Many thanks

I am glad someone realized that maturity and self-control as pertained to drinking has little to do with age. I am sadden by the increased in binge drinking among college students yet I am not surprised. Last week I was watching Gossip Girl, they are in college now, and I don’t think there has been one single episode in which they haven’t been drinking. Obviously they are underage! and the media is endorsing such behavior as reckless as it is. I think part of the solution lies on educating the youth on the effects of alcohol consumption.

Thank you for exploring this topic on your blog.

Truthfully, there are many personality inventories out there, with varying degrees of ‘popularity’, validity and reliability. The MBTI really is widely accepted. The main difference between these tests is their theoretical background – they describe personality in terms of different core traits or types.

The Myers-Briggs personality test borrows fundamental personality constructs from Carl Jung, who focused on two dichotomous pairs of cognitive functions: thinking and feeling, sensing and intuition. Each of these could be manifested either in the attitude of Exraversion or Introversion. Subsequently, Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers developed this concept further to a total of four dichotomies: Extraversion – Introversion, Sensing – Intuition, Thinking – Feeling, Judging – Perceiving. These ‘types’ (not called traits) generate 16 different ‘type combinations’.

Personally, I am in favor of the fact that there are variations in Personality Inventories. As different tests have different focus, they can be used selectively in different settings. If we are using the inventory when hiring personnel, we might be interested in very specific aspects of personality. These may not interest us as much when we are diagnosing a pathological case or profiling a serial killer. Not to mention, we might be concerned about different traits when recruiting a CIA operative versus hiring a teacher. This is the beauty of having different inventories.

I understand how having one uniform test can possibly eliminate biases and/or confusion. However, I don’t think the young science of psychology has the knowledge to point out with absolute certainty what are the fundamental, universal personality traits.

The Rorschach inkblot test is also among the personality tests. It was widely used in the past, but today it has proven to have little construct validity. Yet, many psychologist, especially those with psychoanalytical background, still choose to use it. Counselors and Psychologists come from different theoretical backgrounds and, therefore, use different approach in studying and assessing personality. A person should be well aware of this when looking for a therapist and choose one whose approach would be most effective. For example, I will not be pleased if my therapist is assessing my personality solely on the Rorschach inkblot test. Similarly, I will not be pleased if I were evaluated for a job position based on this test. Yet, what if this was accepted as the one universal personality test? Would this make personality assessment better? Who is to say what aspects of personality matter the most? If we decided X, Y and Z are the most desirable traits, would people start exhibiting conformity in ofter to fit a desirable profile? Should there be a desirable profile, or should we accept diversity of traits? These are all loaded questions whose answers are not readily available. I am not convinced we can commit to just one test. We do not posses that body of knowledge about personality yet.

I always encourage people to be skeptical and informed consumers of tests (personality, IQ, etc.). More and more psychological inventories are introduced and forced upon us every day. Each day, important decisions are made based on these tests. Thus, it is important to be knowledgeable of their validity and reliability.

I agree it can be very confusing for the consumers of all these tests. Still, I posit to you, this is the best we have so far.

RAD related behavior can be very burdensome on foster parents and their families. The approach requires an enormous amount of dedication and patience and can often be more than a family system can endure.

In order to be able to help the child and administer this approach effectively, the parents have to be familiar with RAD (symptoms and etiology). The first step to approaching the child has to be understanding the condition. It is critical that the parents realize this is a disorder (often, the result of maltreatment). The child is not being intentionally ‘mean’. On the contrary, I believe that the child is the real victim in these cases.

An important component to effective intervention is getting professional help. Parents, including foster parents, often need to work alongside counselors and/or psychologists/psychiatrists. Unfortunately, many families do not have the means to meet such expenses. This raises additional questions; e.g. are foster families provided with adequate support and information?

RAD related behavior is more demanding than many people imagine and it affects everyone in the child’s life, including siblings and extended family. Often, foster parents realize they cannot deal with such burdensome family dynamic and give up on the child. More often than not, this can only aggravate the situation and reinforce the child’s belief that they cannot and should not trust an adult.

I am certainly not judging foster parents, but I am convinced that with more professional help and public support we can increase the chances of successful intercession.