Individual variability in response to behavioral weight loss programs remains an unresolved and perplexing issue for health psychologists. Determining in advance who will succeed or fail at losing weight would be useful in devising programs that produce a more homogeneous and dramatic response to treatment. In order to examine which responses to…

Health psychologists continue to have difficulty identifying prognostic indicators of weight loss success. Psychological, social, and demographic factors have been examined, but correlations with weight loss are disappointing. Actual behaviors or quantifications of specific actions and historical measures were examined for their validity in…

Understanding the dynamics of premature termination from treatment would be useful for practitioners working with clients requiring prolonged treatment. Compliance in weight management was examined in three studies in order to explore the broader issue of compliance. In study 1, a standard 10-week cognitive behavioral weight management program was…

Several factors have predicted participation in smoking cessation programs: (1) higher motivation or self-efficacy; (2) education; (3) smoking level; (4) smoking history; (5) quit attempts; and (6) health concerns. The variables that have predicted participation, however, generally have not predicted cessation. The transtheoretical model has…

The assumption that therapeutic or homework directives enhance therapy has received little research attention. To explore compliance with homework directives in a behavioral self-control treatment of weight loss, the comparative importance of social support (S), support plus directives with no rationale (SD), support plus directives with rationale…

A 135-item survey was administered to 279 students enrolled in tertiary distance education programs in Queensland, Australia. The study was intended to identify (1) factors that are highly predictive of positive and independent learning growth and (2) strategies that students and educators can adopt to help students achieve a high level of…

Health Hazard Appraisal (HHA), or risk factor analysis, is a health education preventive medicine technique that assists people in recognizing their health risks and, through their own actions, in improving both their sense of well-being and their life expectancy. HHA, an educational tool in implementing theoretical behavior changes, is based on…

This paper discusses the occurrence of challenging behaviors in adult men dually diagnosed with cerebral palsy and mental retardation, the dynamics that underlie problematic interactions with staff and peers, and strategies with which to address these behaviors. The vicious cycle that occurs when a client with cerebral palsy and mental retardation…