The evolution of culture and cohesion in the group treatment of ego impaired children

The challenge of group treatment with ego impaired children is to provide a situation in which their maladaptive efforts to organize volatile affects and impulses can be tolerated and structured. This article addresses the process of culture building in group and how it can provide a cohesive structure for affective expression that is acceptable and tolerable to the defensive, resistant child. In particular, the author will argue that it is through the sense of normality and commonality engendered by indigenous peer culture that the members initially develop a structure and language for affiliation, play, and mutual identification. By facilitating the cohesion of indigenous peer culture, the therapist creates a sufficient holding environment to begin a dialogue involving both verbal and nonverbal communication. For children who are difficult to engage in discussion, let alone treatment, this dialogue is the essential process for creating a corrective emotional experience. Through a concise case study, the author describes the process by which the children's efforts to express and create their own culture are cultivated, managed, and understood.

The establishment of individual and collective competency in children's groups as a prelude to entry into intimacy, disclosure, and bonding

This article offers a theory about the evolution of small group systems through a series of stages. It discusses the relationship of these stages to and their effect on the self-other and therapeutic interventive spheres in the long-term group treatment of children. The developmental unfolding is seen as universal to small groups and as operating on an interpersonal and collective level, distinguishable from individual psyches and close dyadic bonds but influenced by them. On an isomorphic level the group stages contain emotive, cognitive, and interactive themes and processes that parallel and evoke those of the bonding and work processes. As such, the group dynamic provides an enabling matrix and a mirror for the other goings on in the member-therapist encounter. Its pacing and its progressions and regressions appear to correspond with those of the development of the transitional space and therapeutic culture of the group. Like the other articles in the symposium, this one offers specific examples in which the three spheres intersect and are integrated.

Early developmental change in bitter taste responses in human infants

Human newborns (birth-6 days) and older infants (14-180 days) were allowed to ingest both urea (0.12-0.24 M) in a mildly sweet diluent and the diluent alone, and multiple measures of responsivity were obtained (relative intake, sucking behavior, and hedonic ratings based on facial expressions and body movements). For newborns, there was no indication of rejection of urea relative to the diluent in measures of intake or sucking behavior; rather, their responses were predominantly controlled by the order of presentation of the two tastes. In contrast, older infants tended to reject all concentrations of urea according to these measures. Hedonic ratings provided an indication of limited rejection of the bitter taste by newborns, but older infants were still found to respond more consistently. These data suggest there is an early developmental change in bitter taste perception.

[A neuropsychological analysis of the lack of school achievement among the pupils of mass schools]

We describe typology of neuropsychological organization underlying the cognitive difficulties of 6-10-years-old schoolchildren. In 10-20% subjects under study was revealed a deviant ontogenetic development with minimal cerebral disfunction, accompanied by systemic insufficiency of certain mental functions. Ontogenetic development of left-handed subjects as well as of right-handed ones with partial and/or family left-handedness was found to be atypical. About 80% of right-handed subjects with normal cognitive development displayed disorganization of some components of mental activity as a consequence of heterochronous morphofunctional maturation of the brain. Specific correction programs should be developed for each group of children under study.

The reactions of Chinese children who have cancer

While many studies have explored the impact of childhood cancer on children and their families, few articles have examined the effects of this disease on selected cultural groups. Reactions of children and families in a select group from the People's Republic of China are described.

A world between realities: an exploration of therapeutic group culture and transitional phenomena in a long-term psychotherapy group

In long-term, open-ended psychotherapy groups in which there are inevitable, yet potentially disruptive changes in membership, therapeutic group culture can become particularly important in sustaining a group's sense of cohesion. This article focuses on how transitional phenomena, as defined by D. W. Winnicott, and representational play serve as vehicles for establishing therapeutic group culture in a preadolescent girls' group. Applications of both transitional phenomena and therapeutic group culture to group stage development, as outlined by Garland, Jones, and Kolodny (1970), will also be explored.

Parental division of infant care: contextual influences and infant characteristics

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of maternal employment to division of parental infant caregiving and whether infant characteristics predicted maternal and paternal caregiving during the first year. Subjects were 351 families with healthy infants from normal pregnancies. Measures included a newborn and 1-month Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment, Child Care Activities Scale at 1, 6, and 12 months, Bates Infant Characteristics Questionnaire at 6 and 12 months, and selected demographics. Mothers provided the majority of infant care though fathers' proportion increased with employment of mothers. Controlling for demographics, infant characteristics were infrequent predictors of maternal caregiving and predicted a small amount of paternal caregiving variance.

First time experiences in infancy: when they appear to be pleasant, do they activate the adrenocortical stress response?

