The Effect of Therapist–Client Racial Similarity on Client Satisfaction and Therapist Evaluation of Treatment

Client satisfaction with therapy services and therapists' perspectives of treatment evaluation were examined in relation to therapist and client racial similarity. Secondary data from a university marriage and family therapy clinic located in the southeast was used to pair therapists and clients on racial similarity or difference. Statistical analyses revealed no major differences in clients' perceptions of satisfaction based on similarity to therapists' race. Therapists indicated some differences in their perceptions of the success of services provided to clients based on similarity to client's race. Implications for researchers, clinicians, and educators are included.     

A comparative,cross‐national analysis of partner‐killing by women in cohabiting and marital relationships in Australia and the United States

Using a national‐level United States database, T. K. Shackelford [Partner‐killing by women in cohabiting relationships and marital relationships. Homicide Studies 5: 253‐266, 2001] calculated rates of partner‐killing by women by relationship type (cohabiting or marital), by partner ages, and by the age difference between partners. Men in cohabiting relationships were 10 times more likely to be killed by their partners than were married men. Within marriages, the risk of being killed by a partner decreased with a man's age. Within cohabiting relationships, in contrast, middle‐aged men were at greatest risk of being killed by their partners. The risk that a man will be killed by his partner generally increased with greater age difference between partners. We sought to replicate the findings of Shackelford [2001] using national‐level data held as part of the National Homicide Monitoring Program (NHMP) at the Australian Institute of Criminology in Australia. The NHMP holds data on over 3,500 homicides that occurred in Australia between 1989 and 2000. Despite the higher rate of partner‐killing in the United States, and despite other cultural differences between the two countries (for example, the prominent gun culture in the United States), we replicated the key patterns with the Australian data. Aggr. Behav. 30:206–216, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

当代都市女性择偶心理的调查研究

本研究以问卷凋查和描述统计的方法,对当代都市女性的择偶心理进行了分析和探讨。从不同女性对择偶标准的排序中．显示出当代都市女性在择偶心理上的共同倾向．以及出现的某种变化。     

Marital Therapy Caught Between Person and Public: Christian Traditions on Marriage

This article addresses a crisis in marital therapy caught between concern for individual well-being and marriage as a social institution. Marital therapy would be enriched by conversation with three models of marriage: Roman Catholic subsidiarity theory, Protestant covenant view, and liberation theology and corresponding languages of social goods, covenant, and mutual responsibility. The authors urge therapists to see marriage as private and social at the same time and to help couples explore the meaning of marital commitment, the connection between personal well-being and marriage's wider social goods, and the dynamics of shared power and radical mutuality in marriage.     

Spatial learning in pigs: effects of environmental enrichment and individual characteristics on behaviour and performance

This study investigated the effects of both environmental enrichment and individual behavioural characteristics on spatial cognitive capabilities of pigs, using a novel latent spatial learning paradigm based on Tolman’s detour experiments (1948). Pigs were housed either in ‘barren’ pens or in pens enriched with straw bedding from birth. Pigs were restrained in a Backtest at 10 and 17 days postpartum. Based on their escape behaviour in this test, which has been shown to reflect their behavioural style, six ‘high-resisting’(HR) and six ‘low-resisting’ (LR) pigs were selected from each housing environment (n = 24 in total). At 12 weeks of age, pairs of pen mates (LR and HR) were exposed to a maze three times (exploration trials). Pigs were then placed individually in the maze, and social reinstatement proved to be a strong incentive to find the exit leading to the home pen. We subsequently blocked the direct route to the exit, forcing animals to find a detour (memory test 1, MT1). This test was repeated once to investigate the relative improvement, i.e. detour learning (memory test 2, MT2). Housing condition and Backtest response strongly affected exploration patterns. In spite of this, no effects on performance during the subsequent memory tests were found. Performance was substantially improved in MT2, indicating that once a goal is apparent, pigs are able to solve a complex spatial memory task easily. In conclusion, social reinstatement provided a good incentive to complete a spatial task, and the substantial improvement in performance between MT1 and MT2 stresses the need for task complexity when testing spatial memory in pigs. Housing conditions or individual behavioural style did not affect spatial memory during MT1 or MT2. However, housing environment and behavioural style strongly affected explorative behaviour of pigs in an unfamiliar maze during both exploration trials and memory tests. This implicates that apparent effects of environmental enrichment on spatial learning and memory in pigs might reflect differences in explorative patterns rather than in cognitive processes.     

