An un-mounted horse care group for children and youth with an Autism Spectrum Disorder: Recommendations for program development and treatment intervention

Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies (EAAT) including Therapeutic Horseback Riding (THR) and un-mounted equine assisted activities are interventions aimed at improving the daily functioning and success of individuals with disabilities, including those with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). While THR is frequently utilized as a treatment intervention for children with ASD, there are many limitations (individual's weight, horse health, weather, physical limitations, health conditions, etc.) that prevent this population from participating in mounted programs. Un-mounted equine assisted activities are often utilized as an alternative, but they are not informed by empirical research or a standardized treatment model. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the literature for EAAT including un-mounted programs, examination of organizational guidelines as they apply to un-mounted programs, and consultation with program directors regarding current practices in the field, and finally it establishes recommendations for the development of a standard curriculum that would strengthen un-mounted horse care group programs serving children with ASD.

Exploring mindfulness as a culturally sensitive intervention for the Deaf community

Mental health issues are as prevalent in the deaf community as the hearing community, if not more. Yet, Deaf individuals are often treated by mental health professionals less frequently and less effectively. Many systemic barriers exist that influence the lack of services provided to the Deaf community, primarily related to a lack of cultural understanding rooted in perceptions of Deaf individuals. However, the Deaf community may be best understood as a cultural minority, a unique community sharing a distinct culture, history, and language. This paper investigates the effects of systematic barriers and cultural misunderstanding among mental health professions regarding the Deaf community, explores the historical and current mental health problems Deaf individuals most commonly struggle with, and proposes a potential culturally sensitive intervention for the Deaf community based on these factors. To examine these issues, the author conducted a thorough review of Deaf cultural history and values, as well as a review of peer-reviewed articles regarding both Deaf mental health and mindfulness outcome studies. Based on this review, mindfulness may be an effective, culturally sensitive intervention that addresses both cultural and psychological components while working with the Deaf population.

Narrative Therapy and Stigma Management: Restorying the Patient Experience of Being Told, “You have MS

The purpose of this investigation was to determine if the way patients are informed of the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) affects their feelings about themselves as people with MS. Building on illness narrative, I hoped to examine how patients “storied” their experience of being informed of the diagnosis of MS and whether this “storying” had a lasting impact on their self-concept. The alternative would be that no connection exists between how a neurologist informs a patient of the diagnosis and how a person makes sense of their diagnosis and life with MS. Due to study limitations (e.g., small sample size, threat of response bias), the results are unclear about whether the way in which the news is broken has a lasting effect on patients' perceptions. However, review of the literature and patient responses indicate that there is a need for psychological intervention when patients are diagnosed with MS.

Identifying Overweight Risk and Intervening at the Twelve Month Well Child Exam

Childhood obesity is an epidemic that is having devastating effects on the physical and psychological health of children. The core processes of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) are explored in this paper relative to how they can be applied as interventions in an early life obesity prevention model. While reviewing research in childhood obesity intervention models, this paper proposes a study that involves conducting behavioral health consultations with mothers whose children are at high risk for becoming overweight.

Examining the Complex Relationships of Early Intervention on Language and Psychosocial Development in Families Facing Multiple Risks with a Focus on Children of Hispanic Immigrants

Abundant research has shown that poverty has negative influences on young child academic and psychosocial development, and unfortunately, disparities in school readiness between low and high income children can be seen as early the first year of life. The largest federal early care and education intervention for these vulnerable children is Early Head Start (EHS). To diminish these disparate child outcomes, EHS seeks to provide community based flexible programming for infants and toddlers and their families. Given how relatively recent these programs have been offered, little is known about the nuances of how EHS impacts infant and toddler language and psychosocial development. Using a framework of Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) this paper had 5 goals: 1) to characterize the associations between domain specific and cumulative risk and child outcomes 2) to validate and explore these risk-outcome associations separately for Children of Hispanic immigrants (COHIs), 3) to explore relationships among family characteristics, multiple environmental factors, and dosage patterns in different EHS program types, 4) to examine the relationship between EHS dosage and child outcomes, and 5) to examine how EHS compliance impacts child internalizing and externalizing behaviors and emerging language abilities. Results of the current study showed that risks were differentially related to child outcomes. Poor maternal mental health was related to child internalizing and externalizing behaviors, but not related to emerging child language skills. Although child language skills were not related to maternal mental health, they were related to economic hardship. Additionally, parent level Spanish use and heritage orientation were associated with positive child outcomes. Results also showed that these relationships differed when COHIs and children with native-born parents were examined separately. Further, unique patterns emerged for EHS program use, for example families who participated in home-based care were less likely to comply with EHS attendance requirements. These findings provide tangible suggestions for EHS stakeholders: namely, the need to develop effective programming that targets engagement for diverse families enrolled in EHS programs.

An Acceptance and Commitment Approach to Issues of Behavioral Health Care in Soldiers

For over a decade, the U.S. military has been engaged in two distinct, yet equally deadly conflicts: Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). There are many physical and psychological effects of war necessitating the activation and interventions of a myriad of behavioral health professionals. The purpose of the paper was to understand how and if contemporary military culture may work to support or hinder application of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) approach to issues of psychological health among Soldiers. While the empirical research on efficacy with Soldiers is limited, a review of military culture revealed the promotion of rigid rule following, although effective in combat, influences the emotional control agenda and stigma while in garrison. However, empirical research demonstrating the clinical benefits and flexibility of ACT is rapidly emerging with civilian and Veteran populations. Suggested as a prevention technique utilized early in Soldier's training to increase psychological flexibility, ACT appears to demonstrate much promise in ameliorating the psychological consequences of war.

