Influence of dialect use on early reading and spelling acquisition in German-speaking children in Grade 1

During literacy acquisition, children learn to match written and spoken language. Little is known about how this is achieved by children who grow up speaking a dialect. The present study examined literacy-related skills before school in 71 children (mean_age: 7.61y) with a differing degree of exposure to Swiss-German (SwissG) dialect and tested their reading and spelling skills at the end of Grade 1. No differences in Grade 1 reading and spelling were found between groups of children with different SwissG exposure. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) revealed that SwissG exposure was negatively associated with Grade 1 spelling and reading, when statistically controlling for early literacy-related-skills. At the same time, SwissG exposure was positively associated with early literacy-related skills that drive reading and spelling development. Thus, literacy acquisition in children speaking a dialect is characterised by disadvantages due to a linguistic mismatch, but also by compensatory advantages of higher metalinguistic skills.     

Impairment of Cognitive Function in Different Domains Early After Lung Transplantation

Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings - In this prospective observational pilot study patients with the diagnosis of end-stage lung disease and listed for lung transplantation...     

Schoolchildren’s autobiographical memory: COMT gene Val158Met polymorphism effects on emotional content and quality of first memories

Cognitive Processing - Autobiographical memory is a cognitive function strongly related to emotional processing as autobiographical memory often includes emotional content. The COMT gene Val158Met...     

Why philosophy and history matter: A conversation with Ann Taves

The article picks up some ideas that Ann Taves presents in her book Religious Experience Reconsidered, and looks at possible conversations that are not fleshed out in detail in Taves’ book. In particular, it is argued that the disciplinary confrontation with philosophy and with historiography is of crucial importance if the disciplines of cognitive science and psychology of religion want to become in the future what they pretend to be now—a serious alternative and complement to the study of religion as we know it from other contexts, such as cultural studies and historiography.     

The efficacy of systemic therapy with adult patients: a meta-content analysis of 38 randomized controlled trials

Systemic therapy is a widely used psychotherapy approach. Yet there exist few systematic reviews on its efficacy. A meta-content analysis was performed to analyze the efficacy of systemic therapy for the treatment of mental disorders in adulthood. All randomized (or matched) controlled trials (RCT) evaluating systemic/systems oriented therapy in various settings (family, couple, individual, group, multifamily group therapy) with adult index patients suffering from mental disorders were identified by database searches and cross-references in other reviews. Inclusion criteria were: index patient diagnosed with a DSM or ICD listed mental disorder, trial published in any language up to the end of 2008. The RCTs were content analyzed according to their research methodology, interventions applied, and results. Thirty-eight trials published in English, German, Spanish, and Chinese were identified, 34 of them showing systemic therapy to be efficacious for the treatment of mood disorders, eating disorders, substance use disorders, mental and social factors related to medical conditions and physical disorders, and schizophrenia. Systemic therapy may also be efficacious for anxiety disorders. Results were stable across follow-up periods of up to 5 years. There is a sound evidence-base for the efficacy of systemic therapy for adult index patients with mental disorders in at least five diagnostic groups.     

An Internet-Based Compassion-Focused Intervention for Increased Self-Criticism: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Increased levels of self-criticism and a lack of self-compassion have been associated with the development and maintenance of a range of psychological disorders. In the current study, we tested the efficacy of an online version of a compassion-focused intervention, mindfulness-based compassionate living (MBCL), with guidance on request. A total of 122 self-referred participants with increased levels of self-criticism were randomly assigned to care as usual (CAU) or the intervention group (CAU + online intervention). Primary endpoints were self-reported depressive, anxiety and distress symptoms (DASS-21) and self-compassion (SCS) at 8 weeks. Secondary endpoints were self-criticism, mindfulness, satisfaction with life, fear of self-compassion, self-esteem, and existential shame. At posttreatment, the intervention group showed significant changes with medium to large effect sizes compared to the control group regarding primary outcomes (Cohen’s d: 0.79 [DASS] and -1.21 [SCS]) and secondary outcomes (Cohen’s ds: between 0.40 and 0.94 in favor of the intervention group). The effects in the intervention group were maintained at 6-months postrandomization. Adherence measures (number of completed modules, self-reported number of completed exercises per week) predicted postintervention scores for self-compassion but not for depressive, anxiety, and distress symptoms in the intervention group. The current study shows the efficacy of an online intervention with a transdiagnostic intervention target on a broad range of measures, including depressive and anxiety symptoms and self-compassion.     

Beyond Hume: Demea a rehabilitation with systematic intent

International Journal for Philosophy of Religion - Traditionally, Demea is considered to be the weakest character in Hume’s famous Dialogues concerning Natural Religion; the stage is...     

Ergebnisse der Katathymimaginativen Psychotherapie

The goal of this study was to examine the effect of guided affective imagery therapy in an outpatient setting.At first, 140 patients were recruited.Unfortunately, there were many drop-outs at the beginning of the study as well as at later assessments.The data of 66 patients could be evaluated.The patients were assessed at the beginning of the therapy, after 25 sessions, at the end of the therapy and 18 month after the end of the therapy. Because of too many drop-outs, the originally planned waiting-control-design was realized only to some extent.The diagnoses of the patients consisted mainly of neurotic disorders,many of them with a dysthymia. Data were gathered by standardized questionnaires. There were marked effects of the therapies at the end of the treatments and also at the follow-up evaluation.Effect sizes were larger than 0.8 in somatic symptoms, mood, depression and life satisfaction.On the one hand, therefore, these therapies had been very effective. On the other hand, it became obvious during the course of the study, how difficult it is to conduct such a design with many therapists in a private practice and without financial support.     

Das Antilogische

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Über Wandlungen der Empfindung bei formal verschiedener Reizung einer Art von Sinnesnerven

Ohne Zusammenfassung