K. Daniel O'Leary

Marital discord and childhood behavior problems

Measures of overt marital hostility, general marital adjustment, and childrens behavior problems were obtained from the parents of 64 children referred to a child psychological clinic. Correlations between childrens scores on measures of general marital unhappiness and overt marital hostility were compared. Overt marital hostility correlated significantly with many behavior problems of boys. However, neither general marital unhappiness nor overt marital hostility related to problem behaviors in girls. Specific findings and possible reasons for the differential results with respect to boys and girls were discussed.

Multivariate models of men's and women's partner aggression.

This exploratory study was designed to address how multiple factors drawn from varying focal models and ecological levels of influence might operate relative to each other to predict partner aggression, using data from 453 representatively sampled couples. The resulting cross-validated models predicted approximately 50% of the variance in mens and womens partner aggression. The 3 strongest direct predictors of partner aggression for men and women were dominance/jealousy, marital adjustment, and partner responsibility attributions. Three additional direct paths to aggression for men were exposure to family-of-origin aggression, anger expression, and perceived social support. The 1 additional direct path for women was a history of their own aggression as a child or teenager. Implications for more integrative theories and intervention are discussed.

Behavioral Treatment of Hyperkinetic Children An Experimental Evaluation of Its Usefulness

Although drug therapy is helpful in the control of many children with hyperkinesia, alternative and adjunctive therapies are needed also, for a number of reasons: 1) not all of these children improve with medication; 2) the drugs may have adverse physiologic effects which at the least dictate caution in their use; 3) medication alone does not always return responding children to normal functioning; and 4) drug action cannot often be used to help with problems occurring in the childrens home setting after school hours. The data here presented suggest strongly that behavior therapy can be effective for hyperkinesia.

Characteristics of High-Risk Adolescents' Dating Violence

Eighty-nine high-risk dating violent (DV) and non–dating violent (NDV) male and female adolescents were compared on several factors within the domains of behavioral problems, psychological adjustment, and parenting, in this exploratory investigation. Dating violence status was then regressed onto the significantly differing factors. DV males reported more violence against a past partner and marijuana usage in the past year, earlier onset of drug use other than marijuana, and elevated levels of externalization (together accounting for 58% of variance), whereas DV females reported elevated rates of internalization and having received less parental involvement, supervision, and behavioral control (together accounting for 35% of variance). Past dating violence for males and internalization for females accounted for significant unique variance. Findings, clinical implications, and directions for future research on high-risk adolescent dating violence are discussed.

Parental Behavior Patterns and Conduct Disorders in Girls

Conduct-disordered (CD) girls, 9 to 11 years old, were compared to nonconduct-disordered (NCD) girls of the same age using parental reports about themselves and their children and child reports of themselves and their parents. Correlations were obtained between parental behavior patterns and the behavior patterns of the girls as perceived by three family members: mother, father, and the target child. The results indicated that (1) parents of CD girls were more hostile in some contexts than parents of NCD girls, (2) relationships between parental behavioral characteristics and childrens behavioral characteristics were stronger and more numerous for mothers than for fathers, and (3) the childrens perception of their own behaviors and the parents marriages tended to correspond with their parents perceptions. In general, the pattern of results suggests that, in terms of aggressive behavior patterns, female children may be modeling the behavior of their parents, particularly that of their mothers.

The influence of marital therapy on sexual satisfaction

The influence of behavioral marital therapy on sexual satisfaction was assessed in 44 consecutive cases for which pre and post data were obtained. There were significant increases in both marital and sexual satisfaction associated with marital therapy. Sexual problems were presented in approximately 40% of the cases, but whether sex was presented as a problem or not generally did not affect therapy outcome. Positive feelings toward spouse or caring for ones spouse improved significantly from pre- to posttherapy.

Research Paradigms, Values, and Spouse Abuse

This article invites dialogue on qualitative research strategies for understanding the social contextual and subjective complexities of interpersonal violence. The epistemological assumptions and practical challenges of qualitative methods are contrasted with traditional quantitative approaches. The authors assert that (a) the differences between the two approaches are not paradigmatic, in the Kuhnian sense of scientific revolutions; (b) there are important links, yet no necessary connections, between a feminist ethos in the social sciences and qualitative methods; (c) both qualitative and quantitative methodologists wish to increase the credibility of research findings, and may benefit from conceptual cross-fertilization; and (d) questions of values and politics in research on spouse abuse cannot be reduced to questions of methodology. Throughout, the article advocates both methodological diversity and rigor in the effort to understand spousal violence.

Spouse-Specific Dependency Scale: Scale development.

Extreme emotional dependence in the primary relationship has been noted as a central motivational feature in wife abuse. We report the development of gender-specific scales on dependency specific to the marital relationship. One hundred fifty nine items were assigned to 15 scales according to conceptual similarity, and administered to 196 individuals in steady dating relationships. Principal components analysis followed by item analysis resulted in three factors that best represented the 15 rational scales for both men and women: Anxious Attachment, Exclusive Dependency, and Emotional Dependency. Clinical implications are discussed and areas for further research are suggested.

The image of behavior therapy: It is time to take a stand *

Behavior therapy has had an influence that is unprecedented since Freuds contribution in the early 1900s. News media do not regularly seek out information about the development of prevention and treatment programs, and it is time that we go to the media to develop the professional image of behavior therapy. With children, a behavioral orientation is a clearly dominant trend with approximately half of all child clinicians identifying with orientation. With adults, eclecticism is the most popular identification with a behavioral orientation emerging as one of the top three ranked orientations. The influence of behavior therapy in the professional treatment literature, especially in psychology, has been tremendous. Our image in the news has become positive, but we have a long history of negative press to combat. Our image in our clients eyes is decidedly positive and examples of important treatment successes are given.

Fluorescent lighting: A purported source of hyperactive behavior

Seven first-grade children with conduct disorders and/or hyperactivity attended full-day sessions at a laboratory school classroom. During an 8- week period, the classroom lighting conditions alternated at the end of each week. During oddnumbered weeks, the classroom was illuminated by a standard coolwhite fluorescent system. On even-numbered weeks, illumination was a daylightsimulating fluorescent system of equal footcandles with controls for purported soft X rays and radio frequency (RF). There were no effects of lighting conditions on hyperactive behavior as assessed by (a) independent observations of task orientation or (b) ratings of activity level. A Critical Flicker Fusion (CFF) measure, a reported indicator of visual-sensory fatigue, indicated that the daylight-simulating condition was associated with a decreasing CFF across weeks.