The effect of a positive first-time experience on adrenocortical activity was examined in 48 6- to 13-month-old infants who took part in two sessions of a YMCA-like mother-infant swim class. Experience was manipulated by comparing Novice swimmers with infants who previously had taken a swim class, and by examining responses to first versus second class session. In addition, the effects of temperamental fear of novelty were examined by maternal report prior to the first session. Preswim and Postswim cortisol levels were compared to measures obtained at the same time of day in two comparison groups, one tested at home and one tested in a playroom at the University. The results yielded no evidence of an adrenocortical stress response (elevated cortisol) to the swim sessions for either the Novice or Experienced swimmers. Infant temperamental fearfulness predicted behavioral but not adrenocortical responses during swimming. Postswim cortisol levels were significantly lower than posttest levels in the two baseline comparison groups, and lower postswim cortisol levels were associated with less negative and more positive emotional behavior and engagement of the swimming experience. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that emotions serve as a major pathway influencing adrenocortical activity, and provide no support for the uncertainty hypothesis of adrenocortical activation.

Temperament and interactive effects: mothers and infants in a teaching situation

Temperament is a theoretical concept used to understand individual's behavioral styles. In this study, temperament was measured in 13-month-old infants (N = 51) and their mothers, who were also observed together in a teaching situation. The purpose of the study was to determine the relationships between maternal and infant temperaments and interactive behaviors in the teaching situation. Mothers were given 10 minutes to teach infants four tasks designed to assess qualitative aspects of the interaction. In general, the interaction between mother and infant had a synchronous quality that was influenced by, but largely independent of, the temperamental characteristics of mother and infant. Responsive maternal teaching behaviors were significantly related to positive infant affect during teaching. Weak relationships were found between the temperament variables and interactive behaviors in the teaching situation. When mothers and infants were matched on temperament characteristics, no effects of matching temperaments on interactive behaviors in the teaching situation were found. These findings suggest that mothers are able to adjust their behaviors to compensate for their infant's temperament. Based on these data, nurses can focus on the dynamics of the interactions themselves and avoid making judgments based on temperament alone when evaluating mother-infant relationships.

Enduring negative psychological characteristics of male and female step-children toward the step-parent

Many divorced people remarry, and if either one or both of the remarried partners has a child or children from a former marriage, then the youth need adjust to not only the new marital structure, but to the new step-parent as well. The present research was conducted to determine: (1) enduring negative psychological characteristics of male and female step-children toward the step-parent, and (2) a comparison of the similarities and/or differences of each. Results suggested ten of the most frequently stated variables of both subject groups, similarities or significant differences between them by subject status, and their relevancy to the step-child-step-parent relationship.

Reflections on a developing body of group-as-a-whole theory for children's therapy groups: an introduction

This essay serves as an introduction to a collection of articles on group psychotherapy for children that appears in the following pages. These articles are an outgrowth of a symposium on children's group treatments presented at the 1990 Annual Conference of the American Group Psychotherapy Association. The present author provides a general overview of relevant literature and offers an orientation to the subsequent theoretical and practical integrations.

Behavioral management of toilet training, enuresis, and encopresis

Toileting problems are a matter of great concern to parents and are a frequent source of family discord, but proper handling of toilet training as well as enuresis and encopresis can ameliorate any untoward effects of these problems. Both the pediatrician and the pediatric psychologist can play a major role in this area.

Correlates of sociometric status in school children in Buenos Aires

Teacher ratings on Spanish translations of the Comprehensive Behavior Rating Scale for Children and peer nominations were obtained for 110 school children (42 boys and 68 girls) in grades 2-5 at a public elementary school in Buenos Aires. Nominations of "likes best" were negatively correlated with language processing deficits, attention problems, and sluggish tempo as rated by both teachers and peers, and positively correlated with teacher ratings of social competence, for both boys and girls. The reverse pattern was found for nominations of "likes least." Children were assigned to sociometric status groups of popular (n = 27), rejected (n = 28), neglected (n = 7) controversial (n = 11), and average (n = 37) based on number of LL and LB nominations. Rejected and popular children could be differentiated by teacher and peer ratings of linguistic information processing deficits, inattention, and sluggish tempo. Behavioral characteristics of motor hyperactivity, impulsivity, and aggression were significantly associated with being male but did not differ by sociometric status group.

Premorbid behavioral and psychosocial adjustment of children with traumatic brain injury

The premorbid adjustment of 85 six- to sixteen-year-old children with traumatic brain injury was assessed by means of standardized rating forms that were completed by the children's parents and teachers. Parents and teachers were in moderate agreement when rating children's premorbid functioning. Less than 11% of the children appeared to have premorbid disturbances. Premorbid adjustment did not appear to be clearly related to injury severity or to type of injury. It is concluded that premorbid behavioral and psychosocial factors are not strongly related to the incidence of traumatic brain injury in a sample of children with predominantly relatively severe injuries.

