Premarital Education: An Assessment of Program Efficacy*

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a premarital educational program, with the secondary goal of determining if the structure (conjoint versus group) and the participants’ gender influenced program effectiveness. Data were collected from 29 heterosexual couples. Couples were placed in one of three conditions: (1) premarital education in a group format, (2) premarital education as an individual couple, or (3) the comparison group (no premarital education). The goal of the 8-week intervention was to improve couples’ readiness and preparation for marriage as measured by the PREP-M. The findings suggested that the educational program achieved its stated goal. *The authors would like to acknowledge Aaron Mathney, Dr. Joe Turner, Dr. Kathy Rettig, Sarah DeJean, and Dena Wyum for their assistance with this project.     

A substantive and methodological review of couples group therapy outcome research

Outcome research on couples' group therapy is reviewed and discussed in terms of substantive findings and relevant methodological components. Research to date has found couples group therapy to be as effective as either individual, conjoint, or non-spouse group formats. These results, however, are based on the findings of only five studies, all of which displayed methodological limitations. Suggestions for future research involving couples groups are discussed.     

Conflict management: A premarital training program in mutual problem solving

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a structured educational program designed to train premarital couples in communication and mutual problem-solving skills. Twenty-six couples participated in an eight-week, 24-hour problem-solving training program, while 28 similar couples participated in an eight-week, 24-hour relationship discussion group. Results indicated that the problem-solving group, as compared to the relationship-discussion group, showed a significant increase in communication and mutual problem-solving skills. Discussion focused on the benefits for premarital couples of learning effective problemsolving procedures as well as the need for follow-up assessments of both behavioral skill level and relationship satisfaction and adjustment.     

Couples treatment for major depression: critique of the literature and suggestions for some different directions

Current couples approaches to the treatment of depression show considerable promise for some couples, but have substantial room for improvement – in terms of efficacy as well as applicability and acceptability to a broader population. Although conjoint approaches have been shown to be efficacious in reducing couple distress and are possibly efficacious in ameliorating depression that co-occurs with couple distress, methodological problems hamper generalization from the published findings. Therefore, it is not clear that most depressed persons are likely to benefit from currently available conjoint formats. Most basically, there may often be obstacles that prevent or delay partner involvement, highlighting the need for treatments that can enhance relationship functioning without relying on a conjoint format. Existing treatment delivery systems may also fail to reach a considerable segment of the population. Developing a more flexible set of options for implementing couple-focused treatment, as well as rethinking dominant assumptions about depression, may be integral to extending the viability of couples therapy for depression.     

An Analysis of Group-Oriented Contingencies and Associated Side Effects in Preschool Children

Group-oriented contingencies are arranged to target the behavior of a group of people simultaneously. Overall, group-oriented contingencies have been shown to be effective in both decreasing problem behavior and increasing appropriate behavior. However, results are mixed regarding which type(s) of group-oriented contingency is most effective for changing behavior. In addition, although there are anecdotal reports of positive and negative side effects when using group-oriented contingencies, little research has involved direct measurement of these potential side effects. The purposes of the current study were to (a) compare the effects of three types of group-oriented contingencies for increasing on-task behavior and decreasing problem behavior, (b) determine whether implementing a group-oriented contingency for one behavior resulted in changes in a non-targeted behavior, and (c) determine how often and under what conditions side effects occurred within group-oriented contingencies conditions for two groups of preschool children. The results of the study were mixed. The results suggested that group-oriented contingencies were effective in decreasing problem behavior and increasing on-task behavior, but varied across groups as to which contingencies were the most effective at changing both behaviors. Secondary data suggested that side effects were associated with group-oriented contingencies, as well as the occurrence of problem behavior and reinforcer delivery.     

Behavioral Marital Therapy: An Outcome Evaluation of Conjoint,Group and One Spouse Treatment

Abstract

Behavioral Marital Therapy has focussed on the modification of marital behavior in conjoint and couples group settings. This study extends previously published outcome studies in that one treatment condition involved treating only one of the partners. Fifty-seven couples were consecutively assigned to one of the three treatment conditions. Outcome evaluations included an independent assessment, marital satisfaction, sexual adjustment and an assessment of target problems. The results revealed no significant differences between the three treatment conditions. However, couples in the conjoint treatment resolved their target problems more rapidly than the other two treatments. The implications of the result as well as issues of outcome prediction, cost-effectiveness and the viability of treating one spouse are discussed.     

