The McMaster Model of Family Functioning: Observer and Parental Ratings in a Nonclinical Sample

The McMaster Model of Family Functioning defines seven dimensions, which may be assessed either by an observer applying a Clinical Rating Scale (CRS) to a semi-structured interview of the family and/or by family members completing a questionnaire, the Family Assessment Device (FAD). The present article applied both methods of assessment, as well as the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), to a nonclinical sample (N = 105 ). Interobserver reliability on the CRS was highly significant. Parent (FAD) vs. observer (CRS) agreement was also highly significant, except for Affective Responsiveness and Behavior Control, for which agreement was barely significant. When families were labeled as “healthy” or “unhealthy” according to cut-offs, agreement between observers and parents was high (87%), and disagreements illuminated dynamics of individual families. Finally, the DAS (completed by mothers) was significantly correlated with both the CRS and the FAD, particularly for General Functioning.     

Parent-Adolescent Conflict and Stress When Parents Are Living with Aids

Parental perceptions of conflict and stress with their adolescent children are described, and their associations with demographic factors, physical health, and lifestyle are examined. Adolescent-parent conflicts, parenting stress, and parents' health, substance use, and sexual lifestyle were assessed among 151 parents living with AIDS. Parents living with AIDS reported a mean of 3.3 (SD = 1.3) areas of conflict with their adolescents and 1.5 (SD = 1.7) stressful parenting events over the previous 3 months. The parents were very ill, with many physical symptoms and diseases. Simultaneously, substance use was common (17% used daily), but not injection drug use (3.3%). Half had a sexual partner (63% protected their partners by using condoms consistently). Regression analysis revealed that parent-adolescent conflict was significantly associated with high parental drug use; stressful parenting events were significantly related to the lifestyle (high drug use and frequent sex acts) of Latino and African American parents, but not of white parents. Results of the analysis indicate that, in contrast to parents with other illnesses, parent-adolescent conflict and stressful parenting events were not influenced by parents' health status, but were significantly influenced by substance use and sexual lifestyles.     

Body Poly-texts: Discourses of the Anorexic Body

It is now increasingly acknowledged that anorexia nervosa is a ‘culture-bound syndrome’ which must be understood within the context of an increasing idealization of female thinness and a high prevalence of dieting and body dissatisfaction, particularly amongst women and girls. Whilst this socioculturally-oriented perspective is important, it is also simplistic to conceptualize anorexia simply as a ‘slimmer's disease’. The ways in which contemporary Western culture is imbricated in anorexia are both complex and multiple. This paper uses a discourse-analytic approach, informed by feminist Foucauldian theory, to examine some of the multiple and often conflicting meanings and discursive constructions of the (female) anorexic body. The paper is based on a series of interviews conducted with 23 women (21 diagnosed as anorexic and 2 self-diagnosed). The analysis focuses on the explication of two discourses: a romantic discourse and a discourse of Cartesian dualism evidenced in the interviews. By contrasting the very different ways in which these two discourses constitute the anorexic body, this paper aims to provide thereby a socioculturally contextualized and gender-oriented account of the multiple discursive constructions of ‘anorexia nervosa’ and ‘anorexic’ bodies. Implications for psychotherapeutic interventions are discussed.     

Applying the Concept of Gender: Unsettled Questions

In commenting on Susan Bordo's discussion of gender bias, 1 both support and build on her contention that women's exclusion from philosophical discourse has been epistemologically and politically significant. But I also explore difficulties associated with applying the concept of gender and I voice concern about how to characterize the perspectives we share as women. Finally, I consider some theoretical and political limitations of utilizing gender as an analytical category.     

Enhancing Consultation by Matching the Consultee's Perspectives

A concern in consultation is the consultee's failure to implement an intervention due to the intervention's lack of acceptability. This study investigated a consultation technique designed to increase the acceptability of an intervention. It was hypothesized that intervention acceptability would be increased by using individualized intervention rationales that match the consultee's perceptions. Matched rationales were congruent with perceptions that consultees expressed about themselves, the target problem, and their theory. Three rationale conditions were used: matching the consultee's perceptions, mismatching the perceptions, or using no rationale. The results suggested that a matching rationale was associated with greater acceptance of the intervention than was a mismatched rationale.     

EDITH STEIN,ONTOLOGY AND BELIEF

An analysis of the Christian writings of Edith Stein helps to show how her philosophical training enabled her to develop a Christian epistemology and concomitant metaphysics. Special emphasis is placed on some of her shorter works in their translation by Hilda Graef.     

Acculturation,gender, and views on interracial relationships among Chinese Canadians

Acculturation to mainstream and heritage culture has been shown to influence attitudes and behaviors related to romantic relationships. Few studies have examined its influence on views regarding interracial relationships and whether the psychological processes underlying these relations vary across gender. Among Chinese Canadian participants (N = 248), mainstream acculturation, but not Chinese acculturation, was associated with more personal openness to and less cultural values conflict about interracial relationships. Among men, stronger egalitarian gender role ideology mediated the relations between mainstream acculturation and the above interracial relationship variables. For women, fewer concerns about cultural preservation mediated the relation between mainstream acculturation and less cultural values conflict. The importance of understanding cultural influences on interracial relationships through a gendered lens is discussed.