Description of Relational Processes: Recent Changes in DSM‐5 and Proposals for ICD‐11

Epidemiologic, prospective, and retrospective research confirms that family relational variables are significant risk factors for the development of mental and physical health problems in children as well as adults. In addition, relationships also play a moderating role in the maintenance, exacerbation, or amelioration of chronic health problems. Although acknowledgment of the importance of these variables in the pathophysiology of a number of health conditions is reaching more prominence, the integration of assessments of family factors as part of standard health care has made little progress. With the arrival of the Affordable Care Act in the United States, there is a desire for earlier identification of these risk factors, and the ability to implement prevention programs that reduce risk, and enhance protective factors. On a global level, there is increased awareness of the health impact of relational problems, for example, many countries have attempted to implement programs to decrease domestic violence. More reliable and standardized assessments of key relational processes will enhance both of these missions, and allow comparison of a variety of prevention and intervention programs. This article discusses progress over the last decade in constructing more reliable definitions of relationship processes, how these have been integrated into the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5th edition (DSM‐5), and progress toward implementation into the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases (ICD‐11).     

Emergent Power Hierarchies and Group Performance

In newly formed groups, informal hierarchies emerge automatically and readily. In this study, we argue that emergent group hierarchies enhance group performance (Hypothesis 1) and we assume that the more the power hierarchy within a group corresponds to the task‐competence differences of the individual group members, the better the group performs (Hypothesis 2). Twelve three‐person groups and 28 four‐person groups were investigated while solving the Winter Survival Task. Results show that emerging power hierarchies positively impact group performance but the alignment between task‐competence and power hierarchy did not affect group performance. Thus, emergent power hierarchies are beneficial for group performance and although they were on average created around individual group members' competence, this correspondence was not a prerequisite for better group performance.     

Peer interaction in child care centres at 15 and 23 months: stability and links with children's socio-emotional adjustment

In this longitudinal study, 70 children were observed during 90 min of free play in their child care centres at 15 and 23 months of age. The children (39 boys and 31 girls) attended 51 different care groups in 39 centres. The occurrence and stability of peer interactions in the second year of life and their relations to children's socio-emotional adjustment were examined. The frequency of children's negative initiatives towards peers showed significant inter-individual stability from 15 to 23 months and predicted child aggressive/disruptive behaviour at 23 months as rated by professional caregivers in child care. Involvement in positive interactions with peers, and particularly positive responses to peer behaviours at 15 months, predicted well-being in child care at 23 months as rated by professional caregivers. The frequency of negative initiatives towards peers significantly increased and the frequency of positive responses to peer behaviours significantly decreased from 15 to 23 months.     

Underlying correlation structures of parental stress, general health and anxiety

A partial least square regression (PLSR) was performed on the Swedish Parenthood Stress Questionnaire (SPSQ) sum score and subscales on incompetence, role restriction, social isolation, spouse relationship and health problems, using 42 items from the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and 20 items from the State Anxiety Inventory (STAI-X1). The dataset contained 227 fathers and 301 mothers of children aged 1.0-6.6 years from a population-based study on parental psychological distress in the general Norwegian population, and all items correlated positively with SPSQ. Subscales on spouse relationship, incompetence, social isolation and role restriction related to items on state anxiety and depression. The SPSQ subscale on health problems related to GHQ items on somatic symptoms and social dysfunction. The STAI-X1 item "not feeling rested" had a particularly important effect on parental stress. Underlying correlation structures between parental stress and items from STAI-X1 and GHQ were explored, but only the SPSQ sum score could be acceptably predicted. PLSR as a statistical methodology was found useful for health and psychometric data.     

Recent books

Recent studies have shown that the basic evaluative conditioning (EC) effect (originally neutral stimuli acquiring an affective value congruent with the valence of the affective stimulus they were paired with) seems to be limited to participants who are unaware of the stimulus pairings. If participants are aware of the pairings, reactance effects occur (i.e., changes in the opposite direction of the valence of the affective stimulus). To examine whether these reactance effects are due to processes of conscious countercontrol or whether the ratings reflect intrinsic feelings towards the stimuli, a new procedure was developed that included a bogus‐pipeline condition. In this procedure, which was adapted from attitude research, participants were connected to bogus lie detector equipment leading them to believe that their “true” affective‐evaluative responses were being observed. In Experiment 1, reactance effects occurred also in this procedure, suggesting that the effect is spontaneous and not due to processes of conscious countercontrol. In Experiment 2, these effects were replicated using a between‐subjects design in addition to the standard within‐subjects control condition.     

Latino English Language Learners’ Writing During Literacy-Enriched Block Play

Although growing numbers of young English language learners (ELLs) from low-income homes enroll in U.S. schools, there remains a lack of research on how they respond to common school literacy practices including a literacy-enriched play. This exploratory study aims to examine the writing behaviors of six kindergarteners in their classroom's literacy-enriched block center. The results were varied since all children engaged in different types and frequencies of writing. However, most ELLs responded positively to the intervention and practiced their emergent writing skills. Therefore, literacy-enriched play centers can benefit early childhood classrooms serving culturally, linguistically, and socioeconomically diverse students.     

Dependency and perfectionism: Short-term dynamic group psychotherapy for university students

Abstract

This paper is based on the authors' experiences of conducting short-term psychodynamic group therapy with university students. The therapy groups focus on common problems among the members, i.e. perfectionism, procrastination, and fear of graduation. Working on their dependency and on their inadequate separation from parental figures typically helps the students cope more creatively with their academic problems. The paper explores technical questions and possible advantages in working within a short time frame using a group analytic approach.