Understanding Dignity in the Lives of Homeless Persons

The current investigation is a planned, systematic study of dignity as critical to understanding the experience of homelessness and improving services and programs for the homeless. Specifically, we conducted a thematic content analysis of interviews with 24 homeless men and women to identify their perception of specific environmental events that validate and invalidate dignity. In addition, we explored the impact that these events have on homeless persons. Eight types of events were identified that sustain dignity such as being cared for by staff and having resources available to meet basic needs. Eight types of events were found that undermine dignity, such as being yelled at or insulted by staff persons and having staff use rules in an excessive and arbitrary way. Two outcomes followed the sustenance of dignity including increased self-worth and motivation to exit homelessness. Three outcomes followed the undermining of dignity including anger, depression, and feelings of worthlessness. The results suggest that dignity is an important variable to consider in understanding the experience of homelessness. Policies and programs that support validating the dignity of homeless persons are encouraged.     

家的无意识结构与主体化功能——精神分析视角下的家情结

不同于存在主义将人构想为被抛入世的孤独存在者,精神分析从一开始便将人置于家中进行考察,认为人在根本上便是有家、在家且恋家之人。从精神分析的视角出发,家首先是作为家族世代传递的无意识结构,具有赋予每个主体以其独特身份与位置的重要功能,是人由个体转化为主体的首要场域。作为主体的人往往不仅生于且终于、困于也成于作为一种情结的家中,而且正是对这种家情结的升华,造就了诸如国家这样的政治共同体,使得国在文化无意识层面有可能成为家之命运、结构与功能的延续、拓展与深化。     

The Influence of Silent Learning Disorders on the Lives of Women

Abstract

Longstanding neurocognitive deficits such as learning disorders greatly influence development of a woman's personality, relationships, and educational and vocational attainment. In our clinical practice, we increasingly see women with previously undiagnosed “silent learning disorders.” Educational and career milestones, problems in the workplace, parenting a child with a learning disorder, and normal aging along with common medical conditions can exacerbate these “silent learning disorders.” As a result, neurocognitive deficits might appear more pronounced as former ways of compensating for learning problems no longer are adequate. When such learning disorders are not detected, women and their therapists might not avail themselves of interventions that can help to treat the reading, visual-spatial, organizational, or other neurocognitive deficits, and indirectly help with patterns of anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. In the present paper, we characterize women with silent learning disorders, discuss implications if disorders remain undetected, and present case examples. A model and strategies for detecting silent learning disorders also are presented.     

Creativity,Gender and The Family: A Study of Creative Writers

Based on interviews with 20 creative writers, this study explores the relationship between creativity and the family. Although most research in this area addresses the effect of parental influences on young creators, this study examines the effect of being a parent and a spouse once adult creators establish families of their own. The family affects writers in terms of (a) gender expectations, (b) material and symbolic constraints of parenthood, and (c) social support provided by spouses. These social forces affect men and women differently, and may help explain why there have been so few female creators. Locating creativity within the context of family relationships will further expand the study of creativity from a psychological phenomenon to a social process.     

目标定向对创造性个性的影响

基于创造性研究的社会心理学取向,本研究试图探讨目标定向干预对创造性个性的影响。对73名高一学生施以TARGET模式3个月以引导掌握定向的形成;另73名高一学生作为控制组。协方差分析表明,实验组的创造性个性有明显改善;被试实验前的目标定向对实验效果具有一定的影响,实验前成绩接近定向的倾向较弱的被试其创造性个性的改善较为明显。总之,目标定向干预可导致创造性个性的改善。     

Qualitative Methods in Family Evaluation: Creative Assessment Techniques

Traditionally, family therapists have used experiential activities primarily as interventions. In this article, the authors discuss the role that experiential therapy methods can play in qualitative family assessment. It is believed that these methods can be quite helpful in engaging family members in a collaborative evaluation process. The authors discuss the advantages of qualitative assessment as complement to more quantitative family evaluation measures and present several illustrative qualitative assessment procedures.     

Economic Disadvantage in Complex Family Systems: Expansion of Family Stress Models

Economic disadvantage is associated with multiple risks to early socioemotional development. This article reviews research regarding family stress frameworks to model the pathways from economic disadvantage to negative child outcomes via family processes. Future research in this area should expand definitions of family and household to incorporate diversity and instability. This expansion would be particularly relevant for research among low-income ethnic minority families and families with young children. This line of research would highlight specific pathways to target to prevent the onset of early parental and child dysfunction.     

Creating All in the Family: A Case Study in Creative Thinking

Research examining the development of creative works suggests that creative products often build on previous works and that, in such cases, the new work can be seen as an extension and synthesis of works known to the creator at that time (Weisberg, 2003a). In recent years, several investigators have applied quantitative methods to the analysis of the development of creative works (e.g., Martindale, 1990; Simonton, 1998; Weisberg, 2003b). The present study extended this quantitative orientation to the analysis of the development of the innovative 1970s television show All in the Family (AITF). The family structure, character portrayals, topical emphases, and goals of AITF were compared with those of its purported "parent," the British situation comedy Till Death Us Do Part (TDUDP), as well as with those of 4 "control" U.S. situation comedies. Statistical analyses demonstrated significant relationships between AITF and TDUDP, while showing significant differences between AITF and TDUDP and the other American shows. Many of the innovations in AITF can be seen as extensions of ideas present in TDUDP. The present study provides further evidence for the feasibility and usefulness of applying quantitative methods to the analysis of the development of creative products. On a substantive level, it appears that AITF represents another in a long line of creative products that built on and extended what was already available to create something new.     

