The Study

Chapter 1
The Abstract

Phyllip Humphfreys, D.O. Phd.

From the Francis Fitzgarld Center and the Departments of neurological and Psychology Westenhopner State University

ABSTRACT:

INTRODUCTION

It is often found in our psychoanalytical world that people tend to associate age appropriate responses to a numerical age in spite of various experiences or environments. This government sanctioned study involved two, twelve year old female subjects who have relatively similar experience bases, placed into controlled target age environments and subjected to age appropriate stressors to determine the ability and effectiveness of utilizing human developmental counter-transference methods, childhood adversity and psychosocial adjustment for the purposes of manipulation of personal awareness of relevant age association and to establish significant events that can be postulated as the cause of specific age appropriate response stimuli.

Objective

To analyze the changes in psychosocial and physical response to changes in external environmental stimuli in two subjects of the same age and from similar backgrounds to maximize age psychological age regression and age progression over a period of 180 days.

Family and Subject Characteristics

Caregivers at a state run juvenile facility were asked to provide key information about subject children on subjects such as family demographics (e.g., age, relation to child, race/ethnicity), family structure (household members and composition), parent involvement, home educational activities, child care experience, child health, parental education and employment status, and child’s social skills and behaviors. Most of the data was collected through a computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI).

Subjects and methods

Subjects:

Both subjects were in the first half of their twelfth year (subject 1 was in the first month of her twelfth year and subject 2 was in the 5th month). Both have been residents of a state run juvenile group facility for at least 6 months (6 and 7 months respectively) following the severance of their natural parental relationships. Both were only children, having no siblings in their family unit prior to their admission to the facility. Both were generally accepted among their peer social structure and both had faired reasonably well academically. (subject 1 was an average student, subject 2 was above average, testing in the 90th percentile for her age/grade level).

Subject 1, Target age 5 years.

Subject is a 12 years and 1 month old female, 4 foot 1 inch tall, weighing 63 lbs. Subject has been under state care for 6 months, since the termination of her parents rights upon their incarceration for a period of more than five years. Subject was specifically chosen for the target age manipulation based upon her physical attributes which are a result of a genetic defect known as Sparley’s Syndrome**. Subject is in approximately the 75th growth rate percentile for the target age of this study. Caregivers report that subject is often likely to overcompensate for her diminished stature by outbursts and other manner of acting out.

Subject 2, Target age 17 years.

Subject is a 12 years and 5 month old, 5 foot 1 inch tall female weighing 74 lbs. Subject has been under state care for approximately 7 months following the death of her biological mother. Her natural father’s identity or location is presently unknown. Subject is currently in the 73 growth rate percentile for her actual age, and in the 40th percentile for her target age. Subject has began but not completed the process of puberty but has begun menses and has had limited breast development.

Methods:

The subjects were removed for a period of 180 days from their usual environment at the state run juvenile facility and placed in foreign, age appropriate environments, including daily tasks, target age appropriate clothing, with target age specific stressors such as academic, social and physical attributes, respective to the target age category of the study. (5 years and 17 years respectively.)

Prior to their removal from the juvenile on May 15th, auspices of a new foster parenting placement, Each of the subjects were reviewed by a healthcare professional and given a “routine” set of medications to facility age appropriate physical responses. Subject 1 was started on a daily multi-vitamin that contained strong doses of diuretic medications to increase urine output and potentially cause episodes of nocturnal enuresis leading to age appropriate physical and psychological responses. Subject 1 was also given a dental prosthetic retainer, more specifically a lingual arch, under the auspices of overbite correction, the result of which was an inability of the tongue to properly connect with the roof of the mouth. The results of this procedure are an inability of subject one to properly pronounce a number of sounds leading to a lisping of her enunciation. Subject 2 was started on a regimen of growth hormones to stabilize the puberty process.

They were transported by a case worker, an agent of this study, to a nearby community where they would reside for the next 180 days. The host families each consisted of a mother and father (privy to the study terms) and a host sibling sister of the target age (for the purposes of psychosocial age identification by the subject) Host families were instructed to maintain the subjects status within the home as if they were the target age despite contra indications by the subjects.

Further, subjects met weekly with a psychologist every week for the purposes of adjustment counseling. During these sessions the psychologist would discuss activities of daily living and the subject’s response to various stimuli. The counselor would also maintain a regularly scheduled hypnosis session at the end of each weekly visit. These hypnosis sessions would contain post hypnotic suggestions that would contribute to the age appropriate stressors for each subject. For example, subject 1 was given post hypnotic suggestions making it difficult to conduct activities of daily living (adls) for age specific tasks such as shoe tying. Subject one was also given post hypnotic suggestions making it increasingly more difficult to manipulate, unzip, unsnap, unbutton clothing as the need to urinate increased, requiring her to seek help from an adult to accomplish these tasks, contributing to the age appropriate stressors. Subject 1 was given a post hypnotic instruction to “forget” the number 6 and the letter h every other time she was required to utilize counting or alphabet skills. Subject 2 was given a post hypnotic suggestion that was gradually increased to help her identify with others of the target age with physical aspects such as breast development.

After an appropriate time period to adjust to the target age stimuli, subjects were placed into social scenarios that included academic settings, club/sports events, and age appropriate daycare and babysitting scenarios.

Reporting:

Subjects and host family/caregivers were required to make daily email logs for each of the 180 days of the study, reporting on areas such as event specific reports, academic reports, and emotional status reports. Subjects were to make these reports under the auspices of reporting to case workers as to their status with the new foster families. While some reports were missed, this was infrequent and a statistically significant number of report and related data were collected.

Results and conclusion:

Based in part on a factor analysis, composite measures of total adversity, emotional modifications and psychosocial needs, there was a major change in the psychological reaction of the subjects to varying stimuli as the time period in the target age environment progressed. Researchers were effectively able to convince subjects that they were the target age and to respond accordingly. Subject 1 clearly had the associations with the target age by the end of the study, however this result was expected when considering the greater difference between the actual and target age of subject 1 when compared to that of subject 2. There seems to be good concordance between the programs currently proposed for age association modification, and reasonable success expected in future clinical age regression trials.

Keywords:

age regression; children; Childhood adversity; aging; neuroticism; psycho social age adjustment; counter transference; age awareness

Document Type: Research article abstract

**Sparley’s Syndrome, first diagnosed by Dr. Antone Sparley in 1982, a disorder found only in girls, is caused by a genetic mutation during fetal development and occurs in 1 out of every 2,500,000 female births. Individuals with Sparley’s Syndrome have unusually short stature on average in the 1% height weight percentile range. These people were first thought to have a variation of the the genetic disorder known as Turners syndrome. Like Turner’s Syndrome, girls with Sparley’s have normal female sexual characteristics which are present but suffer from arrested development resulting from gross hormone deficiency. These usually, but not always include an absence of the estrogen found in pubescent females in amounts necessary for the growth of pubic hair, widening the pelvis and increasing the amount of body fat in hips, thighs, buttocks, and breasts. Unlike Turners however, individuals with Sparleys suffer adverse reactions from all known growth hormone therapy. People with Sparley’s syndrome also lack the webbed neck, and drooping eyelids common with Turner’s. Other symptoms of Sparley’s Syndrome include osteoporosis which can sometimes lead to scoliosis as a result of the hormone deficiency, the absence of menstrual period, and sexual sterility. Individuals with Sparleys are usually caracterized by soft, round facial features. This childlike appearance, coupled with their shortened stature can lead to some psychological difficulties when relating to other members of society in their age group