The training of psychoanalysts in Latin American countries without IPA institutions: antecedents, experiences and problems encountered

ILAP (The Latin American Institute of Psychoanalysis) is a relatively recent project of the IPA and FEPAL (The Latin American Psychoanalytical Federation). Its formal origin, marked by the signature of a memorandum recording an agreement between the presidents of both institutions, Claudio Eizirik and Alvaro Rey de Castro respectively, dates from January 2006, but the governing body of ILAP was formed in December of the same year. Given this, we might say that as of December 2008 ILAP had effectively existed for two years. This is a short and very intense period and for that reason the time for general assessment, conclusions, and suggestions for change has not yet come. We shall simply give a critical history of the project, its antecedents, what it has realized, and the difficulties and limitations encountered hitherto, as well as sketch future perspectives.     

Implicit and explicit self-esteem discrepancies in paranoia and depression

The main purpose of the present study was to examine implicit and explicit self-esteem (SE) in patients with persecutory delusions. In samples of paranoid patients, depressed patients, and healthy controls, implicit SE was assessed using the experimental go/no-go association task, whereas explicit SE was measured using 2 self-reporting questionnaires: the self-worth subscale of the World Assumption Scale (Janoff-Bulman, 1989) and the self-acceptance subscale of the Scales of Psychological Well-Being (Ryff & Keyes, 1995). Our analysis revealed that depressed patients showed lower explicit SE than did paranoid and healthy control participants. However, participants with persecutory delusions had significantly lower implicit SE scores than did healthy controls. We interpret the discrepancies observed between overt and covert measures in the paranoid group as psychological defense mechanisms. The present study stresses the clinical and theoretical importance of the use of implicit measures in psychopathology.     

Reliability and validity of the Spanish version of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A)

The aim of this study was to determine the test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the scales of the Spanish version of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A; Butcher et al., 1992). Two samples of 939 and 109 Spanish adolescents ages 14 to 18 years were assessed with the MMPI-A in their school environment. The first sample responded to the inventory once, whereas the second sample responded to it on 2 occasions with a 2-week interval between sessions. Results showed no significant differences in means or variances between the first and the second test administration for most MMPI-A scales. Test-retest reliability ranged between .62 (Amorality, Ma(1)) and .92 (Immaturity, IMM); most correlations exceeded .70. Internal consistency values for the MMPI-A scales in the pretest and posttest were very similar overall. External validity of the MMPI-A was demonstrated through several significant correlations between its scales and YSR/11-18 syndromes and social interaction measures. The highest correlations were established between the Anxious/Depressed YSR/11-18 scale and other MMPI-A scales such as Schizophrenia (Sc), Welsh's Anxiety (A), Adolescent-Anxiety (A-anx) and Adolescent-Alienation (A-aln), and between the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale and the MMPI-A Adolescent-Social Discomfort (A-sod) scale.     

Eating-related Intrusive Thoughts Inventory: exploring the dimensionality of eating disorder symptoms

The aims of this study were, first, to examine the structure and validity of the Eating-related Intrusive Thoughts Inventory (INPIAS), a self-report questionnaire designed to assess eating disorders related to intrusive thoughts (EDITs), and second, to explore the existence of a continuum ranging from normal to abnormal thought intrusions related to eating, weight, and shape. Participants were 574 (408 women) nonclinical community individuals. Analyses revealed that EDITs can be clustered into three sets: appearance-dieting, need to exercise, and thoughts-impulses related to eating disorders. EDITs' consequences showed a two-factor structure: emotional consequences/personal meaning and thought-action fusion responsibility; and four factors of strategies: "anxiety," suppression, obsessive-compulsive rituals, and distraction. The sample was then divided according to reported restrained eating. The High dietary restraint group reported a higher frequency of EDITs, whereas differences in the other factors were mediated by depression, anxiety, and obsessionality. The results suggest that eating disorder-related cognitions are experienced by nonclinical individuals, and distributed on a continuum.     

