Roy M. Kern

Identifying Personality Traits Associated with Attrition in Systematic Training for Effective Parenting Groups.

Research has supported the use of the Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP) program when working with families; how-ever, minimal attention has been given to the attrition issue. Given that STEP has been shown to be effective, there is a definite need to identify characteristics of those individuals who are likely to terminate prematurely. A study was conducted comprising 221 subjects to investigate the predictive power of the Basic Adlerian Scales for Interpersonal Success-Adult Form (BASIS-A) in relation to attrition in parenting groups. Results from the study indicated the attrition rate to be higher with individuals who had elevated scores on the Entitlement scale on the BASIS-A than individuals who do not have elevated scores.

Using Individual Psychology Concepts to Compare Family Systems Processes and Organizational Behavior

The authors provide a conceptual framework based on the principles of individual psychology and family systems theory for understanding important aspects of organizational behavior. The discussion includes individual and group behavior and addresses the similarities between the organization and the family as a system, leadership and parenting, employees and siblings in the family constellation, and corporate culture and family atmosphere. In addition, issues with regard to rules, regulations, and methods of child training, along with the similarities between problem employee and the identified patient in the family, are discussed. The authors attempt to integrate practical applications of this model in a variety of organizational settings.

Attrition, Financial Incentives, and Parent Education.

The purpose of this study was to test whether financial incentives could account for some of the missing variance in previous studies on attrition in parenting education programs. Participating in the study were 79 parents with students in a suburban public school in the southeastern United States. The experimental group consisted of 42 participants who would receive financial reimbursement if they met the criteria for successful completion of the 10-week course. The classes for the control group were conducted in the same manner but with no financial incentives for completing the course. The results indicated that 61% of the participants did not qualify as completing the program, whereas 39% did complete the program. This study found no significant effects for the use of financial incentives.

Psychometric Properties of the Lithuanian Version of the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ): Pilot Study

The internal consistency reliability and structure-related validity of the Lithuanian version of Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ), a 32-item instrument originally developed to assess the parenting behavior of parents of 4- to 12-year-olds, was the focus of the research study. The translated instrument was completed by 265 parents (mostly mothers) of nonclinical elementary school-aged children from a metro school district in Lithuania. In this pilot study, it was found that the PSDQ Lithuanian version had preliminary sufficient internal consistency reliability and structure-related validity similar to those reported by the authors of the original instrument. However, the PSDQ Lithuanian version still needs further studies with a more balanced gender representation, larger sample, and more diverse number of schools for exploring the psychometric properties more thoroughly. Nevertheless, in that there are few instruments on parenting that have already been translated and used with Lithuanian parents; the authors believe that this pilot study is a very important first step in the process of creating a valid and reliable instrument based on Baumrind’s parenting model.

An Individual Psychology Approach to Underlying Factors of Workplace Bullying

The phenomenon of workplace bullying is complex, as the various theoretical interpretations of its underlying factors reflect. The field, however, is lacking a holistic view of the antecedents of the phenomenon. Individual Psychology is a useful theory for explaining the underlying factors of workplace bullying because it provides insights related to dysfunctional behavior, principles for successful implementation of the work task, the impact of the social context, and viewing of the individual from a holistic perspective. This article explains the underlying factors of workplace bullying based on the Individual Psychology principles of family of origin, belonging, inferiority and superiority dynamics, social interest, lifestyle, and social context of an organization.

An Adlerian Model for the Etiology of Aggression in Adjudicated Adolescents

This study investigated perceived parental rejection, family cohesion and adaptability, and levels of trait anger and anxiety and their relationship to the etiology of aggression in adolescents who have been adjudicated for assaultive crimes. An attempt was made to translate these psychological constructs into a theory-based model from the principles of individual psychology by Alfred Adler. This study supports Adler’s aggression theory, which established that aggression may begin with feelings of inferiority or anxiety within the family. When these feelings of anxiety increase, some adolescents may use anger as a safeguard to their selfesteem. Adler described this use of anger as the compensatory movement and suggested that anger used to overcome feelings of inferiority results in aggression. This intense anger appears to direct attention, interests, perceptions, and memory into paths of impulsive aggression.

Assessing Family-of-Origin Issues in Supervision

This article presents the use of a new instrument, Basic Adlerian Scales for Interpersonal Success (BASIS-A), within the supervisory setting. The instrument is used to help supervisors quantify and identify how family-of-origin issues might affect how supervisees relate to clients, peers, and the dynamics within the intern site. The article begzns with a description of the status of supervisory strategies and covers application of this instrument within a group supervisory setting.

Shazam!!! You're a Clinical Supervisor

Increasingly, supervision of counseling is taking on greater importance as many family and couples counselors are both giving and receiving it while they practice. If the literature is any indication, the past decade has witnessed a maturing of supervision as a distinct specialty. This article informs the reader of some basic sources important to a family counselor who has an interest in this specialty.

Psychometric Properties of the BASIS-A Lt : Lithuanian Version

Before conducting an empirical study, researchers need to consider the psychometric properties of each instrument used. In particular, researchers who wish to translate an existing instrument into a different language must address reliability and validity issues, appropriateness of the norming group, and the methodology related to the back-forward translation procedures. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Lithuanian version of the Basic Adlerian Scales for Interpersonal Success–Adult Form (BASIS-A). The sample consisted of 1,100 Lithuanian-speaking participants who completed the Lithuanian BASIS-A Inventory, a demographic sheet, and the Big Five instrument. Construct validity was addressed through exploratory factor analysis. The internal and external reliability was supported. Correlation analysis with the Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) by Gosling, Rantfrow, & Swann (2003) was conducted to test the convergent validity. The various statistical analyses supported the use of the Lithuanian version of the BASIS-A as a valid instrument for use in research on the Lithuanian population.

Psychometric Properties of the Lithuanian Adlerian Parental Assessment of Child Behavior Scale (LAPACBS) in Parents of 6- to 12-Year-Olds.

The structure-related validity and internal consistency reliability of the translated version of the Adlerian Parental Assessment of the Child Behavior Scale (APACBS) which would be referred to as the Lithuanian APACBS (LAPACBS) was the focus of the research study. A factor analysis was performed using a sample of 246 Lithuanian parents. It revealed a four-factor construct related to the parental assessment of child’s behavior: (a) responsible behavior subscale; (b) emotionally charged behavior subscale; (c) school task subscale; and (d) peer relationship subscale. Furthermore, the adequate levels of internal consistency of the LAPACBS subscales as well as the entire instrument were demonstrated. Cronbach’s αs ranged from .62 to .90 and the correlational analysis showed moderate-to-strong relation between the four subscales with absolute values of Pearson correlation coefficient ranging from .26 to .69. However, further research with a more balanced gender and geographical representation is needed on the analysis of the psychometric properties of this research tool.