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PubMed2006

Controlled trial of behavioural therapy for separation-related disorders in dogs.

A generic programme of behavioural modification for the clinical treatment of separation-related behaviours in dogs was assessed in a controlled replicated trial. After 12 weeks of treatment, 56 per cent of the owners of the treated dogs reported significant improvements in their dogs' behaviour, and a further 25 per cent reported a slight improvement. The owners' reports were generally supported by changes in the behaviour of the dogs as recorded on video when they were left alone. The majority of the untreated dogs continued to show the same degree of separation-related behaviour throughout the 12 weeks of the trial. In a supplementary set of 30 case studies, treated with a behavioural programme tailored to the specific diagnosis for each dog, all the owners reported improvements in their dogs' behaviour after 12 weeks of treatment.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Specific language impairments and behavioural problems.

The behavioural functioning of 56 children with a specific language impairment (SLI), aged 8, 10, and 12 years, was examined by using the Child Behaviour Checklist. Parents as well as teachers filled in the questionnaire. The data shows that 48% of the children with SLI were considered to have behavioural problems either at home or in school. The problems differ significantly from the norm group on internalizing behaviour and total behaviour. The children do not demonstrate more externalizing behaviour than children in the norm group. It is hypothesized that the absence of aggressive behaviour might be a characteristic of children with SLI.

Child↗

PubMed2001

Dopaminergic lateralisation in the forebrain: relations to behavioural asymmetries and anxiety in male Wistar rats.

Neurochemical lateralisation has been demonstrated in dopaminergic systems in the rat brain, and it has been suggested that such lateralisation might contribute to asymmetric and emotional behaviour. Here, we investigated dopaminergic brain lateralisation in relation to spontaneous and drug-induced behavioural asymmetries, and to emotional behaviour in a sample of 24 male Wistar rats. Asymmetric behaviour was measured in the open field in the undrugged state and after a systemic challenge with the muscarinic receptor antagonist scopolamine (0.5 mg/kg). Emotional behaviour was measured in the elevated plus-maze. Dopaminergic lateralisation was assessed by means of a post-mortem analysis of tissue dopamine (DA) and dihydroxyphenyl acetic acid (DOPAC) content. We found higher DOPAC/DA ratios in the neostriatum, ventral striatum, frontal cortex and amygdala of the right hemisphere. In the open field, the complete sample of rats did not show a left/right asymmetry in spontaneous behaviour, whereas systemic scopolamine induced a left-sided preference in thigmotactic scanning. A correlational analysis yielded individual relationships between behaviour and post-mortem neurochemistry, since lateralisation of DOPAC/DA ratios in favour of the right ventral striatum was related to right-side thigmotaxis. Furthermore, a right dopaminergic lateralisation in the frontal cortex was associated with lower anxiety. The study indicates that asymmetries in ventral striatal dopamine might contribute to side preferences in thigmotactic scanning while frontal dopaminergic lateralisation might influence emotional processing.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Influence of socio-economic status, parents and peers on smoking behaviour of adolescents.

With the aim of analysing the importance of psycho-social factors in predicting adolescents' smoking behaviour, a model of the interrelations between socio-economic status, parents', peers' and adolescents' own smoking behaviours was tested. The sample consisted of 2,616 adolescents. LISREL analyses were used to support the model; males and females were evaluated separately. Peers' smoking is the strongest predictor of adolescent smoking. Parents' smoking behaviour influences adolescents' smoking directly, but also indirectly through the parents' influence on peers' smoking behaviour. Socio-economic status influences adolescent smoking indirectly through its influence on parents' and peers' smoking behaviour. Our model is significant in both males and females and explains 42-51% of the variance in adolescent smoking behaviour. Accentuation of peers' influence on adolescents' smoking behaviour without considering the interrelations between the influence of socio-economic status, parents and peers may lead us to incorrect conclusions in research as well as in prevention.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Monoamine oxidase activity and tri-iodothyronine level in violent offenders with early behavioural problems.

