Spirituality,quality of life,and depression in older people with dementia

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to observe dementia’s role in the relationship between spirituality, quality of life, and depression in aging. The sample included 61 participants between 65 and 98 years old, separated into two groups: participants diagnosed with dementia (N = 31) and control participants (N = 30). There was no significant difference in spirituality between demented and control participants; however, different patterns of correlation were observed between spirituality, depression, and quality of life in these groups. Although the level of spirituality did not differ despite dementia, this pathology would appear to play a role in the relationship between spirituality, quality of life, and depression.     

Social representations of health and illness: the case of the Chinese community in England

This paper reports results from a qualitative study on social representations of health and illness among the Chinese community in England. It is assumed that representations of health and illness are grounded in cultural frameworks and are constructed through communication, social interaction and the practices of daily life. Our findings show that in spite of differences related to age and degrees of acculturation, Chinese people in England share a common representational system with respect to health and illness. This system is based on the traditional notions of “balance” and “harmony” between the interdependent forces of Yin and Yang. Health results from balance, whereas illness is brought about by disequilibrium. It is through these traditional Chinese concepts that Western biomedical knowledge is incorporated, producing a mixed representational field where Chinese and Western knowledge co‐exist. This representational field is transmitted through the most fundamental dimensions of culture: food, language and kinship relations. We conclude by showing that social representations of health and illness are inseparable from the struggles over identity experienced by the Chinese people in England. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Inhibitory Control Deficits in Individuals with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: a Meta-Analysis

Neuropsychology Review - Amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) is a prodromal stage of Alzheimer’s disease that is characterized by impairments in episodic memory. Recent evidence has...     

La compréhension d'un texte procédural: Un processus à profondeur variable

This study investigates the comprehension of a dosage according to the desired aim before reading. The results of the two experiments carried out indicate that only the cognitive activities underlying the performance of the instructions (versus comprehension/memorisation) require the transformation of the declarative representation into a procedural one. The inferences generated attest a result/procedure relation and a hierarchical organisation of the planification of actions brought into play. Moreover, information which is directly goal‐related receives more extensive treatment than other information.     

Reviews: Books Photography

RELATIONAL PSYCHOANALYSIS: THE EMERGENCE OF A TRADITION. Edited by Stephen A. Mitchell and Lewis Aron. 514 pp. Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press, 1999. $39.95. D.H. LAWRENCE AND THE PARADOXES OF PSYCHIC LIFE. By Barbara Ann Schapiro. 155 pp. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999. $17.95. TECHNOLOGY AS MAGIC: THE TRIUMPH OF THE IRRATIONAL. By Richard Stivers. 240 pp. New York: Continuum Press. 1999. $24. REFLECTIONS ON A RAVAGED CENTURY. By Robert Conquest. 317 pp. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000, $27.95. THE MYSTERIES WITHIN A SURGEON REFLECTS ON MEDICAL MYTHS. By Sherwin B. Nuland. 274 pp. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000, $24.00. DISEASE, PAIN, AND SUICIDAL BEHAVIOR. By Elisabeth Stenager and Egon Stenager. 127 pp. New York: The Haworth Medical Press, 1998. $17.95. TRAUMA ASSESSMENTS: A CLINICIAN'S GUIDE. By E. B. Carlson. 307 pp. New York: The Guilford Press, 1997. $30. ON INFANCY AND TODDLERHOOD: AN ELEMENTARY TEXTBOOK. By David A. Freedman, M.D. 247 pp. Madison: International Universities Press, Inc., 1999. $27.95. TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE. By Mitch Albom. 192 pp. New York: Doubleday, 1997. $21. THE SORROWS OF THE QUAKER JESUS; JAMES NAYLER AND THE PURITAN CRACKDOWN ON THE FREE SPIRIT. By Leo Damrosch. 322 pp. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1996, $39.95. THE PASTORAL CARE OF DEPRESSION: A GUIDEBOOK. By Binford W. Gilbert. 127 pp. New York: The Haworth Pastoral Press, 1998. $19.95. LEARNING DISABILITIES AND PSYCHIC CONFLICT: A PSYCHOANALYTIC CASEBOOK. By Arden Aibel Rothstein, Ph.D., and Jules Glenn, M.D. 504 pp. Madison: International Universities Press, Inc., 1999. $78. HAUNTED CHILDREN: RETHINKING MEDICATION OF COMMON PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS. By Arthur F. Roemmelt, MD. 196 pp. New York: State University of New York Press, 1998. $17.95. NAVIGATING THE DEEP RIVER: SPIRITUALITY IN AFRICAN-AMERICAN FAMILIES. By Archie Smith, Jr. 181 pp. Cleveland, Ohio: United Church Press, 1997. $15.95. AL-JUNUN: MENTAL ILLNESS IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD. Edited by Ihsan Al-Issa. 382 pp. Madison: International Universities Press, 2000. $48. Witnessing the Lack of Sanctuary     

Reviews: Books and Films

INFINITE GRACE: WHEN THE WORDS OF SCIENCE AND SPIRITUAL HEALING MEET. By Diane Goldner. 346 pp. Hampton Roads, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing, 1999, $23.95. DEATH ANXIETY AND CLINICAL PRACTICE. By Robert Langs. 250 pp. London: Karnac Books, 1997. $33. THE FORCE OF CHARACTER AND THE LASTING LIFE. By James Hillman. 236 pp. New York: Ballantine Books, 1999. $14. THE DEAD MOTHER: THE WORK OF ANDRE GREEN. Edited by Gregorio Kohon. 228 pp. London and New York: Routledge, 2000. $. A DARWINIAN LEFT: POLITICS, EVOLUTION AND COOPERATION. By Peter Singer. 70 pp. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000. Hardback $. THE ECSTATIC IMAGINATION: PSYCHEDELIC EXPERIENCES AND THE PSYCHOANALYSIS OF SELF-ACTUALIZATION. By Dan Merkur. 226 pp. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, 1998. $19.95. THE UNKNOWN GOD: SEARCHING FOR SPIRITUAL FULFILLMENT. By Alister McGrath. 123 pp. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1999. $18.00. Films: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Girlfight; Gladiator; The Contender     

The Clown's Use of Empathy: An Interview with Bob Berky

Excerpts from an interview with Bob Berky reveal the clown's keen understanding of empathic attunement, what psychotherapists, pastoral counselors, and persons in pastoral care maintain is a vital correspondence toward authentic interpersonal presence. Berky discusses the use of silence and movement to free the individual with whom he invites to his stage from rigid personas and limiting preconceptions. He underscores the life-giving possibilities of the laugh of recognition—the realization that we share a kindred experience of being human, and can release our unique potentials toward creative connection and difference.