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PubMed1981

Compliance training and behavioral covariation in the treatment of multiple behavior problems.

The present study investigated the use of a compliance-training procedure and its effect on untreated deviant child behaviors. Three children, each generally noncompliant to adult requests and with several additional problems, such as crying, aggression, and self-injurious behavior, were trained in the compliance procedure under a multiple-baseline design across therapists. Compliance was defined as the correct response to prespecified requests. Other classes of deviant child behavior were measured continuously throughout the study but not directly reinforced. The results of the study showed that (a) increases in compliance to requests were directly related to the contingencies employed; (b) decreases in untreated deviant behaviors occurred when compliance increased, even though no direct contingencies had been placed on these behaviors; and (c) the relationship between untreated deviant behaviors and compliance appeared to be maintained by a different set of events in each of the three children. The results are discussed in terms of behavioral covariation and generalization.

Aggression↗

PubMed1987

Effect of discontinuance of type A behavioral counseling on type A behavior and cardiac recurrence rate of post myocardial infarction patients.

Three hundred post infarction participants who had received type A behavioral counseling in the Recurrent Coronary Prevention Project, (RCPP) agreed to be followed for 1 additional year after stopping 4.5 years of continuous type A behavioral counseling. One hundred fourteen participants who had served for 4.5 years as controls in the RCPP Study, thus receiving no type A behavioral counseling, volunteered to receive such counseling for 1 year. Eleven of the 300 previously type A counseled RCPP participants were lost to follow-up at the end of the additional year. The remaining 289 subjects at risk were found to have maintained their previously reduced intensity of type A behavior. Their previously observed relatively low cardiac recurrence rate during the additional year also did not significantly change. Ten of the 114 previous control RCPP participants were lost to follow-up at the end of the additional year. The remaining 104 subjects who had received a year's type A behavioral counseling showed a significantly reduced intensity of type A behavior and a similar significant decrease in both the cardiac mortality and morbidity rate. These results suggest that the decline in the intensity of type A behavior and also in the cardiac recurrence rate previously observed in post infarction subjects exposed to type A behavioral counseling persists for at least 1 year after cessation of such counseling.

Counseling↗

PubMed1986

Illness behavior as a predictor of pain and overt behavior patterns in chronic low back pain patients.

This study examined the relationship of self-reports of illness behavior to pain ratings and overt pain behaviors in a group of chronic low back pain patients referred for pain management. Illness behavior was measured using the Pilowsky and Spence Illness Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ) and pain behavior was recorded using a standard behavioral observation method. Multivariate regression analyses revealed that scores on the IBQ were highly predictive of a variety of indices of pain and pain behavior. These results were obtained even after controlling for significant demographic and medical status variables. The findings of this study support the utility of the IBQ in the behavioral assessment of chronic pain patients.

Back Pain↗

PubMed1976

[Conditioning of emotional behavior caused by hypothalamic stimulation (4). Effects of drugs on conditioned avoidance and escape behavior].

In the present study, effects of psychotropic drugs were analyzed by observing avoidance and escape behavior or rabbits under hypothalamic electrical stimulation. In avoidance behavior, chlorpromazine (CPZ) and diazepam (DZP) depressed avoidance response and extended avoidance response latency and head movement latency. Autonomic behavior such as opening of palpebral fissure and pupil size were also delayed. The locus of movement and count of head movement were depressed by the administration of each drug. On the other hand, unlike CPZ, DZP extended escape response latency. On escape behavior, effects of CPZ and DZP were apparently different. Unlike CPZ, DZP induced avoidance behavior and increased locus of movement. With methamphetamine, no avoidance behavior was observed, but under conditional stimulation, the behavior and the escape response latency were decreased. Chlordiazepoxide induced avoidance behavior.

Animals↗

PubMed1990

The relationship of attitude, subjective norm, and behavioral intent to the documentation behavior of nurses.

Ajzen and Fishbein's theory of reasoned action was used to assess the relationship of nurses' attitude, subjective norm, and behavioral intention to their documentation behavior. Attitudes, subjective norms, and behavioral intentions toward documentation were elicited from 108 staff nurses. Documentation behavior was based on what should be documented in any hospitalized patient's chart during a shift. This exploratory model was analyzed with LISREL VI. The overall fit of the final model to the data was good, as judged by a chi-square (df = 7, p = .845). The total coefficient of determination for the structural equation was .461. Attitude toward documentation did not relate significantly to intention to document optimally. Subjective norm did have a significant effect on behavioral intent. Attitude and subjective norm accounted for 46.1% of the variance in behavioral intent. Behavioral intent had a significant effect on documentation behavior, accounting for 15.2% of the variance. It appears that subjective norm, which is the influence of others, is what directs the intention to document and thus relates to subsequent documentation. Recommendations for practice include the communication of high ideals and expectations of important others to the staff nurse in order to improve the quality of documentation.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed1992

The effects of a positive behavioral context on the social impact of aggressive behavior.

