When Love Hurts: Treating Abusive Relationships

This paper describes an integrative approach for treating couples in abusive relationships. Because of the power inequities that often obtain in such cases, the therapist faces special challenges. Both partners must be defined as clients, yet the two are not on equal footing. Sustaining moral clarity in a context of such psychological ambiguity is crucial, and it requires skills beyond those we typically associate with the art and craft of the interview. A mutative factor in any therapy requires bearing witness to injustices large and small—leading the author to raise questions about the place of the moral work of psychotherapy in our therapy-saturated society. She poses an urgent social question: Is it possible to intervene therapeutically in abusive relationships to make love safer for women and less threatening to men?     

Male and female internal images in a case of frigidity

Abstract

This is the case of a young woman suffering from a narcissistic personality disturbance with Oedipal aspects. The development of the analytic treatment is stressed through the analysis of her dreams. The analytic setting provided an appropriate mirroring Self-object. Thereby the patient has had the opportunity to express her own defective female grandiose Self, which was at the base of her disturbances.     

The Impact of Periventricular Brain Injury on Reading and Spelling Abilities in the Late Elementary and Adolescent Years

The present study was designed: (1) to investigate the long-term consequences of both the presence and the severity of periventricular brain injury (PVBI) on intellectual, academic, and cognitive outcome in extremely-low-birthweight (ELBW: < 1,000 grams) children at a mean age of 11 years; and (2) to determine the nature of the underlying difficulties associated with academic problems in these children. The results indicated that ELBW children without PVBI performed as well as full-term children on intelligence, academic, and cognitive ability tests. In contrast, ELBW children with mild and severe PVBI achieved significantly lower scores than either ELBW children without PVBI or children who were born at term. A second analysis indicated that, after accounting for Full Scale IQ, working memory and phonological processing were significant predictors of reading and spelling performance in ELBW children. These findings suggest that the presence and severity of PVBI, and not ELBW status alone, is associated with performance on tests of intelligence, and academic and cognitive functioning, and that some of the same factors known to be associated with learning disabilities in full-term children contribute to learning disabilities in ELBW children.     

Intrainformant agreement and family functioning in depressed and nondepressed parents and their children

Abstract

This investigation examined perceptions of family functioning, marital satisfaction, and parent-child bonding in 65 families (child, mother, father) with one or more depressed parents and 26 families with no depressed parent. Intrainformant agreement between offspring and their parents across family functioning measures was examined for the two proband groups. Results revealed more dysfunction in family adaptability, cohesiveness, and parent-child bonding and lower levels of marital satisfaction in the depressed as compared to the nondepressed proband group. Analyses of intrainformant data revealed no significant differences in levels of agreement between informants from the two proband groups for any of the raters. There was, however, significant agreement between informants in both proband groups. Thus, differential reports of family functioning are attributable to variations in perception of functioning, rather than to different levels of internal consistency in reporting across raters in depressed and nondepressed proband groups.     

Development and Validation of a Quantitative Measure of Intensive Parenting Attitudes

Intensive mothering (IM) attitudes have been considered the dominant discourse of motherhood, but have only been assessed qualitatively The goal of this study was to develop a quantitative scale to assess these ideologies, their construct validity, and their relationship to relevant constructs (i.e., work status and division of household labor). An on-line questionnaire was given to 595 mothers asking 56 questions assessing different aspects of IM attitudes as well as several validation measures. An Exploratory Factor Analysis on 315 randomly selected mothers yielded a 5 factor solution. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis on the remaining 280 mothers demonstrated good fit. The five factors expressed the ideas that (1) women are inherently better at parenting than men (Essentialism), (2) parenting should be fulfilling (Fulfillment), (3) children should be cognitively stimulated by parents (Stimulation), (4) mothering is difficult (Challenging), and (5) parents should prioritize the needs of the child (Child-Centered). Scales had adequate reliability and construct validity compared to the Parental Investment in the Child questionnaire, the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale, and Beliefs about Maternal Employment. The Essentialism, Fulfillment, and Challenging scales were positively related to having more responsibility for child care and household chores. Stay-at-home mothers had higher scores on Essentialism and lower scores on Stimulation than both part-time and full-time working mothers supporting the notion that both working and non-working mothers have intensive parenting ideologies that are manifested in different ways.     

Harsh Conditions/Loving Work: Relational Psychoanalysis Expands Its Reach: Commentary on Panel

In these three essays Lazar, Swartz, and Doñas deconstruct a clinical moment that was, in their view, braided with the sociopolitical, as well as with the relational and the intrapsychic. In these bruisingly original discussions, the authors demonstrate how they held the tension between the intimate and the global, and how relational psychoanalysis remains an arduous practice but is also a gift.     

To Cheat or Not to Cheat?: The Role of Personality in Academic and Business Ethics

Past research (Lawson, 2004 Lawson, R. A. 2004. Is classroom cheating related to business students’ propensity to cheat in the "real world"?. Journal of Business Ethics, 49: 189–199. doi:10.1023/B: BUSI.0000015784.34148.cb[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Nonis &; Swift, 2001 Nonis, S. and Swift, C. O. 2001. An examination of the relationship between academic dishonesty and workplace dishonesty: A multicampus investigation. Journal of Education for Business, 77: 69–77. doi:10.1080/08832320109599052[Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) has revealed a correlation between academic and business ethics. Using a sample survey, this study extends this inquiry by examining the role of dispositional variables (neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness) and academic honesty on business ethics perceptions. Results indicate that (1) neuroticism and conscientiousness were positively related to more ethical perceptions in a work context, and (2) academic honesty partially mediated the relationship between conscientiousness and business ethics. Implications to business practitioners and educators are discussed as well as directions for future research.     

A systematic review of studies comparing body image concerns among female college athletes and non-athletes, 1997–2012

Research prior to 2001 indicated that athletes experienced better body image than non-athletes, with no differences among sport types. Since then, female athletes have become increasingly sexually objectified in the media, and the sociocultural beauty ideal has shifted to emphasize appearing both athletic and thin. Part I of this paper explores the literature describing these changes. Part II presents a systematic and comprehensive literature review of 10 recent studies comparing body image concerns (BIC) among collegiate female athletes and non-athletes to identify the current status of BIC in female athletes. Findings indicate that involvement in collegiate athletics provides some protection from BIC; however, this protection appears attenuated for athletes in more feminine sports (e.g., gymnastics), and higher level athletes (Division I). Researchers should examine how sociocultural pressures unrelated to competition predict female athletes’ BIC using measures that focus on objectification, positive body image, body functionality, and thin- and athletic-ideal internalization.