Hope as a Predictor of Interpersonal Suicide Risk

The current study hypothesized that (1) hope would negatively predict burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness, and acquired capability to enact lethal injury; (2) hope would negatively predict suicidal ideation; and (3) the interpersonal suicide risk factors would predict suicidal ideation. Results indicated that hope negatively predicted burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness, but positively predicted acquired capability to enact suicide. Contrary to our second hypothesis, hope did not predict suicidal ideation, but interpersonal risk factors for suicide predicted suicidal ideation. Results are discussed in terms of implications for hope theory and Joiner's (2005) interpersonal risk factors for suicide, and for clinical practice.     

Utilizing structural family therapy and systems theory in the business world

The structure of businesses and the structure of families are very similar, considering the fact that so many businesses are owned or operated by families. Structural family therapists who are knowledgeable in systems theory and have an adequate understanding of the underlying concepts of structural family theory (including hierarchy, boundaries, and coalitions) can translate their knowledge to the structure of businesses and organizations. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the similarities between the structures of families and businesses. In doing so, an application of structural family theory to the business world (employee assistance programs, business consultation, and family businesses) will be demonstrated.     

Perceptions of primary supervisor interpersonal skills: A critical incident analysis

This study surveyed a randomly selected group of Approved Supervisors of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (n = 280) and their supervisees (n = 266) on their perceptions of the primary supervisor interpersonal skill used in supervisory incidents that had a positive effect on supervisee development. Supervisor directiveness was the most identified skill by both supervisors and supervisees.This study was funded in part by grants from the Research Committee of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy; the Agricultural Experiment Station, Purdue University; and the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Purdue University Calumet.     

Crafting Mosaics: Person-Centered Religious Influence and Selection in Adolescent Friendships

This research addresses the intersection of two key domains of adolescents’ lives: religion and peer networks. Religion scholars argue that religion is multi-faceted and better understood by focusing on combinations of indicators (i.e., mosaics), versus a variable-centered approach. We adopt this framework and investigate the interplay between religion and peer networks, both in how religious mosaics are shaped by friends and how religious profiles affect friend selection dynamics. With data from two schools in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we estimate religious mosaics using latent class analysis (LCA) to identify profiles consisting of combinations of commonly available survey-based measures of religious attitudes, behaviors, and identities. Finding evidence of theoretically expected profiles, we then use stochastic actor–based models (SABMs) to investigate network dynamics for these LCA-based religious profiles. We demonstrate how the profile data can be integrated within the SABM framework to evaluate processes of friend selection and influence. Results show evidence of adolescents influencing one another's religious mosaics, but not selecting friends on that basis.