INCREASING TREATMENT ACCEPTABILITY THROUGH VIDEO

The effects of a video vignette on the treatment acceptability ratings of four behavioral interventions were evaluated. Two interventions involved positive reinforcement (DRO and DRI) and two negative consequences (contingent physical restraint and contingent electric shock). Seventy-four undergraduate psychology students were randomly assigned into two groups. The experimental group (n=36) viewed a video vignette of a self-abusive individual whereas the control group (n=38) did not. Acceptability ratings prior to the video showed no differences between the experimental and control groups. The post video ratings indicated significant acceptability increases for physical restraint for the experimental group. There also was a significant group by testing effect because the means for the experimental group rose whereas the control group's means were stable. These results replicated and extended Foxx, McHenry and Bremer (in press) who showed that treatment acceptability is alterable through video.     

Group Premarital Counseling Using a Premarital Assessment Questionnaire: Evaluation from Group Leaders

No research to date addresses premarital assessment questionnaire (PAQ) use within group settings. The current study evaluated the benefits and drawbacks of group use of one PAQ (the RELATE Inventory). Results were obtained via semi-structured interviews of group leaders and indicate overall leader agreement on the perceived desirability, benefits, and drawbacks of using PAQs in group premarital efforts. Recommended principles/guidelines for effective group PAQ use are organized into four categories: PAQ Considerations, Group Leader Considerations, Couple Considerations, and Group Content/Process Considerations.     

The scaling of practice data

It is shown that in certain cases practice data approximately meet the assumptions involved in Thurstone's method of absolute scaling. An application of the method was accordingly made in the case of four test performances practiced for 39 days by a group of 56 subjects. The manner in which the practice data were scaled is described by using the data on practice in anagrams as an illustration. Scaling had little effect upon the correlations between initial and final score, but produced marked changes in the apparent effect of practice upon individual differences and in the correlations between initial score and gain.This is one of a series of studies of the application of scaling methods to problems of experimental psychology in which the data are obtained from but a single group of subjects. For other studies, see (4), (5), (6), and (8).     

Relation of Economic Depression to Delinquency,Crime, and Drunkenness in Massachusetts

Abstract

Two experiments using the same paradigm were conducted to examine when members of a disadvantaged group will accept their situation, take individual action, or engage in collective action. In both experiments, Canadian undergraduate subjects received feedback that they had been unsuccessful in their attempt to gain entrance into a high status group. Experiment 1 involved a justice manipulation in which the main hypothesis was that collective action would be associated with procedural injustice, whereas distributive injustice would lead to individualistic action. The main hypothesis of Experiment 2 was that collective action would be instigated by those who are extremely close to gaining entry to the high status group. Although only partial support was obtained for the hypotheses, it was possible to specify conditions that discriminate between individual and collective action.     

The Psychiatrist and the Dying Patient by Kurt R. Eissler

Abstract

In this study behavioral processes in the individual and group therapies of aggressive boys were compared and the relationship between these variables and treatment outcome was examined. Level of aggression was the outcome variable, measured by both self-report and teacher-report instruments. Hill’s Client Behavior System (CBS; Hill, 1986) with our own ad hoc categories of Reference to Literary Figures and Response to Another, and therapist Helping Skills System (HSS; Hill &; O’Brien, 1999) were the behavioral process measures. In terms of the boys’ behaviors, discriminant function analyses revealed that Reference to Literary Figures and Response to Another differentiated the treatment formats; with regard to therapists’ behaviors, Questions and Challenge differentiated the modalities. Results offered partial support for the greater effectiveness of group, compared to individual, therapy in reducing aggression. Outcome, however, as measured by teacher reports of aggression, was adversely affected in group therapy by the presence of specific behaviors in the boys. Implications of the findings for modifying the group therapy program as well as for the search for process variables appropriate to the treatment of aggressive children are discussed.     

