Art,logotherapy, and the unconscious God

In this article the author outlines how art can be used in Logotherapy and Existenzanalyse to help the client uncover, discover, and make use of the meaning and spiritual potentials in his or her life. In Logotherapy and Existenzanalyse art can be used to help over-come fear of verbal communication, to help overcome fear of the spiritual and meaning potentials in the client's life, and to help the client gain awareness and contact with the unconscious God.     

Peer-group association and adolescent tobacco use

Mosbach & Leventhal (1988) examined the relation of cigarette smoking to peer-group identification in rural Wisconsin adolescents. They found that among dirts (problem-prone youth), regulars (average youth), hot-shots (good social or academic performers), and jocks (athletes), youth most likely to smoke were dirts and hot-shots. We performed a replication with a Southern California cohort and also for use of smokeless tobacco. We hypothesized that jocks would be the main users of smokeless tobacco. We identified the same groups and an additional one, skaters (skateboarders or surfers). As Mosbach & Leventhal found, cigarettes were used most by dirts. Contrary to their results, but consistent with other research, we found that hot-shots were least likely to smoke. Contrary to our prediction, we found that skaters and dirts were more likely to use smokeless tobacco than were jocks. Our data show that both tobacco forms are used by problem-prone youth.     

Informal Caregiving to Persons with AIDS in the United States: Caregiver Burden Among Central Cities Residents Eighteen to Forty-Nine Years Old

Characteristics and caregiving experiences of friends and family members caring for people with AIDS (PWAs) were examined. Based on a probability sample of informal AIDS caregivers ages 18–49 living in central cities of the United States (n = 260), analyses were conducted to (a) identify the sociodemographic characteristics of young central city caregivers; and (b) examine the effects of caregiver characteristics (relationship to PWA, gender, race/ethnicity, income, sexual orientation, HIV status, perceived susceptibility), and level of objective caregiving demands, on subjective caregiver burden. Results indicate that the largest group of caregivers in this age category are male friends of the PWA—a group not typically found among caregivers to persons with other types of illnesses. In general, gay or bisexual caregivers, caregivers who have traditional family ties to the PWA, men relative to women, and lower income caregivers, report the greatest burden. While level of caregiving demands represents the most influential predictor of caregiver burden, white and male caregivers experience greater burden, independent of level of involvement and other caregiver characteristics. Receiving instrumental support with caregiving buffers the impact of high objective demands on subjective burden.     

Social Dominance Orientation, Hierarchy Attenuators and Hierarchy Enhancers: Social Dominance Theory and the Criminal Justice System

This study investigated differences in social dominance orientation between incumbents of different social roles (police officers vs. public defenders) and ethnic groups known to differ in general social status (i.e., whites vs. blacks and Hispanics). Consistent with theoretical expectations: (a) Police were significantly more social-dominance oriented than either jurors or public defenders. (b) Public defenders tended to be less social-dominance oriented than jurors. (c) Euro-Americans were significantly more social dominance oriented than Afro- and Hispanic-Americans, (d) Euro-American police officers had, by far, the highest levels of social dominance orientation. Furthermore, all of the effects above held even when controlling for demographic factors such as gender, social class, age, education, and ethnic group. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Individual differences and cheating behavior: Guilt and cheating in competitive situations

To examine whether guilt would inhibit immoral behavior, subjects were differentiated on their feelings of anticipatory (AG) and posttransgressional (PTG) guilt and subsequently placed in an anagram task shown to induce a high level of cheating. Results indicated that neither pre- nor post-test AG was related to cheating behavior, and test-retest administration indicated that the AG scale was unreliable. The PTG scale, however, was found to be a temporally reliable measure of guilt. In order to assess the relative contributions of pre-test posttransgressional guilt, the ability to persist, and gender to cheating behavior, a saturated multiple regression model of centered predictor effects and interaction terms was constructed. Results revealed a significant gender × persistence interaction. The cheating behavior of males was not significantly influenced by the ability to persist. On the other hand, females who exhibited a strong ability to persist rarely cheated, while those who were unable to persist cheated a great deal. Finally, subjects who felt the most posttransgressional guilt cheated more frequently. These findings provide additional evidence that guilt may be positively related to cheating behavior.     

Counselling in general practice: Issues and opportunities

The results are reported of a survey of GP counsellors and primary health care teams concerning the role and contribution of counsellors in primary care. Most of the literature argues the value of this service, which has been growing very quickly. This survey identified the principal tasks of GP counsellors, their relationship with the host team, and some of the organisational and professional dilemmas which need to be addressed. A great deal of variation wasfound in ail of these areas, which suggests the value of a protocol for GP counselling to establish minimum standards and promote best practice.     

Art in existential psychotherapy with couples and families

The authors describe and outline how art can be used in existential psychotherapy to help a couple or family uncover, discover, and make use of the meanings and meaning potentials to be found in marital and family life. In existential psychotherapy with couples and families, art can be used to help the members of the relationship notice meaning potentials in the future, honor meaning potentials that have been actualized and deposited in the past, and discover new ways to actualize meaning potentials in the here and now.     

Consciousness: A neurobiological approach

Consciousness and the disorders of consciousness can be more fully understood once they are integrated with the neurobiology of mental events. After a review of animal and human research, we found several anatomical structures in the central nervous system are required for consciousness. Identification of the critical structures, however, depends on what is meant by consciousness. In the general sense of mental responsivity, the reticular activating system must be intact. Consciousness has also been defined as the awareness of the sights, sounds, and feelings of everyday experience. In this sense, the system of sensory inputs and outputs of the anterior temporal cortex, amygdala, and the hippocampus must be functional. There is no neural evidence for “higher” consciousness.