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Biomedical subjects

E A Blechman

Publications and source records attributed to E A Blechman.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Can mentoring or skill training reduce recidivism? Observational study with propensity analysis.

We compared juvenile offenders' recidivism following nonrandom assignment to juvenile diversion (JD, n = 137), JD plus skill training (ST, n = 55), or JD plus mentoring (MEN, n = 45). Intake characteristics that distinguished intervention groups were used to calculate assignment propensity scores. After propensity score blocking balanced intake characteristics, ST proved more cost effective than MEN, achieving a 14% relative reduction in recidivism at a savings of $33,600 per hundred youths. In ST, 37% were rearrested 2 years or more after intake, compared to 51% in MEN and 46% in JD. In two of five propensity subclasses, time to first rearrest was longer in ST (M = 767 days) than in MEN (M = 638 days) or JD (M = 619 days). These results argue for an experimental comparison of ST and MEN and for observational studies with propensity analysis when randomization to juvenile justice interventions is infeasible.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Short-term stability of aggression, peer rejection, and depressive symptoms in middle childhood.

This study investigated the short-term stability of teacher-rated aggression, peer-rated rejection, and peer-rated depressive symptoms in 478 elementary school children from 25 classrooms (first to third grades) in two geographical areas. Children who presented specific combinations of aggression, rejection, and depressive symptoms were tracked to determine the stability of these combinations from the beginning (Time 1) to the end (Time 2) of the school year. In addition, aggression, rejection, and depressive symptoms were treated as risk factors, and children were classified as displaying zero, one, two, or three risk factors at Times 1 and 2. Of the three risk factors, aggression appeared to be the most stable. Three-quarters of children who presented aggression at Time 1 (either alone or in combination with the other risk factors) were found to continue to have elevated levels of aggression at Time 2. Although specific combinations of aggression, rejection, and depressive symptoms were not very stable over time, the number of risk factors a child displayed at Time 1 was a good predictor of the number of risk factors the child displayed at Time 2. Stability of risk factors was comparable as a junction of child gender and ethnicity.

Aggression↗
PubMed1992

Process measures in interventions for drug-abusing women: from coping to competence.

As a guide to the selection of process and outcome measurement in interventions with drug-abusing women, we have offered a model of fundamental coping processes. Three coping processes--reinforcer management, challenge management, and affect management--appear critical to women's competence and physical hardiness. When these processes go awry, substance abuse is a likely result. For successful recovery from substance abuse, good fortune or purposeful intervention must promote these coping processes. To measure the impact of any intervention with drug-abusing women, methods of assessing fundamental coping processes during intervention (process measures) and repeatedly after intervention (outcome measures) are needed. We have described multiple methods of measuring fundamental coping processes from diverse vantage points: self-report, behavioral observation, biochemistry, and physiology. We have discussed how these measures relate to the theoretical model. Finally, we have indicated measures favored and used in our longitudinal and intervention research on adolescent and perinatal substance abuse. The final set of measures, as summarized in the list of recommended process and outcome measures on pages 324-325, is somewhat lengthy because the process of intervention is complex. Given the financial and structural limitations of research in drug treatment settings, it may not be possible for a single investigator to employ all the recommended measures. An adequate research design would employ two measures from each of the domains outlined. If resources allow, more extensive measurement procedures would be possible.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1985

Effective family problem solving.

Effective family problem solving was studied in 97 families of elementary-school-aged children, with 2 definite-solution tasks--tower building (TWB) and 20 questions (TQ), and 1 indefinite-solution task--plan-something-together (PST). Incentive (for cooperation or competition) and task independence (members worked solo or jointly) were manipulated during TWB and TQ, yielding 4 counterbalanced conditions per task per family. On TQ, solo performance exceeded joint performance; on TWB, competition impaired joint performance. Families effective at problem solving in all conditions of both definite-solution tasks tried more problem-solving strategies during TWB and deliberated longer and reached more satisfactory agreements during PST. Family problem-solving effectiveness was moderately predicted by 2 parents' participation in the study. Parental education, parental occupational prestige, and membership in the family of an academically and socially competent child were weaker predictors. The results indicate that definitions of effective family problem solving that are based on directly observed measures of group interaction are more valid than definitions that rely primarily on family characteristics.

Achievement↗
PubMed1982

Conventional wisdom about familial contributions to substance abuse.

Conventional social-science wisdom about the family background of substance abusers breaks down into three hypotheses. The broken home causes substance abuse; overprotective mothers with or without neglectful fathers cause substance abuse; substance abuse is reinforced by the changes it brings about in family interaction. The broke-home hypothesis attributes substance abuse to sheer absence of a parent, usually the father. The overprotective-mother hypothesis emphasizes the effect of indulgent, dominant mother behavior sometimes combined with ineffectual father behavior. The increased-control hypothesis emphasizes the effects of substance abuser, parents, and siblings on one another. Because investigations of these hypotheses are necessarily correlational, existing research on the family backgrounds of substance abusers suffers from methodological flaws characteristic of weak correlational designs. These hypotheses are logical extensions of Freudian theory, early social-learning theory, and revised social-learning theory respectively. Assumptions that pertinent aspects of the more general theories have been upheld by empirical investigation are not justified.

Family↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prosocial coping and substance use during pregnancy.

In structured interviews of pregnant inner-city residents, 38 substance users reported more current liking of drugs and polysubstance use, disengagement coping, depressive symptoms, negative affect, and antisocial behavior than did 45 nonusers. During videotaped interviews, trained observers coded less warmth and less prosocial information exchange (e.g., self-disclosure, question asking) among users. Factor analysis of measures of coping and its concomitants yielded a three-factor (prosocial, antisocial, asocial) solution, with asocial and antisocial coping predominating among substance users. These results suggest that coping has emotional, social, and cognitive elements. This study is the first to demonstrate an association between a substance-using lifestyle and limited prosocial information exchange.

Adaptation, Psychological↗