Spatial Conceptions in Chinese and Canadian Children

Four-, five-, and six-year-old Chinese and Canadian boys and girls were presented a series of 11 graphic models and were asked to draw them. Supporting Piaget's theory, the data indicated that drawing performance on the topological dimension was better than the performance on the Euclidean dimension, and that there were neither gender nor cultural differences in performance. The research offers strong support for a main effect of biological or maturational factors as the foundation for the developmental influences in the acquisition of spatial conceptions.     

Athanasios Koukopoulos (1931–2013)

With the death of Athanasios Koukopoulos last year, psychiatry lost one of its most stimulating and scientifically influential representatives has been lost. His main scientific contributions are in the course of manic depressive illnesses and mixed affective states. Perhaps his most important contribution to modern psychiatry are his studies on the use of antidepressants in bipolar disorder. He was able to show that antidepressants attenuate the beneficial effects of lithium, can trigger mania, and can lead to cycle acceleration and rapid cycling.     

Risk and Resistance Factors Associated with Paternal Adjustment to Obstetrical Brachial Plexus Injuries

This study aimed to identify risk and resistance factors associated with the psychological adjustment of fathers of children with obstetrical brachial plexus injuries (OBPI). Participants were 34 fathers of children with OBPI recruited from an Australian OBPI clinic. Measures completed were OBPI severity, disability related stress, family functioning and social support. Together the risk and resistance factors of severity and family functioning accounted for 28 % of the total variance in paternal psychological adjustment. Family functioning explained 12 % of the variance in psychological adjustment in addition to that explained by severity. These findings highlight the importance of considering paternal perceptions of OBPI severity and family functioning when providing health care to families of children with OBPI.     

The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale: A Bifactor Answer to a Two-Factor Question?

Despite its long-standing and widespread use, disagreement remains regarding the structure of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). In particular, concern remains regarding the degree to which the scale assesses self-esteem as a unidimensional or multidimensional (positive and negative self-esteem) construct. Using a sample of 3,862 high school students in the United Kingdom, 4 models were tested: (a) a unidimensional model, (b) a correlated 2-factor model in which the 2 latent variables are represented by positive and negative self-esteem, (c) a hierarchical model, and (d) a bifactor model. The totality of results including item loadings, goodness-of-fit indexes, reliability estimates, and correlations with self-efficacy measures all supported the bifactor model, suggesting that the 2 hypothesized factors are better understood as “grouping” factors rather than as representative of latent constructs. Accordingly, this study supports the unidimensionality of the RSES and the scoring of all 10 items to produce a global self-esteem score.     

Sinnorientierte Interventionen in der Psychoonkologie

Patients with advanced cancer often suffer from existential distress. Although a variety of effective psychotherapeutic interventions for the treatment of psychological distress in cancer patients are available, concerns such as hope and meaning of life are only occasionally at the center of therapeutic attention. During recent years growing efforts have been made to develop and evaluate meaning-based interventions for cancer patients, particularly in the Anglo-American research literature. Meaning-based interventions are often realized as group therapy approaches to reduce emotional and spiritual distress and to promote hope, courage and control, to mobilize internal resources and to discuss future goals despite a noticeable limited life expectancy. Further aims include strengthening a patient??s self-esteem and sense of dignity, to appreciate strengths and past achievements, to reduce feelings of isolation, to strengthen the relationship with the partner and family members and to improve communication with the professional healthcare team.     

Suche nach der Ursache des chronischen Ersch?pfungssyndroms

The etiology of chronic fatigue syndrome is subject to a longstanding controversy between scientists, healthcare providers, patients and self-help groups. The reasons for this, sometime heated, dispute are most likely not only due to the diversity and complexity of scientific facts alone but can also be seen as the consequences of the desired legitimation or dreaded delegitimation of the syndrome by the respective etiological model. The mechanisms of these processes will be described one the basis of the current discussion regarding the role of xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus in chronic fatigue syndrome.