The BULLY: Situation-Focused and Competency-Focused Prevention
Many well-meaning and intelligent people feel
helpless when confronted with obvious mental distress in another individual. At the same time, everyday life is full of examples of people who are able to either help people in distress or help prevent distress from occurring.
In the following example an exceptionally
effective young college graduate was found to have had a chaotic,
stress-inducing family life. Yet an informal relationship
with a neighboring family gave him valuable opportunities
for personal growth.
He came from an extremely disturbed home setting
in which every member of his family except himself
had been hospitalized for severe mental illness; and
yet he had graduated from a renowned university
with honors, had starred on the football team, and
was unusually popular. During his government
training he was held in the highest esteem by staff
members and was rated as best liked and most likely
to succeed by his peers.
In examining this young man's history we discovered
that during his elementary school years he had
essentially adopted a neighborhood family as his own
and spent endless hours with them. Certain
characteristics of this family appear most significant.
They were a helping family in the sense that love
Emanated from them and was freely available to all.
Of special significance for the info under
consideration was his relationship with a boy in the
family, a year older than he, who formed for him a
positive role model with whom he closely identified
and whom he followed to his considerable satisfaction.
An even more crucial factor was his relationship with
the mother in this family, who became his guide)
counselor, and chief source of emotional nurturance.
His reports indicate that while this relationship was
intense) it was not symbiotic) and seemed to foster his
independence and self-development. Although there
are probably few like her) she represents a dimension
of socially indigenous therapy that may be more
significant than is usually recognized. Her home
became a neighborhood gathering place. It might be
characterized as an informal therapy agency, a
kitchen clinic.
-(Bergin and Lambert, pp. 149-150)
In this info we discuss the role played by society in
dealing with deviance and preventing problems of
living.
Situation-Focused and Competency-Focused
Prevention
Throughout this info we have considered methods of
assessing, treating, and caring for individuals with behavior
problems, but we have only briefly mentioned
the possibility that the actual occurrence of maladaptive
behavior in the population can be reduced. This is the
focus of prevention.
Prevention can be approached from two perspectives.
Situation-focused prevention is aimed at reducing
or eliminating the environmental causes of disordered
behavior, while competency-focused prevention
is concerned with enhancing people's ability to cope
with conditions that might lead to maladaptive behaviors.
Situation-focused approaches seek to change the
environment, for example, by making it less stressful.
Competency-focused approaches seek to strengthen
people's coping skills so as to make them more resistant
should various types of stress-arousing situations arise
(Cowen, 1985).
Divorce is an example of a common stress-arousing
situation. Its occurrence has increased dramatically over
the last several decades and has resulted in changes in
life styles and in the environments in which children are
brought up. (Nearly half of all children can expect to
spend some time-an average of about 6 years-living
in a single-parent family.) Divorce and parental discord
are related to impaired functioning and social behavior
in children.
Divorced people are likely to be over represented
among people who make suicide attempts, become
alcoholics, go through periods of depression, and
seek help from mental-health professionals.
There is a need for programs that can reduce the
likelihood of maladjustment in divorced couples and
their children. Preventive work related to this problem
is just getting under way. An example is a program for
newly separated individuals that provided the participants
with psychological support and special training
over a 6-month period after the separation (Bloom and
others, 2009). Staff members made themselves available
to participants when advice and counseling were
needed. Training was provided in such practical areas as
how to find employment, change jobs, and deal with
child-rearing problems. Compared with newly separated
people who did not participate in the program, the
participants experienced less anxiety, fatigue, and physical
illness, along with improved coping ability. There was
some evidence that the intervention program was more
effective for women than for men. Participants'
comments after the program ended suggested that their
knowledge that interested people and special services
Were available if needed may have been the most powerful
ingredient in the program. Future research will be
needed to determine the long-term effects on both parents
and children of programs that are designed to reduce
the traumatic effects of an inevitably distressing situation.
The program just described was activated
only after the participants had already taken steps toward divorce.
A competency-focused approach might aim to
strengthen skills that are important in interpersonal relationships,
particularly with one's spouse, long before
thoughts of divorce might arise. The idea behind such
an effort would be to increase coping skills and thereby
enable couples to handle the stresses of marriage in
more effective ways. Research on this type of preventive
intervention is under way (Barker and Lemle, 1984).
For example, Markman and his colleagues (1983) are
seeking to strengthen skills that seem to help couples
weather the stresses that challenge a marriage. Their
program emphasizes communication skills. For example,
the couples are taught to focus on one topic at a time
and to make their concerns and irritations clear, as in "I
may seem angry because I had a bad day at work." They
are also trained to "stop the action" until the partners
cool down when repetitive cycles of conflict begin. One
of the major signs of distress in a couple is escalating
hostility, often in the form of nagging that provokes an
angry response.
