The stipulations of one institutional review board: a five year review.

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to explore the prevalence and types of stipulations (such as clarifications or changes) required of investigators by the institutional review board (IRB) of one institution over a five year period. DESIGN: Stipulations to research proposals (n = 124) were documented from the minutes of the IRB meetings. SETTING: Community hospital. PARTICIPANTS: IRB submissions. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: Number and type of IRB stipulations. RESULTS: Nineteen research submissions (15.3%) were approved without any stipulations. For the remainder, the majority of stipulations related to consent forms (74.2%). CONCLUSIONS: Consent forms appear to be at highest risk for IRB stipulations. Being aware of high risk areas before submission of research proposals may reduce the frequency of stipulations required of investigators.

Reporting of weight history: sexually abused versus nonabused males.

In this study we explored among males a possible relationship between recollection of adult body weights and a history of sexual abuse prior to the age of 15. Using a survey format, 34 men hospitalized in an acute care psychiatric facility completed measures. Of the men who acknowledged sexual abuse (n=9), all reported their lowest, highest, and perceived ideal body weight, compared with non-sexually abused men of whom only 80%, 48%, and 52%, respectively, reported the requested weight information. It may be that sexual abuse among men during childhood results in heightened body awareness in adulthood.

Childhood trauma and adult somatic preoccupation by body area among women in an internal medicine setting: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to explore the relationship between three types of abuse in childhood and their relationship to somatic preoccupation, in general and by body area, in adulthood. METHOD: Eighty-five women in an internal medicine clinic completed self-report measures of childhood sexual, physical, and emotional abuse as well as the Bradford Somatic Inventory. RESULTS: Using simple correlations, all three types of abuse were positively related to current somatic preoccupation. Using multiple regression analysis that included demographic variables (education and age) and the three forms of childhood abuse, only the demographic variables and sexual abuse were uniquely predictive of somatic preoccupation. To determine the relationship between childhood abuse and somatic symptoms based on body area (head, chest, stomach, throat) and fatigue, a series of multiple regression analyses were performed. The chest and throat areas were significant, but no abuse variable was uniquely predictive. CONCLUSIONS: Among females in adulthood, all studied forms of abuse in childhood appear to contribute to general somatic preoccupation, as well as specific somatic symptoms in the chest and throat areas. Sexual abuse, specifically, is a unique predictor for general somatic preoccupation, but not necessarily specific body areas.

Rational-emotive behavior therapy and the formation of stimulus equivalence classes.

Stimulus equivalence is a behavioral approach to analyzing the "meaning" of stimulus sets and has an implication for clinical psychology. The formation of three-member (A --> B --> C) stimulus equivalence classes was used to investigate the effects of three different sets of sample and comparison stimuli on emergent behavior. The three stimulus sets were composed of Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)-related words, non-REBT emotionally charged words, and a third category of neutral words composed of flower labels. Sixty-two women and men participated in a modified matching-to-sample experiment. Using a mixed cross-over design, and controlling for serial order effects, participants received conditional training and emergent relationship training in the three stimulus set conditions. Results revealed a significant interaction between the formation of stimulus equivalence classes and stimulus meaning, indicating consistently biased responding in favor of reaching criterion responding more slowly for REBT-related and non-REBT emotionally charged words. Results were examined in the context of an analysis of the importance of stimulus meaning on behavior and the relation of stimulus meaning to behavioral and cognitive theories, with special appraisal given to the influence of fear-related discriminative stimuli on behavior.

Gender differences in the sexual rating of words.

The present study investigated whether gender-based differences in the rating of sexual words still exist in the late 1990s. Men and women evaluated 400 English-language words on the characteristics of sexual charge and sexual ambiguity. Data gathered from these ratings were compared with other factors such as religious involvement, sexual experience, sex guilt, and social desirability. Men and women did not differ in their sexual ratings of the list. However, because the list contained a large number of words that had no sexual content at all, gender differences were examined for ratings of a sample of 30 sexually ambiguous words. As hypothesized, men rated these words as significantly more sexual than women. Significant gender differences were found on a number of sexuality and personality measures. Women were more religious than men, and religiosity was significantly correlated with most of the other measures. Women also had higher social desirability scores, which implies that they may have been responding in a socially desirable manner and were not completely honest. Overall, gender differences followed gender-oriented stereotypes: (a) Women have greater sexual guilt than men, (b) women are less sexually arousable or more "erotophobic," and (c) women are less comfortable answering questions about their sexuality and rating words.

Operant schedule transformations and human behavioral momentum.

Behavioral momentum, which can be defined as the persistence of behavior under altered environmental contingencies, is derived from Newtonian physics and operant psychology, and has relevance to behavior therapy in terms of shaping strong behaviors and ensuring effective relapse prevention strategies. The present study investigated whether changing operant schedule contingencies affects how humans respond to different stimuli when reinforcement density is systematically manipulated. Fifteen subjects participated in a computer study, in which each of two keys in a baseline condition was associated with the same schedule of reinforcement, multiple variable interval schedules, the only difference being that one reinforcer was ten times larger than the other. After six sessions, the contingency schedule changed to either an extinction condition, a variable time schedule, or a changed variable interval schedule to assess how 'subjects' responses persisted when reinforcement contingencies were systematically changed. Results of this study were found to be consistent with the general predictions of behavioral momentum. Subjects not only biased responding in favor of the more densely reinforcing key, but when contingencies changed, subjects showed continued biased responding. Implications for behavioral momentum for behavior modification and behavior therapy are discussed, and it is concluded that behavioral momentum has significant implications for designing new and comprehensive behavior change programs.

