Hypnotizability as a function of nonhypnotic experiences.

The relationship between various subjective experiences and susceptibility to hypnosis was studied in 2 samples of female college students, totalling 102. The subjective experiences were registered by the Experience Inventory, a questionnaire developed earlier for this purpose. Hypnotizability was determined by administering objective hypnotic scales individually. Correlations between hypnotizability and the total Experience Inventory score as 'well as a composite score of selected items were significant in both samples, but the latter failed in predicting hypnotizability better than the total score. Items of subjective experiences significantly related to hypnotizability in the total sample were analyzed in terms of the personality dimensions implied. alyzed (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A longitudinal investigation of the relationship between disordered eating attitudes and behaviors and parent–child conflict: A monozygotic twin differences design.

Few studies have examined nonshared environmental risk factors for disordered eating, and none have done so using a longitudinal design. The current project used a longitudinal, monozygotic twin differences design to examine parent–child conflict as a nonshared environmental risk factor for disordered eating. Participants included 468 monozygotic female twins (234 pairs) from the Minnesota Twin Family Study, who completed surveys every 3 years from ages 11 to 17 years. Twin differences in disordered eating were assessed with the Total Score, Body Dissatisfaction, Weight Preoccupation, and Binge Eating subscales of the Minnesota Eating Behavior Survey. Differences in parent–child conflict were assessed with the Parental Environment Questionnaire. Cross-lagged models were used to examine longitudinal associations among these variables, controlling for within-age associations. Only the longitudinal association between twin differences in disordered eating at age 14 years and differences in parent–child conflict at age 17 years were significant; twin differences in disordered eating predicted later differences in parent–child conflict rather than the reverse. Findings suggest differences in parent–child conflict between genetically identical twins may be a consequence of, rather than a risk factor for, differences in disordered eating. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parent psychopathology, parenting, and child internalizing problems in substance-abusing families.

A structural model accounting for child internalizing problems in substance-abusing families was tested. Parents receiving substance abuse treatment (N = 242) completed forms about children between the ages of 6 and 18 who resided in their home. The effects of parent gender, child gender, and child age were controlled. Negative parenting was examined as a mediator between parent internalizing and externalizing problems and child anxiety and affective problems using path analysis. Negative parenting mediated relations only between parent internalizing problems and child affective problems. High-positive involvement moderated relations between parent externalizing problems and child internalizing problems. Relations between parent externalizing problems and child anxiety and affective problems were significant only among families in which high-positive involvement was present. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Discriminating between pre- versus post-theraplay treatment Marschak Interaction Methods using the Marschak Interaction Method Rating System.

The Marschak Interaction Method (MIM) is a play-based observation used to evaluate parent–child relationship quality. This study examined the ability of the Marschak Interaction Method Rating System (MIMRS) to effectively discriminate between MIMs completed pre- versus post-Theraplay treatment. Eleven parent–child dyads received at least 8 Theraplay sessions. Achenbach Child Behavior Checklists (CBCLs) completed by parents before and after treatment demonstrated significant improvement in child behaviors. Interrater reliability for MIMRS = .75. Results of dependent-samples t test revealed strong effect sizes (Cohen's d) on the total MIMRS score (?1.07) and the nurture and challenge dimensions (?1.50, ?0.76, respectively). Although these results are preliminary and modest in terms of sample size, the MIMRS was successful in capturing change in the parent–child relationship following Theraplay treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hypnotizability and the deployment of waking attention.

Although most theoretical accounts of hypnosis stress the contribution of attentional processes, such processes have not been considered extensively in past efforts to identify correlates of hypnotizability. A recently developed measure of waking attention deployment—the random-number generation task (RNG)—is described, and the relation between RNG scores and hypnotizability is presented. In 5 heterogeneous subgroups, 68 college-age Ss performed a 2-min RNG task and were administered the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A. 41 of these Ss later received the individually administered Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C (SHSS:C). Highly susceptible Ss (score of 8+ on each scale) demonstrated significantly better RNG performance than less susceptible Ss. This finding was replicated when using the SHSS:C as the measure of hypnotizability. Good randomizers scored an average of 2–3 points higher on both hypnotizability scales than poor randomizers. It is suggested that the process of deautomatization may be the common attentional mechanism that underlies hypnotizability and that is reflected in differential RNG performance. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multiple predictors of hypnotic susceptibility.

