Gender Differences in Problem Drinking and Depression: Different “Vulnerabilities?”

This study examines the relationship between stressors and resources and the functioning of a sample of 515 men and women who had a drinking problem. At a one-year follow-up, both women and men had improved on three functioning measures: alcohol consumption, days intoxicated, and depression. There were no gender differences at Time 2 on alcohol consumption, but men had more days intoxicated and women had more symptoms of depression. The impact of stressors and resources varied by life domain, functioning criterion, and gender. Although the predictors varied, the amount of variance in depression accounted for was the same for women and men. The most striking gender difference was the stronger impact of friendships for women on all aspects of functioning. This study provides support for reconsideration of the stress vulnerability of women and men.     

Life Circumstances and Personal Resources as Predictors of the Ten-Year Course of Depression

A 10-year naturalistic study of 313 patients who entered treatment for unipolar depression and a community comparison group of 284 nondepressed adults was conducted. We compared life stressors, social resources, personal resources, and coping among patients who were remitted (N = 76), partially remitted (N = 146), or nonremitted (N = 91). Compared with the controls and the remitted patients, the partially remitted and nonremitted patients consistently experienced more life stressors and fewer social resources, were less easygoing, and relied more on avoidance coping. A less easygoing disposition, fewer close relationships, and more reliance on avoidance coping were associated with higher odds of experiencing a course of partial remission or nonremission. In addition, more depressive symptoms and medical conditions predicted nonremission.     

Book notes

Ruchy Pogranicza Religii i Nauki. Jako Zjawisko Socjopsychologiczne [Movements on the Border of Science and Religion as Socio‐Psychological Phenomenon]

Tadeusz Doktor, ed, 1996 Warsav: Wydawnictwa University Warsav 274 pp. ISBN 83–230–9829–8

Religion: North American Style, 3rd edn. Thomas E. Dowdy & Patrick H. McNamara, eds, 1996 New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press 221 pp., US$48.00 (hb), US$16.95 (pb) ISBN 0–8135–2343–5 (hb), ISBN 0–8135–2344–3 (pb)

Islam in a World of Diverse Faiths. Dan Cohn‐Sherbok, ed, 1997 Houndsmill, Basingstoke: Macmillan Press 218 pp., £45.00 (hb), £15.99 (pb) ISBN 0–333–52612–0 (hb), ISBN 0–333–69067–2 (pb)

Spirituality and Culture: The Case of Celtic Christianity. Oliver Davies, 1996 Oxford: Religious Experience Research Centre, Westminster College 10 pp., £2.00 ISBN 0–906165–13‐X

Christianity and New Age Thought. Frank Whaling, 1996 Oxford: Religious Experience Research Centre, Westminster College 11 pp., £2.00 ISBN 0–906165–08–3

Religious Experience: A Sociological Perspective. Bryan Wilson Oxford: Religious Experience Research Centre, Westminster College 15 pp., £2.00 ISBN 0–906165–09–1

Searching for the Truth around the Next Twist: Why Do We Like The X‐Files Mark Fox. Oxford: Religious Experience Research Centre, Westminster College 9 pp., £2.00 ISBN 0–906165–11–3

Sexual Morality in the World's Religions. Geoffrey Parrinder, 1996 Oxford: Oneworld Publications 276 pp., £8.95 (pb) ISBN 1–85168–108–6

The Sacred Thread: Hinduism in its Continuity and Diversity, 2nd edn John I. Brockington, 1996 Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press 222 pp., £10.95 (pb) ISBN 0–7486–0830–3

Behind the Crystal Ball: Magic and Science from Antiquity to the New Age. Anthony Aveni, 1996 London: Newleaf 406 pp., £20.00 ISBN 0–7522–0549–8

Historical Dictionary of Methodism. Charles Yrigoyen, Jr. & Susan E. Warrick, 1996 Lanham: Scarecrow Press 299 pp., £44.65 ISBN 0–8108–3140–6

Historical Dictionary of the Orthodox Church. Michael Prokurat, Alexander Golitzin & Michael D. Peterson, 1996 Lanham, Maryland, London: Scarecrow Press 440 pp., £80.40 ISBN 0–8108–3081–7

God's Straggler: Religion in the Writings of Nikos Kazantzakis. Darren J. N. Middleton & Peter Bien, eds, 1996 Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press 236 pp., US$32.95 ISBN 0–86554–499–9

Apocalypticism in the Dead Sea Scrolls. John J. Collins, 1997 London: Routledge 187 pp., £37.50 (hb), £11.99 (pb) ISBN 0–415–14636–4 (hb), ISBN 0–415–14637–2 (pb)