The hypothesis is experimentally examined that a positive behavioral repertoire can ameliorate the negative social impact of aggressive behavior. Sixty-six fourth- through sixth-grade girls viewed and rated a series of videotaped interactions between two female confederates. The proportion of positive to aggressive behavior viewed by each subject was manipulated across six experimental conditions by varying the number of positive behaviors exhibited by one of the confederates (target) while the number of aggressive behaviors displayed by her remained constant (i.e., 0%, 20%, 43%, 60%, 80%, and 100% positive). Each subject provided sociometric ratings of the target and selected trait descriptors that best described her from a checklist. The results indicated that positive behavior exhibited in high rates (80% or more, compared to aggressive behavior) offset the negative effects of aggression on both sociometric ratings and positive and negative descriptors.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1989

Cognitive-behavioral therapy and relationship therapy in the treatment of children referred for antisocial behavior.

The present study evaluated alternative treatments for children (N = 112, ages 7-13) referred for severe antisocial behavior. Children were randomly assigned to one of three treatments: problem-solving skills training (PSST), problem-solving skills training with in vivo practice (PSST-P), which included therapeutically planned activities to extend training to settings outside of treatment, or client-centered relationship therapy (RT). PSST and PSST-P children showed significantly greater reductions in antisocial behavior and overall behavior problems, and greater increases in prosocial behavior than RT children. These effects were evident on measures obtained immediately after treatment and at a 1-year follow-up, and on measures of child performance at home and at school. PSST-P children showed greater changes than PSST children on measures of functioning at school at posttreatment, but these differences were no longer evident at follow-up. Children in both PSST conditions showed significant reductions in deviant behavior and improvements in prosocial behavior from pretreatment to follow-up, whereas RT children tended to remain at their pretreatment level of functioning. Notwithstanding the significant improvements, comparisons with nonclinic (normative) samples revealed that the majority of youth remained outside of the normal range of deviant behavior. Possible directions for improving treatment for antisocial youth are highlighted.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1977

What types of sex-role behavior should behavior modifiers promote?

Rekers and Lovaas (1974) reported a study using reinforcement procedures aimed at modifying the behavior of a 5-yr-old who engaged in cross-gender behavior. The use of traditional sex-role concepts in forming target behaviors is criticized and androgynous behavior is suggested as an empirically based alternative. The pathological nature of the behavior that the study was designed to prevent is also questioned, as is the ability to predict sex-role behavior from a 5-yr-old child's current behavior. These issues are raised in the context of the more general question, whom should the therapist serve?

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1991

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone facilitates display of reproductive behavior and locomotor behavior in an amphibian.

In the amphibian brain, thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) is present in many regions outside the hypothalamus. The functions of this extrahypothalamic TRH however are unknown. We sought to determine whether TRH or its metabolites altered reproductive behaviors (amplectic clasping behavior) or locomotor behaviors of the male South African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis. TRH-injected (100 micrograms; dorsal lymph sac injection) male Xenopus displayed significantly fewer amplectic clasp attempts and longer clasp durations than saline-injected controls. The TRH metabolites, TRH acid and histidylproline diketopiperazine, similarly altered clasping behavior. Several hormones released by TRH, including thyroid-stimulating hormone, melanocyte-stimulating hormone, prolactin, and dopamine, had no significant effect on clasp frequency or duration. Locomotor activity in Xenopus males was increased significantly after 15 min following TRH injection (150 micrograms); this effect persisted for at least 1 hr. The metabolites did not alter locomotion. These studies indicate that TRH can facilitate the display of two behaviors in the South African clawed frog. Effects of TRH on locomotor and reproductive behaviors thus appear in several vertebrate classes. These behavioral actions of TRH likely occur through different mechanisms or at different sites.

Animals↗

PubMed1988

Methoxychlor induces estrogen-like alterations of behavior and the reproductive tract in the female rat and hamster: effects on sex behavior, running wheel activity, and uterine morphology.