The Relationship Between Feminine Gender Norm Conformity and Purpose and Meaning in Life Among Female College Students.

This study explores the relationship between conformity to traditional feminine gender norms and meaning and purpose in life among female college students. Based on previous research findings that show a negative correlation between specific traditional feminine gender norm conformity factors and psychological well-being, we posited that participants with higher levels of traditional gender norm conformity will experience a lower sense of meaning and purpose in life. Self-report data was obtained from 338 female undergraduate college students using the Conformity to Feminine Norms Inventory (CFNI) and the Purpose in Life Test (PIL). A standard multiple regression assessed the accuracy of eight feminine norms in predicting purpose and meaning in life. Results partially supported the hypothesis, with Modesty as the most significant contributor to meaning and purpose. Inconsistent with our hypothesis, participants who endorsed high scores on Nice in Relationships, Involvement with Children, Sexual Fidelity, and Domestic, scored higher on the PIL.

The Eating Disorder Inventory-III Maturity Fears Scale and Treatment Outcome in an Intensive Outpatient Eating Disorder Program

Eating disorders present a significant physical and psychological problem with a prevalence rate of approximately six percent in the United States. Despite the extensive literature, identifying the consistent risk factors for predicting the course of treatment in eating disorders remains difficult. The present study explores the use of a standardized assessment, using the consistently validated Eating Disorder Inventory-III (EDI-3), in predicting treatment outcome. Specifically, the study investigates the particular scale of Maturity Fears (MF) on the EDI-3, hypothesizing that higher scores on the MF scale would predict lower rates of recovery and treatment completion. The participants were 52 eating disorder patients (19 AN, 18 BN, and 15 EDNOS), consecutively admitted to a five-month long intensive outpatient program (IOP). The participants completed an EDI-3 self-report at pre and post treatment, and their score on the MF scale did not show a significant predictive relationship to treatment completion or change in symptoms, as measured by the Eating Disorder Risk Composite (EDRC) scale on the EDI-3. This finding primarily suggests that maturity fears are not a significant predictive factor in an outpatient setting with adults, as compared to previous studies that found a relationship between maturity fears and treatment outcome, primarily with adolescent and inpatient populations.

Shift Work and the United States Female Workforce: The Relationship Between Shift-Work and Ill-Health Effects

The present study was designed to determine the magnitude of the relationship between amount, frequency, and length of shift work completed by female transportation employees and the number, degree, and extent of problems related to physical, menstrual and psychological health including depression. It was hypothesized that workers that are employed in areas such as transportation who are working shift work on a regular basis place themselves at higher risk for developing health or psychosocial related effects. These health related outcomes can have a profound impact on an employee’s job performance, daily functioning, and personal life. The present study sought to understand the potential relationship between working shift work and higher disturbances to the bodies’ natural functioning. The present study has the potential for explaining new ways to decrease the risk factors for those working shift work by contributing to the overall understanding of this multifaceted relationship. This study has many important findings and implications. This study has implications for explaining that the effects of disturbances to the circadian rhythm as a result of certain shift work schedules can result in ill-related health effects. Additionally, this study sought to challenge limitations to current research that has been conducted on the topic as the majority of studies have been performed on men. The overall purpose of the study was to gain a better understanding of the negative effects of shift work on females working within the transportation industry. This study sought to explain the health implications specifically for female workers as fewer studies have been conducted with gender as a main effect in the analysis. The present study suggests that due to the circadian rhythm controlling hormone secretion within the body, disturbances to its natural rhythm can have additional effects on female cycles such as menstruation. Overall, this study offers implications for further research on females working shift work and highlights the continued importance for further exploration into recent developments. These implications have the potential to further our current understanding of the relationship between shift work and ill-health effects, particularly the factors that women face.

The Perceived Effects of Dance for Individuals with Parkinson’s Disease and Healthy Amateurs

The objective of the present study was to compare the effects of dance participation on physical and psychological functioning as perceived by two distinct groups of dancers: dancers with Parkinson's disease (PD) and healthy amateur (HA) dancers. Dancers in the Parkinson's sample group were gathered from participants in the Dance for PD® program, while healthy amateur dancers were recruited from university dance departments and through social media. Both groups were administered measures related to affect, self-efficacy, quality of life, and which aspects of dance classes were most helpful and/or challenging. Several open-ended questions for both groups were included, along with questions specific to each group. Results of the study indicated that there was no difference between the two groups on positive affect experienced while dancing, but that HA dancers experienced higher levels of negative affect than PD dancers. HA dancers exhibited higher levels of self-efficacy, but there was no difference between the groups on perceived quality of life. Additionally, both groups identified the same two components of dance classes as the most helpful: "moving and getting some exercise" and "doing something fun." Thematic analysis of responses to open-ended questions found that, in general, HA and PD dancers identified similar factors which made dance unique from other forms of exercise. The primary differences were that HA dancers more strongly emphasized artistic and spiritual components of dance, whereas PD dancers focused on the importance of the dance instructors and tailoring movements to individuals with PD. More differences were found between the two groups with respect to the negative aspects of dance classes. Notably, PD dancers identified almost no negative aspects, while HA dancers described internal and external pressure, criticism, and competition as problematic. Future research could benefit from ensuring that both groups are administered the same standardized measures to allow for additional comparisons between groups and with normative samples.