After the Council: Transformationsin the Shape of Moral Theologyand 'the Church to Come'

This paper seeks to explore the impact that the Council had upon moral theology, and vice versa, along with some of the main debates and methodological questions that have preoccupied Catholic ethicists since. Seeking to chart both that, as well as how, moral theology was transformed, four key points arise. First, the emergence, even prior to the council of a more participatory approach to moral theology. Second, the retrieval of an understanding of the provisionality of much moral teaching. Third, an appreciation of the circular relationship between ethics and ecclesiology. Fourth, the 'work to be done' in relation to continuing disagreements over method and the 'yearning for continuity' that emerged in reaction to the transformations in moral theology and indeed the Council in general. We close with consideration of constructive proposals for the future concerning whether and how Catholics might live with difference and indeed with less certitude, reminding ourselves that morality is not a precise and exact science, as if any such thing exists.     

The relationship between childhood abuse and adult personality disorder symptoms

This study assessed personality disorder symptomatology in a community sample of healthy adults without diagnosable DSM-IV-TR Axis I psychiatric disorders who reported a history of childhood abuse. Twenty-eight subjects with a history of moderate to severe physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse according to the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire were compared to 33 subjects without an abuse history on symptoms of personality disorders. Subjects in the Abuse group were more likely to report subclinical symptoms of paranoid, narcissistic, borderline, antisocial, obsessive compulsive, passive-aggressive, and depressive personality disorders. These findings link reports of childhood abuse with symptoms of personality disorders in the absence of Axis I psychiatric disorders in a community sample of healthy adults.     

The development and maturation of humanitarian psychology

Humanitarian psychological support as an organized field is relatively young. Pioneers in the field were involved primarily in providing psychological support to refugees and internally displaced persons in conflict and nonconflict situations. This article describes basic principles for the design of psychological support programs and interventions. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) began a psychological support program in 1991. The IFRC chose psychological first aid as its model for implementation in developing countries. Psychological first aid fits all the principles for psychological support program design and is adapted to individual communities. The first generation of psychological support programs differed dramatically depending on the countries in which they were developed. A second generation of psychological support programs evolved in response to the earthquake/tsunami of December 26, 2004. The Inter-Agency Standing Committee international guidelines consolidated the advances of second-generation programs and provided a clear indication of the wide acceptance of the importance of psychological support. A glimpse is provided of the third generation of psychological support programs, and an admonition is made for a more empirical evaluation of the effectiveness of interventions.     

Visual objects can potentiate a grasping neural simulation which interferes with manual response execution

Previous studies on visuomotor priming have provided insufficient information to determine whether the reach-to-grasp potentiation of a non-target object produces a specific effect during response execution. In order to answer this question, subjects were instructed to reach and grasp a response device with either a power or a precision grip, depending on whether the stimulus they saw was empty or full. Stimuli consisted of containers (graspable with either a power or a precision grip), with non-graspable stimuli added as a control condition (geometrical shapes). The image of the non-target object was removed during the execution phase. Results demonstrate slower execution responses related to motor incompatibility, though conversely, no faster responses with motor compatibility. Moreover, any visuomotor priming effect required that the container be displayed during response execution. These data suggest that during response execution, motor incompatibility produces a disruptive effect likely due to competition between two cerebral events: motor control of the actual response execution and visual object reach-to-grasp neural simulation.     

“Heartbreaking” Referrals,Professional “Disgrace”: The Impact of Medicare Ineligibility on the Counseling Profession

To better understand the impact of the Medicare mental health coverage gap, the authors analyzed survey data provided by 1,859 members of the American Counseling Association using a conventional qualitative content analysis. One overarching theme, direct impact of Medicare policy on the counseling profession, is presented, along with 3 thematic categories: emotional impact on providers, economic toll on providers, and negative influence on profession's credibility. Implications for the counseling profession are discussed.     

Evaluations of causal and conditional hypotheses

This study examined evaluations of causal and conditional hyptheses on the basis of individual exemplars. Subjects were presented scenes describing something that is malfunctioning and is taken to an expert. The expert makes a causal diagnosis and a prediction concerning an outcome following treatment. Four types of outcome evidence were provided: (1) treatment is provided and the problem is eliminated; (2) treatment is not provided and the problem is eliminated; (3) treatment is provided and the problem is not eliminated; and (4) treatment is not provided and the problem is not eliminated. Subjects were required to judge whether individual exemplars prove the diagnosis, disprove the diagnosis, or fail to test the diagnosis. A second form of problem presented the same scenes but required evaluation of the conditional prediction. A third form of problem did not present the causal scenes; the subject evaluated the conditional predication and no context. Three content domains were used: medical, mechanical, and arbitrary. There were three general results: (1) diagnoses were judged as less open to testing than predictive conditional hypotheses; (2) medical problems were judged differently from mechanical problems; and (3) problems lacking meaningful content or contexts led to more primitive response strategies.