Family discussion group therapy for major depression: a brief systemic multi‐family group intervention for hospitalized patients and their family members

This paper describes a brief systemic multi‐family group intervention for hospitalized patients with major depression and their family members. The presented treatment integrates elements of systemic therapy, social constructionist and narrative concepts and the family systems‐illness model. It has further adapted a specific multi‐family group format combining marital group sessions and family group sessions. Similarities and differences with other family interventions for depression are discussed. The therapeutic foundations and goals, the organization, and the therapeutic process are explained. A number of clinical vignettes are presented to illustrate the treatment procedure. Although the first clinical impressions about the usefulness of the family discussion group intervention are promising, the efficacy of the treatment awaits the completion of a clinical trial that is currently underway.     

Here's looking at you,kid: attention to infant emotional faces in mothers and non‐mothers

Infant facial cues play a critical role in eliciting care and nurturance from an adult caregiver. Using an attentional capture paradigm we investigated attentional processing of adult and infant emotional facial expressions in a sample of mothers (n = 29) and non‐mothers (n = 37) to determine whether infant faces were associated with greater task interference. Responses to infant target stimuli were slower than adult target stimuli in both groups. This effect was modulated by parental status, such that mothers compared to non‐mothers showed longer response times to infant compared to adult faces. Both groups also responded more slowly to emotional faces, an effect that was more marked for infant emotional faces. Finally, it was found that greater levels of mothers' self‐reported parental distress was associated with less task interference when processing infant faces. These findings indicate that for adult women, infant faces in general and emotional infant faces in particular, preferentially engage attention compared to adult faces. However, for mothers, infant faces appear to be more salient in general. Therefore, infant faces may constitute a special class of social stimuli. We suggest that alterations in attentional processing in motherhood may constitute an adaptive behavioural change associated with becoming a parent.     

Relationship‐based intervention with at‐risk mothers: Factors affecting variations in outcome

A previous group comparison had shown that in families experiencing the UCLA Family Development Project intervention as opposed to a group that did not, mothers became more responsive to the needs of their infants, and the infants were more secure in their attachment to their mothers. The present study asks whether variations in these outcomes following participation in a relationally based intervention are anticipated by maternal involvement in the intervention, partner support, personality dimensions, and mother–infant interactions that were assessed early in the intervention process. The sample consists of 46 mothers at risk for inadequate parenting who also were poor and generally lacked support. It was found that variations at 12 months of age in the child's secure response to separation, his or her expectation of being cared for (felt security), and the mother's responsiveness to need are anticipated by variations in the mother's 6‐ to 12‐month involvement in the home‐visiting intervention, the quality of her partner's support as measured at six months, and her own trust, ability to form stable relationships, and lack of self doubt. Parents who, at one month, were responsive to the needs of their more soothable babies were more likely to have secure children at 12 months, but these associations were not as robust as those summarized above. © 2000 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.     

Relationship‐based intervention with at‐risk mothers: Outcome in the first year of life

This study shows that a home‐visiting, relationship‐based intervention, as defined in the UCLA Family Development Project, affects certain areas of family functioning by the time an infant reaches 12 months. Within a randomized trial design, we compared two samples of mothers who were identified as at risk for inadequate parenting in the third trimester of pregnancy with their first child. The primary risk characteristics were poverty and a lack of support. Thirty‐one of these mothers experienced the intervention and thirty‐three did not. Mothers given the opportunity of a positive, trusting, and working relationship with a weekly home visitor as well as a mother–infant group scored significantly higher on measures of their experienced partner and family support. The intervention also made a significant impact on three critical social‐emotional mother–infant transactions in the first year of life. Thus, on a variety of indices including the responses to the Ainsworth Strange Situation, the children in the intervention group were more secure and their mothers more responsive to their needs. Children experiencing the intervention were also more autonomous and task oriented and were encouraged in this regard by their mothers. ©1999 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.     

