Psychiatric Symptoms as a Predictor of Sexual Aggression among Male College Students

The goal of this investigation was to examine psychiatric symptoms as predictors of the frequency and severity of sexually aggressive behaviors that had been perpetrated by college-aged men in the past year. Over 400 undergraduate males completed an assessment of sexual aggression, athletic involvement, fraternity affiliation, alcohol and drug use, mistrust of women, depression, and social anxiety. More than 40% of the undergraduate men reported having participated in some form of sexual aggression within the past 12 months, 6% of whom reported having attempted or completed rape. Sexually aggressive behavior (both frequency and severity) was predicted by alcohol use, mistrust of women, and social anxiety. Results are the first to indicate that psychiatric symptoms might contribute to sexual aggression among college men.     

Billing for Medical Genetics and Genetic Counseling Services: A National Survey

In January 2007 the American Medical Association added a new Current Procedural Terminology® (CPT) code, 96040, for “Medical Genetics and Genetic Counseling Services.” In order to identify the impact of having this new code and to identify issues with implementation of the code, the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) CPT® Working Group surveyed NSGC members using an internet-based survey tool. The majority of respondents (94%) reported being aware of the new code and over half of the respondents (69%) said they were billing for genetic counseling. Approximately 24% of those billing reported using 96040. Many facilities are not using this code and the reported success of billing using 96040 is highly varied. Continued education may be beneficial to encourage reimbursement for 96040 and follow up is needed to assess the ongoing implementation and impact of the new CPT® code.     

Clericalism: Enabler of Clergy Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse by Catholic clergy and religious has become the greatest challenge facing Catholicism since the Reformation. Violations of clerical celibacy have occurred throughout history. The institutional church remains defensive while scholars in the behavioral and social sciences probe deeply into the nature of institutional Catholicism, searching for meaningful explanations for the dysfunctional sexual behavior. Clericalism which has traditionally led to deep-seated societal attitudes about the role of the clergy in religious and secular society, explains in part why widespread abuse has apparently been allowed. Clericalism has a profound emotional and psychological influence on victims, church leadership, and secular society. It has enabled the psychological duress experienced by victims which explains why many have remained silent for years. It has also inspired societal denial which has impeded many from accepting clergy sexual abuse as a serious and even horrific crime. Thomas P. Doyle is a Canon Lawyer and Certified Addictions Specialist.     

Agency and observation in knowledge of one's own thinking

This essay addresses the question how we know our conscious thinking. Conscious thinking typically takes the form of a series of discrete episodes that constitute a complex cognitive activity. We must distinguish the discrete episodes of thinking in which a particular content is represented in phenomenal consciousness and is present “before the mind's eye” from the extended activities of which these episodes form a part. The extended activities are themselves contentful and we have first‐person access to them. But because their content is not represented in phenomenal consciousness, this access cannot be broadly observational. Instead, I argue, it is agential. Furthermore, that extended activities are intentional explains the possibility of a nonobservational form of introspective access to the discrete episodes in consciousness.     

Roman Catholic Clericalism,Religious Duress,and Clergy Sexual Abuse

Since 1984, sexual abuse by Catholic clergy has captured public attention and resulted in a stream of criminal and civil lawsuits. The hierarchy has been defensive in the face of constant accusations and criticism. This study examines selected key aspects of the clergy sex abuse phenomenon including historical precedents and the impact of clericalism on the development of psychological and emotional duress in victims and others closely associated with sexual abuse.     

The Spiritual Trauma Experienced by Victims of Sexual Abuse by Catholic Clergy

Most of the published literature on clergy abuse of children has addressed the emotional and psychological effects of sexual abuse common to all victims. The literature published by Church-related sources has consistently addressed the impact of clergy abuse on the Church as an institution as well as the problems and treatment needs of the clergy abusers. Little has been written or even explored about the spiritual trauma suffered by clergy victims. This article examines some of the symptoms and possible recovery from the spiritual dimension of post abuse trauma.     

The Role of BIS Sensitivity in the Relationship Between Family Enmeshment and Child Anxiety

Previous work has demonstrated that three overarching vulnerabilities–genetic, environmental, and temperamental–contribute to the development of child anxiety. The purpose of our study was to assess: (a) the relationship between an environmental vulnerability, family enmeshment, and child anxiety; (b) whether parental anxiety accounts for this relationship; and (c) whether this relationship is mediated by levels of child Behavioral Inhibition System sensitivity, a highly persistent temperamental variable demonstrating positive associations with child anxiety. Our study included 38 Canadian parent–child dyads from an urban area, of which 33 children were Caucasian and 18 were girls. Children were aged 9 or 11 years (M = 10.21, SD = 1.07). Children completed measures of anxiety and sensitivity towards threat and parents completed measures of family enmeshment. The results supported a significant positive relationship between family enmeshment and child anxiety; parental anxiety did not account for this relationship; and the relationship was partially mediated by Behavioral Inhibition System sensitivity. Specifically, when the effect of Behavioral Inhibition System sensitivity was controlled for, the association between family enmeshment and child anxiety became non-significant. The results suggest that family enmeshment is associated with levels of child anxiety largely through the function of children’s sensitivity to threat. Enmeshed families may increase children’s susceptibility to anxiety through their effect on child temperament, specifically sensitivity to threat.