Effects of Pronoun Type and Gender Role Consistency on Children's Recall and Interpretation of Stories

The pronouns he, she, and they were compared with he and she alternating, to examine recall and gender interpretation of stories. Participants, who were ethnically diverse, were 48 girls and boys aged 6 and 9 from working-class and middle-class areas of San Antonio. Children read stories about imaginary characters of ambiguous gender referred to by varying pronouns and enjoying either stereotypically masculine, feminine, or neutral activities. Recall was higher for girls, older children, and children who heard stories containing she instead of he. Six-year-olds, but not 9-year-olds, recalled more information from stories containing gender-consistent activities. Interpretation of character gender for he, she, and he/she alternating was based largely on pronoun; for stories using they, it was based both on pronoun and activity. The results underscore the nongeneric nature of generic pronouns and the gender differences in recall and interpretation evoked by contact with gender specific reading material.     

Measuring Adherence to Medical Treatments in Childhood Chronic Illness: Considering Multiple Methods and Sources of Information

Adherence to medical treatment is a significant problem for children and adolescents with chronic conditions, such as asthma, diabetes, and cystic fibrosis. The consequences of nonadherence can be serious, contributing to increased symptoms, unnecessary hospitalizations, and declines in physical functioning. The quality of data obtained from clinical trials can also be affected by poor adherence, leading to erroneous conclusions concerning the efficacy of drug treatments and the dosages that are needed to achieve those effects. Adherence problems in both clinical research and practice also lead to substantially higher health care costs. In order to further our understanding of the barriers that lead to poor adherence and identify strategies that are effective in addressing them, we need to develop reliable and valid measures of adherence behaviors. Using cystic fibrosis as a model of a serious, chronic disease that requires a difficult and time-consuming medical regimen, three different types of adherence measures are considered: self-report questionnaires, daily diary reports, and electronic monitors. The specific advantages and disadvantages of each type of measurement are reviewed, and specific recommendations are made for future research.     

Gender Differences in Cognitive and Emotional Adjustment to Traumatic Brain Injury

This study examined gender differences in cognitive and emotional status after traumatic brain injury (TBI) among 262 men and 140 women with TBI referred for neuropsychological evaluations. In this cross-sectional study, cognition was measured in terms of both absolute level of functioning (i.e., raw/standard scores) and estimated decline from premorbid levels expressed as z-deficit scores in the following domains: intelligence [Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS-R)], memory and attention [Wechsler Memory Scale—Revised (WMS-R)], processing speed (Trails A), and cognitive flexibility (Trails B). Emotional functioning was measured in terms of depression (Beck Depression Inventory) and general emotional distress (Brief Symptom Inventory). Kruskal–Wallis nonparametric one-way ANOVAs indicated that women and men differed significantly on 2 of 8 raw/standard cognitive scores [men demonstrated lower WMS-R General Memory (p < .05) and Trails B scores (p < .0001) and 4 of 8 relative decline scores [women demonstrated more estimated change in VIQ (Verbal IQ) [p < .0001], FSIQ (Full Scale IQ) [p < .01], and Attention (p < .01)]; men demonstrated greater estimated z-decline scores on Trails B (p < .01)]. Women reported significantly higher levels of depression (p < .01), but men endorsed significantly greater general psychological distress (p < .05). Research and assessment recommendations are suggested.     

Gender differences,mediation, and disciplinary styles in children's responses to television

A sample of kindergarten and first-grade children was studied in a research center and at school to determine the extent to which family communication mediated their comprehension of television, as well as a series of cognitive skills necessary for such comprehension. Separate analyses were conducted for boys and girls, and results indicated that certain styles of family mediation facilitated comprehension more effectively for boys than for girls. Additionally, differential effects of two styles of discipline were found for each sex.This research was funded by a grant to Jerome and Dorothy Singer from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation entitled Television and Family Living Patterns.     

Resistance in group psychotherapy

The authors view resistance generally as healthy and a sign of a more or less intact ego. A brief review of the psychoanalytic literature and the group therapy literature presents resistance as a mechanism that closes off aspects of the internal and external world seen as potentially dangerous. Patient resistances are identified as coming from cultural values, fear of strangers, fear of regression, and resentment toward the therapist. Clinical vignettes of group patients and group interaction are presented. Finally, resistance of therapists and indications of such resistance are also explored.     

EMG scanning: Normative data

Surface EMG was recorded from both right and left aspects of 18 muscle groups for the purpose of establishing a data base of normative EMG levels. A scanning electrode permitted easy and rapid EMG measurement from 52 male and 51 female college students, both sitting and standing. Several a posteriori analyses of variance revealed sex differences in the masseter, occipital, posterior cervical, upper trapezius, latissimus dorsi, and anterior tibialis. Similarly, there were side differences for the anterior temporalis, occipitalis, splenius capitus, trapezius, paraspinalis, and soleus. The analyses also revealed interactions among sex, position, and side for various measures on the trapezius. The data show that females tend to muscle brace more than males in the upper extremities. The study provides data for normative comparisons and helps to plan and interpret future EMG studies.     

Group focal conflict theory: Description,illustration and evaluation

Group focal conflict theory makes use of a set of interrelated concepts to contain, order, and introduce meaning into the evolving dynamics of therapeutic groups and to relate and connect group and individual dynamics. Key terms are group focal conflict, disturbing motive, reactive motive, enabling or restrictive solution, individual nuclear and derived individual focal conflict, and resonance. The relationships between these are shown. Two illustrations are offered. The first shows the therapist attending mainly to the dynamics of the group-as-a-whole in order to facilitate a newly formed group to develop into a fruitful medium for therapeutic work. In the second, a period of resonance between group and individual focal conflicts shows how an intensive mutual transference between two patients is embedded in whole-group dynamics and how such an episode can be used profitably both by those centrally and not so centrally involved. Criteria for evaluating a theoretical model are described, and group focal conflict theory is discussed in the light of these. The usefulness of the model for research is discussed.