Scientific Meeting of the American Institute for Psychoanalysis

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis -     

The dark side of analytic conviction: impasses of omniscience and complacency

It is common for analysts to struggle with substantial periods of impasse, and with the associated subjective feelings of shame and failure, while analyzing patients who rely heavily on narcissistic defenses. Facing the feelings that accompany periods of impasse, while at the same time pushing oneself to take necessary creative risks, is a huge and painful task for the analyst if it is deeply confronted. These patients engage in false uses of the analytic process in which the pursuit of understanding is systematically undermined. In response, the analyst is susceptible to being drawn in to processes of mutual seduction, false conviction, and impasse. Through the analyst's partial living out of the patient's projective identifications (and eventually observing the patient's living out of the analyst's projective identifications), the analyst is able to gain a depth of understanding of the patient, of him- or herself, and of the interaction that might not otherwise be possible. Because analysts tend to employ theory defensively, it is essential that they attend, through self-analysis and consultation, to the ways in which they use it. Two cases are presented in which prolonged impasses were eventually understood and resolved.     

Work attitudes and decisions as a function of manager age and employee age

Research has shown the importance of employee age relative to coworker age in determining attitudes, performance, and career-related opportunities. The authors used chronological and subjective measures of employee and manager age to determine whether employee age relative to the manager has an impact on these same outcome variables. One hundred eighty-five managers and 290 employees completed surveys. The strongest and most consistent age effects were observed for interactions between employee and manager chronological age. Both the magnitude and pattern of the employee-manager age interactions varied by self- and manager-rated outcome measures of work attitudes, performance and promotability assessments, and developmental experiences. Results are discussed in light of the relational demography and career timetable literatures.     

Who responds to surveys? Assessing the effects of nonresponse in cross-sectional dyadic research

The purpose of this study was to adapt Goodman and Blum's procedure for assessing the effects of nonrandom sampling in longitudinal research to a cross-sectional study of dyads. To demonstrate the impact of survey nonresponse on means, variances, and relationships between variables, data were collected from a sample of 311 recruiter-applicant pairs. Of the variables included in this investigation, only one (recruiter competence) significantly predicted the likelihood of responding. In addition, there were differences in the means and variances of respondents and nonrespondents on some of the variables included in this study. However, there were no differences in the relationships between independent and dependent variables for the respondent group compared with the entire group of respondents and nonrespondents. In sum, the results suggest that nonresponse does not bias the relationships between variables.     

Contributors to suicidal ideation among bipolar patients with and without a history of suicide attempts

This study was designed to develop models for vulnerability to suicidal ideation in bipolar patients. Logistic regression models examined correlates of suicidal ideation in patients who had versus had not attempted suicide previously. Of 477 patients assessed, complete data on demographic, illness history, and personality variables were available on 243. The regression models achieved positive predictive values of 55% and 59% for the attempter (N = 92) and nonattempter groups (N = 151), respectively. Depression was cross-sectionally associated with suicidal ideation in both the attempter and nonattempter groups but made a smaller contribution among attempters. Poor psychosocial adaptation and the personality factor "openness" were stronger contributors to suicidal ideation among prior attempters while anxiety and extraversion appeared protective against ideation. Among nonattempters, depression, anxiety, and neuroticism were the predominant influences on suicidal ideation. Bipolar patients with suicidal ideation may benefit from different treatment strategies depending on their prior attempt status.     

I wish the hour were over: elements of a moral dilemma

In contrast to the viewpoint that sees conflict as deriving from defense against instinctual drives and thus as an intrapsychic phenomenon, this essay presents conflict as sometimes being an external opposition between disparate configurations of the self. These parallel sectors with different goals and ambitions can be seen in a continuum from the dramatic narcissistic behavior disorders to more subtle instances of moral dilemmas. A clinical illustration is offered to demonstrate its occurrence and management in psychoanalysis.     

Grammatical category ambiguity in aphasia

This study asked whether aphasic adults show different noun/verb retrieval patterns based upon their clinical categorization as fluent or nonfluent. Participants selected either the noun or the verb meaning of target words, as presented in three contexts. The framework was that nouns (associated with temporal lobe function) are processed, stored, and retrieved separately from verbs (associated with frontal lobe function), implying separate status in the mental lexicon. Stimuli were homophonic homographs, words that are spelled and pronounced the same but which have different meanings (in this case, noun and verb meanings). Another contrast was the putative difference between systematic pairs (e.g., "kiss" and "farm"), in which noun and verb meanings are transparently related, and may be stored as a unit, and unsystematic pairs (e.g., "squash" and "sink"), in which noun and verb meanings are apparently unrelated, implying discrete storage. Results demonstrated significant interactions between fluent and nonfluent participants, suggesting that, as expected, fluent aphasic adults have more difficulty with nouns, nonfluent aphasic adults have more difficulty with verbs. There was no effect of systematicity. Contrary to expectations, verbs proved less vulnerable, rather than more vulnerable, to aphasic impairment.     

DNA-sequence patenting: National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) position paper

In November 2000, the Genetic Services Committee of the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) convened a working group to draft a position paper on patenting of DNA-sequences. The mandate of the group was to produce general position statements that support the perspective and needs of consumers of DNA-based genetic tests and therapies (our patients and their families) and participants in DNA-based genetic research. After review and discussion of the literature on DNA-sequence patenting issues, the working group drafted position statement points that support current United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) guidelines; broad licensing of DNA-sequence patents; nonenforcement of DNA-sequence patents in noncommercial research; reasonable royalty rates; an informed consent process for research participants that discloses whether they can share in any financial rewards relating to the project; the development of guidelines for licensing of DNA-sequence patents; and the establishment of oversight organizations to monitor licensing of DNA-sequence patents. These position statements were approved by the NSGC Board of Directors in the fall of 2001.