Changes in Self-Representations Following Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy for Young Adults: A Comparative Typology

Changes in dynamic psychological structures are often a treatment goal in psychotherapy. The present study aimed at creating a typology of self-representations among young women and men in psychoanalytic psychotherapy, to study longitudinal changes in self-representations, and to compare self-representations in the clinical sample with those of a nonclinical group. Twenty-five women and sixteen men were interviewed according to Blatt's Object Relations Inventory pretreatment, at termination, and at a 1.5-year follow-up. In the comparison group, eleven women and nine men were interviewed at baseline, 1.5 years, and three years later. Typologies of the 123 self-descriptions in the clinical group and 60 in the nonclinical group were constructed by means of ideal-type analysis for men and women separately. Clusters of self-representations could be depicted on a two-dimensional matrix with the axes Relatedness-Self-definition and Integration-Nonintegration. In most cases, the self-descriptions changed over time in terms of belonging to different ideal-type clusters. In the clinical group, there was a movement toward increased integration in self-representations, but above all toward a better balance between relatedness and self-definition. The changes continued after termination, paralleled by reduced symptoms, improved functioning, and higher developmental levels of representations. No corresponding tendency could be observed in the nonclinical group.

Participant Perceptions of Character Concepts in a Physical Activity-Based Positive Youth Development Program

Physical activity-based positive youth development (PYD) programs often aim to foster character development. This study examined youth perspectives of character development curricula and the impact these activities have on their lives within and beyond the program. This case study examined youth from low-income families in a physical activity-based summer PYD program that integrated one character concept (respect, caring, responsibility, trust) in each of 4 weeks. Participants (N = 24) included a cross section of age, gender, ethnicity, and past program experience. Semi-structured interviews were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis and constant comparative methods. Thirteen themes were grouped in four categories: building highquality reciprocal relationships; intrapersonal improvement; moral reasoning and understanding; and rejection, resistance, and compliance. The findings provide participant-centered guidance for understanding youth personal and social development through physical activity in ways that are meaningful to participants, which is particularly needed for youth in low-income communities with limited youth programming.

Developmental Changes in Consistency of Preferential Feeling for Peers and Objects around Age Four

When do young children come to have an individual mental image of each peer? Forming a stable impression of each person requires maturation of at least two cognitive abilities, inferring the other's mind and episodic memory. According to past studies, the critical period for both these abilities is around age four. Thus, it was hypothesized that the child begins to form a consistent mental image of each peer at or after age four. To test this hypothesis, the temporal consistency of preference for peers was examined in 3-, 4-, and 5-yr.-olds. Each subject was asked “Who do you like better than others in this class?” once a week for three times (Study 1). The results indicated that most of the 3-yr.-olds answered different names as their favorite friends or nonsense things inconsistently week by week, whereas older children tended to answer the same names across weeks. However, changing the question to “Which object do you like best of these alternatives?” dramatically changed the response pattern (Study 2): preferences among nonhuman objects (playthings) were temporally consistent even for 3-yr.-olds. These results indicate that children before age four do have a temporally consistent feeling toward general objects but do not have a consistent firm feeling about personal relationships among peers. The results are discussed in relation to the critical developmental changes about age 4 in other cognitive abilities.

Building Youths' Resilience within a Psychiatric Outpatient Setting: Results from a Pilot Clinical Intervention Project

The relevance of resilience research for clinical practice has not yet been established. In this intervention pilot study, the aim was to explore how group work based on enhancing the participants' creativity, self-efficacy, active coping, and sense of continuity could be utilized within a clinical context for adolescents with stressful background experiences. 31 participants and 24 parents completed pre-, post-, and 1-yr. follow-up assessments of the youths' behavior difficulties, as well as depression, positive life attitude, coping, and prosocial behavior. Apart from a drop in self-rated prosocial behavior, no significant treatment effects were found. Implications for clinical practice and research are indicated.