Quality of maternal thinking and mother-child interaction in at-risk contexts

This study investigates how the maternal level of perspectivistic reasoning and the level of socialization goals in the representation of their actions are related to the quality of mother-child behaviors as well as to the expert ratings on maternal practices in at-risk contexts. It also investigated whether there is any direct link between mother and child behaviors and expert ratings. A sample of 75 mothers of children between 8 and 12 years old reported on their level of perspectivistic reasoning and were characterized by the social workers of municipal services as being coercive, neglectful or meeting their child's needs. Interactions during a collaborative task were observed to obtain information on level of socialization goals and mother-child behaviors. Structural equation models showed that mothers' higher levels of perspectivism and higher levels of socialization goals positively predicted the mother's and child's sensitivity and active involvement in the task and negatively predicted avoidance and passivity. Higher levels of perspectivism consistently predicted experts' views on maternal practices. However, only mother's avoidance predicted negatively expert ratings on coercion practice, indicating that expert views were mostly derived from the mothers' perspective on their child. The implications of these results for parental assessment and intervention programs are discussed.     

Changing Meanings Through Art: A Systematization of a Psychosocial Intervention with Chilean Women in Urban Poverty Situation

This study explores the experiences that women in urban poverty situation have about their participation in a psychosocial group intervention mediated by artistic techniques. An investigation was done using a qualitative methodology. Participants were ten women older than 21 years old who live in Santiago de Chile in poverty situation. Two group evaluations were performed during the intervention process and once it was completed, ten individual semi-structure interviews. The information was analyzed following the proposals of Grounded Theory, identifying negative experience about tiredness and sacrifice related to the circumstances they live in. It was possible, at the same time, to describe the benefits of an artistic activity including a psychosocial work over the individual well-being. The artistic creation was revealed as a way of expression, of re-viewing oneself and the environment, and relaxation. Transformation is discussed concerning self-affirmation, reparation and transference of this experience in their lives, as a preventive and protective resource to overcome their problems.     

Therapist Use-of-Self Orientations Questionnaire: A Reliability and Validity Study

This article describes the development of the Therapist Use-of-Self Orientation Questionnaire (TUSO-Q), an instrument designed to measure therapists’ use-of-self orientations while working with clients. A total of 373 therapists participated in this study. Exploratory factor analysis in the structural equation modeling context revealed three different therapist use-of-self orientations: Transpersonal, Contextual, and Instrumental. The final model provided an excellent fit to the data. TUSO-Q scores exhibited satisfactory evidence of internal consistency reliability and construct validity. Implications for the scale’s use in clinical research and training are discussed.     

Parenting practices and internalizing and externalizing problems in Spanish adolescents

The goal of this study was to analyze the relationship between parenting practices and internalizing and externalizing problems presented by a group of adolescents according to their gender. Four hundred and sixty-nine secondary school students (aged between 12 and 18) participated in this study. The adolescents presented differences in perception of the educational practices of both parents as a function of their gender. Negative parenting practices were positively related to adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems, whereas positive practices were negatively related to externalizing problems. Moreover, differences between boys and girls were found in predictor variables of problems, and the predictive power of the variables was higher for externalizing problems.     

General cognitive functioning and psycholinguistic abilities in children with Smith-Magenis Syndrome

This study is a neuropsycholinguistic research of a rare genetic syndrome with microdeletion that co-occurs with intellectual disabilities and relatively good language abilities, the Smith-Magenis Syndrome (SMS). Nevertheless, there are no cognitive and psycholinguistic profile analyses performed with Spanish population. In this sense, we characterized the cognitive and psycholinguistic profile of a sample with 9 participants with SMS (7 to 11 years of age). The cognitive and psychological profile was assessed with diverse standardized tests: Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - IV version, Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities and Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. Results suggest a specific cognitive and psychological profile characterized by a low IQ and relative good abilities in integrating information, whereas attention problems and hyperactive behaviors were displayed when interacting with the child during the assessment. This work is the first evidence of the cognitive and psycholinguistic profile characterization in patients with SMS in Spain, and will help to guide a more accurate diagnosis and differential intervention in rare genetic diseases with similar cognitive and psycholinguistic profiles.     

Do adolescents who use stimulants have a different personality?

Stimulant consumption is especially important in our context because its use has greatly increased in recent years. The aim of the present study is to analyze the differences between stimulant users and nonusers (under 18 years old) in personality characteristics assessed with the MACI. The sample comprises 398 youths between 14 and 17 years old who were selected through random sampling in their homes or in recreational night spots. Results show important differences in personality features between stimulant users and nonusers. Stimulant users are characterized by having unruly, forceful, oppositional and borderline-tendency personality prototypes.