The development of primary process in children's Rorschachs

Three cohorts of normal Italian schoolchildren, 55 boys and 47 girls, were given Rorschachs at ages 6, 7, and 8; 9, 10, and 11; and 12 and 13. Regardless of sex or score, primary process (scored by Holt's method) tends to diminish with age; but significantly among the boys only for the sums of all primary process, of Level 2 responses, and of content. Measures of control showed similar developmental trends, mean form level advancing significantly in the total sample and among girls. Even stronger trends within cohorts were confounded by retest effects.     

Clinical and statistical prediction: a retrospective and would-be integrative perspective

One of the early participants in the clinical-statistical controversy describes his effort to mediate the dispute and to direct attention to the underlying issues, to most of which the box scores were irrelevant. A previously undiscussed undercurrent of the controversy is the conflict between different metaphysical world views, the history of which for the past few hundred years is quickly sketched. The mechanist metaphysics of behaviorism, which has long been dominant in American mainstream psychology, favors objective and statistical approaches and discourages interest in judgement, an issue that nevertheless refuses to go away. Systems philosophy is proposed as an integrative alternative.     

Perceptions of and by minority groups: The case of women in academia

Thirty seven academics participated in a field study in which perceptions of the size and attributes of a majority and minority group were obtained. (The groups concerned were male and female academics at a British university). These observations were used to examine the phenomenon of illusory correlation, and to test hypotheses concerning the perceived homogeneity and competence of ingroup and outgroup in majority-minority contexts. To test for the illusory correlation effect estimates of the numbers of male and female senior staff were elicited. These estimates were consistently inaccurate, producing a lower perceived correlation between gender and seniority than actually existed. Measures of intragroup homogeneity revealed that, as predicted from previous research, members of the minority group saw their own group as more homogeneous than the outgroup. For majorty group members the reverse was true. The intergroup evaluations generally favoured the minority group; this was especially evident in the evaluations from the minority group members themselves. Possible explanations of these findings and their correspondence with those obtained from laboratory research are discussed.     

Using Clinicians’ Ideal Social Climate Ratings in Group Therapy Training: Staff Development,Supervision, and Teaching

A group’s norms are reflected in the group’s social climate, and social climate dimensions have been associated with treatment outcomes in group therapy. However, novice group therapists are often not clear about which norms to develop in a given group. We describe a procedure in which clinicians specify their ideal social climate for a therapy group or a treatment setting on the Group Environment Scale (Moos, 2002) or the Community-Oriented Program Environment Scale (Moos, 1988) and compare their ideals with various reference groups and with one another. Discrepancies in ideal social climate ratings between co-therapists or among clinical staff can be explored in order to enhance coordinated interventions. This procedure has been used with experienced clinicians, trainees, and graduate students in group therapy courses.     

Pre- and Postintervention Factor Analysis of the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale

The effects of a bystander education intervention program on the factor structure underlying a rape myth acceptance scale were examined using exploratory factor analyses on secondary data. The Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale was administered to college students at a northwestern university both before (n = 363) and after (n = 352) receiving a bystander education program. Results from exploratory factor analyses showed changes in the factor structure from pretest to posttest. This suggests some instability in the factor structure of the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale. These pre–post intervention differences in the rape myth acceptance factor structure suggest researchers use caution in using and interpreting scores based on the IRMA without regard to participants’ prevention program status.     

Emotional Competence and Anxiety in Childhood and Adolescence: A Meta-Analytic Review

Anxiety is conceptualized as a state of negative emotional arousal that is accompanied by concern about future threat. The purpose of this meta-analytic review was to evaluate the evidence of associations between emotional competence and anxiety by examining how specific emotional competence domains (emotion recognition, emotion expression, emotion awareness, emotion understanding, acceptance of emotion, emotional self-efficacy, sympathetic/empathic responses to others’ emotions, recognition of how emotion communication and self-presentation affect relationships, and emotion regulatory processes) relate to anxiety in childhood and adolescence. A total of 185 studies were included in a series of meta-analyses (N’s ranged from 573 to 25,711). Results showed that anxious youth are less effective at expressing (r = ?0.15) and understanding emotions (r = ?0.20), less aware of (r = ?0.28) and less accepting of their own emotions (r = ?0.49), and report less emotional self-efficacy (r = ?0.36). More anxious children use more support-seeking coping strategies (r = 0.07) and are more likely to use less adaptive coping strategies including avoidant coping (r = 0.18), externalizing (r = 0.18), and maladaptive cognitive coping (r = 0.34). Emotion acceptance and awareness, emotional self-efficacy, and maladaptive cognitive coping yielded the largest effect sizes. Some effects varied with children’s age. The findings inform intervention and treatment programs of anxiety in youth and identify several areas for future research.     

Telling tales in school: extended contact interventions in the classroom

Extended contact has demonstrated its effectiveness in promoting more positive intergroup attitudes among children in previous experimental research. The current project evaluates the use of extended contact interventions involving story‐telling in two novel school settings: the United States (N = 213) and Italy (N = 222) among children aged 5–12 years. Findings indicate support for the effectiveness of the interventions in these two locations among younger minority and majority children but call into question the durability of positive outcomes. Applications and implications are discussed.     

How Do We Understand Depression in People with Persistent Pain?

Depression and depressed mood are common in people with persistent (chronic) pain, exacerbating disability and worsening quality of life. Yet the relationship between persistent pain and depression remains unclear, despite its importance for designing or adapting interventions to address both pain and depression. Meta-analysis of cognitive and behavioral interventions designed for rehabilitation of persistent pain shows small benefits for distress. However, substantial variation between studies in patients’ baseline levels of depression and in quality of treatments militates against any clear conclusions. Apart from these interventions, longitudinal studies on chronic pain and depression in adults from clinical populations provide weak evidence that depression worsens pain outcomes. We systematically searched for and reviewed 14 longitudinal studies that explored the association between persistent pain and depression, aiming to identify: (1) the effects on pain of baseline depression; (2) the effects on depression of baseline pain; and (3) possible mediating variables, with particular attention to methodology. Unfortunately, most studies used unsuitable instruments to measure depression, and we could draw only tentative conclusions about effects over time. Better models and clearer measurement strategies are required for a next generation of clinically useful treatment trials and, meanwhile, some implications for treatment are explored.