CRITICISM OF LITERATURE AND CRITICISM OF CULTURE

There is a class of critics who are dissatisfied with the academic status of literary criticism and who want to re-establish for literary criticism the status it possessed in the early and mid nineteenth century as simultaneously cultural and social criticism. This is an impossible task. The 'cultural critics' of the nineteenth century possessed their authority because they were without competition and because they could command the attention and respect of the whole of the literate audience. However, at the end of the nineteenth century intellectual authority came to be based in specialised academic disciplines and individual authority was undermined and ultimately disappeared. At the same time, the arrival of universal literacy in Britain fragmented and ultimately destroyed the generally educated audience to which the cultural critics addressed themselves. Consequently there is today no role for the cultural critic. Literary critics cannot speak with authority about social, political, or cultural questions. They can, however, speak with authority about literature. Whether or not this criticism can be grounded in disciplinary knowledge, it serves a necessary function for an audience that no longer possesses the skill of reading literary works and lacks the background knowledge that is necessary to make sense of literature.     

Video interaction guidance inviting transcendence of postpartum depressed mothers' self‐centered state and holding behavior

By sometimes evoking self‐absorbed and avoidance behaviors in new mothers, postnatal depression affects the quality of mother–infant interaction, which in turn may invoke distress and avoidance in the infant and cause even more lasting impairment in the child's development. Three depressed mothers, A, B, and C, are reported upon after having been offered counseling in accordance with the Marte Meo approach through jointly watching with the therapist video replays of themselves interacting with their newborns. Clinical vignettes are offered which indicate how empathic and positive support of a sensitive therapist can be helpful in inviting the mother's recognition of her importance to her infant and facilitating mutually gratifying interaction between mother and child. Protocol analyses of select sessions of video‐related therapy reveal that two of the mothers sometimes complete the therapist's unfinished statements in an other‐centered manner, thereby transcending their initial self‐centered state. This is most dramatic in the case of Mother A, who starts out in the first session almost incapable of speech, merely nodding or shaking her head. In addition to other indications of improved mother–infant interaction, comparison of pre‐ and postguidance windows regarding the three mothers' holding behaviors reveals a shift from an avoidance or anxious stance to closer and more secure holding.     

Use of the MMPI-A to detect substance abuse in a juvenile correctional setting.

In this study, we examined the ability of the MMPI-A (Butcher et al., 1992) to detect substance abuse problems in a juvenile correctional setting. Specifically, we evaluated the Alcohol/Drug Problem Acknowledgment scale (ACK; Weed, Butcher, & Williams, 1994), the Alcohol/Drug Problem Proneness scale (PRO; Weed et al., 1994), and the MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale-Revised (MAC-R; Butcher et al., 1992) in the prediction of substance abuse. In addition, the incremental validity of ACK in comparison to PRO was evaluated, as was the incremental validity of PRO in comparison to ACK. The sample consisted of 123 boys and girls from ajuvenile correctional facility in Northeastern Ohio. Results indicate that ACK and PRO, but not MAC-R, were related to interviewer ratings of substance abuse. Results point to the superiority of ACK over PRO in substance abuse identification.     

Factors associated with erection in adolescent sex offenders

A majority of adult child molesters report that their deviant interest began prior to the age of 18. This illustrates the need to evaluate adolescents who have molested children. Since self-report of deviant interest is rare in adolescent offenders, psychophysiologic assessment is necessary to help to determine the extent for a deviant interest pattern. The current study was designed to determine what factors are associated with erectile responding to age-inappropriate stimuli in an adolescent sex offender population. Factors studied were (a) admit/deny, (b) history of physical abuse, (c) history of sexual abuse, (d) history of nonsex arrests, and (e) incest/nonincest. The dependent variables were two pedophile indices, a relative measure of deviant to nondeviant arousal. Results indicated that history of sexual abuse was associated with more deviant erectile responding in those adolescents who had molested young boys. The possibility of adolescents modeling their own victimization is discussed.     

Initiation and Maintenance of Tobacco Smoking: Changing Personality Correlates in Adolescence and Young Adulthood1

Youthful smokers have been described as extroverted and peer-involved, whereas older smokers are often characterized as depressed and withdrawn. Recognizing this contradiction, we examined cross-sectional and prospective associations between smoking and personality and social constructs assessed every 4 years in a sample (N= 461) originally recruited in junior high school. At Time 1, smoking was positively related to good social relations, extroversion, friends' cigarette use, and cheerfulness. At Times 2–4, smoking was positively related to depression and friends' cigarette use, negatively correlated with good Social Relations, and unrelated to extroversion. Cigarette use was stable over time, but least stable between Times 1 and 2. Findings suggest the instability of early social smoking with peers; those who persist may smoke for tension reduction and self-medication.