Counseling Child Sexual Abuse Victims: Myths and Realities

The goal of the authors is to (a) create an awareness among counselors about the nature and prevalence of child sexual abuse, (b) examine myths and realities about the topic, and (c) present recommendations for interviewing suspected victims of child sexual abuse.     

Two and One-Half Decades of Leadership in Measurement and Evaluation

This article explores the role of professional organizations, such as the American Association for Counseling and Development's (AACD) Association for Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development (AMECD) division, and the possible futures of such groups. It is suggested that AMECD and similar groups are experiencing a similar set of social and professional pressures. Aspects of the missions of creating and disseminating measurement and evaluation expertise are discussed. It is suggested that the explosion in knowledge has created new tensions involving special challenges for members of AMECD and related groups. Nevertheless, some remarkable recent accomplishments can be readily identified, and are noted here.     

Implications of Concurrent Measures of Viewer Behavior

Carter's “signaled stopping” technique is used here under different instructions to examine two quite different cognitive phenomena during television viewing of marital interactions from feature films: a change to the cognitive state of “thinking” (rather than just watching), and the momentary perception of action “meaningful for the couple's relationship.” A variety of evidence supports the distinction and suggests directions for further applications of the technique.     

STIGMA MANAGEMENT IN NORMAL-STIGMATIZED INTERACTIONS: TEST OF THE DISCLOSURE HYPOTHESIS AND A MODEL OF STIGMA ACCEPTANCE

This study explored the efficacy of disclosure as a stigma management strategy in normal-stigmatized interactions. A laboratory experiment was conducted using confederates to simulate three classes of stigmas. As predicted, reactions of normals (nonstigmatized subjects) were uniform across stigmas. While there is some indication that disclosure may reduce uncertainty in normal-stigmatized interactions, no support obtained for the hypothesis that disclosure about a stigma increases acceptance of the bearer. Path analysis of the data indicated a process leading from uncertainty, tension, and attraction to acceptance/rejection, as expected. Findings are discussed in terms of stigma attributions and relational development.