Privileged Communication in Selected Helping Professions: A Comparison Among Statutes

The authors present findings of an examination and assessment of existing privileged communication statutes and rules of evidence in the 50 states and the District of Columbia for clients of selected helping professionals: psychologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists or counselors, school counselors, and licensed professional counselors. Data are reported regarding the extent to which each of these professional groups has succeeded in establishing that their clients' communications with them are entitled to legal privilege, the scope of privilege extended, and specified exceptions to privilege. The report concludes with implications and suggested guidelines for practice.     

Family of Origin and Current Relationship Influences on Codependency

This study investigated codependency in Caucasian individuals within the framework of Bowen's Family Systems Theory. The sample consisted of a group of couples, in which one member of the couple was a recovering alcoholic in an aftercare program, and a group of matched, comparison couples. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the Friel Co-dependency Assessment Inventory, and the Personal Authority in the Family System (PAFS) Questionnaire. The findings confirmed that codependency levels were higher in clinical than in comparison couples. Moreover, within the clinical group, there was little difference between alcoholics and their spouses with respect to dysfunction in their families of origin, current families, or their codependency levels. The findings further suggested that the etiology and function of codependency are different in clinical and nonclinical families. In the clinical sample, the family of origin and current relationship characteristics were related to codependency in patterns consistent with previous theory and research. For the nonclinical sample, however, the findings contradicted conventional codependency theory. The findings suggest that, in contrast to clinical populations, codependency in nonclinical populations has some links with favorable characteristics of family functioning.     

ASSESSING THE INCREMENTAL VALIDITY OF TEAM CONSENSUS RATINGS OVER AGGREGATION OF INDIVIDUAL-LEVEL DATA IN PREDICTING TEAM EFFECTIVENESS

Using data collected from 98 work teams, empowerment levels were assessed based on the aggregation of individual team member ratings as well as on a team consensus approach utilized after aggregation. These 2 methods of measuring team empowerment were then compared on their ability to predict manager ratings of team effectiveness on 4 dimensions. Findings demonstrated that the consensus method of measuring team empowerment explained significantly greater variance in team effectiveness than did the aggregation method alone. We discuss implications for team research and practice based on these findings and include a discussion on when using consensus after aggregation may be most appropriate.     

CROSS-NATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN RELATIONSHIPS OF WORK DEMANDS, JOB SATISFACTION, AND TURNOVER INTENTIONS WITH WORK–FAMILY CONFLICT

A study of work interference with family (WIF) among managers is described, contrasting four clusters of countries, one of which is individualistic (Anglo) and three of which are collectivistic (Asia, East Europe, and Latin America). Country cluster (Anglo vs. each of the others) moderated the relation of work demands with strain-based WIF, with the Anglo country cluster having the strongest relationships. Country cluster moderated some of the relationships of strain-based WIF with both job satisfaction and turnover intentions, with Anglos showing the strongest relationships. Cluster differences in domestic help were ruled out as the possible explanation for these moderator results.     

Monstrous infants and vampyric mothers in Bram Stoker's Dracula

Bram Stoker's Dracula continues to fascinate and horrify audiences, inviting a psychoanalytic explanation. While previous interpretations have emphasized oedipal dynamics and perverse sexuality, this paper proposes that early developmental issues are central. Vampires and the state of being 'undead' are representations of intense oral needs, experienced in a context of passivity and helplessness. Aggressive invasion and possession of the other, with a colonization of body and soul, offer a solution to this dilemma but one devoid of true object-relatedness. The imaginative source of the Dracula fi gure is posited as Stoker's early invalidism and his later idealization of a powerful and charismatic actor. Implicit in the Dracula story are ideas of intrusively experienced 'monstrous' babies and intrusively controlling 'vampyric mothers'. The author offers studies of key passages from Dracula in support of this reading, followed by comparative material to illustrate the spectrum of vampyric mothering: a clinical example and excerpts from a modern novel. The horror of the vampire myth is located in the unending internal attachment to a deeply needed but problematic object.     

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SAFETY CLIMATE AND MEDICATION ERRORS AS WELL AS OTHER NURSE AND PATIENT OUTCOMES

Safety climate has been shown to be associated with a number of important organizational outcomes. In this study, we take a broad view of safety climate—one that includes not only the development and adherence to safety protocols, but also open and constructive responses to errors—and investigate correlates within the health care industry. Drawing on a random, national sample of hospitals, the results revealed that safety climate predicted medication errors, nurse back injuries, urinary tract infections, patient satisfaction, patient perceptions of nurse responsiveness, and nurse satisfaction. As hypothesized, the relationship between safety climate and both medication errors and back injuries was moderated by the complexity of the patient conditions on the unit. Specifically, the effect of the overall safety climate of the unit was accentuated when dealing with more complex patient conditions.