Integrating Minuchin's Boundary Continuum And Bowen's Differentiation Scale: A Curvilinear Representation

The purpose of this article is to discuss an integration of Minuchin's boundary continuum and Bowen's differentiation scale. Minuchin's boundary continuum provides a framework for understanding proximity and distance within relationships. It graphically depicts health in relationships as being a dynamic middle ground between the extremes of enmeshment and disengagement. Bowen's differentiation scale illustrates differences in emotional health, such as the ability to distinguish between thoughts and feelings, associated with varying levels of differentiation. A curvilinear integration of Minuchin's continuum and Bowen's scale retains the advantages of each and also expands their understanding.     

Self-Help Books Used by Religious Practitioners

Self-help books are frequently used by mental health professionals as adjuncts to the counseling process. This was the first study to assess self-help book utilization practices among explicitly religious practitioners. All practitioner members of the Christian Association for Psychological Studies (N = 784) were mailed a copy of the Self-Help Book Survey. Ninety-two percent of the 243 respondents used self-help books with clients at least some of the time. There were differences between master's and doctoral level respondents with respect to how self-help books were used and the criteria used in selecting self-help books for clients. Most books recommended were explicitly Christian in nature. Those self-help books most frequently recommended are listed and may be useful to practitioners who counsel Christian clients.     

Directed Rehearsal and Preservice Teachers' Performance of Instructional Behaviors

This investigation evaluated the use of directed rehearsal to improve the teaching behaviors of four preservice elementary physical education teachers during a teaching practicum. Directed rehearsal consisted of two phases: (a) initial feedback following baseline, review of teaching behaviors, and rehearsal; and (b) rehearsal contingent upon errors made during each lesson. Three teaching behaviors were assessed using a multiple baseline design across behaviors for each teacher. Social validity in the form of the acceptability of directed rehearsal as a teacher training intervention also was assessed using a questionnaire. Results indicate that directed rehearsal was effective in improving the teaching behaviors of the four teachers in this study to 100% correct implementation. In addition, the intervention was acceptable to the teachers and the class instructor.     

Establishing a Descriptive Database for Teachers with Aggressive Students

While establishing a database that describes students' aggressive behaviors and the conditions present at the time of occurrence, we discovered a variety of definitions of aggression in the literature. This lack of consistency limits the information provided to teachers working with the frequent problem of violence. We propose an inclusive and verifiable definition of aggression gleaned from experience and the literature. The definition incorporates verbal, paraverbal, nonverbal, and physical aggression. Validation is presented from the literature, and from 39 practicing teachers who used the definition to categorize 659 target behaviors. The teachers' level of agreement with the authors' categorization was 93% (median).     

Relationship of Parental Alcoholism to Family-of-Origin Functioning and Current Marital Satisfaction

This study examined the relationship between parental alcoholism, family-of-origin functioning, and current marital satisfaction. Results indicated family-of-origin functioning is positively related to marital satisfaction. In addition, individuals with alcoholic parents reported lower family-of-origin functioning, and an interaction between gender and parental alcoholism was found for marital satisfaction.     

When Respect Means to Obey: Immigrant Mexican Mothers' Values for Their Children

We describe Mexican immigrant mothers' values for their children and their understanding of how children acquire those values. Fifteen mothers were given a Q-Sort task of parental values and interviewed at length using a semi-structured format. Analysis of the mothers' transcribed narratives revealed salient features of a cultural model of child development that constrasts sharply with current professional models. The emergent portrait of children was one of inactive learners whose ability to understand dictated social behavior, developed very slowly over the years, and was dependent on parental direction and instruction.     

The Client Cultural Competence Inventory: An Instrument for Assessing Cultural Competence in Behavioral Managed Care Organizations

The rapid growth in Behavioral Managed Care Organizations has led to increasing concern about the future availability of culturally competent mental health services for ethnic minorities. Prior efforts to assess cultural competence of mental health services have focused exclusively on agency providers and individual mental health professionals rather than on clients' perceptions of care. We introduce the Client Cultural Competence Inventory, which has several advantages over other cultural competence measures including its (a) lower susceptibility to social desirability bias, (b) ability to assess attitudes concerning a broader range of therapists, providers and plans, and (c) focus on clients rather than the psychiatric community as the central force in determining cultural competence. Preliminary psychometric analyses of the inventory are presented from data gathered in a group of parents with children who are severely emotionally disturbed.