The affective consequences of social comparison: Either direction has its ups and downs.

Research on social comparison processes has assumed that a comparison in a given direction (upward or downward) will lead to a particular affective reaction. In contrast, the present 2 studies proposed and found that a comparison can produce either positive or negative feelings about oneself, independent of its direction. Several factors moderated the tendency to derive positive or negative affect from upward and downward comparisons. In Study 1, cancer patients low in self-esteem and with low perceived control over their symptoms and illness were more likely to see downward comparisons as having negative implications for themselves. Those low in self-esteem were also more likely to perceive upward comparisons as negative. In Study 2, individuals with high marital dissatisfaction and those who felt uncertain about their marital relationship were more likely to experience negative affect from upward and downward comparisons. The implications of these findings for social comparison theory and for the coping and adaptation literature are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effectiveness of multidimensional family therapy with higher severity substance-abusing adolescents: Report from two randomized controlled trials.

Objective: We used growth mixture modeling to examine heterogeneity in treatment response in a secondary analysis of 2 randomized controlled trials testing multidimensional family therapy (MDFT), an established evidence-based therapy for adolescent drug abuse and delinquency. Method: The first study compared 2 evidence-based adolescent substance abuse treatments: individually focused cognitive–behavioral therapy and MDFT in a sample of 224 urban, low-income, ethnic minority youths (average age = 15 years, 81% male, 72% African American). The second compared a cross-systems version of MDFT (MDFT—detention to community) with enhanced services as usual for 154 youths, also primarily urban and ethnic minority (average age = 15 years, 83% male, 61% African American, 22% Latino), who were incarcerated in detention facilities. Results: In both studies, the analyses supported the distinctiveness of 2 classes of substance use severity, characterized primarily by adolescents with higher and lower initial severity; the higher severity class also had greater psychiatric comorbidity. In each study, the 2 treatments showed similar effects in the classes with lower severity/frequency of substance use and fewer comorbid diagnoses. Further, in both studies, MDFT was more effective for the classes with greater overall substance use severity and frequency and more comorbid diagnoses. Conclusions: Results indicate that for youths with more severe drug use and greater psychiatric comorbidity, MDFT produced superior treatment outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Victims' perceptions of social support: What is helpful from whom?

Although research has demonstrated that social interactions influence psychological well-being, little is known about what specific actions victims of stressful life events experience as helpful or unhelpful. Wortman and Dunkel-Schetter (1979) previously suggested that victims frequently experience rejection, withdrawal, and communication problems with those close to them. To address these issues, 55 cancer patients were interviewed concerning the specific actions they found to be helpful or unhelpful from several potential support providers: spouse, other family members, friends, acquaintances, others with cancer, physicians, and nurses. The data indicated that the Wortman and Dunkel-Schetter victimization model applied better to interactions with friends and acquaintances than to interactions with close family members. In addition, support was found to be partially dependent on the source: Particular actions were perceived to be helpful from some but not other network members. Implications for theory and research on social support are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescent and parent therapeutic alliances as predictors of dropout in multidimensional family therapy.

The authors examined the relations between adolescent-therapist and mother-therapist therapeutic alliances and dropout in multidimensional family therapy for adolescents who abuse drugs. The authors rated videotapes of family therapy sessions using observational methods to identify therapist-adolescent and therapist-mother alliances in the first 2 therapy sessions. Differences in adolescent and mother alliances in families that dropped out of therapy and families that completed therapy were compared. Results indicate that both adolescent and mother alliances with the therapist discriminated between dropout and completer families. Although no differences were observed between the 2 groups in Session 1, adolescents and mothers in the dropout group demonstrated statistically significantly lower alliance scores in Session 2 than adolescents and parents in the completer group. These findings are consistent with other research that has established a relationship between therapeutic alliance and treatment response. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in parenting practices and adolescent drug abuse during multidimensional family therapy.

