Qualitatively driven mixed‐methods approaches to counselling and psychotherapy research

Many researchers and clinicians take an ‘either, or’ position regarding factors responsible for change when conducting research. Qualitatively driven mixed methods privilege the qualitative approach and offer the opportunity to generate multi‐dimensional material, permitting a more holistic insight into experiences that can be understood from a combination of epistemological and ontological stances. A qualitatively driven mixed‐methods approach apply a ‘both, and’ position when exploring the elements that produce change or that are under investigation, which can be of particular value to counselling and psychotherapy research. There are various ways of engaging with qualitatively driven mixed methods. Some designs include both qualitative and quantitative components, where the former is the core element. The secondary component may also be qualitative, known as a multimethod design. Yet, other designs mix different qualitative approaches, through the application of different qualitative analyses to the same data (pluralistic qualitative research). This paper discusses the application and value of qualitatively driven mixed methods in counselling and psychotherapy research through the presentation of two research case studies; one which mixes both qualitative and quantitative components to investigate the experiences of pain alleviation following a CBT pain management programme; and one which applies a pluralistic approach to a counselling psychology doctorate exploring the experiences and meanings attached to self‐harming. Through illustration and discussion of the case studies’ mixed‐methods approaches, this paper demonstrates that qualitatively driven mixed methods produce a more enhanced and holistic understanding into phenomena, and therefore a more balanced perspective to counselling and psychotherapy research.     

Honor and harmed social-image. Muslims’ anger and shame about the cartoon controversy

Two studies examined anger and shame, and their associated appraisals and behavioral intentions, in response to harm to an in-group's social-image. In Study 1, 37 British Muslims (18 men, 19 women) reported incidents in which they were devalued as Muslims. In Study 2, 108 British Muslims (57 females, 50 males, 1 undisclosed) were presented with objective evidence of their in-group's devaluation: the controversial cartoons about Prophet Muhammad The appraisal of harm to social-image predicted anger and shame (Studies 1 and 2), whereas the appraisal of offense only predicted anger (Study 2). Anger was a more empowering response than shame, as anger predicted willingness for public confrontation (Studies 1 & 2), institutional punishment (Study 2), and written disapproval (Study 2). In contrast, shame only predicted written disapproval (Study 2). Furthermore, independent of individual differences in identification as Muslim, a mediation model showed that individual differences in honor orientation predicted anger and shame via the appraisals (Study 2). Implications for theory and research are discussed.     

Communication Media Preferences in Business-To-Business Transactions: An Examination of the Purchase Process

Although communication in marketing has been researched extensively, communication in buyer–seller exchanges during the sales process has received limited attention. This study examines the complexity of information interchange and buyers’ and sellers’ communication preferences for various media types during each stage of the purchase process. Findings reveal that, overall, buyers and sellers prefer face-to-face and telephone communications over other media types. For certain aspects of the sales process, computer-mediated communications, such as e-mail, serve an important role as a lowcost medium, whereas in other phases of the sales process, richer communication media are preferred by both buyers and sellers.     

The Structure of Cultural Identity in an Ethnically Diverse Sample of Emerging Adults

The present study was designed to examine the structure of cultural identity in the United States, both across variables and across persons. An ethnically diverse sample of 349 emerging-adult university students completed measures of orientation toward American and heritage cultural practices, acculturation strategies, individualism-collectivism, independence-interdependence, ethnic identity, and familism. Across variables, results of factor-analytic procedures yielded three dimensions of cultural identity: American-culture identity, heritage-culture identity, and biculturalism. This factor structure was consistent across the three largest ethnic groups in the sample (Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics). Ethnic differences emerged in the associations of these cultural identity factors to familial ethnic socialization, acculturative stress, and perceived ethnic discrimination. Across persons, cluster-analytic procedures revealed two groups of participants–those who endorsed American-culture identity highly and those who endorsed both American and heritage cultures highly. Implications for theory and for further research are discussed.     

