Perception of faulty parent-child relationships and illness behavior.

Asked 73 healthy male undergraduates and 106 reporting hay fever, sore throat, asthma, or neurotic symptoms to describe the quality of their family experiences while growing up. Questionnaire and interview techniques were employed. 3 clusters of faulty parent-child interaction were examined: mother seen as demanding, cold, and harsh; mother seen as overprotective and ineffective; father seen as inadequate, cold, and harsh. As expected, healthy Ss evidenced the least signs of these clusters, while those who sought help for "neurotic" complaints were highest on each variable. 2 patterns associated with respiratory illness were observed. Ss who had sought care for allergic symptoms described their mothers as overprotective and ineffective, whereas those Ss who presented acute infectious respiratory symptoms were more likely to perceive their mothers as demanding, cold, and harsh. Results are discussed in terms of treatment-seeking behavior. (18 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental support and psychological adjustment during the transition to young adulthood in a college sample.

The purpose of this study was to extend the understanding of how parental support relates to psychological adjustment during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood in a college sample. Ss were 175 college students who had relocated geographically on beginning college. Ss were followed for 2 yrs, beginning from when they were, on average, 18 yrs of age. Social support from both mother and father and a nonconflictual relationship between parents played an important adaptive role during the transition to young adulthood, as was hypothesized. Cross-sectional and prospective (controlling for initial sociable disposition and adjustment) structural equation models showed that initial parental support was associated with psychological adjustment 2 yrs later both directly and indirectly, through young adults' sociable disposition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consistency of self-descriptions under different role sets in neurotic and normal adolescents and adults.

15 male Ss in each of 4 groups (neurotic adolescents, normal adolescents, neurotic adults, and normal adults) described themselves with a Q sort as they saw themselves in 3 different situations (self in general, self with family, and self with friends). The tendency to describe themselves inconsistently was characteristic of neurotic adolescents specifically and not of adolescents or of neurotics in general. Results were discussed in relation to adolescence as a time of "identity crisis" and with previously reported findings that neurotics tend to have inconsistent self-concepts. (27 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of maternal social skills in multiproblem families: Effects on the mother-child relationship.

Tested a two-step infant preventive intervention model: Step 1 was for the mother to improve her interpersonal competence with other adults; Step 2 was for her to learn more optimal parenting behavior. Ss were 147 multiproblem mothers and their infants. Assessed the mothers' adult social skills pre- and posttreatment. Measured the percentage of treatment goals attained during treatment, and mother–child interactive quality posttreatment. Data partially supported the model: For women who began the program with low social skills, the attainment of treatment goals was positively related to posttreatment social skills (Step 1), which, in turn, were positively related to the quality of mother–child interaction (Step 2). For those women who began with high social skills, the treatment was unrelated to posttreatment social skills or to mother–child interaction. Additional analyses explored the factors associated with individual differences in delivery of services and response to treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A factor-analytic study of childhood symptoms antecedent to schizophrenia

45 child guidance clinic patients who received an adult diagnosis of schizophrenia were followed through recorded sources into middle adulthood. The mean age for Ss at initial guidance clinic contact was 10 yrs, 10 mo; the mean age at followup was 43 yrs, 81/2 mo. The determination of within-sample differences in long-term adult outcome provided predictive criteria. Childhood symptoms were combined into rationally derived symptom scales that were included in a 15-variable matrix. Factor analysis yielded 4 orthogonal factors: Unsocialized Aggressiveness, Low IQ/Poor School Achievement, Neurotic, and Schizoid. Clusters of types were derived from factor scores and related to adult outcome ratings. The schizoid type was related to poor outcome, as was the neurotic/low-IQ type. Unsocialized aggressive and neurotic types were associated with more favorable outcomes. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cardiovascular and emotional responses in women: The role of hostility and harassment.

The relation of hostility and harassment to cardiovascular and emotional responses was examined by having 51 women (aged 18–26 yrs) high and low in hostility complete a task with or without harassment. Harassed high hostile Ss showed greater systolic blood pressure (SBP) increases during task and recovery periods than did harassed low hostile Ss and nonharassed Ss. Harassed low hostile Ss evidenced greater SBP increases during task and recovery periods than did nonharassed Ss. Among high hostile women, cardiovascular elevations during the task were associated with self-reported levels of negative affect. Antagonistic hostility, relative to neurotic hostility, was positively associated with harassment-induced SBP changes. These results support the hypothesis that hostile people exhibit excessive behaviorally induced cardiovascular responses to interpersonally challenging tasks that evoke anger-related emotional states. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depressive behavior in adult monkeys following separation from family environment.