The focus is on evaluating the relationships between early behavioural problems and biochemical variables at adult age and their significance for early criminality and violent behaviour in a life perspective. In the present study, using prospective longitudinal data, a sample of males with a history of early criminal behaviour and male controls (n = 103) were investigated concerning (1) teacher-rated behaviours at age 11-14 years; (2) platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity and tri-iodothyronine (T(3)) level at adult age; (3) registered early criminality (11-14 years); (4) records of violent offending up to age 35 years, and (5) interview data on smoking. The main finding was that a combined risk level pattern of low MAO activity and high T(3) level was found significantly more frequently than expected in violent offenders with an early behavioural risk pattern. Furthermore, there was a significant interaction effect between early attention difficulties and smoking on MAO activity, as well as an effect by smoking on MAO activity. The findings are discussed in terms of the possible influence of biological vulnerability to certain behaviours, which in combination with possible childhood stress, enhance the risk for antisocial behaviours and subsequent violence.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Impact of behavioural problems on spousal caregivers: a comparison between Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia.

BACKGROUND: Behavioural changes are a key factor in distinguishing frontotemporal dementia (FTD) from Alzheimer's disease (AD), however, little is known about the impact of these changes on caregivers. The aim of this study was to compare caregivers' distress related to behavioural symptoms of AD and FTD. METHODS: 47 spouse caregivers of consecutively referred patients with AD and 27 spouse caregivers of patients with FTD participated in this study. Behavioural disturbances in the patient and caregivers' emotional reactions were measured with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. RESULTS: Patients with FTD had significantly higher levels of agitation, apathy, disinhibition and aberrant motor behaviour than did patients with AD. High distress scores were found for disinhibition, depression and apathy in caregivers of FTD patients whereas caregivers of AD patients reported patient apathy, depression and anxiety as being severely distressing. Higher mean distress scores were found for disinhibition in the FTD group. Furthermore, caregivers of FTD patients reported higher levels of general burden, and felt less competent than AD caregivers. CONCLUSIONS: Caregivers of FTD patients were overall more distressed by the behaviour of their partners than were the caregivers of AD patients. Findings from this study underscore the importance of differentiating between diagnostic groups and specific behavioural domains when focusing on caregiver reactions to problem behaviour.

Aged↗

PubMed1999

Health-promoting behaviours in public health: testing the health promotion model.

A health-promoting lifestyle encompasses far more than preventing disease and is characterised by behaviours that lead to optimal well-being, self-actualisation, and personal fulfillment. This study was undertaken to investigate the health-promoting lifestyles of employees working in local public health departments (n = 602) and to test two research hypotheses suggested by the Health Promotion Model. The first hypothesis posited that public health professionals would report significantly more favourable health-promoting behaviours than support staff employed in the same departments. The second hypothesis postulated that occupational discipline in public health would be a significant predictor of health-promoting behaviours. Health-promoting behaviours were measured by the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP), a psychometrically-validated measure of overall health-promoting lifestyle and six dimensions of health-promoting behaviours, which comprise the instrument's subscales. The findings of the study tended to support the research hypotheses. Overall, public health professionals tended to report more favourable health-promoting behaviours than departmental support staff, and occupational discipline was a significant predictor of a health-promoting lifestyle. In general, public health nursing personnel reported the highest mean levels of health-promoting behaviours compared to the other occupational disciplines examined.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Accumulation of health risk behaviours is associated with lower socioeconomic status and women's urban residence: a multilevel analysis in Japan.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the socioeconomic differences in health-related behaviours in Japan. The present study was performed to elucidate the effects of individual and regional socioeconomic factors on selected health risk behaviours among Japanese adults, with a particular focus on regional variations. METHODS: In a nationally representative sample aged 25 to 59 years old (20,030 men and 21,076 women), the relationships between six risk behaviours (i.e., current smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, poor dietary habits, physical inactivity, stress and non-attendance of health check-ups), individual characteristics (i.e., age, marital status, occupation and household income) and regional (N = 60) indicators (per capita income and unemployment rate) were examined by multilevel analysis. RESULTS: Divorce, employment in women, lower occupational class and lower household income were generally associated with a higher likelihood of risk behaviour. The degrees of regional variation in risk behaviour and the influence of regional indicators were greater in women than in men: higher per capita income was significantly associated with current smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, stress and non-attendance of health check-ups in women. CONCLUSION: Individual lower socioeconomic status was a substantial predictor of risk behaviour in both sexes, while a marked regional influence was observed only in women. The accumulation of risk behaviours in individuals with lower socioeconomic status and in women in areas with higher income, reflecting an urban context, may contribute to their higher mortality rates.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Feeding behaviour of free-ranging walruses with notes on apparent dextrality of flipper use.

