Pilot study of career mentoring program for juveniles.

This article describes an innovative career-mentoring program for court-ordered juveniles that targets risk factors of recidivism and incorporates elements of effective career intervention. Youth were randomly assigned to a mentoring group or a treatment-as-usual (TAU) group. The mentoring group received nine sessions of a structured career-mentoring program from students at a university. The TAU group received other programs provided by the court. Results at posttest indicated that the mentoring group exhibited more pro-social motivations for work, more realistic attitudes toward work, and more professional job interests than the TAU group. Persons in the mentoring group enjoyed their mentoring experience with their university student mentors. Results have implications for cost-effective programs for court-ordered youth at a crucial time in their development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Approach-avoidance and happiness indicators in natural environments: a preliminary analysis of the Stimulus Preference Coding System.

Two studies assessed the reliability and utility of the Stimulus Preference Coding System (SPCS) to measure approach, avoidance, and happy and unhappy behaviors in persons with developmental disorders. Study 1 took place in an institutional setting. The nine participants were all adults with mental retardation and multiple associated disabilities. Inter-observer reliability ranged from 72% to 100%. Study 2 took place in an after-school setting. The four participants were children diagnosed with autism and mental retardation. Inter-observer agreement ranged from 70% to 91%. Approach and avoidance behaviors were a function of staff person and task. The SPCS may be useful in identifying reinforcers, promoting happiness, analyzing task and staff effects, and clarifying the relationship of stimulus preference to psychopathology.

Depression, anxiety, and relevant cognitions in persons with mental retardation.

We assessed depression, anxiety, and relevant cognitions in persons with mental retardation by administering modified versions of the Reynolds Child Depression Scale, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire, and the Cognitions Checklist to 46 persons with borderline to moderate mental retardation. Consistent with research with other groups, self-reports of depression and anxiety were highly correlated (r = .74) in these individuals, and cognitions were strong predictors of negative affect. Subscales measuring cognitions related to depression and anxiety were also highly related, limiting the "cognitive-specificity" hypothesis. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses offered mixed support for cognitive-specificity. We discuss the implications of these findings for the cognitive and affective assessment of persons with intellectual limitations.

Vicariously Learned Helplessness: The Effects of Viewing a Model Experiencing Uncontrollable Events.

The effects of viewing a model experiencing controllable or uncontrollable events were studied within a learned helplessness framework. Ss were 58 college students, 22 males and 36 females, with a mean age of 19.8 years. Naive observers witnessed naive models attempt to solve a solvable or an insolvable discrimination task. Then both models and observers were administered an anagram-solving task. Results failed to demonstrate a learned helplessness effect for either the observers or the models. Although not statistically significant, models in the insolvable condition solved a greater number of anagrams than models in the solvable condition, contrary to expectations based on previous studies (6.92 vs. 6.00). Results support recent claims that the learned helplessness effect is easily influenced by modifications in the experimental setting, particularly when anagrams are used as the dependent measure.