The well-being of only children

Being an only child is generally considered to be a disadvantage. Absence of siblings is thought to involve the deprivation of critical learning experiences, while the exclusive attention of parents is said to result in overindulgence and overprotection. According to such beliefs, only children develop into selfish, maladjusted and unhappy adults. Various empirical studies have contradicted these beliefs, at least where American adults are concerned. The present study considers adolescent singletons in the Netherlands. It examines the related claims that only children have a less happy youth because they are pressed into adult thinking and behavior too early and that they stand out as "little eggheads"--good at school, but not very sportsmanlike, and unpopular among their peers. Data were gathered by means of questionnaires administered to 2,511 secondary schoolchildren. The only children in this sample neither appeared to be less happy nor was their global self-esteem any lower. The "little egghead" hypothesis was only partly confirmed. Only children feel themselves to be less proficient in sports. However, they do not consider themselves better in school or less popular among peers.     

The child dream and the child transference

This paper explores the symbolic meaning of dreams in which children appear with special attention to the way children in dreams symbolize the self, particularly the dependent and developing self. It is suggested that patients' growth in analysis can be monitored by observing what happens to the children in their dreams. This paper also explores the vicissitudes of the child transference, in which the patient treats the analyst as a child. An analysis is described in which the child dream and the child transference played an important role in elucidating the patient's neurotic behaviors. The author contends that the child dream and the child transference are common and clinically useful phenomena, especially important in the analysis of dependency conflicts. An additional thesis of this paper is that the child transference is most likely to be found in instances where a patient played a parental role with one of their parents during childhood.     

The only X and Y principle

In this paper, I consider the validity and proper formulation of the only‐x‐and‐y principle, which states, roughly, that whether a later individual, y, is numerically identical to an earlier individual, x, can depend only on facts about x and y and the relationships between them. In the course of my investigation, I distinguish between two classes of physical entities?–?those that exist in a ‘real’ sense, and those that exist in a mere Cambridge sense. This distinction is grounded in Peter Geach's distinction between ‘real’ and mere Cambridge change. I argue in favor of a modified version of the only‐x‐and‐y principle?–?the qualified only‐x‐and‐y principle?–?which applies to entities that exist in a ‘real’ sense, but not to mere Cambridge entities. It is also argued that the plausibility of the qualified only‐x‐and‐y principle has more to do with facts about the nature of causality than with intuitions we have about existence or numerical identity. I finish by considering some traditional objections to the only‐x‐and‐y principle, and conclude that they do not succeed in refuting the qualified only‐x‐and‐y principle.     

北京唯一留存的琉璃过街牌楼--朝外东岳庙琉璃牌楼

朝阳门桥东行不远的朝阳路南侧,一座横跨神路街的琉璃过街牌楼屹立在众多的现代化楼群之中,它的建筑风格与其周边建筑是那么的不相融合,但却令人有现代楼群中的明珠之感。牌楼,古代叫“绰楔”,是我国古代建筑中的一种重要样式,是从牌坊演变而来。牌坊只用华表加横梁,而牌楼在横梁之上还修斗拱屋檐如同楼顶,大都做为古建筑群的附属建筑,通常坐落在古建筑群的导入部分,能把整个建筑烘托得更加华丽和层次分明。一部分牌楼自成一体设置于街心、桥头、路口、墓前,成为纪念性建筑。宗教建筑群,特别是道教,常以牌楼为门或将牌楼放在导入部分。在海…     

The death of a child

The death of a child has a profound effect on the life of a person and a family. This event touches us in our every aspect, in the mind, body, and spirit of our lives together. To heal the wounds associated with this event, many parts of the health-care and soul-care community need to work together.     

The excuses of child molesters

Clinicians often regard the excuses of child molesters as important indicators of remorse, rehabilitation potential and the likelihood of recidivism. Despite the implications for clinical decision-making and judicial deliberations, relatively little is known about the content and structure of these explanatory statements. This study was an attempt to delineate the range of thematic content and logical structure of the excuses of child molesters. Over 250 justificatory statements were examined from the clinical records of 86 child molesters referred for psychiatric assessment. A total of 21 distinct excuses and six thematic categories were identified. An ‘excuse syntax’ was devised to define the structure of the offenders' reasoning about their sexual improprieties. The excuse syntax has the advantage of formalizing clinical judgements about the individual's level of denial and personal responsibility, his degree of defensiveness and the logical consistency of his justifications. Implications for clinical practice and research are discussed.