Hausaufgaben in der Psychotherapie

Homework assignments are part of many treatment manuals for behaviour therapy. Their effectiveness for treatment success has now been shown. Far less is known about their implementation in everyday clinical practice. To offer topical data concerning the utilization of homework and the attitude towards it, we explored a sample of 140 therapists with different theoretical background and with varying degrees of therapeutic experience. Most of the participants frequently used homework assignments. Behaviour therapists use homework significantly more often than analytical therapists and have a more positive attitude towards them. Interestingly, the degree of experience had no influence on utilization of homework. Nearly all participants are familiar with the problem of unaccomplished assignments. Future directions for research und postgraduate courses are outlined.     

Some determinants of behavioral contrast in pigeons and rats

In Expt. 1, pigeons trained on a multiple variable interval, extinction schedule, showed a positive contrast effect by comparison with control groups trained with S+ only, provided that the interval between stimulus presentations was short (10 sec), but not when it was long (60 sec). Positive contrast also occurred more readily with an easier discrimination, and its appearance was highly correlated with the temporary appearance of transient contrast effects. Although a longer interval between trials produced an overall increase in rate of responding in subjects trained only with S+, it was suggested that this at best represented a different type of contrast effect. In Expt. 2, rats showed positive contrast to S+ when S− was correlated with a lower frequency of reinforcement, but not when it was correlated with a reduced magnitude of reinforcement. The results were discussed in terms of frustration theory.     

Psychosocial Responses of Hospital Workers to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)1

To assess the psychosocial responses of hospital workers to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), 237 hospital employees were interviewed. Information was obtained on frequency and nature of contact with AIDS patients; knowledge about AIDS; attitudes about AIDS and about homosexuality; and stresses related to AIDS care. Four indices were developed: AIDS-Contact, AIDS-Phobia, Homophobia, and AIDS-Stress. Misperceptions and fears about AIDS, as well as negative attitudes about individuals with the disease, were common. AIDS-Phobia was positively correlated with Homophobia and AIDS-Stress. AIDS-Phobia and AIDS-Stress were negatively correlated with AIDS-Contact. More patient contact was associated with lower levels of perceived stress, except for those with frequent but impersonal patient contact. Strategies for educational programs based on results are proposed.     

Latina college students' sexual health beliefs about human papillomavirus infection

To examine Latina college students' sexual health beliefs about human papillomavirus (HPV), 16 self-identified Latina college students from a large Midwestern university participated in three focus groups. The authors found that participants' knowledge of HPV and cervical cancer was extremely low. Women did not obtain Pap screenings consistently, nor did they use condoms in a consistent manner. They perceived that cultural norms that support silence about sexual topics hinder their knowledge acquisition about sexual issues. Participants also recognized that their insufficient knowledge could jeopardize their health and expressed a willingness to actively stop this intergenerational cycle of silence within their families. Findings highlight the importance of incorporating cultural considerations when designing research and educational programs with Latina college students.     

Risk and Resiliency Factors Influencing Suicidality Among Urban African American and Latino Youth

For decades, suicide rates among minority African American and Latino young people have been stable and, when compared with Whites, relatively low. This is no longer the case, underscoring the need for documenting and understanding the problem of suicidality in this population. We report on the prevalence and predictors of suicidality among 879 urban adolescents in the Reach for Health study. All youth resided in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods; 69% were African American, 16% Latino, and 15% reported mixed or other ethnicity. In the past year, 15% had seriously considered suicide; 13% had made a suicide plan, 11% had attempted suicide at least once, and 4% reported multiple attempts. Risk factors significantly related to suicidal ideation are being female, having basic needs unmet, engaging in same-gender sex, and depression. Resiliency factors include family closeness and, marginally, religiosity. Risk factors related to reports of suicide attempts are being female, being Hispanic, and depression; family closeness is strong resiliency factor. Family composition, ethnic identity, coping style, peer support, and school attachment are not significant correlates of suicidal ideation or attempts.     

Chinese immigrant mothers of adolescents: self-perceptions of acculturation effects on parenting

Immigrant families in the United States experience many adjustments, including the challenge of parenting in a new context. The relationship between self-perceptions of parenting behavior and mothers' perceived acculturation levels for themselves and their children was examined in 95 Chinese immigrant mothers. Data showed that mothers perceived their children as more acculturated than themselves, mothers reported a great need to learn more about how their children are growing up today, a larger perceived acculturation gap was associated with more parenting difficulties, and several factors contributed to perceptions of a more favorable parenting experience. Culturally responsive methodologies used in the translation and administration of measures, and specific modifications made to develop the Chinese version of the Parent Success Indicator, are discussed.     

When parting is such sweet sorrow: The comprehension and appreciation of oxymora

Three experiments examined the comprehension and appreciation of figurative phrases known as oxymora (e.g.,intense apathy, loyal opposition). Experiment 1 showed that adjective-noun pairs in which the noun term is the hyponym of the adjective terms' antonym were judged by readers as the most poetic. Experiment 2 found that these same types of phrases were the easiest to understand. Experiment 3 demonstrated that interpreting oxymora requires more than the simple combination of the adjective and noun terms' semantic components. These findings provide additional evidence on the influence of conceptual knowledge for both theories of complex conceptual combinations and for theories of figurative language understanding.     

Careers guidance and choosing a job

Data from the 16-year-old follow-up of the National Child Development Study relating to certain aspects of careers guidance are examined. These include the proportion of the 12,000 study children who were in schools with teachers responsible for careers guidance, the amount of training these teachers had received, and whether they were paid a special salary. The children's expected age of leaving school, their plans for further education and work, and their choice of likely first full-time jobs, are considered in relation to the presence of teachers with some training in careers guidance and to contacts with careers officers. The use made of sources of information about job choices is also described.     

A process model for Missionaries-Cannibals and other river-crossing problems

We extend a model originally developed by Atwood and Polson (1976) for the water jug task to four isomorphs of the Missionaries-Cannibals problem. Our results show that variation in cover story produced no differences in number of legal moves to solution, but caused large differences in illegal moves. A three-stage process model incorporating means-ends heuristics, assumptions about the utilization of memory, and an illegal move-detection process is able to account for both legal and illegal move data from all four versions of the problem.     

Cyclical Maladaptive Patterns: Interpersonal Case Formulation for Psychotherapy with Children

This paper proposes the use of Hans Strupp's case formulation method, Cyclical Maladaptive Patterns, with child clinical cases. While Strupp's case formulation method was developed for use with adults in Time-Limited Dynamic Psychotherapy, this interpersonally-based model is viewed as consistent with recent literature in child development and psychopathology which emphasizes the centrality of peer relationships, interpersonal schema, and social attribution biases in the development of maladaptive interpersonal behavior. Application of this method underscores the interpersonal nature and context of childhood problems as well as their cyclical and self-perpetuating quality. Use of this case formulation method with children is proposed as a basis for individually tailoring treatment plans with children who have problems with aggression, rejection, and other maladaptive interpersonal patterns.