Culturally competent interventions for abused and suicidal African American women.

This article focuses on interventions with low-income, African American women who are survivors of domestic abuse and who have made one or more suicide attempts. The authors review the literature on domestic abuse and suicidal behavior in African American women, and discuss the association between abuse and suicide in this population. Next, they propose an integrated theoretical model for understanding suicidal behavior as one possible coping response to the stress of a domestic abuse situation. The model utilizes concepts from the literature on stress and coping as well as stages of change. A culturally sensitive group treatment intervention that is based on the theoretical model is presented. The intervention focuses on ensuring women's safety, increasing coping skills and resource mobilization, and promoting supportive relationships in a manner that is consistent with each woman's sociocultural context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using the MMPI-2 to detect substance abuse in an outpatient mental health setting.

This study examined the utility of the MMPI–2 in detecting substance-abuse problems in an outpatient mental health setting. Specifically, the utility of the Addiction Acknowledgment Scale (AAS; N. C. Weed, J. N. Butcher, T. McKenna, & Y. S. Ben-Porath, 1992), the Addiction Potential Scale (APS; N. C. Weed et al., 1992), and the MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale—Revised (MAC—R; J. N. Butcher, W. G. Dahlstrom, J. R. Graham, A. Tellegan, & B. Kaemmer, 1989) in the prediction of substance abuse was evaluated. In addition, the incremental validity of the AAS and the APS in comparison to the MAC—R scale was evaluated. The sample consisted of 500 women and 333 men from a large community mental health center in Northeastern Ohio. Results indicated that the MAC—R scale, the AAS, and the APS were related to interviewer ratings of substance abuse in this outpatient treatment setting. Specifically, the results pointed to the superiority of AAS over APS in substance-abuse identification and the significant contribution of AAS to the information available from the MAC—R scale alone. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

IS231A transposition: conservative versus replicative pathway

OBJECTIVE:To explore the attitudes and experiences of abused women to identify characteristics that helped or hindered abuse disclosure to clinicians and to determine how women viewed potential interventions to improve detection and treatment in a medical setting. DESIGN: Focus group data conducted and analyzed with qualitative methodology. SETTING: Three community-based mental health centers and one women's shelter. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-one women in group therapy for domestic violence. MAIN RESULTS: Eighteen (86%) of the 21 women had seen their "regular doctor" in the prior year; only 1 in 3 had discussed the abuse with the clinician. The major discussion themes were medical problems that were exacerbated with abuse, lack of ability to access medical care due to abuser interference, emotional attitudes about abuse that acted as barriers to disclosure, clinician characteristics that helped or hindered disclosure, and treatment experiences and preferences. Women described how their medical problems began or worsened during the abusive period. one in three women described how abusers blocked them from receiving medical care. Women reported intense shame about the abuse and described their self-denial of abuse. Women stated they were inclined to discuss abuse if they felt the clinician was perceived to be caring, was easy to talk to, had a protective manner, or if the clinician offered a follow-up visit. There was no consistent clinician gender preference among the women. One in four women had received psychotropic medication for problems associated with abuse. Many feared addiction, or a loss of alertness, increasing their risk for more abuse. CONCLUSIONS: Many abused women experience worsening health and seek medical care; most do not volunteer a history of violence even to their regular clinicians. Many of the barriers to disclosure of abuse could be overcome by a physician's knowledge of the link between abuse and medical illness, an understanding of the women's emotions about abuse, and her treatment preferences.     

Differential patterns of wife abuse: A data-based typology.

