The use of operant conditioning protocols for the management of behavioral disturbances of hospitalized adolescents with serious chronic medical illnesses is discussed in this paper. The use of the protocol from the point of view of changing hospital staff interaction is emphasized. Three cases are used to illustrate the process by which the protocol is created and its therapeutic effect on the patient and staff.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

HIV prevention for teenage girls: relationships are the medium and the message.

HIV is a growing problem among young black and Hispanic women. Teenage girls' risk of HIV infection is primarily social in nature because sexual and/or needle-sharing behaviors typically occur in the context of relationships. Without cure or vaccine, the practice of safe or protected personal behaviors is absolutely critical to prevent new HIV infections. To optimize HIV-prevention efforts, clinicians can form caring and developmentally appropriate relationships that address HIV education. Medical HIV prevention for teenage girls is fundamentally about healthy relationships.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Psychiatric aspects of a pediatric intensive care unit.

Although there is a growing body of literature about the medical problems which arise in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), rather little has been written about psychiatric issues characteristic of the critical care setting for children. This article will describe the PICU as a community made up of several sub-groups, the various psychosocial stresses, the reactions to stresses, and the interventions appropriate for the PICU and each of its sub-groups.

Adolescent↗