Browsing by Author "Taylor, Gladys R."
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Item Developmental differences between successful and unsuccessful repressors(1971) Taylor, Gladys R.; McGaughran, Laurence S.; Gish, Theodore G.; Vineberg, Shalom E.; McCary, James L.Basic to modern behavior theory is an assumption of a relationship between differences in developmental experiences and subsequent social adaptation. With emphasis on specific developmental experiences, parental attitudes, and parent-child interactions, Ledyard (1960) designed a study which permitted comparison between an MP group and a normal group of intellectualizers on these variables. The present study of "repressive" subjects was designed to parallel closely that described by Ledyard so that meaningful canparisons across the two groups of defenders could be made. There were four main research questions proposed. These were: (1) Are there differences in developmental experiences between successful and unsuccessful repressors? (2) Are intellec- tualizers potentially better equipped to establish successful adult adjustments than are repressors? (3) Does a relationship exist between certain developmental experiences and the successfulness of later adjustment incidental to defensive style? (4) Is there support for a general hypothesis which relates the adequacy of one’s developmental experiences to successfulness of subsequent adjustment, irrespective of diagnostic classification. Schafer's Rorschach criteria were used to select subjects on the basis of their predominant reliance on the defense mechanism- repression. The sample was composed of 40 female subjects between the ages of 19 and 45; twenty were drawn from a neuropsychiatric ward (NP Group) and twenty were selected from the community (Adapted Group). No significant differences were found to exist between the two groups in terms of age, IQ, socio-economic status, or achieved educational level. Predictor instruments included a comprehensive developmental questionnaire, the Parental Attitudes Research Instrument, and the Role Constructs Repertory test. Significant group differences were found to exist between successful and unsuccessful repressors along several dimensions. In general, the successful repressors perceived their developmental backgrounds as more democratic and they recalled receiving far less punishment and experiencing fewer inconsistencies in the behavior of their parents. With respect to type of punishment, they also recalled receiving less psychologically-severe punishment. They reported significantly less dissension and parental conflict during their developmental period, and less personal conflict in their homes as children, as well as later on in school, and in their marriages. Comparisons made between successful repressors and successful intellectualizers led to the conclusion that, when societal expectations are considered as criteria for adequacy of adjustment, intellectualizers are far better equipped to be industrious, to achieve, and to contribute to society than are repressors. However, on the basis of the canparisons made between the successful and unsuccessful repressors of this study, there was sufficient evidence to indicate that individuals who rely predominantly on repression as a defnese can make personally rewarding adjustments as adult members of society. Striking similarities were found to exist between negative developmental experiences and unsuccessful adjustment status of both neuropsychiatric intellectualizers and neuropsychiatric repressors. Since, theoretically, the use of either of these particular defense mechanisms would inply differing psychiatric diagnoses for each of the two groups, it was felt that these findings represented additional evidence that a close relationship exists between early developmental experiences and later adjustment, regardless of traditionally assigned diagnostic labels.Item Relationships among premorbid adjustment, prognosis, and choice of symptomatic behaviors in schizophrenic patients(1969) Taylor, Gladys R.; McGaughran, Laurence S.; Gish, Theodore G.; Johnson, Dale L.A comparison was made among three separate criterion measures of premorbid adjustment for effectiveness in predicting types of symptoms manifested during schizophrenic episodes. The instruments under investigation were Section I of the Prognostic Rating Scale, PRS-H, (Phillips - 1953), Social Competence Index, SC-I, (Zigler and Phillips, 1960), and the abbreviated version of the Social Competence Index, SC-II, (Phillips, Broverman & Zigler, 1966). The sample included 60 patients (30 males, 30 females) with a clearly-established diagnosis of schizophrenia. It was drawn from a larger study in which a major concern was to obtain a broad range of individual differences in 'variables figuring in socio-economic class status (education, intelligence, occupational level), but a restricted range in terms of age (18-45) and length of hospitalization (less than six months). Case histories of the Ss were examined first to abstract material germane to the ratings of premorbid adjustment on the three scales. Complete inter-rater agreement was secured on each scale. The records were then reanalyzed to obtain information about symptomatic behavior, which was categorized as either 'action-oriented' or 'thought-oriented' according to a method developed by Phillips and Zigler (1961). Independent raters also classified symptoms; there were relatively few disagreements and these were arbitrated. During all of the case history analysis, identifying information was masked and coded. Correlation values derived in scale comparison were as follows: SC-I-SC-II, .66; SC-I-PRS-H, .51; SC-II-PRS-H, .11. The degree of association between the SC-I and the SC-II was attributed to item overlap; that between SC-I and PRS-H was interpreted as probably due to common content involving marital status and marital adjustment. In a previous study with Ss of quite varied diagnostic status, Phillips, Broverman, and Zigler (1966) found that the SC-II instrument was an effective predictor of symptom-occurrence. With the relatively carefully-selected sample of schizophrenic Ss employed in the present investigation, the efficiency of SC-II in predicting symptom-occurrence was no greater than chance. It appears likely that the former prediction situation involved little more than the sample identification of social class difference in the operations of symptom-identification, diagnosis, and prognosis. Good and poor prognosis groups derived from PRS-H ratings were balanced in sex distribution and did not differ significantly in mean IQ scores. From both an empirical and a theoretical standpoint, the results indicated that, among the three scales, this scale was the most effective predictor of symptom occurrence in schizophrenic patients.