The Effects of Marital Interaction,Depression and Self-Esteem on Dietary Self-Efficacy Among Married Couples1

This investigation defines the construct of dietary self-efficacy and examines the personal and interactional factors that predict efficacy in food behavior. Dietary self-efficacy is the belief that one is capable of behavior necessary to produce a nutritionally healthful diet. A path model was tested that located dietary self-efficacy as a consequence of the character of marital interaction (role disagreement, equity/inequity, and family food interaction), personal conditions of depression and low self-esteem, age, and education. One hundred fifty-five married couples were randomly selected and interviewed. The path model predicted a direct causal effect of role disagreement and inequity on depression and an indirect effect on dietary self-efficacy mediated by depression and self-esteem. The findings supported the proposed model for wives but not for husbands, suggesting that dietary self-efficacy is a female construct. Wives continue to take major responsibility for food selection and preparation, including the nutrition of children. Therefore, dietary self-efficacy gains a position of centrality for wives that is not independent of the effect of everyday interaction.     

Instructive feedback: Effects of number and type

We evaluated the effects of presenting two instructive feedback stimuli of the same and different types for each target behavior taught. Four elementary school students with mild mental retardation were taught to name photographs of places of interest in the local community using constant time delay and instructive feedback. Initially, the four students were taught one set of photographs with one instructive feedback stimulus (name of the street on which the place was located) for each target photograph. All students learned to name all photographs, and three learned to name the street on which the place was located. The three students who learned to name the street for the place in the photograph were then taught three sets of photographs. Each set included two instructive feedback stimuli for each target photograph: Set 2 had one street name and one activity that occurred in the place; Set 3 had two activities per photograph, and Set 4 had one street name and one activity. The three students learned to name the photographs, but only learned to name the activities and not the street names that were presented through instructive feedback. These finds are discussed in terms of the factors that may control acquisition of instructive feedback stimuli and the implications for practice and future research.     

Psychological assessment of quality of life following liver transplantation

Administered measures of functional status, psychological distress, and quality of life to a consecutive series of 48 liver transplant recipients in follow-up clinic. Results showed that nearly total functional recovery was the norm. Thirty-six patients (75%) had a Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) score of 80–100. Twelve transplant recipients had KPS scores below 80; none were employed, and most had been transplanted within 1 year. In spite of their impaired financial status, eight of these 12 reported being mostly satisfied on the self-report Quality-of-Life Scale (QLS). For the posttransplant sample as a whole, 83% were mostly satisfied with their quality of life. Pre- and posttransplant patient samples were not significantly different in reporting mild emotional distress. Results for the small subgroup with significant objective or subjective problems in achieving acceptable quality of life following liver transplantation were reviewed. Higher than normal emotional distress on the Symptom Checklist (SCL-90-R) was consistently reported by these patients. Prospective studies are needed to identify predictor variables of quality-of-life problems and to develop prevention and rehabilitation interventions.     

Clinical Assessment of Child and Adolescent Sleep Disturbance

This article provides guidelines for counselors interested in developing their own assessment procedure to evaluate child and adolescent sleep disturbance. The guidelines include reviewing the developmental and medical history, screening for parental psychopathology, obtaining a child behavior rating scale and sleep diary, and conducting a semistructured clinical interview to identify the sleep history and specific concerns. Considerations for referring clients for additional evaluation such as an overnight sleep study are discussed.     

Cognitive Constraints on the Development of Hierarchical Spatial Organization Skills

This study examines the mechanism behind an observed shift in young children's hierarchical organization skills. By 9 years of age, children, like adults, code the location of an object in a homogeneous space at two levels (fine-grained and categorical) and combine this information when reporting location. For points within a circle, multi-level location coding occurs for both radius and angle. Before age 9 years, children employ hierarchical coding only radially. It was hypothesized that younger children may either be unable to encode and/or process two dimensions simultaneously, or to impose the frame of reference required for angular subdivision. Tasks were designed to test these two hypotheses: one reduced the relevant dimensions required for coding, the other provided the frame of reference. Results indicate that 7-year-olds are able to form angular categories when the number of dimensions for coding is reduced, and that an explicit frame of reference does not facilitate mature angular category division. The acquisition of adult forms of spatial representation appears to be limited by encoding and/or processing capacities, rather than by spatial abilities.     