Caring for families of pediatric transplant recipients: psychosocial implications

Organ transplantation is allowing the hope for survival and an improved quality of life to become a reality for many children with end-stage diseases. Most pediatric transplant recipients are active and able to participate in age-appropriate activities. Despite dramatic symptomatic improvements, however, children and families continue to face major psychosocial stresses. Family stresses are related to the uncertainty of the child's future health and well-being, role strain, social isolation, and financial burdens. Pediatric transplant recipients may have difficulties with psychosocial adjustment, especially related to dissatisfaction with the cosmetic side effects of immunosuppressive therapy and a lack of socialization skills or social competence. Psychosocial stresses faced by children following transplant may result in behavior problems, depression, poorer social adaptation, or noncompliance. The psychosocial adaptation of pediatric transplant recipients can be promoted through support and counseling from health professionals caring for these families. More research is needed to evaluate the psychosocial implications of pediatric organ transplantation and identify effective methods of providing psychological support and promoting adaptation in these children.

Attention, play, and social behavior in ADHD preschoolers

We investigated attention, play and nonplay behavior in preschool children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and a matched control group of non-ADHD children. Forty 4- to 5-year-old children (20 ADHD and 20 matched control) participated. Across a 6-week-period, children's social and play interactions as well as nonplay behaviors were videotaped in the classroom. Videotape recordings were analyzed for the level of attention, cognitive play, and social participation. In addition, children's level of attention and cooperative behavior were observed during two group activities. Findings indicated that ADHD, relative to non-ADHD, children engaged in less overall play and greater functional or sensorimotor play. ADHD children also engaged in more transitional behavior, were less competent with peers, and were less attentive and cooperative during group activities.

Some consequences of stimulus variability on speech processing by 2-month-old infants

The present study explores how stimulus variability in speech production influences the 2-month-old infant's perception and memory for speech sounds. Experiment 1 focuses on the consequences of talker variability for the infant's ability to detect differences between speech sounds. When tested with high-amplitude sucking (HAS) procedure, infants who listened to versions of a syllable, such as [symbol: see text], produced by 6 male and 6 female talkers, detected a change to another syllable, such as [symbol: see text], uttered by the same group of talkers. In fact, infants exposed to multiple talkers performed as well as other infants who heard utterances produced by only a single talker. Moreover, other results showed that infants discriminate the voices of the individual talkers, although discriminating one mixed group of talkers (3 males and 3 females) from another is too difficult for them. Experiment 2 explored the consequences of talker variability on infants' memory for speech sounds. The HAS procedure was modified by introducing a 2-min delay period between the familiarization and test phases of the experiment. Talker variability impeded infants' encoding of speech sounds. Infants who heard versions of the same syllable produced by 12 different talkers did not detect a change to a new syllable produced by the same talkers after the delay period. However, infants who heard the same syllable produced by a single talker were able to detect the phonetic change after the delay. Finally, although infants who heard productions from a single talker retained information about the phonetic structure of the syllable during the delay, they apparently did not retain information about the identity of the talker. Experiment 3 reduced the range of variability across talkers and investigated whether variability interferes with retention of all speech information. Although reducing the range of variability did not lead to retention of phonetic details, infants did recognize a change in the gender of the talkers' voices (from male to female or vice versa) after a 2-min delay. Two additional experiments explored the consequences of limiting the variability to a single talker. In Experiment 4, with an immediate testing procedure, infants exposed to 12 different tokens of one syllable produced by the same talker discriminated these from 12 tokens of another syllable.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Visual expectation and dimensions of infant information processing

Visual expectation was assessed in 103 black 6.5-month-olds using Haith, Hazan, and Goodman's paradigm and related to performance on standard developmental assessments and tests of information processing skill. As expected, percent anticipations was higher and RT lower than in 3.0-month-olds previously tested. Split-half and left-right correlations for the RT measures were moderate and similar to those previously reported, as was split-half reliability for percent anticipations. The 2 RT measures were related to fixation duration on both visual recognition memory (VRM) and cross-modal transfer, suggesting moderate cross-task and cross-age consistency in processing speed. Percent anticipations and baseline RT each contributed independently to the prediction of VRM novelty preference. Data from a factor analysis suggested 3 dimensions of cognitive function: processing speed, developmental level, and memory/attention. These findings suggest that the visual expectation paradigm provides a reliable new approach for assessing cognitive processing efficiency and attention during infancy.

The development of eating behavior in childhood

Eating behavior must be viewed as a complex phenomenon involving the coordination of motor, cognitive, social and emotional development, all under the regulation of both central and peripheral factors. Eating provides not only the necessary biologic substrate for human growth and normal physiologic function but is strongly involved in the full range of social interaction from the formation of the mother-infant relationship to later social interaction. Eating is associated with a variety of pleasurable and painful affective experiences. The pediatrician, working closely with the parents, can facilitate the development of healthy attitudes toward eating and healthy eating behaviors.