Failures of Socialization

The incidence rate of crime (andotherindicators of alientation) for school-aged, young Americans is at its highest level in the history of the country. These figures are normally interpreted in terms of sociological variables suchas “cohort effects” and “unemployment.” Drawing on the tradition of research in culture and personality, we interpret these failures of socialization in terms of certain widespread changes in patterns of child-rearing.     

Using “Props” to Enhance Your Counseling

The use of props as counseling aids can add a new dimension to any counselor's current repertoire of skills.     

Understanding and Counseling Narcissistic Clients

This article is intended to provide counselors with an overview of narcissism and its treatment. In the first section, dysfunctional narcissism is described, drawing on the diagnostic indicators presented in the DSM-III and the contemporary object relations theories of Heinz Kohut and Otto Kernberg. The second section focuses on counseling narcissistic clients.     

Psychological stress-factors and concentrations of immunoglobulins and complement components in humans

Relationships between two types of occupational stress, one chronic and one acute, and plasma immunoglobulin and complement components were measured. The first group comprised female primary school teachers ( N =40) subjected to long-lasting work stress. The second group comprised male merchant navy students ( N =38) subjected to a series of short-lasting fear-inducing 20 meter drops in a life boat specially built for rescue operations from oil platforms. Significant correlations were found between personality factors, immunoglobulins and complement components in the teacher group, but not amongst the merchant navy students. For the teachers, personality traits correlated negatively with concentrations of IgA and IgG. IgM concentrations correlated with the more immediate work-related problems reported by the teachers. In a multiple regression analysis, psychological factors explained between 32% (IgM) and 15% (IgG) of the interindividual variance, when sex, age and job seniority and employment factors were controlled for. Psychological factors may therefore, at least on longlasting occupational stress groups, correlate with immune processes. The data support the concept of the importance for psychological factors in immunological function.     

Evaluating educational—vocational counseling: a model for change

This study sought to assess students' reactions toward their vocational and educational counseling at a university counseling center. Students receiving educational-vocational counseling during the 1968-69 academic year served as subjects whose responses to a 29-item questionnaire were used to determine their reactions to counseling. The majority of clients who were counseled by advanced trainees or doctorate level staff viewed their counseling experience positively. A large percentage of the clients of beginning practicum students viewed their counseling negatively. The findings suggested weaknesses in vocational counseling facilities, in counselors' skills, and in training of beginning practicum students. Implications for change are suggested and the need for assessment in counseling agencies is emphasized.     

Need for approval and counseling outcomes

The intent of this study was to determine the effects of a clients' need for approval on the outcomes of counseling. The expectation was that clients who have a high need for approval by others would cooperate more with the counseling process and would more often be successful in the sense of being rehabilitated. The Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale was administered to 167 applicants at a state rehabilitation agency immediately after the initial interview. It was hypothesized that successfully rehabilitated clients would obtain significantly higher social desirability scores than those clients who were not successful. The results confirmed the hypothesis at the .01 level of significance.