Book notes

American Congregations Volume 1: Portraits of Twelve Religious Communities James P. Wind & James W. Lewis, eds., 1998 Chicago, London: University of Chicago Press xi + 712 pp., US$18.00, £14.50 ISBN 0–226–90187–4

Volume 2: New Perspectives in the Study of Congregations James P. Wind & James W. Lewis, eds., 1998 ix + 292 pp., US$13.00, £10.50 ISBN 0–226–90189–0

Religions in the UK: A Multi‐Faith Directory Paul Weller, ed., researched by Eileen Fry and Paul Weller, 1997, 2nd ed. Derby: University of Derby, in association with The Inter Faith Network for the United Kingdom 750 pp., £29.50 + £3.50 p&p ISBN 0–901437–68–9

The Creation/Evolution Controversy: An Annotated Bibliography James L. Hayward, 1998 Lanham, Md., London: The Scarecrow Press 253 pp., US$37.50 ISBN 0–8108–3386–7

Hemacandra: The Lives of the Jain Elders Richard Fynes, transl., ed., 1998 Oxford: Oxford University Press 280 pp., £6.99 (pb) ISBN 0–19–283227–1

Mystical Theology: The Integrity of Spirituality and Theology Mark A. Mcintosh, 1998 Oxford: Blackwell 246 pp., £50.00, US$62.95 (hb), £15.99, US$26.95 (pb) ISBN 1–55786–906–5 (hb), ISBN 1–55786–907–3 (pb)

Paul: A Critical Life Jerome Murphy‐O'Connor, 1997 Oxford: Oxford University Press 416 pp., £15.00 (pb) ISBN 0–19–285342–2

One Bible Many Voices: Different Approaches to Biblical Studies Susan E. Gillingham, 1998 London: SPCK 280 pp., £15.99 (pb) ISBN 0–281–04886‐X     

Toward a Transactional Conceptualization of Oppositional Defiant Disorder: Implications for Assessment and Treatment

The conceptualization and treatment of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) has been characterized by surprising homogeneity. In this paper evidence is presented to underscore the heterogeneity within ODD, including research demonstrating (a) the distinction between reactive and proactive forms of aggression; (b) the importance of affective modulation and self-regulation, and associated cognitive skills, in the development of the skill of compliance; and (c) high levels of comorbidity between ODD and other disorders. The disparate pathways that give rise to oppositional behavior suggest that different children with ODD may require different forms of intervention. The necessity of a transactional conceptualization, of achieving a comprehensive understanding of the factors underlying the difficulties of individual children with ODD, and of matching intervention ingredients to the specific needs of different children and families is discussed.Ross W. Greene     

If It's Offered,Will They Come? Influences on Parents' Participation in a Community-Based Conduct Problems Prevention Program

This study examined influences on the rate and quality of parent participation in the Fast Track Program, a multi-system, longitudinal preventive intervention for children who are at risk for conduct problems. A theoretical model of the relations among family coordinator characteristics, parent characteristics, the therapeutic engagement between family coordinator and parent, and rate and quality of parent participation was the basis for this study. Family coordinators are the Fast Track program personnel who conduct group-based parent-training sessions and home visits. Participants in this study included 12 family coordinators (42% were African American, 58% European American) and 87parents (55% were African American, 45% European American). The level of therapeutic engagement between the parent and the family coordinator was positively associated with the rate of parent attendance at group training sessions. The extent of family coordinator-parent racial and socioeconomic similarity and the extent of the family coordinator's relevant life experiences were highly associated with the level of therapeutic engagement. The quality, but not the rate, of participation was lower for African American parents. Implications of these findings for preventive intervention with this population are discussed.     

The impact of personality on the reporting of unfounded symptoms and illness.

This study examined the role of personality in the reporting of symptoms and illness not supported by underlying pathology. After assessment of the Big Five personality factors, 276 healthy volunteers were inoculated with a common cold virus. On each of the following 5 days, objective indicators of pathology, self-reported symptoms, and self-reported illness onset were assessed. Neuroticism was directly associated with reports of unfounded (without a physiological basis) symptoms in individuals at baseline and postinoculation in those with and without colds. Neuroticism was also indirectly associated with reports of unfounded illness through reports of more symptoms. Openness to Experience was associated with reporting unfounded symptoms in those with verifiable colds, whereas Conscientiousness was associated with reporting unfounded illness in those who were not ill.