The Inner World of the First Half of Life: Analytical Psychology's Forgotten Developmental Stage

The field of analytical psychology has largely ignored the developmental stage that Jung termed the “first half of life.” As a result, a great many individuals coming of age today, starving for guidance on how to live in relationship to their inner lives, find little that reflects them within the Jungian literature or community. This article addresses that issue, identifying some of the challenges that individuals in the first half of life face today, including the lack of traditional supports to guide their transition from childhood into adulthood, and the popularly termed “quarter-life crisis” that often marks this stage. This article also questions the assumptions within the field that tie individuation to the second half of life, and it explores the relationship with the inner world that is possible earlier in life.     

Association of parental depression with psychiatric course from adolescence to young adulthood among formerly depressed individuals

The authors examined whether parental major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with course of depression and other psychopathology among formerly depressed adolescents as they enter adulthood. The sample consisted of 244 individuals (age 24) in a longitudinal study who had experienced MDD by 19. Maternal MDD was associated with MDD recurrence, chronicity and severity, anxiety disorders, and (among sons only) lower psychosocial functioning in offspring between the ages of 19 and 24. Paternal MDD was associated with lower functioning. Sons of depressed fathers had elevated suicidal ideation and attempt rates in young adulthood. Recurrent paternal MDD was associated with depression recurrence in daughters but not sons. The impact of parental MDD on offspring could not be attributed to characteristics of the offspring's depression prior to age 19.     

All holes are the same: Emerging from the confusion

The author describes a type of mental development in which the primitive libidinal value of faeces and urine is kept unaltered all through adulthood. In this instance, individuals harbour fantasies of projective identifi cation with the internal parents, denying their real dependence, which leads to a pseudomaturity. These fantasies are usually accompanied by anal and genital masturbation and have intense aggressive content. Furthermore, there is a signifi cant confusion among all body orifi ces, leading to an inability to distinguish the self from the object, the inner world from outside reality. Individuals with this type of development can only maintain limited object relations and have highly erotized excretory activities. Manipulation of faeces may occur. This structure works as a defence against breakdown, but may also provide pleasure as it gives the illusion of omnipotent control of the object, as typical in pathological organizations. The author presents clinical material and discusses the diffi culties of the analysis, in which the patient tries to seduce the analyst into colluding with his mental functioning, primarily as a means of communication as well as a projection of his despair and his disbelief in the analyst's ability to help him.     

Career transitions in times of social change. His and her story

Drawing on data collected from two longitudinal Cohort Studies following the lives of over 20,000 individuals born in the United Kingdom 12 years apart in 1958 and 1970, respectively, this paper examines antecedents and outcomes of educational and occupational aspirations of young men and women, covering the transition from dependent childhood into independent adulthood. Two analytical models, a Social Reproduction Model and a Developmental-Contextual Model are tested to assess the processes by which family background and the wider socio-historical context influence work and family related careers. The findings demonstrate the persistent role of gender, social origin and individual agency processes as well as the influence of a changing socio-historical context on career development. Results are interpreted with regard to biographical agency processes linking individual lives with social contexts across the life course.     

Gaze behaviour during walking in young adults with developmental coordination disorder

BackgroundIndividuals with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) experience difficulty with motor coordination and this affects their daily functioning. Research indicated inferior visuospatial processing and oculomotor control in DCD. As visual information is essential for locomotor control, more insight in the gaze behaviour of this population during walking is required and crucial for gaze training interventions as a possible means to improve daily functioning of children and adults with DCD.AimThis study explored differences and similarities in gaze behaviour during walking between typically developing young adults and those with DCD.Methods and proceduresTen young adults with DCD (age: 22.13 ± 0.64) and ten typically developing individuals (age: 22.00 ± 1.05) completed a walking task in which they had to place their feet on irregularly placed targets wearing eye tracking glasses.Outcomes and resultsIndividuals with DCD walked slower and demonstrated a different gaze strategy compared to their neurotypical peers as they fixated almost each and every target sequentially. Typically developing individuals, on the other hand, directed gaze further along the path and often fixated areas around the targets.Conclusions and implicationsDespite adequate walking performance in daily situations in young adults with DCD, fundamental control deficits persist into adulthood.What this paper adds?This paper is the first to demonstrate differences in gaze behaviour between young adults with DCD and typically developing individuals in a task that resembles a task of daily living, as previous research focused on laboratory tasks. This is a valuable finding as DCD has a clear impact on the daily life. Furthermore, this study demonstrated that the fundamental control deficits of DCD persist into adulthood despite frequent performance and practice of these daily tasks. Lastly, these findings might contribute to the therapeutic potential of gaze training interventions to improve the daily functioning of children and adults with DCD.     