Relation‐based intervention with at‐risk mothers: Outcome in the second year of life

It has been shown that the UCLA home visiting/mother–infant group intervention made a significant positive impact during the child's first 2 years of life on two indices of the mother's support and on three areas of mother–child and child development: (1) The mother's responsiveness to the needs of her child and the related development of his or her security of attachment; (2) the mother's encouragement of her child's autonomy and the related development of his or her autonomy; and (3) the mother's encouragement of her child's task involvement and the related development of his or her task orientation. By child age 2 years, the mothers experiencing the intervention, in comparison with those that did not, also used verbally persuasive as opposed to coercive intrusive methods of control and their children responded more positively to these controls. Mothers who did not experience the help of the intervention had significantly more difficulty controlling their child if it was a boy as opposed to a girl. They used the least appropriate methods of control, and the boys responded more negatively to these controls. The nature of the development of the mother's use of appropriate controls and the child's response to that control was elucidated by determining on the total sample where 12‐month antecedents influenced the indices of control either independently of or in interaction with the intervention status. The child's endurance in the test situation was an independent predictor of mother‐appropriate control and the child's positive response to that control, while the absence of maternal intrusiveness further enhanced the impact of the intervention on that control. ©2001 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.     

Training and disseminating family interventions for schizophrenia: developing family intervention skills with multi‐disciplinary groups

Family interventions for psychosis are not routinely available, in spite of a robust evidence base, clear policies and guidelines, and requests from service recipients. The reasons for this are complex involving three key groups: service recipients, clinicians and organizations. This paper first of all identifies barriers to implementation in relation to each of these groups. It then outlines a range of strategies that may be employed at a number of levels to bring about change in each of these systems. The strategies are drawn from current research in the area, and from experiences over a seven‐year period in the Meriden West Midlands Family Programme.     

When being a girl matters less: Accessibility of gender‐related self‐knowledge in single‐sex and coeducational classes and its impact on students' physics‐related self‐concept of ability

Background . Establishing or preserving single‐sex schooling has been widely discussed as a way of bringing more girls into the natural sciences. Aims . We test the assumption that the beneficial effects of single‐sex education on girls' self‐concept of ability in masculine subjects such as physics are due to the lower accessibility of gender‐related self‐knowledge in single‐sex classes. Sample . N = 401 eighth‐graders (mean age 14.0 years) from coeducational comprehensive schools. Methods . Random assignment of students to single‐sex vs. coeducational physics classes throughout the eighth grade. At the end of the year, students' physics‐related self‐concept of ability was measured using a questionnaire. In a subsample of N = 134 students, the accessibility of gender‐related self‐knowledge during physics classes was assessed by measuring latencies and endorsement of sex‐typed trait adjectives. Results . Girls from single‐sex physics classes reported a better physics‐related self‐concept of ability than girls from coeducational classes, while boys' self‐concept of ability did not vary according to class composition. For both boys and girls, gender‐related self‐knowledge was less accessible in single‐sex classes than in mixed‐sex classes. To the extent that girls' feminine self‐knowledge was relatively less accessible than their masculine self‐knowledge, their physics‐related self‐concept of ability improved at the end of the school year. Conclusions . By revealing the importance of the differential accessibility of gender‐related self‐knowledge in single‐ and mixed‐sex settings, our study clarifies why single‐sex schooling helps adolescents to gain a better self‐concept of ability in school subjects that are considered inappropriate for their own sex.     

When I and me are different: assimilation and contrast in temporal self‐comparisons

In two studies, we show that comparisons with past or possible future selves shape current self‐evaluation and that the direction of this influence is determined by one's current comparison focus. In Study 1, participants primed to focus on similarities versus dissimilarities were asked to remember an introverted or extraverted past self and then to evaluate their current level of extraversion. Participants who focused on similarities assimilated current self‐evaluations to the past self, whereas those who focused on dissimilarities contrasted current self‐evaluations away from the past self. In Study 2, participants imagined a possible future self that differed from their current self in terms of body weight. Participants who imagined a moderate weight change exhibited assimilation to the possible self, whereas those who imagined an extreme weight change exhibited contrast. These studies highlight the important role cognitive factors such as comparison focus play in shaping the consequences of temporal self‐comparisons. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Improving executive functions in 5‐ and 6‐year‐olds: Evaluation of a small group intervention in prekindergarten and kindergarten children

