The longitudinal and bidirectional association between parenting stress and couples' relationship quality

This study examined the longitudinal and bidirectional association between parenting stress and relationship quality, and whether the associations differed between married and cohabiting couples, using cross‐lagged panel models (CLPM) and random‐intercept cross‐lagged panel models (RI‐CLPM). Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Well‐being Study, the findings indicated that the RI‐CLPM model provided a better fit to the data compared to the CLPM model for mothers and fathers. The RI‐CLPM results showed high levels of stability in parenting stress and relationship quality over time, that parenting stress was associated with higher levels of relationship quality for both parents, and that the between‐person effect was similar for married and cohabiting couples. This study highlighted the importance of accounting for between‐ and within‐person variability.     

A situational analysis of the relationship between spouse-specific assertiveness and marital adjustment

This study examined the relationship between marital adjustment and spousespecific assertiveness, conceptualized in terms of defense of rights, in a sample of 115 married women, 27 of whom were in a distressed marriage. Subjects indicated their likely behavioral responses in 11 commonly occurring marital conflict situations and provided ratings of the expected effectiveness of their responses, the amount of resentment they would experience in the situations, and the frequency of occurrence of the situations in their marage. Marital adjustment was found to be directly related to response effectiveness and level of assertive responding and inversely related to situational resentment and frequency of transgression by spouse. Surprisingly, the level of assertive responding was less strongly related to marital adjustment than were any of the other principal variables. A multiple regression analysis indicated that the set of experimental variables accounted for 45% of the variance in marital adjustment. All of the principal variables uniquely accounted for significant levels of variance in marital adjustment. Viewed collectively, the results of this study indicate that (1) parameters of marital conflict situations have considerable importance for the marital adjustment of women and (2) explication of the relationship between marital conflict and marital adjustment requires investigation of a variety of behavioral, affective, and contextual variables.     

The relationship between marital standards,dyadic coping and marital satisfaction

Different types of cognitions in close relationships have been identified. Yet, little is known about the nature and effects of most of them, such as marital standards. In our research project ‘What makes marriages last?’ we applied a German adaptation of the ‘Inventory of Specific Relationship Standards,’ a questionnaire measuring how much sharing, egalitarianism and investment spouses feel they should have and actually experience in their own marriage. We hypothesized that high, i.e., relationship‐focused standards, should be associated with dyadic coping processes as well as with marital satisfaction. Thereby, dyadic coping was expected to play a mediating role between standards and marital satisfaction. Based on a sample of 663 German married couples, we found significant correlations between standards, marital satisfaction, and dyadic coping processes. Moreover, supportive behavior in stressful situations had the expected partial mediating effect, which turned out to be slightly different for husbands and wives. Implications for preventive and therapeutic intervention are discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The relationship of marital satisfaction and social support to depressive symptomatology

The relationship between depressive symptomatology, as measured by the short-form Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and two social support variables was assessed. Based on a sample of 131 married men and 136 married women, the results indicated that the quality of the marital relationship and the frequency of positive social contact with adults other than the spouse were significantly related to depressive symptomatology for both men and women. These two variables accounted for 16% of the variance in BDI scores. Further, analyses of risk for high BDI scores showed that individuals having the least support were 13 times more likely to be in the high-BDI group than individuals with the highest levels of social support. These results suggest that social isolation and marital discord are related to high BDI scores among married adults.     

Achieving relationship harmony in groups and its consequence for group performance

Relationships are formed to meet individual goals, and one consequence of this joint effort towards mutual goal fulfillment will be a level of relationship harmony achieved between the interaction partners. The present study investigated the personality correlates associated with the achievement of relationship harmony in a group setting and its consequences for group performance. Students from a social psychology course formed groups for completing task assignments. After a 3-month collaboration, each student evaluated his or her level of relationship harmony attained with each of his or her other group members. It was found that a member's agreeableness positively predicted his or her achievement of relationship harmony in the group, but that conscientiousness and openness to experience had detrimental effects on the relationship harmony achieved with other group members. A group whose members attained higher relationship harmony performed better on its group assignments, suggesting that relationship harmony among members of a group might have beneficial effects on group processes like performance focus and shared exchange at least in a collectivist, Chinese culture.     

Both group peer counselling and individual counselling reduce anxiety and depression,and increase self-esteem and overall life satisfaction in palliative cancer care

This study compared group peer counselling and individual counselling in relation to quality of life, well-being and perceived control in individuals receiving palliative cancer care. The study utilized a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design to assess the effectiveness of counselling type, in a sample of individuals diagnosed with breast, bowel or lung cancer. Nine females underwent group peer counselling and nine underwent individual counselling. Individuals were administered self-report questionnaires which included standardized subscales that measure quality of life in terms of psychological well-being and perceived locus of control before and after counselling. Both group peer counselling and individual counselling significantly increased self-esteem, self-reported levels of overall life satisfaction, and reduced anxiety and depression. Self-esteem, overall life satisfaction, and anxiety and depression were comparable in the two counselling types, both at outset and after counselling, however, individuals with internal locii of control scored higher for self-esteem on post-test, and lower for depression and anxiety, irrespective of type of counselling.     

