The Role of Parental Stress, Mother’s Childhood Abuse and Perceived Consequences of Violence in Predicting Attitudes and Attribution in Favor of Corporal Punishment

We investigate maternal attitudes toward corporal punishment and the attribution of blame to the child on the basis of data gathered from a population survey of a representative sample of mothers and mother figures. A total of 3,148 women living at least half of the time with a child participated in a telephone survey. The independent variables included in the multivariate model predicting maternal attitudes and attributions include the child’s, the mother’s and the family’s characteristics and social support. Results of the multiple regression analysis demonstrate the unique contribution of variables according to the mother’s characteristics (mother’s sensitivity to the consequences of violence, mother’s experience of childhood violence and parental stress related to child’s temperament). These results partially support the importance of prevention programs that would reduce stress and increase the level of parental empathy through the means of parental training.     

Cognitive and Interpersonal Predictors of Stress Generation in Children of Affectively Ill Parents

Stress generation is a process in which individuals, through their depressive symptoms, personal characteristics, and/or behaviors, contribute to the occurrence of stressful life events. While this process has been well documented in adults, few studies have examined it in children. The present study examines whether cognitive and interpersonal vulnerability factors to depression contribute to stress generation in children, independent of their current depressive symptoms. Participants included 140 children (ages 6 to 14) and one of their parents. During an initial assessment, children completed self-report measures assessing cognitive and interpersonal vulnerability factors to depression. Children and their parents also completed measures assessing depressive symptoms. One year later, children and their parents participated in a semi-structured interview assessing the occurrence of stressful life events in the past year. Multi-level modeling results provided strong support for the stress generation process in children of affectively ill parents and highlight the importance of considering gender and age moderation effects.

Indications for the Use of Atypical Antipsychotics in the Elderly

There has been an expanding role for the new generation atypical antipsychotic agents (clozapine, risperidone, olanzapine, and quetiapine) in elderly patients. Their efficacy in the treatment of psychoses associated with schizophrenia is now well established. But psychoses occur in other conditions. This paper will review the current research examining the use of the atypical agents in the treatment of psychoses in the elderly in three somewhat overlapping conditions: schizophrenia, dementia, and Parkinson's disease, as well as in the amelioration of a variety of movement disorders. In the elderly, any of the atypicals can be used to treat schizophrenia, although clozapine may be a second line agent because of its side effect profile. Risperidone may be the drug of choice for the treatment of psychoses and behavioral disturbances in dementia. Clozapine is a primary choice and quetiapine an alternative for the treatment of psychoses in Parkinson's disease; while clozapine and possibly risperidone may be preferred for the initial treatment of some movement disorders. The differential effectiveness of these agents across treatment indications may, in part, be related to their differing affinities at several neurotransmitter receptors. Examination of these relationships in large scale longitudinal studies may help in the development of effective tailored treatments for the elderly.     

A Note on the Natural Basis of Action Categories

What is the basis for the categorical distinctions evident in action? For some visually-guided activities it can be shown that categories of action are specified by criterial values of optical properties. In the more general case, the criterial optical properties should be scaled relative to dimensions of the acting animal. The analysis of the prey-catching behavior of praying mantids is used to exemplify the strategy for determining naturally defined boundaries on actions.     

Firearms Matter: The Moderating Role of Firearm Storage in the Association Between Current Suicidal Ideation and Likelihood of Future Suicide Attempts Among United States Military Personnel

The relationship between firearm ownership and suicide is well documented. This study hypothesized that how soldiers store their firearms would moderate the relationship between suicidal ideation and the self-reported likelihood of engaging in a future suicide attempt, and that this relationship would be explained by fearlessness about death. There were 432 military personnel (91.3% men, 74.2% White, M_age = 27.60) who endorsed current ownership of a private firearm and who were recruited from a military base in the southeastern United States (94.5% National Guard). Firearm storage moderated the relationship between suicidal ideation and the self-reported likelihood of engaging in a future suicide attempt, but this relationship was not explained by fearlessness about death. Individuals who reported keeping their firearms loaded and stored in an unsecure location exhibited higher mean levels of fearlessness about death. Findings highlight the need for research examining contributors to suicide risk in the context of firearm storage, and provide support for suicide prevention efforts involving restricting means.     

How Do I Know if I Need a Hearing Aid? Further Support for the Self‐Categorisation Approach to Symptom Perception

This paper extends the self-categorisation model of symptom perception to predict that people aged 50 years and over will report higher levels of hearing handicap when they categorise themselves as members of a group of older people. This prediction is supported with an opportunity sample ( N  = 50; mean age = 63 years) who completed a questionnaire designed to screen for hearing handicap in "the elderly" ( sic ). Participants also underwent pure-tone audiometry, which confirmed that the observed difference in hearing handicap was not attributable to any difference in hearing threshold level. Hence these findings offer further support for the self-categorisation model of symptom perception. Their theoretical, clinical, and methodological implications together with possible therapeutic applications of self-categorisation theory to auditory rehabilitation of older people are discussed.     

CHILD MALTREATMENT, BULLYING, GENDER-BASED HARASSMENT, AND ADOLESCENT DATING VIOLENCE: MAKING THE CONNECTIONS

Learning to relate to others begins at birth and carries forward to new relationships, which is why child maltreatment and exposure to intimate partner violence have emerged as powerful risk factors for future coercive and hostile relationship patterns. Although not inevitable, it is more likely that children who are victims of maltreatment will carry forward these behavior patterns into adolescence and adulthood, thus perpetuating bullying and harassment with peers and dating partners. We examine the importance of relationships in understanding how abusive patterns of relating to others are shaped throughout childhood and adolescence and how they can be prevented. While early relationships are very important, they are not deterministic; there are ample opportunities for corrective experiences to offset negative early experiences.