The investigation examined the relationship between various clinician variables and clinicians' gender stereotypes for men and women varying in age and race. Randomly selected white psychotherapists listed in the National Register of Health Care Providers in Psychology used the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) to rate a "mature, healthy, socially competent individual" in one of 12 target groups (a black or race unspecified man or woman in their late 20s, late 40s, or late 60s). Three scale scores (Nurturant, Agentic, and Self-Governing) were utilized that were based on a factor analysis of the 40 feminine and masculine BSRI subscale items. A Personal Data Survey attached to the BSRI provided information on therapist characteristics. The information utilized included theoretical orientation, amount of contact with various categories of clients, and the year of the highest degree received. It was found that on the masculine-associated scale, Agentic, there was a significant association between theoretical orientation and gender stereotypes. Clinicians identified as dynamic and eclectic viewed targets as most agentic while clinicians identified as behavioral-rational rated targets as least agentic. There were no significant interaction effects nor were there significant main effects or interactions on the Nurturant or Self-Governing scales. It was also found that on the scale Agentic, there was a significant interaction between respondents' percentage of black clients and the sex of target rated. The greater the percentage of black clients, the more likely was the therapist to rate black male targets as more agentic. For black female targets, the greater the percentage of black clients, the more likely was the therapist to rate these targets as less agentic. Finally, it was found that on the scale Agentic, the degree of similarity between respondents and target (on sex, age, and race) was significantly related to gender stereotypes. The greater the similarity between respondent and target, the more likely were respondents to view targets as more agentic. The findings suggest that masculine-associated characteristics pull for more stereotyped responses over feminine-associated characteristics and this varies by the clinician variables studied.

Research on the cessation of violence is important in light of the dramatic increase in public and scientific interest on family violence. Although the marital violence literature more than tripled during the eighties, much of the work has focused solely on the correlates and determinants of marital violence, ignoring the issue of how couples eliminate violence from their relationships. This is an exploratory study of the cessation of men's use of violence against their female partners. Longitudinal survey data were used to evaluate cessation rates, the relationship between demographic characteristics and risk factors for wife abuse and cessation, and the help seeking behavior of partners who ceased the violence. In depth interviews with two couples who had ceased the use of violence were used to elucidate the characteristics of the cessation process. It was found that contextual factors such as financial hardship, increased number of children at home, increased levels of marital conflict, and inadequate conflict resolution skills were negatively related to the cessation of violence. On the other hand, cessation was associated with immersion into a social network that supports nonviolence, development of alternative ways to resolve conflict, and the partners' commitment to the relationship.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 1991. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-01, Section: B, page: 0571. Chair: Jerrold L. Shapiro.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 2005. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 66-06, Section: B, page: 3414. Adviser: Steve Lovett.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Fairleigh Dickinson University, 2005. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 65-11, Section: B, page: 6052. Chair: Margaret Gibbs. Available also in print.

Researchers and clinicians alike have struggled with limited success to understand and treat the most troubled adolescents of our time, those who have been variously described as delinquent, conduct disordered, or aggressive. The very nature of their disruptiveness has sometimes obscured their complex psychological problems, yet psychoanalytic object relations theory provides a rich framework for understanding the interplay of intrapsychic factors and overt symptoms in producing the phenomena of conduct disturbance. The self and object relations of 19 conduct disturbed adolescents were compared to those of 15 nondisturbed adolescents via the analysis of data from the Thematic Apperception Test. Conduct disturbed adolescents demonstrated greater levels of impairment on four dimensions of object relations, measured with the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale (Westen, Lohr, Silk, Kerber, & Goodrich, 1985): Complexity of Representations of People, Affect Tone of Relationship Paradigms, Capacity for Emotional Investment and Moral Standards, and Understanding of Social Causality. Impairments in object relations were related to teacher assessments of conduct problems but were unrelated to self-reported externalizing symptoms or relationship problems, suggesting that a combination of objective reports and assessments of intrapsychic relational constructs may be particularly useful in understanding adolescents with conduct disturbances. A model based on observed symptomatology and object relations effectively predicted membership in the conduct disturbed and nondisturbed groups.