Early-education programs also illustrate competency-
focused prevention. Their aim is to prevent or reduce
problems in subsequent years. One project began
with the frequent observation that maladapted children
(and adults) tend to have weak interpersonal cognitive
problem-solving skills (Shure and Spivack, 1982, 1987).
These skills include the ability to identify problems and
feelings (in oneself and others), to think of alternative
solutions to a problem, to see relationships between
alternative approaches and the achievement of goals, and
to appreciate the consequences of one's actions.
Interpersonal problem-solving skills can be thought
of as mediating effective behavioral adjustment as well
as fostering academic competence.
The following is an excerpt from one of the lessons
used by Spivack and his co-workers in teaching
young children to be more sensitive to their feelings and
those of others.
Now this is just a game. Have each child hold a toy
previously used from trinket box. Peter, you snatch
Kevin's toy from him.
Kevin, how do you feel about that? Kevin
responds.
Peter, no let him have it back.
Now, how do you feel, Kevin? After child answers)
repeat with other pairs.
Use a picture of a fire truck. Larry, how would
going for a ride on this fire truck make you feel?
Let child respond.
Let's pretend that a man came and drove the
truck away and you could NOT have a ride.
How would you feel now? Same child responds.
Now let's pretend he came back and said, "Okay,
now you can go for a ride." How would that
make you feel? Same child responds.
Use a picture of a ball. How do you think Steven
might feel if we let him play with this ball? Group
answers.
Maybe he would feel happy and maybe he would
not feel happy. Let's find out. How can we find
out? Encourage children to ask.
Let's pretend someone came along and threw the
ball out the window so Steven could not play
with it anymore. Now how do you think Steven
might feel?
He might feel sad or he might feel mad. How
can we find out?
Encourage children to ask.
-(Spivack and others, 1976, pp. 183-184)
These researchers found that behavioral adjustment
was positively influenced by training in cognitive
and social skills. This positive effect was greatest for
children who originally seemed most maladjusted, and
positive results were still evident a year later. In a related
project inner-city mothers who were given training in
interpersonal cognitive problem-solving skills were able
to pass their training on to their children. Research with
older children and adults supports the idea that the skills
involved in academic and social effectiveness are learnable.
Furthermore, it has been shown that improved
teacher training-for example, teaching them to reinforce
students' adaptive behavior-contributes to a
more productive learning environment in the classroom.
helpless when confronted with obvious mental distress in another individual. At the same time, everyday life is full of examples of people who are able to either help people in distress or help prevent distress from occurring.
In the following example an exceptionally
effective young college graduate was found to have had a chaotic,
stress-inducing family life. Yet an informal relationship
with a neighboring family gave him valuable opportunities
for personal growth.
He came from an extremely disturbed home setting
in which every member of his family except himself
had been hospitalized for severe mental illness; and
yet he had graduated from a renowned university
with honors, had starred on the football team, and
was unusually popular. During his government
training he was held in the highest esteem by staff
members and was rated as best liked and most likely
to succeed by his peers.
In examining this young man's history we discovered
that during his elementary school years he had
essentially adopted a neighborhood family as his own
and spent endless hours with them. Certain
characteristics of this family appear most significant.
They were a helping family in the sense that love
Emanated from them and was freely available to all.
Of special significance for the info under
consideration was his relationship with a boy in the
family, a year older than he, who formed for him a
positive role model with whom he closely identified
and whom he followed to his considerable satisfaction.
An even more crucial factor was his relationship with
the mother in this family, who became his guide)
counselor, and chief source of emotional nurturance.
His reports indicate that while this relationship was
intense) it was not symbiotic) and seemed to foster his
independence and self-development. Although there
are probably few like her) she represents a dimension
of socially indigenous therapy that may be more
significant than is usually recognized. Her home
became a neighborhood gathering place. It might be
characterized as an informal therapy agency, a
kitchen clinic.
-(Bergin and Lambert, pp. 149-150)
In this info we discuss the role played by society in
dealing with deviance and preventing problems of
living.
Situation-Focused and Competency-Focused
Prevention
Throughout this info we have considered methods of
assessing, treating, and caring for individuals with behavior
problems, but we have only briefly mentioned
the possibility that the actual occurrence of maladaptive
behavior in the population can be reduced. This is the
focus of prevention.
Prevention can be approached from two perspectives.
Situation-focused prevention is aimed at reducing
or eliminating the environmental causes of disordered
behavior, while competency-focused prevention
is concerned with enhancing people's ability to cope
with conditions that might lead to maladaptive behaviors.
Situation-focused approaches seek to change the
environment, for example, by making it less stressful.
