Parental Influence on Students' Educational Choices in the United States and Germany: Different Ramifications—Same Effect?

Despite the historical trend in all Western societies to increase educational participation irrespective of students' social origin, the correlation between parents' education and socio-economic status and the educational outcomes of their offspring remains a rather universal phenomenon. Although comparative studies have consistently found this association in various nations which differ in many ways in their educational systems, little is known about the mechanism behind this effect. Drawing on the assumption that career decision points are the major gateway for social background influences, we assume that similarities, as well as differences in the structure of the correlation between parents' socioeconomic background and students' school success, can be explained. Using two longitudinal data sets from the United States (N=1425) and Germany (N=1755) covering the school careers from Grade 7 to Grade 10, the analyses supported the hypothesis that (a) achievement information is the best predictor of career relevant decisions in both nations, (b) parents' background variables are independent additional predictors of career decision but not for actual learning progress, and (c) the assumed accumulation process of social background influences is more pronounced in the German than in the U.S. school system.     

Barter

Psychiatric hospitalization and child sexual abuse are linked not simply by the need for the former occasioned by the symptom sequelae of the latter, but, also, by powerful pathogenic processes. Specifically, stigmatization, betrayal, and powerlessness are central themes in both experiences. Because of these similarities, the survivor of child sexual abuse may experience a psychiatric hospitalization as a revictimization experience. In order to avoid or, at least, minimize harm, all involved with the hospitalization of the child abuse survivor need to be aware of these dynamics and be prepared to provide treatment articulated to the needs of the survivor.     

When Does a Professional Relationship with a Psychologist Begin? An Empirical Investigation

Research on multiple relationships by practicing psychologists has typically presumed the presence of a professional relationship and focused on the ethicality of subsequent, nonprofessional relationships. Instead, this study focused on the question of what, exactly, constitutes the professional relationship in the first place. Practicing psychologists and undergraduates responded to vignettes portraying various early stages of interaction between a therapist and a prospective client. Participants' responses indicated that determinations of professional relationship establishment, and the ethicality of subsequent nonprofessional relationships, depended upon the degree of engagement. Some differences emerged between perceptions by professionals and nonprofessionals. Ethical and professional implications are discussed.     

The Understanding and Treatment of Immigrant Trauma Survivors: Finding the Right Mix

This paper reviews attempts by three authors to describe psychoanalytic conceptualizations and treatment of torture victims. It argues that because the transference-countertransference configuration with immigrants who have not suffered torture is very similar to that of torture survivors, that no special diagnostic categories, theories, or treatment methods are needed to work with torture survivors. Second, the paper contends that newer psychoanalytic paradigms such as Hoffman's Social Constructivism may assist clinicians to capture the richness and complexity of clinical work with torture survivors better than do traditional analytic conceptions such as neutrality. Via an analysis of the three papers in this volume, I conclude with a consideration of the strengths and the weaknesses of the field of cross-cultural psychotherapy in general.     

Understanding Latina Immigrants Using Relational Cultural Theory

Latina immigrants face a number of challenges as they adapt to their new culture. This article presents Relational Cultural Theory (RCT) as a model for understanding the challenges Latina immigrants may present in psychotherapy. The RCT concepts of mutual empathy and empowerment, connections, condemned isolation, the central relational paradox, and power-over dynamics are used to understand the challenges Latina immigrants experience. Sociopolitical and cultural factors that interact to produce power-over dynamics are identified to show how Latina immigrants are at increased risk for major disconnections. A vignette shows how clinicians can use RCT to provide more culturally relevant treatment in their work with Latina immigrants.     

后现代心理治疗及其伦理问题思考

文章通过论述后现代对现代认识论和思维模式的质疑与超越,分析了后现代语境下心理治疗与现代心理治疗的差异,并关注在后现代这一新的思维模式下,心理治疗领域可能产生的伦理问题。作者指出,后现代心理治疗的不确定性、价值干预和文化介入,使心理治疗的伦理挑战被进一步复杂化,对治疗师也提出了更高要求。     

Academic achievement and popularity in low-socioeconomic status black children

The literature suggests that popularity may have different correlates depending on the ethnic, racial, and/or socioeconomic characteristics of the peer group. This study therefore investigated the relationship between peer popularity and academic achievement in low-socioeconomic status urban black children, a population in which this relationship had not previously been examined. Two hundred ninety-six children in grades 4, 6, and 8 completed three sociometric rating scales, indicating the popularity of each of their same-sex classmates as a workmate, playmate, and best friend. These ratings were subjected to a multivariate analysis of variance in which gender and academic achievement (high vs. low achievement test scores) were factors. Consistent with previous research, high achievement was associated with greater popularity as a workmate for an academic task at all three grade levels examined. Popularity as a playmate and as a best friend, however, was inversely related to achievement among fourth graders and unrelated to achievement among eighth graders. These findings suggest that, although high achievement may be recognized for its adaptive value in a work-related context, it may actually be something of a social liability among younger children choosing partners for social and athletic activities. The results support a conceptualization of popularity as a multidimensional construct and highlight the importance of the use of multiple measures.The authors express their appreciation to the children, parents, and staff of the Orleans Parish Schools for their cooperation and participation in the study and to Rex Forehand and Ben Lahey for helpful comments on the design and analysis.     

