The problem of this study was to compare the effect of a contingency management approach with that of a lecture approach in an introductory psychology course.

An informational source where teachers and teacher-candidates could gain a functional knowledge of contingency management techniques had not been developed. A programed text was written to provide this source. Five teachers and teacher-candidates were exposed to the text for a period of three days. As a result of this exposure, learning gains, significant at the 0.01 level, were found in the students' abilities (a) to write behavioral prescriptions and (b) to write the principles of contingency management when presented with open-ended questions pertaining to these principles.

The number of dependent youth reported as runaways to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has become an increasing concern to the Department of Children and Families (Child Welfare League of America, 2005). Youth under state supervision, who are reported as runaways, most often leave from foster care settings, although some youth are also reported as runaways from the homes of relatives, non-relatives, and biological parents (CWLA, 2005). Community based care (CBC) agencies responsible for the supervision of dependent children in the State of Florida have struggled to develop an effective means of addressing the problem of running away and have subsequently been unable to decrease the number of dependent youth reported as runaways each year (CWLA, 2005). The current study evaluated a behavioral approach through a multiple baseline design to address the runaway behavior of dependent youth. Behavior contracts were used with three runaway youth placed in foster care which showed an initial increase in the number of days spent in an approved placement for all three participants. While the increase in the number of days spent in an approved placement did not maintain for one participant, a decrease in runaway behavior was demonstrated and maintained for the other two participants.

Physical inactivity is a widespread problem associated with numerous health problems. Individuals with intellectual disabilities are at a high risk of living a sedentary lifestyle. Although a few studies have examined interventions consisting of goal-setting and reinforcement for increasing PA, no studies have evaluated the use of monetary reinforcement. Interventions using monetary reinforcement have been shown to be effective for increasing PA with typically developing adults. The present studies evaluated monetary reinforcement for increasing PA in adults with intellectual disabilities. Study 1 evaluate a session-based intervention where participants earned monetary rewards for attaining step count goals as recorded by pedometers. The intervention increased the rate of walking for all five participants, demonstrating experimental control with four participants. The study also found that a staff member implemented the intervention with fidelity and rated it as highly acceptable. Study 2 evaluated a whole-day intervention where participants earned monetary rewards for attaining daily step goals as measured by wrist-worn Fitbit Alta™ accelerometers. The whole-day intervention resulted in noticeable increases in daily steps for only two participants, with experimental control demonstrated for one participant. Discussion includes the advantages and limitations of the approaches in each study and recommendations for future studies.

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To date, low rates of patient compliance have made it impractical to study whether regular exercise can contribute to positive outcomes in women with substance use disorders (SUD). One robust strategy for promoting and maintaining behavior change is contingency management (CM). CM has been used successfully to reinforce drug abstinence, treatment attendance, and other pro-social behaviors. CM delivers incentives (prizes) contingent upon target behaviors, though can be expensive. To reduce costs, CM is often delivered with an escalating variable-ratio schedule, first tested by Petry and colleagues (2005). As a Stage Ib behavioral therapies development project (Rounsaville et al., 2001), the primary aim of the present study was to test the use of behavioral incentives (BI) to promote regular physical activity in a residential SUD treatment setting with cocaine-dependent women. The target was physical activity, which was objectively defined at two levels: 30 minutes of treadmill walking at any pace and treadmill walking at moderate intensity. Specifically, a pilot RCT compared rates of physical activity over a six-week study period in a sample of N = 17 women with Cocaine Dependence. N = 10 were randomized to BI group and n = 7 were placed in the control (C) group. All participants completed baseline assessment, attended a 45-minute health and fitness education class, and were scheduled in exercise sessions three days/week. Those randomized to BI, however, were eligible three days/week, to receive incentives for meeting the target behavior(s). Follow-up assessment occurred at 3-weeks and 6-weeks post-randomization (midpoint and end of intervention), and 4-weeks post-discharge from the residential program. The primary outcome variables (percentage of sessions completed and total time spent in scheduled sessions) were used for effect size estimations, which were then used to perform power analyses so that sample size calculations could be estimated for the design of a Stage II RCT. A significant Group effect demonstrated that the BI group spent a significantly greater number of total minutes in scheduled exercise sessions than the C group. This dissertation provided benchmark data on the utility of BI for promoting physical activity for women with cocaine dependence. These promising findings support the use of BI procedures to promote exercise compliance, which will ultimately allow scientists to better develop SUD programs that directly utilize the mental and physical health benefits of physical activity.