Re-Examining the Role of Interscholastic Sport Participation in Education

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationships of interscholastic sports participation with locus of control, self-concept, cognitive test scores, and school dropout in adolescents via a secondary analysis of National Educational Longitudinal Study 1988 (NELS:88). Subjects were 1,883 students who completed all measurements in 8th grade (1988), at Follow-up 1 (10th, 1990), and Follow-up 2 (12th, 1992). Scales utilized to measure locus of control, self-concept, and cognitive ability were developed by the National Center for Educational Statistics. Dropout was assessed through school records and contact with participants. At baseline and Follow-up 1, students self-reporting sport participation displayed higher self-concept and locus of control; however, these differences were no longer observed at Follow-up 2. Drop-out rate for boys at Follow-up 2 was significantly lower for students reporting interscholastic sport participation at baseline or at Follow-up 1. Similarly, drop-out rate for girls at Follow-up 2 was significantly lower for students reporting interscholastic sport participation at baseline or at Follow-up 1. These findings support the presumed positive role of sport participation for adolescents in American schools.

The Relationship of Personality and Behavioral Development from Adolescence to Young Adulthood and Subsequent Parenting Behavior

The purpose of the study was to examine the association of parental personality, behavior, and substance use during adolescence and adulthood as related to the later parent-offspring relationship. The sample consisted of 297 parents ( M age 32 yr.), who were first interviewed at earlier points in their lives in childhood and early adolescence at six points in time, extending from 1983 to 2002. Multiple regression models showed that parents with certain earlier personality and behavioral attributes, e.g., more rebelliousness and more frequent tobacco use, had a more difficult relationship with their children. Findings indicated an association between the cumulative number of psychosocial risk factors in the parents and difficulties in the parent-child relationship. The findings suggested that interventions designed to decrease youths' substance abuse may increase the likelihood that later when they are parents they will form nurturing relationships with their children.

Construction of a Scale for Measuring Development of Moral Judgement

The present research is a part of a study done to develop an objective measure of the development of moral judgement according to Kohlberg's theoretical construct. The Padua Scale of Moral Judgement and the relationship between empirical data and theory are presented. The scale was constructed from responses to the Sociomoral Reflection Measure–Short Form derived from Kohlberg's Moral Judgement Interview. Reliability and validity of the new scale as well as group age and sex differences were examined.

Romantic Passion as Output from a Self-Regulating, Intimacy-Seeking System: A Model for Understanding Passionate Love

This article presents a model of why individuals experience the feeling of passionate love in intimate relationships. Previous models have been limited because they do not describe the purpose and function of passionate love, do not incorporate basic emotion and personality theory, or are not applicable to help couples in distress. The present model reinterprets and integrates previous findings. New predictions are made about the functioning of passionate love in relationships by hypothesizing a self-regulating, intimacy-seeking system that produces passionate love as its outcome. A self-regulation model proposed by Carver and Scheier in 1998 is the template on which this model is based.

Goodness of fit between prenatal maternal sleep and infant sleep: Associations with maternal depression and attachment security

The current study prospectively examined the ways in which goodness of fit between maternal and infant sleep contributes to maternal depressive symptoms and the mother-child relationship across the first years of life. In a sample of 173 mother-child dyads, maternal prenatal sleep, infant sleep, maternal depressive symptoms, and mother-child attachment security were assessed via self-report, actigraphy, and observational measures. Results suggested that a poor fit between mothers' prenatal sleep and infants' sleep at 8 months (measured by sleep diary and actigraphy) was associated with maternal depressive symptoms at 15 months. Additionally, maternal depression mediated the association between the interplay of mother and infant sleep (measured by sleep diary) and mother-child attachment security at 30 months. Findings emphasize the importance of the match between mother and infant sleep on maternal wellbeing and mother-child relationships and highlight the role of mothers' perceptions of infant sleep.

Age Trends and Age Norms for the NEO Personality Inventory-3 in Adolescents and Adults

The NEO Personality Inventory-3 (NEO-PI-3) is a modification of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) designed to be more understandable to adolescents. Data from adults aged 21 to 91 showed that the NEO-PI-3 also functions as well or better than the NEO-PI-R in adults. Age trends from combined adolescent (n = 500) and adult (n = 635) samples confirmed previous cross-sectional findings and demonstrated the importance of studying age changes especially at the facet level and during the decade of the 20s. Normative data for self-report and observer rating forms for adolescents, younger and older adults, and all adults are discussed, as well as for a combined-age group. It is argued that combined-age norms may be most appropriate for depicting the personality scores of individuals, but the utility for some purposes of within-age group scores is also acknowledged.

