'The Cruciality of the Cross': P.T. Forsyth's Understanding of the Atonement

The writings of British Congregationalist theologian Peter Taylor Forsyth (1848–1921), although traversing a wide range of topics, revolve around a clear centre – his understanding of the significance of the death of Christ on the cross. Commentators on his thought have, however, lamented the occasional nature of his writings on this central doctrine of the atonement, and highlighted aspects of his thought which require clarification. This article seeks to respond to these observations by presenting a fairly complete and systematic view of Forsyth's understanding of the atonement, supplementing his explicit statements where necessary by drawing out the implications of his writings. We hope, at the end, to have demonstrated the robustness of Forsyth's treatment of the atonement, especially its ability to integrate the diverse areas of thought traditionally associated with this doctrine.     

A Public Atonement: The Public Nature of Sin and Salvation in the American Moral Governmental Theory of the Atonement

The American moral governmental theory of the atonement was distinct from other Protestant views in several ways, but truly unique in one. Its definition of forgiveness as a pardon instead of a debt paid, its insistence that Christ died for the good of the moral universe, and its rejection of the distributive understanding of penal substitution all stemmed from its relentless commitment to view both God and humanity in terms of public life. It is the purpose of this article to demonstrate that the most foundational element in the American moral governmental theory of the atonement was the idea of publicity, namely the public nature it ascribed to sin, salvation and the glory of God.     

The Importance of Emotion Regulation in Understanding Attachment and Intersubjectivity: A Comment on Lyons-Ruth

This discussion provides a commentary on Lyons-Ruth's article examining the interface between attachment and intersubjectivity. First, this commentary posits that it may be useful to conceptualize proximity-seeking behaviors more broadly in order to encompass the types of communicative bids observed in the affective face-to-face interactions of parents and infants. Such a revision to this concept underscores the similarity between primitive proximity-seeking behaviors and the drive for intersubjectivity, which may fundamentally constitute part of the same motivational system. Finally, this article argues that both Lyons-Ruth and others have discussed the role of the attachment relationship as promoting the regulation of affects of all valences as opposed to just distress and that the augmentation and regulation of positive affect within the attachment relationship may be a promising direction for future research and theory.     

Ancestral Voices, Spirits, and Magic: Dance a New Dance in the Family Therapy Room

Despite important moves toward reconciliation and dreams of a rainbow nation, the culture of violence impacts upon family and community life. This article is written within this context and more specifically within the writer's personal reflections on her practice of working as a family therapist in one of South Africa's largest black townships, Mdantsane. It challenges the relevance of first world theory and practice of family therapy in the third world context but is written in the first person and thus in the form of a reflective practitioner. The usefulness of the Milan approach is questioned and a move toward a social constructionist approach is favoured. The metaphor of dance and music is used to capture the dynamic interaction between client and therapist in the search for a relevant and respectful way of working with families in the South African context.     

Distinguishing Between Conceptualizations of Attachment: Clinical Implications in Marriage and Family Therapy

Authors described four distinct conceptualizations of the construct of attachment and identified clinical implications associated with each. Three of the conceptualizations, which are influenced by the work of Bowlby and Ainsworth, seem to have some empirical support; these conceptualizations are compatible with systemic and social constructionist approaches to family therapy. The other conceptualization— Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD)—contradicts the extensive body of literature associated with the Bowlby/Ainsworth traditions and tends to pathologize children. Therefore, family therapists interested in attachment are encouraged to maintain conceptual clarity in their clinical work and are further encouraged to rely on clinical conceptualizations and interventions that are consistent with the work of Bowlby and Ainsworth.     

Couples in Therapy: Actor-Partner Analyses of the Relationships Between Adult Romantic Attachment and Marital Satisfaction

This study was the first to investigate the relationship between adult romantic attachment and marital satisfaction in a clinical sample of 172 distressed couples seeking therapy. Fifty-six therapy-seeking nondistressed couples were also assessed for comparison. Analyses of variance showed that attachment avoidance was a distinctive characteristic of distressed couples. Actor-partner analyses revealed that attachment avoidance (for men and women) and attachment anxiety (for women only) were predictive of marital dissatisfaction for distressed couples. Gender-stereotype discordant partner effects were also found. Results suggest that attachment orientations (especially avoidance) are relevant predictors of marital dissatisfaction in distressed couples seeking therapy, and that couple therapists can gain important information by assessing partners’ attachment orientations.     

Early Termination from Couple Therapy in a Naturalistic Setting: The Role of Therapeutic Mandates and Romantic Attachment

Drawing on a series of 141 couple therapy cases, the main goal of the present study was to determine whether romantic attachment, pre-treatment relationship distress and therapeutic mandates (i.e., reduction of couple distress or ambivalence resolution) are prognostic indicators of early termination. Couples completed the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spanier 1976) and the Experiences in Close Relationships Questionnaire (Brennan et al. 1998) at intake, whereas therapists filled in the Classification of Therapeutic Mandates (Poitras-Wright and St-Père 2004) after the 4th session. Results showed that an ambivalence resolution mandate, elevated couple distress and higher levels of attachment anxiety were associated with early termination. The implications of these findings to further understand early termination in couple therapy are discussed.     