Despite the growing awareness of wife abuse as a serious social problem of epidemic proportions, to date no systematic research has been conducted to delineate on an empirical basis distinct patterns of abuse within this heterogeneous population. The present study has as its goal the identification of differential patterns of wife abuse, each having a unique etiological profile with attendant implications for intervention. Toward this end a multivariate quantitative taxonomic procedure was employed to delineate 5 homogeneous subgroups of women (N?=?119; 17–58 yrs) abused by their partners. Subsequent analyses revealed these 5 subtypes to differ significantly in frequency and severity of abuse, usual precipitants, typical responses of the woman and her assailant, history of violence in the family of origin, and disposition following brief residence at a shelter for battered women. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Efficacy of a computerized abuse and safety assessment intervention for women with disabilities: A randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of a computerized disability-specific abuse assessment intervention on abuse awareness, safety self-efficacy, and safety promoting behaviors of women with diverse disabilities. Research Design: A randomized control group design was used, with the intervention group completing the assessment intervention both at Time 1 (T1) and 3 months later at Time 2 (T2) and control participants completing it for the first time at T2. Analyses compared intervention and control groups at T2 and evaluated change over time in intervention group participants. The relationship between outcome variables (abuse awareness, safety self-efficacy, safety behaviors) was also explored. Results: The intervention group had greater abuse awareness than the control group at T2, and abuse awareness increased from T1 to T2 among women in the intervention group, particularly among women who had experienced little or no abuse in the past year. Both abuse awareness and safety self-efficacy were significantly related to safety behaviors. Conclusions: The computerized program offers promise as a nonthreatening method of conducting abuse assessments among women with disabilities while also serving as an intervention to enhance abuse awareness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcoholism and alcohol abuse among women: report of the Council on Scientific Affairs. American Medical Association

We describe characteristics of women alcohol abusers, risk factors for alcoholism in women, barriers to treatment, and implications and strategies for physicians dealing with alcohol abuse in women patients, including risk assessments and intervention strategies. Alcohol abuse and alcoholism have a different physiologic effect on women than on men. Societal attitudes about women and alcohol and internal (self-perception) and external (environmental) factors can create barriers to the detection and treatment of female alcohol abusers. Physicians are in an excellent position to address the medical, psychologic, and social concomitants of alcoholism and alcohol abuse. The Council on Scientific Affairs recommends that physicians become more active in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of alcohol-related problems in women, including the diseases that may be associated with chronic alcohol abuse and the effect of alcohol on the developing fetus. Specific American Medical Association policy and recommendations for physician practice are included.     

Battered women as coalcoholics: Treatment implications and case study.

Suggests that given the documented high incidence of alcoholism in abusive partners, battered women have a high probability of being coalcoholics. The literature shows some marked similarities among the symptoms described for both alcoholics and abusers. It is argued that the overlap in these problem areas has largely been ignored by treatment agencies. An intervention is proposed that combines elements from 3 models of treating spouse abuse with the methodology of alcoholism intervention developed by the Johnson Institute (1983). This intervention consists of 5 sessions and uses the social network of the alcoholic to aid the coalcoholic battered woman and her partner. A case study of a 43-yr-old woman, including 6-mo follow-up data, illustrates the proposed intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A reconceptualization of issues in the treatment of abused women: A case study.

The personality profile of abused women needs to be reconceptualized as a result of living in an abusive situation rather than as the antecedent that provokes abuse from the spouse. The personality traits exhibited by abused women closely parallel symptoms of learned helplessness, a concept that can be used to explain the perception of no alternatives, an inability to effect change, and passivity. A strategy for therapeutic intervention is outlined through a case study that suggests changing faculty beliefs and developing skills prior to instituting change in the abused woman's environment. The case study is significant in its successful modification of the abusive male's behavior even though he never came to therapy. Significant posttherapy decreases in MMPI personality scales as well as mood scales indicate vast personality changes in the client as a result of her successful attempts to change her environment. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

From "Anna O." to Bertha Pappenheim: Transforming private pain into public action.

