Toward a psychology of courage: Implications for the change (healing) process

Courage is a virtue which has been held in highest regard by all societies. In an age in which courage and its companions, human dignity and commitment, seem sadly lacking, it is imperative that we reacquaint ourselves with the implications of these attributes. In this paper we demonstrate the integral relationship between courage and intimacy and the importance of the concept of therapeutic caring to their development. We also introduce the theory of the double in which the self, in the act of intimacy, seeks to come together with its contradictory and disavowed attributes. These concepts are related to a psychotherapeutic paradigm in which we examine the requirements courage, intimacy, and caring impose upon practitioner and client.Paper presented at the 25th winter meeting of The American Academy of Psychoanalysis, New York City, December, 1981.     

Sociology and psychology within the scope of scientific dishonesty

A survey is undertaken based on qualitative analyses of the cases of scientific misconduct from the Danish Committee on Scientific Dishonesty’s first five years of collecting data, with additional information from selected international sources, in which underlying psychological motivations can be judged. An carlier version of this paper was presented at a symposium, Scientific Misconduct. An International Perspective, organised by The Medical University of Warsay, 16 November, 1998.     

Suicide and Suicidal Attempts in the United States: Costs and Policy Implications

The national cost of suicides and suicide attempts in the United States in 2013 was $58.4 billion based on reported numbers alone. Lost productivity (termed indirect costs) represents most (97.1%) of this cost. Adjustment for under‐reporting increased the total cost to $93.5 billion or $298 per capita, 2.1–2.8 times that of previous studies. Previous research suggests that improved continuity of care would likely reduce the number of subsequent suicidal attempts following a previous nonfatal attempt. We estimate a highly favorable benefit–cost ratio of 6 to 1 for investments in additional medical, counseling, and linkage services for such patients.     

Effects of medical resonance therapy music on patients with psoriasis and neurodermatitis—A pilot study

Stress medicine has shown that emotional disharmony can be a substantial factor for skin diseases. The harmonisation of the emotional status and a corresponding reduction of stress hormones by the Medical Resonance Therapy Music^® (MRT-Music) as shown in other studies (1,2,3,4) inspired us to investigate its benefits for patients with psoriasis vulgaris and neurodermatitis (neurodermatitis constitutionalis atopica). Over a period of 14 days we measured the parameters of blood pressure, heart rate, stimulus to scratch and the degree of sickness in two, respectively four groups of 68 patients in total: two experimental groups (psoriasis/neurodermatitis) and two control gropus. All patients received the normal treatment of our hospital, the experimental groups were additionally treated with 3 × 30 minutes of MTR-Music per day, while the controls were asked to somehow relax during this time. In the experimental groups the measurements showed to somehow relax during this time. In the experimental groups the measurements showed a reduction of blood pressure and heart rate and revealed an enhanced reduction of the stimulus to scratch and an enhanced reduction in the degree of sickness. Interestingly the effects of MRT-Music were stronger with the psoriasis patients than with the neurodermatitis patients. The results of this pilot study convinced us to offer the treatment with the Medical Resonance Therapy Music to all our patients.     

Association between substance use disorders and self- and other-directed aggression: An integrated model approach

Our study's objective is to determine whether substance use disorders’ association with aggression differs according to the type of substance and/or the form of aggression, within the same population. We used data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health across 2008–2014, with a pooled sample of 270,227 adult respondents. We used regression models to estimate the odds ratios for those having alcohol and/or drug use disorder(s) perpetrating (a) each form of aggression compared with no aggression and (b) other-directed compared with self-directed aggression. Alcohol use disorder alone and drug use disorder(s) alone were both associated with significantly increased odds of committing self-directed, other-directed, and combined aggression. Individuals with drug use disorder(s) alone were more likely to commit other-directed than self-directed aggression (adjusted odds ratio = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.04–2.05). Individuals with alcohol use disorder alone were not likely to commit one over the other (adjusted odds ratio = 1.20, 95% CI = 0.90–1.61). In conclusion, the integrated model of aggression based on the stress–diathesis model is a relevant framework to study risk factors for aggression. Further research is needed to identify longitudinal predictors of directionality of aggression.     

