is assumed to have occurred. These results are important in understanding the deleterious effect that stressful situations may have on linguistic functioning and cognition in bilinguals.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Preliminary investigation of a culturally specific smoking cessation intervention for Hispanic smokers.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare a culturally specific, multicomponent behavioral smoking cessation program for Hispanic smokers with a low-intensity, enhanced self-help control condition. DESIGN: Participants who completed pretreatment assessment were randomly assigned to treatment conditions. Smoking status was evaluated at posttreatment, 6-month follow-up, and 12-month follow-up intervals. SETTING: The study was based in predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods in Queens, New York. PARTICIPANTS: Ninety-three Hispanic smokers participated: 48 men and 45 women. INTERVENTION: The multicomponent treatment involved a clinic-based group program that incorporated a culturally specific component consisting of videotaped presentations of culturally laden smoking-related vignettes. The self-help control program was enhanced by the use of an introductory group session and follow-up supportive telephone calls. MEASURES: Smoking outcomes were based on cotinine-validated abstinence and self-reported smoking rates. Predictors of abstinence were examined, including sociodemographic variables, smoking history, nicotine dependence, acculturation, partner interactions, reasons for quitting, self-efficacy, and linguistic competence. RESULTS: Significant group differences in cotinine-validated abstinence rates in favor of the multicomponent group were obtained, but only at posttreatment. With missing data included and coded for nonabstinence, validated abstinence rates at posttreatment were 21% for the multicomponent group and 6% for the self-help group. At the 6-month follow-up, the rates were 13% for the multicomponent group and 9% for the self-help group. By the 12-month follow-up, the rates declined to 8% and 7% for the multicomponent and self-help groups, respectively. A dose-response relationship between attendance at group sessions and abstinence status was shown at posttreatment and 6-month follow-up intervals. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study failed to show any long-term benefit from use of a clinic-based, culturally specific multicomponent smoking cessation intervention for Hispanic smokers relative to a minimal-contact, enhanced self-help control.

Adult↗