The myth of open concepts: Meehl’s analysis of construct meaning versus black box essentialism

Two views of theoretical concepts in psychology are compared. Meehl’s “open concept” account holds that theoretical concepts are implicitly defined by theories but that empirical criteria can be changed over time (e.g., added or dropped, weightings changed, exchanged for theoretical reductions). This account confuses concepts and theories, does not reflect how diagnostic concepts actually work in medicine and psychology, leads to theory incommensurability, and is unclear about when concepts are the same or different. I propose that an alternative “black box essentialist” account of theoretical concepts, drawn from recent philosophical work on natural kind concepts, better explains how we manage to refer to the same construct even as our theories and criteria change. One implication is that Meehl is incorrect to claim that a reason for psychology’s lack of progress is that its concepts are inherently different from those in the hard sciences.     

Staff Practices and Social Skill Outcomes in a Sport-Based Youth Program

Staff are key contributors to quality sport-based youth programming. Specific practices leading to positive youth outcomes warrant further investigation. This study examined social skill outcomes resulting from participation in a sport-based youth program, LiFEsports. In addition, relationships among emotional and autonomy supportive staff practices and outcomes were examined. Results pointed to the value of sport-based youth programs for promoting self-control among youth from vulnerable backgrounds and indicated that youth-perceived emotional and autonomy supportive staff practices predicted improvements in perceived self-control but not perceived externalizing behaviors.     

Processes of Belonging for Citizen-Children of Undocumented Mexican Immigrants

In this article, we focus on the developmental contexts of middle childhood and early adolescence to explore the lives of citizen-children living with undocumented Mexican parents. We draw on the concept of belonging to highlight the distinct situation of citizen-children and the ways in which they come to understand their place in a world. To capture the experiences of citizen-children born to undocumented Mexican immigrant parents and their sense of belonging to place and community, we conducted in-depth interviews with 83 citizen-children in late childhood and early adolescence in three groups. One group of citizen-children lived in Mexico after their parents’ deportation. Another group remained in the U.S. after parents were detained or deported. The third group did not have a parent in deportation proceedings. Qualitative analyses of children’s recorded interviews revealed their experiences of discovery of parents’ undocumented status; political, social and material exclusion; and rupture of family ties. Children were keenly aware that birthright citizenship afforded them numerous privileges unavailable to their parents, but that it did not extend to the very privilege, they valued most: an intact family. The loss of parents through detention or deportation forced some children to consider existential questions about who they were and where they belonged, sometimes pitting family members against one another. Our findings suggest that belonging is intimately tied to broader forces of legal persecution that go beyond individualized notions of illegality and have deep, possibly lasting psychological effects.     

The Influence of Spiritually-based Learning Opportunities on Personal Faith and Denominational Loyalty in Seventh-Day Adventist Academies

This study examined how Bible teachers, involvement in leadership in school-wide spiritual activities, and personal school-sponsored spiritual activities were related to students’ relationship with God and their denominational loyalty. Data were obtained from seniors in 19 Seventh-day Adventist academies. Students’ intention to remain in the Seventh-day Adventist church after they finish high school or leave their parents’ home (denominational loyalty) was explained by their involvement and leadership in school-sponsored spiritual activities and the influence of their Bible teacher. However, the effect of these variables on denominational loyalty was primarily due to the extent that they affected the students’ relationship with God.     

The courage of the group therapist

This report strives to legitimize for the field of psychodynamic group therapy the reflection on and study of courage. The authors surveyed group therapy leaders, asking them to describe courageous moments in their own group practice, and then explored the common themes arising in these examples, including openly confronting their mistakes, facing their own and group members' anger, and dealing with unexpected moments in group sessions. Attending to courageous leader moments-and the feelings of hope and pride that they engender-help to neutralize the negative emotions that group leaders are constantly invited to contain. Paradoxically, accessing courageous moments can also evoke feelings of shame in the leader. If we are to require ourselves to embrace the sometimes terrifying challenge of journeying into the unknown with our patients, we must learn to be honest not just about our mistakes and our weaknesses, but also about our successes and our strengths.     

Rejection Sensitivity and Executive Control: Joint predictors of Borderline Personality features

Two studies tested the hypothesis that rejection sensitivity (RS) and executive control (EC) jointly predict borderline personality (BP) features. We expected high RS to be related to increased vulnerability for BP features specifically in people who also had difficulties in executive control (EC). Study 1 tested this hypothesis using a sample of college students (N = 379) whereas Study 2 (N = 104) was conducted using a community sample of adults. Both studies operationalized EC by a self-report measure. For a subsample in Study 2 (N = 80), ability to delay gratification at age 4 was also used as an early behavioral precursor of EC in adulthood. In both studies, high RS was associated with increased BP features among people low in self-reported EC. Among those high in self-reported EC, the relationship between RS and BP features was attenuated. Study 2 found parallel findings using preschool delay ability as a behavioral index of EC. These findings suggest that EC may protect high RS people against BP features.     

Cultural considerations in adolescent suicide prevention and psychosocial treatment

Ethnic groups differ in rates of suicidal behaviors among youths, the context within which suicidal behavior occurs (e.g., different precipitants, vulnerability and protective factors, and reactions to suicidal behaviors), and patterns of help-seeking. In this article, the authors discuss the cultural context of suicidal behavior among African American, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and Latino adolescents, and the implications of these contexts for suicide prevention and treatment. Several cross-cutting issues are discussed, including acculturative stress and protective factors within cultures; the roles of religion and spirituality and the family in culturally sensitive interventions; different manifestations and interpretations of distress in different cultures; and the impact of stigma and cultural distrust on help-seeking. The needs for culturally sensitive and community- based interventions are discussed, along with future opportunities for research in intervention development and evaluation.