The Effect of Age and Role Information on Expectations for Big Five Personality Traits

In four studies, the authors investigated the extent to which expectations for personality traits in age-graded roles correspond to patterns of personality trait change across the life course. In Studies 1 (N = 43) and 2 (N = 126), the authors examined the age-graded roles of high school student, college student, parent, and grandparent and found that expectations for how people behave in these age-graded roles showed strong parallels to the documented pattern of personality trait development and that this pattern of expectations was largely shared by younger and older participants. In Studies 3 (N = 252) and 4 (N = 123), the authors separated age and role information (e.g., marital, parental, and employment status) and found that people use both sources of information independently in forming expectations of others. The implications for understanding the interplay of expectations and personality trait development are discussed.

Self-Esteem Maintenance Processes: Why Low Self-Esteem may be Resistant to Change

If most people desire to maximize feelings of self-worth, how do we explain the persistence of low self-esteem? Results from four studies suggest that people with low self-esteem may be less likely to accept positive feedback from themselves than from an outside source but equally likely to accept negative feedback from the self and an outsider. When the self was the source of positive feedback, people high, but not low, in self-esteem incorporated the feedback into their self-views; in contrast, when positive feedback came from a knowledgeable external source, both high and low self-esteem people accepted it. Finally, when self-generated feedback was negative, participants low in self-esteem accepted it. The authors discuss how these findings shed light on the maintenance of low self-esteem.

The relationship between expressive language level and psychological development in children with autism 5 years of age

The age of detection of autism varies and may be linked to differences in the severity of disturbance and any associated retardation. Symptom intensity, overall language level, age of recognition of first disturbances and level of psychological development were examined in 222 children with pervasive developmental disorder with a mean age of 5 years. Results showed a positive correlation between language level and psychological development as well as between language level and intensity of symptoms. The central position of language in psychological development is discussed.

Persistent exposure to poverty during childhood limits later leader emergence

Increasing attention is being paid to the question of why some people emerge as leaders, and we investigated the effects of persistent exposure to poverty during childhood on later leadership role occupancy. We hypothesized that exposure to poverty would limit later leadership role occupancy through the indirect effects of the quality of schooling and personal mastery, and that gender would moderate the effects of exposure to poverty and personal mastery. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Youth provided multiwave and multisource data for a sample of 4,536 (1,533 leaders; 3,003 nonleaders). Both school quality and personal mastery mediated the effects of family poverty status on later leadership role occupancy. Although gender did not moderate the effects of poverty on leadership role occupancy, the indirect effects of early exposure to poverty on leadership role occupancy through personal mastery were moderated by gender. Conceptual and practical implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

The ecocultural context and child behavior problems: A qualitative analysis in rural Nepal

Commonly used paradigms for studying child psychopathology emphasize individual-level factors and often neglect the role of context in shaping risk and protective factors among children, families, and communities. To address this gap, we evaluated influences of ecocultural contextual factors on definitions, development of, and responses to child behavior problems and examined how contextual knowledge can inform culturally responsive interventions. We drew on Super and Harkness' "developmental niche" framework to evaluate the influences of physical and social settings, childcare customs and practices, and parental ethnotheories on the definitions, development of, and responses to child behavior problems in a community in rural Nepal. Data were collected between February and October 2014 through in-depth interviews with a purposive sampling strategy targeting parents (N = 10), teachers (N = 6), and community leaders (N = 8) familiar with child-rearing. Results were supplemented by focus group discussions with children (N = 9) and teachers (N = 8), pile-sort interviews with mothers (N = 8) of school-aged children, and direct observations in homes, schools, and community spaces. Behavior problems were largely defined in light of parents' socialization goals and role expectations for children. Certain physical settings and times were seen to carry greater risk for problematic behavior when children were unsupervised. Parents and other adults attempted to mitigate behavior problems by supervising them and their social interactions, providing for their physical needs, educating them, and through a shared verbal reminding strategy (samjhaune). The findings of our study illustrate the transactional nature of behavior problem development that involves context-specific goals, roles, and concerns that are likely to affect adults' interpretations and responses to children's behavior. Ultimately, employing a developmental niche framework will elucidate setting-specific risk and protective factors for culturally compelling intervention strategies.

