A Preliminary Study of the Role of Attunement in Adult Psychotherapy

This paper presents the results of a preliminarystudy on the recognition of affect attunement in adultpsychotherapy. Brief extracts from six videotapedtherapy sessions were shown to experienced clinicians, who were asked to judge whether the therapistwas attuned to the client/patient or not. Clear examplesof attunement and non-attunement were obtained and thesewere then shown to a sample of postgraduate social work trainees. The trainee resultsshowed none of the consistency of the cliniciansjudgments: 67% (n = 21) were undecided about the exampleof attunement, with only 19.3% (n = 6) giving responses which corresponded with those of theclinicians. For the non-attuned extract, just over athird gave a response which coincided with theclinicians, with 42% (n = 13) undecided. The resultswere used to develop a model for future research on affectattunement, which should provide the basis for thedevelopment of strategies for teaching the attunementskills which may be required by therapists.     

Exploring the Michigan model: The relationship of personality, managerial support and organizational structure with health outcomes in entrants to the healthcare environment

Few studies have examined the role of managerial support in the adaptation of entrants to healthcare. The purpose of this study was to identify the job characteristic and role-related variables that mediate the effects of managerial support and personality on the mental and physical health and sickness absence in two independent groups of new recruits to a healthcare organization. Entrants to a healthcare environment (student nurses) were surveyed 25 weeks after entry. Latent variables represented neuroticism, demand, control, role clarity and affective outcome variables in a simplified version of the Michigan model of work stress (House, 1981). This study used a two-stage approach to structural equation modelling, exploring hypothesized structural models on an initial data set (N=195) prior to confirmation on an independent replication data set (N=239) using multi-sample methods. Finally the confirmed model of choice was evaluated using the combined data (N=434). Emotional distress reported at 6 months was found to be associated with dispositional characteristics of the entrant and indirectly, via job satisfaction, with managerial support from academic and clinical sources. Managerial support from academic and clinical sources had an indirect influence on job satisfaction, but by differing mechanisms involving role clarity and control. The demands perceived by the entrants arose from neuroticism and were independent of any other variable. Emotional distress had its deleterious association with sickness absence via somatic health. This study details a series of mechanisms that will subsequently be tested longitudinally.     

The relation of theory and method: causal relatedness,historical contingency and beyond

This paper critically scrutinizes the thesis put forward by Jennifer Platt in a recent article in The Sociological Review about the general relation between theory and method, based on her investigation of the specific example of functionalism and survey research in post-war US sociology. The present paper questions the extent to which Platt's analysis and general conclusions mask important levels of connectedness between theory and method.     

Parallel processes in researching and assessing potential carers

This paper proposes a model for assessing potential parents, based on our research and practice in which we examined current methods of assessment in the light of anti-oppressive principles and methods. We participated in and observed the work of two differing fostering and adoption agencies, and have drawn from our experiences and analysis to produce a pattern for assessment which critically draws on best practices. The paper also draws on previously published papers which discuss theories of research and assessment (Clifford 1992–93; Clifford 1994; Clifford 1995; Clifford & Cropper 1994), and draws a parallel between the processes of research and those of assessment. Our view is that research methods provide a foundation for assessment methods in various ways, mutually illuminating oppressive and anti-oppressive processes.     

Adolescent fathers in urban communities: exploring their needs and role in preventing pregnancy

Reductions in the number of adolescent pregnancies in the US demand greater recognition of the role of adolescent males, especially in urban environments, and their developmental needs. With its person-in- environment orientation, the social work profession is in a strong position to ameliorate this gap in services. Key developmental issues for teenage males include "hanging out" with peers in networks that communicate information about social behaviors such as premarital sex, separation from one's parents, securing employment so that there can be financial independence, courtship and the consolidation of a male (e.g., macho) image, and identity formation. Since the resources necessary for positive identity formation are frequently unavailable in poor urban centers, impregnating an adolescent female may become an alternative source of self-esteem. Social workers should, with the assistance of the target population, carry out an assessment of all resources available in a given community to meet the developmental needs of adolescent males, identify significant gaps, determine the extent to which available resources are being used appropriately and develop strategies--in collaboration with young males--to provide access to existing resources or create new ones. A community forum framework has been most effective as a launching vehicle for pregnancy prevention programs.     

Latin squares and su doko

Latin squares have been around for a long time -more than 200 years -while su doku is a modern invention. However, as Geoff Freeman points out, the two have a great deal in common.