Premature termination: A risk in eating disorder groups

This study examines the influence of combined vs. conjoint psychotherapy on the phenomenon of premature termination in eating disorder groups. Thirty-eight women with a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa or bulimia enrolled in group psychotherapy were designated as group completers or premature terminators using individually defined treatment objectives. Those eating disorder patients in combined group and individual psychotherapy showed a lower frequency of premature termination than patients in conjoint group and individual psychotherapy.     

班级集体效能对初中生学业自我效能与学习倦怠的调节作用

采用学习倦怠、学业自我效能、班级集体效能问卷,选取26个班级的1125名初中生作为被试,运用多层线性模型探讨班级集体效能对学业自我效能与学习倦怠的影响。在控制性别和年级的影响后,结果发现:(1)班级集体效能与学习倦怠具有直接的关联:班级正向联合力越高,则学生的学习成就感越高;班级负向联合力越高,则学生的情绪与生理的消耗越严重;班级优秀成员的效能越高,则其他学生学习的成就感越低,师生关系越疏远、生理消耗越严重;而班级成员的自我效能越高,学生的学习成就感越高、情绪的损耗越小;(2)班级集体效能对学业自我效能与学习倦怠之间的关系具有显著的调节作用:班级的正向和负向联合力越强,则学业自我效能对师生疏离的负向影响就越弱;班级的负向联合力越强,则学业自我效能对情绪耗竭的负向影响就越小;优秀成员效能越高,则学业自我效能对学习低成就感的负向影响就越大;而成员自我效能强,则学业自我效能对师生疏离的负向影响也强。     

The effects of a video vignette on increasing treatment acceptability

The effects of a video vignette on the treatment acceptability ratings of four behavioral interventions were evaluated. Two interventions involved positive reinforcement (DRO and DRI) and two negative consequences (contingent physical restraint and contingent electric shock). Eighty-five individuals involved in programs for individuals with developmental disabilities were randomly assigned into two groups. The experimental group (n=41) viewed a video vignette of an extremely aggressive individual whereas the control group (n=44) did not. Acceptability ratings prior to the video showed no differences between the experimental and control groups except for the physical restraint intervention. The experimental group’s post video ratings indicated significant acceptability increases for electric shock and significant decreases for DRO. There also was a significant group by testing effect with the means for the experimental group rising whereas the control group means were stable. These results showed that acceptability is alterable through video. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A study of braille reading: 2. Patterns of hand activity in one-handed and two-handed reading

Video recordings of the hands of 24 blind adults reading aloud prose, statistical approximations and scrambled words with either hand alone and with two hands were analysed. Hand activity involved forward scanning movements, regressions and returns to the next line. In two-handed reading, most readers resorted to mixed movement patterns, where a first segment of the line was explored by the left hand alone, a second segment by the two hands conjointly and a third segment by the right hand alone, each hand returning to the line while the other one was reading. In subjects who dissociated the hands to a great extent, the left hand generally started scanning the new line before the right hand had reached the end of the preceding line. This simultaneous disjoint exploration occurred with little slowing down of forward scanning, and involved parallel collection of textual information by the two hands. There were large and reliable individual differences in the relative sizes of the segments explored using the different hand combinations. Hand dissociation was correlated positively with individual reading speed in both two-handed and one-handed reading, and reductions in the degree of contextual constraint induced the adoption of more conjoint patterns of exploration. Total reading time was analyzed into components corresponding to regressions, line transitions and forward scanning. The main part of the gain from two-handed reading resulted in most subjects from savings in line transition time, but the most conjoint readers gained also on forward scanning and on regressions. The lower overall speed of conjoint readers was due not only to longer transition times but also to slower forward scanning and more time spent regressing.     

