Mark J. Benson

Post-traumatic stress in children following motor vehicle accidents

BACKGROUND This study examined childrens experiences following a motor vehicle accident (MVA). METHODS Approximately 9 months following the accident, children (n=50) and their parents (n=50) participated in extensive interviews about the accident and in comprehensive, structured diagnostic interviews concerning overall psychological functioning. Additional assessments included post-traumatic stress questionnaires, archival police report records, and emergency treatment medical records. RESULTS Of the 50 children, 7 children (14%) met criteria for PTSD diagnosis, and an additional 5 children met criteria for specific phobia (10%) related to the automobile accident on the structured diagnostic interview (DICA-R-C; total of 24%). Degree of physical injury predicted more PTSD symptoms, and previous accident experiences predicted fewer symptoms, before and after controlling for other variables. Holding degree of physical injury and age constant revealed that social support predicted fewer PTSD symptoms. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest the possible inoculating role of previous accidents and the importance of social support following MVA injury.

Interparental Hostility and Early Adolescent Problem Behavior: Spillover via Maternal Acceptance, Harshness, Inconsistency, and Intrusiveness.

To explore the link between interparental hostility and adolescent problem behaviors, the current study examines four important maternal parenting dimensions as potential mediators: acceptance, harshness, inconsistency, and psychological intrusiveness. With a primary sample of 1,893 sixth-grade students, the measures included adolescent and teacher reports. Structural equation modeling revealed that each parenting construct partially mediated both internalizing and externalizing adolescent problems. Harshness was the strongest mediator for adolescent externalizing. Psychological intrusiveness and low maternal acceptance were the strongest mediators for adolescent internalizing. Inconsistency linked similarly to both internalizing and externalizing. Stronger linkages were found in families with married parents compared to those with divorced parents, but overall the patterns were similar. Youth gender and ethnic differences in the spillover processes were minimal. The findings provide a process model for understanding interparental conflict and adolescent problems.

Family of Origin Influences on Late Adolescent Romantic Relationships.

Using Bowenian theory as a foundation, this study examined the hypothesis that properties of close relationships are transmitted from one generation to the next. A large sample of single, never married, late adolescents (N = 977) completed measures regarding trait anxiety, family dynamics (triangulation, fusion, and control) in the family of origin, and communication patterns in romantic relationships. Multivariate regression analyses indicated that fusion and control were associated with higher anxiety. In addition, fusion and control in the family of origin were related to communication in romantic relationships of late adolescents. In accordance with Bowenian theory, anxiety mediated the effects of fusion and control in the family of origin on romantic relationships. Although triangulation in the family of origin was unrelated to anxiety, triangulation was related to aversive communication in close relationships. The findings provide partial confirmation and suggest several extensions to Bowens theory of intergenerational transmission.

Communication, satisfaction, and emotional exhaustion among child care center staff: Directors, teachers, and assistant teachers

This study examined emotional exhaustion in relation to job satisfaction, communication within the center, and background variables among child care directors, teachers, and assistant teachers. A total of 544 child care center staff, including 108 directors, 316 teachers, and 120 assistant teachers participated. Results of regression analyses indicated that satisfactions with working conditions and the work itself were related to lower emotional exhaustion in directors, teachers, and teaching assistants. Staff meetings focusing on child guidance and staff development issues were related to increased job satisfaction for all three groups. The findings of this study suggest that staff meetings, which provide opportunities for communication centering on child guidance and staff development, foster satisfaction and indirectly buffer against emotional exhaustion.

Attributional measurement techniques: classification and comparison of approaches for measuring causal dimensions

Abstract Despite the burgeoning literature on attributions, research on the reliability or validity of attributional measures has been meager. Several factors have inhibited research on measurement of attributions, including the lack of explicit criteria for determining validity and the lack of a framework for comparing attributions. A framework is presented for classifying attributional measures that includes three approaches: (a) open ended, (b) derived score, and (c) direct rating. Two studies were conducted with these approaches. The first demonstrated adequate test-retest correlations in the measurement of the dimensions internality, controllability, globality, and stability. The second compared the relative validity of these three approaches. The direct-rating technique was found to be superior to the open-ended and the derived-score technique in validity.

Young women's struggle for sexual agency: the role of parental messages

This qualitative study examined 14 young womens view of their sexual agency and sexual experiences. In particular the women discuss the messages communicated about female sexuality from their parents. Previous research results were supported, such as that parents do not communicate about sex frequently, when they do refer to it they cover only limited topics and that mothers communicate more frequently about sex than fathers do. Utilizing a feminist position, themes of parental transmission of traditional gender role expectations were found, such as asexuality, the passive role of women in their sexuality and the commodification of sex in exchange for commitment. Implications for parenting practices, research foci and the importance of developing sexual agency are discussed.

Parental Attachment and Peer Relations in Adolescence: A Meta-Analysis

Using Bowlbys (1988) theory of attachment relations in this meta-analytic study, we examined prior studies that assessed both parental attachment and peer relations during adolescence. The collective sample size reflects 12,482 participants across 53 studies conducted since 1970. The overall effect size between parental attachment and adolescent peer relations variables was approximately ½ SD (d =. 54). Analysis of specific peer relations dimensions indicates that parental attachment was related to both social competence and best friend relationship quality. Despite variations in study characteristics, this overall effect size appears remarkably stable. Studies that have employed higher proportions of Whites and female participants, North American samples, and measures with high reliability have yielded relatively higher effect sizes than comparison studies. The findings provide partial support for Bowlbys (1988) contention that the emotion-based interactions with parent figures have repercussions in other relationships. The modest size, however, indicates that other factors besides attachment to parents play an important role in peer relations.

Family Process and Peer Deviance Influences on Adolescent Aggression: Longitudinal Effects Across Early and Middle Adolescence

Beginning in sixth grade at an average age of 11.9 years, 416 adolescents and their parents participated in 4 waves of data collection involving family observations and multiple-reporter assessments. Ecological theory and the process-person-context-time (PPCT) model guided the hypotheses and analyses. Lagged, growth curve models revealed that family hostility and peer deviance affiliation predicted adolescent aggression in the subsequent year. Family warmth played only a minor role in protecting against adolescent aggression. In hostile or low-warmth families, peer deviance affiliation linked to a declining aggression trajectory consistent with the arena of comfort hypothesis. The longitudinal findings suggest a nonadditive, synergistic interplay between family and peer contexts across time in adding nuance to understanding the adolescent aggression.

Intergenerational Transmission Attributions in Relationships With Parents and Intimate Others

This study examined the attributions of young adults about their relationships with their parents and intimate others. In addition to their attributional reports, participants also provided information about the quality of their intimate relationships. The findings indicated that higher relationship quality was related to attributions in ways that were consistent with attributional theory. In addition, attributional differences between current and past relationships suggested relationship-sustaining versus relationship-terminating attributional patterns. Attributions about intimate relationships also were associated with attributions about relationships with parents. Specifically, (a) the attributions that individuals made about the positive aspects of their relationships with their mothers and (b) and the attributions about the negative aspects of their relationships with their fathers were related to their attributions in their intimate relationship. The findings suggest some refinements in attribution theory regarding close relationships and introduce the value of exploring the intergenerational transmission of attributional patterns.

Teaching Psychopathology and the DSM-III-R from a Family Systems Therapy Perspective.

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