The Word Made Strange: Theology, Language, Culture. John Milbank, 1996 Oxford; Cambridge, MA: Blackwell 298 pp., £45.00, US$59.95 (hb), £14.99, US$23.95 (pb) ISBN 0631–20335–4 (hb), ISBN 0631–20336–2 (pb)

The Simple Guide to the Roman Catholic Church. Edmund Hartley, 1997 Folkestone, Kent: Global Books 144 pp., £5.99 ISBN 1–86034–023–7

The Simple Guide to Judaism. David Starr‐Glass, 1997 Folkestone, Kent: Global Books 120 pp., £5.99 ISBN 1–86034–008–3

The Simple Guide to Hinduism. Venika Mehra Klngsland, 1997 Folkestone, Kent: Global Books 117 pp., £5.99 ISBN 1–86034–018–0

Mission on the Margins. Mary Beasley, 1997 Cambridge: The Lutterworth Press 110 pp., £7.99 ISBN 0–7188–2966–2     

Context and coping: Toward a unifying conceptual framework

After offering a conceptual framework to unify the domains of context and coping, some conclusions are drawn about the underlying patterns of social climate and the characteristics of growth-promoting environments. New directions of research on the dynamics of the environmental system are described. The conceptual framework is used to exemplify ways to explore the stress and coping process in regard to such issues as stress and resource predictors of adaptation, stress prevention and resistance, and cross-situational influences. The foregoing material then highlights implications of a social ecological perspective for conducting conceptually informed evaluation research and changing and improving community settings. Finally, such conceptual problems as person-environment matching and the need to formulate unified perspectives of stressors and resources are discussed to identify promising ways to spark the maturation of community psychology.     

The conceptual structure of aphasic and schizophrenic patients in a nonverbal sorting task

Hierarchical and overlapping cluster methods were applied to the sortings of aphasic, nonaphasic brain-damaged, schizophrenic, and normal subjects presented with 30 pictures of animals. The hierarchical structure solutions were most diffuse for the groups of the schizophrenics and the fluent aphasics. The structure for the nonfluent aphasics showed more clarity, but was also deviant from the structures of the normals and the brain-damaged without aphasia. Fluent aphasics but not nonfluent aphasics tended to sort pictures which they could not name into smaller groups. For the nonfluent aphasics, there was a significant correlation between the commonality of the sortings and the severity of aphasic disturbances as measured by the Token Test. The relationship between conceptual disorganization and language impairment seems to be functionally different for fluent and nonfluent aphasics.This research was supported by a research grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.     

Latinx Mental Health Scholars' Experiences with Cultural Adaptation and Implementation of Systemic Family Interventions

An increasing number of culturally adapted family-level interventions address mental health disparities with marginalized populations in the United States. However, with these developments many barriers have arisen, such as challenges with degree of cultural fit, engagement, and sustainability. We conducted 12 elite phenomenological interviews with mental health scholars involved in prevention and intervention family research with various Latinx communities within and outside of the United States. These scholars discussed their experiences of overcoming barriers in their research. We used thematic analysis to code and analyze participant responses, and our findings support the gaps in previous literature and highlight potential pathways to overcoming barriers in cultural adaptation research. Themes included the need for: (a) better understanding of the intersection between culture and context; (b) community-centered approaches to addressing implementation challenges; and (c) structural changes within institutional, governmental, and political levels. We discuss implications for researchers and practitioners working with Latinx families.     

Adolescent Gender and Age Differences in Responsiveness to Functional Family Therapy

The current study contributes to a sparse literature on moderators of Functional Family Therapy (FFT) by examining whether responsiveness to FFT, measured by a broad range of outcomes, varies by adolescent gender, age, and their interaction. This study was informed by 687 families (n, adolescents = 581; n, caregivers = 933) and utilized a pre–post comparison design. Fixed-effects regressions with gender, age, and their interaction included as explanatory variables were conducted to calculate the average change in youth mental health, callous–unemotional traits, academic outcomes, substance use, and family functioning. Moderation analyses revealed that according to parent report, girls had significantly greater improvements in peer problems and family functioning, and boys benefited more in increased liking of school. There were differential effects by age, such that older youth had less beneficial mental health outcomes and a smaller decrease in frequency of hash use. The gender by age interaction was significant for adolescents’ report of mental health and family functioning outcomes, which suggests that girls benefit from FFT less than boys during early adolescence, but benefit more than boys in late adolescence. This finding adds to literature which has evidenced that family functioning is particularly important for girls by suggesting that FFT is important for improving older girls’ mental health and family functioning in particular. The study’s results expand the examination of outcomes of FFT to include academic outcomes, and provide insight into key factors that should be considered in addressing adolescent behavioral problems and family functioning.