The Miscarriage Experience: More Than Just a Trigger to Psychological Morbidity?

Most quantitative research considers miscarriage a trigger to grief, anxiety and depression. The present qualitative study involved in depth interviews with a heterogeneous sample of 13 women who had experienced a miscarriage up to five weeks previously. The women described their experiences using a range of themes which were conceptualised into three stages: turmoil, adjustment and resolution. For the majority, the turmoil stage was characterised by feelings of being unprepared and negative emotions. Some women who had had an unwanted pregnancy described their shock at the physical trauma of miscarriage but described the experience as a relief. The women then described a period of adjustment involving social comparisons, sharing and a search for meaning. The latter included a focus on causality which left a minority, particularly those who had had previous miscarriages, feeling frustrated with the absence of a satisfactory medical explanation. The final resolution stage was characterised by a decline in negative emotions, a belief by some that the miscarriage was a learning experience and the integration of the experience into their lives. This resolution seemed more positive for those with children and more negative if the miscarriage was not their first. Rather than being a trigger to psychological morbidity a miscarriage should be conceptualised as a process involving the stages of turmoil, adjustment and resolution. Miscarriage could also be considered a pivotal point in the lives of many women resulting in the reassessment of both their past and future experiences.     

Cultural, Gender, and Socioeconomic Contexts in Therapeutic and Social Policy Work

The contention of this paper is that the context of social and therapeutic problems is critical to their resolution, and that many of them stem from historical and structural injustice. It focuses on the contextual issues of cultural, gender, and socioeconomic equity as providing important insights into authentic notions of social inclusion and well-being, and encourages therapists, service providers, researchers, and policy makers to take responsibility to ensure that these injustices are addressed, and become part of the public discourse about the sources and solutions of endemic social problems. Critique and deconstruction of institutional power in our public, private, and voluntary services is encouraged in a manner that honors diversity and enables sensitive therapy, other forms of service delivery and policy making that genuinely reflect the range of cultural, gender, and socioeconomic experiences of citizens.     

Exploring Conflict Resolution and Psychological Abuse Across Romantic Relationships

Although strengthening skills is recommended to improve the effectiveness of programs to prevent dating violence, little research has analyzed how conflict resolution strategies relate to victimization/perpetration trajectories. This study explores retrospectively self-reported conflict resolution strategies (positive problem-solving, engagement, and withdrawal) across 2 romantic relationships, paying special attention to possible changes. Participants were 309 college students who had been involved in 1, 2, or no abusive relationships. Based on these experiences, they were first classified into 4 groups according to their psychological victimization (non-victimized, pre-victimized, newly-victimized, and re-victimized) in each of their 2 relationships. Subsequently, they were also classified into 4 different groups according to their perpetration (non-perpetrators, pre-perpetrators, new perpetrators, and re-perpetrators). Changes in conflict resolution strategies were self-reported by both the victims and the perpetrators with a single abusive relationship, whereas persistence was detected in those involved in either 2 abusive relationships (re-victimized and re-perpetrators) or none at all. The results can help prevent dating violence across relationships and its negative consequences for health.     

Playing with Fire: Countertransference and Clinical Epistemology

This article explores both theoretical and practical concepts related to the therapist's use of the self in psychotherapy. Particular emphasis is placed on the potential clinical value of countertransference. It is argued that awareness and resolution of personal issues are required for therapists to draw profitably from their own experiences in working with clients. Specific steps in translating the concept of the wounded healer into clinical practice are offered, along with examples from the author's own practice.     