BACKGROUND: Direct observations of underwater behaviour of free-living marine mammals are rare. This is particularly true for large and potentially dangerous species such as the walrus (Odobenus rosmarus). Walruses are highly specialised predators on benthic invertebrates - especially bivalves. The unique feeding niche of walruses has led to speculations as to their underwater foraging behaviour. Based on observations of walruses in captivity and signs of predation left on the sea floor by free-living walruses, various types of feeding behaviour have been suggested in the literature. In this study, however, the underwater feeding behaviour of wild adult male Atlantic walruses (O. r. rosmarus) is documented for the first time in their natural habitat by scuba-divers. The video recordings indicated a predisposition for use of the right front flipper during feeding. This tendency towards dextrality was explored further by examining a museum collection of extremities of walrus skeletons. RESULTS: During July and August 2001, twelve video-recordings of foraging adult male walruses were made in Young Sound (74 degrees 18 N; 20 degrees 15 V), Northeast Greenland. The recordings did not allow for differentiation among animals, however based on notes by the photographer at least five different individuals were involved. The walruses showed four different foraging behaviours; removing sediment by beating the right flipper, removing sediment by beating the left flipper, removing sediment by use of a water-jet from the mouth and rooting through sediment with the muzzle. There was a significant preference for using right flipper over left flipper during foraging. Measurements of the dimensions of forelimbs from 23 walrus skeletons revealed that the length of the right scapula, humerus, and ulna was significantly greater than that of the left, supporting our field observations of walruses showing a tendency of dextrality in flipper use. CONCLUSION: We suggest that the four feeding behaviours observed are typical of walruses in general, although walruses in other parts of their range may have evolved other types of feeding behaviour. While based on small sample sizes both the underwater observations and skeletal measurements suggest lateralized limb use, which is the first time this has been reported in a pinniped.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Four behavioural syndromes of schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: A complementary approach to defining symptomatic subtypes of schizophrenia is to identify characteristic patterns of 'problem behaviours' associated with the capacity of patients to function in the community. METHOD: In a large epidemiological survey, patients fulfilling Feighner criteria for schizophrenia were identified by key informants and assessed using the MRC Social Behaviour Schedule (SBS) and the Manchester Scale. An exploratory factor analysis was used to extract behavioural syndromes from the SBS data in order to compare the syndrome profiles in community, acute and long-stay subgroups and to examine their associations with symptoms and social functioning. RESULTS: Four behavioural syndromes were identified: 'Thought disturbance', 'Social withdrawal', 'Depressed behaviour' and 'Anti-social behaviour', which distinguished between the patient subgroups and had significant differential relationships to symptoms and social functioning variables. CONCLUSIONS: The evaluation of disability in schizophrenia and effectiveness of treatment interventions is incomplete without an assessment of problem behaviours.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

A controlled trial of cognitive-behavioural treatment of hypochondriasis.

BACKGROUND: Hypochondriasis is a distressing disorder for which there is no adequate established treatment. This study evaluates the effect of cognitive-behavioural treatment of hypochondriasis, compared with a waiting list control. METHOD: Thirty-two patients were randomly assigned to either cognitive-behavioural therapy or a no treatment waiting list control. Cognitive-behavioural treatment consisted of 16 individual treatment sessions over a four-month period. The waiting list control lasted for four months and was followed by 16 sessions of cognitive-behavioural treatment. Assessments were made before allocation and after treatment or waiting list control. Patients who had cognitive-behavioural treatment were reassessed three months after completion of treatment. RESULTS: Paired comparisons on post-treatment/wait scores indicated that the cognitive-behavioural group showed significantly greater improvements than the waiting list on all but one patient rating, all therapist ratings and all assessor ratings. After three months the benefits of therapy were maintained. CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive-behavioural treatment is an effective therapy for hypochondriasis. Implications of the study are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Psychiatric symptoms in adults with learning disability and challenging behaviour.

BACKGROUND: In people with learning disability one of the most frequent reasons for psychiatric referral is challenging behaviour. AIMS: To determine what proportion of people with challenging behaviour actually have psychiatric symptoms. METHOD: Using an instrument specifically designed for use by informants, a sample of 320 people with administratively defined learning disability, with and without challenging behaviour, was surveyed for the presence of psychiatric symptoms. RESULTS: Increasing severity of challenging behaviour was associated with increased prevalence of psychiatric symptoms, depression showing the most marked association. Anxiety symptoms were associated with the presence of self-injurious behaviour. CONCLUSIONS: There is clearly the potential for reducing challenging behaviour by improved identification and treatment of coexisting psychiatric disorders. The possibility of modifying diagnostic criteria for depression in people with learning disability, by including aspects of challenging behaviour, merits attention.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Relationship between antisocial behaviour, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and maternal prenatal smoking.