Bertha Pappenheim ("Anna O.") was treated for hysteria by J. Breuer when she was a young adult. As a mature adult she became a leading social worker, writer, and feminist activist in the German Jewish community. This article examines her therapy with Breuer, her own struggle for recovery, and some links between her earlier and later life, in particular the lack of intimate relationships in her life and her work against the victimization of women. Throughout the article psychoanalytic interpretations, social history, and feminist analyses are integrated to provide a contextualized examination of Pappenheim's life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Main, mediating, and moderating effects of social support on the well-being of survivors of intimate partner violence across 2 years.

Intimate partner violence is a serious and pervasive social problem with deleterious consequences for survivors’ well-being. The current study involved interviewing 160 survivors 6 times over 2 years to examine the role of social support in explaining or buffering these negative psychological consequences. The authors examined both between- and within-persons variability to explore women’s trajectories regarding their experiences of abuse, social support, depression, and quality of life (QOL). Findings revealed the complex role of social support on women’s well-being. Evidence was found for main, mediating, and moderating effects of social support on women’s well-being. First, social support was positively related to QOL and negatively related to depression. Social support also partially explained the effect of baseline level and subsequent change in physical abuse on QOL and depression over time, partially mediated the effects of change in psychological abuse, and moderated the impact of abuse on QOL. The buffering effects of social support were strongest at lower levels of abuse. Implications for future research and intervention are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The efficacy of supportive learning environments for returning women: An empirical evaluation.

Conducted 2 studies of 103 women to evaluate the efficacy of programs designed to meet the needs of today's changing women. The studies sought to determine whether changes that would influence women's life styles could occur by providing a supportive learning environment, rather than through traditional individual or group counseling. Pre–post, experimental–control group designs were employed for both studies. One experiment examined the effects of the treatment in a university setting, with the outcome measures being vocational decision-making attitudes, learning attitudes, attitudes toward women, and receptivity to new information. The 2nd study examined treatment effects in a community setting, with the measures being vocational decision-making, self-concept, and attitudes toward women. Results suggest that the 2 programs did affect certain vocational and psychological attitudes. Specifically, in Exp I Ss exhibited greater maturity in vocational decision making, while in Exp II self-concept was enhanced. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcohol abuse as molar choice: An update of a 1982 proposal.

This article updates a 1982 article (R. E. Vuchinich, 1982) in which an analysis of alcohol abuse that was based on molar behavioral theories of choice was proposed. The original article and subsequent developments in the addiction literature that are related to the choice perspective are summarized. The molar choice view has been incorporated into human and animal research on addictive behaviors other than alcohol abuse, but it has had little impact on the alcohol literature. This lack of influence on alcohol research is attributed to its poor fit with the Zeitgeist of the relevant scientific community rather than to a lack of potential for positive contributions. This tension with the Zeitgeist is created by the contrast between molecular and molar approaches to studying alcohol abuse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Navajo students respond to nontraditional occupations: Less information, less bias?

Studied the attitudes of 210 Navajo 7th graders toward nontraditional occupations using a projective technique derived from the work of J. W. Getzels and J. J. Walsh (see record 2011-17356-001). Ss were from either a public school in a small reservation community, a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) boarding school in the same community but serving children from a sparsely populated area of the reservation, or a larger BIA school located in a different community and serving a less isolated part of the reservation. Results show that Ss expressed less negative attitudes than any other group (e.g., non-Hispanic Whites and Hispanics) previously studied by the authors. Significant effects were found for both school setting and the interaction of setting and occupational sex type. It is asserted that limited contacts with the institutions and materials that transmit the biases of the majority culture may have contributed to Ss' being less aware of the sex types associated with particular jobs. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Relationship of Symbolic Beliefs and Prior Contact to Heterosexuals' Attitudes Toward Gay Men and Lesbian Women.

Research has examined the relation of prior contact and/or symbolic beliefs on attitudes toward homosexuals or gay men. Little research though has been conducted on attitudes toward lesbian women. We examined the simultaneous relationships of symbolic beliefs and prior contact on attitudes toward gay men and attitudes toward lesbian women. Regression analyses indicated that on their own either symbolic beliefs or prior contact were significant predictors of attitudes towards both groups. When examined together though symbolic beliefs predicted attitudes toward lesbian women whereas prior contact predicted attitudes toward gay men. Overall, participants had more contact with gay men than lesbian women. The implications of our results are discussed in terms of the contact hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Receptivity and planned change: Community attitudes and deinstitutionalization.

