The effects of interviewer gender in mental health interviews.

Despite indications that gender can affect the disclosure of personal information, few studies examine the effects of interviewer gender in eliciting information pertaining to psychological functioning and mental health. Analysis of data collected at the Los Angeles site of the Epidemiological Catchment Area Study reveals that interviewer gender is significantly related to respondents' reports of psychiatric symptoms. Male and female respondents interviewed by women report more symptoms of depression, substance abuse, and conduct disorders than respondents interviewed by men. It is suggested that female interviewers may create conditions more conducive to disclosure and be perceived as more sympathetic than male interviewers. Although limitations of both data and analysis preclude a definitive conclusion, the findings suggest that interviewer gender may influence disclosure in mental health and related types of interviews.

The interpersonal context of mental health interviews.

Little is known about the composition and effects of the interpersonal contexts in which epidemiological interviews are conducted. The Epidemiological Catchment Area (ECA) study affords an opportunity to examine the frequency and impact of third party presence. Almost half of the interviews at the Los Angeles site of the ECA study were conducted in the presence of a third part, typically the spouse or child of the respondent. Results indicate that third party presence is not related either to reports of symptoms or to performance on a test of cognitive impairment. Although findings suggest that respondents are not influenced by the presence of others, they may also reflect a variety of cultural, situational, and methodological processes.

Divine relations, social relations, and well-being.

The social support literature focuses on the effects of networks composed of "real" or concrete individuals on psychological well-being. Persons interact in imagination, however, with a wide range of others who may or may not actually exist. In modern societies as in traditional societies, persons experience, interact with, and appeal to spiritual or divine beings. Using data from the NORC General Social Survey, this study examines the extent to which relationships with "divine others" affect psychological well-being. Regression analysis reveals that divine relationships have a significant effect on several measures of well-being (controlling for sociodemographic background variables and church attendance). Hypotheses regarding the impact of stress, social relationships, cognitive resources, and images of the divine on the effect of divine relationships are also considered.

The social construction of unreality: a case study of a family's attribution of competence to a severely retarded child.

Some families develop unusual or extreme versions of reality and sustain them in the face of a torrent of ostensibly discrediting and disconfirming information. Although the psychological dynamics and functions of such shared constructions have been amply considered, little is known about the routine transactions through which these unusual versions of reality are created and maintained. This paper examines the "reality work" of a family that attributed high levels of performance and competence to the severely retarded youngest child. Observation of videotaped interaction between family members and the child revealed practices that presupposed, "documented," and sustained the family's version of the child's competence. The practices are similar to those characteristic of interaction between adults and preverbal children. The implications of this similarity for the analysis of cases of folie à famille are discussed.