Internal controls in aggressive children from father-present and father-absent families.

Briefly discusses the role of the mother in providing noncontingent love and that of the father in providing performance-contingent love. 19 black 8-12 yr. olds from father-present and 19 from father-absent families who had been referred to a guidance clinic for aggressive behavior were tested on the Wiltwyck Family Interaction Apperception Test (S. Minuchin, et al.). While Ss from father-present families did not give more frequent consequences for aggression, there were significant differences between the 2 groups in perceptions of the administrator of punishment. Despite the fact that the stories routinely involved mother rather than father as punisher, Ss from father-present families related stories in which punishment came from the family more frequently (p     

The effect of mother–child separation on the behavior of children experiencing a diagnostic medical procedure.

54 4–6 and 7–10 yr olds were observed having a venal puncture blood sample drawn in a clinical laboratory with or without their mothers being present. Younger Ss exhibited significantly more crying before and during the blood test, more aggression, and more resistance to the procedure than did older Ss, regardless of experimental condition. The mother-present condition only affected crying before the initiation of the blood test. Ss in both age groups displayed significantly more crying when their mothers were present than when their mother remained in the waiting room. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Infant social perception: Responses to pictures of parents and strangers.

Presented pictures of parents and strangers to 70 9–24 mo old infants. Results indicate that (a) Ss smiled more often and looked longer at pictures of parents than at those of strangers; (b) the smiling effect was related to age, with older Ss being more likely to smile at familiar than at unfamiliar faces; (c) younger Ss were more likely to smile at the strange woman than at the strange man; and (d) Ss did not differentially respond to pictures of their mother and father. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Clarke Parent-Child Relations Questionnaire: A clinically useful test for adults.

Study 1 presents the standardization of the 16-scale Clarke Parent-Child Relations Questionnaire (PCR) for adults. 3 normal and 1 clinical abnormal samples comprising 508 18-55 yr olds were used. The scales sample, separately for mother and father, retrospective reports of aggressiveness, strictness, affection, indulgence, competence, and identification. There was little bias from IQ, social desirability, or education, and 14 of the 16 scales tended to be internally consistent. Factor analysis showed a moderate convergence among the scales as well as uniqueness. Two bipolar factors emerged, 1 for mother and 1 for father. The factors contrasted aggressiveness and strictness at one pole with affection, indulgence, and identification at the other. Study 2 compared 7 sexually deviant male groups of 247 Ss with 40 normal controls (all over age 18). Homosexual groups reported significantly more hostile relationships and low identification with father, whereas deviants who preferred immature partners reported aggression, strictness, and low affection in mother relationships. The test has been computerized. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Long-term adjustment to physical disability: The role of social support, perceived control, and self-blame.

100 40–73 yr olds with spinal cord injuries were interviewed an average of 20 yrs after the disability occurred. Ss answered questions concerning perceived control, attributions of blame, and the nature of the social comparisons they made. Adjustment was measured by an index of psychological well-being, a life satisfaction index, and a depression scale. For all 3 outcome measures, Ss reported levels of well-being only slightly lower than population means of nondisabled persons of similar age. Controlling for health status and current income, it was found that persons who had high levels of social support, who were satisfied with their social contacts, and who felt they had high levels of perceived control reported high levels of well-being. Self-blame and the perceived avoidability of the cause of the disability correlated only moderately with the measures of adjustment, suggesting that there are important differences between coping successfully immediately after a traumatic event has occurred and coping successfully many years later. (20 ref) (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)     

Comparison of group progressive-relaxation training and cognitive-behavioral group therapy for chronic low back pain.

36 20–63 yr old chronic low-back-pain outpatients were randomly assigned to group progressive-relaxation training, cognitive-behavioral group therapy, or waiting list/attention conditions. Both relaxation-training and cognitive-behavioral-therapy Ss improved significantly on self-report measures of pain, depression, and disability (e.g., Sickness Impact Profile, Beck Depression Inventory) and on a significant-other-rated measure of physical and psychosocial dysfunction pre- to posttreatment, whereas waiting-list Ss did not. Posttreatment, cognitive-behavioral-therapy Ss did not differ from relaxation-training Ss on most variables, but they did rate themselves as having improved more in ability to tolerate pain and participate in normal activities. At 1-mo follow-up, relaxation-training Ss showed no significant further improvement and had a significant increase in pain. Cognitive-behavioral-therapy Ss demonstrated further improvement at 1-mo follow-up on several measures of pain, depression, and disability. A 1?–2 yr mail follow-up indicated a marked reduction in health-care use for Ss in both treatments, and the cognitive-behavioral-therapy Ss had improved markedly in time spent working. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes toward life and death in suicidal, normal, and chronically ill children: An extended replication.