An expectancy-value model was used to measure and explain receptivity attitudes (i.e., change climate) toward the implementation of deinstitutionalization programs. Questionnaires measuring values, expectancies, and behavioral intentions were mailed to community leaders and to members of community groups believed to be important in setting opinions and making decisions. Responses from 599 persons revealed that (a) the size of a proposed group home affected neither attitudes nor intentions of support, (b) group homes for mental health clients were viewed with less favorable attitudes and intentions than those for the retarded or the elderly, (c) members of various community groups held significantly different attitudes and intentions toward the programs, and (d) attitudes and intentions toward deinstitutionalization were more favorable than toward institutionalization. The application of this approach for assessing the implementation climate for planned change was discussed. (55 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes toward the dual role of the married professional woman.

Evaluated the attitudes of professional men and women toward the married professional woman's dual role in terms of 6 variables. Data were based on 60 of 90 questionnaires sent to persons affiliated with a university research organization and a social service agency. There were significant differences within the group for the variables of sex and profession but no significant differences for education, age, race, and professional experience. Findings indicate that while married professional women had positive attitudes toward the professional woman's dual role, negative attitudes were held by the case workers and the married professional men. It is concluded that negative attitudes toward this dual role both in- and outside of the professional community may indicate why few women prepare for and pursue professional careers. (21 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A promising intervention for a daunting problem: Comment on Silverman et al. (2001).

Six features of the report are commented on (K. Silverman et al., see record 2001-14365-002). First, the Therapeutic Workplace intervention described in the report represents a creative and promising new approach to drug abuse treatment. Second, to the author's knowledge, it represents the first intervention that has been shown in a randomized clinical trial to significantly reduce cocaine abuse among pregnant women. Third, the report and study are commendable for their scientific rigor. Fourth, the treatment approach is science-based, integrating concepts and principles from several behavioral science literatures. Fifth, the intervention offers a potentially practical way of extending incentive-based drug abuse treatments to community clinics. Sixth and last, the report has the potential to provoke serious thought and consideration of what more might be done to combat the daunting and related problems of chronic unemployment and drug abuse in our poorer communities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A little noticed consequence of the repressed memory epidemic.

Humphreys adds to the discussion of L. S. Brown's (see record 84-26142) article regarding managed care and false memory movement issues in social justice-oriented psychology. The issue of repressed memories of child abuse are discussed from a feminist perspective. Humphreys argues that females are disproportionately represented among patients who create memories of abuse and among the supposed health care providers who help the creation and do not heal. Humphreys also contends that feminists who advocate for the recognition of repressed abuse memories of women in therapy, and the scientifically naive clinicians who instigate or encourage these memories are in effect recreating the 19th century stereotype of women as the hysterical sex. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological Perspectives on Hate Crime Laws.

Hate crimes are those in which the victim is selected because of his or her actual or perceived race, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or national origin. Hate crime laws have frequently been met with objections. Whereas some objections are based in constitutional law, other objections invoke a variety of psychological constructs, including attitude, motivation, behavior, emotion, and intergroup relations. These objections can be illuminated by relevant psychological theory and research. Topics addressed include the measurement of motivation and intent, and distinctions among attitudes, emotions, and behavior. Hate crimes and other crimes are compared in terms of perpetrators, type and degree of violence, psychological and physical trauma suffered by victims, and community impact. Psychologically based defense strategies used by perpetrators of hate crimes are critiqued. Hate crime laws are also discussed in terms of the political and social values they reflect. Finally, research and policy implications are outlined, including implications for prevention and intervention at the individual, community, and law enforcement levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)