Competency-focused approaches seek to strengthen
people's coping skills so as to make them more resistant
should various types of stress-arousing situations arise
(Cowen, 1985).
Divorce is an example of a common stress-arousing
situation. Its occurrence has increased dramatically over
the last several decades and has resulted in changes in
life styles and in the environments in which children are
brought up. (Nearly half of all children can expect to
spend some time-an average of about 6 years-living
in a single-parent family.) Divorce and parental discord
are related to impaired functioning and social behavior
in children.
Divorced people are likely to be over represented
among people who make suicide attempts, become
alcoholics, go through periods of depression, and
seek help from mental-health professionals.
There is a need for programs that can reduce the
likelihood of maladjustment in divorced couples and
their children. Preventive work related to this problem
is just getting under way. An example is a program for
newly separated individuals that provided the participants
with psychological support and special training
over a 6-month period after the separation (Bloom and
others, 2009). Staff members made themselves available
to participants when advice and counseling were
needed. Training was provided in such practical areas as
how to find employment, change jobs, and deal with
child-rearing problems. Compared with newly separated
people who did not participate in the program, the
participants experienced less anxiety, fatigue, and physical
illness, along with improved coping ability. There was
some evidence that the intervention program was more
effective for women than for men. Participants'
comments after the program ended suggested that their
knowledge that interested people and special services
Were available if needed may have been the most powerful
ingredient in the program. Future research will be
needed to determine the long-term effects on both parents
and children of programs that are designed to reduce
the traumatic effects of an inevitably distressing situation.
The program just described was activated
only after the participants had already taken steps toward divorce.
A competency-focused approach might aim to
strengthen skills that are important in interpersonal relationships,
particularly with one's spouse, long before
thoughts of divorce might arise. The idea behind such
an effort would be to increase coping skills and thereby
enable couples to handle the stresses of marriage in
more effective ways. Research on this type of preventive
intervention is under way (Barker and Lemle, 1984).
For example, Markman and his colleagues (1983) are
seeking to strengthen skills that seem to help couples
weather the stresses that challenge a marriage. Their
program emphasizes communication skills. For example,
the couples are taught to focus on one topic at a time
and to make their concerns and irritations clear, as in "I
may seem angry because I had a bad day at work." They
are also trained to "stop the action" until the partners
cool down when repetitive cycles of conflict begin. One
of the major signs of distress in a couple is escalating
hostility, often in the form of nagging that provokes an
angry response.
Early-education programs also illustrate competency-
focused prevention. Their aim is to prevent or reduce
problems in subsequent years. One project began
with the frequent observation that maladapted children
(and adults) tend to have weak interpersonal cognitive
problem-solving skills (Shure and Spivack, 1982, 1987).
These skills include the ability to identify problems and
feelings (in oneself and others), to think of alternative
solutions to a problem, to see relationships between
alternative approaches and the achievement of goals, and
to appreciate the consequences of one's actions.
Interpersonal problem-solving skills can be thought
of as mediating effective behavioral adjustment as well
as fostering academic competence.
The following is an excerpt from one of the lessons
used by Spivack and his co-workers in teaching
young children to be more sensitive to their feelings and
those of others.
Now this is just a game. Have each child hold a toy
previously used from trinket box. Peter, you snatch
Kevin's toy from him.
Kevin, how do you feel about that? Kevin
responds.
Peter, no let him have it back.
Now, how do you feel, Kevin? After child answers)
repeat with other pairs.
Use a picture of a fire truck. Larry, how would
going for a ride on this fire truck make you feel?
Let child respond.
Let's pretend that a man came and drove the
truck away and you could NOT have a ride.
How would you feel now? Same child responds.
Now let's pretend he came back and said, "Okay,
now you can go for a ride." How would that
make you feel? Same child responds.
Use a picture of a ball. How do you think Steven
might feel if we let him play with this ball? Group
answers.
Maybe he would feel happy and maybe he would
not feel happy. Let's find out. How can we find
out? Encourage children to ask.
Let's pretend someone came along and threw the
ball out the window so Steven could not play
with it anymore. Now how do you think Steven
might feel?
He might feel sad or he might feel mad. How
can we find out?
Encourage children to ask.
-(Spivack and others, 1976, pp. 183-184)
These researchers found that behavioral adjustment
was positively influenced by training in cognitive
and social skills. This positive effect was greatest for
children who originally seemed most maladjusted, and
positive results were still evident a year later. In a related
project inner-city mothers who were given training in
interpersonal cognitive problem-solving skills were able
to pass their training on to their children. Research with
older children and adults supports the idea that the skills
involved in academic and social effectiveness are learnable.
Furthermore, it has been shown that improved
teacher training-for example, teaching them to reinforce
students' adaptive behavior-contributes to a
more productive learning environment in the classroom.