Levels of Family Systems Thinking: Differences Between Chinese and German Therapists

This study compares levels of systemic thinking between Chinese and German systemic family therapists when conceptualizing a clinical case. Furthermore, it explores the relationships between levels of systemic thinking and several variables of clinical training and practice. Eighty-two Chinese and seventy-six German systemic family therapists participated in this study. Significant differences in levels of systemic thinking and significant predictors for these levels were found. Limitations of this study and implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed. This study is one of the first to compare the case conceptualizations between systemic family therapists in China and Germany.     

Professional efficacy,exhaustion, and work characteristics among police officers: A longitudinal test of the learning‐related predictions of the demand—control model

The present study addressed the relationships among professional efficacy, emotional exhaustion, and job characteristics (job demands and job control) in the context of a two‐wave panel study among 828 Dutch police officers. Based on the demand–control model, we expected that high demands/high control would be positively related to professional efficacy, and that high demands/low control would be related to high levels of exhaustion. Moreover, we hypothesized that high levels of exhaustion would lead to lower levels of professional efficacy and that high levels of efficacy would lead to low levels of exhaustion. Structural equation modelling largely supported these predictions. High demands were longitudinally related to high levels of efficacy and high levels of exhaustion; high control was longitudinally related to high levels of efficacy. Further, efficacy and exhaustion were indeed mutually related. Finally, high levels of exhaustion were longitudinally related to high levels of demands. We conclude that there are complex, yet theoretically, and practically interpretable relations among efficacy, strain and work characteristics.     

Memory and coping with stress: The relationship between cognitive–emotional distinctiveness,memory valence,and distress

Cognitive–emotional distinctiveness (CED), the extent to which an individual separates emotions from an event in the cognitive representation of the event, was explored in four studies. CED was measured using a modified multidimensional scaling procedure. The first study found that lower levels of CED in memories of the September 11 terrorist attacks predicted greater frequency of intrusive thoughts about the attacks. The second study revealed that CED levels are higher in negative events, in comparison to positive events and that low CED levels in emotionally intense negative events are associated with a pattern of greater event-related distress. The third study replicated the findings from the previous study when examining CED levels in participants’ memories of the 2004 Presidential election. The fourth study revealed that low CED in emotionally intense negative events is associated with worse mental health. We argue that CED is an adaptive and healthy coping feature of stressful memories.     

Memory and coping with stress: the relationship between cognitive-emotional distinctiveness, memory valence, and distress

Cognitive-emotional distinctiveness (CED), the extent to which an individual separates emotions from an event in the cognitive representation of the event, was explored in four studies. CED was measured using a modified multidimensional scaling procedure. The first study found that lower levels of CED in memories of the September 11 terrorist attacks predicted greater frequency of intrusive thoughts about the attacks. The second study revealed that CED levels are higher in negative events, in comparison to positive events and that low CED levels in emotionally intense negative events are associated with a pattern of greater event-related distress. The third study replicated the findings from the previous study when examining CED levels in participants' memories of the 2004 Presidential election. The fourth study revealed that low CED in emotionally intense negative events is associated with worse mental health. We argue that CED is an adaptive and healthy coping feature of stressful memories.     

Psychological distress in australian case managers working with the unemployed

This study reports levels of psychological distress found in a sample of Australian case managers who work with the unemployed. Using a longitudinal survey methodology, 86 case managers employed throughout Australia completed the 12‐item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ‐12; D. P. Goldberg, 1978) on 2 occasions during 1999. In comparison with other studies investigating psychological well‐being of both employed and unemployed individuals, case manager respondents in this study reported significantly higher levels of psychological morbidity than levels reported for employed Australians and similar morbidity levels to those reported by unemployed Australians. Skills training seemed to moderate psychological distress levels reported by female case managers.     

Creative Mindsets and Their Affective and Social Consequences: A Latent Class Approach

In two studies, we tested the conceptualization of creative mindsets as latent classes, and examined several social and affective consequences of class membership. Business students completed a battery of questionnaires assessing creative personal identity, creative mindsets, social comparisons, pride, gratitude, anger, and sadness. Results from study 1 showed the presence of four latent classes: those holding low levels of both mindsets, those holding high levels of both mindsets, those holding high levels of a growth and low levels of a fixed mindset, and those holding medium levels of a growth and relative high levels of a fixed mindset. The latent class with low levels of both mindsets, growth and fixed, showed the lowest levels of creative personal identity. The latent class characterized by holding high levels of a fixed and growth mindset reported the highest tendency to use social comparison as a way of judging the quality of business ideas. Results from study 2 showed a similar four‐class solution. The low fixed and low growth creative mindset class showed the lowest levels of creative personal identity, higher levels of sadness and lower levels of pride and gratitude than some of the other classes.     

A window for the study of prenatal sex hormone influences on postnatal development

In humans, the influence of prenatal sex hormones on the fetal brain and subsequent postnatal development has had limited study because of the apparent inaccessibility of hormone levels in normal fetuses. We propose that amniotic fluid obtained via midtrimester amniocentesis can be assayed for fetal hormone levels during the period thought to be important for sexual differentiation of the brain. Amniotic fluid samples from midgestation (N = 70) were assayed for levels of testosterone and follicle-stimulating hormone, and significant sex differences were observed (ps less than .001), with some degree of overlap between the sexes. The possibility of applying hormone levels obtained from amniotic fluid to the study of postnatal development is discussed.     

