Adoptive Family System Dynamics: Variations by Level of Openness in the Adoption

This study examines the consequences of variations in levels of openness in adoption, especially focusing on the dynamics of the adoptive family system from the perspective of the adoptive parents. Participants included the father, mother, and at least one adopted child in 190 adoptive families, and 169 birthmothers, drawn from adoption agencies across the United States. Families included 62 confidential, 17 time-limited mediated, 52 ongoing mediated, and 59 fully disclosed adoptions. When compared to parents in confidential adoptions, those in open adoptions generally demonstrated higher levels of acknowledgment of the adoption, empathy toward the birthparents and their child, a stronger sense of permanence in the relationship with their child as projected into the future, and less fear that the birthmother might try to reclaim her child. Despite these mean differences, variations within all levels of openness were present, and results are discussed in terms of the ongoing process involved in building a family through adoption.     

THE ASA FRAMEWORK: AN UPDATE

In 1987, B. Schneider proposed a person-oriented model of organizational behavior based on the proposition that it is the collective characteristics of people who define an organization. He further proposed that, over time, organizations become defined by the persons in them as a natural outcome of an attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) cycle. We provide a brief overview of the ASA cycle and review literature relevant to two facets of the theory. The literature reviewed provides some indirect support for the proposal that founders and the members of top management have long-term effects on organizations through the ASA cycle. The literature reviewed provides both indirect and direct evidence supporting a central proposition of ASA theory–that organizations over time become relatively homogeneous with regard to the kinds of people in them. Suggestions for future research on ASA are presented.     

Expanding the analysis of social orientations by reference to the sequential–temporal structure of situations

The purpose of this paper is to identify logically the types of choice points that people encounter in their interpersonal relationships. It is assumed that associated with each type of choice point is a special class of choice criterion or decision rule. Therefore, identifying the types of choice points provides a basis for distinguishing the various decision criteria that are required by interdependent life and that should be assessed in order to predict patterns of interpersonal interaction. This paper explains how these distinctions will serve to expand our thinking about social orientations. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The progressive heritage of guidance: a view from the left

As one part of a larger progressive movement, the guidance and counseling movement has typically supported progressive programs in the schools and in society as a whole. While most counselors point with pride to such a progressive heritage, a case can be made that the effect of progressivism is to prop up existing structures and resist fundamental change in societal institutions. In this article the author discusses four ideals that are commonly held by the progressive and the counseling movements, pointing out some of the destructive effects these ideals have on societal change efforts. The four ideals discussed are: (a) an emphasis on access to opportunity (pluralism), (b) an emphasis on pragmatism, (c) an emphasis on adjustment, and (d) an emphasis on individualism.     

Training Bartenders as Helpers on a College Campus

Student bartenders working in a college rathskeller are portrayed as “gatekeepers”: individuals at a strategic point of contact between mental health professionals and people in need of such service. This article describes a training program that sought to enhance the skills necessary to perform a variety of gatekeeping functions. The program, which took the form of a one-day workshop, included six major segments. The authors suggest that such a workshop is a potentially useful preventive mental health program for a college campus.