Godly play: an intervention for improving physical, emotional, and spiritual responses of chronically ill hospitalized children

An experimental two-group comparison pilot study of forty chronically ill hospitalized children was carried out at Wolfson Children's Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida. Three Godly Play interventions were given to participants in the experimental group. Children in the control group did not participate but received a fairy tale book as a control. The sample was evenly distributed with twenty (20) males and twenty (20) females. Ages ranged from six (6) to fifteen (15) years and all participants were chronically ill. Five (5) variables were studied. Of the five (5), three (3) showed significant differences before and after Godly Play: the Staic-Trait Anxiety Scale (p = .049), the Children's Depression Inventory (p = .011), and the McBride Spirituality Assessment (p = .033). A marginal difference in parent satisfaction with hospital care of children in the experimental and control groups was also determined (p = .058). Findings suggest that Godly Play had a significant effect on anxiety, depression, and spirituality of children and support the idea that the parents of children who participated in Godly Play were more satisfied with hospital care than those parents whose children did not engage in Godly Play.     

Workplace worries: a preliminary look at online sexual activities at the office-emerging issues for clinicians and employers.

Concerns about the impact of online sexual activities (OSA) on work-life are drastically increasing. This study examined 3,466 respondents who reported OSA, 18.5% of whom reported engaging in OSA at work. They were compared with the 81.5% who engaged in OSA at home, on average time spent in OSA, workplace policies regarding OSA, and relationship status. Two themes were identified and discussed: opportunity and sexual distress. Our findings indicate that participants are cognizant of issues of opportunity (e.g., the OSA from home group was more likely to indicate their workplace has established policies regarding OSA), and privacy, representing an important aspect of this theme (e.g., participants engaging in OSA at work were found to be twice as likely to have extra-marital affairs, compared with the OSA from home group). Secondly, our data suggests that many participants, especially from the OSA at work group, experience OSA-related distress. Engaging in OSA at the workplace may result in decreased productivity, issues of sexual harassment, and concerns about employee well-being. Clearly stated and consistently enforced policies regulating OSA are likely to mitigate workplace OSA. However, a significant minority of employees may have difficulties curbing OSA. Therefore, more sophisticated strategies to deal with workplace OSA should be established. Additional implications of importance for organizations and mental health professionals who support them are discussed.     

An International Study of the Psychometric Properties of the Hofstede Values Survey Module 1994: A Comparison of Individual and Country/Province Level Results

Hofstede's Values Survey Module has been the basis for much cross‐cultural and cross‐national research in the workplace, but little information about its psychometric properties has been available. This study provides internal consistency (coefficient alpha) statistics from samples representing 23 nations/provinces. Across both English and translated versions, internal consistencies tended to be poor, and in the majority of cases failed to achieve even a liberal criterion of 0.60. Even when data were aggregated by sample coefficient alphas were poor for all but long‐term orientation. At the participant level, long‐term orientation and individualism had marginal internal consistencies, whereas power distance, masculinity, and uncertainty avoidance subscales had inadequate internal consistencies. A replication of Hofstede's ecological factor analysis failed to support the five subscales. It is suggested that the construct validity of these scales is suspect, and that they should be used with caution.     

The use of operant technology to measure behavioral priorities in captive animals

Addressing the behavioral priorities of captive animals and the development of practical, objective measures of the value of environmental resources is a principal objective of animal welfare science. In theory, consumer demand approaches derivedfrom human microeconomics should provide validmeasures of the value of environmental resources. In practice, however, a number of empirical and theoretical problems have rendered these measures difficult to interpret in studies with animals. A common approach has been to impose a cost on access to resources and to use time with each resource as a measure of consumption to construct demand curves. This can be recorded easily by automatic means, but in a number of studies, it has been found that animals compensate for increased cost of access with longer visit time. Furthermore, direct observation of the test animals’ behavior has shown that resource interaction is more intense once the animals have overcome higher costs. As a consequence, measures based on time with the resource may underestimate resource consumption at higher access costs, and demand curves derived from these measures may not be a true reflection of the value of different resources. An alternative approach to demand curves isreservation price, which is the maximum price individual animals are prepared to pay to gain access to resources. In studies using this approach, farmed mink (Mustela vison) paid higher prices for food and swimming water than for resources such as tunnels, water bowls, pet toys, and empty compartments. This indicates that the mink placed a higher value on food and swimming water than on other resources.     

The Gap Between: Being and Knowing in Zen Buddhism and Psychoanalysis

The author discusses various relationships derived from the image of gap, precipice, and abyss with specific emphasis on interacting dynamics between being and knowing as explicated in the Zen Buddhist teachings of Hui-neng and in the psychoanalytic writings of Wilfred Bion. While of significant value to psychoanalysis, it is argued that symbolic meanings can occlude the actuality of the analysand's or of the spiritual seeker's affective experiencing, particularly concerning the human tendency to concretize experiential states engendered through meditation and/or the psychoanalytic encounter. The author draws from Matte-Blanco's explication of symmetrical and asymmetrical perceptual modalities to discuss the fluid nature of spiritual experiencing, paradoxical coexistence of ultimate and relative realities and reciprocal dynamics and identities between states of experiencing that might otherwise appear opposed. The primacy of experiencing for both disciplines, particularly concerning the experiencing subject's momentary state of consciousness, forms a central theme for both Zen and psychoanalysis. Brief clinical vignettes support and illuminate the author's points.     

The chronic perseverative stuttering syndrome; Incurable stuttering

After recounting the story of Todd to illustrate the significance of the issue, the chronic perseverative stuttering (CPS) syndrome is defined and its characteristics identified. After a discussion of treatment goals for the CPS syndrome client, the significance of its identification in the client's teenage years and its relevance to support groups for stutterers, the paper concludes with a call for acknowledging the reality of the CPS syndrome and for establishing realistic therapy goals in view of its existence.     

Teacher perceptions of stuttering

The attitudes of 521 teachers in the Tuscaloosa, Alabama City School (82% of the teacher population) toward stuttering were assessed using the Teachers' Perceptions of Stuttering Inventory (TPSI). The TPSI consists of five teacher identification questions and 10 attitudinal statements about which teachers are asked to indicate their strength of agreement. Results indicated that a significant number of teachers hold unsubstantiated beliefs concerning the etiology of stuttering and the personality characteristics of stutterers. Teachers having experience with stutterers or having had course work in speech disorders indicated more realistic attitudes toward stutterers and expressed more demanding attitudes toward stutterers in the classroom situation. In view of the potential positive role teachers can play in assisting stutterers, the results were interpreted as suggesting a need for teachers to receive either preservice or inservice instruction with respect to the problem of stuttering.     

Persistent symptoms among survivors of Hodgkin's disease: an explanatory model based on classical conditioning.

Persistent symptoms of nausea, distress, and vomiting triggered by reminders of cancer treatment were examined among 273 Hodgkin's disease survivors, 1 to 20 years posttreatment. Prevalence rates were high for distress and nausea but low for vomiting. Retrospective report of anticipatory symptoms during treatment was the strongest predictor of persistent symptoms, suggesting that treatment-induced symptoms are less likely to persist if conditioning does not occur initially. Time since treatment was also a significant predictor, with patients more recently treated more likely to experience persistent symptoms. Thus, an explanatory model based on classical conditioning theory successfully predicted presence of persistent symptoms. Symptoms also were associated with ongoing psychological distress, suggesting that quality of life is diminished among survivors with persistent symptoms. Recommendations for prevention and treatment of symptoms are discussed.