Knowledge and attitude of Malaysia’s Muslim faith healers in dealing with the mentally ill

Muslim faith healers are often sought by the Malaysian public as an avenue to address psychological distress. “Ruqyah” refers to the recitation of verses from the Qur'an and/or sayings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and is used by Muslim faith healers as a method of treatment. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge and attitude of Muslim faith healers in dealing with psychiatric patients in Malaysia. Seven Muslim faith healers were interviewed. The interviews were transcribed verbatim, and analysed qualitatively using thematic content analysis. The authors identified four themes: understanding of psychiatric illnesses, diagnostic competence, patients' referral, and integrating “ruqyah” into mainstream psychiatry. It was found that the respondents had limited knowledge of psychiatric illness, focusing on “ruqyah” as the main intervention in treating psychiatric illness. Recognizing the important role played by Muslim faith healers in the treatment of psychiatric illness in Malaysia, collaboration between them and fellow psychiatrists is deemed highly necessary.     

Diagnostischer Prozess und Voreingenommenheit in der forensischen Psychiatrie

This article analyses the problem of bias and confirmatory bias in the diagnostic process. The analysis is situated mainly within the context of the legal system in the United States but also with consideration of the situation in Germany. Special attention is given to the conceptual history and the development of modern operational classifications, particularly the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) system.     

Psychotherapie®

Psychotherapy has not escaped the societal changes of the last decades, which are labelled by sociologists as “reflexive modernization”. Nevertheless, psychotherapists occasionally are supposed to avoid a discussion of issues related to modern societies. This article discusses economization, connected with reflexive modernization, in relation to psychotherapy focussing on the question if psychotherapy has already become a “product” (or is imminent to that). This question is discussed in connection with three specific issues: parallels between psychotherapy and industrial production related to terms such as quality assurance and quality management, the question of a monopoly within psychotherapy, similar to monopolies of industrial companies, and, finally, some phenomena connected with a boom of specific psychotherapies of the recent years that indicate the product-character of psychotherapy.     

On the Relation Between Subjective Importance and Elicitation Order of Constructs

The subjective importance of constructs elicited with the repertory grid technique (RGT) has been conjectured to depend on elicitation order. Constructs elicited early in an interview are assumed to be subjectively more important than later ones. For the RGT, this conjecture is based on only one empirical study with a small sample size using person role titles as elements. This study has not been replicated or tested for other domains. The research for other elicitation techniques shows that the conjecture does not always hold true for nonperson domains. To assess if the order importance relation can be replicated for person and nonperson domains, we conducted two RGT studies with different designs (German study, triadic, nonperson elements, N = 60; Spanish study, dyadic, person elements, N = 61). Construct importance was assessed using importance rankings and ratings. We found no relation between the order of elicitation and importance for the nonperson elements and only a small significant relation using persons as elements. The results indicate that the conjecture should be treated with caution, as it may be weaker than previously assumed for the personal domain and not generalizable to other domains.     

Working memory and interference: A comment on Jenkins, Myerson, Hale, and Fry (1999)

Jenkins, Myerson, Hale, and Fry (1999) showed that slopes relating complex spans to simple spans were considerably smaller than one, indicating that persons with higher simple spans suffered more interference when the span task was combined with a processing demand. They argued that this finding ruled out accounts of working memory based on interference and/or inhibition of interfering information. We demonstrate that the effect is mainly an artifact from regression to the mean, owing to the low reliability of span scores as used by Jenkins et al. Data from 133 young adults for two verbal and two spatial span tasks show that the slopes relating complex to simple performance are considerably higher for sum scores than for span scores. Furthermore, an adequate test for an interference or an inhibition account of working memory is to predict interference from complex span tasks, not from simple span tasks. Interference effects in the verbal span tasks were negatively correlated with an independent measure of working memory capacity, consistent with the interference/inhibition account.     

The role of ethnic origin and situational information in teachers’ reactions to social exclusion among students

Social Psychology of Education - The current study investigated pre- and in-service teachers' reactions to interethnic exclusion in Germany. Using hypothetical scenarios, we examined a sample...     

A Generalized Proof-Theoretic Approach to Logical Argumentation Based on Hypersequents

Studia Logica - In this paper we introduce hypersequent-based frameworks for the modelling of defeasible reasoning by means of logic-based argumentation and the induced entailment relations. These...     

Validation of the German Version of the Sexual Self-Esteem Inventory for Women and its Application in a Sample of Sexually and Physically Abused Women

Results regarding the association between global self-esteem and sexual behavior suggest the importance of a domain-specific construct—so-called sexual self-esteem (SSE). Prior studies suggested that SSE is malleable and found a negative impact of sexual abuse on SSE. In the present study, the German translation of the Sexual Self-Esteem Inventory-Short Form (SSEI-SF) by Zeanah and Schwarz (1996) was validated via an online survey with 557 women and then investigated in a clinical sample of women suffering from PTSD following sexual and physical abuse compared with healthy controls (n = 130). We examined differences in SSE depending on the type of abuse. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed adequate model fit, with acceptable-to-excellent reliability (α = .78–.94) and sound convergent and discriminant validity. As expected, SSEI-SF scores were significantly lower in the clinical sample than those in the healthy control group. Within the clinical sample, there were no significant differences in SSE between clients who had experienced sexual abuse and those who had experienced physical abuse, but a history of sexual abuse was significantly linked to lower SSE and SSE was related to both sexual behavior and sexual satisfaction. In conclusion, our study supports the validity and applicability of the German version of the SSEI-SF. Results regarding the differences in SSE between survivors of abuse and healthy controls contribute to the further understanding of female sexuality and have implications for treatment.     

Coparenting in the Context of Mother–Father–Infant versus Mother–Grandmother–Infant Triangular Interactions in Turkey

In this report, coparenting behaviors during triangular interactions among families raising a 3-month-old infant in Turkey are examined. Given the significant role played by extended family members in Turkish culture, coparenting dynamics were examined as mothers and babies played together with grandmothers, as well as together with fathers. Forty-five families took part, and 42 father–mother–baby and 33 grandmother–mother–baby triangular interactions of approximately 10?min in length were filmed during the Lausanne Trilogue Play. From videotapes of the interactions, individual and mutual coparenting behaviors were evaluated using the Coparenting and Family Rating System: 3 Month Adaptation (CFRS3M). Results indicated that while mothers’ own parenting behavior when in the LTP role of Active Parent (AP) was comparable whether with fathers or grandmothers, their behavior when in the LTP role of third party parent (TPP) was comparatively more engaged while with fathers than while with grandmothers. Fathers were comparatively less engaged when occupying the TPP role than were mothers in the TPP role, while grandmothers showed more flirting and distracting behavior in the TPP role than did either fathers or mothers. These findings are significant in documenting meaningful distinctions in Turkish grandmothers’ as well as in Turkish fathers’ and mothers’ coparenting propensities when engaging in triangular interactions with babies during the LTP.