Promiscuity in the practice of family therapy

Family therapy has continually confronted choices between polarized positions, each one taken up with zeal because it solved an old dilemma but eventually encountering its own limitations. In this article I suggest that we have evolved to a point where, instead of deciding which is better, we can focus on how to use theories, models and techniques as fluid and flexible resources for action in the therapeutic conversation. Doing so focuses our attention on how we can move in and out of various positions, including those that simplify issues and those that embrace complexity. In addition, our attention is drawn to the ways in which we can make choices between following a model as opposed to engaging in spontaneous dialogue. This promiscuous stance can help trainers and therapists answer questions concerning how we make decisions in therapy. Such promiscuity also positions us to confront our images and expectations of what it means to be a professional.     

THE QUALITY OF FATHER–CHILD ROUGH‐AND‐TUMBLE PLAY AND TODDLERS’ AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR IN CHINA

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of the quality of early father–child rough‐and‐tumble play (RTP) on toddler aggressive behaviors and more fully understand how child, mother, and father characteristics were associated with higher quality father–child RTP among contemporary urban Chinese families. Participants included 42 families in Changsha, China. Play observations of fathers and their children were coded for RTP quality. The specific RTP quality of father–child reciprocity of dominance was associated with fewer toddler aggressive behaviors, as rated by both fathers and mothers. Mothers’ democratic parenting attitudes were associated with higher quality father–child RTP. These findings suggest that higher quality father–child RTP may be one way in which some fathers influence children's expression of aggressive behaviors, and the quality of father–child RTP may be influenced by the broader family, social, and cultural contexts.     

Decision-making quality of younger and older adults in familiar and unfamiliar domains

Age-related differences in purchasing decisions were examined as a function of age and familiarity. On each trial, participants received purchasing options which varied in quality but ultimately cost the same amount of money. On half the trials, participants made decisions about items familiar to younger adults and on the other half of the trials, participants made decisions about products familiar to older adults. The participants’ task was to choose the option that provided the best value for the money. We were particularly interested in participants’ performance when inferencing was required to select the optimal option from the two choices. Younger adults outperformed older adults in unfamiliar but not familiar domains. It appeared that both younger and older adults used inferencing and elaborative processing to make the best decision in familiar domains but that only younger adults used inferencing and elaborative processing in unfamiliar domains.     

Parenting young children with challenging behaviour

Previous research has established the link between harsh parenting and poor outcomes in children, although little attention has been paid to the concurrent protective factors which may exist. The relationship between parenting behaviours and childhood externalizing behaviours was investigated in a sample of 60 parents of young children (ages 2–5 years). Thirty families were selected for participation based on teacher‐reported externalizing behaviour in their young child which exceeded normal limits and matched with a sample of 30 parents of children without externalizing behaviour problems. Results found that parents of young children with externalizing behaviours tended to use more frequent verbal and corporal punishment with their young children, and reported more behaviour problems with their young children when compared with a control group. However, no significant differences were found between groups with respect to positive, nurturing behaviours, or utilizing appropriate developmental expectations. Implications for prevention are discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Semantic priming is affected by real-time phonological competition: Evidence for continuous cascading systems

Lexical-semantic access is affected by the phonological structure of the lexicon. What is less clear is whether such effects are the result of continuous activation between lexical form and semantic processing or whether they arise from a more modular system in which the timing of accessing lexical form determines the timing of semantic activation. This study examined this issue using the visual world paradigm by investigating the time course of semantic priming as a function of the number of phonological competitors. Critical trials consisted of high or low density auditory targets (e.g., horse) and a visual display containing a target, a semantically related object (e.g., saddle), and two phonologically and semantically unrelated objects (e.g., chimney, bikini). Results showed greater magnitude of priming for semantically related objects of low than of high density words, and no differences for high and low density word targets in the time course of looks to the word semantically related to the target. This pattern of results is consistent with models of cascading activation, which predict that lexical activation has continuous effects on the level of semantic activation, with no delays in the onset of semantic activation for phonologically competing words.     

A free and simple computerized screening test for visual field defects

About 30–40% of stroke patients suffer from visual field defects following injury. These can interfere with the standard neuropsychological assessment and complicate the interpretation of tests that use visual materials. However, information about the integrity of a patient's central visual field is often unavailable. We, therefore, designed a screening tool, the computerized visual field test (c‐VFT), specifically targeted at providing easily available, but rough, information about patients' central visual field. c‐VFT was tested in two samples of stroke patients. Eleven patients were tested on c‐VFT and on the Esterman test. Five patients were tested on c‐VFT and the Humphrey Visual Field Analyzer (HFA), central 10‐2. Criterion validity of the c‐VFT was investigated by calculating quadrantwise intraclass correlation for both comparisons. For the HFA comparison, we also calculated point‐to‐point intraclass correlation, sensitivity, and specificity. Analyses revealed moderately good correspondence between c‐VFT and the Esterman test, and between c‐VFT and HFA 10‐2, respectively. When looking specifically at test points within one degree of visual angle apart in the two tests, intraclass correlation increased. For these points, the sensitivity of c‐VFT was 0.89 and specificity was 0.97. While the c‐VFT is not designed to be diagnostic nor to replace the detailed visual field analysis, this study shows that it provides a reasonable screening of the central visual field. The test can easily be used and will be made freely available to neuropsychological clinicians and researchers.     

Exposure to War Trauma, War-Related PTSD, and Psychological Impact of Subsequent Hurricane

This study explored the impact of psychological outcomes to war on response to subsequent natural disaster. Participants were 312 military personnel, 66% of whom saw Gulf War duty. All were exposed to the 1992 Hurricane Andrew. Troops were compared on reported traumatic events, hurricane impact responses, and psychological symptoms in subgroups defined by war or no war exposure prior to hurricane and by presence or absence of war-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Data were gathered in face-to-face clinical assessments. War trauma prior to hurricane was associated with more reported traumatic events, greater fears for safety during the hurricane, and heightened psychological symptoms. Troops with preexisting war-related PTSD showed more adverse psychological hurricane sequelae and reported more traumatic events, higher depression, anxiety, anger, PTSD symptoms, and physical symptoms, and lower self-esteem than those free of diagnoses. Results point to the negative influence of exposure to one traumatic event on the experience of and response to a subsequent stressor.     

Psychometric properties of the Sutter-Eyberg Student Behavior Inventory with rural middle school and high school children

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Sutter-Eyberg Student Behavior Inventory (SESBI) in a rural sample of children and adolescents. Thirty-eight 5th- through 12th-grade teachers completed the SESBI on 726 children in their classrooms. High Cronbach's alphas supported the reliability of the SESBI scales in this population. Higher SESBI scores were obtained by boys than girls and by African American students than Caucasian students, more so at lower grades. Teacher's race did not affect SESBI scores. In contrast to children with developmental delay, children with learning disabilities obtained higher scores than others on the SESBI Intensity scale but not on the Problem scale. This suggests that teachers of children with learning disabilities recognize the higher frequency of problem behaviors in their students but do not consider these behaviors to be problems for themselves. On both SESBI scales, children with developmental delay were not distinguishable from peers without developmental delays.