How knowing and doing inform an autobiography: relations among preschoolers' theory of mind,narrative, and event memory skills

Research on the development of autobiographical memory in children has revealed the importance of two seemingly separate but related factors: Theory of mind, or the ability to know what another can and cannot know, and narrative skill, or the ability to tell a coherently structured story. The present research study with 22 preschoolers examined the extent to which each factor predicts two separate components of autobiographical memory ability: (1) the content of memory and (2) the structure of the memory narrative. As hypothesized, we found that theory of mind skills predicted the ‘how’ or structure of the children's fictional story narratives, whereas narrative skills predicted the ‘how much’ or content of the children's memory. Implications for the development of autobiographical memory are discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Duke Religion Index: A Psychometric Investigation

This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Duke Religion Index (DRI) in two separate samples (n ₁=628, n ₂=243) of college students enrolled in randomly selected courses. An exploratory factor analysis of the DRI in the first sample supported a one-factor structure. A subsequent confirmatory factor analysis in the second sample confirmed this model. The internal consistency was excellent in both samples. A significant, positive correlation was found between the DRI and a measure of religious beliefs, supporting the convergent validity of the DRI. These findings provide further support for the reliability and construct validity of the DRI.     

Adolescents least able to cope: How do they respond to their stresses?

This paper reports the coping strategies characterising self-professed weak copers. In order to do so it examines strategies reported by a subset of a sample of 976 adolescents, as measured by the Adolescent Coping Scale. What is of interest in this investigation are the coping strategies of the most vulnerable adolescent group. Such information would be of great value to those in the helping professions working with adolescents. The results indicate that the least able copers used, at least sometimes, non-productive strategies such as tension reduction, self-blame, ignore, keep to self and, most noticeably, worry and wishful thinking. However, a range of productive strategies was also used at least sometimes, including problem-solving, working hard and focusing on the positive. The implications of these findings for turning poor copers into good copers is discussed.     

Addressing issues of workplace harassment: counseling the targets

Workplace violence has recently received attention because of the killing of several individuals by their coworkers. However, more common are passive and nonfatal forms of aggressive behavior that are manifested as psychological and emotional harassment. Workplace harassment includes dysfunctional personal interactions characterized by bullying behaviors, personal attacks, and attempts to denigrate others. Targets of workplace harassment may experience stress, depression, low self‐esteem, loss of sleep, and even posttraumatic stress disorder. Strategies that counselors can use to work effectively with targets are discussed.     

A Study of Student Counselors' Experiences With Meditation

The positive effects of meditation have been shown to be helpful to a variety of client populations and counselors in practice. Researchers analyzed the journals of 60 counselor education students who volunteered to learn Jyoti meditation (JM) over a 6‐week period. Analysis revealed 5 major themes: (a) the scheduling of time for meditation, (b) issues with concentrating, (c) environment for meditation, (d) effects on wellness, and (e) adherence to daily practice. These themes suggest avenues for how counselor educators and supervisors can help student counselors integrate JM as a self‐care strategy.     

Mosaic trisomy 20 and mitigation in capital crimes sentencing: A review and case report

Trisomy 20 is a genetic abnormality in which individuals have an extra copy of chromosome 20. Complete trisomy 20 is rare and believed to be incompatible with life. A mosaic form of trisomy 20, in which only some cells or tissues contain the extra chromosome, is a relatively commonly encountered chromosomal abnormality found during prenatal testing, and c. 90% result in a normal phenotype. However, despite the absence of a consistent phenotype, certain findings have been reported across multiple cases of mosaic trisomy 20. These include an array of morphological findings, developmental delays, and learning disabilities. Beyond physical manifestations, a wide range of developmental and learning delays have also been reported. In this work, we provide an overview of the trisomy 20 literature and a case report of a young adult male with mosaic trisomy 20 who committed homicide. His developmental and life history, eventual diagnosis of mosaic trisomy 20, similarities and differences in his condition compared with prior research findings, and potentially new phenotypic findings associated with trisomy 20 that he manifested (childhood visual hallucinations, self‐injury, polydactyly) are presented. Additionally, the potential role of this genetic diagnosis in his neuropsychiatric history and its successful application as a mitigating factor at his capital sentencing trial are described. We did not identify other similar cases during our search of major scientific and legal databases. As a backdrop, the use of genetics in criminal trials is on the rise, and courts are increasingly likely to accept behavioral genetics evidence; therefore, it is crucial that the legal system is well acquainted with the opportunities and limitations of these approaches.     

Sleep disruption explains age-related prospective memory deficits: implications for cognitive aging and intervention

The high prevalence of sleep disruption among older adults may have implications for cognitive aging, particularly for higher-order aspects of cognition. One domain where sleep disruption may contribute to age-related deficits is prospective memory—the ability to remember to perform deferred actions at the appropriate time in the future. Community-dwelling older adults (55–93 years, N = 133) undertook assessment of sleep using actigraphy and participated in a laboratory-based prospective memory task. After controlling for education, sleep disruption (longer awakenings) was associated with poorer prospective memory. Additionally, longer awakenings mediated the relationship between older age and poorer prospective memory. Other metrics of sleep disruption, including sleep efficiency and wake after sleep onset, were not related to prospective memory, suggesting that examining the features of individual wake episodes rather than total wake time may help clarify relationships between sleep and cognition. The mediating role of awakening length was partially a function of greater depression and poorer executive function (shifting) but not retrospective memory. This study is among the first to examine the association between objectively measured sleep and prospective memory in older adults. Furthermore, this study is novel in suggesting sleep disruption might contribute to age-related prospective memory deficits; perhaps, with implications for cognitive aging more broadly. Our results suggest that there may be opportunities to prevent prospective memory decline by treating sleep problems.     

Creating Structure in a Time of Intense Stress: Treating Intimate Partner Violence

Violence is an increasingly visible problem in the United States, with the news and other forms of media bringing this into the forefront of the public’s awareness. Violence comes in many different forms, including intimate partner violence (IPV), which occurs for about 36% of women and about 29% of men across the United States. Given the high incidence in the United States, it is imperative to consider the best ways for mental health professionals to treat violence in relationships. Some professionals in the field have developed and utilized conjoint treatment models for working with couples who have a history of violence. This article presents the application of attachment theory to a conjoint treatment model for couples that have experienced violence. A case study is included to demonstrate the implementation of an emotionally focused therapy framework and provide a sample outcome of this treatment approach. The framework of this article provides clinicians with insight into how to approach working with violent couples in a safe and productive way. Mental health professionals are at the front lines of implementing evidence-based interventions and creating lasting change for the clients whom they work with.     

Pathologies of Desire and Duty: Freud, Ricoeur, and Castoriadis on Transforming Religious Culture

This article emphasizes an underappreciated aspect of Freud’s critique of religion taken up in the writings of Ricoeur and Castoriadis: the degree to which pathologies of desire and duty imbue our relation to shared cultural forms, i.e., narratives, ideals, and values. Both thinkers find in Freud’s anti-religious polemic a valuable attempt to address the intransigence, fanaticism, and violence that can result from an unreflected affirmation of Tradition. Alongside developing a respect and acceptance of other cultures, they argue for the need to establish a critical relation to ‘sacred’meaning structures, one that mirrors interpretive strategies within the psychoanalytic process. Ricoeur and Castoriadis critique Freud’s accentuation of neurosis while extending his thinking into personal-philosophical and social-political contexts.