Studies of personality integration in children and adults show that certain personality characteristics that predict effective behavior appear to be remarkably continuous regardless of differences in age, gender, race, or socioeconomic status. The studies point to the importance of self-esteem for effective behavior. (PP)

Discusses three alternative life styles to monogamous marriage: swinging, open marriage, and group marriage. Includes brief reviews of both the critique of monogamous marriage as not fulfilling intimacy needs, and research on individuals in alternative life styles as displaying potentially normal behavior. (Author)

Potential long-term effects of the trauma of severe sexual abuse on a child's sense of living in his/her body and in the world are explored. Trauma and dissociation are analyzed and linked to a posttraumatic sense of personal identity. Then dissociation, multiple personality disorder, eating disorders, somatization disorder, self-mutilation, and…