In this article, we report two experiments in which various measures thought to be related to hypnotizability were analyzed by stepwise discriminant analysis techniques. Absorption (Tellegen, 1981, 1982; Tellegen & Atkinson, 1974) and preference for an imagic style of thinking (Isaacs, 1982) were robust predictors of hypnotizability; each variable accounted for significant variance in hypnotizability at their respective steps in two samples and correctly classified a significant proportion of low- and high-hypnotizable subjects in the discriminant analyses. The addition of two other variables in Experiment 2—a Sleep–Dream score derived from Evans's (1977) Cognitive Control of Sleep Mentation subscale and Gibson's (1985) Dream Questionnaire, and the Belief in the Supernatural subscale of the Taft (1969) Experience Questionnaire—increased the correct classification of the medium-hypnotizable subjects from chance levels to 74%. It is argued that a confirmatory and hierarchical approach is needed in future studies to explore correlates of hypnotizability more fully. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the degree of stability of measured hypnotizability over a 25-year period.

Conducted a longitudinal study of hypnotizability, as measured by the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form A, that yielded a relatively high degree of stability in hypnotic responsiveness over repeated testings spanning a 25-year period. The 50 Ss were retested in 1985, after tests when they were students, between 1958–1962 and again in 1970. The statistically significant stability coefficients were .64 (10-year retest), .82 (15-year retest), and .71 (25-year retest). The means did not change significantly, and the median change in the scores of individuals was only 1 point on the 12-item scale. A set of score measures and their intercorrelations are insufficient to resolve the issue of why stability occurs. The stability of hypnotizability over time compares favorably with that of other measures of individual differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Child/adolescent behavioral and emotional problems: Implications of cross-informant correlations for situational specificity.

Our purpose in this article was to determine the degree of consistency between different informants' reports of the behavioral/emotional problems of subjects aged from 1? to 19 years. We found 269 samples in 119 studies for meta-analyses of Pearson rs between ratings by parents, teachers, mental health workers, observers, peers, and the subjects themselves. The mean rs between all types of informants were statistically significant. The mean rs were .60 between similar informants (e.g., pairs of parents), .28 between different types of informants (e.g., parent/teacher), and .22 between subjects and other informants. Correlations were significantly higher for 6- to 11-year-olds than for adolescents, and for undercontrolled versus overcontrolled problems, although these differences were not large. The modest correlations between informants indicate that child and adolescent problems are not effectively captured by present-versus-absent judgments of problems. Instead, the variations between reports by different informants argue for assessment in terms of multiple axes designed to reflect the perceived variations in child and adolescent functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Parenting Stress Index, 2nd ed..

Reviews the 120-item parent-report checklist, Parenting Stress Index, 2nd ed by Richard R. Abidin (1986). The Parenting Stress Index (PSI) is a checklist that assesses the degree of stress parents are experiencing in their childcare role. It has been described by Abidin (1987) as part of a trend away from omnibus diagnostic instruments and towards assessment strategies that are specific in their intent. The intent of the PSI is to identify parent-child pairs whose dysfunctional relationship places the child at risk for emotional disturbance. The scale yields a total parenting stress score and three separate domain scores that represent the portion of parent stress attributable to child characteristics, the portion attributable to parent characteristics, and the portion attributable to situational life events. Thus, the PSI is not a child diagnostic scale, but is intended to assess the parent-child relationship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Growth screening and urban deprivation

OBJECTIVES: To assess the effect of urban deprivation on childhood growth in a modern British society by analysing data from a regional growth survey, the Tayside growth study. SETTING: The Tayside Region in Scotland, which has three districts with distinct socioeconomic status: Dundee (D, urban city), Angus (A, rural), and Perth (P, rural and county town). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Height and weight of 23,046 children (> 90% of the regional childhood population) were measured as part of a child health surveillance programme, by community health care workers at 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 14 years. Height standard deviation score (calculated against Tanner) and body mass index (BMI-weight (kg)/height (m)2) were calculated for each child by a central computer program; mean height standard deviation score and BMI standard deviation score were calculated for each measuring centre (school, health clinic). A deprivation score for each centre was calculated from the prevalence of single parent families; families with more than three children; unemployment rate; the number of social class V individuals; the percentage of council houses. RESULTS: Mean height standard deviation score for Tayside was 0.11. An intraregional difference was demonstrated: mean height standard deviation score (SD) D = 0.04 (1.0); A = 0.14 (1.1); P = 0.21 (1.1); P < 0.002. There was a positive association between short stature and increasing social deprivation seen throughout Tayside (P < 0.05), with a strong association in Dundee primary school children (r = 0.6; P < 0.001). Analysis by district showed that the association was significant only above the age of 8 (P < 0.004). There was no relation between BMI and social deprivation. CONCLUSIONS: In an industrialised developed society, urban deprivation appears to influence height mostly in late childhood, and this association should be taken into consideration in the clinical management of short stature. Height seems to be a better physical indicator of urban deprivation, and hence an index of childhood health, than BMI.     

