Assessing Interpersonal Aspects of Schizoid Personality Disorder: Preliminary Validation Studies

In 2 studies, we examined the reliability and validity of an interpersonal measure of schizoid personality disorder (SZPD) based on nonverbal behaviors and interpersonal interactions occurring during interviews. A total of 556 male jail inmates in the United States participated in Study 1; 175 mentally disordered offenders in maximum security hospitals in the United Kingdom participated in Study 2. Across both samples, scores on the Interpersonal Measure of Schizoid Personality Disorder (IM–SZ) exhibited adequate reliability and patterns of correlations with other measures consistent with expectations. The scale displayed patterns of relatively specific correlations with interview and self-report measures of SZPD. In addition, the IM–SZ correlated in an expected manner with features of psychopathy and antisocial personality and with independent ratings of interpersonal behavior. We address implications for assessment of personality disorder.     

Psychometric Properties and Norms for the Personality Assessment Inventory in Egg Donors and Gestational Carriers

Although psychological evaluations are an integral element of screening for third-party reproduction and the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) is commonly used for these evaluations, little is known about the psychometric properties or normative scores on the PAI among egg donors and carriers. We evaluated the PAI among 1,044 egg donors and gestational carriers from various fertility clinics across the United States. PAI scales were generally internally consistent in this population, although range restriction appeared to attenuate reliability on several scales. The PAI profiles of egg donors and carriers had elevated positive impression management and suppressed clinical scale scores relative to the community standardization sample, as would be expected given the contingencies of this assessment context. Scores were similar across egg donors and carriers and were similar whether the carrier or donor was known or not known to the prospective parents. Sample-specific norms are provided for the use of the PAI in this setting.     

Group Treatment of Sexually Abused Adolescent Girls: A Review of Outcome Studies

Abstract

This paper considers factors that make children “at risk” for postdivorce maladjustment. The risk factors include (a) demographic variables of sex, age and socioeconomic status; (b) predivorce family functioning; (c) postdivorce relationship with the ex-spouse; (d) postdivorce parentchild interaction; and (e) social support systems. Treatment programs incorporating these factors are briefly described. Recommendations are provided for the clinician and researcher.     

The Use of a Socially Constructed Genogram in Clinical Practice

This paper discusses the rationale for a socially constructed genogram, allowing for multiple definitions of family to be represented. It describes the role of the problem system and the utility of this genogram in these situations. It describes the set-up of a socially constructed genogram and provides clinical examples.     

Triggering Conservation of the Self's Regulatory Resources

Three experiments investigated people's motivation to conserve the self's limited regulatory resource after it is depleted by initial self-control exertion. Across the experiments, the results supported the idea of a conservation process. In Experiment 1, depleted participants' subsequent performance decreased when expecting to engage in a future self-regulation task compared to engaging in no task at all. In Experiments 2 and 3 we employed the “end-effect” pattern found in past vigilance research to further examine conservation. In Experiment 2, depleted and nondepleted participants who knew the study ran for 30 min performed similarly following 20 min of self-regulation, whereas 3 min or 10 min of self-regulation produced typical depletion effects. Likewise, the findings from Experiment 3 revealed this same conservation pattern using a shortened 6-min initial task. Specifically, when depleted participants believed the study was finished their task performance was better compared to those who believed the study would run for another 20 min. In short, the current findings support the idea of conservation—decrements in self-regulatory performance may represent an adaptive inclination to conserve the self's diminished resources rather than an inability to wield further self-control.     

Heart Rate and Affective Reactions to State Self-Objectification as a Function of Gender

The purpose of the present study was to examine heart rate (HR) and affective reactions to state self-objectification as a function of gender. We examined negative affect, positive affect, guilt, and HR at 6-second and 5-minute intervals across baseline, control, high objectification, low objectification, and cologne conditions in men (n = 53) and women (n = 57). Mixed factorial MANOVA results indicated a statistically significant Gender × Condition interaction. Both men and women showed a cardiac orienting response to high versus low objectification. Cardiac stress reactions to objectification were higher among women. Negative affective reactions to objectification were more pervasive across conditions among women.     

Working with psychotic processes in art therapy

In this paper the author describes in some detail her work in the art-therapy department of Hill End Hospital. She used not only her understanding of the work of psychoanalytical writers on schizophrenia, particularly Bion and Searles, but, more importantly, her own experience of the patients at the Hospital, to gain an insight into how these very regressed patients think of themselves and their relationship to reality. She illustrates how she used objects and images created by patients from the art materials supplied, during (usually) five two-hour sessions a week, together with conversations (and notes made in the patients' presence of these conversations) about these images at structured weekly individual-therapy sessions, to help patients to develop from a state of meaninglessness to a position in which they can choose to engage in continuing therapy.     

Preschoolers’ emotion knowledge: Self-regulatory foundations,and predictions of early school success

Preschoolers (N=322 in preschool, 100 in kindergarten) were assessed longitudinally to examine the self-regulatory roots of emotion knowledge (labelling and situation) and the contributions of emotion knowledge to early school adjustment (i.e., including social, motivational, and behavioural indices), as well as moderation by age, gender, and risk. Age, gender, and risk differences in emotion knowledge were also examined. Emotion knowledge skills were found to be more advanced in older children and those not at economic risk, and in those with higher levels of self-regulation. Overall, the results support the role of emotion knowledge in early school adjustment and academic success even with gender, age, and risk covaried, especially for boys, older preschoolers, and those at economic risk.