The Relation Between Co-rumination, Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Child Psychopathology

Little is known about which processes explain the well-established link between maternal and child symptomatology. Interpersonal coping processes may be worth exploring, as depressed mothers have characteristic coping styles that may influence interactions with their children. We examined two interpersonal coping processes as potential factors explaining how depressive symptomatology in mothers impacts child psychopathology: parent-child co-rumination (dwelling on negative affect, over-analyzing problems) and impaired problem-solving. We analyzed 198 aggressive children (most of whom also had elevated internalizing symptoms) who engaged in structured discussions with their mothers. Coders rated the extent to which dyads problem-solved and co-ruminated during discussions, and mothers filled out questionnaires assessing maternal and child symptoms. Path analysis tested whether higher levels of co-rumination and poor problem-solving statistically mediated the relation between depressive symptoms in mothers and child internalizing and externalizing behaviour. Maternal depressive symptomatology was correlated with greater child symptoms, higher rates of co-rumination and poorer problem-solving. Statistical mediation was non-significant. Results support the established link between maternal depression and child psychopathology, and suggest that dysphoric mothers and their children engage in maladaptive coping interactions.     

Satisfaction and the Use of Humor by Physicians and Patients

The current study investigated the extent to which various types of humor are associated with high- and low-satisfaction doctor visits and whether male and female physicians and patients differ in their use of humor. A humor coding scheme, capable of distinguishing three categories (negative, positive, and general) and ten sub-types of humor, was validated against 92 audiotaped physician-patient primary care visits, half rated high and half rated low in satisfaction. Results revealed that physicians and patients used more light humor, more humor that relieves tension, more self-effacing humor, and more positive-function humor in high satisfaction than in low-satisfaction visits. In addition, the patients of female physicians used more humor than the patients of male physicians across levels of satisfaction. The results indicate a strong association between humor and satisfaction, and suggest ways in which humor and laughter help to maintain rapportin the physician-patient relationship.     

Women's Sexuality and Meaning Making

The purpose of the current study was to challenge depictions of traditionally oppressive female sexuality by explicitly exploring diverse women's positive experiences of sexuality and to capture the unique meanings women ascribe to their sexuality through the use of participant-generated metaphor. We interviewed 17 diverse women regarding the meaning of sexuality in their lives. Coding revealed that metaphors for sexuality provided a creative and integrative way for women to express the complexity of their sexuality. In addition, a sexual developmental trajectory emerged from the analysis, as did themes of fluidity and ideal sexuality. Implications for theory and therapy, as well as future directions for research, are offered.     

Behavioral responses to anxiety: Self-reliance,counterdependence, and overdependence

This article builds on the original foundations of attachment theory and traces the strategies for achieving felt security into the adulthood years. The theoretical case is made for a link between a secure, self-reliant strategy and healthy adulthood functioning. This self-reliant strategy counteracts the health risk factors of social isolation and separation in human relationships. The strategy results in an enduring personality characteristic of self-reliance, a paradoxical pattern of behavior characterized by flexibility and bonding in relationships which appears rather autonomous. This article proposes a work-related measure of self-reliance which also incorporates the two insecure, unhealthy strategies for achieving felt security. These strategies are the dismissing strategy, which results in a counterdependent pattern of behavior, and the preoccupied strategy, which results in an overdependent behavior pattern. Preliminary reliability and validity data concerning the Self-Reliance Inventory are presented.     

Retardation and the burden of stigma

An exploratory study of parents with mentally retarded children, plus previous research by others, suggests three hypotheses on problems of stigma that were systematically tested in mailed questionnaires returned by 319 mothers of seriously retarded children. Response to a series of statements were factor analyzed to form a scale of “stigma.”     

The Social and Personal Identities Scale: A Measure of the Differential Importance Ascribed to Social and Personal Self-Categorizations

A new measure sensitive to differences in the importance that people ascribe to their social (group) and personal identities is described. The Social and Personal Identities (SIPI) scale distinguishes between the interpersonal level of self which differentiates the individual as unique from others, and the social identity level of self whereby the individual is identified by his or her group memberships. In contrast to perspectives that emphasize the context-dependence of self-conception, our measure was designed to capture individual differences in participants' readiness to categorize themselves using group and personal self-categories as measured by the degree of importance or centrality assigned to each. Factor and reliability analyses support the scale's stability as a two-factor structure with high internal consistency, and these factors are modestly correlated. Results from six studies substantiate the scale's criterion and construct validity.     

The Effects of Class-Wide Function-Related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT) on Students’ Prosocial Classroom Behaviors

Students with challenging, disruptive behavior have difficulty learning in school, and their behavior adversely impacts the learning of other students and the classroom teacher. Class-Wide Function-related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT) is an evidence-based approach that teachers can use to prevent and reduce problem behavior and increase prosocial classroom behaviors. Previous studies have demonstrated that CW-FIT produced improvements in student appropriate classroom behaviors which led to increased available instruction time. The purpose of this investigation was to systematically replicate CW-FIT adding to the empirical research base supporting it. A novel aspect compared to prior studies was measurement of the student behaviors related to skills taught during CW-FIT (compliance, hand-raising, out-of-seat, and talking out), showing a direct relationship to students’ improvements. Students in four classes and their teachers participated in this study. An ABAB reversal design was used to demonstrate intervention effectiveness and experimental control. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Prevalence and Correlates of Posttraumatic Stress and Postpartum Depression in Parents of Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and correlates of acute stress disorder (ASD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in mothers and fathers, and postpartum depression (PPD) in mothers, of infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). 86 mothers and 41 fathers completed measures of ASD and of parent perception of infant medical severity 3–5 days after the infant’s NICU admission (T1), and measures of PTSD and PPD 30 days later (T2). 35% of mothers and 24% of fathers met ASD diagnostic criteria at T1, and 15% of mothers and 8% of fathers met PTSD diagnostic criteria at T2. PTSD symptom severity was correlated with concurrent stressors and family history of anxiety and depression. Rates of ASD/PTSD in parents of hospitalized infants are consistent with rates in other acute illness and injury populations, suggesting relevance of traumatic stress in characterizing parent experience during and after the NICU.