The acceptability of prophylactic mastectomy among lay people and health professionals: A pilot study

IntroductionWomen with certain genetic mutations have a risk of up to 85% of developing breast cancer. Bilateral prophylactic mastectomy is the most effective way to reduce risk of cancer.ObjectiveThis pilot study focuses on the acceptability of prophylactic breast surgery and examines, in a series of concrete cases, the cognitive processes by which health professionals and lay people make their judgments. This research also aims to identify the factors involved in these judgments. An additional objective is to determine whether there are groups with different patterns of responses.MethodWe recruited two samples in France, one comprising 90 lay people and the other 30 health professionals (n = 120) and asked them how acceptable it would be for a woman at a high risk of breast cancer to undergo a prophylactic surgery (mastectomy), in each of the 64 scenarios presented to them. The scenarios were all combinations of two levels of age, of marital status, of parenting status, of body appearance investment, of reconstructive surgery and also two levels of the person suggesting oncogenetic diagnosis.ResultsWe found that lay people and health professionals structured the factors in the scenarios in nearly the same way. They assigned importance to three factors: the most important one was reconstructive surgery, and then the age of the woman. The least important factor was the person who requested the genetic test. Furthermore, the age of the participants, and knowing a person who had cancer impacted the degree of acceptability assigned by participants. Being a lay person or a health professional did not have a direct impact on acceptability but influenced the integration of factors. In addition, cluster analysis showed that only a small group was opposed to mastectomy.ConclusionThis pilot study demonstrated that three factors have to be considered when judging the acceptability of prophylactic mastectomy and showed a common cognitive foundation for future discussion, at the levels of both clinical care and health policy, of the conditions under which prophylactic surgery might be acceptable.     

Short- and long-term effectiveness of two communication training modalities with distressed couples

Abstract

Communication training is a widely practiced therapeutic approach for the treatment of marital discord. Although there is some empirical support for the theoretical assumptions underlying constructive communication patterns, it has not yet been ascertained whether changing these behaviors is sufficient in bringing about stable changes in distressed marriages. The present study was designed to investigate the efficacy of this treatment approach in a conjoint and conjoint group modality. Following therapy, conjoint couples (n = 16) when compared with a waiting list control group (n = 17) showed improvement on five of the seven outcome variables. Couples in the conjoint group modality (n = 13) improved on only two of the seven variables. Follow-up assessments one year after treatment showed that initial gains had been substantially reduced. On the basis of these results it is now open to question whether conjoint group treatments are an appropriate treatment modality for even moderately distressed couples.     

When saying no leads to compliance: The door-in-the-face technique for changing attitudes and behaviors towards smoking at work

IntroductionThe aim of this action research was to encourage workers to comply with an anti-smoking charter and get them to effectively reduce their tobacco use. Two change procedures were compared: a classic one based on an information campaign and an original one based on the door-in-the-face technique.MethodForty-three smoking workers participated in this study. They were assigned to one of the two groups: information campaign group or door-in-the-face group. Two types of measures were administered. The first assessed self-reported attitudes towards smoking, such as perceived dependence (Fagerström Test); the second assessed effective behavior, such as number of cigarettes smoked and physiological nicotine addiction.ConclusionTaken together, the results show that the door-in-the-face technique was more effective than the information campaign. These results are discussed in light of the social acceptability of the initial refusal.     

Treatment preference and acceptability: Epistemology and locus of control

Abstract

Treatment preference and acceptability were investigated in 397 female university students. Three audiovisual vignettes depicting a client and therapist discussing a body image disturbance problem were presented to subjects. Predictions were that subjects would prefer one of three therapy approaches—behavioral, cognitive—rational, or cognitive—constructivist—as a function of personal epistemology and locus of control. Overall, subjects rated the constructivist therapy approach more favorably than either the cognitive—rational or behavioral approach. Similarly, subjects evaluated the constructivist therapist more positively than either the rational or behavioral therapist. After degree of subject identification with the target problem was controlled, results indicated that matching subjects who had an external locus of control orientation to a behavioral or cognitive-rational therapist resulted in more favorable assessments of that therapist. Matching subjects who had an internal locus of control orientation to a constructivist therapist resulted in more positive assessments of that therapist. Implications for matching in clinical practice are discussed.     

The ghost in the group room: countertransferential pressures associated with conjoint individual and group psychotherapy

Conjoint individual and group therapy is a commonly used, effective psychotherapeutic treatment. The relationship between the conjoint therapists significantly influences the treatment. This article examines countertransference dilemmas of the group and individual therapists arising from the real and fantasied conjoint relationship. Case examples illustrate specific countertransference dilemmas. Therapists are encouraged to consider the possibility of difficulties with each potential conjoint treatment. Consultation and supervision are recommended to help the conjoint therapists identify and manage countertransference pressures.