How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Consider My Options Cognition,Verbal Strategies,and the Escalation of Intimacy

Previous research has revealed that individuals have expectations for the development of romance based on personal experience and cultural images. A series of research questions and hypotheses was generated and a sequence of hierarchical log-linear analysis models axis developed to test (a) the effect of gender and knowledge of relational stage and relationship type on prediction of next-occurring actions in the development of a romance, (b) the use of compliance-gaining strategies intended to advance a relationship to the next stage, and (c) justification of secondary goals in which participants reported why they chose the strategies they did as opposed to other alternatives. The data revealed effects for relational stage progression on prediction of ensuing actions. Ingratiation, explanation, and direct requests were popular strategies for developing intimacy. Gender differences in terms of secondary goals were reported. Results are discussed in terms of relational memory structures for the development of intimacy.     

Family Therapy in Trouble: Psychoeducation as Solution and as Problem

The authors cite clinical literature attesting to the importance of recognizing the family, rather than the individual, as the proper locus of conceptualizing, diagnosing, and treating mental illnesses. Specifically with regard to severe psychiatric illnesses, in particular schizophrenia, family dysfunction contributes to the emergence of the illness, significantly affects its course, and strongly influences the achievement and maintenance of treatment gains. Currently, a movement is afoot to limit sharply the amount and kind of treatment offered to schizophrenic patients and their families. Rooted in a “medical model” or “biogenic” view of the etiology of schizophrenia, this school of thought prescribes psychoeducation as the family treatment of choice. The present article looks at some misconceptions regarding treatment that prompted a widespread turning away from psychoanalytically oriented family psychotherapy for schizophrenic patients and their families, examines the reductionism (biological and behavioral) inhering in the exclusive use of psychoeducation, and looks at the clinical dangers of such reductionism. Finally, it proposes that family psycho-therapists should not abandon a concern with the inner lives of severely ill patients and their families in the face of spuriously generalized claims made by reductionist researchers.     

A Gender Role Workshop Focused on Sexism,Gender Role Conflict,and the Gender Role Journey

A 6-day gender role workshop for adult men and women, using the phases of the gender role journey, is presented. The workshop's curriculum and process are described, including its assumptions, norms, and media. Movie clips, music, music videos, and academic content were used to promote participants' learning in both the cognitive and affective domains. Systematic follow-up evaluations of participants ( N =84) in three separate workshops are reported using Likert scaled questions. These evaluations assessed participants' personal learning, emotional reactions, and the workshop's overall impact over l-month and 1-and 2-year follow-up periods. Results indicate that participants were affected personally and professionally over the various time periods.     

Mental Health Values and Response to Alcoholism Treatment

Mental health values consist of the subset of values that refer to what constitutes good mental health. Torrey (1972) suggested that agreement between patient and therapist about such values may influence psychotherapy outcome. The authors found mixed support for this hypothesis using a sample of 100 chemical dependency inpatients. Positive treatment effects were associated with pretreatment agreement between counselor and patient about some mental health values, but with pretreatment disagreement about others. Because outcome measures assess general personality functioning, the authors suggest that attitudes about what constitutes good mental health may predict general psychotherapy effects as well as response to alcoholism treatment.