Conceived Through Rape/Incest? Adoptive Parents’ Experiences Managing Uncertainty and Disclosure Surrounding their Children's Origins

Adoptive parents may be placed with children conceived under difficult circumstances, such as via rape or incest. At the same time, adoptive parents are generally encouraged to communicate openly with their children about their adoption stories and birth families. No research has examined the experiences of parents who adopt children who were conceived through rape or incest. This exploratory study examines how parents discuss their decision-making when adopting children conceived via rape or incest, how they manage varying levels of uncertainty about their children's origins, and whether and how they plan to disclose this information to children. The researchers used thematic analysis to examine the experiences of 11 couples (22 parents) interviewed at four time points after adopting children who were reportedly conceived via rape or incest. Findings revealed that even soon after adopting, parents discussed the need to eventually talk to their children about their conception circumstances. Parents generally struggled to determine how and when to disclose this information, particularly when they felt uncertain about the veracity of the conception stories they had been told. Some hoped to rely on professionals or birth mothers to guide them in these communications. Findings have implications for supporting adoptive families as they navigate the complexity of managing sensitive information and uncertainty when adopting children conceived through rape or incest. Practitioners should provide ongoing guidance to adoptive parents about how and when to disclose developmentally appropriate information to children about difficult conception circumstances.     

The technologically-mediated self: reflections on the container and field of telecommunications

This paper contains reflections on the use of the imagination in technologically-mediated therapy and analysis. As part of the individuation process the psyche is seen as needing to adapt to new technological ways of communicating. The notion of a technologically-mediated self is posited describing a self which can only be apprehended through, and by, the use of telecommunications. This self is seen as identical to the in-person self, a subset, or superset of it. There is a revisioning of our notions of the container and the field in this work performed through technological-mediation. The need to engage the imagination in approaching this kind of work is emphasized in order to create an imaginal play-space in which the body will be deeply affected. Some thoughts on how the process of individuation might look through such analytic work is presented.     

Constructing We‐ness: A Communal Coping Intervention for Couples Facing Chronic Illness

Communal coping occurs when relationship partners view a stressful health problem as “ours,” rather than yours or mine, and take collaborative action to deal with it. Although research employing linguistic (we‐talk) and other measures of communal coping demonstrates relevance to a variety of chronic illnesses, the literature offers little about how clinicians can actively promote we‐ness and teamwork to help patients and their partners achieve the health benefits this appears to confer. This paper highlights clinical and supporting scientific features of a narrative intervention designed to foster communal coping by couples in which one partner has a chronic illness. The illustrative illness is diabetes, but with modification the protocol is suitable for other chronic conditions as well. Grounded in systemic and narrative models of problem maintenance and change, the communal coping intervention represents a distillation of research and clinical experience with family consultation over several decades. In contrast to more directive and educational approaches, the intervention consists entirely of questions, with no direct suggestions or instruction about how patients, partners, or couples should change. These questions comprise 8 sequential modules (Coping Challenges, Trajectory and Focus, Illness as External Invader, You as a Couple, Past Teamwork in Overcoming Adversity, Present and Future Teamwork, Obstacles to Teamwork, and Wrap‐Up), described here in manual‐like detail.     

Trauma Symptoms,Communication, and Relationship Satisfaction in Military Couples

Trauma symptoms are negatively correlated with couple relationship satisfaction, which is of particular importance in the relationships of military personnel who are often exposed to trauma whilst on overseas deployment. This study tested a model in which communication mediated an association between trauma symptoms and low relationship satisfaction. Thirty‐one Australian military couples were observationally assessed during a communication task, and assessed on their relationship satisfaction and individual functioning. As expected, trauma symptoms in the male military spouse were associated with low satisfaction in both spouses. Females’ low positive communication fully mediated the relationship between males’ trauma symptoms and low female satisfaction, but not male relationship satisfaction. Unexpectedly, males’ negative communication behaviors were associated with high male relationship satisfaction, and partially mediated the association between trauma symptoms and male satisfaction. Discussion focused on how some communication usually thought of as negative might be associated with relationship satisfaction in military couples.     

Examining the Association Between Racial Identity Attitudes and Coping With Racism-Related Stress

The authors examined the association between racial identity attitudes and coping with racism-related stress among Asian, Black, and Latinx college students (N = 195). Results of the canonical correlation analysis indicated that higher scores on a combination of all racial identity attitudes were significantly associated with greater active coping for Black and Latinx students. Among Asian students, the authors found that higher scores on conformity, dissonance, and immersion-emersion racial identity attitudes were significantly associated with greater avoidant coping. Los autores examinaron la asociación entre las actitudes de identidad racial y el afrontamiento del estrés relacionado con el racismo en estudiantes universitarios asiáticos, negros y latinxs (N = 195). Los resultados del análisis de correlación canónica indicaron que unos valores más altos en la combinación de todas las actitudes de identidad racial estaban asociados significativamente a un mayor afrontamiento activo en estudiantes negros y latinxs. En estudiantes asiático-americanos, los autores hallaron que unos valores más altos en las actitudes de identidad racial de conformidad, disonancia e inmersión/emersión estaban asociados significativamente a un mayor afrontamiento evasivo.     

