Initial levels of differentiation and reduction in psychological symptoms for clients in marriage and family therapy

Using Bowen Family Systems Theory as a theoretical underpinning, in this study, we investigated the hypothesis that clients with higher levels of differentiation would improve more quickly in therapy than clients with lower levels of differentiation. Hierarchical Linear Modeling was used to analyze the data over nine sessions of therapy in a sample from an on-campus training clinic. The results suggest that there was variation in the initial levels of psychological symptoms and that differentiation was a significant predictor of this variance. The results also suggest that although psychological symptoms decreased over the nine sessions of therapy, there was very little variance in this change. These results are discussed in relation to Bowen Theory. The difficulties of doing this type of research and the lessons learned from this project are also discussed.     

Student health insurance programs at collegiate institutions: a national survey

Increasing health care costs are forcing collegiate institutions to find more economical ways to meet the health care needs of students. Student health insurance programs are a major component in meeting these needs. This national survey reports the extent to which student health insurance programs are offered or administered by 2-year and 4-year colleges, universities, and professional and graduate schools in both the public and private sectors. The study finds that most programs are optional, open to all registered students regardless of age or credit load, with dependent coverage options usually available. Reported enrollment levels suggest that less than 20% of the students participate at a majority of the institutions surveyed. Concern about group health insurance at the collegiate level reflects national concern over the large number of Americans who currently lack health coverage.     

System Therapy: Epistemology, Paradigm and Pragmatics

In this paper the author presents a model of therapy which he proposes to call 'system therapy.' Episteme, some basic concepts, stages of the therapeutic process and the training of system therapists are discussed. This paper is meant to be an introduction into system therapy and does not claim to attempt an exhaustive presentation of a complex subject.     

Reflecting emotions: The movement-mirroring test

This study tests the ability to mirror emotions by having second-year social work students and first-and second-year dance therapy students duplicate a videotape of a person expressing sadness, anger, and happiness. The ability to mirror is then compared to imaginative, expressive, and observational skills. Movement mirroring was found to correlate positively with, and was predictive of, observational skills. Mirroring was found not to be related to expressivity and the relationship between mirroring and imagination was unclear. Dance therapy students performed significantly better than social work students on the Movement-Mirroring Test, however, training did not improve their scores.     

Residential Adjustment of Elders: Learning from Experiences With Parents and Peers

The ways elders learn from the experiences of their parents and peers in coping with declining health can affect residential adjustments they make themselves to minimize their exposure to long-term-care risks. Experiences of parents and peers can affect predisposition toward residential options, and parental and peer experiences sometimes can have major influences in elder residential choices. Drawing on qualitative interviews with community-residing elders, we illustrate how elders critically assess how their own parents and peers responded to declining health. We then show how these assessments influence the residential thinking and adjustments of these elders in anticipation of their own declining self-care capacity.     

Electronic Cigarette Use Among College Students: Links to Gender,Race/Ethnicity,Smoking, and Heavy Drinking

Abstract

Objective: Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use continues to rise, and current data regarding use of e-cigarettes among college students are needed. The purpose of this study was to examine e-cigarette use and the relation of such use with gender, race/ethnicity, traditional tobacco use, and heavy drinking. Participants and Methods: A sample of 599 college students enrolled in General Psychology at a state university completed a self-report questionnaire. Results: Twenty-nine percent of students reported prior use of e-cigarettes, with 14% reporting use in the past 30 days. E-cigarette use was linked to male gender but not to race/ethnicity. Dual use (ie, concurrent use of both traditional and e-cigarettes) was related to heavier use of traditional and e-cigarettes, and nicotine use was linked to pronounced rates of heavy drinking. Conclusions: E-cigarette use among college students is exponentially on the rise, and its co-use with alcohol may contribute to negative outcomes in this population.     

Promoting Global Citizenship Through Study Abroad: The Influence of Program Destination, Type, and Duration on the Propensity for Development Volunteerism

Study abroad is cited commonly as a critical element of education for global civic engagement, but the significance of various programmatic features has not been well established. This study examines the relationships among three facets of study abroad programs—destination, type, and duration—and subsequent volunteerism through international development organizations. Survey responses were analyzed from 2,250 college alumni (71 % female, 14 % ethnic minority, M age = 27) who studied abroad between 1995 and 2005. The results of logistic regression indicated that studying abroad in a developing country and engaging in international service-learning were positively associated with the odds of development volunteerism. The number of months spent abroad also predicted development volunteerism, though duration did not moderate the effects of program destination and type. An interaction test demonstrated that program effects were not dependent on gender. The findings suggest that differences in the nature of study abroad programs influence the extent to which participants become actively engaged in global civil society.     

Governing the liberal self in a ‘post-truth’ era: science,class and the debate over GMOs

ABSTRACT

This essay examines four case studies in which prominent commentators in media sites that target the liberal-leaning, educated class – The Daily Show, Slate magazine, the New York Times, and Real Time with Bill Maher – announced that they had changed their minds on the issue of genetically modified foods (GMOs). Though each had previously been sceptical of the technology, they now embraced it in the name of science and humanitarianism, and urged audiences to do the same. These cases were flashpoints in a broader shift in which the liberal, educated middle class – a formation historically critical of GMOs–has increasingly denounced scepticism about biotechnology as a pernicious ‘anti-science’ conservatism. This liberal pro-GMO discourse posits itself as a matter of truth versus lies. We argue, however, that the manner in which it framed GMO opposition as irrational and immoral threatened attachments that have long been central to liberal, educated middle class selfhood and capital – attachments to being a caring and rational self. Moreover, this discourse intensified as this class was experiencing heightened cultural and economic instability under neoliberalism, the post-industrial labour economy, and the aftermath of the Great Recession. Through their narratives of coming to believe in GMOs, our case studies provide their audiences with technologies, in the Foucauldian sense, for making classed selves and shoring up this class’ claims to authority under these conditions. We suggest that this swell of cultural technologies aiming to cultivate liberal support for GMOs has a great deal to teach us about the class dynamics of the so-called ‘post-truth’ era.     

The Association of Maternal Depressive Symptoms with Child Externalizing Problems: The Role of Maternal Support Following Child Sexual Abuse

This study examines the role of abuse-specific maternal support in the association between parent depressive symptoms and child externalizing problems in a sample of children with a history of sexual abuse. In total, 106 mother–child dyads were studied. The association between maternal depressive symptoms and child delinquency behaviors was found to partially operate through abuse-specific maternal support, which was assessed via parent report. Implications of the findings for parenting programs are discussed, and future research directions are considered.