Counseling Supervisors' Assessment of Race,Racial Identity,and Working Alliance in supervisory Dyads

The authors investigated the role of race, racial identity attitudes and working alliance in counseling supervision using data obtained from supervisors in supervisory dyads. Results revealed the strongest working alliance for supervisor‐supervisee pairs with high racial identity development and the weakest working alliance for pairs with low racial identity development. Los autores investigaron el papel que juegan la raza, las actitudes de identidad racial y la alianza de trabajo en la supervisión de consejería, empleando datos obtenidos de supervisores involucrados en diadas de supervisión. Los resultados revelaron que la alianza de trabajo más sólida se da en parejas de supervisor‐supervisado con un desarrollo alto de identidad racial, y la alianza de trabajo más débil en parejas con un desarrollo bajo de identidad racial.     

Adaptations of Professional Ethics Among Counselors Living and Working in a Remote Native Canadian Community

Eight non‐Native counselors who temporarily relocated to the Native Canadian community of Nunavut were interviewed upon their return about experiences working with Inuit clients that challenged their professional training. Analysis of the counselors' narratives suggested that they used a social constructivism approach to manage confidentiality, negotiate boundaries, and redefine ethical practice to mirror community values. Ocho consejeros no nativos que se trasladaron temporalmente a la comunidad Nativa Canadiense de Nunavut fueron entrevistados a su vuelta acerca de sus experiencias trabajando con clientes Inuit, que cuestionaron su formación profesional. Los análisis de las narraciones de los consejeros indicaron que estos emplearon un enfoque basado en el constructivismo social para manejar la confidencialidad, negociar límites y redefinir su práctica ética para reflejar los valores de la comunidad.     

Investigating the effects of tic suppression on premonitory urge ratings in children and adolescents with Tourette's syndrome

Tics represent a complex class of behaviors that have a neurobiological origin and are influenced by factors both internal and external to the individual. One factor that has gained recent attention is the premonitory urge. Contemporary behavioral models suggest that some tics are preceded by aversive somatic urges that increase in severity when tics are suppressed and are attenuated by performance of the tic. It has been proposed that the removal of premonitory urges may strengthen or maintain tics via negative reinforcement. This investigation is the first to empirically evaluate the effect of tic suppression on the premonitory urge phenomenon. Five children and adolescents, ages 8–17 years, participated in the study. Using an ABAB reversal design, tic frequency and subjective premonitory urge ratings were recorded under conditions of free-to-tic baseline (BL) and reinforced tic suppression (differential reinforcement of zero-rate behavior). Results show that four of the five children demonstrated reliable suppression. Of the four children who achieved suppression, three demonstrated a pattern in which subjective urge ratings were higher during suppression than during BL. Results provide preliminary support for the negative reinforcement view of tic function for some children.     

Self-efficacy and work-related performance: the integral role of individual differences

The present study estimated the unique contribution of self-efficacy to work-related performance controlling for personality (the Big 5 traits), intelligence or general mental ability, and job or task experience. Results, based on a meta-analysis of the relevant literatures, revealed that overall, across all studies and moderator conditions, the contribution of self-efficacy relative to purportedly more distal variables is relatively small. Within moderator categories, there were several cases in which self-efficacy made unique contributions to work-related performance. For example, self-efficacy predicted performance in jobs or tasks of low complexity but not those of medium or high complexity, and self-efficacy predicted performance for task but not job performance. Overall, results suggest that the predictive validity of self-efficacy is attenuated in the presence of individual differences, though this attenuation does depend on the context.     

Work characteristics, musculoskeletal disorders, and the mediating role of psychological strain: a study of call center employees

The demands of the modern office are thought to contribute to the development of musculoskeletal disorders. For upper body and lower back disorders, these effects are hypothesized to be mediated by psychological strain. A study of 936 employees from 22 call centers supports this hypothesis. Using logistic regression and structural equation modeling, the authors found that the relationship of workload to upper body and lower back musculoskeletal disorders was largely accounted for by job-related strain. This mediating effect was less evident for arm disorders. Contrary to expectation, job autonomy had neither a direct nor a moderating effect on any musculoskeletal disorder.     

Accuracy of Self-Reported Personal History of Cancer in an Outpatient Breast Center

The self-reporting of cancer history is becoming increasingly important, as it frequently guides medical decision-making. We studied the accuracy of personal cancer history using a self-administered questionnaire, comparing the results with the Tumor Registry at our institution. Among 39,662 records, we identified 3614 women with a single cancer in the Tumor Registry who reported none or one cancer on their questionnaire. The sensitivity in self-reporting cancers was 85.7%, ranging from 92.1% for breast cancer to 42.9% for leukemia. The accuracy for breast cancer and Hodgkin's Lymphoma was significantly better than other cancers (p=0.00027, CI: 1.4–3.88). Analysis of patient's characteristics showed that Caucasians reported breast cancer more accurately than Asian/Pacific Islanders (p=0.008), and those with Jewish ancestry more accurately than non-Jewish (p=0.0435). These results will help us to improve data collection and thus improve medical decision-making.     