Attachment and the experience and expression of emotions in romantic relationships: a developmental perspective

In this longitudinal study, the authors tested a developmental hypothesis derived from attachment theory and recent empirical findings. Target participants were 78 individuals who have been studied intensively from infancy into their mid-20s. When targets were 20-23 years old, the authors tested the way in which interpersonal experiences at 3 pivotal points in each target's earlier social development--infancy/early childhood, early elementary school, and adolescence--predicted the pattern of positive versus negative emotions experienced with his or her romantic partner. A double-mediation model revealed that targets classified as securely attached at 12 months old were rated as more socially competent during early elementary school by their teachers. Targets' social competence, in turn, forecasted their having more secure relationships with close friends at age 16, which in turn predicted more positive daily emotional experiences in their adult romantic relationships (both self- and partner-reported) and less negative affect in conflict resolution and collaborative tasks with their romantic partners (rated by observers). These results are discussed in terms of attachment theory and how antecedent life experiences may indirectly shape events in current relationships.     

Damage compounded: disparities, distrust, and disparate impact in end-of-life conflict resolution policies

For a little more than a decade, professional organizations and healthcare institutions have attempted to develop guidelines and policies to deal with seemingly intractable conflicts that arise between clinicians and patients (or their proxies) over appropriate use of aggressive life-sustaining therapies in the face of low expectations of medical benefit. This article suggests that, although such efforts at conflict resolution are commendable on many levels, inadequate attention has been given to their potential negative effects upon particular groups of patients/proxies. Based on the well-documented tendency among many African Americans to prefer more aggressive end-of-life medical interventions, it is proposed that the use of institutional policy to break decision making impasse in cases for which aggressive treatment is deemed "medically inappropriate" will fall disproportionately on that group. Finally, it is suggested that the development and application of institutional conflict-resolution policies should be evaluated in the context of historical and current experiences of marginalization and disempowerment, lest such policies exacerbate that experience.     

Goal Interference, Perceived Consensus, and Preferences for Conflict-Resolution Strategies

This study is a survey of recreational users ( n = 85) of a scenic reservoir that was at the center of a controversy about whether the use of motorboats should be restricted or banned. We examined the hypothesis that the amount of goal interference that respondents experienced in the pursuit of recreational activities would be related to perceptions of consensus for their activities and for the regulations they preferred. We also hypothesized that perceived consensus would be related to greater preference for majority rule and less preference for compromise as the preferred strategy for resolving the conflict. Results show that goal interference was related to perceived consensus and that greater perceived consensus was related to unwillingness to compromise and preference for majority rule. Discussion centered on how perceptions about consensus arise from different experiences and on the role of perceived consensus in conflict resolution.     

Sexual Encounters and Manhood Acts: Evangelicals,Latter‐Day Saints,and Religious Masculinities

The experiences of men in traditional religions are complex, at times inconsistent, and not necessarily the direct result of religious teachings. This article draws from two qualitative case studies to examine the ways in which evangelical and Latter‐Day Saint men understand masculinity and their spiritual beliefs in the context of sexual activity. The authors present two masculine practices—acceptance of sexual rejection and sexual indifference—that allow religious men in this study to simultaneously challenge and uphold the system of hegemonic masculinity that their traditions promote. These findings point to the moments when creative, interpretative work helps religious men to reconcile their experiences with religious expectations and to alleviate the tensions they face in their everyday lives. This article offers new insights into how gender and sexuality studies may be integrated into the sociology of religion.     

SENTIMENT D'AUTO-EFFICACITÉ ET EXERCICE DES PROCESSUS D'AUTORÉGULATION CHEZ DES ÉTUDIANTS DE NIVEAU COLLÉGIAL*

This study examines the influence of self-efficacy on the self-regulatory mechanisms exercised during a verbal concept formation task. High or low-self-efficacy is experimentally induced among sixty four college students who subsequently have to solve, aloud, different problems of concept formation. Self-regulation was examined based on the utilization of the cognitive strategies required to solve the task, the monitoring strategies applied over the cognitive enterprise and the metacognitive experiences emerging along the resolution. Both groups exhibite similar cognitive strategies, yet some of their monitoring strategies and metacognitive experiences are affected by their self-efficacy judgments. The nature of self-efficacy should be considered when studying the relationship between metacognitive knowledge and self-regulation as applied during the task resolution.     

