Reliability and Validity of the Chinese Version of the Solution‐Focused Inventory in College Students

The psychometrics of the Chinese Solution‐Focused Inventory (CSFI) was studied in Chinese college students. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the 3‐factor structure. All subscales showed good reliability and convergent and incremental validity. Results of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that the 3 subscales accounted for additional variance in psychological adjustment above and beyond resilience. These findings indicated that the CSFI is reliable and valid. Implications, limitations, and future study orientations are discussed. Se estudió la psicometría del Inventario Chino Centrado en Soluciones (CSFI, por sus siglas en inglés) en estudiantes universitarios chinos. El análisis de confirmación de factores confirmó la estructura de 3 factores. Todas las subescalas mostraron buena confiabilidad, además de validez convergente y progresiva. Los resultados de los análisis de regresión jerárquica indicaron que las 3 subescalas representaron la varianza adicional en el ajuste psicológico más allá de la resiliencia. Estos hallazgos indicaron que el CSFI es válido y confiable. Se discuten las implicaciones, limitaciones y orientaciones para estudios futuros.     

The five functions of psychological type

From the mid‐1930s to the end of his life, Jung complained that most readers misunderstood the main point of his book Psychological Types. He viewed being a type as one‐sided and problematic for a variety of reasons. His symbol‐based solution to the ‘type problem’ involved developing a transcendent function to become the new dominant function of consciousness. However, this function has not featured in the popular use of his typology and Isabel Briggs Myers believed that the one‐sidedness of Jung's eight types could be balanced by the auxiliary function. This has led to the transcendent function being widely ignored, and to a developmental philosophy that encourages a degree of one‐sidedness. This divergence of popular type theory and analytical psychology is the result of various factors, such as Jung describing typology as containing four functions, and a letter in 1950 where Jung apparently supported Myers’ version of type theory. This hinders the application of analytical psychology to normal psychology, and particularly individual and cultural development. If we refer to Jung's typology as containing five functions not four, this more accurately represents both the content of the book Psychological Types and the primary value Jung saw in typology.     

Co‐Occurring Trajectory of Mothers’ Substance Use and Psychological Control and Children's Behavior Problems: The Effects of a Family Systems Intervention

This study examined the effects of a family systems therapy (Ecologically‐Based Family Therapy [EBFT]) on the co‐occurring trajectory of mothers’ substance use and psychological control, and its association with children's problem behaviors. Participants included 183 mothers with a substance use disorder who had at least one biological child in their care. Mothers were randomly assigned to one of the three intervention conditions: EBFT—home, n = 62; EBFT—office, n = 61; or Women's Health Education, n = 60. Participants were assessed at baseline, 3, 6, 12, and 18 months post‐baseline. A dual‐trajectory class growth analysis identified three groups of mothers in regard to their change trajectories. The majority of the mothers exhibited a synchronous decrease in substance use and psychological control (n = 107). In all, 46 mothers exhibited a synchronous increase in substance use and psychological control. For the remaining 30 mothers, substance use and psychological control remained stable. Mothers in the family therapy condition were more likely to show reduced substance use and psychological control compared to mothers in the control condition. Moreover, children with mothers who showed decreased substance use and psychological control exhibited lower levels of problem behaviors compared to children with mothers showing increased substance use and psychological control. The findings provide evidence for the effectiveness of family systems therapy, EBFT, in treating mothers’ substance use, improving parenting behaviors, and subsequently improving child behavioral outcomes.     

The glow of Telesphoros: a brief enquiry into the sense of the term ‘mana personality’ and the dynamic of experiences behind it

In this article, I begin by outlining the qualities and attributes associated with experiences of mana, focusing particularly on the way the term ‘mana’ was used by C.G. Jung in his published work. I note that Jung associated mana with the accumulation and transfer of psychic energy (libido), with the appearance and appropriation of elemental fire, and by extension, with the metamorphic experience of constellating consciousness. In this context, informed by Jung’s accounts and modes of expression, the term mana personality becomes a provisional designation for a recurrent dynamic of archetypal experiential configurations whose telos appears to be the reorientation of consciousness to its origin.     

A Population‐Based Comparison of Female and Male Same‐Sex Parent and Different‐Sex Parent Households

This investigation compared Dutch same‐sex parent and different‐sex parent households on children's psychological well‐being, parenting stress, and support in child rearing. It was also assessed whether associations among children's well‐being, parenting stress, and support in child rearing were different in the two household types. Data were based on a nationally representative survey (N = 25,250). Matching was used to enhance similarity in background characteristics between both types of families. Parental and child characteristics were matched for 43 female same‐sex parent, 52 male same‐sex parent, and 95 different‐sex parent households with offspring between 5 and 18 years old. No significant differences were found on children's well‐being, problems in the parent–child relationship, being worried about the child, or the use of formal and informal support between mothers in same‐sex and different‐sex parent households or for fathers in same‐sex and different‐sex parent households. Regarding perceived confidence in child rearing, fathers in same‐sex parent households and mothers in different‐sex parent households felt less competent than their counterparts. Neither the associations between children's well‐being and the predictors (parenting stress variables) nor those between support and the predictors (parenting stress and children's well‐being) differed along household type. In this population‐based study, the similarity in child outcomes regardless of household type confirms the results of prior investigations based on convenience samples. These findings are pertinent to family therapists, practitioners, court officials, and policymakers who seek information on parenting experiences and child outcomes in female and male same‐sex parent families.     

