Program evaluations are increasingly assessing the impact of treatment delivery and program processes on outcomes. The current study examined the effects of program fidelity, measured across various dimensions, and relationship quality on behavior change and knowledge gained outcomes in 241 middle and high school students who were participating in Expect Respect, an evidence-based dating violence prevention program. Cross-level, hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses found that program fidelity was not a significant predictor of participant outcomes. However, main effects for relationship quality were present for the knowledge gained outcome measure. Subsequent cross-level interactions provided further support for the importance of relationship quality in prevention program outcomes.

Siblings can serve as significant companions and caregivers for individuals with ID throughout the lifespan. Yet, the developmental course of sibling relationships for siblings of individuals with ID has not been well addressed in the current literature. Thus, the current study examined change over time in four dimensions of relationship quality (power, intimacy, conflict, and rivalry) as well as how the constellation variables of sex, birth order, and age differences affected the development of relationship quality. Sibling relationships were found to have a stable power structure, with the nondisabled sibling reporting higher levels of power in the relationship. Developmental trajectories indicated that these relationships grew in positive regard while levels of conflict decreased over time. Yet, behaviors characterizing intimate relationships did not show similar increases. Constellation variables were found to have effects on specific relationship dimensions, including conflict and intimate behaviors.

Spinal fusion is a surgical procedure used to correct structural spinal damage or abnormalities. Recovery is painful and consists of a minimum 3-day hospital stay. Specific body positioning is necessary for healing but is difficult to maintain due to physical discomfort. The purpose of this study was to use a single-subject multiple baseline design to compare the current practice of using standard hospital pillows to a body-sized pillow for increasing comfort and decreasing pain in pediatric patients recovering from spinal fusion surgery. Four adolescents who had recently undergone spinal fusion surgery served as participants. Outcome measures included self- and nurse-report, heart rate, and requested medication. Three patients found that the BodyPillow® increased their comfort as they recovered from surgery; the fourth reported that he was less comfortable. No changes in pain were reported with the BodyPillow®. Results should help guide medical care and future research regarding pediatric spinal fusion recovery.

Recent literature has emphasized the possible benefits to mindfulness practice. Evidence for a negative relation between mindfulness and pathology has come from validity studies of several newly developed, self-report mindfulness questionnaires. Results illustrate a consistent negative relation between levels of self-report mindfulness and symptoms of depression, negative affect, and anxiety among college-student samples, however this relation has been previously untested within a clinical sample. The first aim of the present study was to explore the relation between mindfulness levels and social anxiety symptoms in a clinical sample diagnosed with social phobia. Because past research has found mindfulness interventions to be successful in reducing ruminative tendencies, and because recent literature suggests that post-event rumination is an important process in the maintenance of social anxiety, post-event rumination was explored as a mediator of the relation between mindfulness and social anxiety. Participants (N = 98) completed the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), the Rumination Questionnaire (RQ), the Fear of Negative Evaluations Brief Form (FNE-B), the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS), and the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA) as part of their participation in a larger, randomly controlled treatment outcome study comparing Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy, a form of Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy for Social Phobia, and a wait-list control group. Results illustrated a strong negative relation between mindfulness scores (MAAS) and social anxiety symptoms as measured by the FNE-B and the LSAS (ps < .001). However, post-event rumination levels (RQ) were not related to either mindfulness or social anxiety indicating that in the present sample post-event rumination did not act as a mediator for the relation between mindfulness and levels of social anxiety.

Sibling relationships in families of children with disabilities are generally positive despite difficulties that may result from the child’s disability. Many developmental disabilities have associated communication impairments that could affect how siblings interact with each other and the closeness between them. Research has rarely addressed the role of communication skills and how potential deficits in communication may impact the sibling relationship. The purpose of this study is to examine the characteristics of sibling communication interaction patterns when one sibling has a developmental disability and the unique role that communication skills play in the quality of the sibling relationship using both self-report and observational measures. Participants were 30 mixed and same-sex sibling dyads that included one typically developing sibling and their brother or sister with an identified developmental disability. Using parent report, children with disabilities were placed into three communication status groups according to their communication skills: emerging communicators, context-dependent communicators and independent communicators. Results indicated that when children with disabilities were independent communicators, they exhibited interactions with their siblings that were similar in terms of lexical complexity but that regardless of communication status, typically developing siblings dominated the interaction. All three communication groups differed significantly on measures of relative status/power with siblings of children who were independent communicators reporting highest levels of relative status/power. Additionally, receptive vocabulary was a significant predictor of relative status/power and proportion of intelligible utterances was a significant predictor of rivalry. Finally, although typical siblings acknowledged that their relationship would be different if their sibling with a disability had different communication skills, it did not lessen the importance of that sibling in their life. As a whole, these results represent a first step in understanding the unique role of communication skills in the sibling relationship for families of children with disabilities. It established that when children are grouped together according to their communication abilities, findings regarding relative status/power are different than what would be expected based on literature. Communication and language skills are important variables to add to the literature to further elucidate the sibling experience in families of children with disabilities.

