Year: 2005
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The cognitive-interpersonal conceptualization considers family socialization \nprocesses, and the interpersonal schema which they are posited to influence, as integral to \nunderstanding psychological maladjustment (Shirk, 1996). Guided by the cognitiveinterpersonal \norientation, this research explored the potential for family socialization and \ninterpersonal schema variables to differentiate among adolescents experiencing different \nforms of psychological distress. Specifically, adolescents’ family socialization \nexperiences and patterns of interpersonal beliefs and expectations (schemata) were \nexplored for their capacity to differentiate among four groups of adolescents; a group \nexperiencing a depressive disorder, a group experiencing an externalizing disorder, a \ngroup experiencing co-occurring externalizing and depressive conditions, and a nonclinical \ncomparison group. Further, the potential for interpersonal schema to mediate the \nrelationship between family socialization and psychological functioning was addressed. \n viii \nSelf-report measures of family functioning and family messages provided information on \nthe child’s family socialization, while an exploratory coding method, the Manual of \nInterpersonal Schema Analysis (MISA) was developed to derive interpersonal schema \nfrom projective narratives. An evaluation of the MISA measure, including validity, \nreliability and related measurement error issues, was explicated. \nResults from MANOVAs and discriminant function analyses (DFA) revealed that \nseveral family process variables contributed to significant differentiation among \nadolescents categorized as externalizing, co-occurring externalizing and depressed, and \nnon-clinical. Three “protective” family variables – Social-Recreational Orientation, \nFamily Messages and Communication/Cohesion – were the strongest predictors in \nclassifiying among groups. In the interpersonal schema domain, MISA variables \nAggression/Entitlement and Quality of Relational Interaction also contributed to \nsignificant group differentiation among externalizing, co-occurring and nonclinical \ngroups. Scores from “pure” depressed adolescents generally followed expected trends, \nbut findings were not significant in differentiating between those described as depressed \nand those in the externalizing, co-occurring or nonclinical conditions. An exploratory \npath analysis model failed to support interpersonal schema as a mediator between family \nprocesses and adolescent disturbance, possibly due to small sample size. Lastly, \nlimitations regarding the present study were addressed, followed by a discussion of \nclinical applications and implications for future research.
Author: Mary Garwood Yancy
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1767311980