Stephen A. Anderson

The differentiation in the family system scale (difs)

Abstract This report outlines efforts to develop a self-report measure that assesses family differentiation. Differentiation is conceptualized as a family-level variable involving interactions that enable individuals to maintain both a sense of ongoing emotional connectedness (support, involvement, personal relationship) and a sense of separateness (autonomy, uniqueness, freedom of personal expression) within the context of their family-of-origin. The scale consists of 11 items and employs a “circular questioning” format to assess an individuals perception of how the various members of the family interact with one another. Scale uses and information on the scales reliability and validity are presented.

Differentiating differentiation and individuation: Conceptual and operation challenges

Abstract A conceptual framework is presented for disentangling the concepts of individuation and differentiation by defining the former as an individual developmental process and the later as a family level variable dealing with patterns of distance regulation. The framework is then used as a basis for identifying critical measurement issues. Finally, selected measures of individuation and differentiation are reviewed in order to illustrate the strengths and limitations of measurement efforts to date.

The impact of couple violence on parenting and children: An overview and clinical implications

An overview of theory, research, and practice issues as they relate to childrens exposure to couple violence is presented. It is argued that family therapists are not sufficiently familiar with the negative impact of couple violence on parenting behaviors and childrens adjustment and that intervention strategies must be developed that take into account the multifaceted nature of the problem.

An examination of mandated versus voluntary referral as a determinant of clinical outcome.

A literature review was undertaken to examine evidence for the effectiveness of psychotherapy with mandated clients. The primary question addressed was whether or not clients mandated to therapy, whether by court order or by order of their employers, show poorer outcomes than clients who enter therapy voluntarily. To this end, research on client resistance and motivational readiness to change was reviewed. This was followed by an examination of research on the effectiveness of mandated treatment. The question of the potential influence of relationship factors such as the therapeutic alliance was also addressed. The literature review was followed by suggestions for future research on the effectiveness of treatment for clients with mandated or voluntary referral status.

Raising Critical Consciousness in Family Therapy Supervision

Although family therapy literature reflects an increased consideration of cultural and contextual issues, there is little guidance on how to address intersecting forms of oppression and privilege within the supervisory system. In this article, we show the importance of critical consciousness in addressing these issues. Additionally, we provide concrete suggestions and tools for developing critical consciousness through supervision. The practices and tools we provide resulted from ongoing and deliberate discussions of an inquiry group that consisted of supervisor candidates and supervisors of supervision. Our goal in writing this article is to describe the strategies that we have found to be crucial in becoming more competent supervisors and therapists.

Cohesion, Adaptability and Communication: A Test of an Olson Circumplex Model Hypothesis.

The hypothesis that families balanced on the dimensions of cohesion and adaptability would evidence more positive communication skills was examined. The communication dimension was defined in terms of communication clarity and expressiveness. In general, the hypothesis was supported. However, the results were more consistent for the cohesion dimension than for adaptability. Also, differences were found between husbands and wives on the relationship between cohesion and adaptability and communication expressiveness. For husbands, balanced scores on cohesion and adaptability were related to lower scores on communication expressiveness. Wives scores were in the expected direction with balanced scores on cohesion and adaptability associated with higher communication expressiveness scores. Implications for future theory building efforts and intervention are discussed.

Defining High Conflict

The term high conflict is used regularly across various literatures; such as divorce, family court, and psychotherapy; to describe relationships that are mired in conflict. Despite its widespread use, the term has not been precisely defined in a clinically meaningful way. This article offers a definition of high conflict based on a synthesis of previous literatures related to high conflict, observations of court personnel, and the authors’ own clinical experiences working with this population. A case study illustrates the pervasive negative exchanges and hostile insecure emotional environment that characterize these couples. The implications of this definition for clinical practice are also discussed.

Community Police and Youth Programs as a Context for Positive Youth Development

The results of an evaluation of community police youth development programs are presented. Youth involved in Police Working With Youth Programs were contrasted with youth recruited from local high schools. It was hypothesized that youth who participate in police programs would show more positive changes than youth in the comparison group in four general categories of youth outcomes. The outcomes included indicators of youth personal adjustment, social competencies, positive adult-youth connections, and positive youth-community connections. Analyses of the total sample of youth who participated in the programs indicated no significant changes. However, a subgroup of youth who entered the programs with low levels of psychosocial functioning showed significantly more positive changes than the comparison group on several of the outcomes studied. These included self-assertive efficacy, self-regulatory efficacy, and empathy for others. The vast majority of youth found participating in Police Working With Youth Programs to be a very positive experience.

Work-Home Conflict and Domestic Violence: A Test of a Conceptual Model

The relationship between work-home conflict and domestic violence is examined using data from 295 adults, who worked full time and were in serious relationships. Job satisfaction, gender, gender role attitudes, type of employment, and socioeconomic status were examined as predictors of work-family conflict. Backward stepwise regression analysis revealed that job satisfaction was the only predictor of work-home conflict. Regression analyses were again conducted to determine the moderating effects of general well-being, alcohol use, family of origin violence witnessed or experienced, communication skills, and social support on the relationship between work-home conflict and domestic violence. Both family of origin violence witnessed and personally experienced were revealed as moderators of this relationship. The remaining potential moderators were submitted to regression analyses to determine if they might, instead, be mediators. These analyses revealed that negative communication skills and social support mediated the relationship between work-home conflict and domestic violence.

Effective Police Interactions With Youth: A Program Evaluation

This article presents evaluation results of a police training curriculum to reduce disproportionate minority contact (DMC). The Effective Police Interactions With Youth training curriculum is developed in conjunction with a police task group to address the greater proportion of minority youth entering the juvenile justice system relative to the number of White youth. A pretest—posttest experimental design that included follow-up is used to assess changes in patrol officers’ knowledge of and attitudes toward youth. A total of 468 Connecticut patrol officers participate in the evaluation. Results support the effectiveness of the training curriculum in enhancing police officers’ knowledge of DMC, youth behavior, and effective strategies for interacting with youth.