Zur Dynamik der Interaktion in der Supervision

The manifold functions of a supervisor in following the course of complex processes together with the trainee, are: ? to keep the goals of the supervision in view, ? to establish a teaching alliance and to support the wish and ambitions of the candidate to learn, ? to build a platform for the complex interactions with the trainee with regard to the dynamics of the training situation and keeping in mind the institutional influences, ? to lay down the setting for the work, ? to explore and to reflect how transference and counter-transference influence the interaction between patient and analyst as well as between trainee and supervisor, ? to examine these interactions together focussing continuously on the interaction between candidate and patient, and to encourage the candidate to do the same on his own, ? to continuously formulate hypotheses about the core conflict, the transference phenomena and resistance of the patient, ? to explore and reflect on the cooperative work.     

Affektverarbeitung und Beziehungsgestaltung bei somatoformen Störungen

Somatoform disorders are usually associated with disturbances in affective processing and consequently with relational disorders. The effect of psychotherapy on the emotional regulation and the relational behaviour in the course of treatment of a patient with somatoform autonomous dysfunction and dysthymia has been examined. Pre-post comparisons of inpatient treatment have been performed by means of standardized questionnaire data; the course of therapy has been evaluated by the analysis of the dependence of the leading symptom of hypogastric pain on mood parameters with the help of multivariate time-series analyses. One effect of psychotherapy was the initiation of an intrapsychic discourse, which led to an improved ability of affect regulation as well as to a better functioning in relationships. This was accompanied by a reduction of somatization. The interrelations between somatization, affect- and relationship-regulation are discussed.     

Studienbezogene Belastungen, Lebensqualität und Beziehungserleben bei Medizinstudenten

In a cross-sectional study of medical students we examined educational strains, health feeling, and relationship patterns. Work stress was measured using the questionnaire by Jurkat et al., health-related quality of life was measured using the Short Form- (SF-)36 Health Survey, and relationship patterns to the partner as well as to a friend were mapped using“Beziehungsmusterfragebogen“ (BeMus). Study stress was assessed as being high by 60% of the students. Consequently, 39% had not enough time for their partners und 29% had no time for own interests. The mental health averaged significantly below the norm. A high workload and discontent correlated with aggressiveness, especially in the partnership, whereas loving care towards the partner or friend correlated with a high level of satisfaction and a lower strain level. Therefore, an improvement of psychosocial competence in medical students as well as a practice-oriented preparation for the profession is needed.     

Rorschach Comprehensive System data for a sample of 409 adult nonpatients from Brazil

This is a normative study with 409 adult nonpatients living in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Rorschach was administered by a team of nine psychologists; eight had had further training in the Rorschach method by the Brazilian Rorschach Society and one intensively was prepared by the project coordinator. Of the study participants, 200 lived in the state capital (Sao Paulo) and the other 209 were in other large and small cities in the state, including a coastal city and one in the mountains. Previous psychological or psychiatric treatments were criteria for exclusion. Each protocol was coded independently by two examiners, and then agreement of the two codings was checked. Differences between the two codings were discussed in a meeting of the whole team, which was supervised by the project coordinator to guarantee codification quality control. Upon completion of the codings, an analysis of examiner differences was undertaken, the results of which are in the text. Interrater reliability statistics among examiners were calculated, including percentage of agreement and kappa. Reliability statistics among examiners at the response level are presented as are Comprehensive System (CS; 1999, 2003) findings.     

How attribution influences aggression: Answers to an old question by using an implicit measure of anger

The present study investigated how aggressive reactions to frustration are influenced by attributional processes. In particular, we examined how the information that another person did not intend a frustration affects anger and aggression. Previous research was inconclusive if attribution to unintentionality decreases anger and aggressive impulses or if it increases the control of aggressive impulses resulting in a selective decrease of aggressive reactions that are controllable. To test these assumptions, two thirds of participants were frustrated by negative evaluations that were paired with aversive sounds from an ostensible team partner. The remaining participants received positive evaluations that were paired with pleasant sounds. Then, half of the frustrated participants obtained a message suggesting that their partner had confused the response scale and had actually meant to deliver an opposite evaluation. This apologizing information was effective in decreasing subsequent aggressive behavior but not in reducing anger as assessed by an implicit measure. This finding is in line with the notion that attribution to unintentionality leads to control of aggressive impulses. We conclude that such attributions influence aggressive behavior mainly via reflective pathways, while impulsive processes remain largely unaffected.     