Effectiveness of a child-care training program for parents at-risk for child neglect.

Evaluated a home-based parent training program aimed at teaching crucial childcare skills (e.g., diapering, bathing, feeding, safety) to 22 low-IQ mothers of children (aged 1–23 mo) considered at-risk for child neglect. Ss were randomly assigned to a training or control group. Posttests showed that the mean percent correct score (88%) of the training group was then similar to that of 12 nonhandicapped comparison mothers, with both significantly greater than the mean (61%) of the control group. The training group maintained improvements up to 76 wks following training, and the control group, when subsequently trained, had a mean score of 92%. Finally, where it could be observed, the health of children improved concomitant with the parents learning proper childcare. Parent training in childcare may help reduce the likelihood of child neglect due to parental incompetency. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Can we trust parent reports in research on cultural and ethnic differences in child psychopathology? Using the bicultural family design to test parental culture effects.

Research comparing cultural and ethnic groups on child psychopathology has relied heavily on parent reports. But don't parents' own cultural backgrounds bias their reports, undermining valid assessment of actual child behavior? The question is hard to address because parent and child culture tend to be confounded. To solve this problem, we assembled an unusual but heuristically valuable sample: 50 bicultural families, each with an ethnic Thai parent reared in Thailand and a Caucasian parent reared in the U.S. Parents in each pair independently completed standardized problem checklists on the same child in their family. Across all 10 empirically derived problem syndromes, no parental culture effect was either significant or larger than "small," by Cohen's (1988) standards; across all 140 specific problems, the mean percent of variance accounted for by parent culture was less than 1%. Results do not point to a biasing effect of parental culture. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in the socialization of affectionate expression.

87 parent–child pairs were videotaped during the departure routine when the parent left the child at a child-care center. In the 2-parent sample, parent–daughter dyads showed higher levels of overall interaction than parent–son dyads. Although affectionate interaction was high for parent–daughter dyads, the level of affection was particularly low in father–son dyads. The single mother interacted with both sexes at high and nonsignificantly different levels, but did not engage in more affection with her child. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender, affiliation, assertion, and the interactive context of parent–child play.

Ninety-eight young U.S. children (mean age?=?48 months) with either European, Latin American, or multiple ethnic backgrounds were videotaped with their mothers and their fathers on separate occasions in their families' homes. Parent–child pairs played for 8 min each with a feminine-stereotyped toy set (foods and plates) and a masculine-stereotyped toy set (track and cars). Levels of affiliation (engaging vs. distancing) and assertion (direct vs. nondirect) were rated on 7-point scales every 5 s from the videotapes for both parent and child. Overall, the play activity accounted for a large proportion of the variance in parents' and children's mean affiliation and assertion ratings. Some hypothesized gender-related differences in behavior were also observed. In addition, exploratory analyses revealed some differences between the different ethnic groups. The results highlight the importance of role modeling and activity settings in the socialization and social construction of gender. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bidirectional links and concurrent development of parent-child relationships and boys' offending behavior.

This study examined different types of longitudinal associations (i.e., directional links and overlapping developmental changes) between children's delinquency and the quality of parent–child relationships from middle childhood to late adolescence. We used 10-wave interview data of 503 boys, their primary caregivers, and their teachers. Our first aim was to unravel the direction of effects between parent–child relationships and children's offending. Cross-lagged panel models revealed bidirectional links over time between poorer quality parent–child relationships and boys' offending across late childhood (age 7–10), early adolescence (age 10–13) and middle adolescence (age 13–16). Second, we examined the associations between mean changes in delinquency, on the one hand, and mean changes in relationship quality, on the other hand. Although parent–child relationships improved during childhood, their quality decreased in early adolescence and remained stable in middle adolescence. Delinquency increased only in middle adolescence. In five out of six models, the slope factors of relationship quality and offending were strongly correlated, indicating that stronger increases in delinquency were associated with stronger decreases in parent–child relationship quality across childhood, early adolescence, and middle adolescence. The discussion focuses on the theoretical implications of these two types of longitudinal associations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Informativeness of child and parent reports on substance use disorders in a sample of ADHD probands, control probands, and their siblings

