In the current investigation, a modification was made to the preference assessment described by Pace, Ivancic, Edwards, Iwata, and Page (1985) to predict the effects of stimuli when used in a differential-reinforcement-of-other-behavior (DRO) schedule for 2 clients with severe self-injurious behavior (SIB) and profound mental retardation. Based on the results of the preference assessment, three types of stimuli were identified: (a) high-preference stimuli associated with high rates of SIB (HP/HS), (b) high-preference stimuli associated with relatively lower rates of SIB (HP/LS), and (c)low-preference stimuli associated with low rates of SIB (LP/LS). Consistent with the results of the preference assessment, the DRO schedule with HP/HS stimuli resulted in increased SIB, and the DRO schedule with LP/LS stimuli resulted in no change in SIB when used in a DRO schedule. Thus, the stimulus preference assessment may be useful clinically in some situations for predicting both the beneficial and the negative side effects of stimuli in DRO procedures.

The Perceived Medical Condition Self-Management Scale (PMCSMS), a generic instrument developed to assess self-management self-efficacy in specific medical conditions, was tailored for use with HIV+ individuals and administered to 125 HIV+ adults, predominantly men. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.78, indicating internal consistency reliability. Correlations between the PHIVSMS and other validated psychometric instruments measuring generalized self efficacy, dispositional optimism, depressive symptoms, positive and negative affect and HIV quality of life demonstrate the validity of using this scale with an HIV population. The PMCSMS has broad utility as a generic template that can easily be adapted to different medical conditions.

This study explored the effects of expressive writing on positive and negative outcomes related to perceived psychosocial and health status among persons with HIV. This was the first study to examine the moderating effects of cognitive adaptability--consisting of dispositional optimism coupled with perceived competence--on outcomes of expressive writing. Thirty-seven participants wrote about either traumatic experiences or trivial topics in four 20-min sessions. Dependent measures obtained at baseline were repeated 1 month later. Although no main effects for group were found, baseline levels of cognitive adaptability were differentially associated with changes in a positive outcomes index, and a pain and physical functioning index in those assigned to the two groups. No moderating effects of cognitive adaptability were found for changes in a negative outcomes index. Findings underscore the importance of identification of moderating variables in understanding the impact of expressive writing interventions among individuals with HIV or other conditions.

To evaluate current and lifetime prevalence rates of nocturnal enuresis and psychosocial problems among children with sickle cell disease (SCD) in comparison with sibling controls, a structured interview and the Pediatric Symptom Checklist were administered to primary caretakers regarding 126 of their children aged 5 to 17 with SCD and 47 sibling controls. Lifetime rates of enuresis among children with SCD were comparable to similar studies, and exceeded population prevalence and sibling control rates. In addition, enuretic children had higher levels of total psychosocial problems on the Pediatric Symptom Checklist regardless of group status, although patterns of subscale differences varied by group and enuresis history after controlling for child age. These findings replicate and extend previous findings and provide further evidence to support a need for monitoring of hydration levels and screening for psychosocial problems among children with SCD and enuresis, as well as evaluation of the psychometric properties of psychosocial screening measures and identification of efficacious treatments for enuresis in children with SCD.

No abstract