Persuasion criteria in research and practice: Gathering more meaningful psychotherapy data

Psychotherapy research should ultimately benefit the psychotherapy client. Unfortunately, traditional psychotherapy research continues to have little influence on practicing clinicians and, therefore, does not benefit psychotherapy clients. As behavior analysts begin to show interest in this area of research, they may be in a position to improve its quality. We argue that traditional psychotherapy researchers have become prematurely wedded to a methodology that does not address the concerns of clinical audiences. Furthermore, we make a case for defining and evaluating psychotherapy data in terms of its capacity to influence both researchers and clinicians. We also suggest several alternative methods for gathering psychotherapy data based on the case formulation approach. We argue that this approach may be one of the most promising methods for gathering useful psychotherapy data.     

Predictors of stress in adolescents: an exploratory study of pregnant and of parenting females

A study of 152 adolescents enrolled in school-based programs for pregnant and parenting youth in Colorado in 1987-88 found no differences in overall stress levels between these two groups; however, salient predictors of stressful life events for pregnant teens were not the same as those for teen mothers. The mean age of study subjects was 16.5 years (range 14-19 years); most were living with a parent rather than the child's father. The dependent variable, level of stress, was measured through use of an abbreviated Life Events Questionnaire. Independent variables were assessed through administration of the Inventory of Social Supportive Behaviors, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Adolescent Coping Orientation for Problem Experiences scale. Of the 5 sources of stress measured (family, accidents, autonomy, deviance, relocation, and distress), only stress related to accidents differed significantly between pregnant and parenting adolescents. For pregnant adolescents, self-esteem was the only significant predictor of the overall level of stress; among parents, the only significant predictor was objective social support. Among adolescents, self-esteem was associated with more frequent use of social support and coping strategies. For parenting adolescents, self-esteem was correlated with the frequency of use of social support, satisfaction resulting from such use, and frequent use of coping strategies. Overall, the independent variables of social support, self-esteem, coping, and age were stronger predictors of stress in pregnant than in parenting adolescent females. This finding suggests that parenting teens may have successfully negotiated the multiple transitions involved in this new stage of the life-cycle. An important implication of this study is the need to design separate counseling components of school-based programs for pregnant versus parenting adolescents rather than to use a single curriculum.     

Effects of Race,Racial Identity Development,and Orientation Style on Perceived Consultant Effectiveness

This study explores Black teachers' preferences for and ratings of consultant effectiveness as a function of consultant race, consultant style, and teacher stage of racial identity development. No significant differences were noted in preferences for either a same- or opposite-race consultant. Participants preferred and rated as more effective an instrumentally oriented consultant.     

The effects of violence on infants and young children: international perspectives on prevention

People become subject to political and social violence when governments fail to give priority to basic health care or education. Attempts to meet foreign obligations also produce severe economic recessions which further impede efforts to improve the general quality of life of disadvantaged populations. Since multiple factors contribute to violence, a multidisciplinary approach is best suited to address the problem. For example, poverty and its associated risks are linked to violence, but living in poverty does not necessarily engender violence. Living in poverty may, however, fuel high rates of child mortality, illiteracy, malnutrition, excessive population growth, street children, and familial disintegration. An integrated action program was developed in Brazil for at-risk individuals and their families based upon the idea of building and reinforcing family ties and intergenerational togetherness. Undernourished infants, street children, the handicapped, women subjected to violence, and neglected senior citizens received special interventions in the program described in the text.     

Group analytic therapy with schizophrenic outpatients

This paper describes a model for group analytic psychotherapy with patients who have been psychotic, namely, schizophrenics and manic depressives. The groups are run on the group centered principles of S. H. Foulkes. They are continuous, slow-open groups, in line with these patients' needs for long-term therapy. A theory is proposed which justifies treating these patients in group-centered groups despite their great dependency needs. The paper also describes the task of the therapist in building and running such a group.Acknowledgments to Geoffrey Elkan, Marcia Levene, Noa Rotem, Aya Levi-Posnanski, Yossi Ezrati, S. Littman, Tamar Sternberg, E. Danilowitz, and C. Kauffman.     

Self-Monitoring negative statements

We examined the effects of a self-monitoring program on reducing the frequency of negative statements of a student with mild mental retardation who was enrolled in a self-contained classroom at a middle school. A changing criterion design was used within a multiple baseline design across two classroom periods. Additionally, the frequency of positive statements was reported. The results showed a decrease in the number of negative statements, and an increase in the number of positive statements. Maintenance data collected up to 8 weeks after the program ended indicated that the student continued to emit positive rather than negative statements. The use of this procedure to decelerate undesirable behavior is discussed.     

Family preservation using multisystemic treatment: Long-term follow-up to a clinical trial with serious juvenile offenders

In a randomized clinical trial, multisystemic family preservation was shown to significantly reduce rates of criminal activity and incarceration in a sample of 84 serious juvenile offenders and their multi-need families. In the current study, archival records were searched for re-arrest an average of 2.4 years post-referral. Survival analysis showed that youths who received multisystemic family preservation were less likely to be re-arrested than were youths who had received usual services. Such results represent the first controlled demonstration that family preservation, when delivered via a clearly specified treatment model, has lasting effects with serious juvenile offenders. Implications for family preservation and juvenile justice research are discussed.