Concurrent validity of the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale for clients with schizophrenia

Although the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale is a widely utilized instrument, little data on construct validity is available about its use with clients having schizophrenia. This study compared point-specific GAF scores with concurrent ratings of symptomatology and social and occupational impairments using the Functional Assessment Rating Scale (Ward & Dow, 1994). A linear multiple regression analysis of empirical data from investigations of clients' global functioning showed that increased work and school-related problems, danger to others, and psychotic symptoms predicted lower GAF scores. In general, GAF scores seem to reflect the construct of global psychological, social, and occupational functioning that the scale was designed to measure.     

Intelligence and executive functioning in adult age: Effects of sibship size and birth order

Several studies have demonstrated that social influences from having been brought up in a family with few siblings and early in birth order result in higher scores on intelligence tests in childhood and adolescence as compared to having been brought up in large sibships. The present study examined whether influences of such social factors would have long-lasting effects on intelligence (block design and word comprehension) and executive functions (working memory and verbal fluency) in adulthood and old age, i.e., long after the individuals had moved out of the family structure they were born in. After having controlled for socioeconomic status and a variety of health conditions affecting cognition in adult life, a sibship size effect was demonstrated for executive functions but not for intelligence. The social influences of birth order affected only executive functions and working memory in particular; earlier born individuals performed better than later born individuals in tests assessing executive function but not in tests assessing intelligence. Implications for the relationship between executive functioning and intelligence, and implications for the Confluence and Resource Dilution Models (Blake, 1981; Downey, 1995, 2001; Zajonc, 1976) are discussed.     

Is there an Upside to Social Withdrawal? Considering Well-Being among Socially Withdrawn Emerging Adults

Removing oneself from social interactions, referred to as social withdrawal, has primarily been shown to predict maladjustment. Previous research distinguishing between social withdrawal subtypes based on individual differences in underlying social motivations, indicates that shyness and avoidance are more problematic than unsociability, particularly during the emerging adulthood years. Nevertheless, little research has examined the potential upside to social withdrawal. The aim of this study was to consider differences in well-being between sociable, shy, avoidant, and unsociable emerging adults. Participants included 813 Canadian university students between the ages of 18 to 25. Participants completed a series of self-report surveys assessing social withdrawal and indices of well-being. Results showed that unsociable emerging adults reported significantly greater happiness, satisfaction with their lives, social support, and self-worth than both shy and avoidant emerging adults. Social withdrawal is largely viewed as detrimental to psychosocial functioning; however, these findings show that unsociability might not pose the same risk to emerging adults’ well-being as shyness or avoidance. Indicators of well-being among unsociable emerging adults did not significantly differ from their more sociable counterparts, suggesting there may be an upside to social withdrawal for unsociable individuals.

     

Childhood Sexual Abuse and Revictimization In Adolescence and Adulthood

Abstract

Childhood sexual abuse must be seen as a pervasive risk factor in children's lives: No demographic or family characteristics have as yet been identified to rule out the possibility that a child will be or has been sexually abused (Finkelhor, 1993). The adverse consequences of sexual abuse, both immediate and long term, have been documented by a large body of research. After a summary of the main findings from this research, the main objective of the present chapter is to examine the impact of childhood sexual abuse on a particular aspect of psychological functioning: the development of sexual behavior and sexual relationships. In this analysis, special consideration is given to the question of whether individuals who were sexually abused as children are at greater risk of experiencing sexual victimization in later life than individuals without experience of abuse. This question has generated a substantial body of evidence (see Messman & Long, 1996, for a review), and researchers are beginning to understand pathways from the experience of abuse in childhood to revictimization in adolescence and adulthood.     

The relationship between face recognition ability and socioemotional functioning throughout adulthood

The relationship between face recognition ability and socioemotional functioning has been widely explored. However, how aging modulates this association regarding both objective performance and subjective-perception is still neglected. Participants, aged between 18 and 81 years, performed a face memory test and completed subjective face recognition and socioemotional questionnaires. General and social anxiety, and neuroticism traits account for the individual variation in face recognition abilities during adulthood. Aging modulates these relationships because as they age, individuals that present a higher level of these traits also show low-level face recognition ability. Intriguingly, the association between depression and face recognition abilities is evident with increasing age. Overall, the present results emphasize the importance of embedding face metacognition measurement into the context of these studies and suggest that aging is an important factor to be considered, which seems to contribute to the relationship between socioemotional and face-cognitive functioning.     

