Die „Seelenkulturrevolution“

In this paper the work of the author as a psychoanalytic training therapist and supervisor at a counselling centre in a Chinese metropolis will be described. In the first part her experiences with adults of the age cohort 25–35 years will be described, the second generation after the Cultural Revolution. Special attention is devoted to biographically relevant life stages such as childhood, education and marriage in a transient society between a system of traditional Confucian values and that of the new capitalism. The second part of the paper focuses on culture-specific characteristics of a collectivist society from a psychoanalytic perspective, such as setting limits, saving face, empathy, transference and sexuality.     

Kombination von Settings und Verfahren in der Psychotherapie

Literature research and own clinical experiences confirm the significance of a combined use of settings and methods in the area of inpatient and outpatient psychotherapy. For inpatient treatment, the combined use of methods, such as individual psychotherapy, group therapy, creative therapies, and sport, are an essential part of the treatment. In outpatient treatment, the regulations of the German insurance do not permit such combinations. Nevertheless, they occur and are often proactively initiated by the patients. The various combined use of psychotherapy and psychotropics is very well studied, but also the combination of settings, i.e. supplementary inpatient treatment, day treatment, and outpatient treatment have to be considered. While administering their therapies, psychotherapists should keep in mind possibly concurrently ongoing treatments as well as former therapies and their effects on the patients. With the exception of combinations with psychotropic treatment, there exist almost no empirical data in this important field.     

Nature against nurture: calcification in the right thalamus in a young man with anorexia nervosa and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

This report describes the case of a young man with a large calcification in the right thalamus that was first diagnosed at 9 years of age. Case history reveals specific eating rituals and other obsessive-compulsive personality traits during the patient's childhood and adolescence, fulfilling diagnostic criteria of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. After a critical life event the patient develops anorexia nervosa. We suggest that our case and further literature provide evidence for an involvement of specific thalamic structures, such as the dorsomedial nucleus, in the development of anorexia nervosa. Furthermore, the treatment of the patient by a combined psychotherapeutic and pharmacotherapeutic approach is described. We focus on the beneficial effect of the atypical antipsychotic olanzapine, which can induce weight gain by an increase of leptin levels.     

Extraversion and neuroticism: Investigation of resting electrodermal activity

In 1967 Eysenck published his biological account of extraversion and neuroticism. In the same year Claridge identified several problems with this theory. More recently Robinson has detailed a promising modification to Eysenck's theory which addresses many of the issues raised by Claridge. Drawing on Robinson's theory it was hypothesised that differences in resting electrodermal activity (EDA) would contrast extraverted‐neurotics (low arousal) and introverted‐neurotics (high arousal). The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) was used to identify four extreme groups of female participants: extraverted‐stable (n = 16), extraverted‐neurotic (n = 15), introverted‐stable (n = 8) and introverted‐neurotic (n = 16). EDA measures of skin conductance level (SCL) and non‐specific skin conductance response (NS‐SCR) were collected during two rest periods. Planned contrasts between the extraverted‐neurotic and introverted‐neurotic groups provided support for Robinson's theory on SCL but not NS‐SCR. It was argued that the results for NS‐SCR frequency could be accommodated by Robinson's theory if NS‐SCR was conceptualised as a measure of cortical reactivity to unspecified stimuli rather than as a measure of tonic arousal.     

When being a girl matters less: Accessibility of gender‐related self‐knowledge in single‐sex and coeducational classes and its impact on students' physics‐related self‐concept of ability

Background . Establishing or preserving single‐sex schooling has been widely discussed as a way of bringing more girls into the natural sciences. Aims . We test the assumption that the beneficial effects of single‐sex education on girls' self‐concept of ability in masculine subjects such as physics are due to the lower accessibility of gender‐related self‐knowledge in single‐sex classes. Sample . N = 401 eighth‐graders (mean age 14.0 years) from coeducational comprehensive schools. Methods . Random assignment of students to single‐sex vs. coeducational physics classes throughout the eighth grade. At the end of the year, students' physics‐related self‐concept of ability was measured using a questionnaire. In a subsample of N = 134 students, the accessibility of gender‐related self‐knowledge during physics classes was assessed by measuring latencies and endorsement of sex‐typed trait adjectives. Results . Girls from single‐sex physics classes reported a better physics‐related self‐concept of ability than girls from coeducational classes, while boys' self‐concept of ability did not vary according to class composition. For both boys and girls, gender‐related self‐knowledge was less accessible in single‐sex classes than in mixed‐sex classes. To the extent that girls' feminine self‐knowledge was relatively less accessible than their masculine self‐knowledge, their physics‐related self‐concept of ability improved at the end of the school year. Conclusions . By revealing the importance of the differential accessibility of gender‐related self‐knowledge in single‐ and mixed‐sex settings, our study clarifies why single‐sex schooling helps adolescents to gain a better self‐concept of ability in school subjects that are considered inappropriate for their own sex.     

Die Entwicklung des moralischen und rechtlichen Bewusstseins von Kindern und Jugendlichen.

First, Piaget’s and Kohlberg’s models of moral development are briefly sketched and some objections rose. Then the cognitive dimension of the development of moral and legal understanding in childhood and adolescence is described. This involves knowledge of moral rules, an understanding of the categorical ought, cognizance of the prima facie validity of moral rules and specific knowlegde systems guiding contextualized rule applications. Data show that all children quite early acquire an adequate basic understanding of moral rules and legal concepts. Several learning mechanisms are at work – sociocognitive development, processes of implicit rule reconstruction, acquisition of knowlegde systems. The following part focusses on moral motivation - its strength and the types of concerns motivating conformity. Moral motivation develops in a second, delayed, differential learning process which only on average shows a steady continuous increase. Individual trajectories often display losses attributable to sociocultural influences.     

Grundstrukturen der Jugenddelinquenz

The article is about extent, development and offence structures of juvenile delinquency. Delinquency of young intensive offenders, young migrants and young women as well as of groups of young offenders is described and some aspects to explain juvenile delinquency are discussed.     

Die sexuelle Entwicklung Jugendlicher und Heranwachsender im Kontext von Sexualstraftaten und Körperverletzungsdelikten

To find out possible differences concerning the sexual development of juveniles who had committed either sexual or assaultive offenses. In order to reduce confounding variables a defined group of perpetrators was studied during ongoing criminal proceedings: 107 German single perpetrators, of average intelligence, between 14 and 21 years old, committing hands-on offenses, were investigated in respect to their physical-sexual development (i.e. maldescensus testis, orchitis and others), their socio-sexual development (i.e. attitude to masturbation, to sexuality within the family and others), and their psycho-sexual development (i.e. homo- or heterosexual experiences by mutual agreement like petting or sexual intercourse). 38 subjects had sexually forced female juveniles or women, 36 subjects had sexually abused children of both sexes, 33 subjects had committed assaultive offences towards male juveniles or men (control group). No differences were found between the groups concerning their physical-sexual development. The socio-sexual development distinguished between the sexual offender groups and the control group. The outcome concerning the psycho-sexual development was specific for every single offender group. Many of the juveniles who had committed sexual offences were acting like this already before the age of 14 (limit of criminal responsibility in Germany). This was so as well for some few subjects of the control group. After the age of 14 juveniles of the sex offender groups - in contrast to the control group - committed sexual offences which were not reported. Considering further characteristics of the biography and the results of psychometric instruments of the 107 subjects investigated, this study describes early markers of the development of deviant sexual fantasies in juvenile sex offenders.