The interpersonal alliance as the principle of psychoanalytic therapy]

The classical opinion encountered in psychoanalytic psychotherapy is that the main curative agent is language, i.e. the information proffered by the analysand and the interpretations of the analyst. Over and against this view the author draws attention to the non-verbal structures in the twosome relationship between analysand and therapist. Essential elements of this working alliance, he suggests, operate via non-verbal behaviour. Hence this behaviour needs to be systematically observed and evaluated. His conclusion is that it requires the consideration of non-verbalized fantasies and affects for the therapeutic relationship to develop into a "good relationship".     

Age differences in the acculturation process

Age differences were assessed in a conceptual model that seeks to explain how acculturation affects psychological well-being among Mexican Americans. The data were from a national probability sample of 859 persons of Mexican decent. It was hypothesized that low acculturation creates financial stress. Moreover, low acculturation and financial stress were in turn predicted to erode feelings of personal control and self-esteem. Finally, diminished feelings of control and low self-esteem were hypothesized to exert a negative impact on psychological well-being. When data from respondents of all ages was assessed, empirical support was found for all of the hypotheses except the linkage between acculturation and financial stress. However, few age differences emerged in the model. The authors conclude that older Mexican Americans may not be more vulnerable to the stressors associated with acculturation.     

Effects of speaking upon the rate and variability of concurrent finger tapping in children

Tapping rate and variability were measured as 73 normal, right-handed children in Grades 1–4 engaged in speeded unimanual finger tapping with and without concurrent recitation. Speaking reduced the rate of tapping and increased its variability to a greater extent in younger children than in older children. Developmental changes in variability but not rate were attributable to a greater number of lengthy (>500 ms) pauses in the tapping of younger children. Speaking slowed the right hand more than the left, and the degree of this asymmetry was constant across grade levels. The right-hand effect for tapping rate was not attributable to lengthy pauses. In contrast, asymmetric increases in tapping variability occurred only among children in Grade 1 and only when lengthy pauses were included in the data. The results implicate three mechanisms of intertask interference: one involving capacity limitations, a second involving cross-talk between motor control mechanisms for speech and finger movement, respectively, and a third factor involving occasional diversion of attention from tapping to speaking. These mechanisms are discussed in relation to developmental changes in mental capacity.     

Correlates of Children's Usage of Videogames and Computers1

Fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students responded to a questionnaire concerning their experiences with electronic videogames and computers. Teacher ratings of academic achievement, personality characteristics, and behavior patterns were also obtained for each student. These data were used to examine a number of hypotheses concerning potential harmful or beneficial effects of electronic videogames on school-age children, and to provide preliminary evidence concerning the correlates of computer usage by school-age children. Videogame usage showed significant positive correlations with teacher ratings of impulsivity, significant negative correlations with ratings of academic achievement, and little relationship to rated sociability. Videogame use also proved positively related to other social activities and to microcomputer use.     

Psychometric detection of depressive mood conditions

An investigation into the diagnostic value of psychometric methods for the diagnosis of depressive states involved five psychometric questionnaires, one concentration test procedure, and one problem-solving approach to register cognitive processes. The data obtained for 80 depressive patients of varied aetiology were compared with those of sample of 80 neurotics without depressive aberration. Even univariate comparisons revealed statistically significant differences between the two samples. Multivariate methods (factor analysis, discriminative analysis) yielded more differentiated information. The "Scale for depression depth measurements" was found to be of particular diagnostic relevance; it was standardized for the time being.     

Acoustically evoked brain stem potential in Wilson disease

By 48 patients with Wilson's disease the brainstem acoustic evoked potentials were stated. There were 35 pathological findings (73%), 13 were normal (27%). The waves, determined by the middle and upper brainstem (Pons and Mesencephalon) showed most of all pathological changes. Those patients with forms of Wilson's disease called Pseudoskelerose and Pseudoparkinson showed the most pathological findings. But one could watch these findings by about 30% of patients in preclinical stage. This method can possibly be used for early detection of disorders of brainstem functions and in the same way it can be used for control of treatment by patients in preclinical stage.     

Personhood,culture and family therapy

This paper argues that ideas about personhood and relationships vary cross-culturally and that although it is not always obvious or easy to discover, this variation is particularly salient to family therapy. This argument is supported by a dual definition of culture emphasizing both continuity of cultural themes (generative aspect) and the reconstitution, redefinition and change of such themes through interaction and communication (interactive aspect). The effectiveness of interventions which are isomorphic with ideas which families themselves hold about personhood is demonstrated through work with two families, one Punjabi and one Bangladeshi.     

Clinical, electroencephalographic and computer tomographic studies of children with West and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome

The results of clinical, electroencephalographic and repeated computed tomographic examination of 14 children suffering from epileptic seizures in connection with the West and Lennox-Gastaud syndrome are analyzed and compared. Computed tomography yields little information regarding the etiology of such forms of epilepsy. Distinct clinical and electroencephalographic findings were accompanied by normal computed tomographic results in a large proportion of the cases. To avoid misinterpretation of computed tomographic findings and consequent prognostic errors in these epileptic cases it is necessary to take possible side effects of ACTH and corticosteroid treatment into account. At the climax of hormone treatment computed tomography revealed imposing changes in the form of generalized atrophy in 10 of the 14 children examined. These receded completely upon termination of hormone treatment.     

Attitude, anxiety, and social readjustment toward learning disabilities by student teachers

84 student teachers from undergraduate classes at a western university in Kansas completed a 9-question checklist of learning disabilities before interacting with a behavioral disordered/learning disabilities teacher, a paraprofessional, and a high school learning-disabled student. After the dialog, the student teachers completed a Social Readjustment Rating Scale, Breskin Rigidity Test, the Self-evaluation Questionnaire: State and Trait Anxiety, and the same 9-question checklist with one additional question ("Now that you have seen a learning-disabled student has it affected your opinion of learning disabilities?"). The dialog affected 63% of the students' opinions while 31% stated the presentation did not affect their opinion (6% were missing or not completed). Persons who experienced more life-changes and problems tended to rate or view learning disabilities more negatively. The more trait anxiety experienced by the students, the lower they rated learning disabilities after the presentation.