Social Services Workers and Workplace Violence

Researchers and workplace violence experts have cited risk factors that theoretically increase the likelihood that individuals will experience workplace violence. Those include working alone, contact with the public, traveling to dangerous areas, as well as other factors. By the very nature of what social services workers do, many encounter these risk factors on a regular basis. Using national data, trends in workplace violence experienced by social services workers are examined, and comparisons are made between the rates of workplace violence among similar workgroups. Results suggest that social services workers are nearly six times more likely than other workers to experience workplace violence. In the discussion, attention is given to strategies to prevent violence against social services workers.     

Disturbances of consciousness in dementia with Lewy bodies associated with alteration in nicotinic receptor binding in the temporal cortex

Disturbances of consciousness, including fluctuations in attention and awareness, are a common and clinically important symptom in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). In the present study we investigate potential mechanisms of such disturbances of consciousness (DOC) in a clinicopathological study evaluating specific components of the cholinergic system. [3H]Epibatidine binding to the high-affinity nicotinic receptor in the temporal cortex (Brodmann's areas 20 and 36) differentiated DLB cases with and without DOC, being 62-66% higher in those with DOC (F=4.5,p=.025). The were no differences between DLB patients with or without DOC in 125I-labeled alpha-bungaratoxin binding to the low-affinity nicotinic receptor, [3H]pirenzepine binding to the muscarinic M1 receptor, or in choline acetyltransferase activity. These findings provide support for the hypothesis that cholinergic activity is an important neural correlate if consciousness and suggest a mechanism of DOC in DLB involving alterations in the nicotinic receptor, composed of predominantly alpha4 and beta2 subunits.     

A genetic two-factor model of the covariation among a subset of Multidimensional Aptitude Battery and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised subtests

The phenotypic and genetic factor structure of performance on five Multidimensional Aptitude Battery (MAB) subtests and one Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS-R) subtest was explored in 390 adolescent twin pairs (184 monozygotic [MZ]; 206 dizygotic (DZ)). The temporal stability of these measures was derived from a subsample of 49 twin pairs, with test–retest correlations ranging from .67 to .85. A phenotypic factor model, in which performance and verbal factors were correlated, provided a good fit to the data. Genetic modeling was based on the phenotypic factor structure, but also took into account the additive genetic (A), common environmental (C), and unique environmental (E) parameters derived from a fully saturated ACE model. The best fitting model was characterized by a genetic correlated two-factor structure with specific effects, a general common environmental factor, and overlapping unique environmental effects. Results are compared to multivariate genetic models reported in children and adults, with the most notable difference being the growing importance of common genes influencing diverse abilities in adolescence.     

The Relationship Between Faith and Well-Being

Despite the considerable literature that documents the existence of a positive relationship between religious faith and individual well-being, there has been little investigation of the mechanisms by which this connection operates. An investigation of this issue, using qualitative research methods and based on classical and contemporary sociological theory, suggests that Christian faith provides its adherents with several tools with which they can combat those circumstances in their lives that are likely to lead to distress and disease. These tools include community, hope, meaning systems, behavioral constraints, and elements of church practice and church life, all of which work together to provide the faithful with a sense of peace that contributes to their well-being.     

Narcissistic Measures of Lutheran Clergy Who Self-Reported Committing Sexual Misconduct

This study sought to determine if narcissism was a factor in Lutheran clergy who self-reported committing sexual misconduct. Sexual misconduct was defined as any activity in which a clergyperson, single or married, engaged in sexual behavior (sexual intercourse, kissing, touching or hugging with sexual intent, use of sexually explicit language) with a parishioner, client, or employee of the church (Francis & Turner, 1995). The results indicated that clergy who self-reported having committed sexual misconduct and had high levels of narcissism were not significantly different from those clergy who self-reported not having committed sexual misconduct. Demographic and related findings are also discussed. Former Lutheran minister and is currently an Assistant Professor of education atAssociate Professor of professional counseling in the Division of Professional Psychology at the     

Book Reviews

M eier , C arl A lfred Personality: The Individuation Process in the Light of C.G. Jung's Typology
K ast , V erena . Folktales as Therapy
N eumann , E rich . The Fear of the Feminine: and Other Essays on Feminine Psychology
E l S affar , R uth A nthony . Rapture Encaged: the Suppression of the Feminine in Western Culture
S tein M urray , & H ollwitz , J ohn (eds.). Psyche at Work: Workplace Applications of Jungian Analytical Psychology
R obertson , R obin . Beginner's Guide to Revelation: a Jungian Interpretation
T hrail , E mma . Retrospect: The Story of an Analysis
U lanov , A nn B elford . The Wizard's Gate: Picturing Consciousness
W alker , S teven F. Jung and the Jungians on Myth: An Introduction
A lexandris , A thina & V aslamatzis , G rigoris , (eds.). Countertransference: Theory, Technique, Teaching
C lulow , C hristopher (ed.). Rethinking Marriage: Public and Private Perspectives     

Skin conductance responses to real and imagined snakes among avoidant and non-avoidant college students

Experiment I compared the extent to which, at the physiological level, behaviorally avoidant and non-avoidant Ss respond differently to in vivo exposure to a snake. Experiment II tested an hypothesis about possible confounding in the procedures of Experiment I. Experiment III was a replication of Experiment II except that an imagined snake was substituted for the real snake. The three experiments were designed to permit simultaneous comparisons involving the skin conductance reactions of avoidant and non-avoidant volunteer Ss to a snake and to a neutral stimulus. In Experiments II and III differential responsivity in the expected direction was found. These differences were discussed in connection with the methodology of snake-avoidance therapy analogues.     

Selective attention and cerebral dominance in perceiving and responding to speech messages

The effect of attention on cerebral dominance and the asymmetry between left and right ears was investigated using a selective listening task. Right handed subjects were presented with simultaneous dichotic speech messages; they shadowed one message in either the right or left ear and at the same time tapped with either the right or the left hand when they heard a specified target word in either message. The ear asymmetry was shown only when subjects' attention was focused on some other aspect of the task: they tapped to more targets in the right ear, but only when these came in the non-shadowed message; they made more shadowing errors with the left ear message, but chiefly for non-target words. The verbal response of shadowing showed the right ear dominance more clearly than the manual response of tapping. Tapping with the left hand interfered more with shadowing than tapping with the right hand, but there was little correlation between the degree of hand and of ear asymmetry over individual subjects. The results support the idea that the right ear dominance is primarily a quantitative difference in the distribution of attention to left and right ear inputs reaching the left hemisphere speech areas. This affects both the efficiency of speech perception and the degree of response competition between simultaneous verbal and manual responses.