Diverse middle school students’ future career autobiographies and socioeconomic status factors: A content analysis

The future career autobiography (FCA) is a narrative, discovery-based career intervention designed to assess individuals’ career hopes and dreams. In total, 134 low-income, ethnically and racially diverse middle school students participated in an FCA intervention through a yearlong grant-funded career development initiative. Using content analysis, we analyzed participants’ FCAs for socioeconomic status factors and lifestyle indicators. We found that participants articulated occupational and lifestyle factors more than education and income, and that there were differences based on biological sex, race, and ethnicity. We present pertinent results and discuss implications for counseling practice and future research.     

Why Socioeconomic Status Affects the Health of Children

Abstract— This article provides an overview of research on socioeconomic status (SES) and physical health in childhood. SES has a gradient relationship with children's health, such that for each incremental increase in SES, there is a comparable benefit in children's health. In this article, I discuss psychosocial mechanisms underlying this association and argue that it is important to utilize knowledge about how the relationship between SES and health changes with age to inform a developmentally plausible search for mediators of this relationship. Furthermore, SES at different points in a child's lifetime may have different effects on health. I advocate an interdisciplinary approach to searching for mediators that would allow researchers to understand how characteristics of society, the neighborhood, the family, and the individual child are involved in the processes linking SES and children's health.     

Men's and Women's Reactions to Hypothetical Sexual Advances: The Role of Initiator Socioeconomic Status and Level of Coercion

Research on sexual coercion has revealed a beauty bias in that participants judge coercive sexual advances committed by attractive individuals as more acceptable than coercive advances committed by unattractive individuals. In this study, we examined the extent to which there exists a similar socioeconomic status bias in people's perceptions. Participants (N = 160) read 1 of 8 vignettes that depicted sexual advances and responded to several questions about the acceptability of the initiator's behavior. The coerciveness of the advance was manipulated by varying whether the touch occurred in a gentle manner with no threat or in a forceful manner with a threat of harm. Male participants always received a vignette that portrayed a woman initiating a sexual advance, and female participants always received a vignette that portrayed a man initiating a sexual advance. Socioeconomic status of the initiator was manipulated by what type of clothing he/she wore (shabby or expensive) and the car he/she drove (old or new). Results indicated that a gentle touch was more acceptable than a forceful touch, and men found sexual advances more acceptable than did women. Participants rated sexual advances by wealthy individuals as more acceptable than sexual advances by poor individuals. However, the greater acceptability of advances by wealthy individuals appeared to hold up only in the case of a gentle touch. In addition, men appeared to be more prone to the socioeconomic status bias than were women. Methodological limitations and future directions are discussed.     

Time's wingèd chariot: Short-term psychotherapy in later life

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the appropriateness of short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy with older adults, a client group which has historically been neglected in psychotherapeutic practice. Drawing on the case study of a fourteen-session therapy with a woman in her seventies, it is argued that brief exploratory work can be of particular value to people nearing the end of their lives. The nearness of death gives a special urgency and motivation to the work and a time-limited therapeutic contract mirrors the reality of having only a short time left. Making psychotherapy available to older people also represents an important valuing and validation of their experience.     

从毕生发展的视角看健康的贫富差距

健康的贫富差距是所有个体从出生到死亡都需要面对的现实, 也是全球所有国家都存在的社会问题。目前已经有相当的理论和实证研究尝试从毕生发展的视角理解健康的贫富差距。在毕生发展研究中, 健康的贫富差距有其独特的概念和测量方式。该领域重要的理论包括累积优(劣)势假设、累积不公平模型和社会阶层文化周期模型。研究者就儿童期、青少年期、成年期和老年期的健康贫富差距开展了大量的实证研究。未来毕生发展研究和实践的可能方向包括早年和当前社会经济地位的交互作用、社会经济地位的稳定特征和情境效应、跨领域实践干预等。毕生发展视角的健康贫富差距研究有助于理解健康贫富差距的发展根源和形成过程, 是促进国民健康和开展健康公平实践工作的理论基础。