Posttraumatic stress disorder among female juvenile offenders.

OBJECTIVE: While there is a growing body of evidence that psychopathology is common among incarcerated boys, relatively little is known about the prevalence and manifestations of mental health problems among incarcerated girls. This study examines the incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a sample of 96 adolescent female offenders and its relation to socioemotional adjustment. METHOD: Self-report questionnaires were used to tap socioemotional adjustment, and a semistructured interview was conducted to determine PTSD symptomatology. RESULTS: The results indicate that the rate of PTSD among incarcerated female delinquents not only is higher than that in the general population but surpasses the incidence of PTSD among incarcerated male delinquents. In addition, those who suffer from PTSD also tend to exhibit higher levels of distress and lower levels of self-restraint. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide a starting point for more detailed investigations of the relations between trauma, psychopathology, and violence and suggest that the study of trauma may offer a new way of looking at links between victim and perpetrator.

Mum's the word: mothers' perspectives on communication about sexuality with adolescents.

Mothers' perceptions of the style, content and frequency of their communications with their adolescents about sex and sexuality were examined. We administered semi-structured interviews to 30 mothers of 16-year-olds (16 mothers of sons, 14 mothers of daughters). Despite a uniform assessment that they were effective sexual communicators, mothers varied greatly in their style of sexual communication. Qualitative analyses revealed five communication styles: avoidant, reactive, opportunistic, child-initiated and mutually interactive. These styles differed in who initiated and maintained sexual communication, the comfort level of mother and of teenager, the frequency of sexual communications, the context in which communications took place and the topics discussed and avoided.

Defense reactions and coping strategies in normal adolescents.

In exploring the relationship between defense reactions and coping strategies in a non-clinic sample of adolescents (N = 81), we assessed: defense structure by the Bond Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ); coping behaviors by the Coping Responses Inventory-Youth Form (CRI-Youth); and general adjustment by Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) ratings. Defense reactions and coping strategies were modestly associated and made independent contributions in predicting the GAF. Mature and immature defenses and avoidance coping comprised the optimal combination in predicting the GAF, accounting for 20% of GAF variance. It is therefore important to assess both unconscious and conscious processes when assessing general functioning in normal adolescents.

Defense mechanisms in adolescents as a function of age, sex, and mental health status.

OBJECTIVE: To modify an existing instrument to provide a valid assessment of defense mechanisms in adolescents and to examine defense structure and usage as a function of age, sex, and mental health status. METHOD: Six hundred ninety-three subjects (187 nonclinic adolescents, 229 internalizing females, 99 incarcerated male delinquents, and 178 nonclinic adults) completed the modified Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ), which yielded 19 defense scores. RESULTS: Factor analyses of the 19 defense scores on the adolescent sample yielded three factors: Immature, Mature, and Prosocial Defenses. These were similar to those from studies of adults. Additional factor analyses were conducted on defense scores of subjects grouped by age, sex, and mental health status. The Immature and Mature Factors were relatively consistent across groups, but the Prosocial Factor varied by group. Multivariate analyses of variance and analyses of variance on individual and composite defense scores revealed differences by age, sex, and mental health status. CONCLUSIONS: Although the modified DSQ needs further work to improve its psychometric properties, it is clearly fruitful to assess adolescent defense mechanisms. Results from extant studies of adults and males on the structure of defenses cannot be validly extrapolated to other age groups and to females.

Defense mechanisms and adjustment in normal adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: This study compared self-perception of defense patterns with objective and independent ratings of general adjustment in normal adolescents. METHOD: Self-perception of defense utilization by 140 high school students was measured by an adolescent version of Bond's Defense Style Questionnaire. The DSM-III-R Global Assessment of Functioning Scale was used by clinicians in determining general adjustment. RESULTS: Defense style and adjustment were significantly related; greater maturity of defense style was associated with better global adjustment, and conversely, greater immaturity of defense style was associated with a lower level of functioning. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents' self-perceived defense patterns have conscious correlates associated with general adjustment. This study extends the validity of the defense mechanism paradigm to the adolescent age group.

