The Mentally Retarded Inmate: Prison Adjustment and Implications for Treatment

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not there are differences in the prison adaptation of mentally retarded and nonretarded inmates.     

Teaching Interpersonal Communication to Troubled Families

Assumptions family members make about each other exert considerable influence on communication in families. Rigidly held assumptions restrict the flow of information, reinforcing counterproductive behavioral patterns. Combining psychoanalytic and structural components, this paper offers a new approach to family intervention that addresses itself to the exchange of information within troubled families. Groups of families convene for a series of camping weekends. The shared life experience in a recreational setting plus the use of a teaching model help family members to break through rigid conceptualizations of themselves and others. In following the observational model, which slows down and fosters reciprocation in communication, family members pursue the following steps: (a) observe each other; (b) compare notes with a co-observer; (c) share observations with those observed; and (d) receive feedback from the observed.     

AN APPLICATION OF THE THEORY OF NEURAL COMPUTATION TO THE PREDICTION OF WORKPLACE BEHAVIOR: AN ILLUSTRATION AND ASSESSMENT OF NETWORK ANALYSIS

Data from two field studies were used to illustrate four applications of neural network analysis, a statistical information technology based on the psychological theories of learning and cognition. Overall results showed that cross-validation multivariate correlations and correct classifications were greater for the neural networks than for the regression model standards of comparison. It was concluded that sufficient evidence exists to warrant further research of the newly developing neural network paradigm for use by personnel scientists and specialists.     

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Vietnam Veterans

Many unemployed Vietnam veterans may be sufferers of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Symptoms and behaviors of PTSD are reviewed to assist employment counselors in identifying such individuals, and suggestions for referral are made.     

Mental Health Values of Psychotherapists: How Psychologists,Psychiatrists, Psychoanalysts,and Social Workers Conceptualize Good Mental Health

Previous research suggests that laypersons differ as a function of gender and ethnicity in their views about the meaning of “mental health.” The current study examined agreement among psychotherapists about the nature of healthy psychological functioning. National samples of psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and psychoanalysts completed the Mental Health Values Questionnaire, a measure of value dimensions used in appraising emotional adjustment. Results indicated a relatively high degree of consensus among the four professional disciplines surveyed. Individual differences were associated with gender and with the geographic area in which the therapist was raised.     

The Identification and Modification of Defense Mechanisms in Counseling

This article suggests considerations and strategies for identifying and modifying a client's defense mechanisms in counseling. A systematic approach to a client's mechanisms of defense contributes to therapeutic gain. Inappropriate counselor responses intensify an individual's defenses and undermine the counseling relationship. Definitions of individual defenses and indicators for identifying the mechanisms are provided. A literature review focuses on the counseling implications of the defenses. The process of defense mechanism modification is illustrated through a case example.     

Beyond the “Birds and the Bees”: Gender Differences in Sex‐Related Communication Among Urban African‐American Adolescents

To read this article's abstract in both Spanish and Mandarin Chinese, please visit the article's full‐text page on Wiley InterScience ( http://interscience.wiley.com/journal/famp ). The current study examined gender differences in communication about sex‐related topics in a community sample of urban, African‐American mothers and adolescents living in impoverished neighborhoods with high HIV rates. One hundred and sixty‐two mother–adolescent dyads completed self‐report measures of sex‐related communication. Youth also reported on their sexual risk. We identified the range of sexual‐based topics that adolescents discussed with their mothers, fathers, friends, and at school. The relationship between the frequency of sexual communication and sexual risk was examined. We also investigated congruency between adolescent and mother report about whether sexual‐based discussions occurred. Consistent with prior research, girls talked to their mothers, fathers, friends, and at school about sex‐related topics more than boys. Findings indicated that mothers not only communicated more frequently about sexual issues with their daughters than sons but that parental messages for girls were more protective. Greater sexual communication with mother was significantly associated with decreased HIV risk in the past 90 days and increased protection from HIV. Inconsistencies between mother and adolescent reports about sexual communication were marginally associated with decreased protection from HIV. Findings reveal the protective effect of sexual communication and the general lack of congruence between mother and adolescent reports of sexual communication.