Forgiveness and Health in Christian Women

Researchers in psychology have studied the influence of forgiveness on the both the psychological and physical health of individuals. In addition, parish nursing is also looking at forgiveness as a potential benefit for self-care and health promotion. Forgiveness was measured using Enright’s Forgiveness Inventory. Health was measured using Spielberg’s State/Trait Anger measure, Beck’s II Depression measure, SPF-15 Health Survey. Body Mass Index was also calculated. Mixed Methods was also used to describe the qualitative findings using content analysis on the types of unjust violations Christian women experienced. Women expressed very severe unjust violations involving sexual, physical, emotional, financial and spiritual abuse. Statistical correlations suggested important relationships among forgiveness and overall health measures warranting further investigation. The relationship between Church type and forgiveness raised questions about women’s role in the Church as well as, the importance of acknowledging personal feelings, which are excluded in many orthodox denomination’s doctrines.     

Correlational and exploratory factor analyses (EFA) of commonly used empathy questionnaires: New insights

Empathy is a concept whose history has been marred by conceptual inconsistencies. Dispositional measures of empathy have varied in constituent subscales and have been suggested to conflate with other related constructs. The current investigation consists of correlational and exploratory factor analyses with self-report empathy measures to assess the commonalities between these measures. Four hundred ninety-seven university undergraduates completed a battery of self-report dispositional empathy measures, along with situational and dispositional sympathy measures. The novel findings include moderate correlations between scales purporting to measure empathy, an interpretable six-factor structure which represent subcomponents of these empathy scales, and the modest ability of existing questionnaires to contribute to these factor structures. The retained factor structure is not consistent with previous definitions of empathy, and it appears that self-report empathy measures do not adequately measure a uniform, consistent construct.     

Who got vaccinated against H1N1 pandemic influenza? – A longitudinal study in four US cities

The recent H1N1 pandemic influenza stimulated numerous studies into the attitudes and intentions about the H1N1 vaccine. However, no study has investigated prospective predictors of vaccination behaviour. We conducted a two-wave longitudinal study among residents in four US cities during the course of the H1N1 outbreak, using Internet surveys to assess demographic, cognitive and emotional predictors of H1N1 vaccination behaviour. Surveys were conducted at two time points, before (Time 1) and after (Time 2) the H1N1 vaccine was widely available to the public. Results show that Time 2 vaccination rates, but not Time 1 vaccination intentions, tracked H1N1 prevalence across the four cities. Receipt of seasonal influenza vaccine in the previous year, worry, compliance with recommended interventions, household size and education assessed at Time 1 were significant prospective predictors of vaccination behaviour. Perception of the H1N1 vaccine, social influence and prioritised vaccine recipient status assessed at Time 2 also predicted vaccination behaviour. Critically, worry about H1N1 mediated the effects of both objective risk (prevalence at the city level) and perceived risk on vaccination behaviour. These results suggest that H1N1 vaccination behaviour appropriately reflected objective risk across regions, and worry acted as the mechanism by which vaccination behaviour followed objective risk.     

Cycloheximide produces amnesia for extinction and reconsolidation in an appetitive odor discrimination task in rats

A considerable literature has shown deficits in memory resulting from the administration of protein synthesis inhibitors; however, most of the past literature in this field has focused on acquisition of new memory using aversively-motivated tasks. The effect of protein synthesis inhibition on appetitive learning and memory as well as extinction is less clear. The present study employed an appetitive odor discrimination paradigm to examine the effects of acute cycloheximide administration (1 mg/kg) on reconsolidation and extinction.Male, Long-Evans adult rats were trained to discriminate between two odors (i.e., cocoa and cinnamon) and then received extinction trials following an intraperitoneal injection of cycloheximide or vehicle. Twenty-four hours later, rats were tested via one non-reinforced test trial. Results showed amnesia for extinction as well as original training (i.e., correct odor choice) in cycloheximide-injected rats in this appetitive task, while vehicle-injected controls showed good memory for extinction. These data add to a growing literature showing the importance of protein synthesis inhibition for extinction and reconsolidation in appetitive learning and memory.     