情绪的相容性对创造性思维的影响

为探讨具身内隐情绪和外显情绪之间的相容性和不相容性对创造性思维的影响,实验采用情绪视频启动范式诱发被试的积极情绪或消极情绪,同时采用面部表情操纵技术诱导其具身积极情绪或具身消极情绪,然后要求被试完成创造性思维测验中的替代使用任务（AUT）与顿悟字谜测验。结果发现：在积极情绪下,情绪相容组的AUT流畅性得分显著高于情绪不相容组;而在消极情绪下,情绪相容组的AUT原创性得分与顿悟字谜得分显著高于情绪不相容组;灵活性在两种情绪条件下的差异均不显著。结果表明,面部表情和外显情绪的相容性有利于创造性思维的表现,积极情绪和消极情绪下的情绪相容性分别影响着创造性思维的不同成分。     

Intervening in the Lives of Youth with Complex Behavioral Health Challenges and Their Families: The Role of the Wraparound Process

Wraparound is an individualized, team-based service planning and care coordination process intended to improve outcomes for youth with complex behavioral health challenges and their families. In recent years, several factors have led wraparound to become an increasingly visible component of service systems for youth, including its alignment with the youth and family movements, clear role within the systems of care and public health frameworks, and expansion of the research base. In this paper, we provide a review of the place of the wraparound process in behavioral health, including a discussion of the opportunities it presents to the field, needs for further development and research, and recommendations for federal actions that have the potential to improve the model’s positive contribution to child and family well-being.     

Race-Related Differences in the Experiences of Family Members of Persons with Mental Illness Participating in the NAMI Family to Family Education Program

Families play an important role in the lives of individuals with mental illness. Coping with the strain of shifting roles and multiple challenges of caregiving can have a huge impact. Limited information exists regarding race-related differences in families’ caregiving experiences, their abilities to cope with the mental illness of a loved one, or their interactions with mental health service systems. This study examined race-related differences in the experiences of adults seeking to participate in the National Alliance on Mental Illness Family-to-Family Education Program due to mental illness of a loved one. Participants were 293 White and 107 African American family members who completed measures of problem- and emotion-focused coping, knowledge about mental illness, subjective illness burden, psychological distress, and family functioning. Multiple regression analyses were used to determine race-related differences. African American caregivers reported higher levels of negative caregiving experiences, less knowledge of mental illness, and higher levels of both problem-solving coping and emotion-focused coping, than White caregivers. Mental health programs serving African American families should consider targeting specific strategies to address caregiving challenges, support their use of existing coping mechanisms and support networks, and increase their knowledge of mental illness.     

Family Unpredictability and Psychological Distress in Early Adulthood: The Role of Family Closeness and Coping Mechanisms

Unpredictability within the family environment has been consistently linked to anxiety and depressive symptomology in early adulthood. The current investigation sought to examine how individual and family factors may serve to protect college students from the potentially detrimental effects of growing up with family chaos. A multi-dimensional survey, including measures assessing family unpredictability, coping behavior, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, was administered to 260 (68% female) undergraduate college students. A series of regression models found mediating and moderating effects: the relationship between family unpredictability and psychological distress was explained in part by less family closeness, and this was especially true among students who engaged in more emotion-focused coping. Individuals who used less emotion-focused coping did not appear to suffer from psychological distress associated with family unpredictability. Conversely, task-focused coping did not moderate the association between family unpredictability and psychological distress; yet, individuals who used more task-focused coping, in general, experienced less distress. These findings could be used to inform intervention efforts targeted at improving parenting and caregiving practices as well as the development of campus programs aimed at improving students’ coping strategies.     

Leader Humor Extends beyond Work: how and when Followers Have Better Family Lives

Although the consequences of leader humor on subordinates have been well documented, the important issues of how and when leader humor affects employees’ attitudes or behaviors beyond the workplace have received limited attention. We integrate the humor literature with spillover-crossover theory to address the gap regarding the implications of leader humor in the nonwork domain. By performing an experiment and two field studies involving employee-spouse dyads, we consistently find 1) a positive association between leader humor and followers’ job satisfaction, 2) a spillover effect of followers’ job satisfaction on subordinates’ work-to-family enrichment (WFE) and a crossover effect of subordinates’ WFE on their spouses’ marital satisfaction, 3) serial mediating effects of followers’ job satisfaction and WFE on the leader humor-spouses’ marital satisfaction link, and 4) a stronger positive indirect effect of leader humor on spouse’ marital satisfaction via followers’ job satisfaction and WFE when followers’ perceived organizational interpersonal harmony is low. We discuss the theoretical implications of these findings and suggest practical implications for developing leader humor to enhance employee well-being.

     

The Creative Dilemma: The Influence of Schiller''s Aesthetics on the Life and Work of Otto Rank

The impact of philosophical wisdom on the pioneers of psychoanalytic work is presented in this article, in particular the influence of Schiller's aesthetics on the theoretical and clinical work of Otto Rank. The essay will compare and contrast Schiller's major themes—in particular his notions of the aesthetic impulse, will, and his concept of harmonia—with aspects of Rank's contributions, namely, his notions of creativity and the art of living. Drawing from Schiller's aesthetic vision, Rank's notion that art and play are foundational sources for healing is described in the author's own clinical work.