Executive Function and Theory of Mind in Children with ADHD: a Systematic Review

In developmental research, the relationship between Executive Function (EF) and Theory of Mind (ToM) has been extensively assessed, and EF has been considered a condition for ToM. However, few researchers have studied the relationship between EF and ToM in clinical populations, especially that of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by symptoms of inattention and motor hyperactivity/impulsivity, in which EF is largely impaired. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) model, 201 English and Spanish articles evaluating EF and ToM in ADHD were chosen. Fifteen papers met the inclusion criteria and were selected for further analysis. The first study dates from 2001. Most of the studies’ designs are cross-sectional, include mostly male children, have a small sample size, and were conducted in European countries. Unlike tasks assessing EF, tasks assessing ToM were heterogeneous across studies. The EFs most correlated with ToM were inhibitory control, working memory, cognitive flexibility, and attention. Interest in studying the relationship between EF and ToM in ADHD is recent,but increasing based on new findings and tuning of ToM instruments. However, while an association between EF and ToM is indicated in ADHD, the degree of prediction and predictability of one over the other cannot yet be established because of the studies’ heterogeneity.     

Orthodox Christian Reception of the Pauline Teaching on Dikaiosynē: Chrysostom,in Conversation with Calvin,on Romans 1–3

In the light of common preconceptions regarding polarized approaches to atonement in Eastern and Western Christianity, this article mainly looks to John Chrysostom's readings of Romans 1–3 for clarity on the Pauline themes of justice, righteousness and justification, putting these alongside the exegesis of a representative Reformer, John Calvin. The ancient theologian of the East gives full attention to the apostle's picturesque metaphors for atonement, including a robust but balanced treatment Paul's forensic language; Calvin is clearly appreciative of the judicial language, but also places it within a larger context (though not identically to Chrysostom). Chrysostom's approach to atonement is showcased also in his neglected sermon on the Ascension of Christ, where forensic language jostles with pictures of reconciliation, sacrifice, mediation and Christus Victor. The article makes a plea that scholars from both East and West read such representative theologians (along with the New Testament itself) with care, not exaggerating their differences. It is noteworthy, for example, that both Chrysostom and Calvin depict salvation as anticipating far more than bare acquittal before God. Chrysostom in particular uses the language of righteousness and justification to speak of a hope for glory, or, to use the Eastern terminology, theōsis. Such sober and anti‐reactionary examination is essential in both academic and ecumenical discussion, and may also help in arbitrating between insights of the so‐called ‘Old’ and ‘New Perspectives’ in Paul.     

A Re-Examination of Risk and Resilience During Adolescence: Incorporating Culture and Diversity

We consider risk and resilience within the developmental contexts of youth of African, Asian, Latino, and Native American descent. Conceptual and definitional issues are explained in terms of the role that culture and diversity play in specifying risk and resilience factors for youth of African, Asian, Latino, and Native American descent. We promote a conceptual model of risk and resilience as multidimensional phenomenon. The relevance of culture and diversity in a developmental perspective of youth of African, Asian, Latino, and Native American descent is discussed in a manner that incorporates community psychology principles.     

Repentance and forgiveness: the undoing of time

Mass death resulting from war, starvation, and disease as well as the vicissitudes of extreme poverty and enforced sexual servitude are recognizably pandemic ills of the contemporary world. In light of their magnitude, are repentance, regret for the harms inflicted upon others or oneself, and forgiveness, proferring the erasure of the guilt of those who have inflicted these harms, rendered nugatory? Jacques Derrida claims that forgiveness is intrinsically rather than circumstantially or historically impossible. Forgiveness, trapped in a paradox, is possible only if there is such a thing as the unforgivable. “Thus, forgiveness, if there is such a thing,” can only exist as exempt from the law of the possible. Does this claim not open the way for hopelessness and despair? More troubling for Derrida is his concession that forgiveness may be necessary in the realm of the political and juridical. If so, is not the purity of the impossibility of forgiveness so crucial for him, contaminated? In pointing to some of the difficulties in Derrida’s position, I shall appeal to Vladimir Jankelevitch’s distinction between the unforgivable and the inexcusable. I shall also consider the significance of repentance in the theological ethics of Emmanuel Levinas and Max Scheler. Forgiveness, I conclude, is vacuous without expiation, a position that can be helpfully understood in the context of Judaism’s analysis of purification and acquittal in the Day of Atonement liturgy. I argue that what disappears is Derrida’s assurance of the impossibility of forgiveness, a disappearance that allows for hope.