Multiple Family Therapy Systems

This paper investigates multiple family therapy (MFT), a treatment method which includes several families in a series of sessions with the therapist(s). A brief historical development of MFT is included as well as reports of multiple family therapy groups found in the literature. The characteristics of this treatment method are delineated with special attention to the elements of change attributed to MFT and the stages of development in MFT groups. The role of the therapist and special problems in MFT are also explored. Some implications for research are outlined, indicating that MFT is lacking adequate validation as a treatment modality. Possible advantages inherent in multiple family therapy systems, which have been suggested by therapists' clinical findings, are also reported.     

A brand share model for Canadian cigarettes

In an attempt to gain some insight into the way in which advertising affects the distribution of sales with different brands, a brand share model for Canadian filter cigarette brands is presented, using Canadian data for the period 1967-1975.     

Nudity and Framing: Classifying Art,Pornography, Information,and Ambiguity

Drawing on 45 interviews, this paper addresses how people interpret and make sense of nude images within popular culture. I suggest that the nude image resides comfortably in three familiar and bounded frames: art, pornography, and information. These frames clearly provide the reader with cues that aid his/her interpretation of the nude as well as his/her evaluation of the nude. A fourth frame is under construction this is the commodified frame used in selling products and magazines. Older adults refuse to address the acceptability of this frame; younger adults believe it to be a bounded category close to the other three. Age distinguishes between the kinds and amounts of cultural work that people do in deciding the acceptability of the frames that contain nude images.     

Disability and job stress: Implications for vocational rehabilitation planning

Because people with disabilities often experience an increased risk for physical and psychological complications of job stress, vocational rehabilitation professionals must be able to (a) identify individual and work-environmental risk factors for job stress and (b) design appropriate interventions to minimize those risk factors. The purpose of this article is to (a) present two models of occupational stress, (b) examine factors common to each of these models that are associated with employee health and well-being, and (c) suggest implications for rehabilitation planning.     

Reliability in rehabilitation measurement

The article examines reliability as a key component of the psychometric properties of tests and inventories. What is reliability, types of reliability, why is reliability important, and other reliability issues are addressed in a manner that will help Work readers to better understand and apply psychometric considerations in the context of rehabilitation research. The authors contend that reliability is an essential condition for the psychometric soundness of measurement instruments that are used in rehabilitation research and practice.     

Contributions of Clinical Sociology to the Medical Field

Health care in the United States is a complicated structure of social roles, processes, and communication, involving both patients and professionals. Understanding the social dimensions of the health care process can assist health professionals in providing better care to their patients. This paper analyzes several dimensions of the health care system, as suggested in a paper by Kallen (Kallen D. J. 1984. Clinical Sociology Review 2:78–93.) These include the perceptions of participants in the system; structures of the groups involved, including their roles and norms; the process by which groups, as opposed to individuals, operate; and finally the need for the clinical sociologist as a system maintenance specialist, to deal with these problems.     

The evaluation of a mind/body intervention to reduce psychological distress and perceived stress in college students

The authors examined the effect of a 6-week mind/body intervention on college students' psychological distress, anxiety, and perception of stress. One hundred twenty-eight students were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 63) or a waitlist control group (n = 65). The experimental group received 6 90-minute group-training sessions in the relaxation response and cognitive behavioral skills. The Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Perceived Stress Scale were used to assess the students' psychological state before and after the intervention. Ninety students (70% of the initial sample) completed the postassessment measure. Significantly greater reductions in psychological distress, state anxiety, and perceived stress were found in the experimental group. This brief mind/body training may be useful as a preventive intervention for college students, according to the authors, who called for further research to determine whether the observed treatment effect can be sustained over a longer period of time.     

The physical impact of computers and electronic game use on children and adolescents,a review of current literature

Children using computers and electronic games may adopt the kinds of sustained and awkward postures that are associated with musculoskeletal disorders in working adults. If they do, the physical demands of extensive use could lead to a wide range of adverse effects on developing children, including visual, neurological and physical changes. This article reviews the literature related to media use, ergonomics, epidemiology and pediatrics that address the physical impact of computer use by children. The literature establishes that computer use is common, but does not demonstrate a causal or statistical association with any physical disorders. Laboratory studies on vision, case reports of game-related tendonitis and ergonomic analyses of classroom computers suggest that concern is warranted.