Research suggests a central role of executive functions for children's cognitive and social development during preschool years, especially in promoting school readiness. Interventions aiming to improve executive functions are therefore being called for. The present study examined the effect of a small group intervention implemented in kindergarten settings focusing on basic components of executive functions, i.e., working memory, interference control and cognitive flexibility. A total of 135 children enrolled in Swiss prekindergarten (5‐year‐olds) and kindergarten (6‐year‐olds) were involved. Results revealed that the small group intervention promoted gains in all three included components of executive functions: prekindergarten children substantially improved their working memory and cognitive flexibility processes, whereas significant training effects were found for the kindergarten children in interference control. Implications of these findings for early intervention programs and for tailoring preschool curricula are discussed, particularly with respect to children's school readiness. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Functional assessment and treatment of pica: a single‐case experiment

The pica of a 6‐year‐old girl diagnosed with autism was initially shown to persist in the absence of socially mediated consequences. In an attempt to provide a competing source of oral stimulation, we used a stimulus preference assessment to identify food items that were subsequently presented noncontingently. However, the noncontingent schedule could not be thinned to a practical variation while still maintaining reductions in pica. A subsequent multielement evaluation of response blocking and verbal reprimands demonstrated that neither intervention both produced and maintained low levels of pica. Verbal reprimands were then used in conjunction with noncontingent food presentation, but this intervention did not produce significant reductions in pica. Suppression of pica was ultimately obtained in both a clinic setting and in the child's natural environment using contingent, varied auditory stimulation. The results are discussed in the context of the ‘least restrictive alternative’ model of treatment selection. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Criterion Validity is Maintained When Items are Evaluatively Neutralized: Evidence from a Full‐scale Five‐factor Model Inventory

The original version and an evaluatively neutralized version (with items rephrased to reduce popularity) of a personality inventory were compared. The results revealed (i) similar criterion validity across three different sets of self‐rated behaviours, (ii) stronger relations to the rated social desirability of criteria for the original version and (iii) less correlation between factors for the neutralized version. We take the results to indicate that evaluative neutralization is a viable technique for reducing social desirability in self‐ratings. Implications for test construction are discussed. Copyright © 2014 European Association of Personality Psychology     

When high achievers and low achievers work in the same group: The roles of group heterogeneity and processes in project‐based learning

Background . There has been an ongoing debate about the inconsistent effects of heterogeneous ability grouping on students in small group work such as project‐based learning. Aim . The present research investigated the roles of group heterogeneity and processes in project‐based learning. At the student level, we examined the interaction effect between students' within‐group achievement and group processes on their self‐ and collective efficacy. At the group level, we examined how group heterogeneity was associated with the average self‐ and collective efficacy reported by the groups. Sample . The participants were 1,921 Hong Kong secondary students in 367 project‐based learning groups. Method . Student achievement was determined by school examination marks. Group processes, self‐efficacy and collective efficacy were measured by a student‐report questionnaire. Hierarchical linear modelling was used to analyse the nested data. Results . When individual students in each group were taken as the unit of analysis, results indicated an interaction effect of group processes and students' within‐group achievement on the discrepancy between collective‐ and self‐efficacy. When compared with low achievers, high achievers reported lower collective efficacy than self‐efficacy when group processes were of low quality. However, both low and high achievers reported higher collective efficacy than self‐efficacy when group processes were of high quality. With 367 groups taken as the unit of analysis, the results showed that group heterogeneity, group gender composition and group size were not related to the discrepancy between collective‐ and self‐efficacy reported by the students. Conclusions . Group heterogeneity was not a determinant factor in students' learning efficacy. Instead, the quality of group processes played a pivotal role because both high and low achievers were able to benefit when group processes were of high quality.     