Perceived social image and life satisfaction across cultures

We studied the relationship between perceived social image and life satisfaction in four different cultural groups. One-hundred nine Indian (63 females, 46 males), 67 Pakistani/Bangladeshi (36 females, 31 males), 76 White British (43 females, 33 males), and 94 European Americans (43 females, 48 males) completed measures on the cultural importance of social image, positive and negative emotions, academic achievement, and perceived social image. Indian and Pakistani/Bangladeshi participants valued social image more than White British and European-American participants. Consistent with this value difference, a positive perceived social image predicted life satisfaction among Indian and Pakistani/Bangladeshi participants only. For these participants, perceived social image predicted life satisfaction above and beyond the effects of emotions and academic achievement. Academic achievement only predicted life satisfaction among White British and European Americans. Emotions were significant predictors of life satisfaction for all participants.     

Event Centrality,Posttraumatic Cognitions,and the Experience of Posttraumatic Growth

This study tested the extent to which negative appraisals following traumatic events and the centrality of traumatic events predicted posttraumatic growth (PTG; Tedeschi &; Calhoun, 1996 Tedeschi, R. G. and Calhoun, L. G. 1996. The posttraumatic growth inventory: Measuring the positive legacy of trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 9: 76–80. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). Participants were 405 undergraduates at a Midwestern university who reported experiencing at least one traumatic event. Regression analyses indicated that the centrality of the event was a significant predictor for all five domains of PTG. Negative appraisals of the world were related to some domains of growth, but neither negative cognitions about the self nor self-blame was a significant predictor of any of the growth domains. Interpretation of these results is considered in light of the consistencies with Janoff-Bulman's (2004) Janoff-Bulman, R. 2004. Posttraumatic growth: Three explanatory models. Psychological Inquiry, 15: 30–34. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] explanatory models of development of PTG.     

Professional Ethical Issues and the Development of Professional Ethical Standards in Counseling and Clinical Psychology in China

This article aims to summarize the current ethical issues in the field of clinical and counseling psychology and the process of developing professional ethical standards in China. First, through a review of the history of counseling and psychotherapy in China, general background information is provided. Important ethical issues are then discussed based on the results from several empirical studies. Finally, the process of developing the new edition of the Chinese Psychological Society Code of Ethics for Clinical and Counseling Psychology, the main contents as well as the considerations taken into account in the development of this code are presented.     

Wives' and Husbands' Cortisol Reactivity to Proximal and Distal Dimensions of Couple Conflict

Poor marital quality has been linked repeatedly to spouses' health problems, with alterations to physiological stress response systems, such as the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenocortical (HPA) axis, as one putative mechanism. This study assessed wives' and husbands' HPA axis (i.e., cortisol) reactivity to marital criticism during laboratory‐based conflict discussions, in the context of marital aggression experienced during the previous year. Ninety‐five couples provided one saliva sample prior to—and three samples following—a triadic family conflict discussion involving their teenage child. Marital criticism during the conflict discussion was related to heightened HPA reactivity for husbands only. For wives, an interaction emerged between criticism during the conflict and previous‐year marital aggression: only those wives who had experienced high levels of marital aggression demonstrated a positive association between criticism and cortisol output. Husbands thus appeared to be more physiologically reactive to the in‐the‐moment critical behaviors, whereas wives' responses to proximal conflict were related to previous and perhaps more chronic experiences of marital aggression. These findings shed light on ways in which within‐couple processes during family conflicts involving children contribute to individual physiological functioning, enhancing our understanding of the role of family relationships in physical health outcomes.     

Restricted interests and teacher presentation of items

Restricted and repetitive behavior (RRB) is more pervasive, prevalent, frequent, and severe in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) than in their typical peers. One subtype of RRB is restricted interests in items or activities, which is evident in the manner in which individuals engage with items (e.g., repetitious wheel spinning), the types of items or activities they select (e.g., preoccupation with a phone book), or the range of items or activities they select (i.e., narrow range of items). We sought to describe the relation between restricted interests and teacher presentation of items. Overall, we observed 5 teachers interacting with 2 pairs of students diagnosed with an ASD. Each pair included 1 student with restricted interests. During these observations, teachers were free to present any items from an array of 4 stimuli selected by experimenters. We recorded student responses to teacher presentation of items and analyzed the data to determine the relation between teacher presentation of items and the consequences for presentation provided by the students. Teacher presentation of items corresponded with differential responses provided by students with ASD, and those with restricted preferences experienced a narrower array of items.