Many children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) engage in problem behaviors (e.g., aggression and self-injurious behavior) that present safety concerns for both the children themselves and others around them. Previous research has shown that treating precursor behaviors that precede problem behavior may prove to be an alternative, safer method for preventing and treating problem behavior. The present study used a multiple baseline design across subjects (n = 4) to assess the efficacy of relaxation interventions on reducing precursor behavior and preventing problem behavior in children with ASD. Researchers first identified precursor behaviors for all participants through observation. During the intervention phase, all four children were taught deep breathing relaxation exercises. After participants received relaxation training, researchers cued relaxation exercises when precursors occurred, and the frequency of precursor, problem, and on-task behavior was observed. Results showed that problem behavior decreased in all participants following the relaxation intervention. Additionally, for the majority of participants, precursor behavior decreased and on-task behavior increased post-intervention. Implications for practice and future research on interventions that target precursor behaviors are discussed.

abstract: The purpose of this research study provided observational techniques and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) prompts and fading procedures to analyze music therapist-child interaction for child with autism spectrum disorder. Impaired social interaction is the primary symptom of a child with autism spectrum disorder. However, social interaction exists everywhere and throughout human life. Therefore, to improve interaction is the primary and significant goal in music therapy treatment for a child with autism spectrum disorder. The music therapist designs a series of music therapy activity interventions in order to create a therapeutic environment, based on a child's interests and favorite activities. Additionally, the music therapist utilizes the music to build the quality of relationship and interaction with child and support child practicing interaction with the therapist. Then music therapist utilizes the process of interaction to improve child's social interaction. Once the child achieves at desired behavior, he/she has ability to apply the music therapy techniques independently in the real world situations, such as family and schools that the child has learned throughout the process of interaction with therapist. The participants were three children with autism spectrum disorder and two certified music therapists (MT-BC). The researcher calculated the number of prompts and cues which the therapists provided, and the number of appropriate responses by each child in each activity intervention. Then the researcher utilized Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), prompt and fading procedure in order to analyze the progress of therapist-child interactions during the sessions. The result showed that the children had improvement in the interactions with their therapist. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.M. Music 2013

The current study examined the relationship between affect changes or lack thereof when one logs onto Facebook or Yahoo!. Facebook was specifically chosen for examination in the current study due to its widespread use, its vast effect on society, and its unique features that allow users to obtain information and have social interaction at the same time. Yahoo! served as a control due to the fact that it is a highly popular site that has similar features of Facebook without having the social functions. Both sites allow users to observe news that is pertinent and of interest to them and both are popular; the main difference between the two sites is the social component that Facebook can offer that Yahoo! is unable to offer users. Findings suggest that logging onto Facebook increases positive affect and joy, but this is short lived. After a period of time on the website negative affect and anger increase. Further research needs to be conducted in order to understand what activities on Facebook lead to more or less affect modulation and future studies are discussed.

The researcher investigates the effect of viewing positive and negative cosmetic surgery images, with short descriptive scenarios, on acceptance of cosmetic surgery. Two hundred ninety-nine participants were assigned to view one of three conditions: positive before/after cosmetic surgery pictures and an accompanying scenario, negative pictures and scenario, or no pictures or scenario (control), followed by the Acceptance of Cosmetic Surgery Scale (ACSS, Henderson-King & Henderson-King, 2005), the Body Parts Satisfaction Scale (Berscheid, Walster, & Bohrstedt, 1973), and the Physical Self Description Questionnaire (Marsh, Richards, Johnson, Roche, & Tremayne, 1994). There was a significant relationship between ACSS Intrapersonal subscale and picture/scenario type, specifically that the positive picture/scenario type participants had a higher Intrapersonal Acceptance of Cosmetic Surgery score. There was also a significant relationship between picture/scenario type & physicality, with four of the 11 subscales, physical activity, sport competence, strength, and endurance, being significantly related to acceptance of cosmetic surgery. Results show significant bivariate correlations between cosmetic surgery acceptance and the physicality aspect of body image as measured by the PSDQ, and total body image as measured by the BPSS. Ethnicity and gender were also significant indicators of cosmetic surgery acceptance. The researcher expects that these results could generalize to society as a whole because of the many people that view cosmetic surgery makeover shows on television. Viewing cosmetic surgery images in the media could possibly decrease body image and alter intrapersonal beliefs toward cosmetic surgery.

This study reports and evaluates child outcome measures at a non-profit autism treatment program providing applied behavior analysis (ABA) based services to children age 3 to 8. To accomplish this, a review was conducted of available outcome data for a 1 year period. Several categories of outcome measures have been reported in the autism treatment literature (post-intervention educational placement, cognitive status, developmental and achievement status and/or progress, autism symptom reduction, and diagnostic reclassification). This study found that the program relied on 2 sources of data to evaluate child outcome: Hawaii Early Learning Profile® and program goal mastery. Children are making progress as indicated by these measures. The findings are discussed in relation to broader outcome recommendations.

