James W. Croake

The Fears Expressed by Elderly Men and Women: A Lifespan Approach

This article reports one of the first studies of adult fears, specifically in an elderly population. Results indicated that older women expressed greater fearfulness than older men, a sex differential also observed in children and adolescents. When compared to other adult groups, significant differences were noted on several categories of fears. The elderly group ranked aging and sickness as their foremost fears, although the absolute degree of fearfulness did not differ from the comparison groups. Considered with previous investigations, these results suggest that some fears may change or intensify over the lifespan, and that within each period females report greater fearfulness than males. Additionally, this article describes a new entity, “fisity,” which accounts for the popularity and the intensity of fears in a single measure.

Research design in marital adjustment studies

Abstract Despite the proliferation of marital adjustment studies, basic methodological problems remain unresolved. Not the least of these is the lack of a clearly defined and uniformly understood concept of what is being studied. The purpose of the present paper is to illuminate methodological problems which are specific to research in marital adjustment. Therefore, problems which would be true for all research in the behavioral studies and are not specific to marital adjustment are either not included or are discussed minimally. More detailed research is available elsewhere that relates to but is not the same as marital adjustment. Research in marital therapy would be an example of related data (Gurman, 1975).

Fears of Physicians and other Professionals Groups

Physicians, attorneys, and professors express a significantly different degree of fearfulness, although they prioritize their fears similarly. Physicians appear particularly to fear sickness and ageing, issues directly relevant to their chosen profession. The other two groups, however, do not demonstrate any specific outstanding fears. Results are discussed for a mixed sex, and an all male sample.

Adlerian and Analytic Theory: A Case Presentation.

Abstract A boy with encopresis was referred by pediatrics to psychiatry due to concerns about the familys functioning. The parents had recently divorced and the father retained custody of the two preschool children. The childrens fearfulness and lack of appropriate social relationships were major problems. The childs encopresis threatened successful kindergarten adaptation. Family therapy led to consistent decrease of soiling. The initial assessment is discussed with respect to both Adlerian and psychoanalytic object-relations theory in order to demonstrate two distinctly different theories for understanding family dynamics and formulating a therapeutic approach. Object-relations theory emphasizes intra-psychic experience and developmental stages in the psychological birth of the individual. Separation-individuation of the child from mother and the resulting ability to handle the oedipal configuration determine psychic functioning. Adlerian theory emphasizes the purposes of behavior. Personality forms ...