Self-reported levels of psychopathology of drug abusers not currently in treatment

This study assessed levels of psychopathology, as measured by the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, of drug users not in treatment. These levels were then compared with levels of psychopathology reported previously in the literature of drug users in treatment, the general population, psychiatric inpatients, and psychiatric outpatients. Results suggest that drug users not in treatment endorse significantly lower levels of psychopathology than drug users in treatment, psychiatric inpatients, and psychiatric outpatients. However, they endorse significantly higher levels of pathology than adult nonpatients and they appear most similar to adolescent nonpatients. Implications for clinical work (prevention and intervention) as well as for future research are discussed. The study also established preliminary cultural validity of SCL-90-R with Alaska Natives.     

L’addiction au travail : quels effets de la charge de travail,de la dissonance émotionnelle et du surinvestissement ?

The present study aimed to assess workaholism in the light of job demands (psychological demands, efforts, emotional dissonance) and job resources (control, social support, rewards). The study was conducted among 342 employment counselors. The results revealed that the employment counselors would have all the more workaholism behaviors that the organizational context expose them to high levels of psychological demands and efforts, high levels of over-commitment and emotional dissonance and low levels of social support and rewards. Multiple regressions highlighted the central role of psychological demands, over-investment and emotional dissonance to reveal workaholism.     

Change in depressive symptoms among daughter caregivers: an 18-month longitudinal study.

This longitudinal study investigates, over an 18-month period, the caregiving experience of a probability sample of 115 daughters who provided care to an aging parent. The levels of depressive symptoms manifested by these daughters were relatively low, with only 23.5% scoring in the clinical range during the study. Nevertheless, there was substantive change in depressive symptoms among the daughters during the 18 months. Daughters with higher levels of mastery were more likely to use problem-focused coping strategies, which led to reductions in depression, whereas daughters with lower levels of mastery were more likely to use emotion-focused coping, which led to increased levels of depression. Mastery was higher when the caregiving role was shared with a sibling: it was lower if the daughter had other caregiving responsibilities and if the parent care recipient had elevated levels of behavior problems.     

Kinship Support and Academic Efficacy Among College Students: A Cross-Sectional Examination

The study examined whether relationships with extended kin were related to higher levels of mental health and academic functioning among college students. Specifically, the study tested whether perceived emotional support from extended (non-nuclear) family was related to self-esteem, psychological distress, and academic efficacy and dedication above and beyond relationships with one’s primary caregivers, and whether these associations varied by class year in college. The sample consisted of 530 students (average age = 20.82), at a public, four-year university. The results revealed that freshmen and seniors who reported high levels of positive relationships with their extended kin also reported higher levels of academic-efficacy and dedication, as well as lower levels of psychological distress. However, the relation between kin emotional support and these outcomes were not significant for sophomores and juniors. There was also a significant association between kinship support and self-esteem for participants in all four class levels. The study underscores the need to examine extended social support systems among college students, above and beyond those maintained with primary caregivers, as well as the dynamic nature of family support during young adulthood.     

汉字学习与儿童分析能力和综合能力的关系

以小学二、三年级儿童为对象,探讨汉字学习与儿童分析能力和综合能力的关系。结果表明,汉字学习水平与儿童综合操作水平之间存在密切关系,总体上来说,汉字学习水平高者其综合操作水平也高：汉字学习水平与儿童分析操作水平之间不存在密切关系。     

Friend or foe? Postdivorce hostility among recently divorced individuals

High levels of hostility often occur during and postdivorce and may significantly affect the quality of life, parent–child relationships, and social functioning of divorcees. Moreover, hostility may predict aggressive and violent behavior. This study sought to (a) compare average general hostility levels of a large sample of Danish divorcees to the norms of the general adult Danish population, (b) compare general hostility levels between male and female divorcees, and (c) investigate the explanatory value of various sociodemographic and divorce-related factors on postdivorce general hostility and whether these factors differ across gender. Cross-sectional baseline data (N = 1,856) from a larger randomized controlled trial study was used in this study. Normative data from a general sample of Danish adults (N = 2,040) was used for comparisons of hostility levels between our study sample and the Danish background population. This study found that male and female divorcees did not report significantly different hostility levels. However, participants reported significantly higher hostility levels postdivorce than the comparative Danish norm sample. Significant predictors of postdivorce hostility were lower age, lower educational level, infidelity as a reason for divorce, higher degree of postdivorce conflict, worse communication with the former spouse, the former spouse as the initiator of the divorce, and new partner status with neither divorcees having a new partner, or only the former spouse having a new partner. The predictive strength of the factors did not differ across gender. The findings may be especially relevant for interventions targeting problematic outcomes postdivorce (e.g., preventing aggressive behavior).     

