Eugene E. Levitt

Psychotherapy with children: A further evaluation

Abstract Evidence concerning the appropriateness of defector control groups is conflicting, but it is still probable that such a group yields a suitable baseline for the evaluation of psychotherapy. Twenty-two studies of outcome provided an overall improvement rate of 65.2 per cent which is similar to the rate which was found in studies reviewed earlier, and also to the rate of improvement among defectors. It must still be concluded that there does not seem to be a sound basis for the contention that psychotherapy facilitates recovery from emotional illness in children. The data suggest that the improvement rate varies among psychiatric illnesses, and that future comparisons of treated and defector groups should be made within diagnostic categories.

The Scalability of Sexual Experiences

Sixty-eight male graduate students completed a questionnaire relating to their past sexual history in the course of an extensive survey and experimental study on sexual attitudes and preferences. The items of the questionnaire were subjected to a scalogram analysis and found to conform to a Guttman scale, suggesting that the sexual experiences of this group follow a fairly fixed cumulative pattern. This was true for the subgroups of single Ss and married Ss, and for the group as a whole.

The Psychological effects of sports injuries

Abstract A significant portion of the adult population of this country is involved in sports. Studies designed to identify psychological antecedents to athletic injury generally verify that there is a significant psychological component to sports injuries. Athletes under stress appear to be vulnerable to sports injuries. As a group, athletes tend to be psychologically healthy, and there is little evidence to suggest that certain personality traits in these individuals bring on injury. Negative mood changes occur in injured athletes, and the intensity varies with the severity of the injury. A growing body of evidence suggests that negative emotional reactions in injured athletes may hinder rehabilitation. Most or all injured athletes may benefit from brief psychological assessment and training in stress inoculation procedures. Some athletes may profit from counseling by a sport psychologist. More research related to injury and sport is needed. Appropriate assessment and intervention techniques need to be further refined.

Intravaginal pressure Assessed by the Kegel perineometer

A first attempt was made to provide norms for intravaginal pressure in normal women measured by the Kegel perineometer. Data obtained from 78 white females and 64 black females indicate that resting pressure approximates 5 mm Hg, and pressure with appropriate pelvic musculature contracted reaches an average of 15 mm Hg. The difference between resting and contracted pressures is unrelated to the former. There is a moderate negative correlation between number of vaginal births and contracted pressure in the white sample.

The prevalence and some attributes of females in the sadomasochistic subculture: a second report

Nonprostitute women in the sadomasochism (S/M) subculture have been believed to be rare. A sample of 45 women from the S/M subculture of whom 34 were determined to be nonprostitutes was obtained. This sample is compared with a similar sample obtained by Breslow et al.(1985). Despite methodological differences between the present investigation and that of Breslow et al.,interstudy similarities permit conclusions about women in the S/M subculture in addition to the fact that they occur with sufficient frequency to study. The women become aware of their orientation as young adults and most are satisfied with it. They tend to be better educated and less often married than the general population. A majority designate themselves as heterosexual but a substantial minority are bisexual. They tend more often to prefer the submissive role but preference for the dominant role or no preference are found with considerable frequency. Oral sex and bondage are favored activities.

Some additional light on the childhood sexual abuse-psychopathology axis

This exposition is an attempt to unravel the complexities of the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and adult psychopathology. Four facets of the relationship are examined in some detail: (a) the extent of childhood sexual abuse; (b) the probability that sexual abuse in childhood will result in psychopathology in the adult; (c) the reliability of early life memories in later life; and (d) the role of recovered memory of trauma in the healing process. The conclusions of this logico-empirical analysis are that first, government statistics tend to underestimate the extent of childhood sexual abuse, whereas independent surveys tend to overestimate it. Estimating prevalence is further complicated by variations in the definitions of key terms. Possibly the only safe conclusion is that true prevalence cannot be reliably determined. Second, empirical investigations of childhood sexual abuse conclude that not all victims are emotionally injured. A substantial number of these investigations find that a majority of victims suffer no extensive harm. Other variables such as family dynamics are involved; there may be only a few cases in which emotional harm results from sexual abuse as a single factor. Third, memory research suggests that memory in general is a dynamic, reconstructive process and that recall of childhood events is particularly vulnerable to distortion. Memory cannot dependably produce historical truth. Last, there is some clinical evidence that abreaction of a traumatic event in adulthood may have a remediative effect. Similar evidence for childhood trauma is lacking. The belief in the healing effect of recalling and reliving a childhood trauma depends on the therapists orientation.

