AIDS Group Psychotherapy

Abstract

Clinical data are presented from a day spent at a New Jersey high school severely impacted by the World Trade Center disaster. Dissociation, a sense of numbness, anger, and guilt about feelings induced by the tragedy are all common dynamics in adolescents responding to trauma. The developmental issues that adolescents are confronting are described and discussed in terms of the challenges they present to the healing process. An argument is made that using groups to aid in the long recovery process with our young people should be a top public health priority.     

Psychopathic traits and men’s anger response to interpersonal conflict: A pilot study

Psychopathy is associated with emotional dysfunction that impedes the experience of emotions such as fear and sadness and has been purported to facilitate violent behavior. However, findings relative to the association between psychopathy and anger have not been reliably substantiated. Theorists have proposed that psychopathy predisposes one to experience greater frustration and anger, whereas other experts have suggested that there is no convincing evidence for this assertion. In the present study, we tested the relationship between psychopathy subfactors and anger subsequent to conflict or non-conflict interactions. Sixty-eight collegiate-men completed the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale and read vignettes depicting either a conflict or non-conflict scenario and were asked to imagine themselves in the situation. Following presentation of the vignettes, participants completed a lexical-decision-task assessing affective states. Results indicated that the psychopathy subfactors demonstrated strong differential associations, where Factor 1 showed negative and Factor 2 showed positive association with anger activation in response to interpersonal conflict. Findings are discussed in terms of the importance of anger as a facilitator of violence in some psychopathic individuals.     

A Child With Autism Spectrum Disorder Teaches Siblings to Skateboard: Effects on Sibling Skills and Family Social Behavior

Abstract

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have few common activities with their siblings who do not have ASD, and this can limit their opportunities for social play. In this study, we used a multiple-baseline across skills design to assess the effects of a boy with ASD following an activity schedule to teach his favorite activity of skateboarding to his two siblings who do not have ASD. Family social behavior was also measured before and after sibling training. After training by the boy with ASD, both of the siblings’ skateboarding skills improved, and measures of family social behavior also increased. Results suggest that sibling relationships may benefit when a child with ASD teaches siblings to play.     

Managerial Stress in Greater China: The Direct and Moderator Effects of Coping Strategies and Work Locus of Control

La présente étude examine les effets directs et modérateurs des stratégies de défense (contrôle et support) et de la perception de contrôle au travail (extérieure) sur des relations stresseur-tension entre des gestionnaires de la grande Chine (la République populaire de Chine, Hong Kong, et Taiwan). Les données ont été recueillies, via un questionnaire autoadministré, auprès de 876 gestionnaires soit 249 (164 hommes, 85 femmes) en République populaire de Chine, 280 à Hong Kong (159 hommes, 120 femmes, 1 non classifié), et 347 (191 hommes, 151 femmes, 5 non classifiés) au Taiwan. Des effets directs et modérateurs pour les stratégies de défense et pour la perception de contrôle ont été démontrés pour quelques relations stresseur-tension dans les divers échantillons étudiés.
The present study aims at examining the direct and moderator effects of coping strategies (control and support coping) and work locus of control (externality) on the stressor-strain relationships among managers in Greater China (the People's Republic of China [PRC], Hong Kong, and Taiwan). A self-administered survey method was employed to collect data from 249 (164 male, 85 female) managers in the PRC, 280 (159 male, 120 female, 1 unclassified) managers in Hong Kong, and 347 (191 male, 151 female, 5 unclassified) managers in Taiwan. The direct and moderator effects of control coping, support coping, and work locus of control on some stressor-strain relationships were demonstrated in the studied samples.     

Deterministic vs probabilistic strategies in detection

A binary detection task, free from sensory components, is investigated. A deterministic model prescribing a fixed cutoff point is confirmed; a probabilistic model, which generalizes Lee’s micromatching model for externally distributed stimuli, is rejected.     

Faculty Stressors, Job Satisfaction, and Psychological Distress Among University Teachers in Hong Kong: The Role of Locus of Control

The study aimed at identifying the sources of stress, and investigating their effects on job satisfaction and psychological distress among 106 university teachers (86 males, 20 females) from four tertiary institutes in Hong Kong. Another purpose of the study was to examine the moderating effect of locus of control on stressor-strain relationships. A factor analysis of the faculty stressors revealed six factors: recognition, perceived organizational practices, factors intrinsic to teaching, financial inadequacy, home/work interface, and new challenge. A series of stepwise multiple regressions demonstrated that recognition, perceived organizational practices, and financial inadequacy were best predictors of job satisfaction, whereas perceived organizational practices and home/work interface were the best predictors of psychological distress. Further, external locus of control was associated with low job satisfaction and psychological distress. A series of hierarchical moderated regressions demonstrated a moderating effect of locus of control on some of the stressor-strain relationships.     

An examination of the Validity of the Elemental Psychopathy Assessment: Relations with Other Psychopathy Measures,Aggression, and Externalizing Behaviors

The Elemental Psychopathy Assessment (EPA) is a new self-report measure of psychopathy designed to assess the personality traits associated with psychopathy from a Five Factor Model perspective. The current study examined the validity of the EPA in sample of undergraduates by examining the relations between the EPA scales and three validated self-report psychopathy instruments, as well as assessments of aggression, substance use, and antisocial behavior. The EPA scales manifested strong convergent validity with the extant psychopathy measures and an expected pattern of relations with measures of externalizing behaviors. Overall, the EPA appears to be a promising measure of psychopathy which provides new opportunities to explore the underlying structure of this construct and parse its relations with constructs central to its nomological network.