Studied the reactions of 10 nuclear family-reared young adult rhesus monkeys to separation from their families. Ss housed with friends during family separation were relatively unaffected by the separation, as were Ss housed with both friends and strangers. However, Ss individually housed following family removal exhibited depressivelike behaviors previously observed only in infant monkeys separated from mother and/or peers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transactive discussions with peers and adults.

Piaget (1932) hypothesized that peer and adult–child discussions of moral dilemmas are qualitatively different and that children are more likely to use reasoning when interacting with peers. To test this hypothesis, the present study compared the interactive styles of child–child and adult–child dyads engaged in discussions of moral dilemmas, focusing on the use of logical operations (transacts). 48 7- and 11-yr-old girls were paired with either a female agemate or their mother. Ss used transacts in a higher proportion of their conversational turns when interacting with peers than when interacting with mothers. Ss produced proportionally more transactive responses when interacting with mothers because mothers produced proportionally more requests for idea clarification than did peer partners. Self-generated transacts, on the other hand, were produced proportionally more often with peers. When paired with peers, Ss produced transactive statements that operated on the partner's logic more often rather than clarifying their own logic. Results support Piaget's contention that moral discussions with peers feature a more spontaneous use of reasoning than do discussions with adults. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of early abuse on adult affective reactions to exposure to dyadic conflict.

Studied the relationship between abuse in the family of origin and adult emotional responses to family conflicts in 60 males (mean age 19.7 yrs) and 60 females (mean age 19.6 yrs). Ss were administered the Conflict Tactics Scale and the Adjective Checklist (AC) to assess the tactics used by them to solve their problems and their emotional state, respectively. Ss listened to conflict tapes and completed another AC along with a set of perceptual questions. Exposure to conflict tactics in the family of origin was associated with heightened emotional responses to anticipated conflict, the effects being continued into adulthood. Antecedents to conflict were also related to family of origin experience with withdrawal, verbal and physical abuse. There was no significant difference between identification with the mother and the child, and the Ss identified more strongly with the father than the child. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Instrumentality as a life-stress moderator for early versus middle adolescents.

Used a longitudinal design to test the main and stress-buffering effects of instrumentality on measures of trait anxiety, depression, and self-esteem. Ss were early (junior high school) and middle (senior high school) adolescent boys and girls. The hypothesis that instrumentality would be negatively related to psychological distress was supported by the cross-sectional and longitudinal regression analyses of every subgroup of Ss. The hypothesized stress-buffering effect of instrumentality was found in the cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of senior high girls, specifically in the context of interpersonal negative events (relationship stress). The analyses for junior high girls revealed that instrumentality was beneficial only at a low level of relationship stress. There were no significant interaction effects in the regression analyses of boys. The findings suggest that, when experiencing relationship stress, instrumentality is helpful for middle adolescent girls but not for early adolescent girls. Therefore, future research on adolescents' life-stress adjustment should consider the roles of gender, age, personality, and type of life stress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interparental conflict, negative parenting, and children's adjustment: Bridging links between parents' depression and children's psychological distress.

Pathways linking parental depressive symptoms, adult relationship insecurity, interparental conflict, negative parenting, and children's psychological adjustment (internalizing symptoms and externalizing problems) were assessed using a 3-wave longitudinal research design. Two-parent families (N = 352) with 11- to 13-year-old children (179 boys, 173 girls) participated in the study. Maternal and paternal depressive symptoms were associated with insecurity in adult close relationships assessed 12 months later, which was concurrently related to heightened levels of interparental conflict. Controlling for children's initial symptom levels, interparental conflict was related to child appraisals of father and mother rejection assessed an additional 12 months later, which were related to children's internalizing symptoms and externalizing problems, respectively. Results are discussed with regard to the implications for understanding the complex interplay between adult depressive symptoms, attributions in close adult relationships, interparental conflict, negative parenting, and children's psychological adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relations between maternal employment and development of nursery school children.

Examined the relations between maternal employment status and nursery school children's sex role concepts, cognitive development, and adjustment. 110 children formed 4 groups according to their sex and their mothers' employment status. It was predicted that maternal employment would be associated with a broadening of Ss' sex role concepts and differential cognitive development depending on the sex of the S. Results show that Ss' sex role concepts were broader if their mothers were employed. Ss' perceptions of their mothers were not related to their employment status, but fathers were perceived more negatively by their sons if the mother was employed. Sons of employed mothers had lower IQ scores than either daughters of employed mothers or Ss with nonemployed mothers. Ss with employed mothers received better adjustment ratings from their teachers. (French summary) (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Identification in group therapy.

