The "psychosomatic family" model: an empirical and theoretical analysis

Evolution of the Family Systems Paradigm has been constrained by the dichotomy between theory building and empirical research. This article integrates these two domains by presenting a theoretical analysis of the "psychosomatic family" model as it informs and is informed by an empirical research project. Forty families of children with Crohn's disease (CD), ulcerative colitis (UC), and functional recurrent abdominal pain syndrome (RAP) were rated during standard, videotaped family interaction tasks, lunch, and interview. Laboratory scores of disease activity were associated with triangulation, marital dysfunction, and total "psychosomatic family" scores. Disease activity was not significantly correlated with enmeshment, overprotection, rigidity, conflict avoidance, or poor conflict resolution. Thus, the marital/triangulation and enmeshment/overprotection/conflict clusters may be subcomplexes of the "psychosomatic family" complex. CD, UC, and RAP groups differed in the relations among particular family patterns and disease activity. A heuristic family-psycho-somatic model is presented to facilitate future research.     

Proximity and hierarchy: orthogonal dimensions of family interconnectedness

The purpose of this research was to develop logical and empirically valid conceptual tools for investigating relationships between family patterns of interconnectedness and psychosocial functioning of children in the family. The family systems concept of boundary was analyzed into two component concepts: Proximity (interpersonal boundaries) and generational Hierarchy (subsystem boundaries). These concepts were operationalized as dimensions, and eight families were assessed by means of interaction coding, interview, and Kinetic Family Drawing to yield empirical verification of these dimensions. Findings indicated that Proximity and Hierarchy are reliable, valid, and independent dimensions of family interconnectedness. Weak generational Hierarchy was associated with increased levels of psychological dysfunction for both identified patients and their siblings. High Proximity was similarly associated with psychological dysfunction, but only for identified patients. The hypothesis that enmeshment is a composite pattern of high Proximity and weak Hierarchy was disconfirmed. Suggestions for future research include systemic analysis of deviation-counteracting and -amplifying relationships between patterns of Proximity and Hierarchy, on the one hand, and psychosocial dysfunction, on the other.     

The effect of standard, motivation, and strategy instructions on the facial processing accuracy of internal and external subjects

In the present study, it was hypothesized that poorer performance of externals in cognitive and interpersonal tasks also would be found in the processing of nonverbal information in the form of a facial affect recognition task. It was further hypothesized that the poorer nonverbal processing performance of externals was due to either their lower motivation or their use of less effective processing strategies. Subjects (N = 70) were divided into internal and external groups and then further subdivided into groups that received standard, motivational, or strategy instructions. Analysis of subjects' responses to the facial affect recognition task showed internals performed significantly better than externals under standard conditions. However, neither motivational nor strategy instructions improved the performance of externals. The implications for interpersonal functioning of the poorer nonverbal processing ability of extenrals was discussed from both theoretical and methodological perspectives.     

The Social Psychology of Caregiving: Physical and Psychological Costs of Providing Support to the Disabled1

The emphasis of much of the existing research on social support-health relationships has been on the availability and impact of support on the recipient, but social psychologists have paid little attention to the costs to the caregiver of providing that support. In an earlier study (Schulz & Decker, 1985), we found that the long-term coping of individuals experiencing chronic disability as a result of spinal-cord injury was facilitated by the availability of a primary support person, or caregiver. In this study we examined the determinants of well-being of the primary caregiver of the middle-aged and elderly spinal-cord-injured persons. Psychological well-being, life satisfaction, and depression were the dependent measures. The availability of social support, social contact, and feelings of control over one's life were important determinants of caregiver well-being, even after controlling for health and income. In addition, the amount of time spent each day assisting the disabled person was a strong independent correlate of depression, and the extent to which the caregiver felt burdened by the victim was significantly and negatively related to life satisfaction. These results are discussed in the context of a comprehensive stress-coping model. Since data were available from both disabled individuals and their primary support persons, we had the unique opportunity to compare the perspectives of both those giving and receiving daily care. We found no relationship in levels of psychological well-being and depression reported by the disabled person and caregiver; however, caregivers attributed to the victims affective levels similar to their own.     

Psychosocial characteristics of preschool siblings of handicapped and nonhandicapped children

This project examined psychosocial characteristics of 24 preschool-aged siblings of handicapped children in relation to a control group of 22 siblings of nonhandicapped children. Subjects were matched on family size and income, sibling age, birth order, sex, age spacing, and marital status of their parents. Results indicated no statistically significant differences between groups of children on measures of perceived self-competence and acceptance, understanding of developmental disabilities, empathy, and child care responsibility. Significant group differences were found where brothers of handicapped children were rated by their mothers as being more depressed and aggressive than brothers of nonhandicapped control children. Sisters of handicapped children were rated by mothers as being more aggressive than sisters of nonhandicapped children. Sisters of handicapped children and brothers of nonhandicapped children had significantly fewer privileges and more restrictions on their home activities than other groups. Results are discussed in relation to previous research on older silbings of handicapped children and the general literature on family stress and childhood disability and disease. The importance of examining sibling functioning via multiple measures of child behavior is stressed.The authors are grateful to the children and families who participated in the project. The assistance of Dr. Ricardo Barrera, Christine DiBlasio, Lisa Kaye, Paola Bellabarba, Jeanne Logozzo, Donna Motley, Jennifer Harter, and Tina Meisell is also gratefully acknowleged. This project was funded by Grant Number G008300345 from the U.S. Department of Education.     

Separate verbal memory and naming deficits in attention deficit disorder and reading disability

In this study, verbal memory and naming abilities were investigated in reading disabled (RD) and control children who were characterized according to the presence or absence of attention deficit disorder (ADD). Results indicate that deficits in learning and memory for recently acquired information occur as a function of ADD rather than RD while deficits in naming are specific to RD rather than ADD. We conclude that ADD is a major source of additional and separate cognitive morbidity in RD children.     

Data transfer concepts and strategies in a psychological research environment

In this paper, we discuss the importance and problems of data transfer in psychological research environments. Discussion includes how simple text file transfer systems meet researchers’ needs. The systems’ shortcomings are also analyzed. Strategies for customizing systems, using pre-prepared software packages, point-to-point systems, and “networked” systems, are carefully analyzed.     

Attributions, beliefs about control, and adjustment to breast cancer

Attributions for cancer and beliefs about control over cancer were examined for their association with adjustment to breast cancer. Although 95% of the respondents made attributions for their cancer, no particular attribution (e.g., stress, diet) was associated with better adjustment. Analyses of attributions of responsibility for the cancer to the self, environment, another person, or chance yielded only a negative relation between adjustment and blaming another person. In contrast, both the belief that one could now control one's cancer and the belief that others (e.g. the physician) could now control the cancer were significantly associated with good adjustment. Of the different types of control, cognitive control was most strongly associated with adjustment, behavior control was less strongly associated with adjustment, and information control and retrospective control were unassociated with adjustment. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.     

Participation,influence, and satisfaction in group decision making

The hypothesis that attitudinal effects of participation depend on individual differences in motivation was tested in a laboratory experiment with 56 three-man groups (leader and two members). Measures of the attractiveness of power and social acceptance were obtained prior to a group decision task, after which members described their perceived participation, influence, and satisfaction. Results showed that: (a) influence was more strongly related to satisfaction for members with strong, as opposed to weak, power motives; (b) for members with strong affiliation motives, participation was more strongly related to satisfaction than was influence. Relationships varied across satisfaction aspects. It was concluded that participation may be associated with favorable role attitudes through different motive-attainment mechanisms in the group decision-making process.