Background: More detailed usage of incentive therapy (IT) in the Czech Republic is still unknown. On the contrary, theme of drug issues among female users and issue of usage of drugs during their pregnancy period is becoming much more actual in the field of addictology. Particularly, the public is prejudiced and shows stereotyped behaviour against drug pregnant addicts. The first attempts to combine IT and the specific group of drug pregnant addicts have been started by low-threshold facilities like XTP Sananim in Prague and Centrum U Větrníku in Jihlava. Objective: The aim of this thesis is to map the current situation of IT in that facilities which engage in programmes for drug pregnant addicts based on the IT. Methodology: The data were gained by using semi-structured interviews whose respondents work in low-threshold facilities. In the analysis elements from the theory of addictology were utilised. Results: On the basis of statements of interviewees was found that two chosen facilities has clearly defined program of IT and the structured working course with their clients. The both differ in terms of remuneration clients. The main reason, why to start to work on the basis of IT, is a high number of contacts with drug pregnant addicts, which was always the initiative of one worker in a facility...

The use of medical information systems is now prevailing in the whole healthcare environment where the focus is on reducing clinical errors and supporting healthcare professionals in their routine tasks. Hospitals adopt medical information systems to facilitate their healthcare staff in providing efficient services to patients. Studies show that most of the time these systems cannot deliver according to their functional capacities due to certain implementation problems. In this research, we have indicated different implementation problems, their root causes and suggested proper approaches for solving these issues. In the textual analysis, we examined different technical, psychological and social problems that may arise during the implementation process. These theoretical findings have been validated through questionnaires and interviews with doctors, nurses, technicians and people involved in the development of medical information systems. The companies that are providing implementation services are also consulted to validate the theoretical facts. The results show that implementation problems are social and psychological rather than technical, so these problems should be solved with interpersonal, psychological and social skills. The focus of the implementation process should be on the social, psychological and technical effects to avoid any conflict. Reasonable user involvement in the decision making process, motivation and proper training reduces many implementation issues automatically. It is concluded from empirical results that development and implementation teams should have reasonable medical domain knowledge to diminish future implementation and maintenance hazards. The theoretical and empirical results show that data security issues are psychological as well as technical and should be dealt with by high priority.

Introduction: Financial incentives increase smoking abstinence among pregnant and postpartum women. They have also been reported to reduce psychological symptoms using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) in women at risk for perinatal depression. This prospective study aims to replicate and extend these findings using the BDI and Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS). Methods: Participants were 169 pregnant cigarette smokers who were assigned to one of two treatment conditions: Best Practices only (n=88), which entails brief counseling and a referral to a pregnancy-specific quit-line, or Best Practices + Incentives (n=81). Participants were categorized as at increased risk (Dep+; n= 91) or lower risk (Dep-; n= 76) for depression based on history of depressive symptoms and baseline symptom scores. Treatment effects on smoking status and BDI/EPDS scores were examined across nine perinatal assessments using repeated measures analyses of covariance. Results: Financial incentives increased rates of biochemically-verified abstinence through 12-weeks postpartum independent of depression risk (ps ≤ .01) but did not differentially decrease BDI or EPDS scores (ps > .05). Scores decreased with both interventions for the Dep+ women (p = .001). Conclusions: These results replicate earlier evidence that financial incentives increase perinatal smoking abstinence in Dep+ women but not their efficacy in differentially reducing depressive symptoms at levels greater than Best Practices. The failure to replicate effects on depressive symptoms may be due to use of different control conditions in the current and prior study or increased screening and intervention for perinatal mental health during routine obstetrical care.

This study examined the effects of a smoking cessation program using vouchers as reinforcers with individuals with traumatic brain injury and a history of substance abuse. The intervention was conducted at a residential facility that houses individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Vouchers were delivered contingent on reductions of carbon monoxide (CO) samples of 5 ppm or less across a shaping phase, and an abstinence induction phase. A standard pay phase was added at the end of the study to examine the effects of a standardized reinforcement scale with the abstinence criterion set at 8 ppm or less. Reductions in CO were not robust in the shaping and abstinence induction phase. The standard pay schedule showed some improvements in CO levels with less variability for two of the three participants.