Factores psicosociales y cáncer: una revisión crítica

Resumen

Se presenta en este artículo una introducción al campo de estudio de las relaciones entre factores psicosociales y neoplasia, enmarcándolo dentro de la medicina conductual y desde un enfoque interdisciplinar. A continuación se discute el papel que pueden desempeñar las variables psicosociales (estrés) en la vulnerabilidad del ser humano a la enfermedad en general a través de su acción sobre el sistema inmune. En el apartado III se realiza una revisión crítica en la investigación en la que se ha intentado delimitar la influencia de factores psicosociales en la aparición y pronóstico del cáncer, en animales (cáncer experimental) y en el ser humano. Se discute por último el papel de los mediadores biológicos propuestos como más importantes hasta el momento en la literatura del área (sistemas neuroendocrino e inmune). De esta revisión se desprende que los resultados de la investigación, aunque su- gerentes no son definitivos, ni tampoco están claros los mecanismos biológicos a través de los cuales se puede producir la influencia. Después de analizar algunas de las deficiencias metodológicas más importantes de los trabajos realizados, creemos que en enfoque más adecuado para poner a prueba la hipótesis de que los factores psicosociales afectan al desarrollo del cáncer debería ser longitudinal, utilizando grandes muestras y estudiando variables psicosociales y biomédicas conjuntamente.     

The Experiences of Students of Color at a Predominantly White Institution: Implications for Counselor Training

This qualitative study examined the experiences of 11 students of color who participated in 2 multicultural counseling courses in a master’s‐level counseling program at a predominantly White institution. Findings illustrate students’ learning experiences based on instructors’ racial and ethnic identities, including a pivotal transition from distrust to trust toward the White instructor. Implications for teaching race‐based topics with students of color are presented. Este estudio cualitativo examinó las experiencias de 11 estudiantes de color que participaron en dos cursos de consejería multicultural en un programa de consejería de nivel máster en una institución predominantemente blanca. Los hallazgos ilustran las experiencias de aprendizaje de los alumnos basadas en las identidades raciales y étnicas de los docentes, incluyendo una transición fundamental desde la desconfianza hasta la confianza hacia el docente blanco. Se presentan las implicaciones para la enseñanza de temas basados en la raza con alumnos de color.     

Susceptibilidad a la sugestión en función de los factores de personalidad

Resumen

Se presentó a los sujetos un informe estándar sobre su personalidad para estudiar hasta qué punto lo acaptaban como adecuado para describirlos a ellos mismos. Se predecía que el grado de aceptación de estos informes variaría en función de las características de personalidad de los sujetos. De acuerdo con Eysenck (1967), los sujetos con valores máximos en E y N a la vez (NE y CI) serían los menos sugestionables, mientras que los sujetos con valores altos en una dimensión y bajos en la otra (NI y CE) serían los más sugestionables. Los resultados apoyan ligeramente esta hipótesis. No obstante se cuestiona el que las predicciones se deriven realmente del modelo de Eysenk y no sean formulaciones «ad hoc».     

El punto de vista «ecologico» y su peculiar conexión con la psicología

RESUMEN

El concepto de “validez ecológica” se analiza hoy a menudo como un instrumento crítico frente a presumibles desviaciones de la psicología experimental y, en virtud de ello, se presenta como una exigencia ineludible para reorientar a dicha ciencia por un camino más productivo. El presente artículo comienza distinguiendo en este concepto dos componentes: uno de referencia a la biología evolucionista y otro de referencia sociocultural, una primera cuestión, es advertir como ambas dimensiones o referencias son a menudo asumidas como congruentes o incluso idénticas, sin reparar en que de hecho se trata de dos dimensiones muy conflictivas, cuya convivencia es problemática. En el análisis de estas dos dimensiones del concepto “validez ecológica”, y de sus relaciones, se defiende la oposición a la idea de “nicho ecológico” como un mero “negativo” del sujeto, y se defiende un plano propio de la psicología definido por relaciones dístales que permiten construir sujeto y medio sin suponerlos ya dados.     

Family Management of Pediatric Cancer: Links with Parenting Satisfaction and Psychological Distress

Research has long acknowledged the disruptions posed by pediatric cancer diagnosis and treatment to family life. Nonetheless, the mechanisms through which the family response influences parents’ mental health in this adverse context are not fully understood. The main goal of the present study was to examine the direct and indirect links, via parenting satisfaction, between family condition management and psychological distress of parents of children with cancer. Participants were 201 parents (86.6% mothers) of children/adolescents diagnosed with cancer who completed self‐report questionnaires assessing family condition management (family life difficulty and parental mutuality), parenting satisfaction, and psychological distress (anxiety and depression). Structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed mediation model. The results showed that parenting satisfaction mediated the association between both the family condition management dimensions (family life difficulty and parental mutuality) and depression. Specifically, greater family life difficulties and lower parental mutuality were associated with lower parenting satisfaction, which, in turn, was associated with higher levels of depression. Additionally, greater family life difficulties and lower parental mutuality were directly linked to higher levels of anxiety. Multigroup analyses suggested that the model was valid across patient age groups (children vs. adolescents) and treatment status (on vs. off‐treatment). These findings reinforce the need for family‐ and parent‐based interventions in the pediatric oncology field. Interventions that target families’ difficulties and promote their resources are likely to foster parenting satisfaction and psychological adjustment.