Workaholism Among Japanese Blue-Collar Employees

A survey study was conducted in order to examine the hypothesis that workaholism may be a mode of adapting to a stressful work environment. A questionnaire was distributed to members of the Japan Federation of Automobile Workers' Unions in Japan. A total of 4,621 workers (4,083 men, 509 women, 29 unidentified) returned usable data (response rate = 71.9%). The results of a correlation analysis indicated that work overload-quantity and work overload-quality had significantly positive relations with Driven and little or no significant relations with Enjoyment of work. Blue-collar employees who work in highly structured and controlled environments were less likely to be workaholic than white-collar employees (in particular those in sales divisions). The results of ANOVA indicated that work overload had different effects on workaholism by age groups among blue-collar employees. It was found that work overload increased the degree of Driven and Enjoyment of work for those under 34 years old and it increased Driven and decreased Enjoyment of work for those over 35 years old.     

Do postpartum anxiety and breastfeeding self-efficacy and bonding at early postpartum predict postpartum depression and the breastfeeding method?

We investigated whether postpartum anxiety (PPA) and breastfeeding self-efficacy and bonding at the early postpartum period can be used to predict postpartum depression and the breastfeeding method, and we sought to identify factors related to postpartum depression. Of the 510 eligible women, 185 (36%) returned the questionnaire on all three occasions (1 day, 3 days, and 1 month after childbirth). The mothers' progress on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale Short Form (BFSES-SF), and Postnatal Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ) was observed over three periods. A repeated-measures ANOVA revealed that the mothers at high risk of developing postpartum depression (PPD) were those who did not show an increase in BFSES-SF score at early postpartum, and mothers whose bonding disorders have deteriorated rapidly. The results of the logistic regression analysis revealed a significant difference in employment as a factor related to postpartum depression. Compared to Regular, Part-time status was 4.4 times more likely and Unemployed status was 2.3 times more likely to cause postpartum depression. For the early detection of PPD, it is necessary to identify (1) mothers who do not show an increase in the BFSES-SF score, (2) mothers whose bonding disorders have deteriorated rapidly, and (3) part-time or unemployed mothers as characteristic of postpartum depression.     

The sexual responses of sexual sadists

On average, rapists show greater relative genital responses to rape stories than do nonrapists in the laboratory. It has been suggested that this robust group difference is explained by the fact that many rapists are sexually sadistic. It is not clear, however, what the critical cues underlying rapists' genital responses are, because rape stories used in previous research include a mix of sadistic cues of violence and victim injury as well as cues of victim resistance and nonconsent. The present study was conducted to identify the critical cues producing self-identified sadists' sexual responses, and thereby to test sexual sadism as an explanation of rapists' arousal pattern. The present study was also conducted to develop a new phallometric test for sexual sadism for research and clinical applications, given evidence of poor diagnostic reliability and validity. Eighteen self-identified male sadists, 22 men with some sadistic interests who did not meet all of our sadist criteria, and 23 nonsadists (all recruited from the community) were compared in their genital and subjective responses to a new set of stories that disentangle violence/injury cues from resistance/nonconsent cues. The three groups differed in both their genital and subjective responses: using indices of relative responding, sadists responded significantly more to cues of violence/injury than nonsadists and men with some sadistic interests. The group difference for cues of nonconsent was not significant. The results suggest that sexual sadism primarily involves arousal to violence/injury in a sexual context rather than resistance/nonconsent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Do testing effects change over time? Insights from immediate and delayed retrieval speed

Retrieving information from memory improves recall accuracy more than continued studying, but this testing effect often only becomes visible over time. In contrast, the present study documents testing effects on recall speed both immediately after practice and after a delay. A total of 40 participants learned the translation of 100 Swahili words and then further restudied the words with translations or retrieved the translations from memory during testing. As in previous experiments, recall accuracy was higher for restudied words than for tested words immediately after practice, but higher for tested words after 7 days. Response times for correct answers, however, showed a different result: Learners were faster to recall tested words than restudied words both immediately after practice and after 7 days. These results are interpreted in light of recent suggestions that testing selectively strengthens cue–response associations. An additional outcome was that testing effects on recall accuracy were related to perceived retrieval success during practice. When several practice retrievals were successful, testing effects on recall accuracy were already significant immediately after practice. Together with the reaction time data, this supports recent models that attribute changes in testing effects over time to limited item retrievability during practice.     