Corticosterone effects on BDNF mRNA expression in the rat hippocampus during morris water maze training

Corticosterone and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) have both been shown to be involved in spatial memory formation in rats. In the present study we have investigated the effect of corticosterone on hippocampal BDNF mRNA expression after training in the Morris water maze in young adult Wistar rats. Therefore, we first studied BDNF mRNA levels in the hippocampus in relation to corticosterone levels at several time points after 4 training trials in the Morris water maze. Corticosterone levels were significantly increased after this procedure, and hippocampal BDNF mRNA levels only displayed a minor change: an increase in CA1 at 1 hr after training. However, in a previous study we observed dramatically decreased hippocampal BDNF mRNA levels in dentate gyrus and CA1 at 3 hr after injection of corticosterone. In order to analyze this discrepancy, we subsequently investigated if hippocampal BDNF mRNA expression is affected by corticosterone at 3 hr after water maze training. Therefore, we incorporated ADX animals and ADX animals which were injected with corticosterone in our study. ADX animals which were subjected to water maze training displayed similar hippocampal BDNF mRNA levels 3 hr after training compared to control ADX animals. Furthermore, ADX animals which were injected with corticosterone showed decreased BDNF mRNA levels in all hippocampal regions compared to control ADX animals. Water maze training did not alter this effect. Thus, the increased corticosterone levels during water maze training do not affect hippocampal BDNF mRNA expression, although exogenous corticosterone is effective under these conditions. Hence, our results suggest that in this situation BDNF is resistant to regulation by endogenous corticosterone, which may be important for learning and memory processes.     

Dimensions of Perfectionism and Levels of Attributions for Grades: Relations with Dysphoria and Academic Performance

The current study examined associations between dimensions of perfectionism, levels of attributions for a self-identified problem with marks, and dysphoria and course final grade in university students (253 women; 125 men). Our study revealed several significant findings: (1) perfectionism and levels of attribution are distinct yet related constructs; (2) socially prescribed perfectionism and specific levels of attribution both accounted for unique variance in dysphoria; (3) there were significant gender differences with respect to the relations among perfectionism dimensions, levels of attribution, and dysphoria; (4) self-oriented perfectionism and specific levels of attribution both accounted for unique variance in final grade, but in men only; (5) interactions between perfectionism dimensions and levels of attribution did not augment the prediction of dysphoria or academic performance; (6) self-oriented perfectionism is possibly adaptive under some circumstances. Implications for treating perfectionists and for further research are discussed.     

Trait Meta-Mood and Subjective Happiness: A 7-week Prospective Study

The primary aim of the current study was to replicate and extend previous findings by examining the relationship between trait meta-mood and levels of subjective happiness in a 7-week follow-up study. Participants were 192 undergraduate students (155 females) who completed self-report measures of trait meta-mood and subjective happiness. After 7 weeks, 155 students completed the subjective happiness scale again. Focusing first on cross-sectional analysis, meta-mood dimensions were found to be moderately related to levels of subjective happiness. Next, along with initial levels of subjective happiness, we found that meta-mood dimensions independently predicted prospective levels of subjective happiness over a 7-week follow-up. These findings provide some preliminary evidence on the prospective value of meta-mood dimensions as relevant individual differences involved in the maintenance of emotional well-being indicators.     

Pubertal Timing and Youth Internalizing Psychopathology: The Role of Relational Aggression

The current study examined relational aggression as a potential mechanism that explains the association between off-time pubertal development and internalizing problems in youth. Youth gender was also examined as a moderator for the association between these variables. It was hypothesized that early pubertal maturation would be associated with higher levels of relationally aggressive behavior which, in turn, would be associated with elevated levels of internalizing problems. Parents of 372 children between the ages of 8 and 17 were recruited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Parents responded to demographic information about themselves, as well as information about their child’s pubertal timing, relationally aggressive behavior, and anxiety and depressive symptoms. Findings indicated that early pubertal timing was associated with higher levels of anxiety directly, and higher levels of both anxiety and depressive symptoms indirectly through higher levels of relational aggression. In all but one of the pathways examined, gender was not found to moderate the associations between the study variables of interest. This study is the first to examine relational aggression as a mechanism by which early pubertal timing leads to internalizing problems. The findings suggest that relational aggression could be a target for intervention among early developing youth who are at risk for internalizing problems.     

‘If that's what I need,it could be what someone else needs.’ Exploring the role of attachment and reflective function in counselling psychologists' accounts of how they use personal therapy in clinical practice: a mixed methods study

Empirical evidence supporting the inclusion of mandatory training therapy for therapists is sparse. We present results from a mixed methods study designed to interrogate how counselling psychologists' attachment status and levels of reflective function (RF) intersect with how they experience, recall and describe using personal therapy in clinical practice. Results suggest that securely-attached, or earned secure participants with ordinary or marked levels of RF used their therapy to manage feelings evoked by difficult or challenging clients. Insecurely-attached participants with lower levels of RF found therapy valuable in terms of behavioural modelling, but not in managing complex process issues. Negative case analysis found that high levels of RF may not be uniformly advantageous for therapists. The study concludes with a brief discussion of issues relating to epistemology, validity and reflexivity.