Marital Conflict by Proxy After Father Kills Mother: The Family Therapist As an Expert Witness in Court

The father killing the mother leaves the children effectively without parents. The extended family from both sides will often intervene to offer a home for the children, or at least to have a say in what arrangements are made for the children and how they are to be brought up. Intensely competitive and hostile feelings between the opposing sets of relatives are commonly aroused, and the children may be caught up in a battle reminiscent of the conflict between their parents, which culminated in the death of their mother. I and my colleagues have, as a team, seen more than 300 children who have lost one parent at the hands of the other, and we have been involved in subsequent custody battles as expert witnesses. Based on this experience and using this context as an example, the issues for the family therapist as expert witness in adversarial Court proceedings are presented. A case is described that illustrates the theoretical exposition — including the effectiveness of family therapy from the witness box.     

Family of Origin and Current Relationship Influences on Codependency

This study investigated codependency in Caucasian individuals within the framework of Bowen's Family Systems Theory. The sample consisted of a group of couples, in which one member of the couple was a recovering alcoholic in an aftercare program, and a group of matched, comparison couples. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the Friel Co-dependency Assessment Inventory, and the Personal Authority in the Family System (PAFS) Questionnaire. The findings confirmed that codependency levels were higher in clinical than in comparison couples. Moreover, within the clinical group, there was little difference between alcoholics and their spouses with respect to dysfunction in their families of origin, current families, or their codependency levels. The findings further suggested that the etiology and function of codependency are different in clinical and nonclinical families. In the clinical sample, the family of origin and current relationship characteristics were related to codependency in patterns consistent with previous theory and research. For the nonclinical sample, however, the findings contradicted conventional codependency theory. The findings suggest that, in contrast to clinical populations, codependency in nonclinical populations has some links with favorable characteristics of family functioning.     

Personal Explicit Theories of Creativity

In this investigation 143 creativity researchers completed a survey to rate the importance of various traits and developmental influences on creative achievement. They also rated the importance of various topics for future research. Sixteen composite variables were formed from the traits and developmental factors. Behaviors in the Motivational Composite were rated as most important for recognized creative achievement, followed by Problem Finding and Questioning Skills, and traits reflecting Adaptive Cognition. The ratings of the Developmental survey items suggested that Education and Learning were most important for achievement, followed by Cultural and Social factors, and then Family and Early Background. The top five ranked topics for future research included actual creative behavior, motivation and drive, imagery, imagination, and creative products. Group differences were explored, but few differences were found in, comparisons of ratings from researchers who had experience; teaching creativity courses and those who had published a book or article, and those who had not. Similarly, only slight group differences were found for ratings of important research topics. Differences in self-reported creative interests (i.e., writing and music) were related to selected ratings of creative achievement variables and important research topics. In general, the results suggested that researchers believe creativity to be a complex or syndrome which draws from cognitive, affective, social, and perhaps even physical realms. The lack of group differences implies a homogeneity of opinion and consensus with respect to the importance of traits, developmental factors, and research topics.     

Broadening the Use of Holland's Hexagon With Specific Implications for Career Counselors

This article offers a new mapping procedure—used in conjunction with Holland's (1985) hexagon—to help clients identify and explore occupational alternatives.     

Dependency and insecurity in romantic relationships: Development and validation of two companion scales

This article presents self-report scales for the assessment of perceived dependency and insecurity in a romantic relationship. These scales were originally developed many years ago (Fei & Berscheid, 1977) but were never published. The process of original scale development is summarized, and results from five studies (total N= 1,283; including data from the original Fei & Berscheid studies) are presented showing evidence for (a) scale reliability and validity; (b) the association between dependency and insecurity and the relationship conditions that moderate this association; (c) the association of dependency and insecurity with other theoretically relevant dimensions of close relationships; and (d) dyadic-level issues of partner similarity and correlates of discrepancies in levels of dependency and insecurity. The results indicate that the two scales are reliable, valid, and associated with many other relationship constructs (e.g., commitment, love, closeness, and attachment).     

Woundedness and the Learning Child‐Spirit—Ontology and Epistemology of a Therapeutic Education

Spiritual education, at its best, fosters growth and helps the individual to search for meaning. These processes are by no means painless for the learner: either by ignoring the search, or by engaging in it, s/he may experience frustration, loss, confusion, sadness, anger. The argument will be that we can summarize these painful experiences and name them as woundedness. From a reading ofjungian analysis, religious classics and our own experience, we can see woundedness as a fundamental characteristic of all learners, by virtue of their humanity, but especially children. The child, as a learning spirit, can be understood to be wounded; the process of spiritual education can be understood therapeuti‐cally, knowledge can be understood as self‐recovery. In this understanding, spiritual education is not therapy in itself, but can be metaphorically understood as such, and can have some therapeutic effects. Some complexities and weaknesses of this metaphor are considered towards the end, and its considerable implications for spiritual education are sketched in outline.     

AGE DISCRIMINATION AND PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY: A REVIEW AND SYNTHESIS OF THE LEGAL LITERATURE WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

One hundred and fifty-two court cases were reviewed to determine the standards set by the courts for establishing a claim of age discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, as amended. Fifty-three are discussed. Two major issues were examined in Part 1 of the review: (1) the type and extent of the evidence sufficient to establish a complaint of age discrimination and (2) available defenses against age discrimination complaints. Part 2 discussed employer strategies for averting and/or dealing with discrimination complaints. Also discussed were the research-related implications of the age discrimination case law, as well as the role of professionals in future research.     

Two Alternative Approaches to Creating Opportunities for Entrepreneurial Activity: Bridging the Divide Between Academics and Entrepreneurs

ABSTRACT The concept of University based centers for the development of entrepreneurial activities is often seen as ivory tower feather bedding. This paper shows how an emerging center in Norway and an award winning center in Alabama have set goals and established procedures to bridge gaps and misconception between academics and entrepreneurs.