Increasing Marital Intimacy: Lessons from Marital Enrichment

Both marriage and family therapists and family life educators work to increase marital intimacy. In this study the effectiveness of two marriage enrichment programs was assessed with implications for practicing therapists. Participants were randomly assigned to an Adventure or ACME (Association for Couples in Marriage Enrichment) treatment group or to a control group. Marital intimacy was assessed before and after treatment. Findings demonstrated that both enrichment groups had a statistically significant increase in marital enrichment. Suggestions for adopting adventure-based interventions for traditional therapy are discussed.     

Marital Status and Outcome in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of marital status to health outcomes in 818 post-MI, coronary artery bypass surgery, and angioplasty patients (651 males, 157 females) from seven Northern California hospitals who completed 12 months of a nurse-managed, home-based multifactorial risk reduction program. Compared to married patients, nonmarried patients were significantly less likely to complete the program than married patients, more likely to smoke at baseline, and drank significantly less alcohol at baseline. At 12 months there were no significant differences between married and nonmarried groups on smoking cessation rates, HDL, LDL, triglycerides, or exercise treadmill test results. When patients were categorized as married, divorced, separated, widowed, or single, similar results were found for the analyses using two groups (married versus nonmarried), with the following exceptions. Separated patients were significantly less likely to quit smoking. In addition, separated patients showed significantly higher rates of starting (and continuing) to smoke during the time following their MI. Mortality was not significantly different between married and unmarried patients. Implications for intervention with separated patients and the importance of assessing both marital status and marital quality are discussed.     

齐"巫儿婚俗"再探讨

文献所谓“襄公淫乱,姑姊妹不嫁”以及桓公“妻姑姊妹”不能够成立,齐襄公、桓公的淫乱属于婚外性关系而非兄妹血缘婚.春秋齐国社会已不承认并且谴责非婚乱伦关系,故不可能由襄、桓淫乱导致“巫儿婚俗”.齐女居家不嫁的“巫儿婚俗”不是宫廷和民间普遍存在的状况,只是部分大家庭出于迷信观念而保留经常性祭祀活动的一种特殊现象.所谓“齐俗,妇人首祭祀”,一般是以家庭生活为内容的小祭祀,古已有之,并非齐女垄断了家庭、家族的祭祀活动.     

Spirituality in MFT Training: Development of the Spiritual Issues in Supervision Scale

As spirituality moves increasingly to the forefront of the body of marriage and family therapy (MFT) literature, many clinicians still find it uncomfortable or difficult to address spirituality in therapy. This study presents a new measure—the Spiritual Issues in Supervision Scale (SISS)—that examines supervisees' perceptions of the degree to which spirituality is addressed in supervision. Researchers distributed the SISS to mental health professionals around the United States who either were receiving supervision currently or had received supervision recently from professionals in their fields or programs. Results indicated that the new instrument has evidence of reliability and validity.     

Superimposition and withholding of edible consequences as treatment for automatically reinforced stereotypy

The delivery and subsequent withholding of tangible consequences has been previously investigated as an intervention for stereotypic behavior. The current investigation sought to extend previous research by evaluating its effectiveness and durability as treatment for stereotypy of 2 children who had been diagnosed with autism. Nonsocial functions for stereotypic behavior were identified via functional analysis. Edible items were then delivered contingent on stereotypy and were withheld in a subsequent condition. When the superimposition procedure failed to reduce stereotypy, environmental enrichment was implemented and was found to reduce the stereotypy of both participants.