Instrumental and expressive violence in Belgian homicide perpetrators

The present study aimed to examine offender types in a sample of Belgian single‐perpetrator/single‐victim homicide cases. First, it was investigated if the distinction between instrumental and expressive aggression could be documented in crime scene and offender background characteristics. Second, the instrumental and expressive themes from the first analysis were examined in relation to the motives the perpetrators themselves provided for their offence. A sample of 97 solved homicide cases was analysed using the non‐metric multidimensional scaling procedure Proxscal. The results revealed that 62% of the homicide crime scenes and 67% of the offender backgrounds could be classified as either expressive or instrumental. The self‐reported motives did not correspond with the themes according to the Proxscal analysis. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A MULTIMETHOD ATTITUDE STUDY ABOUT WOMEN'S ROLES AND ISSUES

We examined the relationships among college students'attitudes about women's roles and issues measured directly using the Attitudes toward Women Scale (AWS), and indirectly using a free response measure, thought listing. The two types of measures were significantly related for both sexes, but more strongly related for men than for women. Women were more liberal than men in their responses to the AWS and to all thought listing stimuli except the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Inter-relationships among responses for different thought listing stimuli were moderate to nonexistent, suggesting that students'attitudes vary greatly depending on the issue or role examined.     

GENDER'S ROLE IN RESPONSES TO INFERTILITY

Infertility is a major life stressor that affects approximately 10% of U.S. married couples. Infertile women and men have reported experiencing depression, helplessness, and marital strain. Given U.S. society's emphasis on women's role as mothers, it has been suggested that women's lives are more disrupted by infertility than those of men. This hypothesis was supported in a survey of 185 infertile couples and 90 presumed fertile couples. Infertile wives, as compared to their husbands, perceived their fertility problem as more stressful, felt more responsible for and in control of their infertility, and engaged in more problem-focused coping. Infertile husbands experienced more home life stress and lower home life performance than did their wives. These differences were not found for presumed fertile couples. Both infertile and presumed fertile wives experienced more depression, more sexual dissatisfaction, and lower self-esteem than did their husbands. Theoretical and counseling implications of these findings are discussed.     

Resource depletion does not influence prospective memory in college students

This paper reports an experiment designed to investigate the potential influence of prior acts of self-control on subsequent prospective memory performance. College undergraduates (n = 146) performed either a cognitively depleting initial task (e.g., mostly incongruent Stroop task) or a less resource-consuming version of that task (e.g., all congruent Stroop task). Subsequently, participants completed a prospective memory task that required attentionally demanding monitoring processes. The results demonstrated that prior acts of self-control do not impair the ability to execute a future intention in college-aged adults. We conceptually replicated these results in three additional depletion and prospective memory experiments. This research extends a growing number of studies demonstrating the boundary conditions of the resource depletion effect in cognitive tasks.     

Adult attachment to transitional objects and borderline personality disorder

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by tumultuous, unstable personal relationships, difficulty being alone, and an inability to self-soothe. This may explain why patients with BPD tend to develop strong attachments to transitional objects such as stuffed animals. Research in hospital settings has linked the use of transitional objects to the presence of BPD. Using a nonclinical community sample (N = 80) we explored the link between attachments to transitional objects and various aspects of personality pathology, as well as to childhood trauma, and parental rearing styles. People who reported intense current attachments to transitional objects were significantly more likely to meet criteria for a BPD diagnosis than those who did not; they also reported more childhood trauma, rated their early caregivers as less supportive, and had more attachment problems as adults. Heavy emotional reliance on transitional objects in adulthood may be an indicator of underlying pathology, particularly BPD.     

The Use of a Family History Risk Assessment Tool within a Community Health Care System: Views of Primary Care Providers

Primary care providers (PCPs) offered input regarding the incorporation of a family health history (FHH) risk assessment tool into a community health care system (CHCS). Sixteen PCPs participated in one of three focus groups. Perceived impediments included the lack of standard screening guidelines, effective screening tests, genetic counseling resources, and services for high-risk patients. The PCPs were concerned about their level of expertise, the cost of preventive health care, and genetic discrimination. They also were concerned about the use of a FHH tool by oncologists within the CHCS because of communication gaps between oncologists and PCPs, lack of clarity regarding follow-up and legal liability, and reimbursement issues. To integrate a FHH tool into a CHCS, PCPs will need consultation and referral services, evidence-based recommendations, and "just-in-time" educational resources. Oncologists who use the tool will need to develop a streamlined communication system with PCPs, establish clearly defined roles, and ensure patient follow-up.     

The Role of Beliefs in the Relationship Between Health Problems and Posttraumatic Stress in Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivors

In addition to the potential for ongoing health concerns, adolescent and young adult (AYA) childhood cancer survivors frequently report posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). The current study examines whether beliefs about health moderate the relationship between the number of health problems and PTSS 2 months later in 140 survivors. Beliefs, as measured by scales of the Health Competence Beliefs Inventory (HCBI), negatively related to PTSS while health problems positively related to PTSS. Three scales of the HCBI-health perceptions, satisfaction with healthcare and cognitive competence—were significant moderators. The relationship between health problems and PTSS was stronger in the presence of less adaptive beliefs. These beliefs represent potentially malleable intervention targets for reducing PTSS in childhood cancer survivors.     

Clinical issues in analyses over the telephone and the internet

There is professional consensus that teleanalysis, the practice of psychoanalysis conducted remotely using the telephone and the Internet, is increasing in response to more mobility in the population. But there is controversy as to whether the use of technology leads to a dilution of analysis or to adaptive innovation that is clinically effective and true to the tenets of psychoanalysis. The author reviews the psychoanalytic literature and shows the development of analytic thinking about this technology-assisted practice of psychoanalysis. She summarizes analysts' perceptions and experiences of the advantages and disadvantages, and considers the indications and contra-indications. She focuses on the clinical concerns that arise in terms of the frame, resistance, and the development of analytic process through the unconscious communication of internal objects, unconscious fantasy, transference and countertransference. She gives vignettes from the analysis of a man with trauma-related depression to address the concerns raised and to support her argument that analysis using the telephone and the Internet is a viable, clinically effective alternative to traditional analysis where necessary.