Emerging adult identity development, alcohol use, and alcohol-related problems during the transition out of college

Alcohol use generally peaks during the early 20s and declines with age. These declines, referred to as "maturing out," are presumed to result from the acquisition of adult roles (e.g., marriage, employment) incompatible with alcohol use. Recent empirical evidence suggests that variables other than role transitions (e.g., personality) may also be important in understanding this process. Changes in identity that occur during emerging adulthood may also be linked to the process of maturing out of heavy drinking, though no studies have yet addressed this possibility. Utilizing data from a large sample of graduating college students (N = 907) during senior year (Wave 1) and the 2 following years (Waves 2-3), the current study examined relations between aspects of emerging adult identity and drinking outcomes (alcohol use and problems). Using time-varying covariate growth models, results indicated that several facets of emerging adult identity conferred risk for the failure to mature out of heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems. Experimentation/possibilities emerged as a significant risk factor for both heavy drinking and alcohol problems, but these effects diminished considerably when accounting for personality risk. In contrast, although small in magnitude, effects of self-focus on heavy drinking and negativity/instability on alcohol-related problems were relatively independent of effects of other established predictors. The effect for negativity/instability was evident only at the final wave. The findings have important implications for theories of maturing out and may ultimately inform tailoring or refinement of prevention/intervention approaches for emerging adults. (PsycINFO Database Record

Diurnal testosterone variability is differentially associated with parenting quality in mothers and fathers

Previous studies on the relation between testosterone (T) levels and parenting have found ample evidence for the challenge hypothesis, demonstrating that high T levels inhibit parental involvement and that becoming a parent is related to a decrease in T levels in both mothers and fathers. However, less is known about the relation between T levels and more qualitative aspects of parenting. In the current study we examined basal T levels and diurnal variability in T levels in relation to mothers' and fathers' parenting quality. Participants included 217 fathers and 124 mothers with two children (3 and 5years of age). Evening and morning salivary T samples were analyzed with radio-immunoassays to determine circulating T levels. Parental sensitivity (i.e., child-centered responsiveness) and respect for children's autonomy were observed during free play in the family home. The results showed that higher evening T levels in mothers were associated with more sensitivity to the oldest and youngest child. Diurnal T variability was more consistently associated with parenting behavior towards their children than basal T levels. For fathers, more diurnal variability in T was associated with more sensitivity and more respect for autonomy with their youngest children. For mothers, more diurnal variability in T was associated with less sensitivity to both children and less respect for the youngest child's autonomy. These findings suggest that the T system might act differently in relation to parenting behavior in males and females.

A Qualitative Exploration of the "Coming Out" Process for Asexual Individuals

"Coming out" is an important process not only for identity formation in sexual minorities, but also for increasing access to romantic partners of similar identities (Vaughan & Waehler, 2010). It is unclear how asexuality and the variations within the asexual community are revealed and communicated in the coming out process. Some asexual individuals may find no practical value in coming out, as they do not seek romantic partnerships, while others pursue romantic relationships that are devoid of sexual activity. To date, virtually no psychological research has explored the "coming out" experience for those with an asexual identity. The current research analyzed the "coming out" narratives of 169 self-identified asexual individuals recruited from three online asexual communities using a phenomenological approach. Salient themes were extracted from narratives about the experience of developing an asexual identity. Themes included skepticism from family and friends, lack of acceptance and misunderstanding, non-disclosure of the asexual identity, relief upon discovering the asexual community, and the role of the internet in asexual identity discovery and expression. A theoretical model of asexual identity development is proposed based on these findings.

