Affective priming is a technique used in experimental psychology to investigate the organization of emotional schemata not fully available to conscious awareness. The presentation of stimuli (the prime) with strong positive emotional valence alters the accessibility of positive stimuli within the individual's emotionally encoded cognitive system.…

Analysis shows a significant decrease in parent's self-sufficiency index, indicating increased group dependence. Results suggest that family therapists may unwittingly foster group dependence and losses in confidence for parents receiving such family guidance. (Author)

The increasing popularity of contracting and negotiation training with marital couples suggests a need for systematic analysis of the models available for such training. Working within a behavioral framework two major categories of contracting are developed, and their logical form is considered. (Author)

The present model, based upon Alexander and Barton's two-phase model for family therapy, was developed to provide the practicing school psychologist with an efficient, manageable program maximizing successful outcome. The program enables psychologists to adapt primary enuresis intervention strategies to suit their styles and the individual needs…

Describes the outcome of a short-term, family-centered, behavioral approach to chronic pain at the University of Minnesota Hospitals. Family members were taught operant conditioning techniques which rewarded nonpain-oriented behavior in patients. By treating the total family, 75 percent of the patients and families were able to lead satisfactory…

This study examined partner violence before and after behavioral couples therapy (BCT) for 303 married or cohabiting male alcoholic patients and used a demographically matched nonalcoholic comparison sample. In the year before BCT, 60% of alcoholic patients had been violent toward their female partner, 5 times the comparison sample rate of 12%. In…

Research related to the importance of involving parents directly in treatment programming for childhood obesity has provided inconclusive results because of methodological problems and relatively short treatment duration periods. The effectiveness of an extended behavioral weight control program was evaluated during a 10-week treatment phase and…

In part one of this two-part paper, skills which distress couples need in order to more effectively solve their marital problems were enumerated. In this section, the technology for helping couples to learn to solve problems more effectively is discussed. (Author)

Ratings of treatment acceptability were obtained from 20 parents who sought professional assistance in managing their children's behavior. Initially, degree of disruptiveness of a proposed treatment and parental willingness to attempt it were significantly related to acceptability. Once treatment had been attempted, however, its perceived…

This paper argues that many problematic aspects of family therapy have been neglected by the behavioral family intervention focus on treatment technology, with the resulting expense of ignoring critical aspects of family interaction and the idiographic characteristics of therapists as agents of service delivery. (Author)

Examines Garfield and Bergin's "Handbook of Psychotherapy and Behavior Change," which emphasizes that marital and family therapy are a type of psychotherapy. Analyzes major findings about nonfamily psychotherapies, applying them to family therapy, and draws conclusions regarding therapists' thinking, emphasizing need for studying applicability of…

This review examines evaluation and treatment of adjustment problems in adolescents with visual impairments and describes a behavioral family treatment program. It considers the impact of the child on the family and the family on the child; assessment (psychopathology, social skills competence, family adjustment, and marital functioning); and…

Reviews basic and evaluative research that has reported a relationship between sex education and pregnancy-related behaviors among adolescents. Examines findings from national probability surveys about the relationship between sex education and coital behavior and contraception. Review behavioral success among different types of primary…

Reviews human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) behavioral epidemiology pertinent to planning risk reduction interventions and HIV prevention outcome projects that have resulted in objective evidence of risk behavior change. Key prevention issues of which we still have limited knowledge are considered, and potential ways to incorporate improved HIV…

Juvenile sexual offending is increasingly being recognized as a serious crime among youth. The prevalence of sexual offending and sexual reoffending suggests that many juvenile sex offenders (JSOs) may repeat their offending behaviors if not treated. However, clinical trials evaluating specific interventions are virtually nonexistent. Instead, the…