A clinical investigation of the possible effects of long-term habituation of sexual arousal in assisted covert sensitization.

Behavior principles are naturally implicated in most of the behavior therapy techniques used in the treatment of sexual dysfunctions and sexual disorders. Hypotheses differ, however, in the extent to which behavior therapy procedures emphasize the classical conditioning of sexual arousal (e.g. penile responses) or the operant conditioning of deviant sexual behavior patterns, or other often ignored behavior principles such as habituation. The purpose of the present case study is to investigate the possibility that at least part of the clinical effects of a widely used behavior therapy technique for sexual deviations, covert sensitization, may directly involve habituation processes. Results of the assisted covert sensitization case study indicate that, while expected decrements in sexual arousal to sexually inappropriate stimuli were observed, decrements in sexual arousal and self-report were also observed for sexually appropriate stimuli which received no aversive consequences, only repeated stimulus presentation over time. It is argued that habituation processes need further empirical investigation as a potential behavioral mechanism in the beneficial clinical effects usually noted in covert sensitization procedures.

Human behavioral momentum: implications for applied behavior analysis and therapy.

Recent behavioral studies have addressed the persistence of behavior under altered environmental conditions using more sophisticated techniques of behavior analysis which have direct relevance for applied behavior analysis and therapy. In clinical populations, for example, behavioral programs are concerned with issues such as generalizability of behavior and relapse prevention (Epstein, 1992). Free-operant behavior can be analyzed not only in terms of its response rate but also in terms of its persistence under changed environmental constraints. The aggregation of these two response measures, rate and persistence, has been termed behavioral momentum (Nevin, Mandell, & Atak, 1983). This study assessed behavioral momentum in a human population in order to test predictions made from the behavioral model and potential clinical applications of behavioral momentum to behavior analysis and therapy. Eight undergraduates served as subjects for this study. Results were consistent with the predictions based on behavioral momentum. Denser reinforcement schedules, regardless of response contingency, produced greater resistance to the implementation of changed contingency schedules. Results of this study may have direct application to behavior analysis programs. If humans, in clinical contexts, show similar patterns of persistence in behavior under changed environmental settings, schedules could be implemented that provide both contingent and non-contingent reinforcement, thereby strengthening behavior to give it greater generalizability outside of the immediate situation.

Behavioral momentum. Implications and development from reinforcement theories.

Historical and contemporary theories of reinforcement, as well as the clinical application of reinforcement principles to behavior modification and therapy, are critically analyzed and discussed. A new behavioral approach to studying the allocation of behavior under changed environmental constraints, termed behavioral momentum, is also presented. Whereas traditional behavioral analysis has emphasized the role of response rate as an index of response probability and response strength, more recent studies have addressed the persistence of behavior under altered environmental conditions and reinforcement contingencies. In terms of behavior modification and therapy, issues such as generalizability and relapse prevention have major implications for the type and length of behavioral intervention strategies employed. The behavioral momentum model analyzes operant behavior not only in terms of its response rate but also in relation to its persistence under changed environmental constraints. The authors discuss the applicability of this recent addition to reinforcement theories in context of its implications for behavior modification and therapy.

The effect of condoms in sexually explicit narratives on male sexual arousal.

Research into why people choose not to use condoms despite a growing AIDS epidemic has tapped the attitude that the use of condoms somehow interferes with the progression of the sexual act or lessens sexual pleasure. The current study investigated the effects on male sexual arousal of condom use described in sexually explicit audiotaped narratives. The sexual arousal of 14 male university students was measured physiologically by penile plethysmography and by self-report using a within-subjects design. Subjects listened to 10 audiotaped scripts, half of which included the use of a condom and half of which did not. No significant differences in either physiological or subjective arousal data were found between conditions.

PIP: It has been speculated that some people who choose not to use condoms in the context of a growing AIDS pandemic do so because condom use interferes with the progression of the sexual act or lessens sexual pleasure. 14 male students in undergraduate psychology courses at the University of North Dakota volunteered to listen to sexually explicit audiotaped narratives in a study of male sexual arousal in the context of condom use. 20 audio scripts based upon 10 sexually explicit scenarios were used in the study. Each approximately two-minute long script depicted sexual interactions culminating in sexual intercourse between an adult male and an adult female. Ten scripts depicted scenarios involving no condom use. Modified versions of these scripts included condom use, thereby comprising the other 10 scenarios. The scripts were recorded on standard audiotapes by an adult female not connected with the study. Each volunteer was placed alone in a room furnished with only a reclining chair, a pair of stereo headphones, and a Likert scale mounted on a wall four feet from the chair. The young men were told how to apply and calibrate the Parks Medical Electronics, Inc. model 240-A mercury-in-rubber strain gauge plethysmograph, a device capable of measuring slight changes in penile circumference. Each subject then alternately heard 10 randomly selected scripts, half involving condom use and half not. Physiological data on penile response while listening to the tapes were collected via Advanced CODAS software and stored individually for each subject on a Gateway computer. Each subject also reported upon his sexual arousal. No significant differences were observed in physiologically and subjectively assessed patterns of male sexual arousal between the condom-present and condom-absent conditions. The brief description of putting on a condom within a sexually explicit audiotaped narrative had neither detrimental nor enhancing effects upon male sexual arousal. That condoms and condom use truly have no effect upon male sexual arousal is, however, only one of many possible explanations for these findings.