Psycho-demographic correlates of behaviour towards seeking counselling intervention among workers in Lagos,Nigeria

This study sought to examine the impact which age, gender and psychological adjustment have on behaviour towards seeking professional counselling intervention. Multistage sampling technique was employed to select a total of three hundred workers across Lagos metropolis. The ex post facto research design was adopted for the study. Inventory of Attitudes towards Seeking Mental Health Services by Mackenzie, Knox, Gekoski, Macaulay and Hudson's Multi-Problem Screening Questionnaire were adapted for the study. The hypotheses were analysed using multiple regression. The results showed that the three independent variables made a joint contribution of 6.7% to the prediction of behaviour towards seeking of professional counselling intervention while each of the variables made significant contributions.     

The Teaching Alliance Inventory: Evaluating the student-instructor relationship in clinical and counselling psychology training

The Teaching Alliance Inventory (TAI) was developed to measure the quality of the student-instructor relationship in graduate clinical and counselling psychology classrooms. Based on Bordin's (1983) original concept of the alliance as fundamental to the change process in psychotherapy, we developed the TAI to measure aspects of the classroom relationship that may be fundamental to learning essential skills of counselling and clinical psychology. Factor analysis revealed six subscales, four representing interpersonal variables not evaluated in traditional teaching effectiveness measures. We demonstrated internal consistency and split-half reliability with a large sample of graduate students and described evidence for the scale's face validity and content validity. Construct validity was supported by significant correlations between the TAI and its subscales with an established measure of teaching effectives and its logically related subscales (SEEQ; Marsh, 1987 Marsh, HW. 1987. Students’ evaluations of university teaching: Research findings, methodological issues, and directions for future research. International Journal of Educational Research, 11(Whole Issue 3): 253–288.  [Google Scholar]). The TAI may supplement traditional assessments of instructor quality by providing feedback regarding interpersonal impact in the classroom.     

The relationship between existential-phenomenological and cognitive-behaviour therapies

The tendency of GPs to cap the number of counselling sessions offered to their patients in primary care has led to an ongoing debate about the effectiveness of time-limited counselling and brief therapy models. the advantages and disadvantages of brief as opposed to open-ended models of counselling in primary care need to be considered from the point of view of the client, the counsellor and the GP. Given that outcome research shows no difference between the two methods, a cost-benefit analysis would indicate that, for the majority of cases, time-limited counselling works very well. But there is still a minority of clients who do need open-ended therapy, and their needs are not being served by the present NHS system. Counsellors should therefore not be debating for either brief or open-ended style in primary care, but should be organizing themselves into expanding the service to give GPs the choice of both approaches.     

Intentions to participate in counselling among front-line,at-risk Irish government employees: an application of the theory of planned behaviour

ABSTRACT

The study set out to examine intentions to engage in counselling among at-risk Irish government employees and the differential utility of two alternative theory of planned behaviour (TPB) models of behaviour to explain intentions to participate in counselling. Individuals (N=259) employed in a front-line, at-risk occupation for the Irish government completed a TPB-based questionnaire. Quantitative analyses revealed that participants held positive to neutral intentions to participate in counselling, irrespective of gender. The original TPB model explained 49.9% of variance in intentions whereas an alternative TPB model, splitting the perceived behavioural control (PBC) construct between its internal and external control components, explained a further 8.9% of variance. Furthermore, self-efficacy was found to be the strongest predictor of intentions. This study therefore supports the use of the TPB in understanding counselling-seeking behaviour.     

The role of marital attributions in the relationship between life stressors and marital quality

This study examines the role that marital attributions play in the relationship between the occurrence of stressful life events and marital quality. Using a stress adaptation theory framework, data from 58 couples were used to test for the presence of a moderating relationship. The results supported the moderational model, indicating that the marital quality of couples who make relationship‐enhancing attributions about their spouses’ negative behaviors is less related to stress than those who make distress‐maintaining attributions. Couples’ successful adaptation to stress may be dependent on their ability to use their marital attributions as a coping resource. While the types of marital attributions a couple makes have the potential to make their marriage more vulnerable to the effects of stress, they also have the potential to serve a protective role.     

Perceptions of married life among single never‐married,single ever‐married,and married adults

With the increasing prevalence of single adults in the United States, perceptions of marriage as the relationship “gold standard” may be diminishing. In this study (N = 6,576), we explored perceptions of married life in three subgroups of participants: Those who have never married, ever married, and currently married. Across subgroups, most did not perceive married life more positively than single life in external/tangible domains (e.g., more friends), but did in emotional experiences and frame of mind (e.g., contentment). These findings suggest conceptualizations of marriage may be changing to be less positive or less discrepant from conceptualizations of single life. However, these findings also suggest that people continue to view marital relationships as a positive source of emotional experience and support.     

