Marital conflict and children's adjustment: a cognitive-contextual framework

Marital problems have been related to numerous indexes of maladjustment in children. Although several parameters of this association have been identified, the process by which exposure to interparental conflict gives rise to adjustment problems in children is largely unexplored. Research on the link between marital conflict and child maladjustment therefore is critically evaluated, and a framework is presented that organizes existing studies and suggests directions for future research on processes that may account for the association. According to the framework, the impact of marital conflict is mediated by children's understanding of the conflict, which is shaped by contextual, cognitive, and developmental factors. The implications of the framework for children's adjustment are discussed.     

Punished and Nonpunished Responding in A Multiple Schedule in Humans: A Brief Report

Four male subjects responded on a multiple schedule in which responding was maintained by a random interval 20-sec (RI20) schedule of point presentation. Responding was suppressed in alternating components by an added variable ratio 30 (VR30) schedule of point subtractions. Each component was accompanied by distinctive stimulus lights. Subjects were exposed to the multiple schedule from the initial session. Two subjects experienced four 50-min sessions daily (Experiment 1) and the other two subjects participated in one 50-min session daily (Experiment 2). Once responding in the punished components had stabilized, responding in the nonpunished components continued to increase across sessions. Nonpunished responding did not stabilize even after as many as 36 sessions. These results are discussed in the context of previous studies using animals which employed multiple schedules with punished and nonpunished response contingencies.

     

Perceived parental inconsistency as a factor in the emotional development of behaviour-disordered children

55 English-speaking institutionalized adolescents (37 boys and 18 girls between ages of 14 and 19 yr.) were given questionnaires measuring perceived parental inconsistency and different components of emotional development. Canonical correlation analysis indicated that a significant proportion (51%) of the variation in emotional adjustment was accounted for by parental inconsistency. It is suggested that the efficiency of using parents as agents of change for their behaviour-disordered children can be enhanced by including theory on parenteral inconsistency in program content.     

Low self-esteem in eating disordered patients in the absence of depression

Both low self-esteem and depression are well recognised as occurring in patients with eating disorders. 43 patients with eating disorders were studied to assess whether this low self-esteem occurred as part of an affective disorder or was independent of this. The patients, 23 with anorexia nervosa and 20 with bulimia nervosa, were assessed for low self-esteem, using the Rosenberg Self-esteem Questionnaire, and for depression, using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The patients had low self-esteem, despite only a minority (33%) being depressed. This study demonstrates that low self-esteem occurs in patients with eating disorders in the absence of depression.     

Effects of a forced institutional relocation on the mortality and morbidity of nursing home residents

Residents of a county nursing home underwent a forced, mass relocation. Gerontologists advised on preparation of staff and residents. No increase in residents' mortality or morbidity was found after the relocation. The highest death rate was in the anticipatory period, the year prior to the move.     

Differential effects of pet presence and pet-bonding on young children

Pets have been shown to influence human development, but whether the effect is due to the presence of a pet or to the person's relationship with a pet is uncertain. Mothers rated their young children's companion animal bond (relationship) and social competence on a parental questionnaire, and a researcher assessed the children's empathy, cooperation, and intelligence during home visits. Significant correlations were noted between the children's bonds with their companion animals and their scores on the social competency scales as well as their empathy scores. The lack of similar significant pet presence ("ownership") correlations supports the hypothesis that the children's relationships with their pets are more important than just the presence of one or more pets in their homes.     

Personality, stress and disease: description and validation of a new inventory

The construction of a new Personality-Stress Inventory is discussed, based on previous research and other types of inventory constructed on the same principles. Scores on the inventory divide people into six types, selectively prone to different types of disease. The instrument is administered twice, with six months intervening, and changes in the inventory scores are prognostic of the probability of contracting different diseases. Evidence is presented to show the validity of the questionnaire and the method used.     

Continuous and discrete latent structure models for item response data

Relations are examined between latent trait and latent class models for item response data. Conditions are given for the two-latent class and two-parameter normal ogive models to agree, and relations between their item parameters are presented. Generalizationss are then made to continuous models with more than one latent trait and discrete models with more than two latent classes, and methods are presented for relating latent class models to factor models for dichotomized variables. Results are illustrated using data from the Law School Admission Test, previously analyzed by several authors.     

Conversational time patterns and mutual influence in parent-child interactions: A time series approach

Mutual influencing processes are assumed to be the basic building blocks in establishing parentchild bonding and in influencing cognitive and language behavior. A study by Jasnow and Feldstein (1986) revealed that, within the temporal domain of speech, preverbal (9-month-old) infants and their mothers exhibit a pattern of mutual influence (attunement) in their average durations of switching pauses. The general purpose of this research was to extend those findings to children with higher verbal functioning. In addition, parent and child genders, nature of the interaction, and specific aspects of parents' personalities, expressiveness, and instrumentality were considered. Each parent interacted with their 4-or 5-year-old son or daughter in each of two conversations—unstructured (social conversation) and structured (task activity). Conversations were processed by an automated computer system yielding objective measure of turns, vocalizations, pauses, and switching-pause durations. To examine interspeaker influence or attunement of temporal speech patterns, influence coefficients were computer for each speaker on a turn-by-turn basis using time series regression. Analysis of these coefficients revealed that: (1) Mutual influence is most evident with switching-pause duration. (2) Structure in the conversation (as defined by the task or parental instrumentality) seems to facilitate attunement for vocalization and switching pause duration. (3) Attunement with girls seems to occur equally well with both parents, while boys exhibit a style of temporal patterning influence which suggests greater identification with the father. (4) Expressiveness seems to facilitate attunement to the child's switching-pause duration.     

On differentiating embarrassment from shame

Four experiments were conducted to demonstrate that embarrassment and shame are distinct emotions that result from violations of different types of internalized standards. Embarrassment results from violating one's particular persona; shame results from violating a shared, objective ideal. Subjects vividly imagined themselves in situations and indicated their emotional reactions. In Experiment I, we demonstrate that people differentiate between embarrassment and shame systematically (F(1,27) = 74.4, p < 0.001). In Experiments 2 and 3, we demonstrate that embarrassment results from violating a persona (n = 34, p < 0.001; n = 23, p < 0.001), and shame results from violating an objective ideal (n = 34, p < 0.001; n = 23, p < 0.001). In Experiment 4, we demonstrate that it is the type of standard that is violated (n = 30, p < 0.001), not whether or not the violation was intentional, that determines whether one experiences embarrassment or shame. We argue that both shame and embarrassment play an important role in maintaining personal identity.