Are parental attitudes related to adolescent juvenile offenders' readiness to change?

Contemporary research suggests that many factors contribute to adolescent problematic and delinquent behaviors; however, there is little discussion in the literature related to factors that contribute to an adolescent's willingness to change these maladaptive behaviors. The current study examines the role parental attitudes play in the adolescent juvenile offender's readiness to change. Ninety-five adjudicated adolescents and their parent or legal guardian completed the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA) and the Juvenile Offender Parent Questionnaire (JOPQ), respectively. Participants fell into one of two URICA groups: Precontemplative or Contemplative. Parental attitudes (JOPQ) of Exasperation in Regard to the Child and Fear of the Child significantly predicted membership in two of the URICA stages of change groups (Precontemplative and Contemplative) when gender was included in the model. This study has important implications for practitioners developing effective treatments for adjudicated adolescents.

Street-crossing decision-making: a comparison between patients with age-related macular degeneration and normal vision.

PURPOSE: We determined whether the street-crossing decisions of subjects with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) were as accurate and precise as those made by young and older subjects with normal vision. METHODS: Street-crossing decisions in 13 AMD subjects, and 20 young and 20 older control subjects with normal vision were measured along an un-signalized street for nine different gap times. After calculating the discriminability (d') of the street-crossing decision variable for all gap pairs and entering these d' values into a one-dimensional scaling model, the means of each distribution of the decision variable relative to a "center of gravity" were estimated and plotted against gap time. The resultant plot was a nonlinear function. Street-crossing decision accuracy was computed for each subject as the difference between the x-intercept of the nonlinear function (t(COG)) and subjects' measured street-crossing time. Street-crossing decision-making precision was computed as the value of the slope of the nonlinear function at t(COG). RESULTS: We found that all subjects were precise in their street-crossing decisions (P = 0.55). Significant differences in street-crossing accuracy were found as a function of age (P = 0.003). Compared to either the older normally-sighted (P = 0.018) or AMD (P = 0.019) subjects, the young normally-sighted subjects made the least accurate street-crossing decisions. No significant difference in accuracy was found between the AMD and age-matched normally-sighted subjects (P = 0.90). CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggested that age and mild central vision loss did not affect significantly a subject's precision in their street-crossing decisions. Age, but not mild central vision loss, significantly affected a subject's accuracy in their street-crossing decisions.

The ability of single site, single depth sacral lateral branch blocks to anesthetize the sacroiliac joint complex.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the physiologic effectiveness of single site, single depth sacral lateral branch injections. DESIGN: Randomized, controlled, and double-blinded study. SETTING: Outpatient pain management center. PATIENTS: Fifteen asymptomatic volunteers. INTERVENTIONS: The dorsal sacroiliac ligament was probed and the sacroiliac joint was injected with contrast medium until capsular distension occurred. The presence or absence of pain with each maneuver was noted. Under double-blind conditions, subjects returned 1 week later for L5 dorsal ramus and S1-4 lateral branch injections; 10 subjects received 4% lidocaine (active) injections while five subjects received saline (control) injections. After 30 minutes, subjects had repeat ligamentous probing and capsular distension of the same sacroiliac joint that was previously tested. The presence or absence of pain with each maneuver was noted. In a parallel anatomic study, S1 and S2 lateral branch injections with green dye were performed on two nonembalmed cadavers. Dissection was undertaken to quantify the degree of staining of these target lateral branch nerves. OUTCOME MEASURES: Presence or absence of pain for ligamentous probing and sacroiliac joint capsular distension. RESULTS: Forty percent had no discomfort upon repeat ligamentous probing after active lateral branch injections while 100% retained pain upon repeat ligamentous probing with control lateral branch injections. Forty percent of the active group and 20% of the control group did not feel repeat capsular distension of the sacroiliac joint after the lateral branch injections. In the anatomic study, 11 lateral branch nerves were isolated while staining occurred in only four cases or 36%. CONCLUSIONS: Anatomic limitations exist with single site, single depth sacral lateral branch injections rendering them physiologically ineffective on a consistent basis.