Whole-Body Movements in Long-Term Weightlessness: Hierarchies of the Controlled Variables Are Gravity-Dependent

Switching between contexts affects the mechanisms underlying motion planning, in particular it may entail reranking the variables to be controlled in defining the motor solutions. Three astronauts performed multiple sessions of whole-body pointing, in normogravity before launch, in prolonged weightlessness onboard the International Space Station, and after return. The effect of gravity context on kinematic and dynamic components was evaluated. Hand trajectory was gravity independent; center-of-mass excursion was highly variable within and between subjects. The body-environment effort exchange, expressed as inertial ankle momentum, was systematically lower in weightlessness than in normogravity. After return on Earth, the system underwent a rapid 1-week readaptation. The study indicates that minimizing the control effort is given greater weight when optimizing the motor plan in weightlessness compared to normogravity: the hierarchies of the controlled variables are gravity dependent.     

Dysfunctional personality traits in adolescence: effects on alerting,orienting and executive control of attention

The present study examined attentional networks performance in 39 adolescents with dysfunctional personality traits, split into two group, Group < 10 and Group ≥ 10, according to the number of criteria they met at the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Personality Disorders. The attentional performance has been tested by means of a modified version of the Attentional Network Test (ANTI-V) which allows testing both phasic and tonic components of the alerting system, the exogenous aspect of the orienting system, the executive network and their interactions. Results showed that the orienting costs of having an invalid spatial cue were reduced in the Group ≥ 10 criteria compared to the Group < 10. Moreover, adolescents included in the Group ≥ 10 showed lower conflict when attention was cued to the target location (valid trials) but showed normal interference when there was no overpowering focus of attention (invalid trials). The results found with ANOVA after splitting the sample into two categorical groups were also observed in a complementary correlation analysis keeping intact the continuous nature of such variables. These findings are consistent with the notion that dysfunctional features of personality disorders may represent the psychological manifestations of a neuropsychological abnormality in attention and executive functioning. Finally, we discuss the implications of this attentional anomaly for dysfunctional personality traits and behaviour.     

Poor readers but compelled to read: Stroop effects in developmental dyslexia.

We studied a group of 24 children with dyslexia in second to fifth primary school grades by using a discrete-trial computerized version of the Stroop Color-Word Test. Since the classic Stroop effect depends on the interference of reading with color naming, one would expect these children to show no interference or, at least, less interference than normal readers. Children with dyslexia showed, however, a Stroop effect larger than normal readers of the same age. This suggests that reading, although difficult and slow, is an inescapable step that precedes naming both in poor and in normal readers.     

Is There a Relationship between Suicidal Intent and Lethality in Deliberate Self‐Poisoning?

The relationship between suicidal intent and lethality of deliberate self‐poisoning (DSP) episodes and their associations with suicide have yielded contradictory findings. The aims of this study were to investigate the association between patients’ suicidal intent and independently rated lethality of DSP episodes, and whether the association changes over time. Eighty‐nine DSP patients were investigated longitudinally. Self‐reported suicidal intent, including perceived likelihood of dying, wish to die, and whether or not the DSP was considered a suicide attempt, was measured at the time of the index episode (t1), 3 months (t2), and 12 months (t3) later. Lethality was assessed independently by three clinical toxicologists. Lethality was significantly associated with patients’ reported wish to die (p = .01) and perceived likelihood of dying (p = .04) at t1, but not at t2 and t3. No association was found between whether the episode was considered a suicide attempt or not and lethality at t1, t2, or t3. Lethality and suicidal intent should be considered as largely separate dimensions of self‐harm. Clinicians should bear this in mind during clinical assessment, especially regarding historical information.