The Ethnic Hierarchy Among Majority and Minority Youth In The Netherlands

This study tests the hypothesis that ethnic groups have consensus about the relative position of ethnic out-groups in society. A survey among ethnic majority and minority youth in the city of Rotterdam indicated that: (a) each ethnic group preferred the in-group, (b) there was consensus on an ethnic hierarchy within ethnic groups, and (c) ethnic groups largely agreed on the ethnic rank order. Among the Dutch respondents, the ethnic hierarchy was found to be related to real cultural differences. The scheme of ethnic preferences corresponded inversely to the rank ordering of the ethnic groups in terms of collectivism. Among ethnic minority youth the rank ordering did not correspond to cultural differences but to existing socioeconomic status differences.     

Working with families: a psychoanalytic approach. Thoughts on the Conference Workshop

An account of the work done before, during and after the Workshop meetings is given, with emphasis on the method of working with clinical material through a psychoanalytical framework. Some of the leaders' concerns about using an experiential approach in teaching/learning groups are discussed.     

Personal Adjustment to Acculturative Transitions: The Turkish Experience

This research examines personal adjustment to acculturative transitions. Internal adjustment, or well-being, and external adjustment, or effectiveness, are analyzed in two acculturation contexts: migration from rural to urban settings in Turkey, and international migration from Turkey to Belgium. Comparisons are made between low-SES (socioeconomic status) and high-SES youth in Istanbul, as well as between these youngsters and Turkish youth in Belgium. Adjustment is explained by collectivism and achievement values among acculturating persons, and by social inequality and cultural distance between acculturating and dominant cultural groups. Full causal models are used to test individual-level and group-level explanations of acculturative adjustment. It is found that Turkish youngsters with a collectivistic value orientation have fewer adjustment problems. Second, social inequality increases internal adjustment problems of low-SES youth in Turkey, and cultural distance adds to external adjustment problems of Turkish immigrant youth in Belgium. Third, social inequality reinforces collectivism of low-SES youth in Turkey, whereas in Belgium, collectivism is reinforced by cultural distance. Simultaneously, cultural distance in Belgium lowers achievement values of Turkish immigrant youth.     

AN EVALUATION OF TWO METHODS FOR INCREASING SELF-INITIATED VERBALIZATIONS IN AUTISTIC CHILDREN

Three children with autism and mental retardation were treated for deficits in self-initiated speech. A novel treatment package employing visual cue fading was compared with a graduated time-delay procedure previously shown to be effective for increasing self-initiated language. Both treatments included training multiple self-initiated verbalizations using multiple therapists and settings. Both treatments were efffective, with no differences in measures of acquisition of target phrases, maintenance of behavioral gains, acquisition with additional therapists and settings, and social validity.     

Group Processes in Family Therapy: a Psychoanalytic Approach

This paper describes a model of family therapy that draws on experiences and theories of psychoanalysis as applied to individuals and groups. It suggests concepts that help to understand and work with the family as a system. A brief example is given to illustrate the effort to engage with the patients' immediate feelings in the session in relation to each other and the therapist.     

Impaired Neurocognitive Functions Affect Social Learning Processes in Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Conduct Disorder: Implications for Interventions

In this review, a conceptualization of oppositional defiant (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD) is presented according to which social learning processes in these disorders are affected by neurocognitive dysfunctions. Neurobiological studies in ODD and CD suggest that the ability to make associations between behaviors and negative and positive consequences is compromised in children and adolescents with these disorders due to reduced sensitivity to punishment and to reward. As a result, both learning of appropriate behavior and learning to refrain from inappropriate behavior may be affected. Likewise, problem solving is impaired due to deficiencies in inhibition, attention, cognitive flexibility, and decision making. Consequently, children and adolescents with ODD and CD may have difficulty learning to optimize their behavior in changeable environments. This conceptualization of ODD and CD is relevant for the improvement of the effect of psychological treatments. Behavioral and cognitive-behavioral interventions that have been shown to be modestly effective in ODD and CD are based on social learning. Limited effectiveness of these interventions may be caused by difficulties in social learning in children and adolescents with ODD and CD. However, although these impairments have been observed at a group level, the deficits in reward processing, punishment processing, and cognitive control mentioned above may not be present to the same extent in each individual with ODD and CD. Therefore, the neurocognitive characteristics in children and adolescents with ODD and CD should be assessed individually. Thus, instead of delivering interventions in a standardized way, these programs may benefit from an individualized approach that depends on the weaknesses and strengths of the neurocognitive characteristics of the child and the adolescent.     

How do Jewish teachings relate to beliefs about depression in the strictly orthodox Jewish community?

The aim of this study was to explore whether and, if so, how Jewish teachings influence strictly orthodox Jewish beliefs about depression. The rabbinic literature was searched for Jewish teachings relevant to depression. Ten consenting strictly orthodox Jews were purposively selected and interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule focussing on their beliefs about causes of and treatments for depression. Thematic analysis was used to analyse transcribed interviews and explore relationships between community beliefs and the Jewish teachings identified in the review. The key themes in both the rabbinic literature and the community included the overriding importance in Judaism of preserving life, using appropriate, acceptable means to do so, and obligations to help others. Contrasts between rabbinic teachings and community beliefs included community concerns about stigma, generally lacking in the rabbinic literature, and greater rabbinic emphasis on spiritual exertion in dealing with depression. Findings could prove useful to those managing depressed, orthodox Jews.     

Risky Decision Making in Substance Dependent Adolescents with a Disruptive Behavior Disorder

Of all psychiatric disorders, the disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs) are the most likely to predispose to substance dependence (SD). One possible underlying mechanism for this increased vulnerability is risky decision making. The aim of this study was to examine decision making in DBD adolescents with and without SD. Twenty-five DBD adolescents (19 males) with SD (DBD+SD), 28 DBD adolescents (23 males) without SD (DBD-SD) and 99 healthy controls (72 males) were included in the study. DBD adolescents with co-morbid attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were excluded. Risky decision making was investigated by assessing the number of disadvantageous choices in the Iowa gambling task. DBD+SD made significantly more risky choices than healthy controls and DBD-SD. Healthy controls and DBD-SD did not differ on risky decision making. These results suggest that risky decision making is a vulnerability factor for the development of SD in a subgroup of adolescents with DBD without ADHD.