Trauma and Bowen Family Systems Theory: Working with Adults Who were Abused as Children

Working with survivors of trauma is mostly challenging, exhausting, long‐term and often ‘messy’, when interventions that ‘should’ work, don't, or the unexpected arises. Nevertheless, explanations that speak to recovery from trauma more and more rely on neurobiological concepts to account for any positive change. Combining the family systems approach of Murray Bowen and recent research on the brain and trauma, post trauma symptoms are viewed as part of the ‘family emotional process’ even when traumatic events have emanated from outside the family system itself. Variations in responses to trauma, including dissociation and self‐harm are discussed in relation to chronic anxiety and ‘differentiation of self’.     

Notes of a serf woman by M. E. Vasilieva

Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation. Series 1, Volume II, The Wartime Genesis of Free Labor: The Upper South. Edited by IRA BERLIN. STEVEN F. MILLER, JOSEPH P. REIDY and LESLIE S. ROWLAND. New York: Cambridge University Press. 1993. xxxvii, 776pp. £60.00 and $79.95. ISBN 0–521–41742–2.

Strained Sisterhood: Gender and Class in the Boston Female Anti‐Slavery Society. DEBRA GOLD HANSEN. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press. 1993. ix, 231pp. £28.50. ISBN 0–87023–848–5

John C. Calhoun and the Price of Union: A Biography. JOHN NIVEN. Baton Rouge and London: Louisiana State University Press. 1988. xvi, 367 pp. $12.95 (paperback). ISBN 0–8071–1858–3.

Thackeray and Slavery. DEBORAH A. THOMAS. Athens: Ohio University Press. 1993. xvii, 245pp. £44. ISBN 0–8214–1038–5.

Breaking the Chains: Slavery, Bondage, and Emancipation in Modern Africa and Asia. Edited by MARTIN A. KLEIN. Madison and London: University of Wisconsin Press, 1993. xiv, 220 pp. $40 and $14.95. ISBN 0–299–13750–3 and 0–299–13754–6.

Islanders in the Stream. A History of the Bahamian People. Volume One. From Aboriginal Times to the End of Slavery. MICHEAL CRATON AND GAIL SAUNDERS. Athens and London: The University of Georgia Press. 1992. xxiii, 455 pp. $60. ISBN 0–8203–1382–3.

Victor Schoelcher et l'abolition de l'esclavage, NELLY SCHMINDT. Paris: Fayard, 1994. 440 pp. 150FF. ISBN 2–213–03058–8.     

Collaborative Approaches to Family Systems Supervision: Differentiation of Self

Many systems approaches speak to the importance of respectful mutual curiosity in supervision rather than linear teacher–learner didacticism. This paper provides an overview of collaborative approaches to supervision in family therapy. It then focuses on Bowen family systems and encouraging differentiation in the relationship process between supervisor and supervisee as a useful approach towards equal collaboration. The authors use case examples to illustrate what impedes and fosters mutuality in the supervision process where both supervisor and supervisee learn from each other.     

Monitoring processes with data censored owing to competing risks by using exponentially weighted moving average control charts

In industry, process monitoring is widely employed to detect process changes rapidly. However, in some industrial applications observations are censored. For example, when testing breaking strengths and failure times often a limited stress test is performed. With censored observations, a direct application of traditional monitoring procedures is not appropriate. When the censoring occurs due to competing risks, we propose a control chart based on conditional expected values to detect changes in the mean strength. To protect against possible confounding caused by changes in the mean of the censoring mechanism we also suggest a similar chart to detect changes in the mean censoring level. We provide an example of monitoring bond strength to illustrate the application of this methodology.     

'Management Standards' work-related stress in the UK: practical development

Research commissioned for the UK's Health & Safety Executive (HSE) supports the view that a preventative, risk-assessment based approach would be more effective than case-based methods in achieving a nationwide reduction in work-related stress. The background to this approach is described and discussed in a companion paper in this issue (Mackay, Cousins, Kelly, Lee, & McCaig, 2004). The present paper describes the development of HSE's new stress Management Standards—which offer organizations continuous improvement through a three-phase stress preventative process—and the development of a supporting 'Indicator Tool' (a two-phase questionnaire to assess employee perceptions of working conditions). The Management Standards comprise a series of 'states to be achieved', which are statements of good practice in six key stressor areas: demands, control, support, relationships, role and organizational change. For each stressor area there is also a 'platform statement' that outlines the main aims to be achieved by the organization. This statement may include a target percentage of employees finding that the organization meets the standard: this matter will be settled after the standards have been assessed in a public consultation campaign. To use the new process, an organization's state can first be assessed using the Indicator Tool; liaising with workers in focus groups enables a further exploration of issues raised; finally, there may be formulation of interventions and subsequent review. It is not intended that the standards will be legally enforceable. HSE's aim is that they and the associated methodology will enable organizations to effectively tackle work-related stress, and subsequently reduce both its incidence and prevalence.     

Homelessness in Europe and the United States: A Comparison of Prevalence and Public Opinion

Random samples of 250–435 adults were interviewed by telephone in five different nations ( N = 1,546): Belgium, Germany, Italy, the UK, and the United States. The interview included questions on respondent attitudes, knowledge, and opinions regarding homelessness; respondents' own personal experiences with homelessness and homeless people; and demographic characteristics of the respondents. The highest rates for lifetime literal homelessness were found in the UK (7.7%) and United States (6.2%), with the lowest rate in Germany (2.4%), and intermediate rates in Italy (4.0%) and Belgium (3.4%). Less compassionate attitudes toward the homeless were also found on many dimensions in the United States and the UK. Possible explanations of these findings, drawn from various theoretical perspectives, and policy implications are provided .     

Practical considerations when analyzing discrete survival times using the grouped relative risk model

The grouped relative risk model (GRRM) is a popular semi-parametric model for analyzing discrete survival time data. The maximum likelihood estimators (MLEs) of the regression coefficients in this model are often asymptotically efficient relative to those based on a more restrictive, parametric model. However, in settings with a small number of sampling units, the usual properties of the MLEs are not assured. In this paper, we discuss computational issues that can arise when fitting a GRRM to small samples, and describe conditions under which the MLEs can be ill-behaved. We find that, overall, estimators based on a penalized score function behave substantially better than the MLEs in this setting and, in particular, can be far more efficient. We also provide methods of assessing the fit of a GRRM to small samples.