Executive functions and child problem behaviors are sensitive to family disruption: a study of children of mothers working overseas

Mothers in Sri Lanka are increasingly seeking overseas employment, resulting in disruption of the childcare environment. The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of maternal migration on executive function (EF) and behavior, thereby also contributing to the scientific understanding of environmental effects--or more specifically family effects--on children's neurocognitive functioning. A sample of 60 healthy 11-year-old children whose mothers had been working overseas for more than 1 year formed the study group, and a comparison group was recruited from the same schools. Evaluations were made twice over a 1-year interval with regard to the EF components inhibition and working memory as well as teacher ratings of internalizing and externalizing behavior. The children in the study group were found to have poorer EF and higher levels of externalizing behaviors. A composite score of inhibition partially mediated the group effect on externalizing behavior. Current home environment was assessed using the HOME scale, was poorer for the study group and was related to EF, but not to behavior problems. Keeping in mind the correlational nature of the present data, our results were discussed in relation to studies showing cognitive effects of stress.     

Beliefs about group malleability and out‐group attitudes: The mediating role of perceived threat in interactions with out‐group members

Recent research suggests that inducing fixed (rather than malleable) beliefs about groups leads to more negative attitudes toward out‐groups. The present paper identifies the underlying mechanism of this effect. We show that individuals with a fixed belief about groups tend to construe intergroup settings as threatening situations that might reveal shortcomings of their in‐group (perceived threat). In the present research, we measured (Study 1) and manipulated (Study 2) participants' lay theories about group malleability. We found that the extent to which individuals had an entity (versus an incremental) group theory influenced the level of threat they felt when interacting with out‐group members, and that perceived threat in turn affected their level of ethnocentrism and prejudice. These findings shed new light on the role of lay theories in intergroup attitudes and suggest new ways to reduce prejudice. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parental choice: What parents want in a son‐in‐law and a daughter‐in‐law across 67 pre‐industrial societies

Parents are influential over mate choice, and in most human societies they choose spouses for their offspring according to their own preferences. However, surprising little is known about the qualities which make a woman desirable as a daughter‐in‐law and a man desirable as a son‐in‐law. Using evidence from 67 societies such traits are identified and three hypotheses are tested: first, the hypothesis is tested that parents desire in an in‐law qualities which are beneficial to them and their kin. Second, it is hypothesized that such preferences are contingent upon the sex of the in‐law, as traits are weighted differently in a daughter‐in‐law and in a son‐in‐law. The third hypothesis tested is that parental preferences vary according to the subsistence type of a given society, as traits are valued differently in agropastoral societies and foraging societies. The evidence presented here provides support for all three hypotheses.     

Ladies in waiting: a group intervention for families coping with deployed soldiers

It is widely recognized that military service during wartime can take a toll on a soldier's psychological health. Recent work has revealed effects on the families left behind as well, as reflected, for example, in an increase in child abuse and neglect in these families. My interest in studying the transgenerational transmission of trauma led me to offer the National Guard a pro bono group therapy for women whose husbands had been deployed overseas. A slightly unorthodox approach paved the way not only to group treatment but, ultimately, individual treatment for these women and their children. My hope is that this work can serve as a model for other therapists who share my interest in treating the intergenerational transmission of trauma by implementing group and mother-child psychotherapy.     

Self‐reference and group membership: evidence for a group‐reference effect

Two experiments were designed to explore whether encoding information in reference to a group would facilitate the later recall of that information to the same extent as encoding with reference to the self. In both experiments, participants encoded adjectives with reference to the self, semantic properties, or a group and were subsequently given a surprise‐free recall test. In Experiment 1 (N = 37), the participants' university served as the reference group. In Experiment 2 (N=41), the participants' family served as the reference group. In both experiments, self‐reference resulted in better recall than semantic processing, replicating the typical self‐reference effect (SRE). More importantly, strong evidence for a group‐reference effect (GRE) was found in that group‐reference resulted in better recall than semantic processing and in fact facilitated recall to the same extent as self‐referencing. The existing explanations (schemas, organization, elaboration, mental cueing, and evaluation) for the SRE were compared with regard to their viability in accounting for the GRE patterns. We discuss additional features that may be important in the explanation of the SRE and suggest future directions for research on group‐referencing. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.