Evaluated the attitudes toward life and death held by 23 6–12 yr old suicidal children, 28 6–22 yr old chronically ill children, and 33 6–22 yr old normal children by examining 4 attitudes toward life and death: attraction to life, repulsion by life, attraction to death, and repulsion by death. The measurement of the intensities of these attitudes was obtained by means of the Ss' quantitative responses to questions that followed fairy tale stories. Each of the stories represented 1 of the 4 attitudes. Parallel forms of the test were administered in a time interval of 6 wks. ANOVA showed that the 4 attitudes were distinguishable from each other. The response profiles of suicidal Ss showed significantly lower repulsion by death than those of normal Ss. Chronically ill Ss presented the highest degree of repulsion by life and scored higher than normal Ss on attraction to death. On repulsion by death, they scored higher than suicidal Ss but lower than normal children. All Ss scored well on attraction to life. Findings document the construct validity of the theoretical model. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Categories of response to reunion with the parent at age 6: Predictable from infant attachment classifications and stable over a 1-month period.

Describes the development of a system for classifying attachment organization at age 6 on the basis of study of children's responses to unstructured reunions with parents. In a study of 33 families, 6th-year attachment classifications to mother were highly predictable from infancy attachment classifications to mother (84%), with Ss secure in infancy identified as secure on reunion at age 6 (Group B); and Ss insecure-avoidant in infancy identified as insecure-avoidant (Group A); Ss who were insecure-disorganized/disoriented identified as controlling of the parent (Group D). Lower predictability (61%) was found for attachment to father. An insecure-ambivalent (Group C) 6th-year classification was developed following the Berkeley study. In a 2nd study of child–mother dyads, (N?=?50), 62% of Ss were stable in (A, B, C, and D) classification across a 1-mo interval. When D children were reassigned to their best-fitting alternative A, B, or C categories, stability was high both for major classifications (A + B + C?=?86%) and for 7 subclassifications (A1, A2, B1/B2, B3, B4, C1, C2?=?76%). Avoidance of mother was stable across the 5-yr and the 1-mo periods. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Risk factors in infant-mother attachment.

In Exp I, 56 preterm Ss born at less than 1,500 g were assessed at 6 wks; at 3, 6, and 9 mo; and at 1 yr for avoidant, secure, and ambivalent attachment patterns. In Exp II, 109 Ss (aged 2–4.5 yrs) with delayed development due to Down's syndrome, diagnosed neurological disorders, and undiagnosed disorders were assessed in a strange-situation setting. In Exp III, 15 Ss with cystic fibrosis and 15 normal Ss (aged 12–18 mo) were assessed for attachment patterns. Data indicate that none of the medical problems had a significant impact on the child–mother relationship. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reader and text variables as determinants of discourse memory in adulthood.

Compared the performance of 24 61–75 yr old students with that of 24 18–28 yr old students and also with the performance of 24 63–75 yr old nonstudents who read and recalled short texts that were in either narrative or expository form. In addition, a set of 6 verbal ability measures thought to be related to discourse memory was obtained for all of the Ss. Older Ss recalled less from the texts than younger Ss, and neither type of text nor student status modified the magnitude of the age differences. The set of verbal ability measures was adequately described by 2 principal components, one consisting of simple, speed-related skills, and the other consisting of more complex skills. Each set of variables predicted a proportion of discourse memory variance and accounted for some of the variance that would otherwise be attributed to age. Results suggest that age differences in some basic cognitive skills related to reading effectiveness might underlie age differences in memory for discourse. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An experimental evaluation of theory-based mother and mother–child programs for children of divorce.

This study evaluated the efficacy of 2 theory-based preventive interventions for divorced families: a program for mothers and a dual component mother–child program. The mother program targeted mother–child relationship quality, discipline, interparental conflict, and the father–child relationship. The child program targeted active coping, avoidant coping, appraisals of divorce stressors, and mother–child relationship quality. Families with a 9- to 12-year-old child (N ?=?240) were randomly assigned to the mother, dual-component, or self-study program. Postintervention comparisons showed significant positive program effects of the mother program versus self-study condition on relationship quality, discipline, attitude toward father–child contact, and adjustment problems. For several outcomes, more positive effects occurred in families with poorer initial functioning. Program effects on externalizing problems were maintained at 6-month follow-up. A few additive effects of the dual-component program occurred for the putative mediators; none occurred for adjustment problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Long-term effects of sudden bereavement: Marital and parent-child relationships and children's reactions.

Explored long-term family adjustment to sudden, unexpected bereavement by conducting interviews with 40 Ss whose spouse died in a motor vehicle crash 4–7 yrs earlier and with 39 matched controls. Interviews were also conducted with 54 parents whose 1–28 yr old child died in a motor vehicle crash 4–7 yrs earlier and with 61 matched controls. Findings indicate that marital relationships generally strengthened or dissolved after a child's death. Most bereaved adults reported feeling closer to their children after the loss of a family member. Parental reports suggest that the death of a parent or sibling is overwhelmingly negative for children, and extremely so for a significant percentage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological distance in the family as schematized by families of normal, disturbed, and learning-problem children.

