Field of Vision: Radical Uncertainty and the Analyst's Conduct: Commentary on Paper by Donnel B. Stern

There is a relationship between biography and theory. The analyst's ideas or formulations about his patients—theories really—must be determined, to some degree, by the certain and uncertain impact of his own history. Harry Stack Sullivan brought psychoanalysis squarely into the ambit of the relational/historical world by insisting that the mind is thoroughly and inherently social. In doing so, he staked a claim for the link between history, that is, social experience, and personhood. Our personalities and our theories are social-historical constructions. In relation to this, some differences between the interpersonal/relational and Bionian concepts of field theory are provided. One important difference pertains to the role of the analyst's conduct. Two meanings of conduct—to behave or to organize behavior—are at the center of what distinguishes the interpersonal/relational view of the analyst's position in the field from the Bionian view. For the relational analyst, action in the analytic field, including enactment, is conduct, and conduct is always bidirectional. The analyst, then, is a medium to alter, to reconstruct the self. He does not provide experience, he is experience. The form of an analytic exchange gives shape to the field and its content.     

Impact of Abuse History on Adolescent African American Women's Current HIV/STD-Associated Behaviors and Psychosocial Mediators of HIV/STD Risk

This study examined if relationship power, sex refusal self-efficacy, or fear of condom negotiation mediated the relationship between abuse history and consistent condom use (CCU) among African American female adolescents (N?=?593). Participants with an abuse history (58%) were less likely to report CCU. Women with an abuse history reported less relationship power and self-efficacy for refusing sex and more fear of condom negotiation, none of which independently or jointly mediated the association between abuse and CCU. Notably, history of abuse was associated with CCU across mediator models despite inclusion of psychosocial mediators. This study demonstrates the importance of understanding adolescents' condom use behaviors within the context of their life experiences, especially past abuse history.     

Collective student characteristics alter the effects of teaching practices on academic outcomes

The goal of this study was to examine the influence of collective student characteristics (academic skills and task persistence at the beginning of first grade) and different teaching practices (child-centered, teacher-directed, and child-dominated) on the development of academic skills and task persistence during the first two years in school. We hypothesized that teaching practices would differentially impact the development of academic skills and task persistence depending on the collective needs of the classroom. Participants were 523 students (273 boys) from 32 classrooms across Estonia. By using multilevel modeling, we found several interactions indicating that both contextual influences are important in determining subsequent academic functioning and task persistence but that some teaching practices are more beneficial depending on the collective starting point of students. These findings highlight the importance of studying different contextual influences hand in hand when trying to understand what enhances young children's academic development.     

Bearing Witness in Israel/Palestine: Finding My Voice

This article traces my evolution as a political activist in relation to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict over the past decade, and describes the ways my activism has become integrated into my professional life. I discuss my journeys in Israel/Palestine with delegations of the Compassionate Listening Project, highlighting disturbing stories of injustice and abuse and inspiring stories of interfaith cooperation and nonviolent peace work. My focus is on the emotional impact of becoming the bearer of stories of unbearable human experience that I felt compelled to bring back and share. I reveal my struggles with continuing to speak and write publically about the injustice that I witnessed. In the course of standing up to both internal and external attacks on bearing witness, I have discovered a stronger therapeutic voice with my patients as well.     

Dialoguing with My Demon

In this article the author charts the beginning of a journey, a weaving together of personal insights and experiences related to schizophrenia, mostly unwanted, including observations from decades of study as a psychologist and Jungian-oriented therapist/student and dream work from her own analysis. The shock of her mother's death, in conjunction with her adult son's plummet into the world she most dreaded, forced her into a reckoning with a topic she was raised to avoid: a re-examination of her personal history and that of her extended family, and an inescapable invitation to question her precious images, notions, and plans for the ideal life. This invitation to inner dialogue is both distressing and hopeful. What hangs in the balance is a new relationship with her son, her family, and her future.     

The impact of depressive symptomatology on risky sexual behavior and sexual communication among African American female adolescents

Adolescents, particularly African American adolescents, are at high risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The association between psychosocial factors and risky sexual behavior has been well established. However, only a small number of studies have examined the relationship between depressive symptomatology among African American female adolescents, specifically over time. The present study examined depressive symptoms as a predictor of risky sexual behavior, sexual communication, and STIs longitudinally among African American female adolescents between the ages 15 and 21. Binary generalized estimating equation models were conducted assessing the impact of depressive symptoms at baseline on risky sexual behavior and STIs over six- and 12-months follow-up. Age, intervention group, and baseline outcome measures were entered as covariates. The results indicated that high levels of depressive symptoms predicted no condom use during last sexual encounter and multiple sexual partners over six-months follow-up. Depressive symptoms also predicted having a main partner with concurrent partners, high fear of communication about condoms, and sex while high on alcohol or drugs over six- and 12-months follow-up. These findings could be used to inform HIV/STI prevention intervention programs and clinicians providing regular health care maintenance to African American female adolescents engaging in risky sexual behavior.     

Will patients accept randomization to psychoanalysis? A feasibility study

The feasibility of using a randomized design in a psychoanalytic outcome study was evaluated. Our hypothesis was that it would be feasible to randomize patients to psychoanalysis three or four times weekly on the couch for five years, supportive expressive therapy once or twice weekly for up to forty sessions, and cognitive behavior therapy once or twice weekly for up to forty sessions. Successful randomization was defined as a 30% recruitment rate among eligible patients. Recruitment began in September 2009 and closed in April 2010. A total of 132 subjects responded to study advertisements, 107 of whom (81%) were triaged out. The remaining 25 were scheduled for the first of two clinical interviews, and 21 of 25 (88%) completed the interview. Eleven of the 25 (44%) were determined to be eligible based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Eight of the 11 accepted the idea of randomization and completed the diagnostic assessment phase. Calculated on the basis of 8 of 11 eligible patients accepting randomization, the 95% confidence interval was that 39% to 92% of eligible subjects would participate in a larger study of this design. Our findings support the feasibility of implementing an RCT comparing psychoanalysis as defined by the American Psychoanalytic Association (three or four times weekly on the couch for approximately five years) with shorter-term dynamic or cognitive behavioral therapy once or twice a week. Pre-treatment characteristics of these eight patients are presented, as are initial reliability data for the treatment adherence scales used in this trial.     

Do girls and boys perceive themselves as equally engaged in school? The results of an international study from 12 countries

This study examined gender differences in student engagement and academic performance in school. Participants included 3420 students (7th, 8th, and 9th graders) from Austria, Canada, China, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Malta, Portugal, Romania, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The results indicated that, compared to boys, girls reported higher levels of engagement in school and were rated higher by their teachers in academic performance. Student engagement accounted for gender differences in academic performance, but gender did not moderate the associations among student engagement, academic performance, or contextual supports. Analysis of multiple-group structural equation modeling revealed that perceptions of teacher support and parent support, but not peer support, were related indirectly to academic performance through student engagement. This partial mediation model was invariant across gender. The findings from this study enhance the understanding about the contextual and personal factors associated with girls' and boys' academic performance around the world.