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Explorations in behavioral consistency: properties of persons, situations, and behaviors.

In a study exploring the cross-situational consistency of behavior, 140 undergraduate Ss were video-taped in each of 3 laboratory settings, and personality descriptions of these Ss were obtained from friends and acquaintances. Analyses focused on the degree to which Ss maintained consistent patterns of behavior across laboratory settings and between these settings and daily life. The following conclusions were reached: (a) Behavior can exhibit impressive consistency at the level of psychological meaning, (b) psychological properties of situations can be detected from their behavioral effects, (c) cross-situational consistency and discriminativeness are independent, and (d) some behaviors are more consistent than others.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Therapist alliance-building behavior within a cognitive-behavioral treatment for anxiety in youth.

Explored the specific behavior of therapists contributing to a child client's perception of a therapeutic alliance with youth (n = 56) who received a manualized cognitive-behavioral treatment for anxiety disorders. The first 3 sessions were coded for 11 therapist behaviors hypothesized to predict ratings of alliance. Child, therapist, and observer alliance ratings were gathered after the 3rd and 7th therapy sessions. "Collaboration" positively predicted early child ratings of alliance, and "finding common ground" and "pushing the child to talk" negatively predicted early child ratings of alliance. Although no coded therapist behaviors predicted early therapist ratings of alliance, "collaboration" and "not being overly formal" positively predicted therapist alliance ratings by Session 7. Child, observer, and therapist ratings of alliance were significantly correlated. Results are discussed with regard to the identified behavior of the therapist as a step toward the identification of empirically supported strategies for building a stronger child-therapist alliance.

Adolescent↗

Forming attitudes that predict future behavior: a meta-analysis of the attitude-behavior relation.

A meta-analysis (k of conditions = 128; N = 4,598) examined the influence of factors present at the time an attitude is formed on the degree to which this attitude guides future behavior. The findings indicated that attitudes correlated with a future behavior more strongly when they were easy to recall (accessible) and stable over time. Because of increased accessibility, attitudes more strongly predicted future behavior when participants had direct experience with the attitude object and reported their attitudes frequently. Because of the resulting attitude stability, the attitude-behavior association was strongest when attitudes were confident, when participants formed their attitude on the basis of behavior-relevant information, and when they received or were induced to think about one- rather than two-sided information about the attitude object.

Attitude↗

Cognitive behavioral therapy and fluoxetine as adjuncts to group behavioral therapy for binge eating disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Although binge eating disorder is a common and distressing concomitant of obesity, it has not yet been established whether affected individuals presenting to behavioral weight control programs should receive specialized treatments to supplement standard treatment. This study was designed to examine the added benefit of two adjunctive interventions, individual cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and fluoxetine, offered in the context of group behavioral weight control treatment. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: One hundred sixteen overweight/obese women and men with binge eating disorder were all assigned to receive a 16-session group behavioral weight control treatment over 20 weeks. Simultaneously, subjects were randomly assigned to receive CBT+fluoxetine, CBT+placebo, fluoxetine, or placebo in a two-by-two factorial design. Outcome measures, assessed at the end of the 16-session acute treatment phase, included binge frequency, weight, and measures of eating-related and general psychopathology. RESULTS: Overall, subjects showed substantial improvement in binge eating and both general and eating-related psychopathology, but little weight loss. Subjects who received individual CBT improved more in binge frequency than did those not receiving CBT (p<0.001), and binge abstinence was significantly more common in subjects receiving CBT vs. those who did not (62% vs. 33%, p<0.001). Fluoxetine treatment was associated with greater reduction in depressive symptoms (p<0.05). The 54 subjects who achieved binge abstinence improved more on all measures than the 62 subjects who did not. In particular, these subjects lost, on average, 6.2 kg compared with a gain of 0.7 kg among non-abstainers. DISCUSSION: Adjunctive individual CBT results in significant additional binge reduction in obese binge eaters receiving standard behavioral weight control treatment.