Producing and Recognizing Analogical Relations

Analogical reasoning is an important component of intelligent behavior, and a key test of any approach to human language and cognition. Only a limited amount of empirical work has been conducted from a behavior analytic point of view, most of that within Relational Frame Theory (RFT), which views analogy as a matter of deriving relations among relations. The present series of four studies expands previous work by exploring the applicability of this model of analogy to topography-based rather than merely selection-based responses and by extending the work into additional relations, including nonsymmetrical ones. In each of the four studies participants pretrained in contextual control over nonarbitrary stimulus relations of sameness and opposition, or of sameness, smaller than, and larger than, learned arbitrary stimulus relations in the presence of these relational cues and derived analogies involving directly trained relations and derived relations of mutual and combinatorial entailment, measured using a variety of productive and selection-based measures. In Experiment 1 participants successfully recognized analogies among stimulus networks containing same and opposite relations; in Experiment 2 analogy was successfully used to extend derived relations to pairs of novel stimuli; in Experiment 3 the procedure used in Experiment 1 was extended to nonsymmetrical comparative relations; in Experiment 4 the procedure used in Experiment 2 was extended to nonsymmetrical comparative relations. Although not every participant showed the effects predicted, overall the procedures occasioned relational responses consistent with an RFT account that have not yet been demonstrated in a behavior-analytic laboratory setting, including productive responding on the basis of analogies.     

The role of emotion in bridging the intention–behaviour gap: The case of sports participation

ProblemPsychological models of sports participation frequently draw on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) in order to predict health-behaviour-related intentions. While these models commonly show high predictive power with respect to intention, they often fall short in the prediction of behaviour (the ‘intention–behaviour gap’). The present study contends that integrating emotional processes into TPB can substantially improve the model's predictive power over and above traditional cognitive predictors.MethodIn a longitudinal study structural equation modelling was employed to test a traditional model (based on TPB) and an extended model including emotion associated with the intention to exercise as a mediator variable. A community sample (N = 237) completed a questionnaire measuring the components of a traditional TPB model. Prior to each of 16 expected exercise sessions (over 8 weeks) intention to exercise and emotion associated with the intention were measured.ResultsResults confirmed a substantial increase of 17% in explained variance of exercise frequency and 20% in exercise duration for the extended model. Emotional appraisal of the intention to exercise thus appears to mediate the traditional intention–behaviour relationship, suggesting that emotionally based interventions aimed at increasing sports participation may be helpful.ConclusionIt is concluded that emotion variables should be added to traditional TPB models in order to predict health behaviour more fully.     

Surfing for sex: Studying involuntary celibacy using the internet

The Internet offers possibilities for sexuality research that could not have been imagined even a decade ago. Although Internet users are not representative of the general population, they are easily accessible, and the openness with which they discuss sensitive topics has created a tremendous and largely untapped pool of respondents for sex research. Moreover, the web provides access to populations that are largely hidden and difficult to reach using traditional methods. In this article, we explore such issues as sampling, research design, data collection and management, and the ethics of web-based research. In doing so, we review past research, investigate the advantages and disadvantages of using the Internet in sexuality studies, draw examples from our web-based study of involuntary celibacy, and recommend guidelines for future web based inquiries.     

Characteristics of a French African Caribbean Epidemiological Psychiatric Sample with a History of Suicide Attempt

Research on vulnerability factors among ethnic groups, independent of primary psychiatric diagnosis, may help to identify groups at risk of suicidal behavior. French African Caribbean general psychiatric patients (N = 362) were recruited consecutively and independently of the primary psychiatric diagnosis. Demographic and clinical characteristics and lifetime history of suicide attempts were recorded. Sixty‐five patients (18%) had a history of at least one suicide attempt. Presence of professional qualifications, children, poor social contacts, treatment with benzodiazepine at inclusion, and poor treatment compliance were all associated with a lifetime history of suicide attempts.     

Do Geographic Regions with Higher Suicide Rates also have Higher Rates of Nonfatal Intentional Self‐Harm?

Fatal and nonfatal intentional self‐harm events in eight U.S. states were compared using emergency department, hospital, and vital statistics data. Nonfatal event rates increased by an estimated 24.20% over 6 years. Case fatality ratios varied widely, but two northeastern states' total event rates (fatal plus nonfatal) were very high (New Hampshire 206.5/100,000 person years; Massachusetts 166.7/100,000). Geographic context did not uniformly impact the likelihood of self‐harm across event types. The state‐level public health burden posed by such acts cannot, therefore, be accurately estimated from either mortality or morbidity data alone.