Language and problem solving ability: A comparison between deaf and hearing adolescents

Two groups of subjects, one deaf and one hearing, were tested in pairs on problem solving tasks. The poorer performance of the deaf observed in other studies has been explained as due to difference in language ability between the two groups. This finding was not replicated in the present study where use of language was required to solve tasks of different complexity. It is suggested that sign language may be as effective a tool for problem solving as spoken language. The postulated supremacy of spoken language to other forms of communication with regard to logical and symbolic functioning is thus questioned.     

Creating closeness: Discerning and measuring strategies for fostering closer relationships

This project examined the strategies people use to create closeness in personal relationships and developed a measure of closeness that can be coupled with a measure of distance to provide a measure of affiliation (degree of closeness and distance in a relationship) that incorporates both closeness and distance. Study 1 used a factor analysis of tactics people can utilize to create closeness and found three underlying strategies: openness, attention, and involvement. Studies 2 and 3 tested the items for psychometric adequacy as an index of closeness, using both student and nonstudent samples. The items performed satisfactorily. Together, these studies clarify the strategies people use to enhance closeness in relationships, and they offer a useful measure of affiliation.     

Personality disorders and psychosocial changes after intensive psychotherapy: A prospective follow-up study of an outpatient psychotherapy project, 5 years after end of treatment*

This report presents the results of a 7-year prospective outcome study designed to examine the psychosocial changes during and after therapy among 25 outpatients suffering from personality disorders and psychoses. The therapeutic approach was based mainly on object relations theory and psychodynamic self-psychology, and focused in particular on affect consciousness, parental images, self-image and interpersonal relations. Twenty patients completed the form which measured psychosocial changes during therapy, and 21 persons participated at follow-up. The data show statistically significant changes in the capacity to tolerate intimate relationships and actually establish such relationships, improved quality of contact in relationships with friends, a general raising of socioeconomic status and reduced use of ordinary health and social services. Both the global psychosocial outcome at follow-up as measured by HSRS and the general level of symptoms measured by SCL-90 suggest that 76% of the sample had reached a level of psychosocial functioning and adaptation that can be defined as “no-caseness”.     

Psychological distress and subjective well‐being in partners of somatically ill or physically disabled: The Nord‐Trøndelag Health Study

Borren, I., Tambs, K., Idstad, M., Ask, H. & Sundet, J. M. (2012). Psychological distress and subjective well‐being in partners of somatically ill or physically disabled: The Nord‐Trøndelag Health Study. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 53, 475–482. This study investigated the cross‐sectional associations between various somatic conditions in one partner and the level of distress and well‐being in the spouse. The study is based on survey data from the Norwegian Nord‐Trøndelag Health Study, HUNT II (1995–1997). A sample of 9,797 married or cohabiting couples with valid data on subjective well‐being (SWB), psychological distress (Hopkins Symptom Check List (SCL)‐10) and somatic illness were identified. Regression analyses stratified by sex were conducted with SCL‐10 and SWB scores as dependent variables and a joint somatic score as predictor, including; stroke, cancer, angina, myocardial infarction and physical disability (PD). The contribution of each somatic condition was also explored. Spouses of persons previously diagnosed with at least one somatic condition scored significantly lower on SWB and significantly higher on SCL‐10 than spouses of healthy persons, though effect sizes were small. The effect seems to be at least partly mediated by the ill partner’s psychological distress. Of the specific conditions, PD had the most significant contribution for both genders, though an association between male angina and spousal distress/SWB was also demonstrated.     

For God, Country, and Family: A Personal Tribute to Christian Fredrik Midelfort, M. D.

Christian Fredrik "Fritz" Midelfort, M.D. was born on October 23, 1906. He died on November 4, 1984 in his home in La Crosse, Wisconsin, some 90 miles from his birthplace of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It was never his ambition as a family therapist to found a "school" or to obtain a following. As one of the pioneers in family therapy, his efforts spanned nearly 40 years. This tribute is intended to stimulate an appreciation for a remarkable family therapist, a seminal thinker, a devoted teacher, and a spirited Christian.     

Why Pragmatics Is Probably Enough for Now

In place of aesthetic, essentialist, or foundational pursuits, family therapy might be better served by simply seeking to be helpful. Within such a perspective, ideas are valued/embraced for their functionality and utility. In the following essay, a critical discussion concerning this pragmatic emphasis is undertaken with illustrative clinical case examples from the Eastside Family Centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.