Adult↗

Sequence of sexual behavior and its relationship to other problem behaviors in African American and Puerto Rican adolescents.

This study examined the sequence of sexual behavior of 695 African American and 637 Puerto Rican adolescents and the relationship of this sequence to other problem behavior measures. Analyses indicated that adolescents proceed through four stages of sexual behavior: no involvement, then deep kissing, then petting, and, finally, sexual intercourse. The sequence was similar in both ethnic groups and seemed both unidimensional and cumulative. In addition, for both ethnic groups the degree of sexual involvement was significantly related to the level of drug use and to the frequency of delinquent behavior, thereby suggesting an underlying problem behavior syndrome. Directions for future research are suggested.

Adolescent↗

Physicians' acceptance of behavioral treatments and pharmacotherapy for behavioral disturbances in older adults.

In response to growing interest in employing behavioral treatments and environmental modification for behavioral disturbances in older adults, we employed vignette methodology to examine physicians' acceptance of two behavioral treatments and haloperidol using Kazdin's Treatment Evaluation Inventory. Physicians assigned the highest acceptability ratings to the behavioral treatments and the lowest ratings to haloperidol. The patient's cognitive capacity, living situation (nursing home vs. community), and the type of behavior problem mediated treatment acceptability ratings.

Aged↗

Healthcare-seeking behavior and sexual behavior of patients with sexually transmitted diseases in Nairobi, Kenya.

BACKGROUND: Sexual and health-seeking behaviors are important components of sexually transmitted disease (STD) control. GOALS: To generate data for improved STD prevention and care, and to assess sexual behavior and relevant health-seeking behavior. STUDY DESIGN: A questionnaire to elicit social, demographic, healthcare-seeking, and sexual behavior information was administered to 471 patients attending the referral clinic for STDs in Nairobi, Kenya. RESULTS: A large proportion of the patients had sought treatment in public and private sectors before attending the clinic for STDs. Women waited longer than men to seek medical care. In addition, women more than men engaged in sex while symptomatic, mostly with their regular partner. Condoms were used rarely during illness. In their self-reports, 68% of the men admitted to having extramarital affairs, and 30% to paying for sex, yet they blamed their wives for their STDs. CONCLUSION: Health education messages in Kenya need adaptation to improve health-seeking behavior and safe sex practices.

Adult↗

Disruption of maternal behavior by alcohol intoxication in the lactating rat: a behavioral and metabolic analysis.

BACKGROUND: Preweanling rats exhibit clear behavioral signs of distress after interacting with an alcohol-intoxicated dam. Interestingly, behavioral reactivity of infants to the experience of alcohol in the nursing context decreases as a function of repeated alcohol administrations to the mother. In this study, maternal activities were examined when dams were exposed to repeated administrations of a subnarcoleptic alcohol dose. Maternal changes in alcohol metabolism were also analyzed as a function of repeated exposures to the drug. METHODS: During postpartum days 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13, nursing dams received an intragastric administration of either 2.5 g/kg of alcohol or water. Maternal behaviors were evaluated (experiment 1). Blood alcohol levels (BALs) of the dams were determined on postpartum day 16 after all mothers received either an intragastric (experiment 2) or an intraperitoneal (experiment 3) dose of alcohol. The doses used (2.5 g/kg intragastrically and 1.5 g/kg intraperitoneally) were chosen because they promote similar peak BALs in dams naive to alcohol. RESULTS: Maternal behaviors were strongly affected by the state of intoxication. Nevertheless, these disruptions clearly subsided with progression of alcohol-related experiences (experiment 1). Chromatographic analysis of alcohol metabolism indicated the development of tolerance in dams that had prior experience with alcohol (experiment 2). Changes in BALs as a function of prior experience with alcohol seemed related to first-pass alcohol metabolism rather than hepatic oxidative processes of the drug (experiments 2 and 3). CONCLUSIONS: When the dam first experiences a moderate state of alcohol intoxication, maternal behaviors are uniformly disrupted. Subsequent exposures to alcohol lead to maternal metabolic tolerance. In conjunction with previous studies, these data indicate that infantile reactivity to alcohol is dependent on how the members of the dam/pup dyad express or perceive ethanol's postabsorptive effects.