BACKGROUND: There is substantial evidence that maternal smoking during pregnancy is associated with both antisocial behaviour and symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in offspring. However, it is not clear whether maternal smoking during pregnancy is independently associated with antisocial behaviour or whether the association arises because antisocial behaviour and ADHD covary. AIMS: To examine the relationship between maternal smoking during pregnancy, antisocial behaviour and ADHD in offspring. METHOD: Questionnaires concerning behaviour and environmental factors were sent to twins from the CaStANET study and data analysed using a number of bivariate structural equation models. RESULTS: Maternal prenatal smoking contributed small but significant amounts to the variance of ADHD and of antisocial behaviour. The best fitting bivariate model was one in which maternal prenatal smoking had a specific influence on each phenotype, independent of the effect on the other phenotype. CONCLUSIONS: Both antisocial behaviour and ADHD symptoms in offspring are independently influenced by maternal prenatal smoking during pregnancy.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Cadmium disrupts behavioural and physiological responses to alarm substance in juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

Alarm substance is a chemical signal released from fish skin epithelial cells after a predator causes skin damage. When other prey fish detect alarm substance by olfaction, they perform stereotypical predator-avoidance behaviours to decrease predation risk. The objective of this study was to explore the effect of sublethal cadmium (Cd) exposure on the behavioural and physiological responses of juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to alarm substance. Waterborne exposure to 2 microg Cd l(-1) for 7 days eliminated normal antipredator behaviours exhibited in response to alarm substance, whereas exposures of shorter duration or lower concentration had no effect on normal behaviour. Furthermore, dietary exposure to 3 microg Cd g(-1) in the food for 7 days, which produced the same whole-body Cd accumulation as waterborne exposure to 2 microg l(-1), did not alter normal behaviour, indicating that an effect specific to waterborne exposure alone (i.e. Cd accumulation in the olfactory system) results in behavioural alteration. Whole-body phosphor screen autoradiography of fish exposed to (109)Cd demonstrated that Cd deposition in the olfactory system (rosette, nerve and bulb) during waterborne exposure was greater than in all other organs of accumulation except the gill. However, Cd could not be detected in the brain. A short-term elevation in plasma cortisol occurred in response to alarm substance under control conditions. Cd exposures of 2 microg l(-1) waterborne and 3 microg g(-1) dietary for 7 days both inhibited this plasma cortisol elevation but did not alter baseline cortisol levels. Our results suggest that exposure to waterborne Cd at environmentally realistic levels (2 microg l(-1)) can disrupt the normal behavioural and physiological responses of fish to alarm substance and can thereby alter predator-avoidance strategies, with potential impacts on aquatic fish communities.

Animals↗

PubMed1976

[Effects of a benzodiazepine derivative, MS4101, on emotional behaviour of untamed cats].

Effects of MS4101 on emotional behaviour in untamed cats were studied and compared with those of diazepam. Offensive behaviour, i.e., whine response to a rod presented in front of the snout and blowing air on back hair was markedly observed, and whine, attacking and biting responses to tapping with a rod on the back in these cats were marked. Defensive behaviour, i.e., hissing, crouching body, ear flattening to blowing air on back hair, a rod presented and tapping was markedly observed. From 30 min after MS4101 and diazepam in doses of 2 approximately 4 mg/kg i.p., offensive behaviour in untamed cats was depressed. ID50 (50% of inhibition dose) of offensive behaviour for MS4101 and diazepam was 2.40 (1.95 approximately 2.95) mg/kg i.p. and 0.96 (0.69 approximately 1.34) mg/kg i.p., respectively. MS4101 and diazepam in doses of 2 approximately 4 mg/kg i.p. decreased the offensive behaviour. ID50 of defensive behaviour for MS4101 and diazepam was 3.00 (2.46 approximately 3.66) mg/kg i.p. and 1.45 (1.14 approximately 1.84) mg/kg i.p., respectively. Both MS4101 and diazepam exhibited muscle relaxant effects. Here, diazepam was more effective than MS4101. ED50 of muscle relaxant activity for MS4101 and diazepam was 4.30 (3.03 approximately 6.11) mg/kg i.p., 7.40 (5.04 approximately 10.66) mg/kg i.p., respectively. A single administration of MS4101 and of diazepam in doses 2 mg/kg i.p. enhanced food intake.

Agonistic Behavior↗

PubMed2004

Behavioural assessment of the effects of tumour growth in rats and the influence of the analgesics carprofen and meloxicam.