Color-Binding Errors During Rivalrous Suppression of Form

ABSTRACT— How does a physical stimulus determine a conscious percept? Binocular rivalry provides useful insights into this question because constant physical stimulation during rivalry causes different visual experiences. For example, presentation of vertical stripes to one eye and horizontal stripes to the other eye results in a percept that alternates between horizontal and vertical stripes. Presentation of a different color to each eye (color rivalry) produces alternating percepts of the two colors or, in some cases, a color mixture. The experiments reported here reveal a novel and instructive resolution of rivalry for stimuli that differ in both form and color: perceptual alternation between the rivalrous forms (e.g., horizontal or vertical stripes), with both eyes' colors seen simultaneously in separate parts of the currently perceived form. Thus, the colors presented to the two eyes (a) maintain their distinct neural representations despite resolution of form rivalry and (b) can bind separately to distinct parts of the perceived form.     

A survey of graduate students' experiences, interests, and attitudes about learning the Rorschach

A questionnaire about the experiences, interests, and attitudes of graduate students learning the Rorschach was sent to 235 student affiliates of the Society for Personality Assessment. The questionnaire asked for information concerning their Rorschach training in (a) class instruction, (b) adjunctive instruction (i.e., extraclass supervision and experiences at practicum sites), (c) research, and (d) personal experiences and views concerning this training. Seventy-one percent (166) of the questionnaires were returned. Results indicate that almost half the respondents gave from zero to four Rorschachs in their first course, that only half the students took a second course on the Rorschach, and that the Exner Comprehensive System was learned by a majority of the students. Students felt somewhat unsure of their skills concerning the formulation of Rorschach findings into concepts that could be communicated in a written report. Students reported that they lacked instruction concerning the research findings and application of the Rorschach. Students also did not feel grounded well enough in theory. Specific recommendations based on the information gathered from this survey are offered to improve teaching practices in the Rorschach as well as in personality-assessment training.     

The Analytic Encounter,a Scene of Clashing Cultures

Three wars (WWII, the Vietnam War and the Iraq War) as well as the experience of immigration impacted on the analytic situation as described in this paper. A first generation immigrant patient, who was also a Vietnam veteran, and the immigrant analyst came together in harmony and in discord, around the issues of their common experiences of war and being an immigrant. The onset of the Iraq war brought these issues into a sharp focus in the mid-phase of an on-going analysis. The paper explores how countertransferential experiences of war and immigration were used to further analytic work. It is often assumed that analogous external experiences can give rise to greater empathic understanding on the part of the analyst. In this paper,I hope to demonstrate that there are both advantages and serious pitfalls in experiential overlaps between the cultural experiences of the analyst and patient.     

Damage Compounded: Disparities,Distrust, and Disparate Impact in End-of-Life Conflict Resolution Policies

For a little more than a decade, professional organizations and healthcare institutions have attempted to develop guidelines and policies to deal with seemingly intractable conflicts that arise between clinicians and patients (or their proxies) over appropriate use of aggressive life-sustaining therapies in the face of low expectations of medical benefit. This article suggests that, although such efforts at conflict resolution are commendable on many levels, inadequate attention has been given to their potential negative effects upon particular groups of patients/proxies. Based on the well-documented tendency among many African Americans to prefer more aggressive end-of-life medical interventions, it is proposed that the use of institutional policy to break decision making impasse in cases for which aggressive treatment is deemed “medically inappropriate” will fall disproportionately on that group. Finally, it is suggested that the development and application of institutional conflict-resolution policies should be evaluated in the context of historical and current experiences of marginalization and disempowerment, lest such policies exacerbate that experience.     