Alcoholic Intoxication↗

Preventive effects of treatment of disruptive behavior disorder in middle childhood on substance use and delinquent behavior.

OBJECTIVE: Disruptive behavior disorder (DBD) is a well-known risk factor for substance abuse and delinquent behavior in adolescence. Therefore, the long-term preventive effects of treatment of DBD in middle childhood on beginning substance use and delinquency in early adolescence were investigated. METHOD: Children with DBD (8-13 years old) had been randomly assigned to manualized behavior therapy (Utrecht Coping Power Program; UCPP) or to care as usual (CU) in the Netherlands. Five years (2003-2005) after the start of treatment (1996-1999), substance use and delinquency were monitored in 61 of the initial 77 adolescents and compared with a matched healthy control group by means of self-report questionnaires. One-factor analyses of variance and Pearson's chi2 analyses were performed. RESULTS: Differences in substance use were revealed in favor of the UCPP, with more adolescents in the CU group smoking cigarettes in the last month (UCPP 17%, CU 42%; chi2 = 4.7; p < .03) and more adolescents in the CU group having ever used marijuana (UCPP 13%, CU 35%; chi2 = 4.0; p < .045). Moreover, in this respect, the UCPP fit in the range of the matched healthy control group. Both treatment groups were comparable to the matched healthy control group in delinquent behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Manualized behavior therapy for DBD in middle childhood seems to be more powerful than CU in reducing substance use in early adolescence. Both treatment conditions show a beneficial long-term preventive effect on delinquency.

Adolescent↗

Sexual behavior in the cockroach genera Periplaneta and Blatta. III. Aggression and sexual behavior.

Relationships between aggression and sexual behavior were examined in 6 cockroach species (genera Periplaneta and Blatta) in a descriptive manner. Aggressive encounters were classified according to intensity level. The behaviors themselves were scrutinized for differences according to varying contexts such as food and water deprivation and sexual situations. Sexual and species differences in aggressive behaviors were analyzed. Sexual encounters in cockroaches are considered as conflict situations in which many of the sexual behaviors of male male serve to neutralize aggressive behaviors of the female. Major adaptations include a male pheromene, tergal glands and defensive manoeuvering with body and legs.

Aggression↗

Coronary-prone behavior and coronary heart disease: a critical review. The review panel on coronary-prone behavior and coronary heart disease.

A panel of biomedical and behavioral scientists were charged with the task of critically evaluating all available research and theory linking behavior to coronary heart disease. The task was divided into five topic areas: (1) association of coronary-prone behavior and coronary heart disease; (2) assessment of the "type A" behavior pattern; (3) physiologic mechanisms linking behavior to coronary heart disease; (4) cultural and developmental factors; and (5) intervention strategies. The review panels developed summary statements which delineated the perceived strengths and short-comings of the theory and data for their respective sections and provided recommendations to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute concerning future research.

Angina Pectoris↗

Origins of antisocial behavior. Negative reinforcement and affect dysregulation of behavior as socialization mechanisms in family interaction.

Theoretical models specifying the contribution of two social-familial mechanisms, negative reinforcement and affect dysregulation, to the development of child antisocial behavior were tested using a sample of 57 8- to 13-year-old boys referred for treatment of conduct problems. Negative reinforcement of boys' aggressive behavior and boys' affect dysregulation were found to covary with the boys' irritability toward parents and siblings and were reliable predictors of a composite measure of child antisocial behavior, defined by out-of-home placement, arrests, and school discipline incidents 2 years later. Reinforcement of aggression and affect dysregulation during family interaction may play complementary roles in the development of antisocial behavior by fostering the use of coercive means of dealing with social conflict. The findings are discussed in terms of research strategies for identifying social mechanisms contributing to child psychopathology and of implications for modification of current family interventions targeting child antisocial behavior.