"The Ss of this study were male and female adolescents (12-15 years of age) who were asked to volunteer to participate in groups that 'would discuss adolescent problems.' Those who volunteered were rated by their teachers on emotional adjustment. Ss rated as most poorly adjusted were eliminated from the study. Three therapy groups were organized, each composed of five boys and five girls, each in the charge of a different therapist. The members of the group were given a special questionnaire, designed to assess needs, and a group form of the Rorschach before therapy began. At the conclusion of therapy, all Ss again took the questionnaire… . The hypotheses that both rigidity and lability were inversely related to identification were tested by correlational methods. Results were positive in both instances." From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:1IG95B. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social adjustment and familial schema.

2 groups of 50 male undergraduates each with good and poor social adjustment as determined by a questionnaire freely placed figures of a father, a mother, a son, and a daughter on a field. As predicted, Ss with poor social adjustment placed the son closer to the father, while Ss with good social adjustment placed the son closer to the mother (p     

Neuroticism and disclosure reciprocity.

32 college males with either normal or neurotic MMPI profiles participated in a dyadic interaction via telephone with a confederate who disclosed at either a high or low level of intimacy. Following the confederate's disclosure, Ss disclosed as long and as intimately as they cared to. Ratings of Ss' disclosures revealed that (a) normal Ss exposed to a high-disclosing confederate spent significantly more time in intimate disclosure than those exposed to a low-disclosing confederate and (b) neurotic Ss spent very little time in intimate self-disclosure, regardless of the level of disclosure they received from a confederate. This failure of neurotic Ss to reciprocate highly intimate disclosure is examined via a model that views appropriate self-disclosure as requiring several intra- and interpersonal skills. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of stimulus novelty on stimulation seeking in antisocial and neurotic children.

Compared the effects of the relative novelty of stimuli on (a) level of attention and (b) rate of habituation of looking responses in antisocial and neurotic children. 18 male 8–13 yr olds viewed, at their preferred pace, 2 sets of photographic slides. The relatively novel set contained slides of diverse and constantly changing subject matter, whereas a contrasting set consisted of repetitious views of a few modern concrete buildings. Increasing the stimulus novelty resulted in increases of attention for both types of Ss but in very different ways. Neurotics were initially equally attentive to both sets of stimuli, but their attention was more highly sustained and even increased with time under conditions of relative novelty. Antisocial Ss also displayed higher initial attention to the novel stimuli than to the repetitive stimuli, but in contrast to neurotics they habituated rapidly to both sets. Treatment implications of the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attributions, beliefs about control, and adjustment to breast cancer.

Examined attributions for cancer and beliefs about control over cancer for their association with adjustment to breast cancer. 78 29–78 yr old females with breast cancer served as Ss. Ss were administered a battery of tests that included the Profile of Mood States, Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Although 95% of the Ss made attributions for their cancer, no particular attribution (e.g., stress, diet) was associated with better adjustment. Analyses of attributions of responsibility for the cancer to the self, environment, another person, or chance yielded only a negative relation between adjustment and blaming another person. In contrast, both the belief that one could now control one's cancer and the belief that others (e.g., the physician) could now control the cancer were significantly associated with good adjustment. Of the different types of control, cognitive control was most strongly associated with adjustment, behavior control was less strongly associated with adjustment, and information control and retrospective control were unassociated with adjustment. (56 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interrelationships among individual difference variables, behavior in psychotherapy, and verbal conditioning.

3 variables studied were S's score on personality inventory scales, therapists' rating of S's behavior in the psychotherapy situation, and Ss performance in a verbal conditioning situation. The Ss were 60 neurotic and psychotic patients, 58 of whom were men; the Autobiographical Survey was the Personality inventory. With regard to the Autobiographical Survey, high scores on the Test Anxiety and Lack of Protection scales were associated with higher levels of verbal conditioning; high Defensiveness scores with poor verbal conditioning. Patients rated by their psychotherapists as being very compliant were found to perform in the verbal conditioning at a higher level than patients rated as being relatively noncompliant. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empathy in young children: Relation to parents' empathy, affection, and emphasis on the feelings of others.

Explored the relation between (a) the young child's empathy and (b) the parents' self-reported empathy, affection, and emphasis on another individual's feelings in discipline and nondiscipline situations. Ss were 25 boys and 28 girls in preschool and kindergarten classes in a middle-class community. Heightened empathy in 4–6 yr old girls was associated with a particular (i.e., sex-stereotyped) pattern of mother–father empathy. The factors believed to enhance the development of empathy were reported to be more prevalent in the mother's interaction with the child than in the father's. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)