Adolescent alcoholism in Benin City, Nigeria

The consumption of alcohol by Nigerian adolescents is investigated. Adolescence and alcoholism as applied in this study are defined, and the financial costs and physical and mental effects of alcohol use are described. The author used unobtrusive methods to gather data, visiting three nightclubs and an amusement park where alcohol is served in order to observe and interview adolescents. The findings show that adolescents begin drinking at an early age and consume large quantities of beer. The findings are consistent with those of other epidemiological studies. Finally, recommendations for controlling adolescent alcohol use are made.     

Recognizing people seen in events via dynamic "mug shots"

This study examined effects of an event and dynamic mug shots on facial recognition. Witnesses saw either a film of a liquor store holdup staged by six perpetrators, slides of the same targets, or freeze-framed views from the filmed event. Slides of different facial views of targets among 12 foils, or dynamic 180 degrees mug shots of the same men, or multiple static views were administered 24 hr later in yes-no recognition tests. Recognition (d') was poorer for the same men seen in the event than in slides, but better for dynamic than for static mug shots. Nondynamic event characteristics were responsible for poor recognition of people seen in events, whereas dynamic aspects of facial transformations, not multiple views, seemed responsible for the superiority of dynamic mug shots. The implications of these results for issues of ecological validity of traditional face recognition methodology and for static feature models vs. dynamic transformation models of face recognition are discussed.     

The princess in the tower: Zelda Fitzgerald's creative impasse

Gifted women often find it difficult to integrate an acceptable social image with an autonomous artistic identity. This paper explores the ambitions and conflicts of Zelda Fitzgerald, who aspired to be an artist in several fields, but whose fame is largely contingent on the role she played in the life of her husband, F. Scott Fitzgerald. Zelda's flamboyant public pose, which served as a model for many of her husband's literary characters, is interpreted as an attempt to organize a consistent identity configuration by means of constant appeals for applause from an admiring audience. But although this configuration provided some stability and cohesion for her during her twenties, it was a superficial and vulnerable structure which failed to support her serious artistic aspirations. An examination of the separation conflicts and difficulties in internalization which contributed to Zelda's dilemma leads to a consideration of the role of the father in the organization of differentiated female achievements. Although Zelda Fitzgerald's pathology was extreme, her struggles suggest useful insights into the intrapsychic and social barriers commonly confronting creative women.     

Individual Marital Therapy: A Critical Reappraisal

The belief that individual marital therapy (IMT) is an ineffective form of treatment for marriage problems and markedly inferior to the conjoint approaches has become almost an article of faith in family therapy circles. This position was originally advanced in the influential reviews of the research literature conducted by Gurman and Kniskern, and their conclusions have been cited in numerous other articles. This paper re-reviews the research studies purportedly supporting this conclusion and finds almost all of them to be invalidated by gross flaws in design and implementation. It is argued that from the highly inadequate evidence available, no conclusions can be reached concerning either the absolute or relative effectiveness of IMT.     

THE MEETING OF TWO CULTURES: ETHNIC IDENTITY AND PSYCHOSOCIAL ADJUSTMENT OF ITALIAN-AUSTRALIAN ADOLESCENTS*

The present study was designed to explore both the predictors of ethnic identity and the relationship between ethnic identity and psychosocial adjustment. Perceptions of ethnicity and ethnic identity and measures of psychosocial adjustment were obtained from 82 Italian-Australian adolescents. Parents' maintenance of cultural ties was associated with a strong sense of ethnic identity, however ethnic identity was relatively unimportant in predicting psychosocial adjustment. Cultural variables such as parents' embeddedness in the Italian community, the desire to assimilate into the Australian culture, and the perception of problems arising from minority group membership were of greater significance.