COCAINE ADDICTS AND THEIR FAMILIES: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF THE PROCESSES OF IDENTIFICATION

The processes of identification between adolescent cocaine addicts and their parents were studied in 402 subjects, in total 134 familial triads (father"mother"son), subdivided into two groups of 67 triads, one of these groups having as the child an adolescent of masculine sex dependent on cocaine and the other, equal in number, being a control group, duly matched for age and socio-economic status. The instrument employed was the Rorschach test (1922), limited to the application of the Lerner Defense Scale (LDS; Lerner & Lerner, 1980). The findings in the affected triads showed up as consistent statistically for the presence of intense processes of pathological identification, especially between father and son, a sign of the importance of the presence of disturbances of paternal function in the development of this addiction. The utilisation of very regressive defence mechanisms, above all of projective identification, was the predominant mode of procedure in triads with a dependent child. In comparisons between the fathers the odds ratio (OR) for projective identification was 8.66 to 1, which points to the association between cocaine addiction and the primitive mental functioning of the fathers. With empirical methodology these findings serve to corroborate the psychoanalytical conclusions based on studies of single case studies, testifying that the dysfunctions of identificatory phenomena in familial functioning are predominant in the mental organisation of cocaine addicts.     

Validity of Two Language Versions of the Auckland Individualism and Collectivism Scale with Filipino-English Bilinguals

The Auckland Individualism and Collectivism Scale (AICS) was translated into Filipino; and the factorial structure of the Filipino and English versions were validated with two samples of Filipino-English bilinguals. Most of the fit indexes in the confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the data from the Filipino translation and the original English version both fit the hypothesized internal structure of the scale. The results provide further support for the structural aspects of the AICS’ construct validity; however, some minor issues were noted at the level of individual items and subscales.     

Individual Breaches of Environmental Laws in Cases from Public Administration Files

The characteristics of environmental transgressions and transgressors involved in 1,505 files handled by 4 public administrations were assessed. These administrations were in charge of environmental law enforcement in a highly protected setting, across federal, state, island, and municipality jurisdictions. Special attention was given to the transgressors' written responses to administrative sanctions included in the files. These were analyzed integrating the approaches of neutralization techniques and of accounts as strategies of conflict management. Results suggest that most environmental transgressions under study were carried out by private individuals in the personal domain of everyday life, and that transgressors' accounts of environmental transgressions were short, straightforward, and questioned the legitimacy of the environmental law being broken.     

Exploring epistemological beliefs of bilingual Filipino preservice teachers in the Filipino and English languages

In this study, the author investigated the epistemological beliefs of 864 bilingual Filipino preservice teachers using Filipino and English versions of the Schommer Epistemological Questionnaire (M. Schommer, 1998). The author conducted confirmatory factor analyses to determine the dimensions and structure of the epistemological beliefs. The results revealed two factors: Simple Learning and Structured Learning. The same factors were found using the Filipino and English versions of the questionnaire. The author discusses the results in terms of how they contribute to the growing evidence regarding the possible problems with particular multidimensional theories and quantitative measures of epistemological beliefs. The results also indicate how the specific epistemological beliefs of the Filipino preservice teachers may reflect features of the Philippine educational system and its tensions regarding pedagogy.     

Impact of low-level expression dermatological diseases on the quality of life as a function of its level of specificity

The impact of dermatological diseases on the quality of life is relatively well established, although some results do not support this relationship. Whereas a few studies indicate a decrease in various indicators of quality of life in conditions of disease, in other studies, this effect has not been observed. These differences can be explained by the use of different concepts of quality of life and/or the comparison of different severity levels of the diseases. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of low-level expression dermatological diseases on various concepts of quality of life. Two hundred-ninety-nine participants completed a questionnaire about symptoms, psychological and psychosocial impact, and general and specific satisfaction. Results show that minor dermatological diseases affect health-related quality of life, but not quality of life considered as well-being.     

