Strategies for Securing Commitment to Treatment from Individuals Diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder

Individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are notoriously difficult to engage in treatment. The purpose of this paper is to highlight therapeutic strategies that are likely to facilitate early alliance in therapy with individuals diagnosed with BPD. The seven strategies include, collaborative assessment, the use of contracts, motivational interviewing, linking treatment targets to client goals, commitment strategies, validation, and the use of metaphors. Clinical vignettes are presented to elucidate the concepts described and demonstrate their use in clinical practice.     

Children At-Risk for Borderline Personality Disorder

Adult patients who have been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) have provided valuable information about events and family dynamics that are frequently associated with BPD. Clinicians who work with children are frequently aware of family or individual characteristics that may put a child at risk for developing BPD. Such situations frequently involve attachment issues with the child's caregivers and can include sexual abuse, divorce, alcoholism/substance use, illness/ death, and neglect. Child characteristics such as learning difficulties and temperament may also predict BPD. Yet, many children are resilient and seemingly unaffected by these events or situations, especially when early intervention may prevent development of BPD.     

The STEPPS Group Treatment Program for Outpatients with Borderline Personality Disorder

The authors describe a new cognitive-behavioral systems-based group treatment for outpatients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD). The program is identified by the acronym STEPPS, which stands for Systems Training for Emotional Predictability and Problem Solving. The STEPPS program was developed to address the cognitive distortions and behavioral dyscontrol typical of clients with BPD, and combines this with skills training and a systems component. The latter involves clients with BPD and those in their system including family members, significant others, and health care professionals. The program is fully manualized, and involves 20 two-hour weekly group meetings; specific goals (or lessons) are identified for each session. Preliminary data from the US and the Netherlands have shown that the group achieves high levels of acceptance from clients and therapists and that the model may be effective in helping to relieve the symptoms associated with BPD. Work is now underway to confirm the effectiveness of the model through a randomized controlled trial.     

Personality Changes Associated with Localized Brain Injury in Elderly Populations

Emotional disturbances following brain damage have been frequently reported in the literature. However, systematic investigation of these disorders and their specific causes were not common until the last 30 years. However, the number of research studies into this area remains slight compared to the voluminous literature on the cognitive effects of brain injury. The completed research has fallen into 3 major areas: (1) The study of clients with localized brain injuries to evaluate whether the site of the injury predicts the emotional reactions; (2) the effect of time poststroke on personality changes; and (3) the relation of neuropsychological deficits to emotional changes. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the research that has been completed in this area with elderly subjects along with an analysis of the current state of the knowledge in this area. Future directions for research to further our understanding are discussed.     

高中生理想人格结构分析

本研究采用自制的人格特质词自评量表对全国十四省市的850名高中生的理想人格进行了调查,结果显示：高中生的理想人格结构包括有理性、宜人性、虚伪性(负价)、内外倾和有活力五个因素;女生在虚伪性这一负性评价因素上比男生更持否定态度。     

Coming of Age with Self-Managed Teams: Dealing with a Problem Employee

In the wake of documented success stories from organizations using self-managed teams, additional attention should be directed at factors that can enhance as well as diminish their success. The common characteristics of highly desirable team members are described as a setting for understanding performance problems that are created when individuals with co-dependent behaviors are introduced into a team structure. Although it is difficult to pinpoint accurately the number of individuals who are affected by co-dependency, estimates that reach as high as 95 million make discussion and recommendations for dealing with these individuals in a team setting especially useful.     

Relationships Between Sex-Role Attitudes, Division of Household Tasks, and Marital Adjustment

Relationships between sex-role attitudes, household tasks, and marital adjustment were explored. Eighty-five married couples completed the Osmond-Martin Sex Role Attitude Scale (Osmond & Martin, 1975), the Krausz Household Task scale (Krausz, 1986) and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spanier, 1976). Modern husbands reported greater marital adjustment than traditional husbands. Traditional spouses reported more traditionally male household tasks being completed by husbands and traditionally female tasks being completed by wives. Spouses reported greater marital adjustment when husbands completed male tasks. Sex-role attitudes and household tasks related independently to marital adjustment. The results support assessing husbands and wives separately. Clinicians are advised to assess couples' sex-role attitudes while maintaining neutral attitudes themselves. Several clinical techniques are offered.     

Freud, Rogers, and Ellis: A Comparative Theoretical Analysis

Albert Ellis, Sigmund Freud, and Carl Rogers are widely recognized as the three most influential psychotherapists of the twentieth century. In the present article, it is argued that the striking differences in their therapeutic systems, Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), psychoanalysis, and person-centered therapy, respectively, are rooted in more fundamental theoretical differences concerning the essential nature of client personality. The positions of Freud, Rogers, and Ellis on three critical issues in personality theory especially relevant for the practice of psychotherapy are examined and comparatively analyzed. The critical issues are: (1) nature vs. nurture as the foundations of personality; (2) the potency of reason in human behavior; and (3) the possibility of fundamental personality change. For each critical issue the treatment implications are also briefly explored with a view toward illustrating how the theorists' positions directly translate into therapeutic practice. The basic intent of this comparative analysis is to strengthen and further clarify the personality theory underlying REBT.     

Aggregated Personality, Climate and Demographic Factors as Predictors of Departmental Shrinkage

The present study investigated how demographic, personality, and climate variables act to predict departmental theft. Participants in the current field survey were 153 employees from 17 departments across two stores. The results of confirmatory factor analyses supported the construct validity of the Big Five Inventory (John, Donahue, & Kentle, 1991) and the Occupational Climate Questionnaire (Furnham & Gunter, 1997) in UK work settings. The results of regression analysis indicate that the variability in departmental theft is accountable in terms of a linear combination of demographic, personality, and climate factors. We concluded that an expanded theoretical perspective (utilizing demographic, personality, and climate variables) explained more variance than might otherwise be expected from any single perspective. Indeed, climate, personality, and demographic variables operated legitimately at the departmental level. Finally, we explained aggregated personality as a form of social interaction which is the by-product of individual differences.     

The Assessment of Marital Adjustment with Muslim Populations: A Reliability Study of the Locke–Wallace Marital Adjustment Test

The Muslim population is growing rapidly throughout the world and a sizable population of 6–8 million Muslims is estimated in North America alone. This population deals with a vast array of issues, including marital adjustment. Nevertheless, the marriage and family literature lacks the research needed to facilitate therapeutic treatment with Muslim couples adequately. Marital adjustment assessments that are commonly utilized have been tested on predominantly Anglo-American or Caucasian couples. The present study is a preliminary investigation of the Locke–Wallace marital adjustment test’s (LWMAT) reliability when administered to married, Muslim-American people.