The Interface Between Attachment and Intersubjectivity: Perspective from the Longitudinal Study of Disorganized Attachment

This article considers the interface between the concepts of attachment and intersubjectivity in light of accumulated research on infant development. Both Tomasello (1999) and Hobson (2002) have argued persuasively that the flexible human capability for sharing mental states with others reframes and revolutionizes our older, more highly channeled primate biological heritage. In contrast to this emphasis on discontinuity from primate to human evolution, attachment theorists have stressed the continuities between human attachment and attachment in other primates. The implication of new work on infant intersubjectivity for reframing aspects of attachment theory is first explored. By the same token, however, the extent to which the infant–caregiver attachment relationship functions to maintain positive engagement and regulate the infant's fearful arousal will have escalating consequences over development for the organization of intersubjectivity. Therefore, attachment research has much to offer in understanding the development of joint attention and the sharing of mental states under conditions of increased emotional arousal. The potential contributions of attachment research for understanding the development of intersubjectivity are discussed in light of recent work from the author's lab on forms of young adult symptomatology associated with deviance in the early intersubjective dialogue between mother and infant. The clinical implication emerging from all these diverse areas of research is that fostering more collaborative forms of communication may lie at the heart of evolutionary change, developmental change, and changes resulting from psychodynamic psychotherapy.     

The Theology of Atonement in Eastern Orthodoxy and Lutheranism Viewed Through Hymnody

Abstract : The last twenty years have seen a resurgence in dialogue between Lutheranism and Eastern Orthodoxy, especially as the dialogue pertains to deification, known as theosis. For Eastern Orthodox Christians, theosis is one way to describe atonement. This paper approaches the theology of atonement through the lens of each tradition's hymnody. Although the images in the hymns are not identical, their themes are similar enough to reinforce the present‐day dialogue between these two traditions.     

Assessing Attachment of Couples in Therapy: A Factor Analysis of the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale

The overall goal of this study was to examine the factor structure of the “Experiences in Close Relationships” instrument (Brennan et al. 1998; ECR) for assessing adult attachment among a clinical sample by conducting a series of exploratory factor analyses (EFA). While the measure demonstrated high reliability and strong validity among the original sample of college undergraduates (Brennan et al.), the factor structure had yet to be examined among participants involved in therapy. It is unclear if any results obtained using the ECR extrapolate to populations other than the original sample. Our findings support the factor structure of the ECR for assessment of attachment anxiety and avoidance among a more diverse, clinical population. Noteworthy differences between men and women also were found in the clinical sample. Finally, clinical implications for use with clients participating in therapy are discussed.     

Relationship Maintenance Behavior and Adult Attachment: An Analysis of the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model

Associations between relationships maintenance behaviors (positivity, openness, assurances, and sharing tasks) and anxious and avoidant attachment were examined in 265 married couples. Using structural equation modeling to employ the actor-partner interdependence model, the use of positivity, assurances, and sharing tasks were found to be negatively associated with anxious and avoidant attachment for both husbands and wives. Being open and self-disclosing in marriage was not strongly associated with attachment. Results indicated that the use of maintenance behaviors in marriages could have the potential to foster increased security in partners. Research and clinical implications are discussed.     

Attachment and Autism: Parental Attachment Representations and Relational Behaviors in the Parent-Child Dyad

While attachment research has demonstrated that parents’ internal working models of attachment relationships tend to be transmitted to their children, affecting children’s developmental trajectories, this study specifically examines associations between adult attachment status and observable parent, child, and dyadic behaviors among children with autism and associated neurodevelopmental disorders of relating and communicating. The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) was employed to derive parental working models of attachment relationships. The Functional Emotional Assessment Scale (FEAS) was used to determine the quality of relational and functional behaviors in parents and their children. The sample included parents and their 4- to 16-year-old children with autism and associated neurodevelopmental disorders. Hypothesized relationships between AAI classifications and FEAS scores were supported. Significant correlations were found between AAI classification and FEAS scores, indicating that children with autism spectrum disorders whose parents demonstrated secure attachment representations were better able to initiate and respond in two-way pre-symbolic gestural communication; organize two-way social problem-solving communication; and engage in imaginative thinking, symbolic play, and verbal communication. These findings lend support to the relevance of the parent’s state of mind pertaining to attachment status to child and parent relational behavior in cases wherein the child has been diagnosed with autism or an associated neurodevelopmental disorder of relating and communicating. A model emerges from these findings of conceptualizing relationships between parental internal models of attachment relationships and parent-child relational and functional levels that may aid in differentiating interventions.     

Judgement of Traffic Scenes: The Role of Danger and Difficulty

The growth of expertise is frequently accompanied by an increased role being played by expectancy and anticipatory behaviour. Such influences on behaviour should be readily observable in the ways participants construe task-related scenarios, and distinguishable from more general experience gained from age. This paper reports an extensive study of how matched groups of motorists conceptualize the danger involved in various video-taped driving scenarios. Results demonstrate separable effects of both age and driving experience on the factor structure of drivers' rating of such stimuli. In particular, different emphases are placed on the danger and difficulty depicted in driving scenes. Younger drivers (irrespective of driving experience) concentrate on the danger rather than on the difficulty involved in carrying out particular manoeuvres, but then under-rate the dangers encountered.