The current investigation was designed to determine if the pesticide methoxychlor (M) mimicked the effects of estrogen in the brain and on behavior. Running wheel activity (RWA) and sex behaviors were evaluated in this study because the role of estrogen in the regulation of these behaviors has been thoroughly established. M exposure at 400 mg/kg/day (90% pure) induced high levels of acyclic RWA and persistent vaginal estrus in the female rats. Following ovariectomy (ovx), RWA declined precipitously in controls but remained at high levels in M-treated-ovx females. M also produced estrogen-like alterations of the uterine endometrial epithelium, the ovary, and growth after ovx. In another study, ovx female rats were dosed with M at 200 mg/kg/day and then with progesterone (P). P acts as an antiestrogen and specifically suppresses estrogen-induced RWA. P blocks the synthesis of estrogen receptors in the CNS and reproductive tract but does not lower RWA induced by nonestrogenic mechanisms. After 14 days of M administration RWA was increased fourfold over the ovx-oil-treated females. Subsequently, P injections reduced RWA levels far below those seen when the ovx-M-treated rats were injected with oil. The P-induced decline represents a 95% inhibition of the M-induced increase in RWA. Subsequently, M-treated-ovx rats and hamsters were injected with P and tested for their ability to display reproductive behaviors when paired with a stud male. Female sexual behaviors are induced by the administration of estrogen followed by progesterone. In this study the M-treated females displayed reproductive behaviors, in contrast to the oil-treated rats and hamsters. The observation that the high levels of RWA induced by methoxychlor treatment in ovx rats can be suppressed by concurrent progesterone injections demonstrates that the increase in RWA is due to the estrogenic effects of methoxychlor on the CNS. The fact that methoxychlor, followed by P injections, induces behavioral estrus in the rat and hamster extends this estrogenicity to other areas in the CNS.

Animals↗

PubMed1986

Prevalence of behavior problems and mental health utilization among encopretic children: implications for behavioral pediatrics.

The psychiatric literature traditionally has viewed encopretic children as having severe and characteristic behavior problems. Current psychiatric views as expressed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd Edition (DSM-III), and in the pediatric literature, however, tend to regard the behavior problems of encopretic children as being rather mild or secondary to the consequences of the encopresis itself. Using a behavioral checklist with empirically derived factors (the Child Behavior Checklist), 55 children presenting for medical treatment of their encopresis have been assessed. Numerous behavior problems are reported on parental ratings, but the overall severity of behavior problems in this group of children falls below that found in children with behavior problems who are referred for mental health services. Most children presenting for medical management of encopresis have not been seen or evaluated by mental health services. Encopresis is a disorder in which psychological evaluation and intervention by the pediatrician may be advisable.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Relation between maternal characteristics and child behavior ratings. Implications for interpreting behavior checklists.

The present study examined the extent to which mothers' ratings of their psychological distress, marital adjustment, and negative life events were related to maternal ratings of child behavior problems. Data were collected from mothers of 110 children (ages 2 to 12 years) who were referred to a pediatric clinic for a variety of common behavioral concerns. Maternal psychological distress and marital adjustment were significantly correlated with mothers' ratings on a child behavior checklist. Maternal psychological distress also accounted for a significant amount of the variance in maternal child behavior ratings over and above that accounted for by fathers' ratings of the same behaviors. Given that maternal characteristics co-vary significantly with reports of child behavior problems, pediatricians should interpret findings derived from child behavior rating scales within the overall family context.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1992

Predicting behavior of high and low self-monitors: an application of the theory of planned behavior.

Using Ajzen's theory of planned behavior, behavior intentions, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control were assessed for 24 high and for 29 low self-monitors. In addition, behavior (attendance at class lectures) was unobtrusively recorded. Intentions were best predicted by attitudes of the low and by subjective norms of the high self-monitoring groups. Low self-monitors' overt behavior was predicted by intentions, and high self-monitors' behavior by the interaction of intention x perceived behavioral control.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

[Smoking and sexual behavior of junior college students (report II). Relation to alcohol consumption and problematic behavior during adolescence].

A survey was performed on 581 junior college women regarding smoking, sexual behavior, alcohol use and problem behavior during adolescence to assess possible mutual relationships. The results are as follows: 1) Of these women, 37% experienced smoking; 9% were habitual smokers; 39% experienced kissing; 18% experienced sexual intercourse; 86% experienced alcohol drinking. 2) Many of the women had cross-experience in the combination of smoking, sexual behavior and alcohol drinking. A mutual relationship among these behaviors is suggested. 3) Many of the women who experienced smoking or sexual behavior had either experienced or considered problem behaviors during adolescence including attempted suicide, running away from home, bullying, etc. Poor adaptation to their home or school appears to be a factor associated with tendency toward smoking and sexual behavior.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Behavioral science in family medicine residencies: Part II. Teacher roles, relationships, and rewards. The STFM Task Force on Behavioral Science.