Revelation,delusion or disillusion: subjective interpretation of religious and spiritual experiences in bipolar disorder

The objective of this study is to explore the interpretation of religious and spiritual experiences during mania, depression and recovery, from the perspective of bipolar clients and to inquire into their expectations of treatment in relation to these experiences. For this purpose, a qualitative pilot study is designed, which includes interviews with 10 outpatients of Altrecht, a Dutch mental health institution. The meaning of religious and spiritual experiences and the question of their authenticity proved to be an important theme for the participants. The support of spirituality for illness management was brought to the fore, as well as the temporary lack of this support during depression by some participants. Participants considered it desirable that more attention be paid to the topic during treatment, and to establish better cooperation between spiritual counsellors of the institution and other professionals. Thus, a more existential or hermeneutical approach towards religious experiences in relation to bipolar disorder would be a desirable contribution to standard treatment. The exact outlines of such an approach demand more empirical research.     

Indeterminacy,Ultimacy, and the World: the Self-Creation of Religious Pluralism through Community and Creation

Common arguments for truth in religious pluralism absolutize an ultimate or lived component of religion, reducing a positive affirmation of plurality to deeper unity or exclusion. The arguments of John Hick, William Connolly, Nicholas Rescher, and S. Mark Heim fall into such a trap. By considering how an indeterminate concept of ultimacy, proposed by Robert C. Neville, fares against the problems their arguments raise, it will be shown that such a concept of ultimacy can both give rise to and grow out of communal experiences and the nature of the world. The indeterminate ultimate, communal experiences, and the world pluralize themselves once understood in mutual relation.     

Acquisition of blood, injury, and needle fears and phobias

The origins of fear and phobia of blood, injury, and injections were investigated in a sample of 128 fearful university students. Based on Mutilation Questionnaire scores, subjects were designated as common fear, high fear, or phobic. Ss reports of their onset experiences obtained from structured interviews were categorized into one or more acquisition pathways of conditioning, vicarious observation, and information. Of the 73% of Ss who recalled one or more onset experiences, 76% reported conditioning-like events as the primary pathway with the majority reporting fear-related UCSs. Vicarious experiences were reported as primary by 20% and 3% reported information as being primary in their fear onset. Severity of fear was unrelated to the pathway by which it was acquired, to whether the onset was recalled, and if recalled, whether it was due to a single or to multiple traumatic events. Results are discussed in terms of methodological problems of memory issues and means by which data are collected.     

Sex and Gender in the 1980s Heavy Metal Scene: Groupies,Musicians, and Fans Recall Their Experiences

Groupies, heavy metal musicians, and highly devoted fans (metalheads) were some of the most salient identity groups for teenagers and emerging adults in the 1980s—the tail end of the Baby Boom and the beginning of the newly emerging Generation X. Met with appalled reactions from conventional society, the heavy metal scene nevertheless appeared to help at least some disenchanted youth negotiate turbulent times. The present study of 144 middle-aged 1980s groupies, metal fans, and professional musicians used both quantitative and qualitative data to develop insights into the developmental processes of these emerging adults of the 1980s. Metalheads described their childhood experiences, including maltreatment, their sexual and substance use activities in the 1980s, identity issues, and reported on current indicators of adjustment, such as education, mental health, and happiness. The results confirm that youth involved in the metal scene had high rates of substance use, risky sexual behaviors, and especially for groupies, traumatic childhood experiences, as well as drug dependence and sexual violence during their groupie days. However, despite their trauma and risky behaviors, participants were able to thrive and develop healthy adult lives, from which they look back fondly on those 1980s experiences. The richness of these data provide insights into the search for identity for marginalized youth, and provide hypotheses for future research on the understudied developmental processes of such adolescent style cultures.     

Understandings,Definitions, and Experiences of Clergy in Residential Psychiatric Treatment

The author conducted a qualitative examination of the understandings, definitions, and experiences of forgiveness held by members of the clergy who reported initial or ongoing conflict with the religious superiors who mandated their entry into residential psychiatric treatment because of substance abuse/dependence, sexual misconduct, compulsive behavior disorder, or affective disorders. Participants completed an 8‐item reflection questionnaire constructed for this study. Responses were examined qualitatively to identify trends, commonalities, or differences in the understandings, definitions, and experiences expressed in these responses. The author compared the data collected with definitions presented by previous researchers who have examined forgiveness in other populations.