We draw on the theory of allostasis to develop an integrative model of the current stress process that highlights the brain as a dynamically adapting interface between the changing environment and the biological self. We review evidence that the core emotional regions of the brain constitute the primary mediator of the well-established association…

Following terrorist events, teachers and nonteaching school personnel are important in helping children recover, yet little is known about their willingness to assist with this. We surveyed 399 employees from a Washington, D.C.-area school district following terror attacks (September 11, 2001, attacks; sniper shootings) about their exposure,…

Set against trans- or supra-national policy initiatives which have framed the HIV/AIDS pandemic as in part a pedagogical issue, this paper critically explores local understandings of sexual practices (generally) as well as of HIV/AIDS (more specifically) among young people in the sub-Saharan African country of Ethiopia. Ethiopia has the third…

With the growing adoption of the Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) system state-wide in New South Wales, Australia, it was of interest to determine the readiness of behaviour specialists to conduct Functional Behaviour Assessments (FBA) as part of the third tier of School-wide PBS provision. This article presents the findings from a survey…

Gathering time-series data of behaviors and psychological variables is important to understand, guide, and evaluate behavior-change campaigns and other change processes. However, repeated measurement can affect the phenomena investigated, particularly frequent face-to-face interviews, which are often the only option in developing countries. This…

A meta-analysis is undertaken, including 11 studies, to determine whether there is a relationship between Bible knowledge on one hand and academic and behavioral outcomes on the other among those living in urban areas. The results indicate that increased Bible knowledge is associated with higher levels of student academic achievement and positive…

Primary care physicians often perceive patients as unlikely to decrease their substance use and suggest this reluctance to change diminishes their willingness to screen and intervene. The literature on readiness to change has primarily focused on adults, and the available studies on adolescents have largely included hospitalized and/or…

Responds to M. Stanton's comments on the current author's original article. One of the puzzles of motivational interviewing is why it works at all. How can it be that an individual interview or two yields change in a long-standing problem behavior even without any effort to alter social context? The time involved is such a tiny part of the…

Objective: To bridge theory of response inhibition and learning in children with ADHD. Method: Thirty ADHD and 30 non-ADHD children (ages 9-12) were compared under concurrent variable interval (VI-15 sec., VI-30 sec. and VI- 45 sec.) reinforcement schedules that required the child to switch between the three schedules under conditions of…

Aiming to improve on existing research on after-school programs, RAND researchers evaluated the effect of the SFK program on a wide variety of behavioral outcomes. They found that SFK had positive effects on nearly every domain tested, and many of these effects persisted at 12-week follow-up. Notably, the effect sizes exceeded the average effect…

Purpose: We examined the efficacy of an intervention tailored to the individual's stage of change for exercise adoption on exercise stage of change, physical activity, and physical function in community-dwelling older adults. Design and Methods: We randomized participants to a print and telephone intervention or a contact comparison group. Through…

Stability and change of moral disengagement were examined in a sample of 366 adolescents from ages 14 to 20 years. Four developmental trajectories were identified: (a) nondisengaged group that started with initially low levels followed by an important decline, (b) normative group that started with initially moderate levels followed by a decline,…

As Australia enters the era of emissions trading schemes, strategies to further curb emissions will grow in importance. At the same time, a national emissions trading scheme is set to be introduced whilst the country is set to increase its dependency and volume of road transport in years to come. This raises a doubly important question for…

This article adapts the stages of change model, a model in which specific interventions of harm reduction are directed toward the client's readiness for treatment, as a guiding framework for counseling family members of alcoholics/addicts. Interventions at each stage of the family's readiness for change, from precontemplation to action, are…

This study evaluates the effects of positive antecedent (effective instruction delivery and time-in) and consequent components (contingent praise) on the compliance of 4 children in a clinic setting. Results suggest that the use of effective instruction delivery alone increased compliance above baseline levels for the 4 children and that the…