Termination: Legal and Ethical Considerations for Marriage and Family Therapists

Every Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) must carefully plan how to initiate, convene, and terminate therapy. Determining how to ethically terminate therapy in a variety of therapeutic contexts can be challenging. Though termination is a common aspect of all therapeutic relationships, a lack of empirically based information on how to terminate therapy leaves practitioners alone in determining how best to end the treatment relationship. Furthermore, the subject of termination is discussed so scarcely in MFT literature that few authors have attempted to establish a standard for ethical termination. In the current climate of evidence-based services, predetermined session limits, and increased litigation for malpractice, MFTs must examine their termination procedures. This paper identifies the current available literature on termination and discusses the ethical and legal considerations for practicing MFTs as outlined by the AAMFT Code of Ethics (2004) American Psychological Association. 2004. Code of ethics., Washington, DC: Author.  [Google Scholar]. Directions and suggested methods for future research are set forth.     

Whether “Malevolent” or “Negative,” Creativity Is Relevant to Terrorism Prevention: Lessons From 9/11 and Hazardous Material Trucking

Cropley, Kaufman, and Cropley (this issue) make an important contribution in arguing for the value of creativity for terrorism prevention. Their message will be, though, somewhat more novel for scientific researchers and theorists than for the intelligence and security communities. It also leaves out many concepts and techniques, from the Psychology of Creativity literature, which are relevant to the theme of preventing terrorism. In this article, we give some attention to examining the constructs and analyses presented by Cropley et al. Most of our effort is, however, devoted to using Cropley et al.'s ideas as the starting point for a more detailed discussion of applying cognitive psychology, social psychology, organizational psychology, and security-profession ideas to creatively anticipating potential creative terrorism attacks, and devising creative counter-measures against such attacks. To illustrate the potential application of the Psychology of Creativity to terrorism, results are presented of a pilot study on using the Red-Team/Green-Team, Attack-Defense Tree, and Nominal Group techniques to generate possible creative approaches to anticipating and countering terrorism.     

Anxiety and chronic couple relationship stress moderate adrenocortical response to couple interaction in expectant parents

The study examines whether anxiety or chronic relationship stress alter the way that couple conflict affects cortisol levels for women and men during the transition to parenthood. Saliva samples, assayed for cortisol, were collected before and after couple interaction from 128 heterosexual couples expecting their first child. Confirming prior research, expectant mothers had higher cortisol levels than their spouses, and gestational age was linked to women's cortisol level. Negativity during couple interaction was associated with greater cortisol reactivity for men, but not women. Tests of moderation indicated little relation between negativity and cortisol recovery for individuals with a low level of anxiety or little history of chronic arguing with the partner. However, among individuals with elevated levels of either of these two factors, negativity was linked to less cortisol recovery for men, but more cortisol recovery for women. Consistent results were also found for the relation between low warmth in the couple interaction and both reactivity and recovery for men and women high in anxiety. Future research should examine whether pregnancy is responsible for these different gender patterns, or whether the inhibition of negativity is stressful for women with high levels of risk.     

Behavior Problems at 5 Years of Age and Maternal Mental Health in Autism and Intellectual Disability

We examined child behavior problems and maternal mental health in a British population-representative sample of 5 year-old children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), controlling for the presence of an intellectual disability (ID). Behavior problems were significantly higher in children with ASD with/out ID compared to typically developing children, but compared to children with ID only hyperactivity was significantly higher in children with ASD/ID. After controlling for ID and maternal mental health, the presence of ASD significantly increased the odds for hyperactivity, conduct problems and emotional symptoms. Negative maternal outcomes (serious mental illness, psychological distress, and physical health limitations) were not consistently elevated in ASD. The findings highlight the early age at which behavior problems emerge in ASD, and suggest that at this age , there may not be a clear disadvantage for maternal mental health associated with having a child with ASD in the family, over and above that conferred by child behavior problems.     

