The Relationship Between Self-Control,Witnessing Domestic Violence,and Subsequent Violence

The notion that violence begets violence is well accepted. Less clear are the precise factors that link together child violence and adult violence in an individual's life course. This study examines the role that self-control has in linking together exposure to violence in a child's life and subsequent violence in that individual's life. A telephone survey with 375 residents in Southeastern Virginia was conducted. Attention is given to whether those who saw their parents fight are more likely to (1) have a low self-control and (2) report having experienced violence either as an offender or a victim. Results suggest that witnessing violence is not related to self-control, and those who witnessed violence were less likely to have subsequent experiences with partner abuse. Further, we found that low self-control has a link with partner abuse. Implications for theory, policy, and future research are provided.     

Change in the moving bodymind: Quantitative results from a pilot study on the use of the BodyMind approach (BMA) to psychotherapeutic group work with patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUSs)

Background: This article reports quantitative results from a pilot study in primary care (PC) undertaken from 2004–2007. The intervention programme, derived from movement psychotherapy, was termed ‘Learning groups: the BodyMind approach (BMA),’ and emphasised a verbal and non-verbal integrated model, awareness of the inter-relationship between body and mind and a self-managing framework. Aim: To evaluate systematically the outcomes of a 12-week group BMA intervention programme with patients suffering from anxiety/depression with at least one chronic (over two years) medically unexplained symptom (MUS), another term for a psychosomatic condition or somatoform disorder. Method: A mixed method was applied to a single-case design. Outcome measures completed at baseline, mid-, post- intervention and three-month follow-up were the Measure Yourself Medical Outcome Profile (MYMOP) and the Counselling Outcome Routine Evaluation (CORE). Results: Increased activity levels and well-being; more effective coping/functioning strategies; reduction in anxiety/depression, GP-consultation and medication usage, and symptom distress. All changes were maintained at three-month follow-up.     

Why do implicit and explicit attitude tests diverge? The role of structural fit

Implicit and explicit attitude tests are often weakly correlated, leading some theorists to conclude that implicit and explicit cognition are independent. Popular implicit and explicit tests, however, differ in many ways beyond implicit and explicit cognition. The authors examined in 4 studies whether correlations between implicit and explicit tests were influenced by the similarity in task demands (i.e., structural fit) and, hence, the processes engaged by each test. Using an affect misattribution procedure, they systematically varied the structural fit of implicit and explicit tests of racial attitudes. As test formats became more similar, the implicit-explicit correlation increased until it became higher than in most previous research. When tests differ in structure, they may underestimate the relationship between implicit and explicit cognition. The authors propose a solution that uses procedures to maximize structural fit.     

Memory monitoring and the control of stereotype distortion

We propose a framework for investigating the role of conscious experience in regulating stereotype-based memory distortions. Memory biases are mediated by multiple memory processes, including forms of discriminability and response biases. Different psychological interpretations of these processes depend on how they relate to subjective experiences (e.g., conscious recollection vs. implicit accessibility processes). The ability to control memory distortions, in turn, depends on the psychological meaning attached to these parameters. In Experiment 1 we found that confidence was positively related to discriminability but uncorrelated with stereotype-consistent bias. In Experiment 2 participants were allowed to selectively control when they responded. Because of the asymmetry in monitoring ability, participants were able to increase overall accuracy, but were not able to reduce the stereotype bias. Discussion focuses on the conditions in which subjective experience may provide a valid basis for controlling biases, and when subjective experience may prove deceptive, exacerbating biases.     

Becoming a client, becoming a practitioner: student narratives of a dance movement therapy group

This paper documents one of several themes arising from a larger research study which invited trainees' views on their experience in a weekly, 2 year, dance movement therapy (DMT) personal development group. This group formed part of their post-graduate training. The study used a phenomenological, grounded theory and collaborative methodology followed by an interpretive framework. The research sought to discover participants' views on the experience of this personal development group in relation to their clinical practice with DMT groups during and following their training (the latter is not the subject of this paper). The study identifies a gap in the literature on trainee experience, particularly in relation to group process. Following a brief introduction and overview of methodology employed, the theme entitled 'becoming a client, becoming a practitioner' is presented, as it manifested for the students in the DMT group over time. The personal development component of therapists' training is directly relevant to most counselling/psychotherapy and arts therapies practitioners; consequently, the study has broader implications.