The Continuing Education and Renewal of Employee Assistance Program Counselors

The past decade has brought the emergence of thousands of employee assistance programs, but little, if anything, has been reported concerning the professional updating needs of program counselors. This article presents the results of an extensive assessment of the continuing education preferences of such counselors in one state.     

Work and Leisure Orientations Among University Students: Implications for College and University Counselors

This article deals with a study of the work and leisure orientations of 516 university students and provides support for the enhanced role of leisure in career and lifestyle. Implications for college and university counselors engaged in the career-counseling process are also discussed.     

Multivariate Analysis

This article distinguishes two senses of the term “multivariate analysis,” discusses the issue of probability pyramiding, and recommends the use of multivariate procedures as a means of dealing with some aspects of this problem.     

Predicting marital satisfaction from behavior: Do all roads really lead to Rome?

The concurrent and longitudinal associations between spousal communication and marital satisfaction were investigated using two systems of observation (rating and coding) and two statistical methods. A coding system and a rating system were used to assess the amount of positive, negative, and avoidant behavior exhibited by 30 couples engaged in a 15-minute discussion about a marital problem. Change scores as well as regression methods were used to calculate correlations between communication behaviors and one-year change in Marital Adjustment Test (MAT) scores. Positive behavior by both spouses predicted an increase in wives' satisfaction, and negative behavior by both spouses predicted a decrease in wives' satisfaction. None of the variables consistently predicted changes in husbands' satisfaction. The two systems of observation and the two methods of analysis produced similar though not identical results. The article discusses the constructs of negative and avoidant behavior, reviews limitations of standard marital research methods, and offers theoretical and methodological recommendations for future research.     

Counselor Bias and Women

Counselors are biased against girls and women. Several recent studies examining counselor's sex biases are reviewed. Research indicates that attitudes of counselor trainees, school counselors at all levels, counselor educators and supervisors, and clinicians are sexist. The Attitude Toward Women Scale was administered to 80 employment counselors. Male counselor attitudes were more sexist than female counselor attitudes. Suggestions for dealing with counselor bias are reviewed. Counselors must first battle their own biases. They should also be sensitive to the developmental stages of a person's life, as well as to job requirements and employer attitudes. Occupational literature should be nonsexist and nontraditional.     

Noise, S-R compatibility and hand dominance

The present study investigated the importance of task parameters in determining the effects of noise on performance, with interest focusing on variables which influence response selection and execution. The results of the first experiment showed that noise had an effect on response selection, slowing reaction times when an incompatible response had to be made. In contrast to this, the second experiment showed that noise had no effect on the speed of controlled movements and did not change the difference between movements made with the preferred and non-preferred hands.     

The Psychospiritual Dynamics of Adult Survivors of Abuse

The authors discuss the challenges of treating adult survivors of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, and specifically how the relationship with God can psychologically promote healing or maintain an abusive cycle. With this population, it is critical that clinicians understand the dynamic bonding process between abuser and survivor and how this “bonded” relationship is typically transferred to God. The authors detail a theory of psychospiritual bonding between abuser and survivor and survivor and God and provide implications for treatment.     

The Structure of Family Perceptions Among Adolescents and Their Parents: Individual Satisfaction Factors and Family System Factors

This study examined the underlying structure of self-reports of family functioning by adolescents, mothers, and fathers (N of individuals = 360) from intact families. Participants completed a multidimensional self-report measure of family functioning, and their responses were entered into a factor analysis with the family as the unit of analysis (N of cases = 120). The results indicate two types of factors: individual satisfaction factors and family system factors. The findings are consistent with the view that different types of characteristics assessed in self-report measures of the family may be stored as different kinds of memories. The findings also provide preliminary data toward understanding the linkages between family system factors and satisfaction with the family based on family roles as adolescents, mothers, and fathers.