Evaluating foundational professional development training for trauma-informed approaches in schools.

Trauma-informed schools reflect a national movement toward implementing organizational practices and systems-change strategies that support trauma-exposed individuals. Although frameworks for trauma-informed schools delineate key features for navigating implementation processes, methods of installing these features in schools require additional study. Although foundational professional development (FPD) training is often utilized to prepare schools for implementing trauma-informed approaches, few researchers have examined whether such training influences factors known to promote implementation success: staff knowledge of and perceptions of acceptability for these approaches. The current study utilized a pre-post design to evaluate a 2-day FPD training as a tool for enhancing teacher knowledge of trauma-informed approaches prior to implementation. The study also examined whether gains in knowledge following the training were associated with teacher perceptions of acceptability of trauma-informed approaches and whether perceived alignment of trauma-informed approaches with existing school norms and practices, or system fit, moderated that relationship. Participants included 183 teachers from six schools who completed the training. Knowledge was assessed at pre- and posttraining, and perceptions of acceptability and system fit were assessed at posttraining. Results indicated significant knowledge growth following the training. Among teachers who perceived better system fit, knowledge growth was associated with increased acceptability for trauma-informed approaches. However, among teachers perceiving less system fit, knowledge growth was associated with decreased acceptability. Implications for the installation and implementation of trauma-informed approaches in schools are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

A Pilot Trial of Mindfulness Meditation Training for ADHD in Adulthood: Impact on Core Symptoms, Executive Functioning, and Emotion Dysregulation.

OBJECTIVE: Mindfulness meditation training is garnering increasing empirical interest as an intervention for ADHD in adulthood, although no studies of mindfulness as a standalone treatment have included a sample composed entirely of adults with ADHD or a comparison group. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of mindfulness meditation for ADHD, executive functioning (EF), and emotion dysregulation symptoms in an adult ADHD sample. METHOD: Adults with ADHD were stratified by ADHD medication status and otherwise randomized into an 8-week group-based mindfulness treatment ( n = 11) or waitlist group ( n = 9). RESULTS: Treatment feasibility and acceptability were positive. In addition, self-reported ADHD and EF symptoms (assessed in the laboratory and ecological momentary assessment), clinician ratings of ADHD and EF symptoms, and self-reported emotion dysregulation improved for the treatment group relative to the waitlist group over time with large effect sizes. Improvement was not observed for EF tasks. CONCLUSION: Findings support preliminary treatment efficacy, though require larger trials.

Smoking motivation in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder using the Wisconsin inventory of smoking dependence motives.

INTRODUCTION: Smokers with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) differ from smokers without ADHD across a range of smoking outcomes (e.g., higher prevalence rates of smoking, faster progression to regular smoking, and greater difficulty quitting). Moreover, ADHD as a disorder has been characterized by deficits in fundamental motivational processes. To date, few studies have examined how motivation for smoking might differ between nicotine-dependent individuals with and without ADHD. The goal of this study was to assess whether specific smoking motivation factors differentiate smokers with and without ADHD as measured by an empirically derived self-report measure of smoking motivations. METHODS: Smokers with (n = 61) and without (n = 89) ADHD participated in a range of laboratory and clinical studies that included the Wisconsin Inventory of Smoking Dependence Motives (WISDM). RESULTS: A series of one-way analysis of covariances statistically controlling for age and race indicated that smokers with ADHD scored higher on the following WISDM subscales than their non-ADHD peers: automaticity, loss of control, cognitive enhancement, cue exposure, and negative reinforcement. Smokers in the non-ADHD group yielded higher scores on the social- environmental goads WISDM subscale. No group by gender interactions emerged. CONCLUSIONS: Cigarette smokers with ADHD report different motives for smoking than smokers without ADHD. Clarifying the role of these motivational factors has implications for smoking prevention and treatment.