Community psychologists as consultants: A survey of tax preparers regarding Michigan's income tax checkoff

The Michigan Children's Trust Fund (MCTF) funds child abuse and neglect prevention programs and consults with community and clinical psychologists to oversee its research efforts. This paper highlights the role of community psychologists in this capacity and documents the effectiveness of this relationship through an example of the work they are asked to perform. The primary source of funding for MCTF is a voluntary donation line on Michigan's state income tax form. Because even modest changes in the percentage donating have bearing on funding, MCTF sought a greater understanding of forces affecting donations. Given that one half of all tax forms in Michigan are prepared professionally, an exploratory survey of preparers was undertaken. Results found preparers approved of raising money via the checkoff and were aware of MCTF, although they confused it with other social programs. Differences were found in knowledge and practices toward MCTF based on degree of approval of use of the tax checkoff, and the age, parental status, and gender of the preparer. These findings were important to MCTF in directing efforts to educate a segment of the population that has influence over the major source of their funding, and may be relevant to other organizations that depend on tax checkoffs for their income.     

Discrepancies between the attitudes and actions of parents choosing day care

This investigation describes the attitudes and behaviors of parents selecting day care. Two structured telephone interviews were administered to 167 parents who called a day care information and referral agency requesting referrals. Results indicate that parents place great importance on many features associated with quality care; however, they engage in limited search behaviors.The authors would like to extend their thanks to Mark Sullivan, Ken Sperber, Kerry Olson, and Marcia Rysztak for the time and effort they devoted to every phase of this research. Thanks are also extended to Geoffrey Bader, Kathleen Woehrle, Jackie Sedwick, and Mike Alston for their patience and precision in conducting the interviews and coding the data for this study.     

Stability and change in mothers' internal representations of their infants over time

This study examined predictors of stability and change in women's maternal representations of their children. Participants were 180 women, recruited from the community, half of whom had experienced domestic violence during pregnancy. Maternal representations of were assessed with the Working Model of the Child Interview (WMCI; Zeanah, Benoit, Hirshberg, Barton, & Regan, 1994) during the last trimester of pregnancy and again at the child's first birthday. Results indicated that when collapsed into balanced and non-balanced categories, 71% of the sample was stable over time, and women who had balanced representations had significantly more stable representations than women who had non-balanced representations (p < .001). Income, single parenthood, abuse status, and depressive symptomatology predicted change. In addition, women who became non-balanced postnatally benefited from having balanced representations while pregnant to buffer the quality of their interactions with their children.     

Geotemporal analysis of perinatal care changes and maternal mental health: an example from the COVID-19 pandemic

Archives of Women's Mental Health - Our primary objective was to document COVID-19 induced changes to perinatal care across the USA and examine the implication of these changes for maternal...     

Mutual help goes on-line

This study investigated an on-line mutual-help group for persons suffering from depression. Postings from two randomly chosen weeks were content coded (N = 1,863 postings; 533 participants; 273 males, 173 females) based on concepts salient to face-to-face mutual-help groups. Participants in the on-line group communicated in ways characteristic of face-to-face groups (e.g., high levels of support, acceptance, and positive feelings); however, they engaged in more emotional support and self-disclosure. Unexpectedly, the group was more highly used by men than by women. In addition, the content of men's posts were virtually identical to those of women's. On-line mutual help may provide a unique form of support for persons who are not as likely to use traditional forms of helping. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

An evaluation of a preschool curriculum to educate children in the prevention of sexual abuse

The present study evaluated the effectiveness of a sexual abuse education program for preschool-aged children attending three day care centers. Participants were 39 children between the ages of 37 and 62 months; 44% were girls and 56% were boys. Children were randomly assigned to three conditions: a group in which children received the program and their parents were encouraged to participate (n = 10), a group in which children received the program but their parents were not encouraged to participate (n = 9), and a delayed treatment control group (n = 20). All children were administered two knowledge scales (the Personal Safety Questionnaire, PSQ, and the “What If” Situation Test, WIST) and a fear scale prior to and directly after the curriculum was taught, as well as 3 months later. Because the parent participation component could not be selectively withheld in one preschool, the two experimental groups were combined for purposes of statistical analyses. Results indicated that children in the experimental group, when compared to the control group, were able to learn the sexual abuse prevention concepts measured by the PSQ and retain this knowledge at follow-up. Participation in the program did not affect children's scores on the WIST, a more behavioral measure of knowledge. No significant increase in fear was noted in the children participating in the program. Limitations of the present research design and suggestions for improving the curriculum are noted.     

Abusive partners and ex-partners: understanding the effects of relationship to the abuser on women's well-being

This study examined how being abused by a current partner versus an ex-partner might affect psychological well-being and social support in a community sample of 398 women, half of whom had experienced abuse in the past 6 months. The impact of emotional and physical abuse was influenced by partner status, with emotional abuse being more detrimental to women abused by current partners and physical abuse being more detrimental to women abused by ex-partners. Emotional support was negatively related to depression in women abused by current partners, whereas practical support was negatively related to depression in women abused by ex-partners. The implications for interventions with abused women are discussed.     

Women survivors of intimate partner violence and post-traumatic stress disorder: prediction and prevention

A considerable body of research has demonstrated that women who are abused by their male romantic partners are at substantially elevated risk for the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This article reviews recent literature regarding intimate partner violence (IPV) and resultant PTSD symptoms. The article is intended to be an introduction to the topic rather than an exhaustive review of the extensive literature in this area. Factors that enhance and reduce the risk for PTSD, including social support, coping styles, and types of abusive behavior experienced, are described. In addition, the unique risks associated with IPV for women who have children are discussed. Prevention efforts and treatment are briefly reviewed.     

The influence of self-efficacy expectations on the treatment of preorgasmic women

One of the most successful treatments developed for women who never or rarely experience orgasm is Barbach's preorgasmic treatment program. We propose that Bandura's theory of self-efficacy provides a useful framework for understanding the success of Barbach's program. This pilot study was designed to determine whether treatment affects subjects' Certainty of and Comfort with Sexual Efficacy. Treatment (n = 5) and control (n = 6) subjects completed prepoint and postpoint instruments that measured sexual efficacy expectations, body satisfaction, locus of control, and assertiveness. Although most postpoint differences were nonsignificant (probably due to small sample size), intriguing trends emerged. In particular, treatment seemed to contribute to increased Certainty of Sexual Efficacy and body satisfaction.     

Variable-oriented and person-oriented perspectives of analysis: the example of alcohol consumption in adolescence

This article presents person-oriented and variable-oriented approaches to data analysis. To illustrate these two approaches and the types of information they provide the researcher, data from 3,558 control group youth from the National Cross-Site Evaluation of High Risk Youth Programs were analysed. The relationship, over time, between parent attitudes and gender as it relates to youth alcohol consumption were examined. Data were analysed and compared using a variable-oriented approach (repeated measures ANOVA) and a person-oriented approach (Configural Frequency Analysis). Data analysis demonstrated that variable- and person-oriented approaches provide the researcher with different information that can be complementary. The ANOVA identified an overall trend that accounted for little variance; the CFA explained why this was the case by identifying groups of respondents whose behaviour was different from the overall trend. The implications of these results and the use of both types of approaches are discussed.