Pauline Rose Clance

The imposter phenomenon: Recent research findings regarding dynamics, personality and family patterns and their implications for treatment.

Research on the impostor phenomenon, an experience of feeling incompetent and of having deceived others about ones abilities, is reviewed. Impostor feelings are shown to be associated with such characteristics as introversion, trait anxiety, a need to look smart to others, a propensity to shame, and a conflictual and non-supportive family background. The findings are discussed in terms of self psychological theory, with the impostor phenomenon seen as a result of seeking self-esteem by trying to live up to an idealized image to compensate for feelings of insecurity and self-doubt. Therapeutic approaches drawing on self psychology and cognitive therapy are suggested.

Understanding gender differences in bereavement following the death of an infant: Implications of or treatment.

The death of an infant confronts parents with a multitude of difficult challenges. Bereaved parents often experience a grief that is unexpectedly pervasive, intense, and enduring. Support from family, friends, and medical professionals is often limited, and most parents rely predominantly on their partner or spouse for sustained support and understanding. Over time, partners often experience increased difficulties in supporting each other due to gender differences in grief and coping, strained communication, and characteristic patterns of misunderstandings. This article discusses research findings regarding gender similarities and differences in grief and coping following perinatal loss or loss from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and regarding marital difficulties associated with incongruent grieving. Also discussed are the impact of social support on the experience of bereavement, typical patterns of misunderstandings underlying many grief-related marital difficulties, and

Body cathexis in children as a function of awareness training and yoga

Abstract The intimate relationship between mind and body suggests that ones body‐image may strongly affect ones self‐image. Low body‐cathexis has been correlated with low self‐cathexis. Since these concepts apparently develop at an early age, the present study was designed to test a means of increasing body satisfaction in children. Twelve third‐year elementary school students, ten girls and two boys, who demonstrated low body satisfaction and poor physical coordination were randomly assigned to either an experimental group which received awareness training and yoga exercises or to a control group. A before‐after two‐group design was used. Measures of body satisfaction were obtained from an adapted childrens version of the Secord‐Jourard Body Cathexis Test and the Human Figures Drawing Test. Results indicated that the children who experienced awareness training and yoga increased in body satisfaction; no change was found in the control group (p < .01). If poor body‐image does indeed adversely affect se...

Holotropic breathwork: An experiential approach to psychotherapy.

The study investigated the relationship between the use ofHolotropic Breathwork and therapeutic changes in levels of distress associated with selfidentified problems, death anxiety, selfesteem, and sense of affiliation with others. Two groups of 24 subjects were compared using a repeated measures design. One group participated in a combination of experientially oriented psychotherapy plus six monthly sessions ofHolotropic Breathwork (Breathwork Group); the second group participated only in experientially oriented psychotherapy (Therapy Group). Dependent measures were Templers Death Anxiety Scale, the Abasement and Affiliation subscales of the Personality Research Form-E, and a questionnaire regarding self-identified problems. The Breathwork Group showed significant reductions in death anxiety and increases in self-esteem compared to the Therapy Group. No significant differences were observed between groups on affiliation or self-identified problems. Results suggest that experiential approaches to psychotherapy may be useful in

The Prevalence of Alcoholism and Feelings of Alienation in Lesbian and Heterosexual Women

Abstract Although only a handful of studies have examined alcoholism among lesbians, high rates of alcoholism among lesbians are often reported. This study investigated the prevalence of alcoholism and its relation to feelings of alienation in samples of lesbian and heterosexual women. It was hypothesized that alienation would correlate with alcoholism. The sample consisted of 87 lesbian and 89 heterosexual women obtained from womens groups. Questionnaires included the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test, the Dean Alienation Scale, and the Kinsey Rating Scale. Significant differences were found between lesbian and heterosexual women on alcoholism and on the Powerless-ness subscale of the Dean. Alienation did not correlate with alcoholism in the lesbian sample.

Children's Monetary Evaluations of Body Parts as a Function of Sex, Race, and School Grade

Summary Public school children (N = 320) were given a sheet of paper with pictures of seven different body parts and asked to select from a list of numbers a dollar value for each body part. The instructions asked the child to imagine that his or her body had been damaged in an accident. Analysis of variance indicated that males value their bodies more than females. There was an increase in the body evaluations from the third grade to the sixth grade. Black children placed higher values on their bodies than white children did on theirs.

Body-cathexis and self-cathexis in an interactional, awareness training class.

This study examined the effects of a psychology of adjustment class on body-acceptance and self-acceptance. An introductory psychology class served as a control group. Subjects were pre- and posttested with the Body-cathexis and Self-cathexis scales. Two by two analyses of covariance indicated that the adjustment group showed a larger gain on both scales than the control. Sex interacted with group significantly on the Body-cathexis scale only. Means indicated that the main effect of groups on the Body-cathexis scale may be attributed to the larger gains by females in the adjustment class.