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate parent-child agreement on psychoactive substance use disorder (PSUD) reporting among children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and to test whether agreement level could be predicted from measures of parent and child psychopathology and substance use severity. METHOD: The authors examined 348 pairs of child and parent assessments in a sample of 108 ADHD and 68 normal control probands and their 172 siblings aged 12 and older. RESULTS: PSUD rates were higher when the child was the reporter than when the parent was. Agreement between parent and child reports was strongest for cigarette smoking, alcohol dependence, and any PSUD. Although parental reports were frequently endorsed by the child's report, the reverse was rarely true. Predictors of parental awareness of the child's PSUD included impaired social functioning, younger age of the child, presence of multiple substance use disorders in the child, and comorbid bipolar disorder. CONCLUSIONS: PSUD rates vary by informant and are higher when the child is the reporter. Because severity of PSUD and multiple substance use were the strongest predictors of parental awareness, more efforts are needed to identify the more covert and milder cases of PSUD that may not reach clinical attention.     

Parent-child relationships in stepparent families.

Compared college students' perceptions of parent–child relationships in stepfamilies with those in continuously intact families. 47 students from stepfamilies and 130 from intact families completed a parent–child relationship survey developed by M. A. Fine et al (see record 1984-01194-001). Results suggest that adult stepchildren perceived relationships with their noncustodial biological mothers and stepmothers less positively than adult children from intact families perceived relationships with their biological mothers. No significant differences were found between adult children's perceptions of father–child and stepfather–child relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hypnotizability and phobic behavior

Hypnotizability ratings of 24 phobic patients interested in the therapeutic use of hypnosis were compared with those of an equal number of smokers keen to quit smoking through hypnosis. The mean Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale score of phobics was 8.08 on a 12-point scale. The mean of smokers was 6.08. The difference was significant beyond the .01 level (two-tailed). Thirty percent of smokers were essentially nonresponsive. No phobics were nonresponsive. Those with multiple phobias scored more highly than those with a single phobia. These findings are in accord with the view that among psychiatric patients whose hypnotizability is assessed in a treatment context, hysterics are most responsive. The implications both for theory and for a specific treatment strategy are discussed.     

Predictive validity of the Child Abuse Potential Inventory.

200 predominantly female parents (average age 22.4 yrs) who were participants in an at-risk parent–child program were administered the Child Abuse Potential Inventory (CAPI) to determine the degree of correspondence between Ss' CAPI scores and subsequent confirmed reports of abuse, neglect, or failure to thrive. It was found that 42 parents were reported to a suspected child abuse and neglect team, confirmed for maltreatment, and referred to a human resources department; 11 Ss were reported for abuse, 15 for neglect, and 16 for failure to thrive. Although all abusive Ss earned scores above the CAPI cutoff score for abuse, the majority of Ss earning elevated scores did not abuse. A significant relationship was found between CAPI abuse scores and subsequent abuse and between abuse scores and later neglect. No relationship was found between abuse scores and subsequent failure to thrive. Findings support the predictive validity of the CAPI. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental distress and children's problems among single-parent families in China

The coercion model explains reciprocal relationships between parents' and children's adjustment problems, with the mediation of parenting behavior and social relationships. A survey of 301 single parents in Guangzhou, China, was performed to test such a model with reference to parental distress, perceived behavioral problems and anxiety of the eldest child, acceptance of the child, and experienced social pressure and social support. Structural equation modeling demonstrated a good fit of the coercion model as a theoretically based and simplified representation of the relationships, supporting the hypotheses that (a) the parent's acceptance helps prevent the child's behavioral problems, (b) the child's behavioral problems and anxiety contribute to the parent's distress, (c) the child's behavioral problems and anxiety invite social pressure on the parent, (d) social pressure on the parent aggravates and social support for the parent attenuates the parent's distress, (e) social pressure on and social support for the parent facilitate the parent's acceptance of his or her child. However, the effect of parental distress on acceptance of the child was not significant.