Building the perfect curse word: A psycholinguistic investigation of the form and meaning of taboo words

Taboo words represent a potent subset of natural language. It has been hypothesized that “tabooness” reflects an emergent property of negative valence and high physiological arousal of word referents. Many taboo words (e.g., dick, shit) are indeed consistent with this claim. Nevertheless, American English is also rife with negatively valenced, highly arousing words the usage of which is not socially condemned (e.g., cancer, abortion, welfare). We evaluated prediction of tabooness of single words and novel taboo compound words from a combination of phonological, lexical, and semantic variables (e.g., semantic category, word length). For single words, physiological arousal and emotional valence strongly predicted tabooness with additional moderating contributions from form (phonology) and meaning (semantic category). In Experiment 2, raters judged plausibility for combinations of common nouns with taboo words to form novel taboo compounds (e.g., shitgibbon). A mixture of formal (e.g., ratio of stop consonants, length) and semantic variables (e.g., ± receptacle, ± profession) predicted the quality of novel taboo compounding. Together, these studies provide complementary evidence for interactions between word form and meaning and an algorithmic prediction of tabooness in American English. We discuss applications for models of taboo word representation.

     

The influence of Sociocultural Paradigms

This research examined the influence of sociocultural paradigms of menopause on attitudes toward menopause. Five hundred eighty-one women and men, between the ages of 18 and 85, were assigned to one of three groups distinguished by the context within which they expressed their attitudes toward menopause. The contexts were designed to reflect particular paradigms: one group described their attitudes toward three medical problems, including menopause; a second group described their attitudes toward three life transitions, including menopause; and a third group described their attitudes toward three symbols of aging, including menopause. Positive and negative subscales of the attitude questionnaires for menopause were analyzed for context and age/experience. Results indicated that the medical context elicited significantly more negative and fewer positive attitudes than did the other two contexts, particularly among older participants. In general, women's attitudes were more positive than were men's, and attitudes became increasingly positive with age and/or experience. The discussion includes the potential role of attitudes as mediating the impact of sociocultural paradigms on experience and behavior.     

Under Reporting of Suicide Ideation in US Army Population Screening: An Ongoing Challenge

Previous research in US Army Soldiers shows rates of mental health concerns as two to four times higher on anonymous surveys than on postdeployment health assessments. In this study, Soldiers presenting for health reassessment completed two questionnaires on suicide risk factors: one linked to the health assessment and one anonymous. About 5.1% of respondents reported suicide ideation on the anonymous questionnaire, 3.0% on the linked questionnaire, and 0.9% on the health reassessment. About 56.4% who reported suicide ideation anonymously told nobody of their thoughts. Current screening procedures identify only one in seven Soldiers experiencing suicide ideation and highlight the need for alternative risk‐detection strategies.     

Occupational Therapy Interventions in Mental Health: A Literature Review in Search of Evidence

A growing body of literature sheds light on occupational therapy (OT) interventions and outcomes in adult mental health. Although this research has not developed to the point where a systematic review is warranted, a synthesis of these findings is needed. This article provides an overview of OT interventions in adult mental health and their documented outcomes. Fifty peer-reviewed intervention studies targeting adults with mental illness were reviewed. Seven categories of interventions emerged: employment/education; psychoeducation; creative occupations/activity; time use/occupational balance; skills/habit development; group/family approaches; and animal-assisted therapy. Further research involving rigorous designs is needed to establish a solid evidence base for OT interventions in adult mental health.     

Making the grade: a pilot investigation of an e-intervention to increase mental health literacy and help-seeking intentions among international university students

ABSTRACT

International students may have less understanding and awareness of mental health issues and appear unlikely to seek help. The purpose of the current study was to construct and evaluate a brief online educational intervention designed to increase mental health literacy (MHL) and help-seeking among international tertiary students studying in Australia. The intervention was tested among 45 international tertiary students (undergraduate and postgraduate), who were randomly allocated to control and intervention conditions. The intervention led to significant improvements in help-seeking attitudes, particularly in stigmatising attitudes. No significant effects were found for MHL or help-seeking intentions. A brief educational intervention can improve help-seeking attitudes among international tertiary students. Future research may focus on establishing optimal intervention dosage.