Edward J. Murray

Empirical foundations for writing in prevention and psychotherapy ☆: Mental and physical health outcomes

The use of writing, alone or in conjunction with traditional psychotherapy, has increased substantially in recent years. The most widespread use of writing has been for single-shot ad hoc purposes or to log behavior. The purpose of this review is to summarize a decade of research demonstrating the efficacy of writing about past traumatic experiences on mental and physical health outcomes. It is widely acknowledged in our culture that putting upsetting experiences into words can be healthy. Research from several domains indicates that talking with friends, confiding to a therapist, praying, and even writing about ones thoughts and feelings can be physically and mentally beneficial. This review highlights advances in written disclosure that determine some therapeutic outcomes. In addition, we attempt to explore the mechanisms that predict improved psychological and physical health. Finally, limitations of previous studies are highlighted, and suggestions for future research and application are made.

Efficacy of intervention for engaging youth and families into treatment and some variables that may contribute to differential effectiveness

This study reports data on the efficacy of Strategic Structural Systems Engagement (SSSE), which is designed to bring hard-to-reach families into treatment. The study also explores variables that may contribute to differential effectiveness. Participants were 193 Hispanic families, who were randomly assigned to either experimental or control conditions. Several important findings emerged. First, the overall results replicated earlier findings showing the superiority of SSSE : 81% of SSSE families, compared to 60% of control families, were successfully engaged, χ 2 (1, N = 193) = 7.5, p <.001. Second, SSSE interventions were more successful with non-Cuban Hispanics (97% successfully engaged) than with Cuban Hispanics (64% successfully engaged), χ 2 (1, N = 51) = 7.53, p =.006. Third, an analysis of intervention failures suggests a mechanism by which culture and ethnicity influence clinical processes (resistance to engagement) and may result in differential effectiveness.

Structural Family Versus Psychodynamic Child Therapy for Problematic Hispanic Boys

Structural family therapy, psychodynamic child therapy, and a recreational control condition were compared for 69 six-to-twelve-year-old Hispanic boys who presented with behavioral and emotional problems. The results suggest that the control condition was significantly less effective in retaining cases than the two treatment conditions, which were apparently equivalent in reducing behavioral and emotional problems as well as in improving psychodynamic ratings of child functioning. Structural family therapy was more effective than psychodynamic child therapy in protecting the integrity of the family at 1-year follow-up. Finally, the results did not support basic assumptions of structural family systems therapy regarding the mechanisms mediating symptom reduction.

Cognitive procedures for smoking reduction: Symptom attribution versus efficacy attribution

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate two cognitive procedures for reducing smoking. In the first phase of the study, a procedure was used to get the subjects to attribute withdrawal symptoms to a placebo pill rather than smoking reduction. In the second phase of the study, a procedure was used to get the subjects to attribute their partial success to themselves rather than the placebo pill. Both of these procedures were expected to interact with locus of control.

Depression and social attraction

The present studies tested Coynes model of depression according to which depressed individuals arouse dysphoric feelings in others who then reject the depressed individual. Subjects read transcripts of simulated interactions with depressed targets, then filled out a mood checklist and a social attraction questionnaire. In the first study it was found that the basic depressive features common to several types of depressive personalities produced the dysphoric mood induction and social rejection. These effects of depression were magnified by a second encounter with the same target. In the second study it was shown that this encounter effect was the result of lack of improvement rather than rejection of help. The findings support and clarify Coynes model.

The origins of fear of snakes

Abstract In the present study, a questionnaire about the nature and origin of fear of snakes was administered to 60 Phobic, 82 Low Fear and 35 High Fear college students. Phobic and High Fear subjects reported greater fear on a variety of components of snake fear. There was little evidence supporting the role of direct conditioning experiences in the acquisition of fear of snakes. Rather, the results suggested a variety of observational and instructional learning experiences as related to the acquisition of snake fear. Although preparedness for direct conditioning does not seem relevant, a preparedness for observational and instructional learning is possible.

Resolution of Complex Decisional Conflicts as a Function of Degree of Avoidance.

Abstract The relationship between difficulty of conflict resolution and degree of avoidance was investigated in three experiments using imaginary conflicts consisting of choosing to have more or less of certain personal characteristics. Double forms of conflict were used to control for complexity of choice. In the first experiment, it was found that double approach-approach conflicts were resolved more quickly than double approach-avoidance which in turn were faster than double avoidance-avoidance. The second experiment showed a similar result using scaled judgments of subjective difficulty. In the third experiment, the basic finding was shown to be independent of situational pressure by permitting an undecided choice. The basic finding was also shown to be independent of individual differences in social desirability.

Cognitive therapy for test anxiety

A cognitive therapy was administered in a group format to test-anxious college students. Subjects were randomly assigned to groups meeting for eight weekly sessions, groups meeting for four weekly sessions, or a waiting list control group. The overall pattern of results suggested that the eight-session condition was superior to the four-session condition, which was superior to the control condition in reducing self-reported test anxiety. On the other hand, neither a task performance measure nor grade point average showed any effect of treatment.

Imitative Aggression with Adult Male and Female Models in Father Absent and Father Present Negro Boys

Summary Young Negro boys from father present and father absent homes showed similar aggressive behavior after viewing films of Negro adult male or female models behaving aggressively. In a control condition father present and absent boys showed similar aggressive behavior without seeing any film. For both groups of boys, there was significantly less aggression in the female model condition than in either the male model or the control, no model conditions, suggesting an inhibitory effect of the female model.

The validity and utility of Lanyon's psychological screening inventory in a youth services agency sample

The validity and utility of the Psychological Screening Inventory (PSI) was evaluated with a group of 351 male and 185 female adolescents in a juvenile court related agency. In addition, 174 noncourt controls were studied. Court records and psychological evaluations were used to obtain behavioral measures and ratings on the Life History Checklist. The PSI discriminated major emotional problems, offenses, peer relations, and cooperativeness and it was related to several measures of the Life History Checklist. However, the mean differences and correlations were small and of little practical use. Classification accuracy was poor. In a multitrait-multimethod analysis, the PSI showed poor discriminant validity from unrelated measures and method variance. Good discriminant validity from demographic variables was found. It was concluded that there are serious limitations in using the PSI in a juvenile population.