Attachment and Artistic Expression

I explore and demonstrate the transformative potential of artistic expression. In particular, I illustrate how the process of sculpting and concurrent imagery can create an attachment to a lost and unremembered parent.     

Auditory Verbal Experience and Agency in Waking,Sleep Onset,REM, and Non‐REM Sleep

We present one of the first quantitative studies on auditory verbal experiences (“hearing voices”) and auditory verbal agency (inner speech, and specifically “talking to (imaginary) voices or characters”) in healthy participants across states of consciousness. Tools of quantitative linguistic analysis were used to measure participants’ implicit knowledge of auditory verbal experiences (VE) and auditory verbal agencies (VA), displayed in mentation reports from four different states. Analysis was conducted on a total of 569 mentation reports from rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, non‐REM sleep, sleep onset, and waking. Physiology was controlled with the nightcap sleep–wake mentation monitoring system. Sleep‐onset hallucinations, traditionally at the focus of scientific attention on auditory verbal hallucinations, showed the lowest degree of VE and VA, whereas REM sleep showed the highest degrees. Degrees of different linguistic‐pragmatic aspects of VE and VA likewise depend on the physiological states. The quantity and pragmatics of VE and VA are a function of the physiologically distinct state of consciousness in which they are conceived.     

Individual,situational, and cultural correlates of acquiescent responding: Towards a unified conceptual framework

Acquiescence (‘yea-saying’) can seriously harm the validity of self-report questionnaire data. Towards a better understanding of why some individuals and groups acquiesce more strongly than others do, we developed a unified conceptual framework of acquiescent responding. Our framework posits that acquiescent responding is a joint function of respondent characteristics (e.g. age, education, values), situational/survey characteristics (e.g., interview privacy, respondents’ interest), and cultural characteristics (e.g., social norms, economic development). The framework posits two putative mechanisms through which these characteristics may relate to acquiescence: cognitive processing capacities and deferential communication styles. Multilevel analyses using data from 60 heterogeneous countries from the World Values Survey (N = 90,347) support our framework's proposition that acquiescence is a joint function of respondent, situational, and cultural characteristics. Acquiescence was higher among respondents who were older (over 55 years old), less educated, who valued deference (i.e., conformity and tradition), and, unexpectedly, were male. Interview privacy corresponded to lower acquiescence, but this association was small and vanished after including respondent characteristics. Unexpectedly, acquiescence was higher in interviewees who showed a stronger interest in the interview. Finally, acquiescence was considerably higher in countries with stronger social norms of deference. We discuss implications of these findings for the validity of research based on self-report data and delineate how our framework can guide future inquiries into acquiescent responding.     

In-depth continuing education for clergy in mental health: Ten years of a large scale program

This paper describes an interdenominational continuing education program for parish clergy in the mental health dimension of pastoral work. The program is in its eleventh year and has reached a significant proportion of the clergy, representing a wide range of religious, ethnic, and socio-economic groups, within a large urban community. The format utilizes case-oriented, small group discussion focused on the clergy's own pastoral work. It emphasizes preventive educational activities along with the development of basic counseling and mental health skills. Ongoing evaluation indicates that the program constitutes an effective, economical, and flexible tool for continuing education with clergy.Dr. Wasman is Assistant Professor of Psychology, Dr. Corradi is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, and Dr. Clemens is Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, 44106. This work has been supported in part by the National Institute of Mental Health Grant MH11929 and by grants from the Cleveland Foundation, The Grant Foundation, Inc., and The Cuyahoga County Board of Mental Health and Retardation. The authors wish to thank Dr. Milton Matz, the current Director of the Pastoral Psychology Service-Institute, Case Western Reserve University, for his advice and cooperation in preparing this article.     

School programs targeting stress management in children and adolescents: A meta-analysis

Introduction

This meta-analysis evaluates the effect of school programs targeting stress management or coping skills in school children.

Methods

Articles were selected through a systematic literature search. Only randomized controlled trials or quasi-experimental studies were included. The standardized mean differences (SMDs) between baseline and final measures were computed for experimental and control groups. Experimental groups were groups that either received an intervention of (a) relaxation training, (b) social problem solving, (c) social adjustment and emotional self-control, or (d) a combination of these interventions. If no baseline measurement was available, SMDs were calculated between final measures of the groups. The overall pooled effect size was calculated and the pooled effect sizes of improvement on stress, coping, (social) behavior, and self-efficacy by random effects meta-analysis. The dependence of the results on study characteristics (i.e. methodological quality and type of intervention) was evaluated using meta-regression analysis.

