Ministers’ Perceptions of Depression: A Model to Understand and Improve Care

While depression is a significant worldwide health problem, fewer than half of individuals seek care. Faith-based communities may play an important role in improving the knowledge of and linkage to depression care. Focus groups of Caucasian and African-American clergy were conducted to explore these issues. Using a grounded theory approach five themes emerged, including explanatory models of depression, barriers and facilitators to care, and recommendations for involving religious communities. A model of depression care pathways was constructed that integrates secular and spiritual approaches. The findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to build trust between clergy and mental health professionals. Teresa L. Kramer, Ph.D., is Chief Psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychiatry in the College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. She has conducted research in child, adolescent and adult mental health assessment, outcomes, and quality of care. Her current research on adolescent depression is funded through a Research Career Development Award from the National Institute of Mental Health. She is currently developing faith-based programs to educate ministers and their congregations about depression-related illness. Dean Blevins, Ph.D., teaches in the Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, at the university and is associated with the Center for Mental Health & Outcomes Research, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, and the South Central Mental Illness, Research, and Clinical Center in Little Rock. Terri L. Miller, Ph.D., also teaches in the Department of Psychiatry. Martha Phillips, Ph.D., is at the Department of Human Services in Little Rock. Vanessa Davis and Billy Burris are employed at the Division of Behavioral Health Services, also in Little Rock.     

中国东南地方宗教仪式传统:对宗教定义和仪式理论的挑战

这篇论文以对福建省兴化地区近期元宵节期间的乡村宗教仪式的描述开始.文章不仅讨论这类仪式活动对大多数宗教定义提出的诘难,而且探讨这种地方仪式传统对仪式理论所包含的意蕴.这些仪式活动的组织者具有高超的领导技巧,他们在制造地方差异性世界的同时吸收外来资本和国家的象征符号.同时,这些村庙网络致力于地方经济,包括改善村公路、电力、灌溉设施、和公共卫生设施;同时也支持地方的文化活动,比如设立奖学金和创办老人活动中心等.     

Does prior exposure to interpersonal violence increase risk of PTSD following subsequent exposure?

Research has generally found a “dose relationship” between potentially traumatic events (PTEs) and the likelihood of developing PTSD, with greater number of events associated with greater likelihood. Most of these studies have been cross-sectional, however. A recent prospective study (Breslau, Peterson, & Schultz, 2008) found that PTSD response to prior potentially traumatic event (PTE) exposure, rather than prior exposure itself, acts as a risk factor for PTSD in response to subsequent PTE; however, this analysis combined many different types of events, and the unique contribution of specific events (e.g., assault) that may be associated with differential risk of PTSD was indeterminable. The present study examined the effects of cumulative PTE exposure prospectively using a two-wave design in the National Survey of Adolescents (N = 1703). History of assault and witnessing serious violence were the focal PTEs examined. Wave I assault without PTSD was found to predict PTSD at Wave II following exposure to new assault or witnessed violence; however, among those without prior PTSD, Wave I witnessed violence did not increase risk of subsequent PTSD following exposure.     

Cross‐Functional Team Organizational Citizenship Behavior in China: Shared Vision and Goal Interdependence Among Departments1

This study proposes that a shared organizational vision develops cooperative interdependence among departments that, in turn, facilitates cross‐functional teams' organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Team members indicated their organizations' shared vision, and leaders indicated the goal interdependence among departments and the OCB of the teams. Structural equation analysis suggested that a shared organizational vision shapes goal interdependence among departments that, in turn, affected the OCB of 101 cross‐functional teams. The analysis suggested combining independent and competitive goals, and this combined measure negatively predicted team OCB. These results suggest that a shared organizational vision and cooperative goals among departments are important foundations for cross‐functional teams to contribute to the effective working of organizations through citizenship behavior.     

The control of food-caching behavior by Western scrub-jays (Aphelocoma californica)

Western scrub-jays (Aphelocoma californica) did not show extinction when caching behavior was never rewarded and they had no choice of where to cache the food. However, when the jays had the choice of caching items in 2 different locations or during 2 successive episodes, and only 1 of each was always rewarded at recovery, they rapidly learned to cache in the rewarded location or episode. When the jays had learned during training trials that their caches were always moved to 1 of 2 locations they did not cache in, then on the test trial they cached in the location that had been previously rewarded. To test whether these jays avoided the location in which their caches had been pilfered or chose the rewarded location, the procedure was repeated to include a 3rd location that was never rewarded. The jays avoided the pilfered location but cached equally in the rewarded and nonrewarded locations.     

Gender and genius in japan: Feminine eminence in masculine culture

The number of distinguished women was hypothesized to fluctuate over consecutive historical periods according to concomitant changes in the dominant male culture. Three conjectures were evaluated using a sample of 2453 Japanese creators and leaders active between 580 and 1959. Applying generational time-series analysis to 69 consecutive 20-year periods, indicators gauged changes in female literary and nonliterary eminence along with male literary activity, power and aggressive behavior, and ideology. Although the emergence of gender-biased belief systems was negatively associated with female distinction in all domains, literary success of both men and women was linked to similar contextual factors, especially a negative association with male power and aggressive activities. The group-level results are interpreted in terms of possible individual and interpersonal processes.I thank Arakaki Makoto for his assistance on this project.     

Factors associated with Borderline pathology in school-age children

The Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines as revised (DIB-R) for use with children and chart review was completed using the records of 54 children, ages 6 to 12 years, who had been admitted to a public psychiatric hospital. Based on the results of the DIB-R, the children were grouped as borderline and nonborderline. The two groups were then compared with regard to 52 independent variables which have historically been associated with the borderline diagnosis. Stepwise logistic regression was used to identify the cluster of diagnostic and independent variables which best discriminated the borderline subjects. Self-destructive behavior, irritable affect, anhedonia, and an externalizing disorder diagnosis at the time of admission accounted for 95.4% of the borderline children. These findings are in contrast to previous studies which have found an assortment of neuropsychological and/or neurological deficits and stressed the importance of a tendency toward psychotic regression on psychological testing as discriminative variables. The authors underscore the idea that borderline pathology may represent a spectrum of disorders and the need for a more specific psychiatric nosology in describing and diagnosing these children.