The purpose of this study was to delineate the role of race in the prediction of at-risk status for pregnancy among Black and White high school females from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Research findings relative to adolescent pregnancy were assimilated into a proposed three factor model of pregnancy risk which included: Knowledge and Attitude toward Sexuality and Childbearing, Current Life Situation, and Opportunity for Sex. A questionnaire was developed to assess risk factors within the structure of the three model factors. The questionnaire examined the social, familial, and personal variables that influence a teen's sexual activity. The questionnaire was administered to 152 high school females aged 14-19. It was hypothesized that: (1) at-risk status for pregnancy was associated with high risk scores on the model variables and factors; (2) Black subjects would receive higher risk scores on the Knowledge and Attitude toward Pregnancy and Childbearing factor than White students and that Current Life Situation and Opportunity for Sex would predict pregnancy status but show no racial differentiation; (3) if the second hypothesis was correct, a differential pattern of pregnancy risk by race would result that could be incorporated into a model that discriminates risk status by race. The scores on the variables were analyzed through the use of: multivariate tests of significance (MANOVA), univariate $F$-tests, and discriminant function analyses. Additionally, factor analysis was used to assess the proposed model and develop new models for specific application. Not all hypotheses were accepted. Pregnancy status was predicted by the first hypothesis with findings reaching significance. On hypothesis 2, White pregnant subjects were more at-risk than other groups followed by Black pregnant subjects, Black never-pregnant subjects and, finally, White never pregnant-subjects. The questionnaire identified differential patterns for each racial group which validated the use of a stepwise discriminant analysis to help discriminate pregnancy risk status by race. The use of discriminant analysis derived variables increased prediction of pregnancy accuracy to 98.48% for Black subjects and 94.52% for White subjects. The need for replication studies and investigations of other racial and ethnic groups is discussed.

The present study was designed to examine the issues which surround young people who are apprehended on or around Boston Public School property carrying weapons or dangerous objects. The records of 40 students were randomly selected, according to specific criteria, from the files at the Barron Assessment and Counseling Center. The BACC was designed to be a disciplinary measure. The main goal of the program is to help the youngsters understand the ramifications of their actions. Specifically, the hypotheses which guided the study were designed to determine: (1) if the students apprehended were conduct-disordered; (2) if the students were responding to cultural and environmental norms; (3) their socio-economic status; (4) if the students were substance abusers; (5) their academic status; (6) the precipitating actions which caused apprehension; (7) if the students were involved in the criminal justice system; and (8) the recidivism rate of this population. A summary of the research findings indicated that this cross section of youngsters were more behavior-disordered than was hypothesized. In fact, 37% of the youngsters in the sample exhibited moderate to severe conduct disorders and one-third had been adjudicated or were waiting judgement in some aspect of the criminal justice system. A majority of the sample resided in neighborhoods with high-crime rates and were products of single-parent homes with multiple siblings. Most of their families were subsidized by Public Assistance. Eighty percent of the sample were black males and the median age was 15.4, while the median grade level was 8.8. It could not be concluded from self-report data what percent of the youngsters abused drugs. Only 8% of the sample were caught using a weapon in a fight. The intelligence classification of the sample cluster was in the average range (80%); however, the sample as a whole was underachieving by approximately two years below grade level. The students were judged to be deficient in critical thinking skills based on other findings which were not anticipated.

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.

This study was an exploratory investigation into the impact of men's psychotherapy groups on men's abilities and experiences of relating intimately with other men. Ten men who had participated in such groups for a minimum of six months were interviewed about changes in their perceptions of intimately relating with men within and outside their groups. Drawing on two bodies of literature, one describing gender role conflict, and the other describing close relationships, it was hypothesized that men would experience reduced gender role conflict if they were aided in developing skill in intimately relating. "Self-in-relation" theory, deriving from the women's development literature, was discussed for its usefulness in understanding mutuality in relationships and gender differences in orientations towards relationships. A Mutuality Typology including the steps, components and benefits of mutually relating was developed and refined by this study, and used in the data analysis. It was found that men's psychotherapy groups can have a significant impact towards helping men develop skills in relating mutually, experience mutuality with other men within the group, shift in their orientations towards valuing, pursuing and maintaining intimate connections with other men, and improve their relationships with men and women outside their groups. Results indicated that increases in the experience of mutuality and in abilities in relating intimately with other men contributed to reductions in relational avoidance, isolation, alienation and negative comparisons with other men and gender role norms and increases in self-esteem, self-acceptance and empowerment in relating with others. The results suggested that there is a strong relationship between reported changes in the experience of mutuality and relational abilities and reported shifts towards greater connection with other men. The results also suggested that there is a strong relationship between reported changes in orientations and relational abilities and the stage of group development described by the men in the study. Much data describing those events and conditions that facilitated changes in men's relational abilities and orientations was also reported. That data generated numerous, potentially valuable implications for the forming and running of men's psychotherapy groups. Implications for further research were also discussed.

Interviews were conducted with twenty-one adults who were between the ages of 18 and 25 when their parents divorced. In depth interviews, which included discussion about past family life, took place an average of seven and up to eighteen years after the divorce occurred. The psychoanalytic concept of adolescence as a second individuation was used to conceptualize how the sense of self that offspring have established prior to the divorce is an important mediator of their experience. Most offspring appeared to experience parents ending their relationship as ending the family and declaring it a failure. That divorce was often interpreted as an act of parental will was seen to compromise offsprings' ability to mourn the loss of their families. Most offspring conveyed an unarticulated discontinuity between the past and the present which was conceptualized as the "family ghost." Renegotiating relationships with parents was the only universal experience of all participants. Changes in relationships with fathers usually involved distance and closeness; changing relationships with mothers included renegotiating dynamics of triangulation and boundaries, and for daughters, sharing with mothers as now single women. It was observed that complications in parental relationships after the divorce compounded the internal work of individuation. At the same time, unresolved narcissistic or dependency needs complicated renegotiating current parental relationships. Divorce was seen to potentially complicate recovery for offspring from problematic families. These offspring still seemed occupied with dyadic relationships with parents and with an uncertain sense of self. In contrast, offspring from more harmonious backgrounds appeared to have achieved greater emotional independence but still missed the lost family. Finally, the impact of divorce on the renegotiation of oedipal issues and the consolidation of a triadic level of relatedness is discussed. It is suggested that there is a gap between object relations and systemic theory in terms of how the family is internally represented.

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