The relation of sexual preferences to sexual experiences.

Abstract68 male college students served as Ss in a study of the relationship of current sexual preferences to past sexual experiences. Sexual preferences were assessed by presenting to the Ss 19 thematically different photographs which represented a wide range of potentially arousing stimuli. The S was then given the task of rating each photograph on a six-point scale as to the degree he found it sexually stimulating. This procedure was repeated with two additional sets of 19 pictures each: these were different photographs but with the same 19 thematic areas represented. Data relating to the S’s past sexual history were obtained by a questionnaire whose items roughly paralleled the thematic content of the photographs. Correlations were determined between the Ss’ ratings and various aspects of their past sexual experience. One provocative result was that all 6 of the homosexual experiences included in the sexual history questionnaire were positively correlated with reported responsiveness to a photograph of a partially clad male.

The Clinical Practice of Hypnosis in the United States: A Preliminary Survey

Abstract A preliminary survey of 301 clinical practitioners of hypnosis who responded to a questionaire suggests that reported success in inducing hypnosis is unrelated to claimed experience with hypnosis. Children and adolescents are reported to be more susceptible than adults, but there is no sex difference reported. Type of training is generally unrelated to reported success as a hypnotist. Reported percentages of patients who attain various levels of hypnotic depth are generally in keeping with earlier reports. Unexpected reactions to being hypnotized were reported by one out of four respondents.

Why not give your client a counter: A survey of what happened when we did

Abstract A perusal of the recent literature of behavior modification shows an increasing emphasis on the use of self-recording as a research tool (see for example, Barlow et al., 1969; Duncan, 1969; McFall, 1970; Johnson and White, 1971 ; and Ackerman, 1972). In addition, self-recording is being more frequently utilized as a method of teaching students, clients and patients to (a) observe themselves more precisely, (b) assess the effects of treatments which they apply to themselves, with or without the guidance of a counsellor or therapist, and finally (c) provide the latter with objective information (see for example, Stuart. 1967; Lindsley, 1969; Kanfer, 1970; Duncan, 1971; Watson and Tharp, 1972; Mahoney and Thoresen, 1974; Thoresen and Mahoney, 1974; Zimmerman, 1975). Several researchers have suggested and provided evidence for the notion that self-recording of ones own behavior can be a reactive measure which leads to behavior change on the part of the recorder without the addition of further treatment (see for example, McFall, 1970; Johnson and White, 1971; McFall and Hammen, 1971; Kazdin, 1974; and Lipinski and Nelson, 1974). Preliminary results which each of the present authors have observed with some self-recording clients confirms the above observation. Furthermore, we have also observed that self-recording can sometimes lead to unexpected, therapeutic side-effects. For example, the junior author recently gave a golf counter to a 17-year-old female patient who reported having many impulses to “go back and check” things before leaving her home. These impulses were usually acted upon and one of the consequences of this was that the patient usually kept her parents waiting when the three had to go out. This patient was asked to wear a golf counter, which was given to her, to count the number of times each day that she had an “impulse to check”. In an interview with her following a 7-day counting period, she reported that she had not been aware that she had so many impulses (103 the first day of counting); she actually felt revulsion with herself upon clearly seeing how frequently she had these impulses; she had more impulses when nervous and fewer when relaxed; and finally, both the number of impulses and the actual number of times she acted upon them were markedly reduced over the 7-day counting period. This set of results, together with other (albeit less dramatic) results, suggested to us that some clients can benefit merely by self-recording their own behavior. For some the benefit may be greater awareness or knowledge of the self-recorded behavior, for some it could be actual behavior change, and for some both benefits might be achieved. To our knowledge, no study has been conducted which has surveyed such possible benefits of self-recording across a number of clients and under conditions in which many therapists are involved. The purpose of the present study was to explore the effects of self-recording, per se, across many clients who were being seen by many different therapists. We did so by recruiting therapists who would be interested in trying out the procedure of having one or more clients self-record.

Evaluation of acupuncture in the treatment of chronic pain

Abstract Results of treatment by acupuncture were evaluated by independent investigators. Of the 46 patients in the study having chronic pain, about half demonstrated improvement 6 months after treatment; although a greater number claimed initial improvement. Patients presenting with symptoms of arthritis had a better prognosis than others submitting to acupuncture while patients having had neurectomies had less amelioration of symptoms.