Children Exposed to Domestic Violence and Child Abuse: Terminology and Taxonomy

Three definitional issues regarding children exposed to domestic violence are examined. First, the multiple ways in which a child can be exposed to violence is discussed. A taxonomy of 10 types of exposure is proposed. Nine key characteristics of domestic violence, as they relate to children and children's exposure, are then outlined. The third issue addressed concerns why children who are exposed to domestic violence can be considered victims of child maltreatment. These children, by nature of their experience in the home, are psychologically maltreated and are also at high risk for physical abuse and some risk for sexual abuse. Empirical questions concerning these definitions and taxonomies and their interrelations are discussed.     

Manipulating and recognizing virtual objects: where the action is.

In an earlier report (Harman, Humphrey, & Goodale, 1999), we demonstrated that observers who actively rotated three-dimensional novel objects on a computer screen later showed faster visual recognition of these objects than did observers who had passively viewed exactly the same sequence of images of these virtual objects. In Experiment 1 of the present study we showed that compared to passive viewing, active exploration of three-dimensional object structure led to faster performance on a "mental rotation" task involving the studied objects. In addition, we examined how much time observers concentrated on particular views during active exploration. As we found in the previous report, they spent most of their time looking at the "side" and "front" views ("plan" views) of the objects, rather than the three-quarter or intermediate views. This strong preference for the plan views of an object led us to examine the possibility in Experiment 2 that restricting the studied views in active exploration to either the plan views or the intermediate views would result in differential learning. We found that recognition of objects was faster after active exploration limited to plan views than after active exploration of intermediate views. Taken together, these experiments demonstrate (1) that active exploration facilitates learning of the three-dimensional structure of objects, and (2) that the superior performance following active exploration may be a direct result of the opportunity to spend more time on plan views of the object.     

The connubial crucible: newlywed years as predictors of marital delight, distress, and divorce

This study showed that couples' newlywed marriages and changes in their union over the first 2 years foreshadow their long-term marital fate after 13 years. Consistent with the enduring dynamics model, differences in the intensity of newlyweds' romance as well as the extent to which they expressed negative feelings toward each other predicted (a) whether or not they were happy 13 years later (among those who stayed married) and (b) how long their marriage lasted prior to separation (for those who divorced). The results provide little support for the idea that emergence of distress (e.g., increasing negativity) early in marriage leads to marital failure but instead show that disillusionment--as reflected in an abatement of love, a decline in overt affection, a lessening of the conviction that one's spouse is responsive, and an increase in ambivalence--distinguishes couples headed for divorce from those who establish a stable marital bond.     

Charles Hartshorne,The Zero Fallacy and Other Essays in Neoclassical Philosophy,ed. by Mohammed Valady

International Journal for Philosophy of Religion -     

Fleeting Signs of the Course of Life: Facial Expression and Personal Adjustment

In this article, we consider whether facial expressions of emotion relate in theoretically interesting ways to personal adjustment. We first consider the conceptual benefits of this line of inquiry. Then, to anticipate why brief samples of emotional behavior should relate to personal adjustment, we review evidence indicating that facial expressions of emotion correspond to intrapersonal processes and social outcomes. We then review studies showing that facial expressions relate in theoretically significant ways to adjustment after the death of a spouse, in long-term relationships, and in the context of chronic psychological disorders.     

Author Index

Authors Index

Author Index     

Thinking theologically about reproductive and genetic enhancements: the challenge.

Current philosophical and legal bioethical reflections on reprogenetics provides little more than a rationalization of the interests of science. There are two reasons for this. First, bioethicists attempt to address ethical issues in a "language of precision" that characterizes science, and this works against analogical and narratological modes of discourse that have traditionally provided guidance for understanding human nature and purpose. Second, the current ethical and legal debate is framed by a public/private distinction that banishes robust norms to the private realm, and leaves a minimalist public discourse of harm avoidance that is insuffucient for regulating the science. In this essay, I argue that Mark Hanson's account of anxiety provides a valuable starting point for addressing deficiencies in the current philosophical and legal debate, and it highlights the need for a theological discourse on genetic enhancements. Through an assessment of Joel Shuman's criticism of the public/private distinction, I show how the needed theological discourse should be situated in the context of robust communities, and how such a communitarian inter-ethic is compatible with a variant of liberalism. Finally, I critically assess James Keenan's account of virtue and perfection, in order to outline what a sufficient discourse on reproductive and genetic enhancements requires.     

Bipolar disorder and family communication: effects of a psychoeducational treatment program

Family psychoeducational programs are efficacious adjuncts to pharmacotherapy for patients with schizophrenic and bipolar disorders, but little is known about what these programs change about families. The authors assessed changes in face-to-face interactional behavior over 1 year among families of bipolar patients who received a 9-month family-focused psychoeducational therapy (FFT; n = 22) or crisis management with naturalistic follow-up (CMNF; n = 22), both administered with maintenance pharmacotherapy. Members of families who received FFT showed more positive nonverbal interactional behavior during a 1-year posttreatment problem-solving assessment than families who received CMNF, although no corresponding decreases were seen in negative interactional behaviors. The positive effect of family treatment on patients' symptom trajectories over 1 year was partially mediated by increases in patients' positive nonverbal interactional behaviors during this same interval.     

Robert L. Perkins (ed.), International Kierkegaard Commentary: Either/Or,Part I Robert L. Perkins (ed.), International Kierkegaard Commentary: Either/Or,Part II

International Journal for Philosophy of Religion -