The central nucleus of the amygdala is essential for acquiring and expressing conditional fear after overtraining

The basolateral complex of the amygdala (BLA) is critical for the acquisition and expression of Pavlovian fear conditioning in rats. Nonetheless, rats with neurotoxic BLA lesions can acquire conditional fear after overtraining (75 trials). The capacity of rats with BLA lesions to acquire fear memory may be mediated by the central nucleus of the amygdala (CEA). To examine this issue, we examined the influence of neurotoxic CEA lesions or reversible inactivation of the CEA on the acquisition and expression of conditional freezing after overtraining in rats. Rats with pretraining CEA lesions (whether alone or in combination with BLA lesions) did not acquire conditional freezing to either the conditioning context or an auditory conditional stimulus after extensive overtraining. Similarly, post-training lesions of the CEA or BLA prevented the expression of overtrained fear. Lastly, muscimol infusions into the CEA prevented both the acquisition and the expression of overtrained fear, demonstrating that the effects of CEA lesions are not likely due to the destruction of en passant axons. These results suggest that the CEA is essential for conditional freezing after Pavlovian fear conditioning. Moreover, overtraining may engage a compensatory fear conditioning circuit involving the CEA in animals with damage to the BLA.     

Changes in women's mate preferences across the ovulatory cycle

Previous research has shown that women's mate preferences change across the ovulatory cycle in a number of ways. The leading explanation for these changes--the good genes hypothesis--predicts that women should prefer presumed markers of genetic benefits ("good genes") most strongly when they are fertile and evaluating men as possible short-term mates. Research testing this hypothesis has almost exclusively examined preferences for purported markers of good genes. Little is known about how preferences for men who display traits valued in long-term, investing mates (e.g., warmth and faithfulness) change across the cycle. The authors had women at different points in their ovulatory cycle rate videotapes of men in terms of how attractive they found each man as a short-term and long-term mate. The authors then examined how women's preferences for traits typically valued in long-term and/or short-term mates varied according to women's fertility status. The results supported the good genes hypothesis. Implications of these findings for models of human mating are discussed.     

Tatcharakteristika, Rückfallrisiko und Rückfallprognose bei Sexualstraftätern vom Jugend- bis ins Seniorenalter

The basis of this study was a census of all offenses of sexual assault and sexual abuse that were reported to the Berlin police between 1994 and 1999 (N?=?2,446). The purpose was to analyse the particularities of elderly offenders (60 years or older, n?=?68) compared to the 273 juvenile and the 2,105 younger adult offenders with regard to prior offenses, index offenses and recidivism rates. Furthermore, the analysis focused on the prediction of sexual and violent reoffence by means of the static-99 within the elderly age group. The analysis showed that the rate of former sexual offence committed by seniors was comparable to the younger adults; however, sexual and non-sexual violent pre-offences were much less frequent. On the other hand, the seniors were more frequently involved in sexual abuse, their modus operandi showed lesser degrees of intensity of the sexual acts and less use of force and violence (even among sexual abusers only) and group-offence was definitely uncommon. Furthermore the rate of sexual reoffence was similar to the juvenile offenders, but lower in comparison to adult offenders younger than 60 years. A more sophisticated analysis of the age-effects on recidivism-rates confirmed the anticipation of growing risks until middle adulthood and decreasing risks of reoffence afterwards. However, an explicit trajectory of first growing and than decreasing risks in the course of aging could only be found among offenders with sexual abuse, whereas the zenith was shifted in elderly stages of age. On the other hand, among offenders with sexual assaults, the risks of sexual reoffending seemed rather similar until the middle adulthood and increasingly lower in later stages. In spite of these aging-effects and the particularities of the elderly sexual offenders, the static-99 predicted sexual reoffence among the senior offenders quite well and there was no difference in comparison with the total sample.     

Workaholism,Health, and Self‐Acceptance

This study examined the relationships between workaholism, perceived parental workaholism, self‐acceptance, psychological well‐being, and physical symptoms among 347 college students. Statistically significant relationships were found between college students' perceived parental workaholism and their own workaholism. Also, relationships between workaholism, self‐acceptance, psychological well‐being, and physical symptoms were discovered. Students with higher perceptions of parental workaholism reported lower levels of psychological well‐being, lower levels of self‐acceptance, and more physical health complaints. Implications and limitations are discussed.