Joint Custody: Parental Problems and Satisfactions

Joint custody, the total care of children by each parent part of the time, enables both parents to be "custodial" parents after divorce. Increasingly it has become a solution to custody problems, allowing both parents major involvement in their childrens' lives as well as freedom for themselves. This research addresses joint custody from the parents' perspective, exploring the salient issues. The problems and satisfactions are discussed, and the sex differences are highlighted.     

Patron Contact Training: A Workshop for Personnel Who Meet the Public

This article is intended to provide counselors with a format for designing and running workshops to train personnel employed in positions of high customer contact.     

HIGHLY ANXIOUS PUPILS IN FORMAL AND INFORMAL PRIMARY CLASSROOMS; THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INFERRED COPING STRATEGIES AND: I—COGNITIVE ATTAINMENT

Summary . This study was carried out in conjunction with the Teaching Styles project (Bennett, 1976). Questionnaire measures of ‘anxiety’ and ‘achievement motivation’, together with cognitive tests of English, mathematics and reading were administered to a sample of 956 primary school pupils in classes taught by teachers representing formal, informal and mixed teaching styles at the beginning and towards the end of the final year in primary school. Based on the premise that self-report measures of ‘anxiety’ and ‘achievement motivation’ may be indicative of coping strategies, zonal analyses of post-test data were carried out separately by sex and within teaching style. Results showed higher levels of attainment for highly anxious highly motivated pupils (an inferred coping strategy of approach) than for highly anxious low motivated pupils (an inferred coping strategy of avoidance). Further analyses indicated a close link between anxiety, motivation and ability for girls, a finding interpreted in terms of sex-related conformity, but for boys considerable discrepancies in attainment in relation to the inferred coping strategies were still in evidence at the lower ability level under all teaching styles. At the upper ability level significant discrepancies in attainment were shown only for boys in formal classrooms, where an inferred coping strategy of ‘approach’ was found to be associated with the highest level of attainment and an inferred coping strategy of ‘avoidance’ was associated with the lowest level of attainment. These findings are interpreted in terms of extrinsic motivational incentives, success and failure experience and possible parental influence. Further analysis indicated that ‘avoiders' tended to be introverted and ‘approachers' extraverted in personality. This finding is interpreted in the light of Gray's 1970 postulate that introverts are relatively more susceptible to punishment/non-reward, whereas extraverts are relatively more susceptible to reward.     

Managed Care: Ethical Considerations for Counselors

Key factors and trends in health care will have an impact on the ethical practice of counselors. Ethical challenges to clinical practice presented by trends in managed care are discussed in relation to the American Counseling Association (1995) Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. Recommendations for practice are also included.     

The Buros Institute of Mental Measurements: Commitment to the Tradition of Excellence

This article reviews briefly the history of the Buros Institute of Mental Measurements and then provides an overview of the expanded mission of the Buros Institute. The origins of the Mental Measurements Yearbook series are highlighted, along with discussions of goals and the evolving structure of the Yearbook series. In addition, the bibliographic reference series, Tests in Print, and the specialized monograph series are placed in historic perspective. Goals of the “new” Buros Institute of Mental Measurements, located at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln, are also presented.     

Feminism: Implications for Employment Counselors

Although the feminist movement has expanded job opportunities for women, there are many psychological and cultural barriers that prevent many women job seekers from taking advantage of these opportunities. A review of the recent literature on the counseling needs of women points out the role conflicts, cultural hostility, and institutional bias that keep some women out of the labor market and cause job-seeking and job adjustment problems for others. Awareness of these factors on the part of employment counselors will aid the smooth transition from home to career for women applicants.     

Using Values Clarification in Counseling Settings

Values clarification began as a counseling tool. Raths's famous seven questions about values have their origin in Socratic questioning and also owe a debt to Emerson and Dewey. Numerous strategies have been developed for the learning of values awareness. Counselors have found the clarifying question helpful in individual counseling, and they discovered clarifying strategies useful in individual and group counseling. Furthermore, values clarification has been used successfully to personalize instruction. Finally, the counselor can take advantage of values clarification for personal and professional growth. The question of research in values clarification is addressed. Leona Tyler , in reaction to this article, recalls other techniques for values discrimination.     

Uncertainties about the new Strong Interest Blanks

Many SVIB materials were published in 1969, and the new men's and women's revisions are now largely complete. Because these inventories are such fundamental instruments for vocational counseling, the revisions merit careful examination at this point. Consideration is given to necessary technical information, the Basic Interest Scales, new occupational scale reference groups, scale development and validation, an illustrative scale, and other factors. Because the SVIB's are more complex than ever, and involve uncertainties yet to be resolved, they need to be approached with caution.     

Bulimic Beliefs: Food for Thought

Individuals suffering from bulimia nervosa share a characteristic pattern of thinking which needs to be understood if effective treatment is to take place. This article presents these beliefs, gathered by clinical experience and a review of the literature, in a format which describes each belief, discusses the common causes for its development, and suggests therapeutic interventions.