Two approaches to the measurement of adaptive style: comparison of normal, psychosomatically ill, and delinquent adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: This project evaluated the discriminant validity of two self-report measures of adaptive styles. METHOD: The Weinberger Adjustment Inventory, which assesses distress, restraint, denial, and repressive defensiveness, and the Bond Defense Style Questionnaire, which assesses immature, neurotic, and mature defenses, were administered to 272 adolescents: normal comparison group boys (n = 63), normal comparison group girls (n = 68), girls with psychosomatic disorders (n = 75), and incarcerated delinquent boys (n = 66). Multivariate analyses of covariance, analyses of covariance, and discriminant analyses (with socioeconomic status and age as covariates) were conducted. RESULTS: Adaptive styles from the Defense Style Questionnaire differentiated the adolescent groups better than did the Weinberger Adjustment Inventory styles. CONCLUSION: Measurement of adaptive style by the Defense Style Questionnaire may be a useful adjunct to other measures of psychopathology and can assist in assessment of risk, treatment planning, and treatment progress.

Self-restraint as a mediator of family influences on boys' delinquent behavior: a longitudinal study.

In the course of social development, family influences seem to become partly internalized and transformed into personality characteristics that regulate behavior outside the family sphere. In a longitudinal study of 81 boys and their families, we hypothesized that individual differences in boys' self-restraint would serve as a mediator between family factors in preadolescence and sons' delinquent behavior 4 years later. Measures were derived from principal components analyses of multiple indices of each construct as assessed by multiple informants. As expected, parenting practices measured at both pre- and mid-adolescence predicted delinquent acts only indirectly via their association with boys' self-restraint. In addition, general family functioning at preadolescence, independent of other scores, predicted boys' levels of self-restraint 4 years later. There was no evidence that boys' self-restraint at preadolescence systematically affected the quality of parenting that they subsequently received. Parents' and families' role in children's development of self-regulatory skills may be a primary vehicle by which they ultimately influence adolescents' problem behaviors.

Psychological characteristics and DSM-III-R diagnoses at 6-year follow-up of adolescent anorexia nervosa.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between psychiatric disorder and psychological characteristics at 6-year follow-up of adolescent-onset anorexia nervosa. METHOD: Twenty-three subjects were interviewed by telephone using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R diagnosis. These subjects and 23 demographically similar controls completed standardized questionnaires that assessed their defense and coping styles, level of depression, defensiveness, and eating disorder psychopathology. RESULTS: Of the anorexic subjects 35% had no DSM-III-R diagnosis, 43% an eating disorder, (9% anorexia nervosa, 17% bulimia nervosa, 22% eating disorder not otherwise specified), 30% an affective disorder, and 43% an anxiety disorder at follow-up. Factors at presentation associated with good outcome included greater use of mature defenses, less depression, and a lower drive for thinness. Psychological characteristics of anorexic subjects with good outcome resembled those of controls except that the former anorexics expressed greater dissatisfaction with their bodies and reported less use of cognitive avoidance as a coping mechanism. Anorexic subjects with continuing psychiatric problems differed from controls on most of the measures studied. CONCLUSIONS: Distribution of psychiatric disorders at follow-up is similar for adolescent and adult-onset anorexia nervosa. Self-report measures of some psychological characteristics are useful prognostic indicators. Absence of psychiatric disorder at follow-up is associated with normalization of many psychological characteristics.

Control over uplifts and hassles and its relationship to adaptational outcomes.

The relationship of perceived control over daily uplifts and hassles to depression and restraint was examined in a sample of 140 middle-class sixth graders. Results indicated that greater control over uplifts was associated with better functioning and lower control over hassles with poorer functioning, even after partialing out the respective number of uplifts and hassles reported. Moreover, when directly compared, control over uplifts showed more powerful associations with adaptational outcomes than did control over hassles. In a separate analysis, the number of uplifts over which children reported high control showed opposite relationships to adaptational outcomes than did the number of uplifts over which children reported low control. A different pattern appeared for hassles. Although the number of hassles with low control was associated with poorer functioning, the number of hassles over which children had high control was unrelated to adaptational outcomes. The possibility that control operates somewhat differently for positive and negative events is discussed.

The acculturation of Chinese immigrants: perceived effects on family functioning of length of residence in two cultural contexts.

In two studies, conducted in Australia and the United States, first- and second-generation adolescents of Chinese descent, together with adolescents from the host culture (Anglo-Australian or Euro-American) and from Hong Kong, were asked about their family environment. In both studies, an autonomy-promoting family style differentiated the host culture from the Hong Kong Chinese, with the Chinese immigrants occupying an intermediate position. Chinese immigrants of both generations reported more structured, controlling family environments than did the nonimmigrant groups. First-generation Chinese-Australians reported a more organized family pattern than that of their second-generation peers, whereas second-generation Chinese-Americans perceived more family regulation of adolescents than did the first-generation respondents. The two studies yielded remarkably similar results in spite of differences in the Chinese communities' positions in the host culture. There was evidence of somewhat rapid change in the first-generation families toward individualistic norms but little shift in family environment as a function of length of residence.