夫妻依恋风格、婚姻归因与婚姻质量的关系

本研究采用主—客体互倚模型(actor-partner interdependence model,APIM)的方法深入探讨夫妻的依恋风格、婚姻归因与自身及配偶感知到的婚姻质量之间的关系。以方便取样的方式在北京地区选取155对夫妻,采用Brennan等(1998)编制的亲密关系经历量表(ECR),Stander编制的婚姻归因量表(MAQ)和Spanier编制的婚姻质量问卷(DAS),要求夫妻双方分别报告其依恋风格、婚姻归因方式和感知到的婚姻质量。通过配对t检验、相关分析和结构方程模型分析发现:(1)夫妻对婚姻质量的总体知觉较为一致,但丈夫的婚姻满意度显著高于妻子;(2)夫妻双方在回避依恋和焦虑依恋两个分量表上不存在显著差异,但在婚姻归因上,妻子比丈夫表现出了更多的消极归因;(3)妻子的消极依恋显著地负向预测自身感知到的婚姻质量,而丈夫的消极依恋对自身感知到的婚姻质量没有显著影响;(4)在控制了丈夫、妻子的依恋风格、归因方式对其自身婚姻质量的主体效应之后,丈夫的依恋风格不能显著预测妻子感受到的婚姻质量,但其归因方式可以显著地预测妻子感受到的婚姻质量;然而妻子的归因方式并不能显著预测丈夫的婚姻质量。     

The counselling and psychotherapy profession in Canada: regulatory processes and current status

ABSTRACT

Like the Canadian landscape and culture, the status of professional regulation for counselling and psychotherapy is a mosaic reflecting the unique cultural, linguistic and contextual realities of Canada. Statutory regulation in Canada is constitutionally a provincial/territorial matter. In the past five years, a major movement towards professional regulation has emerged. The authors describe the variable status of regulation, focusing on three provinces: Quebec, Nova Scotia and Ontario. They explore the federal Agreement of Internal Trade, designed to facilitate inter-provincial/territorial mobility of regulated professionals. Finally, the authors summarise national research and development activities of the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association that enhance the pan-Canadian mobility of practitioners and support shared professional understandings. These activities range from bilingual, national validation of competencies, definitions, titles and scopes of practice to symposia and an entry-to-practice competency assessment.     

婚姻冲突、应对策略及其与婚姻满意度的关系

探讨婚姻冲突、应对策略、婚姻满意度的特点及其关系。采用方便取样,选取辽阳市已婚完整家庭1～10年的夫妻620对进行问卷调查。结果表明：1）夫妻报告的前三项冲突是：家务琐事、不良习惯和交流解决问题方面。在家务琐事、交流解决问题和孩子方面,妻子报告的冲突显著多于丈夫;妻子报告的双方回避应对显著多于丈夫;2）人际关系冲突和工作方面的冲突分别对妻子和丈夫的婚姻满意度有显著预测作用;双方都报告人际关系方面的冲突对对方婚姻满意度有显著预测作用,但妻子报告的人际关系冲突对丈夫婚姻满意的预测作用更大;3）自己和对方的应对策略在妻子报告的冲突与婚姻满意中起完全中介作用,在丈夫报告的冲突与婚姻满意中起部分中介作用。     

The effects of cystic fibrosis on couples: marital satisfaction, emotions, and coping strategies

An earlier diagnosis and better overall multidisciplinary care enable people suffering from Cystic Fibrosis (CF) to have a life expectancy of 40. Consequently, new populations and questions about the development of the life of couples have arisen. This study by questionnaires takes a first look at marital adjustment, anxiety, depression, and emotion focused, social support focused, and problem focused coping strategies in 16 CF patients and their partners. As a whole, the couples' marital adjustment level was good; it was higher for men who were patients than men who were partners, and vice versa for women. Anxiety was high for at least one partner in 10 of the couples; depression, for at least one partner in seven of them. The participants seem to use coping strategies to a lesser extent than the general population. The results are discussed in terms of how the quality of life as a couple with one partner suffering from CF is affected by the proper mutual adjustment of the partners.     

Psychodynamic counselling in an educational setting: Containing,transference and clientele

Abstract

The concepts of containing and transference, as well as the specific nature of the clientele, may, on a first approach, be used to differentiate psychodynamic counselling in an educational setting (PES) from the ‘pure gold’ of psychoanalysis. Further, it is argued that a realistic understanding of PES, given the constraints in which it operates, demands that the psychodynamic practitioner be prepared to cut her procedural cloth in accordance with the demands her clients place upon her. This makes PES a pragmatical practice rather than some lesser cousin of ‘orthodox’ psychoanalysis.     

《易传》的天人合一哲学及其对中国封建法的影响

<易传>通过吸取道家的天道观、承袭儒家的伦理观,利用阴阳家的阴阳学说,建构了兼具自然主义和人文主义色彩的天人合一哲学,完成了该哲学的世俗化历程.本文从本体论、认识论、方法论角度探讨了该哲学的基本理论,指出,<易传>天人合一哲学的基本精神是道德伦理哲学.它对中国封建法的思维模式和价值取向产生了深远的影响.