Executive functions and ADHD in adults: evidence for selective effects on ADHD symptom domains

Dual-process models of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) suggest that both executive functioning and regulatory functions (e.g., processing speed) are involved and that executive function weaknesses may be associated specifically with symptoms of inattention-disorganization but not hyperactivity-impulsivity. Adults aged 18-37 (105 with ADHD, 90 controls) completed a neuropsychological battery. The ADHD group had weaker performance than did the control group (p<.01) on both executive and speed measures. Symptoms of inattention-disorganization were uniquely related to executive functioning with hyperactivity-impulsivity controlled. Inattention was associated with slower response speed, and hyperactivity-impulsivity with faster output speed. Results were not accounted for by IQ, age, gender, education level, or comorbid disorders. Findings are discussed in terms of developmental and dual-process models of ADHD leading into adulthood.     

Muster früher Traumatisierung und die Effekte stationärer Psychotherapie

Early traumatic experiences of neglect, physical and sexual abuse in adult patients undergoing inpatient psychotherapeutic treatment were retrospectively assessed. Associations between these three forms of trauma and with patient gender were analyzed. The effects of early traumatization in general, gender and patterns of specific experiences on the symptom level, level of everyday functioning and treatment outcome were also investigated. A total of 191 patients in a psychosomatic psychotherapy ward of a university hospital were assessed using standardized questionnaires on sociodemographic and clinical variables on admission and at discharge. The type and extent of early traumatization before the age of 18 years were estimated after the initial interview from standardized reports of the therapists. The results indicate that the probability of being exposed to one of the traumatic experiences under study are not independent of each other. Furthermore, female patients were victims of sexual abuse and neglect more often than males. Compared to non-traumatized patients, trauma victims exhibited more psychological symptoms in the symptom checklist 90 revised (SCL-90-R) and a lower level of functioning according to the global assessment of functioning (GAF) but achieved a comparable relative benefit from treatment. Sexual abuse (SCL-90-R and GAF) and neglect (SCL-90-R only) affected the levels of impairment on admission and at discharge in a similar way; however, only weak evidence for differential effects of trauma patterns on therapy outcomes was found. Methodological limitations of the present approach and implications for the design of inpatient psychotherapeutic interventions in adult patients with early traumatic experiences are discussed.     

Large variations of global functioning over five years in treated patients with personality traits and disorders

The aim of this study was to examine the long-term course of global functioning in patients with personality disorders (PD) and investigate predictors of variation. The Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) was repeated over five years in 352 patients with PDs of varying severity, all treated in psychotherapeutic day hospitals. Growth models were used for statistical analysis. Large variations in the long-term course of global functioning were evident in this clinical sample. At five-year follow-up, 46% reached a GAF-score above 60 with a mean GAF-score of 71. Their linear change-rate over the five years was estimated to be 4.4 GAF points per year. The average five-year GAF-score for the remaining subgroup (54%) was 50 and their linear yearly change-rate was 0.8 GAF points. Greater relief of symptom distress and interpersonal problems was typical of patients with functional improvement. The number of avoidant PD criteria was associated with slower functional change.     

Developmental trajectories of marijuana use from adolescence to adulthood: personality and social role outcomes

Longitudinal trajectories of marijuana use from adolescence into adulthood were examined for adverse life-course outcomes among African-Americans and Puerto Ricans. Data for marijuana use were analyzed at four points in time and on participants' personality attributes, work functioning, and partner relations in adulthood using growth mixture modeling. Each of the three marijuana-use trajectory groups (maturing-out, late-onset, and chronic marijuana-users) had greater adverse life-course outcomes than a nonuse or low-use trajectory group. The chronic marijuana-use trajectory group was highly associated with criminal behavior and partners' marijuana use in adulthood. Treatment programs for marijuana use should also directly address common adverse life-course outcomes users may already be experiencing.     

Hello/goodbye new families: group work with five looked-after siblings in foster care together awaiting a move to separate adoptive families

This paper describes group work with five siblings aged between three and nine. They were taken into care following severe abuse involving neglect, physical and emotional abuse. In it, we consider the impact of the losses on the network and the children. We explore how Freud, in his paper ‘Mourning and melancholia’ (1917), and others who built on his work, helped us understand the children’s losses. The sibling group was planned in order to address the children’s need to say goodbye to their birth parents, their foster carers and to each other and to prepare them for their individual separate adoptions. The group ran for 18 months and ended when four children had been placed in their adoptive homes; the last child to be adopted was then seen individually until she was also placed. The group work is described with the use of quotes from sessional material to illuminate the processes for these children in facing their complicated and ambivalent losses, the mourning process and their progress towards becoming individuals in their own right rather than enacting fragmented functional parts/roles on behalf of their sibling group as a whole. Their mourning of the loss of each other was complicated by their earlier reliance on each other to manage the difficulties they had faced when surviving their abusive early lives together.     