Validation of the Working Alliance Inventory–Observer Short Version with male intimate partner violence offenders

The working alliance is a key element to increase intimate partner violence (IPV) offenders’ motivation, adherence to treatment, and active participation in batterer intervention programs (BIPs). The objective of the present study is to assess the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Working Alliance Inventory–Observer Short Version (WAI-O-S) with a sample of IPV offenders. The sample was 140 men convicted for IPV and court-mandated to a community-based BIP. Inter-rater agreement and reliability were evaluated by computing the intraclass correlation coefficient. To test the latent structure a Bayesian confirmatory factor analysis approach was used. To test criterion-related validity, the WAI-O-S factorial scores were correlated to protherapeutic behavior, stage of change and motivation to change. The WAI-O-S showed an adequate reliability. Results from Bayesian confirmatory factor analyses showed two first-order factors (Bond and Agreement), and a second-order factor (General working alliance) explaining the relationship between the first-order factors. Results also support the validity of this instrument. The availability of reliable and valid observational measure of the working alliance provides a useful tool to overcome self-report measurement limitations such as social desirability, deception, and denial among IPV offenders.     

IS REFLECTIVE SUPERVISION ENOUGH? AN EXPLORATION OF WORKFORCE PERSPECTIVES

Infant mental health practice requires the performance of intense emotional labor. Professionals comprising the infant mental health (IMH) field are largely women at seminal points in adult life‐span development. The purpose of this article is to explore the day‐to‐day challenges faced by clinical infant mental health professionals and their perspectives on the supports available for effective job performance. We review reflective supervision as a long‐cherished professional support in the IMH field designed to hold the practitioner's fears, worries, and ambivalence, so that she may return to the work fortified to remain in therapeutic alliance with families despite unsolvable problems and an unknowable future (Weatherston, D., 2009). Yet, we propose that reflective supervision alone may not be an adequate protective measure for a workforce performing intensive emotional labor for extended periods and therefore at potentially increased risk for burnout and high turnover (Hochschild, A.R. 1983 ; C. Maslach, 1982 , C.M. Brotheridge & A.A. Grandey, 2009; A.S. Wharton, 2009 ). We suggest that structural factors concerning organizational culture, flexibility in scheduling, and professional growth and versatility bear deeper examination for their merits in supporting the IMH workforce. Finally, we contend that the overrepresentation of women in practitioner positions in IMH leaves an empirical gap where little is known about the experience of male IMH practitioners and the ramifications of their performance of emotional labor.     

Estrategias de decisión de un jurado bajo condiciones de simulación

Resumen

El objeto de esta investigación es analizar el proceso de decisión de un jurado bajo condiciones de simulación. A través de dos experimentos en que se manipula la forma de presentación de la información, se estudian los efectos de la regla de decisión y de las instrucciones en el veredicto y los efectos de la deliberación. Se defiende la hipótesis de que la regla de decisión y las instrucciones tienen respectivamente efectos informativos y normativos sobre el veredicto, y que la deliberación tiene efectos informativos. Estos efectos, sin embargo, sólo resultan parcialmente evidentes en el contexto de una estrategia de juicio compensatoria que supone el procesamiento analítico de la evidencia aportada en el juicio. Los resultados muestran que los sujetos cambian de estrategia cuando cambia la forma de presentación y el tipo de respuesta solicitada que es holística, de elección y no compensatoria en la presentación simultánea y analítica, de juicio y compensatoria en la presentación secuencial. Sólo cuando la deliberación supone un cambio de estrategia tiene un efecto sobre el veredicto que es más favorable que lo que lo era inicialmente para el acusado. Los resultados parecen adecuarse a un modelo de acumulación de evidencia que afecta a la evaluación de los ítems incriminatorios del caso.     

Prediction of treatment outcomes and longitudinal analysis in children with autism undergoing intensive behavioral intervention

Outcome prediction is an important component of treatment planning and prognosis. However, reliable predictors of intensive behavioral intervention (IBI) have not been clearly established. IBI is an evidence-based approach to the systematic teaching of academic, social, verbal, and daily living skills to individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Incorporating longitudinal analysis to IBI outcome studies may help to identify outcome predictors of clinical value. Twenty-four children with autism underwent on average two years of IBI and completed language, daily living skills, cognitive, and motor assessments (Early Learning Accomplishment Profile and the Learning Accomplishment Profile-Diagnostic, 3rd edition) every six months. We used multilevel analysis to identify potential longitudinal predictors including gender, age, intervention intensity, intervention duration, total intervention time, and pre-intervention functioning. Results indicated that total intervention time, pre-intervention functioning, and age caused the greatest increase in goodness-of-fit of the longitudinal multilevel models. Longitudinal analysis is a promising analytical strategy to identify reliable predictors of the clinical outcome of IBI.