Recent literature has emphasized the possible benefits to mindfulness practice. Evidence for a negative relation between mindfulness and pathology has come from validity studies of several newly developed, self-report mindfulness questionnaires. Results illustrate a consistent negative relation between levels of self-report mindfulness and symptoms of depression, negative affect, and anxiety among college-student samples, however this relation has been previously untested within a clinical sample. The first aim of the present study was to explore the relation between mindfulness levels and social anxiety symptoms in a clinical sample diagnosed with social phobia. Because past research has found mindfulness interventions to be successful in reducing ruminative tendencies, and because recent literature suggests that post-event rumination is an important process in the maintenance of social anxiety, post-event rumination was explored as a mediator of the relation between mindfulness and social anxiety. Participants (N = 98) completed the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), the Rumination Questionnaire (RQ), the Fear of Negative Evaluations Brief Form (FNE-B), the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS), and the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA) as part of their participation in a larger, randomly controlled treatment outcome study comparing Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy, a form of Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy for Social Phobia, and a wait-list control group. Results illustrated a strong negative relation between mindfulness scores (MAAS) and social anxiety symptoms as measured by the FNE-B and the LSAS (ps < .001). However, post-event rumination levels (RQ) were not related to either mindfulness or social anxiety indicating that in the present sample post-event rumination did not act as a mediator for the relation between mindfulness and levels of social anxiety.

Relationships between implicit measures of stereotyping (using subliminal semantic priming) and implicit measures of prejudice (using facial electromyography) were examined in both Black and White participants. Race of the participant showed a trend towards moderating the relationship between priming bias scores and EMG bias to face stimuli and the relationship between priming bias scores and EMG bias. There were nonsignificant relationships between priming bias scores and differences in application ratings for Black and White applicants. The issue of statistical power is discussed as a possible explanation for nonsignificance.

Despite decreasing rates of teen pregnancy within the U.S., rates remain high for African American girls (Guttmacher Institute, 2006). Comprehensive youth development programs aim to address teen pregnancy. This study examined the role of natural mentors in relation to participation in Cool Girls, Inc. and girls’ sexual efficacy among middle school girls. Furthermore, the quality of natural mentor relationship was assessed. Results provide no support that participation in the program and the presence of a natural mentor significantly affects sexual efficacy. Furthermore, the quality of natural mentor relationship did not significantly increase girls’ sexual efficacy. However, while not explicitly hypothesized, older girls reported significantly higher sexual efficacy. Limitations and strengths of the study are discussed. Directions for future research and intervention are suggested.

Morphine is the most widely prescribed opiate for alleviation of persistent pain; however, it is becoming increasingly clear that morphine is less potent in women compared to men. Morphine primarily binds mu opioid receptors, which are densely localized in the midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG). Anatomical and physiological studies conducted in the 1960s identified the PAG, and its projections to the rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) and spinal cord dorsal horn, as an essential neural circuit mediating opioid-based analgesia. Remarkably, the majority of studies since then were conducted in males with the implicit assumption that this circuit was the same in females; this is not the case. It is now well established that morphine produces greater analgesia in males compared to females in a wide range of vertebrates, however, the mechanism(s) driving this sex difference is not clear. Our recent studies indicate that two factors appear to be contributing to the sexually dimorphic effects of morphine. First, there are sex differences in the anatomy and physiology of the descending inhibitory pathway on which morphine acts to produce analgesia. Specifically, the projections from the PAG to the RVM are sexually dimorphic and activated to a greater degree by both inflammatory pain and systemic morphine in males. In the absence of pain, the PAG-RVM circuit is activated to a greater degree in males compared to females, while this activation steadily declines during the development of tolerance in males only. We also have evidence of a sexually dimorphic expression of mu opioid receptor within the PAG that appears to contribute to sex differences in morphine potency. Microinjection of morphine directly into the PAG produces significantly greater analgesia in males, indicating that the PAG is sufficient for eliciting this sexually dimorphic behavior. Furthermore, mu opioid receptor-expressing PAG neurons are necessary for eliciting a sexually dimorphic response to morphine as lesioning mu opioid receptor-expressing neurons attenuates analgesia in males only. Together, these data indicate that the PAG-RVM pathway and mu opioid receptor expression in the PAG is sexually dimorphic and provides a primary mechanism for sex differences in morphine potency.

Moderate and severe pediatric traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are associated with significant familial stress and child cognitive and adaptive sequelae (Taylor et al., 1999). Research has demonstrated a relationship between familial stress and resources and child recovery of functioning following TBI (Taylor et al., 1999). We built on these findings by examining authoritarian parenting values and styles as a mediator of the relationship between parental stress and child adaptive outcomes 12-36 months following TBI or orthopedic injury (ORTHO). Participants were 21 children/adolescents with traumatic brain injuries and 23 with orthopedic injuries and one of their parents/guardians. Parents completed measures of demographics, parental stress, parenting values and styles, and child adaptive functioning. Child participants completed brief demographic questionnaires and intelligence screeners. Moderation was examined using hierarchical multiple regression. Mediation and moderated mediation were examined using bootstrapping tests of the indirect effect of parental stress on child adaptive functioning. After controlling for family insurance status, higher levels of parental stress were associated with reduced child adaptive functioning in the TBI group but not the ORTHO group. An examination of the mediational analyses revealed that higher levels of parental stress were associated with a greater reliance on authoritarian parenting styles, which was associated with reduced overall adaptive functioning and daily living skills across the two injury groups. Therefore, across groups, the relationship between parental stress and child overall adaptive functioning and daily living skills was found to be partially mediated by an authoritarian parenting style. Moderated mediation results revealed the presence of a significant interaction and 95% confidence interval on the socialization domain and indicated that the relationship between authoritarian parenting styles and child adaptive social skills differed significantly between the two groups. Our findings suggest a relationship between parental stress, authoritarian parenting styles, and child adaptive functioning in the 12-36 months following pediatric traumatic injury. Future research should explore the association among these, as well as other potentially mediating variables, both within and between the two groups with the goal of further elucidating the relationship between familial/environmental variables and child adaptive functioning following traumatic brain and orthopedic injury.