Executive dysfunctions across adulthood: measurement properties and correlates of the DEX self-report questionnaire

Difficulties in executive processes can disturb daily life functioning. Using data obtained from two independent community-dwelling samples (n(1) = 468, n(2) = 669, 18-97 years), we examined the factor structure of the Dysexecutive Functioning Questionnaire (DEX) and explored the frequencies and potential correlates of self-reported executive difficulties. Our results revealed that executive problems are parsimoniously described with one underlying factor. Everyday executive dysfunctions were moderately frequent throughout adulthood. Reports of executive problems were associated with individual difference characteristics including age, subjective health, personality, affect, and cognition. We also found that, although executive functions are known to decline with advancing adult age, younger age groups reported more problems than older groups, an effect that was partially mediated by a negative affect factor. We discuss implications for the validity of the instrument as well as directions for future research on executive functioning difficulties in everyday life.     

Spirituality: A Coping Mechanism in the Lives of Adults With Congenital Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the perspective of individuals with congenital disabilities about spirituality as a coping mechanism during crucial times in their lives. Qualitative analysis of interviews assessing turning points in the lives of 15 adults (6 women and 9 men; M = 37 years) with spina bifida, cerebral palsy, or attention deficit disorder was performed to determine how spirituality assisted them at these crucial times. Four recurring themes were identified: God as a guiding force, inner strength, meaning in life, and appropriateness of the use of spirituality in counseling. The authors discuss their findings and the use of spirituality in counseling adults with congenital disabilities.     

Is self-esteem an important outcome in hyperactive children?

Using a prospective design, this study examined (a) whether hyperactive children suffer from low self-esteem as adolescents; (b) whether low self-esteem is associated with poor functioning in adolescence; (c) whether hyperactive children exhibit a positive illusory bias, in which self-esteem is independent of level of functioning; and (d) whether self-esteem in adolescence is associated with poor functioning in adulthood. Subjects were 65 children diagnosed as hyperactive in childhood, and 62 matched controls sampled from a medical clinic. After controlling for current mental disorder, the hyperactive cohort reported lower self-esteem in adolescence, was judged by clinicians to have lower levels of overall adjustment in adolescence, and had lower educational achievement and occupational rank in adulthood, as compared to controls.This study was supported in part by Public Health Service grant MH 18579 and Mental Health Clinic Research Center grant MH 30906. We gratefully acknowledge Dr. Jacob Cohen for his valuable statistical advice, Dr. Richard Rende for helpful comments, and two anonymous reviewers for useful suggestions.     

Global Assessment of Relational Functioning Scale (GARF): I. Background and Rationale

The Committee on the Family of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry has introduced the Global Assessment of Relational Functioning (GARF), a scale that describes and quantifies the relational context within which patients live and problems occur. The GARF is intended to serve as a device that alerts clinicians to pay attention to the evaluation not only of individuals but also of relational functioning. In this article, we describe from a historical perspective the scientific and political context within which this scale was developed. The GARF is analogous to Axis V of the DSM GAF scale (Global Assessment of Functioning) that is used to assess individual functioning. The GARF is a composite derivative of three major dimensionalized constructs, namely, joint problem solving, organization, and emotional climate. We provide five clinical vignettes to illustrate the process of arriving at GARF ratings. Finally, we discuss caveats and limitations for use of the GARF at present, and make recommendations for research projects and training methods that may enhance the value of this instrument in the future.     

Self‐esteem trajectories across 25 years and midlife intimate relations

Guided by a life‐span developmental systems approach, this study examined links between self‐esteem assessed over 25 years and adaptive interaction and relationship risk at midlife using data from 341 Canadian adults surveyed (or followed) from ages 18 to 43. Results showed higher self‐esteem at age 18 was associated with more adaptive interactions and lower perceived relationship risk at age 43. A more rapid increase in self‐esteem through the transition to adulthood into midlife (ages 18–43) was also associated with more frequent adaptive interactions and less relationship risk at age 43. These results held after accounting for potential confounding variables. This study is the first to demonstrate self‐esteem trajectories over a quarter century predict midlife intimate relationship functioning.