White Racial Identity Attitudes and the Ego Defense Mechanisms Used by White Counselor Trainees in Racially Provocative Counseling Situations

This exploratory study examined the relationship between racial identity attitudes and the use of ego defense mechanisms by White counselor trainees during cross‐racial counseling and supervision dyads. The sample consisted of 145 White counselor trainees enrolled in both master's and doctoral programs at 2 small private universities located in the northeastern United States. Results indicated that White counselor trainees at less mature statuses of racial identity attitudes relied on more primitive ego defenses to manage the anxiety experienced during racially provocative counseling and supervision dyads. Implications for counseling and counselor training are discussed in the context of the study's findings.     

Clinical Predictors of Depression in Patients with Low-Grade Brain Tumors: Consideration of a Neurologic Versus a Psychogenic Model

Few studies have examined quality of life issues in patients with brain tumors, though coping with cancer is stressful and is associated with heightened levels of depression. We used regression to examine the clinical factors that might predict depression in a group of 57 adults with low-grade brain tumors after surgery but prior to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. A neurological model comprised of tumor characteristics and treatment was compared with a psychogenic model comprised of both psychosocial and psychodynamic variables. Demographic variables and level of fatigue were also included. A model consisting primarily of fatigue (also clinically elevated) and secondarily of tumor location and aggressiveness of surgical treatment accounted for 33% of the depression score. In a small group at a later follow-up when patient depression was clinically elevated (4–6 years after baseline), fatigue, female sex, cognitive dysfunction, increased family support, and increased report of physical symptoms were associated with depression. The late out findings remain exploratory because of the small sample size, but they suggest that depression develops over time and results from a combination of neurological and psychosocial problems that ensue initial treatments. Treating these collateral problems may reduce the complications from depression.     

“God Smites You!”: Atheists’ Experiences of Stigma,Identity Politics,and Queerness*

Existing research on Atheists is sparse. The lived experiences of Atheists have been ignored almost entirely. Triangulating from autoethnographic materials and life-history interviews, this project documents the ways that Atheist individuals understand the stigmas attributed to them and their responses to it. Some of the behaviors are framed as “techniques of information control” such as “compartmentalizing” and “passing.” Others are framed as “Identity Politics.” Techniques of information control and identity politics may serve to impede efforts toward effective activism on behalf of Atheists. Taken from an alternative perspective, Atheism is deconstructed as a form of “queerness” in relation to religion.     

Will They Listen to Me? An Examination of In-Group Gender Bias in Children’s Communication Beliefs

Sex Roles - We assessed developmental and gender differences in children’s beliefs about their peers’ communication styles. We hypothesized that children hold more favorable beliefs...     

The impact of alcohol intoxication on witness suggestibility immediately and after a delay

Intoxicated witnesses are common, making it important to understand alcohol's impact on witness accuracy and suggestibility. Participants assigned to an immediate retrieval condition encoded and recalled in one of the three intoxication conditions: sober control, placebo, or intoxicated. Participants in the delayed retrieval condition were assigned to encode in one of the three intoxication conditions, returned a week later, and were assigned to retrieve in one of the three intoxication conditions. Intoxication condition at encoding was fully crossed with intoxication condition at retrieval in the delayed condition. Participants encoded a mock crime video and retrieved via a forced‐choice test, with answers already circled (purportedly by a prior participant); half of the precircled responses were incorrect. When recalling after a delay only, intoxication at encoding increased agreement with incorrect suggested answers and decreased accuracy. Results suggest intoxicated witnesses may benefit from being interviewed immediately rather than after a sobering delay.     

Understanding Stress and Life Satisfaction for Children of Clergy: A Retrospective Study

Because clergy children live within a unique family context, the goal of this study was to examine the individual and family stressors that adult clergy children experience while growing up and how individual and family coping resources, along with the adult clergy children’s perceptions of their experiences or sense of coherence, have affected the perceived life satisfaction. The present study examined the life satisfaction of clergy and non-clergy children, both retrospectively as adolescents and currently as adults, to determine the stability of their perceived life satisfaction over time. Compared to a sample of adult non-clergy children, adult clergy children experienced greater levels of individual and family stress along with a lower sense of coherence and less life satisfaction as adolescents. A path analysis of the model based on family stress theory indicates that sense of coherence provided the greatest total effect on participants’ life satisfaction as adolescents, whereas life satisfaction as adolescents provided the greatest total effect on life satisfaction as adults. These findings provide several implications for research and practice.     

The Children’s Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Telemental Health Treatment Study: Caregiver Outcomes

The Children’s Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Telemental Health Treatment Study (CATTS) tested the hypotheses that children and caregivers who received guideline-based treatment delivered through a hybrid telehealth service delivery model would experience greater improvements in outcomes than children and caregivers receiving treatment via a comparison delivery model. Here, we present caregiver outcomes. 88 primary care providers (PCPs) in seven geographically underserved communities referred 223 children (ages 5.5 ? 12.9 years) to the randomized controlled trial. Over 22 weeks, children randomized to the CATTS service delivery model received six sessions of telepsychiatry and six sessions of caregiver behavior management training provided in person by community therapists who were trained and supervised remotely. Children randomized to the comparison Augmented Primary Care (APC) service model received management in primary care augmented by a single telepsychiatry consultation. Caregiver outcomes included changes in distress, as measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Parenting Stress Index (PSI), Caregiver Strain Questionnaire (CSQ) and Family Empowerment Scale (FES). Caregivers completed five assessments. Multilevel mixed effects regression modeling tested for differences between the two service delivery models in caregiver outcomes from baseline to 25 weeks. Compared to caregivers of children in the APC model, caregivers of children in the CATTS service model showed statistically significantly greater improvements on the PHQ-9 (β?=?-1.41, 95 % CI?=?[?2.74, ?0.08], p?<?.05), PSI (β?=??4.59, 95 % CI?=?[?7.87, ? 1.31], p?<?.001), CSQ (β?=??5.41, 95 % CI?=?[? 8.58, ?2.24], p?<?.001) and FES (β?=?6.69, 95 % CI?=?[2.32, 11.06], p?<?.01). Improvement in child ADHD symptoms mediated improved caregiver scores on the PSI and CSQ. Improvement in child ODD behaviors mediated caregiver CSQ scores. The CATTS trial supports the effectiveness of a hybrid telehealth service delivery model for reducing distress in caregivers of children with ADHD and suggests a mechanism through which the service model affected caregiver distress.     

Traumatology Trends: A Content Analysis of Three Counseling Journals From 1994 to 2014

A content analysis of the Journal of Counseling & Development, Journal of Mental Health Counseling, and Counselor Education and Supervision from 1994 to 2014 was conducted to determine traumatology topics and trends. The frequency of trauma articles was low, and the largest category focused on sexual abuse. Few articles addressed terrorism or mass violence. Emerging topics included shared trauma and trauma supervision. Development of consistent nomenclature, trauma training, and specialized trauma journals are recommended to increase publications.