Structural family therapy with Mexican-American family systems

Characteristics of traditional Mexican-American families with consequent family rules that affect these family systems are discussed along with selected clinical cases. The specific cases discussed involve: (1) interactions with family of origin in intercultural marriages, (2) intracultural differences in levels of acculturation and traditional family rules, and (3) extended family impact in response to severe life crisis. The development of therapeutic processes from structural and strategic family therapy approaches, which reflect appreciation for cultural differences and strengths, is suggested.This material was presented at the annual meeting of the Texas Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, January, 1994, San Antonio, TX.     

Relation of the Big Five and Factor V subcomponents to social intelligence

Factor analysis of trait terms defining Factor V yielded five oblique subcomponents (Creativity, Intellect, Reflectiveness, Conservatism, and Closed Minded), the last of which seems to be an artifact due to social desirability. Factor analysis of Sternberg's laymen's and experts' implicit conceptions of intelligence yielded seven oblique factors. These seven factors (Social Competence, Reading, Planning, Objectivity, Inquiring Intellect, Nonjudgmental, and Problem Solving) describe dimensions of what could be termed Social Intelligence. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that the Social Intelligence factors were quite predictable from Factor V subcomponents and other Big Five traits. Several Social Intelligence factors were predicted in a large part primarily by other Big Five Traits. Higher order factor analysis followed by regression revealed that a general Social Intelligence factor was predicted primarily by a higher order Factor V. Addition of the other Big Five traits to prediction increased Rmodestly but did not diminish the influence of Factor V. These results suggest that at a low level of the factor hierarchy specific aspects of Social Intelligence are broader than the subcomponents of Factor V and involve other personality traits. However, at the highest level of the factor hierarchy Factor V is the primary predictor of Social Intelligence; while other traits aid in prediction, they do not diminish the relation between the two. The results provide some support for the lexical hypothesis prediction that Factor V trait terms summarize behaviors that shape implicit conceptions of intelligence, which is more social and practical than IQ assessed as g Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Momentary mood and coping processes in TMD pain.

Temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD) pain, like many chronic pain problems, appears to be multiply determined. Patients with TMD pain of at least 6 months duration (N = 30) were administered questionnaires measuring dispositional coping styles and appraisals to explore the dynamic interactions of the pain and coping process. Patients were then issued handheld computers that prompted them to record their momentary pain and coping processes 4 times per day for 7 days. Hierarchical linear regression models using both the dispositional and momentary predictors indicated that momentary pain was a function both of dispositional tendency to catastrophize and of momentary measures of catastrophization, self-efficacy, and mood states. Results were seen as supporting a situational model of intervention for chronic TMD pain.     

Relationship Self-Regulation and Relationship Quality: The Moderating Influence of Gender

Relationship quality, as measured by relationship satisfaction and stability, is important to understanding how happy a couple is and the chances their relationship will end. Prior research has linked two aspects of relationship self-regulation (RSR), effort and strategies to improve a relationship, to increased levels of satisfaction and stability, but has not yet examined if gender moderates this association. Our paper addresses how both aspects of RSR are associated with increases in satisfaction and stability for male and female partners using data from the RELATionship Evaluation Survey. In the sample of 8006 men and women in a variety of romantic unions, we find that both aspects of RSR are positively associated with both aspects of relationship quality, but that this association is stronger for women’s reports of satisfaction than men’s. Additionally, relationship effort has a slightly stronger association with stability for women than men. Both clinical and research applications of these findings are discussed.     

The phonotactic influence on the perception of a consonant cluster /pt/ by native English and native Polish listeners: A behavioral and event related potential (ERP) study

The effect of exposure to the contextual features of the /pt/ cluster was investigated in native-English and native-Polish listeners using behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) methodology. Both groups experience the /pt/ cluster in their languages, but only the Polish group experiences the cluster in the context of word onset examined in the current experiment. The /st/ cluster was used as an experimental control. ERPs were recorded while participants identified the number of syllables in the second word of nonsense word pairs. The results found that only Polish listeners accurately perceived the /pt/ cluster and perception was reflected within a late positive component of the ERP waveform. Furthermore, evidence of discrimination of /pt/ and /p?t/ onsets in the neural signal was found even for non-native listeners who could not perceive the difference. These findings suggest that exposure to phoneme sequences in highly specific contexts may be necessary for accurate perception.     

THE FAUST CHALLENGE: SCIENCE AS DIABOLIC OR DIVINE

Abstract. The Faust motif provides an opportunity to explore the spectrum of attitudes among Christians toward science and technology by placing them into a historic context. Depending on one's understanding of the relationship of God and the world, the accomplishments of a Leonardo, a Paracelsus, a Faust, an Oppenheimer, or some future scientist credited with the “production” of the first successfully cloned human being can be interpreted as divine or diabolic in origin. I use the example of Faust to demonstrate that the Christian assessment of the scientific enterprise is closely correlated to the level of doctrinaire dualism informing the particular version of Christianity that inspires the assessment. I show that, contrary to what seems obvious, Faust's damnation originated not in medieval times but in early modern northern Europe, reflecting a dualistic obsession with human sinfulness more characteristic of Reformation Germany than of Renaissance Italy. Encouraged by hellfire‐and‐brimstone preachers, the common folk saw demons, devils, and witches in every dark corner, while humanist scholars sought to recapture the brilliant past of the Greeks and the Romans. Goethe's interpretation represents a return to earlier versions of the story, while some continue to accuse contemporary Faustians of Satanic connections for seeking forbidden knowledge and daring to play God by manipulating the stuff of life.     

What Does It Mean to Be Human? A Personal and Catholic Perspective

A philosopher-poet-theologian ponders the implications of the multimillion-year biogenetic process that produced Homo sapiens and is beginning to reveal itself ever more clearly as evolution of the mind and consciousness. As meaning trappers and makers, called to actualize the divine image imprinted upon us, we are now facing biological and cultural evolution with deliberate human input as well as the evolution of evolution. As communicating animals that are becoming ever more aware of our adaptive behavior, we have the potential of affecting our own destiny by listening to the spirit within and nurturing the genes and memes that give rise to physical, intellectual, creative, and moral excellence. In the matrix of cyberspace we have the opportunity to heal the two-culture split, to reinvent ourselves, to incubate/weave the emergent religions of the future, and to create our multiple "Ways" appropriate to the dawning Age of Global Dialogue.