Used a family doll placement technique to study psychological distance within 30 families with a disturbed and a nondisturbed boy. The father, mother, and 2 children each did the task individually, and then as a family group. Families were divided into 3 groups of 10 in which the S was (a) normal, (b) emotionally disturbed, or (c) had serious learning problems. Psychological distance was measured by the actual distance placed between doll dyads. As hypothesized, both groups of disturbed Ss placed greater distance between the mother doll and the doll representing himself than normal Ss in negative story themes. Unexpectedly, female siblings of disturbed Ss placed greater distance between the father doll and the doll representing herself than female siblings of normal Ss in negative story themes. These differences also appeared when the family group did the task. Teacher ratings showed the disturbed Ss to be more interpersonally distant and dependent than the normal Ss. (23 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Etiologic factors in the onset of depressive symptoms in older adults.

Examined the additive and interactive roles of 6 sociodemographic factors (education, age, sex, marital status, parental depression, and early parental death), 3 resources (health, social support, and locus of control), and 3 categories of life events (bereavement, health problem, and loss events) in the development of depressive symptoms. A probability sample of 1,233 persons (aged 55+ yrs) were interviewed twice in their homes, with a 6-mo interval between Times 1 and 2. All Ss were below a Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) cutoff point of 16 at Time 1. An onset group (n?=?66) was identified that had increases in depression to above a CES-D cut point of 20 at Time 2. A hierarchical discriminant analysis revealed significant effects for the following factors after initial symptom levels were statistically controlled: physical health, social support, social support and health interaction, loss events, and the interaction of social support and loss events. It is concluded that health and social support played both additive and interactive roles, life events had weak effects, and sociodemographic factors did not contribute to depressive onset in the Ss studied. (85 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adult development, self-contexting, and psychotherapy with older adults.

Measured the effect of "self-contexting" on brief dynamic therapy with 15 50–81 yr olds, and 10 20–40 yr olds. Self-contexting is defined as the individual's explicit self-awareness within a larger context, relative to other individuals; it is hypothesized to occur in mid-life. The major presenting problems of Ss were anxiety or depression, the majority of which were situational, although most cases had significant contributing characterological dimensions. Evaluators other than the therapist rated psychotherapeutic outcomes, and a psycholinguistic measure of self-contexting was used to score the 1st 1,000 words of patient discourse. Correlations were calculated for the older and younger groups separately. Results show that a change in self-contexting phrases correlated positively and significantly with psychotherapy outcome in the older but not the younger Ss. Findings confirm an age-specific correlation between a hypothesized development of middle and later life and psychotherapy outcome in older adults. (51 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sequencing of behavior therapy and pharmacotherapy for obesity.

Investigated 2 sequences of combining behavior therapy and pharmacotherapy to determine if anorexic medication could be used effectively to facilitate initial weight loss without compromising the long-term effects of behavior therapy. 91 18–30 yr old women, averaging 31% overweight, participated in a 16-wk treatment program with follow-up assessments scheduled 4 mo and 1 yr later. Anorexic medication, fenfluramine HCl, enhanced weight loss whenever it was introduced, but it was more effective when introduced 8 wks into the behavior therapy program rather than initially. Ss in this sequence (later medication) had lost the most weight (9.3 kg) by the end of treatment, significantly more than those receiving either medication or behavior therapy only. These Ss, however, regained weight once treatment was terminated so that by the 1-yr follow-up, the conditions were not significantly different. Ss in the other sequence (initial medication) maintained their weight loss after medication was terminated as long as they continued to receive behavior therapy; however, they too regained weight once all treatment was terminated. Thus, anorexic medication demonstrated a surprisingly strong effect when introduced midway through a behavior therapy program, when the rate of loss typically slows, but this initially beneficial effect was not maintained during the follow-up period. A post hoc exploration of the data indicates that medication was particularly helpful to Ss who did not initially respond well to behavior therapy. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Father, mother, and stranger as elicitors of attachment behaviors in infancy.

Compared fathers with mothers and strangers as elicitors of attachment behaviors in 10 male and 10 female infants from each of 3 age groups (10, 13, and 16 mo). Differential proximity-seeking behavior, distress vocalization, and stranger eye contact from a "secure base" were used to index attachment. Fathers were superior to strangers as elicitors of attachment behaviors but 2nd to mothers at all age levels. When both parents were present, Ss approached mothers twice as often as fathers. Tested with each parent separately, they traveled to the mother in a shorter time than they traveled the same distance to the father and spent more time near the mother. The amount of eye contact with strangers was greater when Ss were near mothers as compared to fathers. Distress vocalization during separation from the parents was one of the few measures which did not discriminate between mothers and fathers. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Should WISC subjects explain pitcure arrangement stories?

Administered the WISC to 78 6-15 yr. old Ss asked to tell picture arrangement (PA) stories, and to 57 Ss under standard instructions. 42 pairs of Ss were matched for age, Full Scale IQ, and reason for referral. Ss who told PA stories had an average PA score 2.12 scaled score points higher than Ss who did not tell stories (p 100. No significant difference was found for Ss > 9 yr. old. Awareness of facilitating effects of Ss explaining PA stories when interpreting the WISC is urged. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)