The new MAACL scales with adolescents: preliminary reliability and validity determinations

This study reports on the reliability and concurrent validity of both the trait and state forms of the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List (MAACL) with a high school population, age range of 14-16 years and educational range of 9th and 10th grades (N = 403). Alphas of the four scales (anxiety, depression, hostility, and positive affect) ranged from .67 to .91. Correlations with a check-list of stress-related symptoms and an inventory of the number of extracurricular activities in which the students participated were significant and in the expected direction. Means and standard deviations on the MAACL scales were similar to those of college students. Sex differences were found on some of the scales. The findings indicate that the MAACL is sufficiently reliable and valid to warrant additional use with an adolescent population.     

Adolescent eating disorder: bulimia

Bulimia, an eating disorder, recently has emerged as a major mental health problem, especially among adolescent females. The bulimic experiences periods of compulsive binge eating followed by purges to rid the body of unwanted calories. Binges are triggered by intense emotional experiences, such as loneliness, anger, rejection, or stress. Associated features of bulimia are secretiveness, depression, drug abuse, preoccupation with body image and sexual attractiveness, and an awareness that the behavior is abnormal. The physical side effects include dental problems, inflamed esophagus, EEG abnormalities, abdominal or urinary disturbances, and changes in blood sugar level. Cognitive disturbances related to binging and purging are perfectionistic, egocentric, and distorted thinking, misconceptions about nutritional requirements, unreasonable goals and expectations, and disturbed affect. Bulimics resist treatment; however, such methods as cognitive, group, family, behavior, and drug therapy, and hospitalization appear promising.     

Identity conflict in Mexican-American adolescents

Mexican-American adolescents of migrant origin present conflicting attitudes in their selection of ideal characters and images for identification. As minority members, identification with members of outside groups appears blocked for them. At the same time, encounters with outside society seem to undermine identification processes that develop within their own group, their families, and community. This study concludes that relationships of dominance and dependence in the outside society foster inhibitions to the process of identification, and disturbances in the mechanisms of defense in the minority member. These relationships seem to interfere with the internalization and adoption of significant others' characteristics and attitudes.     

The princess in the tower: Zelda Fitzgerald's creative impasse

Gifted women often find it difficult to integrate an acceptable social image with an autonomous artistic identity. This paper explores the ambitions and conflicts of Zelda Fitzgerald, who aspired to be an artist in several fields, but whose fame is largely contingent on the role she played in the life of her husband, F. Scott Fitzgerald. Zelda's flamboyant public pose, which served as a model for many of her husband's literary characters, is interpreted as an attempt to organize a consistent identity configuration by means of constant appeals for applause from an admiring audience. But although this configuration provided some stability and cohesion for her during her twenties, it was a superficial and vulnerable structure which failed to support her serious artistic aspirations. An examination of the separation conflicts and difficulties in internalization which contributed to Zelda's dilemma leads to a consideration of the role of the father in the organization of differentiated female achievements. Although Zelda Fitzgerald's pathology was extreme, her struggles suggest useful insights into the intrapsychic and social barriers commonly confronting creative women.     

Auditory word discriminations in the pigeon.

Four pigeons were trained on a multiple variable-interval 30-s extinction schedule with various pairs of spoken English words presented as the discriminative stimuli. The birds typically produced discrimination indices of 70% to 90% accuracy. Discrimination accuracy was improved by shortening the interval between auditory stimulus presentations, and by increasing the number of syllables in the words.     

Daily versus major life events as predictors of symptom frequency: a replication study

Predictions of physical symptomatology by daily life events and by major life events were compared, replicating and expanding work reported by DeLongis, Coyne, Dakof, Folkman, & Lazarus (1982). Analyses of daily, prospective data collected on 79 married men for 90 days demonstrated that daily, undesirable events were better predictors of symptom frequencies than either past, major life events or daily, desirable events. These results, similar to those found by DeLongis et al. (1982), were further explored by examining "healthy" subjects versus subjects with prior medical conditions. Undesirable daily events were a much stronger predictor of physical symptoms in the healthy group than in the prior medical conditions group.     

Adjustment to rape

This questionnaire study of rape victims' reactions, causal attributions for the rape, coping behaviors after the rape, and psychological adjustment to the rape were examined. As in previous research, high levels of behavioral and characterological self-blame for rape were found. Contrary to prior hypotheses, behavioral self-blame was not associated with good adjustment. Rather, both behavioral and characterological self-blame were associated with poor adjustment. Societal blame was the only causal attribution for rape that was unassociated with adjustment. Remaining at home and withdrawing from others were both associated with poor adjustment, and the use of stress reduction techniques was associated with good adjustment. The implications of the results for theories of victimization and for clinical interventions with rape victims are discussed.     

Some problems of genetic counseling in schizophrenic psychoses

The authors sum up the most important basic principles of diagnostics and genetics of the schizophrenic psychoses from the viewpoint of genetic counseling for the practising psychiatrist and medical geneticist. Regarding genetic counselling strategy, in addition to nosological considerations, they stress the importance of socio-cultural and social psychological factors and of the emotional atmosphere in the family, which should all be taken into account together. Because of the special situation of schizophrenic (and in general, psychiatric) patients and their families, they regard it as advisable to set up a separate psychiatric genetic counselling service.     

Treatment of atypical and neurotic depression

Hitherto it has not been usual to talk in the German language about the therapy-oriented concept of two forms of the progress of atypical depression (Type A and Type V). The characteristic symptom of Type A is angst, together with phobias, physical complaints, etc. In Type V there are vegetative symptoms, often towards evening (Hypersomnia, difficulty in getting to sleep, increased appetite, increased weight, increased libido), accompanied by hysterical extrovert personality traits, and of intermittent occurrence. These clinical pictures are amenable to psychopharmalogical therapy. In conformity with the assumption of "somatic accommodation" treatment with antidepressives is recommended in the case neurotic depression, too, at least in the initial stages of treatment.