Results

Nineteen publications met the inclusion criteria of controlled trials for class programs, teaching coping skills or stress management. Overall effect size for the programs was − 1.51 [95% confidence interval (CI) − 2.29, − 0.73], indicating a positive effect. However, heterogeneity was significant (p < .001). Sensitivity analyses showed that study quality and type of intervention were sources of heterogeneity influencing the overall result (p values < .001). The heterogeneity in quality may be associated with methodological diversity and differences in outcome assessments, rather than variety in treatment effect. Effect was calculated per intervention type, and positive effects were found for stress symptoms with a pooled effect size of − 0.865 (95% CI: − 1.229, − 0.502) and for coping with a pooled effect size of − 3.493 (95% CI: − 6.711, − 0.275).

Conclusion

It is tentatively concluded that school programs targeting stress management or coping skills are effective in reducing stress symptoms and enhancing coping skills. Future research should use clear quality criteria and strive for less diversity in methodology and outcome assessment.     

Psy-BaDo

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

斯特劳斯论苏格拉底问题

尼采在<善恶的彼岸>这本闪耀着柏拉图主义和反柏拉图主义光辉的著作中说"我好像真的完全不知道,究竟有什么比那些幸运得到的小东西(petit fait)更多地让我梦见到柏拉图的秘密和斯芬克斯的本性(Sphinx-Natur):人们在其墓穴的枕头底下,没有发现任何埃及的、毕达哥拉斯的和柏拉图的经典,而是阿里斯托芬."     

Self-recognition of highly skilled actions: A study of orchestral conductors

The influence of movement skill on action representations and identification of agency was investigated. Point-light displays were created of highly skilled gestures of thirteen orchestral conductors in visual, auditory, and audiovisual versions and compared to two control conditions (static images and gait cycles of the same participants). In subsequent experimental sessions, participants indicated whether displays presented them or other conductors, whether the soundtrack contained their or others' musical interpretations, and rated the quality and emotional content of the gestures. Self-recognition was more accurate in conditions presenting highly skilled conducting movements as compared to other displays. Participants judged the quality of their own movements to be better than those of others, independently of whether or not they recognized movement agency. Emotional content was perceived accurately across conditions both for own and others' actions. These results point to the influence of dynamical characteristics of motor skill, rather than merely type of movement or emotional content, on action representations and self-other identification.     

Zur Qualitätssicherung zivilrechtlicher Begutachtungen

Quality assurance in forensic psychiatry must take into account the different requirements for assessment in criminal, civil and social law. For civil law assessments the following measures are recommended: a reading list of articles reflecting the expert consensus, guidelines, a list of approved expert supervisors, an exemplary curriculum, modification of the present certificatation by the German Society for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychosomatic and Neurology (DGPPN) with more emphasis on civil law and a continuous process of education and recertification. Besides an interdisciplinary statement defining minimum requirements for civil law assessments, measures for continuous quality improvement should also be established in cooperation with representatives of the judicature.     

Children of Mentally Ill Parents Participating in Preventive Support Groups: Parental Diagnoses and Child Risk

In the Netherlands, preventive support groups are offered to children of mentally ill parents. Given the variety of parental diagnoses it might be questionable if offering a standardized program for all these children is the most effective response. While no overall knowledge exists about the type of parental disorder and varying risk levels and support needs among the participating children, we examined whether there are differences between these children that are related to their parents’ diagnoses. With questionnaires we assessed risk factors in 122 mentally ill parents and their children: high parental illness severity, low perceived parental competence, parent–child interaction problems, poor family functioning, difficult child temperament, and low child competence. We also assessed the children’s psychosocial problems and negative cognitions about their parent’s illness. Results showed that most parents had co-morbidity (multiple diagnoses) and/or personality disorders. Children of parents with either of these conditions were more likely to be exposed to the risk factors: high parental illness severity, low perceived parental competence, problematic parent–child interaction, and low perceived child competence, compared to children of parents without these conditions. They were also faced with more risk factors and had more psychosocial problems and negative cognitions. From these results we may conclude that children of parents with co-morbidity and/or personality disorders require more extensive support than children of parents without these conditions. We suggest strengthening the children’s competence and involving parents as important focuses of preventive interventions for children at high risk. Longitudinal studies should test these assumptions.