Connecting the dots: children's use of a systematic figure to facilitate mapping and search

Organizing locations into a systematic figure was predicted to facilitate children's use of spatial relations in a mapping task. In Study 1, 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds used a map to find a sticker hidden under 1 of 27 locations. The search locations formed a systematic figure, the outline of a dog. Half of the children were shown that the locations formed a dog. Seeing the dog pattern facilitated the performance of 5-year-olds but not that of the younger children. Study 2 indicated that children had to see a systematic figure to gain an advantage; adding lines to an unsystematic figure did not convey an advantage. Study 3 indicated that a verbal label alone could not convey an advantage. Study 4 revealed that seeing the dog pattern could also facilitate performance when the map was rotated relative to the represented space. The importance of organizing spatial information to facilitate relational thinking and mapping is discussed.     

Development of a Health Related Quality of Life Measure for Adolescents and Young Adults Following Invasive Meningococcal Disease

This study describes the key areas that matter to adolescent survivors of Invasive Meningococcal Disease (IMD). Satisfaction with Life After Meningitis is a brief multidimensional measure of health related quality of life that is reliable and correlates with criterion variables in a theoretically meaningful way. To develop a Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) measure for adolescent and young adult survivors of (IMD) we used a cross-sectional study and focus groups. The study was conducted in two phases. In Phase 1 a pool of potential items were generated based on the following: a review of existing measures, focus groups with IMD survivors, and an expert group consultation. Phase 2 involved administration of the questionnaire to a sample of adolescent and young adult IMD survivors. Factor analysis suggested a correlated four factor solution: Wellbeing, Positive about Future, Social Support, and Confidence. These factors were significantly correlated in a theoretically predictable way with scores from the Beck Depression Inventory (correlations ranged from ?0.77 to ?0.81) and the eight domains of the SF-36 Health Survey (correlations ranged from 0.32 to 0.79). The reliability of all subscales was high ranging from 0.85 to 0.92. The Satisfaction with Life After Meningitis (SLAM) questionnaire is a HRQoL self-report measure that produces reliable scores and is appropriate for use with young survivors of IMD. There is also evidence of concurrent validity with existing measures of physical and psychological well-being.     

Language Promotes False-Belief Understanding: Evidence From Learners of a New Sign Language

ABSTRACT— Developmental studies have identified a strong correlation in the timing of language development and false-belief understanding. However, the nature of this relationship remains unresolved. Does language promote false-belief understanding, or does it merely facilitate development that could occur independently, albeit on a delayed timescale? We examined language development and false-belief understanding in deaf learners of an emerging sign language in Nicaragua. The use of mental-state vocabulary and performance on a low-verbal false-belief task were assessed, over 2 years, in adult and adolescent users of Nicaraguan Sign Language. Results show that those adults who acquired a nascent form of the language during childhood produce few mental-state signs and fail to exhibit false-belief understanding. Furthermore, those whose language developed over the period of the study correspondingly developed in false-belief understanding. Thus, language learning, over and above social experience, drives the development of a mature theory of mind.     

Group Treatment with Sexually Assaulted Male Veterans: A Year in Review

Rape of men by other men is a form of sexual assault that is incompletely addressed in the literature. As a result, little is known about the treatment interventions that are most effective for this population. We designed and conducted an ongoing process-oriented psychotherapy group for male veterans who were raped while serving in the military and/or sexually assaulted in childhood. Our experience with this group provided us with a better understanding of the behavioral, cognitive, and emotional issues presented by sexually assaulted males. We suggest that group therapy is an effective modality in treating this population.     

Meeting the advocacy needs of people who have been abused by health and social care practitioners

The Prevention of Professional Abuse Network (POPAN) is the first national organization within the UK to address the problem of the abuse of clients and patients by health and social care providers. POPAN has a small staff group of eight people and a larger network of advisers, supporters and allies; its activities include campaigning, training, consultancy, and the provision of information, advice and advocacy. Jennie Williams is a clinical psychologist and trustee of POPAN, she has supported the development of the organization since the early 1990s; Jo Nash was the main person involved in the development and provision of the advocacy service between September 1997 to January 2000. This is the edited version of a taped and transcribed interview that took place in 1999. Jo Nash is uniquely placed to provide information of significance to anyone using or providing health and social care services. Her work as an advocate has given her a very particular insight into the challenges faced by those seeking redress for professional abuse, and she has first hand experience of providing advocacy to people who are vulnerable and reluctant to trust anyone offering help. In this interview Jo Nash directs attention to the considerable limitations in current complaints systems, practices and procedures, and offers comment on the implications for change. Her work with POPAN provides continual reminders of the importance of prevention, and she identifies a number of ways in which action can be taken to prevent health and social care practitioners abusing their patients and clients. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mandatory Cancer Risk Warnings on Alcoholic Beverages: What Are the Ethical Issues?

The link between alcohol consumption and cancer is well established, but public awareness of the risk remains low. Mandated warning labels have been suggested as a way of ensuring “informed choice” about alcohol consumption. In this article we explore various ethical issues that may arise in connection with cancer warning labels on alcoholic beverages; in particular we highlight the potentially questionable autonomy of alcohol consumption decisions (either with or without labels) and consider the implications if the autonomy of drinking behavior is substantially compromised. Our discussion demonstrates the need for the various ethical issues to be considered and addressed in any decision to mandate cancer warning labels.     

I won’t do it! Self-prediction,moral obligation and moral deliberation

This paper considers the question of whether predictions of wrongdoing are relevant to our moral obligations. After giving an analysis of ‘won’t’ claims (i.e., claims that an agent won’t Φ), the question is separated into two different issues: firstly, whether predictions of wrongdoing affect our objective moral obligations, and secondly, whether self-prediction of wrongdoing can be legitimately used in moral deliberation. I argue for an affirmative answer to both questions, although there are conditions that must be met for self-prediction to be appropriate in deliberation. The discussion illuminates an interesting and significant tension between agency and prediction.     

Impact of Depression and Childhood Trauma in Mothers Receiving Home Visitation

Research has documented the deleterious effects of maternal depression and childhood trauma on parenting and child development. There are high rates of both depression and childhood trauma in new mothers participating in home visitation programs, a prevention approach designed to optimize mother and child outcomes. Little is known about the impacts of maternal depression and childhood trauma on parenting in the context of home visitation. This study contrasted depressed and non-depressed mothers enrolled in the first year of a home visitation program on parenting stress, quality of home environment, social network, and psychiatric symptoms. Mothers were young, low income, and predominantly unmarried. Results indicated that depressed mothers displayed impairments in parenting, smaller and less robust social networks, and increased psychiatric symptoms relative to their non-depressed counterparts. Path analyses for the full sample revealed a path linking childhood trauma, depression, and parenting stress. Path analyses by group revealed several differential relationships between dimensions of social network and parenting. Number of embedded networks, namely the number of different domains in which the mother is actively interacting with others, was associated with lowered parenting stress among non-depressed mothers and increased parenting stress in their depressed counterparts with childhood trauma histories. In depressed mothers, social network size was associated with lower levels of parenting stress but decreased quality of the home environment, whereas number of embedded networks was positively related to quality of the home environment. Implications of findings for home visitation programs are discussed.