Mediators of aggression among young adult offspring of depressed mothers

The current article explores the connection between maternal depression and offspring aggression during the transition to adulthood, expanding the scope of prior research on this topic. Both family-level factors (including parent-child relationship quality and maternal romantic relationship quality) and youth factors (including depression history and social functioning in midadolescence) were tested as potential mediators in a longitudinal community sample of 710 youth at ages 15 and 20. The results suggest that maternal depression confers a risk for higher levels of aggressive behavior by offspring at age 20. Structural equation models suggested that the association between maternal depression and youth aggression is fully mediated by youth history of depression by midadolescence, even when accounting for the stability of aggression between ages 15 and 20. Parent-child relationship quality, youth social functioning, and maternal relationship quality were not unique mediators of this association. Limitations and implications are discussed.     

Right-Wing Authoritarianism and Social Dominance Orientation in a Canadian Military Sample

The Sexual Experiences Questionnaire (SEQ) was administered to 1,060 male and 305 female soldiers from combat support and combat service support units in the U.S. Army. Eighty-four percent of women and 74% of men experienced at least 1 of the behaviors listed in the SEQ during the previous year. However, only 30% of women and 8% of men acknowledged having been sexually harassed in the same time period. Men who experienced SEQ behaviors were less likely to acknowledge harassment than women who experienced these behaviors. The 3 SEQ subscales—gender harassment, unwanted sexual attention, and coercion—were examined as predictors of organizational commitment, turnover wish, the perception of sexual harassment as a personal and work-unit problem, and as predictors of acknowledged harassment. The more serious behaviors were more likely to be acknowledged as harassment than the milder behaviors when the type of behavior was defined as either present or absent. On the other hand, when milder behaviors occurred frequently, they were the main predictors of the perception of sexual harassment as a personal and work-unit problem. Sexual harassment predicted turnover wish and Army commitment for male soldiers only.     

Expanding Treatment Options for Children With Selective Mutism: Rationale,Principles, and Procedures for an Intensive Group Behavioral Treatment

Children with selective mutism (SM) experience significant challenges in a variety of social situations, leading to difficulties with academics, peers, and family functioning. Despite the extensive evidence base for cognitive-behavioral interventions for youth anxiety, the literature has seen relatively limited advancement in specialized treatment methods for SM. In addition, geographic disparities in SM treatment expertise and the roughly 6-month duration of some of the supported SM treatment protocols can further restrict the accessibility and acceptability of quality SM care. Intensive group behavioral treatment (IGBT) for SM was developed to expand the portfolio of evidence-based SM treatment options by offering brief, but high-dose, expert SM intervention in a group format for youth ages 3–10 years that can be completed in 1 week. In this article, we outline IGBT for SM program, which has already received initial support in a waitlist-controlled trial. Our presentation is organized around the five main components of the treatment model: (1) individual “lead-in” sessions, (2) camp (i.e., all-day group sessions for children held in a simulated classroom setting, with an emphasis on graduated exposures and structured reinforcement), (3) parent training, (4) school outreach, and (5) booster treatment, as needed. We conclude with a discussion of clinical considerations and future directions for further IGBT refinement and evaluation.     

National Guard Couples Communicating During Deployment: The Challenge of Effective Connection

Communication during a combat deployment has changed significantly in current times. Couples can now communicate with each other frequently and through multiple modes. Despite this greater availability of communication options, there remain unanswered questions related to how healthy deployment communication is best achieved between couples, particularly regarding navigating the uncertainty of deployment. In this qualitative study, we report on the experiences of 31 National Guard couples who endured a combat deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Couples were interviewed three months after the soldier returned from deployment. Through the lens of relational turbulence theory, we provide a conceptual framework related to effective and non-effective deployment communication, along with structural communication barriers in the military that may negatively affect the mental well-being of partners. Finally, we provide recommendations to guide couples through these difficult deployments.

     

Adapting Parent–Child Interaction Therapy for Deaf Families That Communicate via American Sign Language: A Formal Adaptation Approach

While our field has made positive strides in adapting psychotherapeutic interventions for diverse groups of people, considerable work is still needed in this area. We present our formal adaptation procedure for parent–child interaction therapy (PCIT) with Deaf persons. This includes a review of the cultural adaptation process for psychological interventions, including PCIT, as well as an introduction to Deaf culture. Details regarding the specific adaptation of PCIT for Deaf persons are outlined. We found that the utilization of a clear framework to guide the cultural adaptation process facilitated careful consideration of the numerous linguistic and cultural variables involved, while maintaining integrity of the treatment model. While the current focus was on adapting PCIT for Deaf families who communicate via American Sign Language, this framework can also be applied to other populations and/or interventions.     

A Review of Gerald Caplan's Theory and Practice of Mental Health Consultation

Gerald Caplan's Theory and Practice of Mental Health Consultation (1970), considered to be a classic seminal work in the field of consultation, is reviewed. First, the author presents Caplan's general definition of consultation along with what may be considered the general principles or procedures of consultation. Then the author presents Caplan's procedures and principles as relevant to each type of consultation. Next, each of Caplan's four models of consultation is described. Last, these four models are compared in terms of the professional role of the consultee, the primary goal of consultation, and the target of consultation intervention.     

Gender-related assessment of childhood play

Parent-report based scales for the assessment of sex-dimorphic behavior are an important tool in research on psychosexual differentiation and its disorders. This paper presents the factor analysis and corresponding scale development for the slightly expanded Child Game Participation Questionnaire (Bates & Bentler, 1973), based on the parents of a demographically diverse school sample of 355 girls and 333 boys aged 6 to 10 years. Evidence supporting each of three theoretical positions in gender assessment — unidimensional bipolar, two-dimensional unipolar, and multidimensional — was provided. Effect sizes were unusually large for gender, but small for age, socioeconomic level, and race/ethnicity.This research was supported in part by a NICHD postdoctoral fellowship (NRSA HD06726; sponsor: Dr. Meyer-Bahlburg) awarded to Dr. Sandberg, by grants to Dr. Ehrhardt and Dr. Meyer-Bahlburg from the Spencer Foundation, the William T. Grant Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and NIMH (center grant 2-P50-MH43520, Anke A. Ehrhardt, Ph.D., Principal Investigator), and by the NIMH Clinical Research Center grant MH-30906.We thank the children and parents who participated in the study. Dr. Jacob Cohen consulted on statistical matters. Ms. Patricia Connolly provided word processing services. A portion of this work was presented as a poster at the XIth Biennial Meeting of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development, Minneapolis, Minnesota, July 3–7, 1991 (Abstracts, p. 285).