Adolescent↗

Evidence that NMDA-dependent limbic neural plasticity in the right hemisphere mediates pharmacological stressor (FG-7142)-induced lasting increases in anxiety-like behavior: study 3--the effects on amygdala efferent physiology of block of NMDA receptors prior to injection of FG-7142 and its relationship to behavioral change.

The findings of this study support the hypothesis that N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors mediate the initiation of long-term potentiation (LTP) and behavioral changes induced by the anxiogenic beta-carboline, FG-7142. Unlike previous work, this study examined the effects of FG-7142 on LTP of amygdala efferents in both hemispheres. 7-amino-phosphono-heptanoic acid (AP7), a competitive NMDA receptor blocker, given prior to administration of FG-7142, prevented LTP in amygdala efferent transmission to the medial hypothalamus and periacqueductal gray (PAG). When given FG-7142 alone, cats showed lasting behavioral changes accompanied by LTP in all pathways studied. Duration of LTP, and its relationship to behavioral change, depended on the pathway and the hemisphere of the pathway. Correlation and covariance analyses indicate that LTP in the left amygdalo-ventromedial hypothalamic pathway mediates initiation, but not maintenance, of increased defensiveness. This finding replicates previous work. A new finding is that increased local excitability in the right basal amygdala (reduced threshold for evoked response), and LTP in the right amygdalo-PAG pathway, may be important for maintenance of increases in defensive behavior. Furthermore, the effects of flumazenil, a benzodiazepine receptor antagonist, on behavior and physiology single out the importance of right amygdalo-PAG LTP as a critical mediator of increased defensiveness. Flumazenil reversed the increase in defensiveness produced by FG-7142 in a drug-dependent manner as described in Adamec (1998a). Moreover, flumazenil reversed LTP only in the right amygdalo-PAG pathway. The findings of the present study suggest that response to FG-7142 may be a useful model of the effects of traumatic stressors on limbic system function in anxiety, especially in view of the recent data in humans implicating right hemispheric function in persisting negative affective states.

Amygdala↗

The Social Behavior Inventory for children in a child abuse treatment program: development of a tool to measure interpersonal behavior.

This article presents information about a tool that can be completed in a few minutes to measure the interpersonal behavior of childen particpating in a child abuse treatment program. One sample of children came from the community and had no reported history of abuse or mental health services. A second sample was children obtaining therapy services through a child abuse treatment program. Factor analysis of scores provided by parents for their children obtaining therapy services led to the development of three scales to assess aversive interpersonal behavior, two to measure prosocial interpersonal behavior, and one to measure total interpersonal competence. Numerous indices of liability and validity are presented. Data delineated the potential value of the scales for assessing the impact of therapy. The current results suggested that the Social Behavior Inventory may have value as a measure of interpersonal behavior when providing therapy to children in a child abuse treatment program if used prudently.

Adolescent↗

A behavioral intervention to reduce child exposure to indoor air pollution: identifying possible target behaviors.

Indoor air pollution has been causally linked to acute lower respiratory infections in children younger than 5. The aim of this study was to identify target behaviors for a behavioral intervention to reduce child exposure to indoor air pollution by attempting to answer two research questions: Which behaviors are protective of child respiratory health in the study context? and Which behaviors do mothers recommend to reduce their children's exposure to indoor air pollution? Observations and interviews were conducted with 67 mother-child combinations. The authors recommend that four behavioral clusters should be considered for the main intervention. These are to improve stove maintenance practices, to increase the duration that two ventilation sources are opened while a fire is burning, to reduce the time that children spend close to burning fires, and to reduce the duration of solid fuel burning.

Air Pollution, Indoor↗

Investigating gene-to-behavior pathways in psychiatric disorders: the use of a comprehensive behavioral test battery on genetically engineered mice.