Prevalence, antecedent causes and consequences of domestic violence in Myanmar

The present study explored women's experiences of domestic violence in Myanmar. In particular, the study examined the relation between antecedents and outcomes of their experiences as well as influences of attribution styles, response styles and different types of violence on their experiences. Using the Myanmar version of the Revised Conflict Tactic Scale, survey data from a representative sample of 286 women in Myanmar were conducted. Results indicated that 27% of women experienced physical assault and 69% of women experienced psychological aggression in a 1-year period. The factors associated with increased risks of violence included witnessing parental violence, husbands' unemployment, husbands' frequent alcohol use, and women's feminism attitudes. Severe physical assault was a strong predictor of negative outcomes and formal intervention. Formal intervention was related to fewer negative outcomes.     

Counseling Japanese Men on Fathering

The authors review an article (J. Yamamoto & F. Tagami, 2004) published in the Japanese Journal of Counseling Science that described changes in contemporary Japanese family structures and illustrated a therapy process with a father to enhance the father‐son relationship. Implications for the counseling profession in working with men on fathering, including single fatherhood, are shared based on the literature from both the United States and Japan.     

Sleep directly following learning benefits consolidation of spatial associative memory

The last decade has brought forth convincing evidence for a role of sleep in non-declarative memory. A similar function of sleep in episodic memory is supported by various correlational studies, but direct evidence is limited. Here we show that cued recall of face-location associations is significantly higher following a 12-h retention interval containing sleep than following an equally long period of waking. Furthermore, retention is significantly higher over a 24-h sleep-wake interval than over an equally long wake-sleep interval. This difference occurs because retention during sleep was significantly better when sleep followed learning directly, rather than after a day of waking. These data demonstrate a beneficial effect of sleep on memory that cannot be explained solely as a consequence of reduced interference. Rather, our findings suggest a competitive consolidation process, in which the fate of a memory depends, at least in part, on its relative stability at sleep onset: Strong memories tend to be preserved, while weaker memories erode still further. An important aspect of memory consolidation may thus result from the removal of irrelevant memory "debris."     

The sexual preferences of incest offenders.

Inclusive fitness theory suggests that discriminative solicitude and inbreeding avoidance are important mechanisms regulating parent-children interactions. From an inclusive fitness perspective, sex with one's biological children is paradoxical. The authors hypothesized that incest can occur when these mechanisms are not activated (e.g., if a father is uninvolved in child rearing) or are overwhelmed by another factor, such as pedophilic interest. They predicted that biological fathers, who presumably have been the most involved in the rearing of their victims, would show greater phallometrically measured pedophilic interest than would other incest offenders against children (e.g., grandfathers, uncles, stepfathers). The prediction was not supported. A testable alternative hypothesis to explain biological father incest is presented and the importance of assessing pedophilic interest among incest offenders is discussed.     

Ayahuasca in Western society and the metacognitive counselling approach

Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic plant used throughout South America for religious, cultural and healing ceremonies. Previous studies have analysed it as a therapy method from either the microperspective, such as physiological and psychological effects of substance use, or the macroperspective, such as legal issues or cultural appropriation of ayahuasca by Westerners. There is a need to combine those two aspects to fully understand the effects of ayahuasca for therapists and clients in Western communities. By utilising an autoethnographic instrumental case study, we discuss the possible risk of ayahuasca gaining popularity in Western societies without an understanding of how the social context plays a tremendous part in healing using this method. We also discuss the risk of intrapsychic experiences brought about by ayahuasca that may deter individuals from seeking appropriate treatment. It is not our intention to present ayahuasca as an illegitimate or invalid method of healing; rather, we emphasise the importance of integrating micro- and macroperspectives in psychotherapy practice. We suggest that the metacognitive counselling approach be taken by both clients and therapists when adopting indigenous methods of therapy which may add a significantly positive effect. Although we hope this study offers realistic and lived experiences to generate pragmatic solutions for therapists and clients, we recognise that it is necessary to collect data from a larger number of both clients and therapists to better support our suggestion of the metacognitive counselling approach.