The prevalence of depressive symptoms in Year 10 students in two metropolitan high schools, and the implication of a short-term, school-based group intervention to assist students in coping with depression are described. A total of 260 students were screened using a multistage, multimethod procedure that resulted in 16% and 20% of students in each school meeting criteria for depression. Nine students identified as depressed from one school formed an initial treatment group and a matched wait-list control group was formed from students in the second school. Dependent measures included self-report measures of depression and self-concept, teacher ratings of classroom participation and demeanour, and school records of academic performance and absenteeism. Clinical improvements that maintained were noted for just over half of those in the initial treatment group, whereas no such changes occurred in the control group. Differences at follow-up were statistically significant, although not immediately posttreatment. Some improvements were also recorded for participation and demeanour in class. A subsequent, less intensive intervention with 12 students with more severe depressive symptoms from the second school was less effective. The results are discussed in relation to variations in delivery of the intervention program, and the severity and nature of problems experienced by the students who participated in each intervention.

This paper examines the predictive value of self-efficacy and strength of temptations in determining whether a person will try to give up smoking, and successfully do so for at least one day. Participants were 62 smokers calling a quit-smoking telephone service. They were assessed by self-report questionnaires by telephone. Fifty-six per cent had made an attempt to stop smoking within 3 weeks. Measures of self-efficacy to quit smoking and strength of temptations to smoke were not closely related. Multivariate analyses revealed that after intention to quit entered the equation, self-efficacy was inversely related to making a quit attempt, as was temptation strength and extent of addiction. This study extends previous work that showed self-efficacy has a complex relationship with making quit attempts by showing that self-efficacy operates quite differently from strength of temptations. This may be because measures of self-efficacy, when made in the context of intention to act, contain a motivational component as well as an assessment of skills to resist temptations.

We examined salivary reactivity in 11 women with simple phobia of spiders and 11 controls in response to a spider and a neutral cue. No differences in salivary reactivity were observed across diagnosis or conditions. Clear reactivity in heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and subjective units of distress were observed. Salivary reactivity was unrelated to any other measure of reactivity. These results suggest that a decrease in salivation is not a universal response to acute anxiety.

The study examined the reliability with which experienced psychologists assigned functions to behaviours of people with intellectual disability using information about sets of problem behaviours and sets of antecedent situations. The study found good consistency in assigning functions, showing that reliable judgments about functions of behaviours can be made even when information is not available about consequences of the behaviours. The approach enabled reliable distinctions to be made between functions that have not previously been examined in the literature.

In 1990, 13 regionally based Behaviour Intervention Support Teams (BISTs) were established in Victoria to assist agencies providing support to persons with an intellectual disability who exhibited challenging behaviour. A primary function of the BISTs was to conduct intensive interventions for clients with severe challenging behaviours. The outcomes of the interventions conducted by eight of these teams were monitored over the period from 1991 to 1993. During this time, a total of 134 such interventions were completed by the teams. Many outcome measures were used for each intervention. These included direct observational measures of the challenging behaviours, measures of skill acquisition by the clients, and satisfaction with the results by caregivers. It was concluded that the interventions resulted in a high rate of success (approximately 75%). Additionally, it was concluded that the use of regionally based specialist teams was an effective way of treating severe challenging behaviours that had previously proven difficult to manage.

In 1990 a number of regionally based Behaviour Intervention Support Teams (BISTs) were established in Victoria to assist agencies providing support to persons with an intellectual disability who exhibited challenging behaviour. A primary function of the BISTs was to conduct intensive interventions for clients with severe challenging behaviours. A cost-benefit analysis of these interventions was carried out. It was found that the existence of a severe challenging behaviour resulted in an additional cost to the service system of an average $40,510 per annum. In contrast, the cost of a single intensive intervention conducted by a BIST was $5,725. Allowing for the fact that not all intensive interventions were successful, it was still concluded that the interventions conducted by the BISTs were cost efficient. Methodological difficulties associated with the cost-benefit analysis are discussed.

Prior research has indicated that people with an intellectual disability experience higher levels of negative affect, including anxiety and fearfulness, than people who are not disabled. This is important because research has also suggested a negative relationship between emotional distress and adaptive behaviour, albeit in nondisabled populations. The present study investigates the relationships between fear, anxiety, and adaptive behaviour in children and adolescents with an intellectual disability as compared to youth of average intelligence. A sample ranging in age from 7 to 18 years participated in the study. Fifty-one respondents (30 male, 21 female) constituted the intellectually disabled sample, and 57 (28 male, 29 female) constituted the comparison group. Analysis revealed higher levels of fear and anxiety among the group with disabilities. An inverse relationship was also found between negative affect and adaptive behaviour among the youth with disabilities, but not for youth of average intelligence. The results are discussed in relation to their implications for intervention programs.