We have been investigating the relationships between genes and behaviors by conducting a systematic and well-defined behavioral test battery with mice that have a mutation on a gene of interest. The behavioral test battery covers a relatively broad range of various behavioral domains such as learning and memory, sensory-motor functions, emotion, motivation, and drug sensitivity/preference. Recently, we subjected mice lacking calcineurin (CN), a calcium/calmodulin protein phosphatase, to the comprehensive behavioral test battery. The mutant mice had a severe working memory deficit, increased locomotor activity, decreased social interaction, and impairments in prepulse and latent inhibition. The abnormalities of CN mutant mice were strikingly similar to those described for schizophrenic patients. Consistent with these findings, human genetics studies in a large sample of affected families detected a significant association of the PPP3CC gene, which encodes the CN gamma catalytic subunit with schizophrenia. The idea that abnormalities in the CN signaling pathway are involved in schizophrenia pathogenesis is consistent with traditional theories of schizophrenia and with many facts known about schizophrenia. A tremendous amount of knowledge about CN has accumulated and, by utilizing this information, the studies on the pathogenesis/pathophysiology of schizophrenia and its related mental disorders will be potentially accelerated. We discuss the potential impact of a large-scale mouse phenotyping project on the study of psychiatric disorders.

Animals↗

[Behavioral pharmacological properties of nicergoline. Effects on gross-behavior in rats and monkeys and on DRL response, CER, and CAR in rats].

Whether nicergoline has psychotropic-like pharmacological properties was examined through the gross-behavioral and operant behavioral observations in rats and monkeys. In gross-behavioral observations, slight decrement of spontaneous motor activity, lying on the abdomen and relaxation of abdominal tone were observed in rats when nicergoline was administered intravenously (1 mg/kg or more) and intraperitoneally (4 mg/kg or more). However, when it was administered orally, slight decrement of spontaneous motor activity was observed only at large doses of 32 and 128 mg/kg. In monkeys, nicergoline produced decrement of spontaneous motor activity, palpebral ptosis, and lacrimation when administered intraperitoneally at doses of 1 mg/kg or more. Under a differential reinforcement of low rate (DRL) schedule for food reinforcement in rats, nicergoline depressed the response at 4 mg/kg, i.p., or 128 mg/kg, orally. In conditioned emotional response (CER), nicergoline had no effect on the responses during both the alarm and safe periods at doses of 0.25, 1, and 4 mg/kg, i.p., or 8, 32, and 128 mg/kg, p.o. In Sidman continuous avoidance response (CAR), nicergoline (0.25, 1, and 4 mg/kg, i.p., or 8, 32, and 128 mg/kg, p.o.) slightly depressed the response and increased the total shock. These results were compared with those of chlorpromazine, chlordiazepoxide, pentobarbital, and methamphetamine and the following conclusion was drawn: Inhibitory effects of nicergoline on gross and operant behaviors seem to be non-specific, and its behavioral pharmacological properties are qualitatively different from those of anti-psychotics, anti-anxietics, hypnotics, and stimulants.

Animals↗

Reducing aggressive and self-injurious behavior of institutionalized retarded children through reinforcement of other behaviors.

Aggressive and self-injurious behaviors of four retarded children were reduced by combining various techniques with the differential reinforcement of other behaviors (DRO). In one study, aggressive responses of a severely retarded child were reduced when DRO was combined with a 30-sec timeout. In a second study, various aggressive classroom behaviors were reduced when the child was told "no" for an inappropriate response but earned puzzle pieces for periods of time when inappropriate responses resulted did not occur. Exchangeable tokens were given to a third subject for every 15 min in which aggressive responding did not occur, while each inappropriate response resulted in the loss of all tokens accrued. Responding was decreased to a level far below baseline. For a fourth child, self-injurious responses were followed by "no", and intervals of time in which no self-injurious responding occurred earned candy. The rate of this behavior reduced significantly. In each case, the DRO procedure combined with the other techniques proved to be manageable for the teacher and successful in reducing the inappropriate behavior.

Adolescent↗