The nature and extent of changes in parenting and the link between parental subsystem changes and reduction in adolescent substance abuse and problem behaviors were examined in a sample of 29 parents and their drug-abusing adolescents. Participants completed 16 sessions of multidimensional family therapy. Over two thirds of the parents showed moderate to excellent improvement in parenting. Chi-square goodness-of-fit analyses revealed a statistically significant association between improvement in parenting and reduction in adolescent drug use and behavior problems. Results of this exploratory study provide qualified support for a fundamental tenet of family therapy--that change in the parental subsystem is related to improvement in the problem behavior of adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Treatment adherence and differentiation in individual versus family therapy for adolescent substance abuse.

Treatment adherence and differentiation in dynamic cognitive-behavioral therapy and multidimensional family therapy for adolescent substance abuse were evaluated with a treatment adherence process measure. Full-length videotapes of 90 treatment sessions (36 clients) were reviewed by nonparticipant raters. Adherence scales for each treatment generated through factor analysis of observational ratings demonstrated sound interrater reliability and internal consistency. Therapists in each condition used techniques unique to their own model and avoided those unique to the competing model. Individual therapists emphasized behavioral and substance-use interventions, whereas family therapists focused on interactional and affective interventions. Challenges in conducting adherence research that compares individual and family treatments are addressed, as are implications of these results for advancing treatment development for adolescent drug users. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Enrolling and retaining mothers of substance-exposed infants in drug abuse treatment.

This study provided an experimental test of a drug abuse treatment enrollment and retention intervention in a sample of 103 Black mothers of substance-exposed infants. Significantly more women assigned to the Engaging Moms Program enrolled into drug abuse treatment than did women assigned to the control condition (88% vs. 46%). Sixty-seven percent of participants in the Engaging Moms Program received at least 4 weeks of drug abuse treatment compared with 38% of the control women. However, there were no differences between the groups 90 days following treatment entry. Logistic regressions revealed that readiness for treatment predicted both short-term and long-term treatment retention. The Engaging Moms Program has considerable promise in facilitating treatment entry and short-term retention, but it did not influence long-term retention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of daily hassles, uplifts, and major life events to health status.

100 45–64 yr olds completed a hassles scale, an uplifts scale, a recent life events schedule, and a health status questionnaire. Analysis showed that hassles—the repeated or chronic strains of everyday life—were more strongly associated with somatic health than were life events. Hassles shared most of the variance in health that could be accounted for by life events, and when the effects of life events were statistically removed, hassles and health remained significantly related. Daily uplifts made little contribution to health that was independent of hassles. The assessment of daily hassles appears to be a useful approach to the study of life stress and could be an important supplement to the life events approach that, alone, is insufficient for full understanding and practical prediction of health outcomes. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patterns of adaptation to Parkinson's disease.

Interviewed 44 50–80 yr-old Parkinson's disease patients about the effects of the disease on their lives; in addition, the revised SCL 90 and Mini-Mental State, and physician ratings of disease severity, were obtained. Four clusters of patients were identified. Cluster I Ss were sanguine and engaged; Cluster II Ss were depressed and apprehensive about the future; Cluster III Ss felt depressed, ashamed, and misunderstood; and Cluster IV Ss were passive and resigned. Disease severity, but not demographic or other health variables, discriminated the groups. Findings suggest that the degree to which personal attitudes can influence adaptation to somatic disease is limited by specific realities of the disease. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Meaning and measurement of family: Comment on Gorman-Smith et al. (1996).

D. Gorman-Smith, P. H. Tolan, A. Zelli, & L. R. Huesmann (see record 83:27124) highlight important issues for the treatment of conduct problems. Their results suggest that the concept of family and the family treatment of serious delinquency should target two dimensions: parenting practices and family characteristics. Additionally, they raise important questions about the meaning, and hence the measurement, of family. The debate articulated in this comment focuses on whether the family is considered to be a collection of individuals with unique perspectives, a unique whole with its own beliefs and emotions, or both a collection of individuals and a whole. In this article, the author argues that family research can be improved if researchers specify three components of the measurement of family: (a) target of the assessment, (b) method of the assessment, and (c) method of aggregation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)