Preadolescents' social-emotional adjustment and selective attrition in family research.

Researchers often ask subjects to commit considerable time and effort to completing tasks that are not especially enjoyable. In a multistage investigation of sixth-grade boys and their families, we hypothesized that boys who were prone to high levels of distress (i.e., anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and low well-being) but only low or moderate levels of self-restraint (i.e., consideration of others, impulse control, suppression of aggression, and responsibility) would be particularly unlikely to agree to participate. Consistent with this hypothesis, boys from 33 classrooms who were nominated by their peers as high in distress and moderate or low in self-restraint were significantly less likely than other boys to take part in an in-class survey. In addition, the families of boys who scored high in distress and moderate or low in self-restraint on the Weinberger Adjustment Inventory (WAI) were less likely than other families to agree to an observation session in their homes and to a series of telephone interviews about daily events in the boys' lives. Across the 3 phases of the research, the cumulative attrition rate of these at-risk boys was approximately 80%, compared to only 50% for those low in distress and/or high in self-restraint. These results suggest that the children of greatest interest in studies of social competence and family interaction may often be among those least adequately represented.

Mothers' internal models of relationships and children's behavioral and developmental status: a study of mother-child interaction.

Interactional behavior of mothers and preschool children was studied in light of mothers' internal models of relationships and select child characteristics. Children with behavior problems who were developmentally intact (n = 20) and developmentally delayed (n = 20), and a matched nonclinic group (n = 24), were studied in a problem-solving session. Mothers' help and support, and children's approach to tasks, relationship to mother, and overall experience were scored. Mothers' internal models of relationships, based on descriptions of childhood relationships, were characterized as detached, preoccupied, or secure (attachment classifications). Results showed children's behavioral and developmental status, as well as mothers' internal models, to be associated with dyadic behavior. Children's behavior corresponded to mothers' internal models and to behavioral and developmental status even with the effects of mothers' behavior removed. Discriminant analysis correctly classified 93% of the sample into clinic and nonclinic groups and into the 3 attachment classifications.

Changing perceptions of family cohesion and power across adolescence.

Adolescents' perceptions of family relationships were studied using the FAST, a spatial technique in which wooden figures were placed on a board to represent cohesion and power. 150 subjects, drawn equally from sixth, ninth, and twelfth grades, portrayed the family in 2 representations: as perceived typically and ideally. Father-mother, father-child, and mother-child dyads were analyzed. Perceptions were strongly influenced by age, type of representation, and dyad. In accord with a developmental perspective, older adolescents portrayed less cohesion in parent-child dyads and smaller power differences in all dyads than did younger adolescents. In accord with family systems theory, the father-mother dyad was depicted as the most cohesive and as near egalitarian in power. At all ages and in both representations, parents were perceived as more powerful than their children. The family was generally portrayed as cohesive, significantly more so in the ideal than typical representation. Furthermore, in the ideal representation there were no significant power differences between the parents but moderate power differences in the parent-child dyads. Results were interpreted from both developmental and family systems perspectives.

The effects of different modes of verbalization on the recognition of object detail in pictures.

The effects of different modes of verbalization on recognition memory of object detail were examined in first- and third-grade children and adults. The results indicated that both age of the subject and the type of verbalization used during initial picture viewing influenced recognition accuracy for object detail. When compared to nonverbal viewing groups, only specific types of verbalization increased recognition accuracy for third-grade and adult subjects. None of the modes of verbalization was effective in increasing first-grade recognition scores. The results indicate that general statements concerning the facilitating or inhibiting influence of verbalization on recognition memory must be qualified. In addition, the results showed that developmental differences in recognition accuracy are contingent upon the type of strategy used during the encoding process.

Attachment behavior: a validation study in two age groups.

To assess the validity of attachment scores derived from the Ainsworth "strange situation," 56 1-year-olds and 79 2-year-olds accompanied by either the mother, the father, or a brief acquaintance were studied. Proximity to the adult, duration of play, crying, activity, and the incidence of looks and distance bids were measured. 1-year-olds were more secure with their parents: they were more active, played more, cried less, and stood closer to their parents than to an acquaintance. 2-year-olds accompanied by their parents were less settled in the presence of a stranger than children accompanied by the acquaintance. The adequacy of current conceptions and measures of attachment was discussed in light of these results.