Individualism and psychotherapy: Are psychologists leading or following individualilstic trends?

There has been much recent concern about the promotion of individualism in psychotherapy. This study assessed wheather psychologists differed in their preference for individualism from univerisy professors and students, in terms of how they view individuals' difficulties. The 289 respondents were presented with six clinical vignettes, and chose one of the four theoretically based perpectives of the person's difficulties. There were two individualisticn responses and two responses emphasizing social embeddedness and responsibility. The results indicated that there were no differences among the predominantly individualistic perpectives of the psychologists, the university professors, and evening school students. The respondents were equally individualistic with socially integrated and socially alienated clients which suggests that an individualistic bias was present in all three Groups.     

Gender bias and individualism: Responses to case vignettes among psychologists, professors, and students

This study examined the extent to which psychologists, when compared to university professors and evening school students, employ individualist values differentially in their responses to vignettes describing males and females. The participants responded to 6 vignettes by choosing initial hypotheses that reflected either utilitarian (tradition-ally masculine) or expressive (traditionally feminine) themes. Two vignettes involved a sex of client manipulation, but neither resulted in a sex of client effect. An analysis of the responses to the remaining 4 vignettes indicated a marked preference for the masculine form of individualism for males, but were evenly divided for females in all three groups. These results suggest that psychologists were just as likely to engage in bias as others.     

Marital satisfaction and conventionalization examined dyadically

Edmonds (1967) developed the Marital Conventionalization Scale to measure an apparent social desirability bias in marital quality measurement at the individual level. The original conceptualization of marital conventionalization has not been supported by subsequent research and conventionalization appears to represent another aspect of marital quality. This study investigated whether marital satisfaction and conventionalization are best conceptualized at the individual or couple level. A series of analyses suggest that these constructs must be interpreted as dyadic variables rather than simply as individual perceptions of marriage. Husbands and wives tend to report similar levels of marital satisfaction and conventionalization, especially among dissatisfied couples and couples with a high level of satisfaction.     

Adversary evaluation and the school psychologist

This article describes adversary evaluation and explains its use in evaluation of school-based programs by school psychologists. The authors discuss the history of adversary evaluation, the various models which have been used, and major research findings. Three diverse examples of adversary evaluation are presented, along with criteria for evaluating such models. In addition the article raises some potential concerns regarding the use of adversary evaluation, and suggests potential roles that school psychologists might play within this paradigm.     

Selling Stereotypes: Weight Loss Infomercials,Sexism, and Weightism

Research suggests that television reflects the negative cultural stereotypes of women and heavyweight people. The purpose of this study was to analyze the extent to which paid programming reflects the gender role expectations that have been observed in other kinds of programming and, in particular, the gender representations and weight-stereotypic messages in weight loss infomercials. The results show that images of women outnumbered those of men 2:1, thin women appeared 3 times as frequently as heavyweight women, and the “scientific expert” was always a man. Weight loss infomercials contained more references to unrestricted than to restricted eating, promoted weight loss without exercise more than with exercise, and portrayed heavyweight people as unhappy and unattractive. The implications of the findings for weight-related prejudice and stigma are discussed.     

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN RELATIONAL BOUNDARIES AMONG HETEROSEXUALS, GAY MEN, AND LESBIANS

This study investigated the relative contributions of gender and sexual orientation as factors associated with the formation of boundaries in dyadic intimate relating in both same- and opposite-sex couples. The study examined a relational pattern previously not empirically investigated but widely accepted as an actuality unique to lesbians; specifically, that lesbians tend to remain connected to ex-serious-relationship partners after breakup. The study utilized a research design approach emphasizing the methodological utility and heuristic value of including sexual orientation as an independent variable in studies of gender dynamics. Two general classes of theoretical frameworks, those emphasizing gender role socialization influences and those emphasizing systems influences, were discussed in terms of their relative goodness of fit as conceptual bases for the data. Questionnaires were completed by 60 lesbians, 37 gay men, 45 heterosexual women, and 39 heterosexual men. Lesbians and gay men reported higher levels of connection to ex-serious-relationship partners than heterosexuals. The data reflect how inclusion of sexual orientation can broaden understandings of gender differentiated phenomena beyond more traditional gender-only based accounts.     

Cardiac change scale: A brief,self-report research measure

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a brief, self-report measure of the degree of perceived change resulting from cardiac illness. Life change has been widely recognized as stressful, but it is usually assessed with generic checklists of events which have been found wanting in terms of reliability and validity. The proposed measure was designed to assess life change in factors commonly reported to be important in recovery from cardiac illness. The Cardiac Change Scale was found to have very good internal consistency and acceptable test-retest reliability. The construct and criterion validity of the Cardiac Change Scale were supported.     

Interactive Genetic Counseling Role-Play: A Novel Educational Strategy for Family Physicians

Background Family physicians (FPs) are increasingly involved in delivering genetic services. Familiarization with aspects of genetic counseling may enable FPs to help patients make informed choices. Purpose Exploration of interactive role-play as a means to raise FPs’ awareness of the process and content of genetic counseling. Methods FPs attending two large Canadian family medicine conferences in 2005 were eligible—93 participated. FPs discussed a case during a one-on-one session with a genetic counselor. Evaluation involved pre and post intervention questionnaires Results FPs’ baseline genetic knowledge was self-rated as uniformly poor. Baseline confidence was highest in eliciting family history and providing psychosocial support and lowest in discussing risks/benefits of genetic testing and counseling process. Post-intervention, 80% of FPs had better appreciation of family history and 97% indicated this was an effective learning experience. Conclusions Role-play with FPs is effective in raising awareness of the process and content of genetic counseling and may be applied to other health disciplines. This research was funded by: The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Genetics, The Genetics Education Project (funded by the Ontario Women’s Health Council), and GeneSens (funded by a CIHR Interdisciplinary Capacity Enhancement Team Grant).