Jonathan Edwards,Anselmic Satisfaction and God's Moral Government

Jonathan Edwards' doctrine of atonement has recently become a source of interest amongst some contemporary systematic theologians. This article sets out to redress two longstanding and historically strident claims regarding Edwards' doctrine of the nature of atonement: first, that Edwards espoused an Anselmic satisfaction theory of atonement; second, that Edwards also laid the theological foundation for the moral government theory of atonement, popularized in nineteenth‐century America by those of his intellectual tradition. In this article, I lay out the conceptual core of both Anselm's satisfaction theory and the moral government theory of atonement. I argue that the claims noted above lack the explanatory resources needed to account accurately for Edwards' understanding of the nature of the atonement.     

Experiences of Women Who Have Had Carrier Testing for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and Becker Muscular Dystrophy During Adolescence

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) are X-linked recessive degenerative muscular conditions. Carrier testing is available to at-risk females. Though carrier testing is often offered to adolescent females, it raises ethical issues related to autonomy. This study aimed to address the impact of DMD/BMD carrier testing during adolescence, to elucidate what motivates adolescents to seek testing, and to assess the carrier testing experience. Retrospective semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 12 women out of 28 initially contacted. Data were coded using thematic analysis. For most (8/12) participants, discovering their carrier status during adolescence appeared to have helped alleviate uncertainty. The majority (9/12) of participants felt that they had made an autonomous decision and most (10/12) seemed to have adjusted well to their test result. Reproductive factors were framed as having been a key motivator prior to testing. However, following testing, participants’ views on prenatal diagnosis seemed more closely linked to their lived experience than to their test result. Just over half (7/12) the participants reported having not had the opportunity for genetic counseling prior to testing and after receiving their result, an issue that warrants further consideration.     

Physical Abuse Victimization and Violence in the Transition to Adulthood: The Mediating Role of Alcohol and Drug Use

In the present paper we examine the association between physical abuse victimization in childhood and violent criminal behavior in the transition from adolescence to adulthood (TAA). Of central interest is whether that association is indirect, through the impact of abuse victimization on alcohol and drug use. We employ a statistical test for indirect effects, using a design that also applies Savage and Wozniak’s (2016) “differential etiology of violence” standard. The data suggest that the effect of physical abuse on violence in the TAA is partially indirect, mediated by alcohol and drug use. A control for nonviolent offending is applied to build confidence that the dynamic between abuse victimization and substance use is a differential predictor of violence.     

Dental flossing and automaticity: a longitudinal moderated mediation analysis

We investigated the role of normative support, behavioural automaticity, and action control in predicting dental flossing behaviour. Between May and October 2015, 629 Australian young adults completed a questionnaire assessing constructs of normative support and automaticity, and a 2-week follow-up of dental flossing behaviour and action control, resulting in n = 241 persons for longitudinal analysis. Findings supported the hypotheses that the effect of normative support on behaviour would be mediated via automaticity, and the effect of automaticity would be moderated by action control. Current results extend previous research to elucidate the mechanisms that help to understand predictors of oral hygiene behaviours and contribute to the cumulative evidence concerning self-regulatory and automatic components of health behaviour.     

Action,interaction and inaction: post-Kantian accounts of thinking,willing, and doing in Fichte and Schopenhauer

This article features the contributions of Fichte and Schopenhauer to a philosophical account of action against the background of Kant's earlier and influential treatment of the topic. The article first presents Kant's pertinent contributions in the areas of general epistemology and metaphysics (“transcendental philosophy”), general practical philosophy (“moral philosophy”), the philosophy of law (“doctrine of right”) and ethic (“doctrine of virtues”). Then the focus is on Fichte's further original work on the issue of action in those same areas. Finally, the article turns to Schopenhauer's radical revision of the Kantian and Fichtean affirmative accounts of acting and willing through the correlated introduction of the irrational will, the self-negated will and ethical inaction.     

Relative Earnings and Depressive Symptoms among Working Parents: Gender Differences in the Effect of Relative Income on Depressive Symptoms

The relationship between income and psychological well-being is well established. Yet, most of this research is conducted at the individual level without taking into account the role played by relative earnings at the couple level. In the present study we estimate the effect of share of family income on depressive symptoms of individuals. Specifically, we examine whether within-person change in the share of family income has differential effects on the level of depressive symptoms of mothers and fathers. Using data from the U.S. National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth (NLSY79), we follow the same individuals over 4 years and analyze their data using a cross-lagged structural equation model. Controlling for net income, we find that an increase in one’s share of family income is related to an increased level of depressive symptoms among mothers and a decreased level of depressive symptoms among fathers. When looking at a subsample of stay-at-home parents, we find that a change from providing some share of the family income to stay-at-home parent status over time is related to higher level of depressive symptoms among fathers but not mothers. Furthermore, we find that egalitarian gender ideology moderates this relationship for mothers but not for fathers. We discuss potential implications of our findings to the work-family and gender literature and to counselors and therapists who specialize in treating depression.