This research was a case study using the methodology of participant observation, and examined the effects of a specialized supervision and training model used with multidisciplinary staff in the Children' s Partial Hospital Program, affiliated with Elmcrest Psychiatric Institute of Portland, Connecticut. Three distinct supervision and training sessions were designed, implemented, and evaluated by the researcher and participants in the study as the primary data source. Prior to the implementation of multidisciplinary sessions, participants shared their experiences and perceptions about supervision in the program through a survey questionnaire and individual interviews. The three weekly supervision and training sessions were then developed based on the ideas generated by this information. For 6 months, the three sessions were observed and participants interviewed. Information was also gathered through three large group evaluation interviews with participants when sessions were designed, at the midpoint, and at the end of the 6-month period. Examination of program documents and written assessment instruments were used to provide another means of evaluating the efficacy of sessions, and experiences of participants. The findings highlight clearly those aspects of sessions that contribute to an effective level of communication and collaboration among professional groups, and those which impede a productive level of team functioning. While all three groups were designed to include representatives from each discipline, the process of supervision and structure of the three sessions were very different from one another. The nature of leadership in the program and during each session was the major factor that influenced the interactions among participants, and the functioning of the multidisciplinary team. There were widespread differences among supervisors in experience, training, and philosophical beliefs related to the process of supervision. As a result, supervision was carried out according to the idiosyncratic style of the supervisor, and participants considered some sessions to be more useful than others. The relationships among team members were organized in discipline-centered and compartmentalized groups. Hierarchical conflicts appeared to contribute to the dichotomy, which in part was related to the infrequency of interactions among professional groups, rather than differences in theoretical orientation. Despite the conflicts among disciplines, striking similarities were reported by participants within different groups when describing features of positive relationships. This research, which appeared to be the first study of clinical supervision and training with multidisciplinary professionals in a child- and family-centered program, included discussions of research design problems, elements to include in designing and implementing supervision and training programs and recommendations for further research.

Previous research has indicated few victims of dating violence seek help for abuse or violence experienced at the hands of a dating partner, a failure that has led to rising healthcare costs and unreported crime. Attachment theory and the social support network orientation model have been used in understanding differences in attachment style and help-seeking behavior among individuals seeking help for medical and psychological problems, but the differences in these variables among victims of dating violence have not been examined. The purpose of this quantitative web-based study was to examine differences in type of abuse or violence experienced, attachment style, and help-seeking behavior between collegiate male and female victims of dating violence in heterosexual and same-sex relationships. A sample of 149 collegiate males and females involved in heterosexual and same-sex relationships completed the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2), the Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ), and the General Help Seeking Questionnaire (GHSQ)/Actual Help Seeking Questionnaire (AHSQ) to measure the effect of the independent variables, gender and sexual orientation, on the dependent variables, type of abuse or violence experienced, attachment style, and help-seeking behavior. The results of the MANOVA and chi-square analyses revealed: (a) no significant effect between one's gender and sexual orientation and type of abuse or violence experienced and style of attachment, (b) male and female victims of dating violence in same-sex relationships were less likely to seek help from formal sources than male and female victims in heterosexual relationships, and (c) type of actual help secured is independent of help-seeking behavior. The results of this study demonstrate a need for social change in the way victimization by dating violence is perceived and may aid helping professionals in developing culturally sensitive screening tools to identify and assist a population who might not otherwise seek help.

Thesis (PH.D.)--Syracuse University, 2003. / "Publication number AAT 3081647."

Individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) symptoms often struggle with heightened sensitivity and arousal in response to perceived threats. Moreover, interpersonal dysfunction in GAD has become increasingly a focus of empirical investigation and treatment, given the possibility that responses to social interactions may contribute to GAD symptom maintenance. Laboratory studies and cross-sectional trait assessments of interpersonal problems comprise most of our understanding of interpersonal dysfunction in GAD. However, how GAD symptoms interact with perceived interpersonal threats to predict affective responses (increased arousal, lower valence) within daily life remains poorly understood. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to examine effects of in vivo social perceptions on state affect, and how GAD symptoms may moderate those relationships. Participants (N = 161) completed baseline measures of trait GAD and depression symptoms (as a covariate). Then participants completed 30 social interaction surveys over the subsequent 10 days. In each survey, participants rated interaction partners’ dominant, cold, and immoral behavior (each conceptualized as interpersonal threats) as well as their own arousal and valence in response to the behavior. Multilevel modeling analyses of between- and within-person effects revealed that mean perceptions of cold and immoral behavior predicted higher arousal and lower valence as hypothesized, whereas mean perceived dominance unexpectedly predicted only lower valence. All within-person fluctuations in social perceptions predicted both higher arousal and lower valence. Regarding the moderating effects, GAD symptoms unexpectedly buffered the effect of average perceived cold behavior on valence and strengthened the effect of average perceived immoral behavior on valence. These results provide a deeper understanding of how social perceptions may contribute to affect in naturalistic interactions, and add to the literature on interpersonal correlates of GAD symptoms.