The destiny of an unacknowledged trauma: the deferred retroactive effect of après-coup in the hidden Jewish children of wartime Belgium

For almost 45 years, the experience of Jewish children who were hidden during World War II was considered to be of little importance, particularly with respect to what had taken place in the concentration camps. Their very history was ignored in the many accounts of the Holocaust. It was only at the end of the 1980s that their experience began to be thought of as potentially traumatic. In this paper, the authors report on their psychoanalytical research project concerning the psychological outcomes of those experiences that had remained concealed for such an extraordinarily long latency period. The results are based on the analysis of 60 accounts and on psychoanalytically-oriented group work. The authors show that the trauma experienced by those hidden children was triggered by the retroactive effect of a deferred action [après-coup].     

Forging a feminine identity: Women in four professional schools

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis -     

Maternal Uniparental Isodisomy Causing Autosomal Recessive GM1 Gangliosidosis: A Clinical Report

Uniparental disomy is a genetic cause of disease that may result in the inheritance of an autosomal recessive condition. A child with developmental delay and hypotonia was seen and found to have severely abnormal myelination. Lysosomal enzyme testing identified an isolated deficiency of beta-galactosidase. Subsequently, homozygous missense mutations in the galactosidase, beta 1 (GLB1) gene on chromosome 3 were found. Parental testing confirmed inheritance of two copies of the same mutated maternal GLB1 gene, and no paternal copy. SNP analysis was also done to confirm paternity. The patient was ultimately diagnosed with autosomal recessive GM1 gangliosidosis caused by maternal uniparental isodisomy. We provide a review of this patient and others in which uniparental disomy (UPD) of a non-imprinted chromosome unexpectedly caused an autosomal recessive condition. This is the first case of GM1 gangliosidosis reported in the literature to have been caused by UPD. It is important for genetic counselors and other health care providers to be aware of the possibility of autosomal recessive disease caused by UPD. UPD as a cause of autosomal recessive disease drastically changes the recurrence risk for families, and discussions surrounding UPD can be complex. Working with families to understand UPD when it occurs requires a secure and trusting counselor-family relationship.     

The French version of the Arnett Inventory of Sensation Seeking: Internal and predictive validity

In this study we examine the psychometric characteristics and the predictive validity of the AISS-17, the French version of the Arnett Inventory of Sensation Seeking. Two samples were used, one of which enabled us to carry out prospective monitoring over a period of six months. Our study provides data that support the validity of the AISS-17. This inventory includes the same two factors as the AISS (Novelty and Intensity). It has good concurrent and convergent validity, and its nomological network is comparable to that of the AISS and to the SSS of Zuckerman. However, our study confirms the low reliability of the AISS. We also showed that the AISS-17 has good predictive validity. We observed a significant cross-lagged effect of the AISS-17 at T1 on risk taking at T2, when controlled for age, gender and risk-taking at T1.     

Promoting imitative play through generalized observational learning in autisticlike children

Three autisticlike boys with deficits in imitative and appropriate play behaviors were taught to play with an unfamiliar toy by observing a peer model demonstrate appropriate play with the toy. Generalization was assessed across toys and models, and temporal maintenance was assessed at 1 and 3 weeks following generalization. Following training each child demonstrated increases in imitative play concomitant with decreases in the frequency of nonmanipulated selfstimulatory behavior. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for the amelioration of social isolation and self-stimulatory behavior.The authors wish to acknowledge the help and cooperation of the Henry Wiseman Kendall Center and the Highpoint Preschool Enrichment Program.     

Learning through observation: The effects of peer modeling on acquisition and generalization in autistic children

The purpose of this study was to systematically determine whether lowfunctioning autistic children [MA of approximately half of their CA or less] could learn through observation by the use of a peer modeling procedure. Since modeling is less structured than traditional one-on-one procedures, it was also thought that modeling might facilitate subsequent generalization of tasks learned through observation. Four autistic children were taught two receptive labeling tasks. One task was taught by a traditional trial and error procedure, while the other task was taught by a modeling procedure wherein the models were other autistic children. Results indicated that all four children learned through observation of their peer model. Additionally, generalization and maintenance of correct responding were superior when the children learned through observation rather than by trial and error. These results are discussed in terms of the modeling literature, generalization issues, and implications for designing teaching settings for autistic children.This research was supported by USPHS Research Grants MH 28231 and MH 29210 from the National Institute of Mental Health. The authors would like to acknowledge Paul Lizotte for his assistance.     

Predictors of mental distress and poor physical health among homeless women

Abstract

We tested a latent variable path model in which situational, personal, and social resources predicted several mediators and the key health outcomes of mental distress and poor physical health among 871 homeless women. Mental distress was predicted by risky sexual behavior, less social support, avoidant coping, less self-esteem, client abuse history, social support from deviant sources, less drug self-efficacy and health care utilization. Poor physical health was predicted by a client abuse history, less drug self-efficacy, fewer perceived rewards for drug use, higher perceived costs for drug use, and a doctor visit. Current risky sexual behavior was predicted by a parent drug abuse history, less drug self-efficacy, and more social support from deviant sources. Current drug use was predicted by parent drug abuse history, less drug self-efficacy, more social support from deviant sources and by high perceived costs for drug use. Implications of results for intervention and theory are discussed.     

Adults and 5‐year‐old children draw rectangles and triangles around a prototype but not in the golden ratio

This study uses a production task to probe the representations of two geometrical shape categories (rectangles and triangles) in adults and children before the onset of geometry instruction. We specifically assessed whether drawings of these shapes would average around a prototype and whether the prototypical side‐length ratio of the shapes would be situated in the range of the ‘golden ratio’, as it has been reported in the perception domain. We asked 78 adults and 68 five‐year‐old children to draw one rectangle and one triangle. In both populations, the prototypical rectangle was horizontally oriented with a ratio between sides superior to the ‘golden’ value of 1.62. For the triangle, both children and adults tended to produce horizontal acute isosceles triangles with a ratio inferior to the golden value. These findings suggest that adults’ and children's shape categories of triangles and rectangles are organized around a prototypical shape, but the characteristics of this prototype may differ to a certain extent with the ones observed in previous perceptual tasks. Implications of this perception/production dissociation for length concept development, as well as the potential origins of these prototypes are discussed.