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Biomedical subjects

J A Mulick

Publications and source records attributed to J A Mulick.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Psychometric properties of a Children's Psychosomatic Symptom Checklist.

The psychometric properties of the Children's Psychosomatic Symptom Checklist, developed for this study, were examined. When administered to 196 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students who ranged in age from 11 to 14 years (M = 12.1, SD = .94), the scale items demonstrated a good internal consistency. Item-total correlations were generally significant and exceeded .60, and a coefficient alpha of .83 was obtained. Results of a factor analysis indicated that 70% of the total variance was accounted for by the first factor, best interpreted as general psychosomatic distress. Divergent validity was additionally demonstrated through only modest correlations with measures of anxiety and depression. Use of the checklist is discussed.

Anxiety Disorders↗
PubMed1988

Comment on Starin and Fuqua's (1987) review of research on rumination and vomiting.

Starin and Fuqua seriously misread a critical study cited in their recent review in failing to characterize it as an experimental analysis of four treatment procedures, and therefore inappropriately criticized it for several shortcomings. This misreading and a tendency to equate vomiting with and without rumination compromise their conclusions regarding treatment choice. At the present time, the data base favors selection of several aversive procedures and the nonaversive satiation procedure over others, but the number of studies on nonaversive operant treatment procedures remains remarkably limited.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed1987

Test-retest reliability of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale.

Test-retest reliabilities of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale over 1- and 5-wk. intervals were examined for two samples of students, 73 boys and 88 girls in regular sixth, seventh and eighth grade classrooms (11 yr. to 14 yr.). For raw scores the test-retest Pearson r was .88 (1-wk.) and .77 (5-wk.), indicating good reliability. For both samples there was a small difference between test (12.2 for 1-wk. sample; 11.4 for 5-wk. sample) and retest (11.2 for 1-wk. sample; 9.8 for 5-wk. sample) mean raw scores. Implications for test use are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

An ecobehavioral assessment of a special education classroom.

The present study combined a multiple category observational data system with a correlational analysis in order to test the value of such a combination as an ecobehavioral assessment instrument and determine whether this package would reveal relationships both between and within the behavioral repetoires of several children. Four severely and profoundly mentally retarded children between the ages of 9 and 12 years were observed in their self-contained special education classroom, and the teacher collected the data over a 20-day period using an interval recording system. Bivariate correlational analysis of the 38 observed categories with the school-day as the unit of analysis revealed significant relationships both between and within children. Two children showed a pattern of relationships in which social interaction in either child was associated with maladaptive behavior in the other, and another child's destructive and self-injurious behaviors were positively associated with his noncompliance. Patterns of related child behaviors suggested ways in which they may have been affected by the behavior of adults in the classroom. The value of such an instrument for ecological assessment is discussed.

Child↗
PubMed1982

Environmental antecedents which affect management and maintenance of programs for self-injurious behavior.

This paper reports the effects of several environmental variables on the management and maintenance of a treatment program for self-injurious behavior (SIB) in residents in a state facility for retarded persons. Fifteen of the clients who participated in a developmental day-care program were compared across the final four months of the program and then at follow-up two years later. Twelve additional clients who were treated in the overall SIB program did not receive the day-care component, but were included in the follow-up study. Regarding program management, the effects of time, staff-initiated interactions, the presence of a newcomer or disruptive client, and medication changes on the behaviors of the 15 clients in the day-care program were assessed from an ecobehavioral approach. Participants in the follow-up study were compared with respect to the type of SIB program they received, the staff-patient ratio in their program, their visual impairment, use of self-protective devices, presence of stimulating material, and time-of-day observed. These issues are discussed in relation to program maintenance.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Ecological assessment of self-protective devices in three profoundly retarded adults.

Three profoundly retarded adults were observed in an experimental daycare program when they were not wearing self-protective restraints and when they were wearing them to prevent pica and rectal digging. The noncontingently applied devices did eliminate the target behaviors, but they also decreased social interactions between the subjects and their caretakers. A camisole was found to be even more restrictive than a fencing mask.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Chronic ruminative vomiting: a comparison of four treatment procedures.

An experimental analysis of a case of chronic ruminative vomiting in a 15-year-old, profoundly retarded, Down's syndrome boy addressed the consequences of vomiting in the postmealtime environment. The experiment compared four treatments in each hour-long session using a multiple reinforcement schedule with order of the following procedures counterbalanced over days in a Latin square design: differential reinforcement of any behaviors other than vomiting (DRO) in which periods of no vomiting were followed by reinforcement and vomiting postponed reinforcement; differential reinforcement of specific behaviors alternative to vomiting (DRI) in which conjoint periods of no vomiting and sustained toy play were followed by reinforcement and the lack of either postponed reinforcement; extinction plus reinforcement of alternative behavior in which vomiting was ignored but toy play was reinforced; extinction in which vomiting was ignored. Data revealed an orderly dual cyclical pattern of vomiting throughout the day, with increased vomiting in the morning and immediately following food ingestion. Postluncheon treatments emphasizing reinforcement of alternative behavior were more successful in decreasing vomiting than DRO or extinction alone.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

The definition, taxonomy, epidemiology, and ecology of self-injurious behavior.

The paper is a theoretical analysis of the evolution of the concepts related primarily to the definition and to the antecedents of self-injurious behavior (SIB). It was found that the definition of SIB as currently used contains surplus meanings unrelated to its scientific utility. At present, a restricted definition of SIB is not warranted because its basic parameters have not been studied adequately. Analysis of SIB taxonomies suggests two subclasses of SIB: social and nonsocial. Epidemiological studies of SIB suggest chronic and acute subsamples that differ in organicity, chronicity, and length of institutionalization. Ecological analysis suggests that a variety of antecedent conditions affect rates and topographies of SIB, e.g., ambient environmental conditions, background settings, situational demands, self-restraint, and type of daily routine activity. Implications were drawn for the organization of therapeutic environments, the study of covariation among collateral topographies, the dynamics of SIB responding, and sequential dependencies among SIB and related topographies.

Autistic Disorder↗