Effect of Problem‐Solving Therapy on Depressed Low‐Income Homebound Older Adults' Death/Suicidal Ideation and Hopelessness

Previous study findings of psychotherapy's effect on suicide prevention have been inconsistent. This study reports the results of secondary analyses of outcome data from a short‐term depression treatment on reducing death/suicidal ideation among 158 low‐income homebound adults aged 50+. The treatment, in‐person or telehealth problem‐solving therapy (PST), compared with telephone support call, has been found effective in reducing depressive symptoms and disability among participants. Compared with support call participants, tele‐PST participants, but not in‐person PST participants, exhibited lower ideation ratings across the follow‐up period. Effect sizes at 36 weeks were 0.31 for tele‐PST and 0.17 for in‐person PST. Hopelessness mediated the effect of tele‐PST but not in‐person PST; however, in‐person PST also alleviated hopelessness, which led to lower ideation. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Impact of Firearm Availability and Gun Regulation on State Suicide Rates

Past studies on suicide have investigated the association of firearm ownership and suicide risk in the United States. The aim of the present study was to build on previous work by examining the impact of firearm storage practices and the strictness of firearm regulation on suicide rates at the state level. Data were compiled from primarily three sources. Suicide and firearm ownership information was obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Strictness of handgun regulation was derived from figures available at the Law Center to Prevent Violence, and controls were taken from the US Bureau of the Census. Mixed models were fitted to the data. Household firearm ownership was strongly associated with both suicide by all mechanisms, and firearm suicide. Storage practices had especially elevated consequences on suicide rates. Percent with loaded guns and gun readiness increased suicide rates, and strictness of gun regulation reduced suicide rates. Ready access to firearms can make a difference between life and death. Loaded and unlocked firearms within reach become risk factors for fatal outcomes from suicidal behavior. Future research might want to examine ways of obtaining more recent data on individual firearm ownership. This study proposes several policy recommendations for suicide prevention.     

The role of consumer ethical beliefs in product‐harm crises

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the consumer reaction during a product‐harm crisis by examining the interdependencies that exist among their ethical beliefs as consumers, their attributions of blame, their feelings of anger and finally their purchase intentions towards the affected company. To test the five research hypotheses, a questionnaire containing a hypothetical crisis scenario of a fictitious company was distributed to 277 consumers. Respondents were asked to read the scenario and answer questions regarding their attribution of responsibility to the company, their feelings of anger and their purchase intentions. In order to investigate consumers' ethical beliefs, a Consumer Ethics Scale was also included in the questionnaire. Structural equation modelling revealed a significant, positive correlation between attributions of blame, anger and ethical beliefs. Moreover, anger negatively affects purchase intentions, whereas the attribution of blame was not found to be significantly connected to purchase intentions. In spite of the rational connection between ethics and crisis, there is lack of research correlating these two concepts. Based on this gap in the literature, the current research attempts to connect ethical beliefs with consumer reactions and emotions during product‐harm crises. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Relatively Happy Fish Revisited

The anecdote of Zhuangzi and Hui Shi's brief discussion on a bridge above the Hao river gives us a nice piece of reasoning in ancient Chinese texts that may serve as a platform for a productive philosophical exchange between the East and the West. The present study examines Hansen's inferential analysis of Zhuangzi and Hui Shi's discussion in this spirit. It is argued that Hansen's analysis founders. To do justice to both Hui Shi and Zhuangzi, the present study proposes that we apply the logic developed in the later Mohist text, the Lesser Pick, to an analysis of their discussion. The re-analysis shows that the intricate dialectic of the reasoning in which Zhuangzi and Hui Shi engage, neatly accords with the pattern of discourse expounded in the Lesser Pick, and gives us global insight into Zhuangzi's final statement in the anecdote, which is notoriously recondite, or confusing.     

Zur Dynamik der Interaktion in der Supervision

The manifold functions of a supervisor in following the course of complex processes together with the trainee, are: ? to keep the goals of the supervision in view, ? to establish a teaching alliance and to support the wish and ambitions of the candidate to learn, ? to build a platform for the complex interactions with the trainee with regard to the dynamics of the training situation and keeping in mind the institutional influences, ? to lay down the setting for the work, ? to explore and to reflect how transference and counter-transference influence the interaction between patient and analyst as well as between trainee and supervisor, ? to examine these interactions together focussing continuously on the interaction between candidate and patient, and to encourage the candidate to do the same on his own, ? to continuously formulate hypotheses about the core conflict, the transference phenomena and resistance of the patient, ? to explore and reflect on the cooperative work.     

Loyalty and Creativity in a Disciplinary Organization

The relationship between loyalty to rules and the creativity that attempts to improve those same rules was examined among Norwegian army officers deployed in international operations. Today's army officers are faced with rapidly changing work conditions and unpredictable enemies, both of which challenge and outdate rules and routines. They thus may experience that they are either guided by too few or inadequate rules, or by many rules that need to be constantly updated. Assuming that following rules is advantageous to officers, then, contrary to classical theory, it was hypothesized that officers scoring both low and high on loyalty to rules would score high on creativity. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed a significant U‐shaped relationship between loyalty to rules and creativity.