The Influence of Clinical Variables on the Psychological Adaptation of Adolescents after Solid Organ Transplantation

This study assessed the influence of clinical and socio-demographic variables on the psychological adaptation of transplanted adolescents. Twenty-six transplanted adolescents and 25 healthy adolescents, aged 13–17, and their parents participated in the study. The following domains were measured: social competence, emotional/behavioral problems, self-concept, self-esteem and subjective well-being. The findings revealed that transplanted boys presented significantly less social competence (U = 26,000, p < .05) and more externalizing problems (U = 25,000, p < .05), social problems (U = 25,000, p < .05) and attention problems (U = 17,500, p < .01) than healthy boys. In contrast, transplanted girls displayed significantly more internalizing problems (U = 47,000, p < .05) and lower physical self-concept (U = 49,500, p < .05) than healthy girls. Hierarchical regression analysis showed clinical variables, especially waiting-list time, significantly predicted attention problems (β = .364, p < .05) and negative affect (β = .632, p < .05) in transplanted adolescents. Also, male (β = −0.554, p < .01) and younger (β = −0.444, p < .01) transplanted adolescents were at risk for attention problems. Our data suggest the importance of the waiting-list time for transplanted adolescents. Efforts to reduce the pretransplant phase would help adolescents achieve better psychological adaptation at long-term posttransplant.     

What is an academic emotion? Insights from Filipino bilingual students’ emotion words associated with learning

We explored Filipino learners’ concept of academic emotions by studying the words they use to describe their emotional experiences associated with learning. Two main theoretical frames were used as reference in the analysis: Clore, Ortony, & Foss’ (1978) taxonomy of emotion words, and Pekrun’s (2006) dimensions of academic emotions. We asked Filipino learners to describe the positive and negative emotions that they associate with their learning experiences using an open ended questionnaire. The 676 students used 1337 words which were classified into root word categories; 38 categories which were mentioned by at least 1% of the participants were included in the analysis. The interpretive analysis suggested that Filipino learners’ concept of academic emotions includes appraisals of cognitive and even physical conditions, beyond the typical affective conditions assumed in theories of emotions and academic emotions. Moreover, Filipino learners’ concepts of academic emotions include a wider range of emotion concepts, and may require additional characteristic dimensions, compared to what is being studied in current academic emotions research.     

“Leaving the Faith of Our Fathers”: Intergenerational Persistence and Class Cleavage of Evangelicals in Chile

Several studies have consistently linked the Evangelical breakdown in Latin America as a mass movement mainly adopted by impoverished working class individuals. However, little is known about how religious inheritance and recruitment of Evangelical movements is affected when status conditions improve along individuals trajectories. Using Bicentenario Survey from 2006 to 2010 we analyze how intergenerational patterns of religious persistence in Chile relate to individuals’ educational attainment and intergenerational mobility. Two mechanisms are evaluated: first, the intergenerational persistence of Evangelicals compared to Catholics and “None’s”; and second, the probability of conversion or reaffiliation to Evangelical Protestantism. Multinomial regression analysis shows that the greater an individual’s educational credentials and upward mobility, the lesser their identification with Evangelical movements, regardless of their religious affiliation or educational attainment of origin. This evidence suggests there are obstacles for Evangelical movements’ vertical mobility, which could be related to Chile’s strong social cleavage in terms of religion.     

Irritation: analysis of an instrument to assess stress at work

The aim of this investigation is to verify the factorial validity of the "Scale Irritation" in a sample of 181 teachers of Secondary Education from the center of Spain. At the same time, the investigation tries to verify the validity of construct of the scale correlating the results with the burnout evaluated through the Brief Questionnaire of Burnout adapted for teachers. The results obtained by means of the exploratory factor analysis of the Scale Irritation confirm the presence of two factors, as it appears in other international investigations. The confirmatory analysis verifies the proposal of a model of two factors. The significant correlation obtained among the Irritation Scale and the burnout confirms the validity of construct and verifies that a high irritation is associated significantly to the burnout, as it is foreseen by the theory, which considers both aspects related to the process of stress at work.