Very little is known concerning the occurrence of pain in cancer research models. We wished to establish whether a behaviour-based approach, originally developed to assess postoperative pain, could be used to determine positive effects of the analgesics carprofen and meloxicam in rats that might be experiencing pain during tumour development in an orthotopic model of bladder cancer. An invasive but non-metastatic rat bladder cancer cell line was surgically implanted into the bladder wall of 57 inbred Fisher344 rats. The rats underwent daily clinical assessments. When clinical signs consistent with chronic pain were apparent, behavioural data were collected from 44 animals during 2 x 10 min periods, immediately before and one hour after a subcutaneous injection of either physiological saline (0.9%; 0.2 ml/100 g), carprofen (5 mg/kg) or meloxicam (2 mg/kg). Treatment-associated behaviour changes were then compared between groups. The lack of active behaviour, both before and after each treatment, was consistent with established clinical signs of pain. The rats were so inactive following the treatment that the behavioural technique we had previously developed was of comparatively little use in determining either pain severity or analgesic efficacy. One very prominent effect, however, was an increase in ventral abdominal licking in the control (saline) group. As this was absent in rats given meloxicam or carprofen, and has previously been considered to indicate pain emanating from damaged tissue, it was concluded that the analgesic-treated rats gained at least some benefit from the drug treatments, but it was not possible to gauge the extent of this. Handling for examination or treatment may have intensified pain in rats in the control group, and so this should be avoided whenever possible. It is likely that post-surgical pain differs markedly from cancer pain, so a different set of behavioural markers may be needed to assess it effectively. More intensive behaviour monitoring may help to develop a suitable technique for detecting the onset of, and assess the severity of pain that may occur during tumour development.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Benefits of a course in behavioural analysis for health visitors.

Twenty-four health visitors participated in a 12-week course in behavioural intervention methods for work with children with behavioural difficulties. Each health visitor identified a family with child behavioural problems and worked with this family while attending the weekly training sessions. The course was run in 1998/99 and in 2000/01 for 12 health visitors. The 1998/99 trainees established a control group by identifying a second family experiencing similar difficulties. These families received the standard service for the same duration as the course. After the course, all health visitors demonstrated a significant increase in knowledge of behavioural techniques. Significant improvements were seen in measures of child behaviour and maternal mental health for both groups of intervention families, compared with non-significant improvements in the control families. The course's success in giving health visitors the skills and practice to develop effective behavioural strategies in work with child behavioural problems is also discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

The behaviour and self-esteem of children with specific speech and language difficulties.

BACKGROUND: Children with specific speech and language difficulties (SSLD) may have associated difficulties that impair their access to the curriculum, and their social relationships at home and in school. AIMS: (i) To identify the range of additional problems experienced by children with SSLD in different educational contexts; (ii) to consider the relationship between these problems and the child's current language status and (iii) to consider the child's self-esteem and the extent to which self-esteem is associated with the primary language problem or other associated difficulties. SAMPLE: Sixty-nine children (17 girls, 52 boys) aged 7-8 years (Year 3) who had been identified as having SSLD, 59 from two local education authorities and 10 from regional special schools for children with severe speech and language difficulties. METHOD: The children were assessed on a range of cognitive, language and educational measures; children and teachers completed a measure of the children's self-esteem (Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance); teachers and parents completed a behavioural questionnaire (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ); teachers also completed a further rating scale which included a behaviour subscale (Junior Rating Scale: JRS). RESULTS: The children's behaviour was rated as significantly different from the norm on both the SDQ and JRS, with the parents more likely to rate the child as having problems, but also as having prosocial behaviour. Both teachers and parents tended to rate the boys as having more problems than girls on the SDQ, with significant differences for the parents' ratings occurring on the total score and the hyperactivity and conduct problems scales. The children had positive self perceptions, which were comparable to the standardisation sample, and generally significantly higher than those of the teachers. The language and educational attainment scores of the children in special and mainstream schools were generally not significantly different, but parents rated the latter group as having more behaviour difficulties. Multiple regression analyses identified language comprehension and reading comprehension as the only predictors of the parents' rating of behaviour (on the SDQ). No relationship was found with the teachers' ratings. CONCLUSIONS: Behavioural difficulties, but not low self-esteem, are common in children of 7-8 years with SSLD, but the differences in patterns of relationship between parents and teachers, and with respect to children attending mainstream and special schools, challenge simple interpretations of comorbidity.

Child↗