These results indicate that oral sex is at least as common as vaginal intercourse and that it has the same emotional implications for young women. Therefore, this topic should be given the same consideration as coitus within the context of sex education. Young people must be informed about risks, protective factors, and emotional implications associated with engagement in oral sex.

These results reveal common issues with survey data that compromise the validity of findings. In order to have confidence in research conclusions and recommendations, it is important that these issues be addressed.

The focus of this study is to explore the relationship between trauma, internalized shame and psychiatric symptomatology in women diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). The literature is divided on whether the type of trauma experienced can account for differences in the BPD women’s ability to function effectively. Specifically, there is disagreement on whether sexual abuse has an overall more devastating effect on the woman than other types of trauma such as death of a family member or a criminal assault. In order to address this debate, this study compared 36 women with BPD with 49 University women and compared their responses using descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA and correlations. The findings from this research suggest that the type of trauma did not predict which women would report the highest levels of internalized shame and/or psychiatric symptomatology.

The research relevant to the study of the adaptive processes of coping and defense is examined in order to unify a fragmented body of literature. The authors emphasize an eclectic approach which utilizes theory and experimental data drawn from literature on medicine, psychoanalysis, stress and crisis, stress management, holistic health, counselling, learning, personality, child development, and socialization. The concepts underlying coping, mastery, competence, and defense are believed to be aspects of adaptation rather than competing theories. The need for research in natural settings which investigates styles of adaptation and measures the effectiveness of such styles with complex assessment techniques is emphasized. Only when the person, the environment, and their interaction are studied can research yield generalizations relevant to understanding real people in real life. In the light of rapid changes in current society, such understanding is deemed relevant and important.

The history of science reveals a number of significant shifts in the conception of the universe. Recently, 20th century physics with its new discoveries has broken away from the traditional view of the universe to seeing it as interrelated, holistic, and emergent. This version of reality is complementary with the concept of dialectics. Dialectics is defined accordingly and its flexibility is suited to guide the present eclectic stance in counselling psychology and psychotherapy. Counselling psychology and psychotherapy are discussed within Kuhn's (1970) framework of normal science, crisis, and revolution. The normal science phase demonstrates variations of the subject/object dichotomy, and active/passive therapeutic orientations. Eclecticism reflects the crisis stage. Eclecticism is a multiple perspective that does not usually guide metatheory. The revolution and resolution phase for therapeutic psychology is manifested in a new paradigm based on dialectics. Dialectics makes eclecticism legitimate and comments towards that end are presented.