[Planned children--supporting and inhibiting influences on the development of personality and relationships after technology-assisted reproduction]

In the western industrial countries more and more couples with an unfulfilled desire for a child use assisted reproductive technology (ART). This focusses on physical processes and doesn't sufficiently provide necessary supportive psychological/psychotherapeutic guidance.Neglecting the psychological dimension causes ART to enhance the risk for negative processes of emotional development of a child.After a brief overview of prevalence and summarizing the legal situation three areas will be discussed which involve a high risk potential and their influences on relationship- and personality development will be described: • The psychological burden for potential parents during the treatment. • Wishes of perfection and high expectations concerning the child which can turn normative crises into severe problems. • The frequent handling of the treatment as a taboo which can become a destructive family secret between parents and child.The paper will conclude with thoughts concerning prevention and treatment.Every person working in the field of childhood and adolescence can contribute to a healthy psychological development of these children. This means acknowledging and working through the emotional burden and the wishes and explaining about the dangers of taboos like in foster care and adoption.

Character Development within Youth Development Programs: Exploring Multiple Dimensions of Activity Involvement

We examined links among three dimensions of youth involvement (intensity, duration, and engagement) in Boy Scouts of America (BSA), an international out-of-school time (OST) youth development program designed to promote moral and performance character in boys. Using data from 737 youth and their parents who participated in one of 40 BSA program sites (commonly referred to as "packs"), we first considered how individual- and pack-level measures of program involvement were differentially linked with character development. Next, we examined whether pack-level involvement characteristics moderate individual-level involvement characteristics, hypothesizing that highly involved packs would serve to further enhance the positive effects of high levels of individual involvement. Results indicated engagement was the strongest, most frequent predictor of increases in both moral and performance character. Although there were no direct effects of pack-level intensity, duration, or engagement, the effects of individual-level engagement were moderated by pack-level engagement, suggesting that the largest increases in moral and performance character occurred among highly engaged youth who were enrolled in highly engaged packs. These results highlight the need to examine multiple dimensions of OST program involvement simultaneously, and suggest that strengthening youth engagement in programming may provide a means for enhancing the positive effects of high-quality youth programming.

Thinking About Thinking About Leadership: Metacognitive Ability and Leader Developmental Readiness

This chapter describes the role of metacognitive ability in leadership development while providing practical ideas and tools for the development of metacognitive abilities for current and future leaders.

When Friends' and Society's Expectations Collide: A Longitudinal Study of Moral Decision-Making and Personality across College

Early adulthood is a developmentally important time period, with many novel life events needing to be traversed for the first time. Despite this important transition period, few studies examine the development of moral decision-making processes during this critical life stage. In the present study, college students completed moral decision-making measures during their freshman and senior years of college. Results indicate that, across four years, moral decision-making demonstrates considerable rank-order stability as well as change, such that people become more likely to help a friend relative to following societal rules. To help understand the mechanisms driving changes in moral decision-making processes, we examined their joint development with personality traits, a known correlate that changes during early adulthood in the direction of greater maturity. We found little evidence that personality and moral decision-making developmental processes are related. In sum, findings indicate that while moral decision-making processes are relatively stable across a four-year period, changes do occur which are likely independent of developmental processes driving personality trait change.

[Risk factors and development course of conduct disorder in girls; a review]

BACKGROUND

So far there have been relatively few studies of conduct disorder in girls. It is very important that professionals engaged in preventing and treating this disorder have a sound knowledge of the risk factors involved and of the developmental course of the disorder.

AIM

To provide an overview of what is known about the risk factors and about the way in which conduct disorder develops in girls.

METHOD

We searched the Eric, PubMed and Medline databases for articles on conduct disorder in girls. We reviewed 41 studies and we summarised the results.

RESULTS

Several risk factors contribute to the development of conduct disorder in girls. Just like boys, girls too can display the life-course-persistent pathway of antisocial behavior. Such girls are often associated with serious risk factors. Those with serious forms of antisocial behaviour have an increased risk of experiencing adjustment problems in later life.

CONCLUSION

Future research in this area will have to concentrate on the creation of adequate prevention and treatment programs.

Motivation to Develop as a Leader

This chapter explains the role of motivation in readying leaders to succeed. Suggestions are also offered for leadership developers in harnessing motivational factors to optimize their educational programs.

Orienting Oneself for Leadership: The Role of Goal Orientation in Leader Developmental Readiness

The ways in which individuals approach achievement situations influence their use of self-management activities such as goal setting, feedback seeking, and developmental strategies, and ultimately impact success in leader development.