Ego function assessment of the psychoanalytic process

Pressing needs for objective and rapid clinical assessment of the psychoanalytic process are emerging in the current climate of social and medical change. The Ego Function assessment (EFA) method is presented as an available, valid, and reliable quantitative technique which can be used by clinicians for such objective evaluations. EFA formulations are dynamically highly relevant. They are directly derived from psychoanalytic theory and practice.     

Test of structural relationships within a proposed exercise and self-esteem model

This study tested structural relationships within a model proposed to explain the manner in which self-esteem changes are associated with exercise experiences. As initially assessed by self-efficacies (EFFs) specific to physical tasks within a training program, we postulated that competence can generalize to feelings of global self-esteem (SE) through an intervening construct of perceived physical competence (PC). Three measures of EFF and two each of PC and SE were administered to 145 people in their mid- to late adulthood. Confirmatory factor analysis examined orthogonal and oblique versions of three measurement models and identified three distinct but correlated factors, each assessed by its hypothesized indicators. Alternative structural equation models were specified and tested using both normal and nonnormal estimation procedures. The proposed model provided the most parsimonious fit and explained 29% of the variance in SE. Confirmation of its structural relationships provides preliminary validity for model use in examining the manner in which exercise experiences influence levels of self-perception.     

On the nature of attachment in a borderline population: a preliminary investigation

Analyses of interpersonal behavior within a borderline population usually focus on object relations variables. In contrast, this preliminary research focuses on the nature of attachment styles and its relation to behavioral pathology. 24 hospitalized borderline patients were administered an Attachment Style Inventory and Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory. Analysis confirms predicted differences in attachment style between the borderline and normal control samples as well as indicates that a dependent style of attachment within this borderline sample is associated with less pathology than an avoidant, hostile, or resistant/ambivalent style. The implications of this preliminary work for full-scale research are addressed.     

Entrepreneurial Passion: A Review,Synthesis, and Agenda for Future Research

The present study undertakes a comprehensive and critical review of the body of empirical work on entrepreneurial passion. In particular, we document how the “first generation” of research on entrepreneurial passion and work passion in entrepreneurs has gained growing attention in various sub-fields of entrepreneurship research including entrepreneurial management, psychology, and finance. We provide an overview over theories used, definitions and measurements adopted, research methods utilized (e.g., qualitative vs. quantitative, survey-based vs. experimental/intervention), the thematic focus of studies, and unit of investigation (e.g., individual vs. team). We not only flag the problems of inconsistencies and limitations with respect to theory use, the making of causal inferences, and the conceptualization and measurement of entrepreneurial passion in existing studies (e.g., jingle fallacies), but also review the antecedents and outcomes of entrepreneurial passion identified in prior work and work where it had been examined as a moderator. Following this, we offer a research agenda with concrete suggestions to act as a foundation for the “second generation” of entrepreneurial passion research that proactively addresses the issues and gaps identified in our review. Finally, we also highlight how insights from the entrepreneurial passion literature can inform scholarship on passion more broadly.     

Evaluation of a finger prompt variation in the treatment of pediatric feeding disorders

Children with feeding disorders often engage in refusal behavior to escape or avoid eating. Escape extinction combined with reinforcement is a well-established intervention to treat food refusal. Physical guidance procedures (e.g., jaw prompt, finger prompt) have been shown to increase food acceptance and decrease inappropriate mealtime behavior when more commonly employed escape extinction (e.g., nonremoval of the spoon) procedures are ineffective. The finger prompt, however, has not been extensively evaluated as a treatment adjunct to target food refusal, thus necessitating further examination. The purpose of this prospective study was to assess a variation of a finger prompt procedure to treat food refusal and to assess caregivers' acceptability of the procedure. Three children age 1 to 4 years admitted to an intensive feeding disorders program and their caregivers participated. The finger prompt was effective in increasing bite acceptance across all participants and decreasing or maintaining low levels of inappropriate behavior for 2 participants. The procedure was also acceptable to all caregivers.     

Pathways to violence in the children of mothers who were depressed postpartum

The impact of postnatal depression on a child's risk for violent behavior was evaluated in an urban British community sample (N=122 families). Mothers were interviewed during pregnancy, at 3 months postpartum, and when the child was 1, 4, and 11 years of age. Mothers, teachers, and children reported on violent symptoms at age 11. Structural equation modeling revealed that the child's violence was predicted by the mother's postnatal depression even when her depression during pregnancy, her later history of depression, and family characteristics were taken into account. Violence was associated with symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and problems with anger management. Children were most violent if mothers had been depressed at 3 months and at least once thereafter.