A survey of members of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine provided information about roles, relationships, and rewards for teachers involved in family medicine residency behavioral science education. Family physicians and behavioral scientists perceive their own roles in behavioral teaching and patient care as greater than is perceived by the other group. All groups of respondents see a continued need for collaborative behavioral teaching, patient care, and research. Interpersonal rewards reported emphasize family physicians learning from behavioral scientists. Frustrations reflect personal style, use of jargon, and a sense that the other group does not understand important aspects of one's work. Income is markedly greater for family physicians than behavioral scientists. Most behavioral scientists responding plan to remain in family medicine teaching.

Behavioral Sciences↗

PubMed1981

Neglected children: mothers' report of child behavior problems and observed verbal behavior.

This laboratory investigation assessed situational differences in observed maternal verbal behavior and the report of child behavior problems between groups of low-income Caucasian mothers and their neglected, behavior problem, or nonproblem children. Relative to controls, the interactions of neglect mothers were most negative and controlling during child-directed play. Behavior-problem mothers were most negative and as controlling as neglect mothers during parent-directed play. Both groups reported more difficult child behavior than controls. The results indicate the importance of considering situational variability and mode of analysis (i.e., frequency and/or percentage) when behavior differences between groups are being determined.

Adult↗

PubMed1981

Behavioral characteristics of scent marking behavior in the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus).

Behavioral characteristics of scent marking behavior in the Mongolian gerbil were investigated using the open-field apparatus. The gerbils raised in Japan exhibited a similar behavioral topography of scent marking behavior to those observed in the United States. The incidence and frequency of marking behavior were sexually dimorphic with predominance in males. A midventral sebaceous gland of the male was also larger than that of the female. In male gerbils which has been housed with other males (4 animals per cage), the frequency of marking was differed individually among the cage mates. On the other hand, when two males having similar marking frequency were housed in pairs for one month, one of the two increased the marking frequency compared with the prepairing whereas the other decreased it significantly. The evidence tends to support the notion that scent marking behavior is a species-common response in gerbils and that the behavior correlate to dominance and social ranking.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

[A clinical evaluation of fetal wellbeing--based on fetal behavior with emphasis on conditions contributing to the dissociation of behavior].

The recent developments in Medical Electronics (M.E) have led to the possibility of noninvasive methods of evaluating conditions which previously were considered to be a "Black Box". Among the conditions now evaluable are fetal and placental morphology and functional aspects including fetal movements and behavioral studies. This has led to the discovery that the progressive development of the fetal Central Nervous System (CNS) is concurrent with the progression of fetal maturity and attainment of synchronicity of various fetal activities. This has led to the clinical application of ME for the evaluation of various fetal parameters in an attempt to assess fetal wellbeing. However in the presence of increase in frequency and strength of the various fetal activities with the advance of pregnancy, there is in fetuses of less than 28 weeks of development no synchronicity of the fetal activities, and in IUGR and fetuses under various forms of stress, the relationships between CNS development and fetal activity may become misaligned, or dissociated leading to the pitfall of misdiagnoses. Thus, in order to better understand the effects of chronic stress on the fetus we ran long term studies on pregnant ewes using physiologic and biochemical evaluations as our parameters for assessment. We observed a convergence of the various fetal behavior parameters with advancement of fetal age which we termed as the achievement of association of fetal behavior. However, when fetal hypoxemia is induced as a chronic condition, the phenomenon of convergence of the various behavioral parameters is inhibited, leading to a so called dissociation of those functions. Further, the greater the severity of the hypoxemia (stress), the greater the inhibitory effect on the convergence of the various activities, thus the greater the dissociation. A possible reason for this effect is the inhibition of respiratory activity. In order to clarify the hypothesis stated above, we induced hypoxemia in fetal lambs, as well injecting them with various materials. We found that AVP which increases in hypoxemia has no effect on pulse rate, but does inhibit respiratory activity, a clear representation of dissociation of fetal behavior. In conclusion, if fetal behavior is to be used as a method for evaluating wellbeing, it is necessary to also assess the convergence or association of the various behavioral parameters in order for it to be utilized as a clinical tool.

Animals↗