The use of node-link mapping in the chemical dependency treatment of adolescents.

The current study examined treatment perceptions of youth adjudicated to an eight-month residential treatment facility. Participants were randomly assigned to standard or mapping-enhanced counseling. They completed established questionnaires assessing group sessions, program features, treatment motivation, and number of program infractions. Mapping residents rated group sessions as deeper over time. Mapped sessions appeared to also maintain residents' arousal over time. Mapping residents rated themselves as more motivated to get along with staff, and also tended to be more motivated to engage in the treatment process. In addition, mapping residents had fewer program infractions thirty days after the beginning of the experiment compared to standard residents. These findings extend previous research on node-link mapping in adult treatment settings.

Positive effects on life skills motivation and self-efficacy: node-link maps in a modified therapeutic community.

In recent years, one response to drug abuse problems has been to provide treatment in prison and probation settings. Results are promising, although the need for improving mandated treatment has been expressed. The Cognitive Enhancements for Treatment of Probationers (CETOP) project is investigating cognitive enhancements in a modified therapeutic community (TC) setting. One enhancement is node-link mapping, a visual graphing strategy. Map "nodes" contain ideas, actions, and feelings; these are connected by links that illustrate meaningful relationships. Current findings indicate increases in group participation, ratings of session depth, and positive ratings of coresidents, counselors, and security staff. The present study extends this research by comparing mapping-enhanced counseling to standard counseling on self-efficacy and motivation for basic psychosocial skills (e.g., emotional control). Probationers (n = 381) in a 16-week residential program were assigned randomly to conditions in 12 TCs (n = 30-35). Motivation and self-efficacy were assessed by two self-report questionnaires, one midway and one at the end of treatment. A five-factor solution was produced from each questionnaire. With community as the unit of analysis, means of enhanced counseling were higher in all cases. Wilcoxen tests indicated four significant differences at midterm for mapping on motivation and self-efficacy of communication and emotional control (p < .05). At the end of treatment, mapping was higher for motivation of cognition and emotional control and self-efficacy was higher for communication. Discussing Bandura's model, these findings provide evidence that maps may enhance psychosocial skills, which have been associated with maintaining recovery.

Residential drug abuse treatment for probationers. Use of node-link mapping to enhance participation and progress.

Node-link mapping, a graphic representation tool, was used to enhance substance-abuse treatment in a 4-month residential criminal justice program. Twelve communities of 30 to 35 probationers ("residents") were randomly assigned to either mapping-enhanced or standard counseling. During group sessions, counselors and residents in the mapping communities collaborated to develop node-link maps representing critical issues. Counselors in standard communities used their own methods. Treatment motivation (i.e., desire for help) was assessed at intake and was used to categorize residents into three levels. Treatment involvement was measured at the middle and at the end of the program. Residents, as well as their counselors, rated those in mapping communities as participating more in group sessions than those in standard communities. Mapping residents also reported better personal progress toward treatment goals, more positive affective responses to treatment, and greater treatment engagement. Residents with higher motivation at intake had higher treatment involvement scores regardless of type of counseling received.

Effectiveness of node-link mapping enhanced counseling for opiate addicts: a 12-month posttreatment follow-up.

Drug abuse counseling was enhanced by node-link mapping, a visual representation technique, and evaluated in a posttreatment follow-up study. Clients randomly assigned to receive mapping counseling reported less criminal activity 12 months after treatment than did clients in the standard counseling condition. It was also found that among clients staying less than 6 months in treatment, those in the mapping group had fewer urine samples that tested positive for opiates at follow-up. Thus, mapping-enhanced counseling may be especially beneficial for clients who leave treatment prematurely.

The role of node-link maps in enhancing counseling efficiency.

Node-link mapping is a counseling tool that helps clients and counselors visualize relationships between ideas, actions, and feelings. Previous research has shown that methadone-maintained clients receiving mapping-enhanced counseling have more positive during-treatment outcomes (e.g., better session attendance and higher probability of clean urines) than those receiving standard counseling. Findings also suggest that mapping enhances the efficiency of counseling sessions by increasing "on task" attention and by reducing communication problems. In this study, mapping counseling was associated with greater coverage of collateral issues (i.e., issues indirectly related to drug use) than standard counseling and lower during-treatment use as indicated by urinalysis results.

Client education levels and the effectiveness of node-link maps.

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of mapping-enhanced counseling with less educated methadone clients (i.e., clients with no high school diploma or GED). Results indicated that less educated clients exposed to node-link maps during treatment showed better 12-month follow-up outcomes than similar clients exposed to standard methods of counseling. Less educated mapping clients were less likely than their standard counterparts to have used drugs and to have engaged in criminal activities in the 6 months before the follow-up interview.

Fishy-looking liars: deception judgment from expectancy violation.

To explain how people judge that others are lying, an expectancy-violation model is proposed. According to the model, deception is perceived from nonverbal behavior that violates normative expectation. To test the model, 3 experiments were conducted, 2 in the United States and 1 in India. In each experiment, people described acquaintances while exhibiting weird nonverbal behaviors, such as arm raising, head tilting, and staring. Other Ss watched the videotapes of the descriptions and made deception judgments. Consistent with the expectancy-violation model, both American undergraduates and Indian illiterates inferred deception from weird behaviors. Implications of the model are discussed.