Distracted driving involving secondary tasks is known to lead to an increased likelihood of being involved in motor vehicle crashes. Some secondary tasks are unnecessary and should never be performed. But other secondary tasks, e.g., operating the defroster, are critical to safe driving. Ideally, the driver should schedule when to perform the critical tasks such that the likelihood of a hazard materializing is relatively small during the performance of the secondary task. The current study evaluates a training program -- STRAP (Secondary Task Regulatory & Anticipatory Program) -- which is designed to make drivers aware of latent hazards in the hope that they regulate engagement in secondary tasks which they are performing at the time the latent hazard appears. The secondary tasks include both tasks that require drivers to take their eyes off the road (e.g., operating the defroster) and those which do not (e.g., cell phone use). Participants were assigned either to STRAP or placebo training. After training, the groups navigated eight different scenarios on a driving simulator and were instructed to engage during the drive in as many secondary tasks as possible as long as they felt safe to do so. Secondary task engagement was fully user paced. It is important to note that drivers receiving STRAP training were never instructed directly to either disengage from or not engage in secondary tasks when encountering latent hazards. The results show that STRAP trained drivers were more likely to detect latent hazards and associated clues than placebo trained drivers. With regards to secondary task engagement, STRAP trained drivers chose to limit their in-vehicle and cell phone task engagement by focusing on the forward roadway rather than the task at hand. STRAP training holds out the promise of providing individuals with the necessary skills and proactive awareness to make safe decisions regarding the non-performance or interruption of a secondary task in the presence of a potential latent hazard.

Foundational research on infant social evaluations (e.g., Hamlin et al., 2007; Hamlin et al., 2011; Hamlin & Wynn, 2011) has been cited over 2,500 times and infant researchers suggest these data show infants have an unlearned preference for prosocial others. However, several failed replications have been published, which might be attributable to the type of research methods used to investigate this question. A single measure of the dependent variable is ubiquitous among these studies; within-subject repeated measures are rarely used. In the current study, we adapted methods used by Hamlin and Wynn (2011) to a video-only format, due to COVID-19 restrictions; we extended their methods by including four puppet shows and four corresponding puppet choices to assess for choice stability within and across participants. Six infants were assessed; all but one infant failed to make all four choices and three sessions had to be terminated early due to fussiness. Among the four infants who made at least two choices, no infant showed a robust preference for the helper puppet, two infants chose a puppet on the same side at least three times, and one infant chose the hinderer on three of four opportunities. Our data suggest that a completely virtual method might not be feasible for assessing infants’ choices between two puppets presented on a screen. Suggestions for addressing the limitations of the current study and directions for future research are described.

The presented masters thesis deals with selected educational approaches that are used in preschool children with autism spectrum disorder. The theoretical part defines the broad concept of autism, the role of preschool education, and describes methods of work with autistic children of the given age. It also explains the basic characteristics of the Son-Rise program, Applied Behavioral Analysis and TEACCH. In the empiric part within the qualitative research survey, the thesis aims to obtain an overview of the views of teachers focused on the advantages and disadvantages of selected methods. KEYWORDS autism spectrum disorders, TEACCH, Son-Rise program, applied behavior analysis, educational approaches, autism, preschool education

Introduction. Prior research has found high rates of behavioral health concerns, including several forms of substance use, among community college students. However, the prevalence of non-medical use of prescription stimulants (NMUS) as well as the motivations driving NMUS among community college students is unknown. Methods. Survey results from 13 community colleges within the Tennessee Board of Regents school system were evaluated to explore 1) rates of NMUS, 2) reported motivations for NMUS, and 3) how demographic characteristics including race, age, and income differ based on self-reported reasons for NMUS. Results. NMUS was reported by approximately 9% of the overall sample. The most common motivation for NMUS was to focus on studies or to improve academic performance reported by 67.5% of participants. Demographic characteristics varied between individuals reporting/denying NMUS and reported motivations for NMUS, with younger and urban-residing participants at the highest risk. Conclusions. NMUS is occurring in non-negligible amounts by community college students. Understanding motivations for use provides insight into possible mechanisms for behavior change. Future research should examine the efficacy of challenging specific motivations and expectancies in effort of preventing NMUS among community college students.

The World Health Organization (WHO, 2016) reports that 3.2 million deaths per year are attributable to physical inactivity, making it the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality. Physical inactivity is also a key risk factor for noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes (WHO, 2018). Globally, 1 in 4 adults is not active enough and, therefore, foregoes a myriad of health benefits associated with Physical Activity (PA; WHO, 2018). In the United States, only about 1 in 5 (21%) adults meet the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2018). The CDC currently recommends adults engage in 150 min of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week (CDC, 2018). Translated to steps, the recommendation can be met by taking 3,000 steps in 30 min, 5 days per week (Marshall et al., 2009). Physical inactivity is also a major contributor to obesity (WHO, 2018). According to the WHO (2018), worldwide prevalence of obesity almost tripled since 1975. In the United States, the medical costs of obesity were estimated to be $147 billion, or 10% of all medical spending (Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen, & Dietz, 2009). To combat the many problems associated with physical inactivity, the CDC (2015), the WHO (2018), and the American Heart Association (2018) prescribe increased PA. Furthermore, increased PA contributes to a variety of other health benefits, including a decreased risk for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, as well as improved mental health, and increased life expectancy (CDC, 2018).