Relation of intimate partner violence to salivary cortisol among couples expecting a first child

Despite advances in understanding the role that several physiological systems play in the occurrence of general violence, little progress has been made toward understanding biological correlates of intimate partner violence (IPV). We explored involvement of one physiological system, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Among 137 heterosexual couples expecting a first child, baseline level of HPA activity-assessed via salivary cortisol collected before a couple conflict discussion-was linked to both men's and women's violence perpetration. HPA reactivity to the conflict bout did not show an independent association with IPV. However, persisting elevation in men's, and down-regulation in women's, HPA activity during a further recovery period was linked to men's violence perpetration.     

Knowing thyself ... in private: Masturbation and philosophy

Karl Marx once compared philosophy to masturbation, essentially seeing both as privative, idealistic, and impractical activities. Indeed, many lay folk see philosophers as “wankers.” While the present state of universities does throw doubt on the liberatory character of contemporary philosophy, Marx’s jibe nonetheless mischaracterizes masturbation. This paper is a brief attempt to correct Marx’s characterization of masturbation by drawing on the work of a thinker ofter associated with “intellectual onanism”: Martin Heidegger. Speaking ontologically, Heidergger’s theories can be developed to show that masturbation it is not privative, but “stretched” in time and place. Moreover, masturbation plays a practical role in the creative development of the self, including the self’s essential bodiliness. While not necessarily defending philosophy against Marx’s charges, this paper does show how even so-called “onanistic” philosophy might be redeemed. “Only a being which, like man, ‘had’ the word... can and must ‘have’ ‘the hand’” —Martin Heidegger “I have a dangerously supple wrist.” —Friedrich Nietzsche     

Relationship work among young adult couples: Romantic,social, and physiological considerations

We examined romantic, social, and physiological variables associated with partners discussing romantic challenges together and with friends, a process known as relationship work (RW). Actor‐partner interdependence models examining 71 heterosexual, young adult couples and their friends suggested social network approval, friendship quality, and partners' perspective taking were each associated with partners' RW patterns. Skin conductance activity readings revealed males universally experienced greater physiological arousal when discussing romantic problems than females. Unexpectedly, both males and females experienced greater skin conductance activity when discussing romantic challenges with friends than with partners. Males were more likely to discuss romantic challenges with friends when their female partners experienced greater baseline skin conductance activity. Findings inform researchers regarding links between romantic, social, and physiological functioning.     

Schadenfreude as a consumption‐related emotion: Feeling happiness about the downfall of another's product

Emotional antecedents of schadenfreude—joy experienced when observing another's downfall—were investigated in a status consumption context. Across 3 studies, status product failure produced schadenfreude and led to intentions to spread negative word-of-mouth (studies 1, 2), and increased negative affect and overall negative attitudes toward the status brand (study 3). Furthermore, studies 1 and 2 suggest that envy (particularly of social attention) can lead to schadenfreude by transmuting into hostile emotions. Finally, these studies suggest that schadenfreude in a consumption context can be precipitated by factors such as degree of target advantage and flaunting of the status product.     

Religion and Higher Education: Current Knowledge and Directions for Future Research

In light of increased scholarly and public discussion about the proper position of religion in higher education, we take stock of existing social scientific studies to illuminate what we know—and what we don't know—about religion and higher education. We argue that research shows that college students are more religiously engaged than has traditionally been thought, but that this interest appears to be more broad than deep; that the college experience does not lead to apostasy in most students, though its effect on students' religious engagements is still unclear; and that religion has a beneficial effect on some student outcomes, but not on others. We conclude by proposing three new directions for research that offer the potential to expand our understanding of the interaction of religion and higher education.     

A note on item information in any direction for the multidimensional three-parameter logistic model

The purpose of this note is twofold: (a) to present the formula for the item information function (IIF) in any direction for the Multidimensional 3-Parameter Logistic (M3-PL) model and (b) to give the equation for the location of maximum item information (θ_max) in the direction of the item discrimination vector. Several corollaries are given. Implications for future research are discussed.This research was supported in part by an Educational Testing Service (ETS) Harold T. Gulliksen Psychometric Research Fellowship to the author.This revised article was published online in August 2005 with the PDF paginated correctly.