The making of a tragedy: perversion in the perception of truth

A type of wilful blindness can pervert an individual's perception of truth or reality, not because that reality is too much to hold, but because it is distasteful. Undesired. The case of Adam will be used to explore perversion as it twists an analytic process, affecting the transference and countertransference in ways that are difficult to see. Theorists of Freudian, Kleinian, Lacanian, and Jungian traditions are drawn from to explore potential roots to this perverted turn, and the way it can rigidify an individuation process. The anxiety that haunts this case echoes Jung's anxiety as he wondered if the stone saw him or he saw the stone. Object and observer blend when both analyst and patient hide from themselves and one another, knowing the truth of what is being discussed but blind to it.     

The Limit of Mental Structures

The development of consistent health behaviors is important for chronic illness prevention and management. The current study experimentally compared two strategies—a personal-rule and a deliberation strategy—designed to help participants consistently perform their intended behaviors over a 7-week period in a real-world setting. Although the personal-rule strategy had theoretical support from behavioral economics and empirical support from both animal and human lab experiments, the deliberation strategy group was significantly more successful than the personal-rule strategy group, both initially (time to first violation, p < .01, Cohen's d = .51) and over the entire 7-week period (overall success, p < .05, Cohen's d = .18). These effects were significant even after controlling for known predictors of behavioral success, including individual-difference variables, person-behavior factors, and resolution-related factors.     

Exploring Emotion-Regulation and Autonomic Physiology in Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients: Repression, Suppression, and Restraint of Hostility

We examined relationships between three emotion-regulation constructs and autonomic physiology in metastatic breast cancer patients (N = 31). Autonomic measures are not often studied in breast cancer patients and may provide evidence of an increase in allostatic load. Patients included participated as part of a larger clinical trial of supportive-expressive group therapy. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate were assessed at a semi-annual follow-up. We averaged 3 resting assessments and used measures of Repression, Suppression, Restraint of Hostility, and Body Mass Index as predictors of autonomic response. We found that higher repression was significantly associated with higher diastolic blood pressure, while higher restraint of hostility was significantly associated with higher systolic blood pressure. A repressive emotion regulation style may be a risk factor for higher sympathetic activation possibly increasing allostatic load, while restraint of hostility may be a protective factor for women with metastatic breast cancer.     

Misunderstanding standardized language in research interviews

Leaving the interpretation of words up to participants in standardized survey interviews, aptitude tests, and experiment instructions can lead to unintended interpretation; more collaborative interviewing methods can promote uniform understanding. In two laboratory studies (a factorial experiment and a more naturalistic investigation), respondents interpreted ordinary survey concepts like ‘household furniture’ and ‘living in a house’ quite differently than intended in strictly standardized interviews, when the interpretation was left entirely up to them. Comprehension was more accurate when interviewers responded to requests for clarification with non‐standardized paraphrased definitions, and most accurate when interviewers also provided clarification whenever they suspected respondents needed it. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perceived Benefits and Challenges of a Multiethnic-Racial Identity: Insight From Adults With Mixed Heritage

The purpose of this inquiry was to explore the lived experiences of multiethnic-racial individuals (i.e., individuals with parents from different ethnic-racial groups). In-depth interviews were conducted with 29 adults from the United States with mixed ethnic-racial backgrounds ranging in age from 18 to 52 (female n = 20, male n = 9). We identified a number of themes related to perceived benefits (e.g., pluralistic world views, stronger sense of self) and challenges (e.g., identity tensions, communal concerns) of having a mixed heritage. Findings are discussed in terms of four considerations for ethnic-racial identity of individuals with mixed ethnic-racial backgrounds: emphasizing constellations of experiences, life-span and developmental considerations of identity, (mixed) ethnic-racial identity as constituted in interactions, and the potential promise of pluralistic world views.