Group Psychodynamic Counselling as a Clinical Training Device to Enhance Metacognitive Skills and Agency in Future Clinical Psychologists.

Metacognitive skills and agency are among the main psychological abilities a clinical psychologist should have. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of group psychodynamic counselling as a clinical training device able to enhance metacognitive skills and agency in final-year undergraduates in clinical psychology within an educational context. Thirty-three final-year students of clinical psychology participated in an experiential laboratory lasting two months. Participants completed measures regarding metacognitive skills and agency at pre-, post-treatment, and 3-month follow-up assessment. The results suggested that group psychodynamic counselling made students feel more capable of recognizing emotional states, understanding causal relationships, inferring mental states of others in terms of beliefs, desires, intentions, and expectations, and thinking critically. Furthermore, the group psychodynamic counselling helped students to feel more able to derive pathways to desired goals and to motivate themselves via agency thinking to use those pathways. Thus, the study confirmed the efficacy of group psychodynamic counselling as a clinical training device able to enhance metacognitive skills and agency in future clinical psychologists.

Personal and cultural identity development in recently immigrated Hispanic adolescents: Links with psychosocial functioning.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined directionality between personal (i.e., coherence and confusion) and cultural identity (i.e., ethnic and U.S.) as well as their additive effects on psychosocial functioning in a sample of recently immigrated Hispanic adolescents. METHOD: The sample consisted of 302 recent (<5 years) immigrant Hispanic adolescents (53% boys; Mage = 14.51 years at baseline; SD = .88 years) from Miami and Los Angeles who participated in a longitudinal study. RESULTS: Results indicated a bidirectional relationship between personal identity coherence and both ethnic and U.S. identity. Ethnic and U.S. affirmation/commitment (A/C) positively and indirectly predicted optimism and negatively predicted rule breaking and aggression through coherence. However, confusion predicted lower self-esteem and optimism and higher depressive symptoms, rule breaking, unprotected sex, and cigarette use. Results further indicated significant site differences. In Los Angeles (but not Miami), ethnic A/C also negatively predicted confusion. CONCLUSION: Given the direct effects of coherence and confusion on nearly every outcome, it may be beneficial for interventions to target personal identity. However, in contexts such as Los Angeles, which has at least some ambivalence toward recently immigrated Hispanic adolescents, it may be more beneficial for interventions to also target cultural identity to reduce confusion and thus promote positive development. (PsycINFO Database Record

Adult Attachment and Transgender Identity in the Italian Context: Clinical Implications and Suggestions for Further Research.

INTRODUCTION: Although attachment theory has been recognized as one of the main reference for the study of the general wellbeing, little research has been focused on the attachment styles of transgender people. Attachment styles are deeply influenced by the earliest relationships with caregivers, which, for gender nonconforming children, are often characterized by parental rejection. Consequently, transgender children and adults likely internalize societal stigma, developing internalized transphobia. The current research was aimed to explore the link between adult attachment and internalized transphobia. METHOD: 25 male-to-female (MtF) and 23 female-to-male (FtM) transgender people participated in the survey filling in two self-report questionnaires: the Attachment Style Questionnaire and the Transgender Identity Survey. A cluster analysis, T-Test and multiple regression analysis were conducted to explore the link between attachment styles and internalized transphobia. RESULTS: A greater prevalence of secure attachment styles was detected. Participants with secure attachment styles reported higher levels of positive transgender identity than those with insecure attachment styles. Secure attachment styles significantly affect positive transgender identity, while insecure attachment styles influence internalized transphobia. CONCLUSIONS: A clinical focus on the redefinition of the Internal Working Models of transgender people can inform psychologically-focused interventions, which transgender people can benefit from.

Identity in young adulthood: Links with mental health and risky behavior.

The present study was conducted to contribute to our understanding of young adult identity development by deriving latent profiles from intrapersonal and interpersonal indices of identity synthesis and confusion. A sample of 9737 college-attending young adults completed measures of identity, mental health, and health risk behaviors. Four latent profiles emerged: Synthesized (high synthesis, low confusion), Diffused (moderate synthesis, high confusion), Elevated (high synthesis and confusion), and Moderate (moderate synthesis and confusion). The Synthesized profile was associated with the highest well-being and the lowest levels of internalizing, externalizing, and health risks. The Diffused and Elevated profiles were both associated with low well-being and with high internalizing, externalizing, and risky behaviors - with the Elevated profile highest on all of the negative outcomes. The Moderate profile scored intermediately on well-being, internalizing, externalizing, and health risks. These results are discussed in terms of the role of identity within a successful transition to adulthood.

Identity Centrality and Psychosocial Functioning: A Person-Centered Approach.

There has been increased recognition that identity operates within several "components" and that not every component is likely to be equally central to one's sense of self. The aim of the current study was to determine the extent to which identity components (i.e., personal, relational, collective, and public) are differentially central to emerging adults' identity. We used a two-step cluster analytic procedure to identify distinct clusters and determine how these configurations might differ in relation to psychosocial functioning (i.e., well-being, externalizing and internalizing symptoms, illicit drug use, risky sex, and impaired driving). The sample consisted of 8,309 college students (72.8% female; M age = 19.94 years, 18-29, SD = 2.01) from 30 U.S. colleges and universities. Analyses identified six unique clusters based on the centrality of the four identity components. The findings indicated that a more well-rounded identity was associated with the most favorable psychosocial functioning. Results are discussed in terms of important directions for identity research and practical implications.