The Koala Fear Questionnaire: a standardized self-report scale for assessing fears and fearfulness in pre-school and primary school children

The Koala Fear Questionnaire (KFQ) is a standardized self-report scale for assessing fears and fearfulness in children aged between 4 and 12 years. The current article presents six studies which examined the reliability and validity of the KFQ. Study 1 (N=108) demonstrated that the visual fear scales of Koala bears as employed in the KFQ are highly comparable to the standard 3-point scales that are used in other childhood fear measures. Study 2 (N=163) provided support for the convergent validity of the KFQ in a sample of 8- to 14-year-old children. That is, the scale correlated substantially with alternative measures of childhood fear and anxiety. Study 3 (N=189) showed that the KFQ possesses good internal consistency and test-retest stability in a group of 8- to 11-year-old children. The results of Studies 4 (N=129) and 5 (N=176) indicated that the KFQ is suitable for children aged 4 to 6 years and demonstrated that the psychometric properties of the scale in younger children are highly similar to those obtained in older children. Study 6 (N=926) showed that the factor structure of the KFQ was theoretically meaningful: although the data clearly pointed in the direction of one factor of general fearfulness, spurs of the commonly found five-factor solution of childhood fear were found in the KFQ. Altogether, the KFQ seems to be a valuable addition to the instrumentarium of clinicians and researchers who are working with fearful and anxious children.     

A dialogue of unconsciouses. A contribution to the panel 'Jung and Ferenczi--the emergent conversation'

I want to explore the notion of 'mutual introjection, the developmental essence of an autobiographical dialogue', an idea that has recently crystallized in the continuing collaborative work of Gershon J. Molad of Israel and myself concerning the autobiographical contribution to the dialogue between analysis (Molad & Vida 2002). One of the sources of this crystallization is the experience of my consultative relationship with a Jungian colleague, who, after reading some of this collaborative work, paraphrased Jung's implication that if, in the course of treatment, the doctor is not as transformed as the patient, nothing has happened (1946). In this paper, I want to breathe some life into these theoretical-sounding words: 'mutual introjection, the developmental essence of an autobiographical dialogue'.     

Maternal correlates of toddler insecure and dependent behavior

The present study was designed to examine the relationship between characteristics of mothers and their toddler's insecure and dependent behavior. The authors studied 254 2-year-old toddlers and their mothers via a structured questionnaire administered to the mothers in their homes. The extent to which insecure and dependent behavior is related to the domains of maternal child rearing, maternal personality traits, parental marital relations, and maternal drug use was assessed. Using Pearson correlations and hierarchical multiple regression analyses, the authors found that the maternal child-rearing and maternal personality domains have a direct effect on the toddlers' insecure and dependent behavior. The maternal child-rearing domain also served as a mediator for the domains of the maternal personality attributes, parents' marital relations, and maternal drug use. There also was evidence suggesting an indirect effect of maternal personality attributes on the toddlers' insecure and dependent behavior, which is mediated by the domain of maternal child-rearing practices. Implications for the prevention of insecure and dependent behavior in toddlers are discussed.     

Happy affect and smiling: is their relation moderated by interpersonal power?

Three studies examined the hypothesis that the relation between self-rated happy affect and overall smiling during dyadic interactions is moderated by one's relative power. In all 3 studies, interpersonal power was experimentally manipulated, and smiling and self-reported happy affect were measured during and after the interaction, respectively. Happy affect was positively correlated with overall smiling for both low-power and high-power participants. Moreover, the correlations for both low- and high-power participants were comparable to those found when power roles were not unequal or made salient, based on analysis of the present studies as well as comparison with the previously published literature. Happy affect and overall smiling had a positive relation that was not moderated by interpersonal power.     

Embodiment: An Introduction

Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics -     

An investigation of psychopathology in nonreferred suicidal and nonsuicidal adolescents

This investigation examined self-reported psychopathology in a school-based sample of 456 suicidal and nonsuicidal adolescents. The sample consisted of four groups: three at-risk for suicidal behavior based on current suicidal ideation as assessed by the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire (SIQ; Reynolds, 1988), past suicide attempts, or both; and one nonsuicidal comparison group. Psychopathology was examined using ten scales from the Adolescent Psychopathology Scale (APS; Reynolds, 1998a) including: Major Depression, Conduct Disorder, Substance Abuse, Schizophrenia, Adjustment Disorder, Anorexia Nervosa, Borderline Personality Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder, Schizotypal Personality Disorder, and Avoidant Personality Disorder. Analyses were conducted separately for males and females using a MANOVA design that examined psychopathology severity among the four groups. Adolescents who engaged in past or current suicidal behavior had higher psychopathology severity scores compared to their nonsuicidal peers. Males with current suicidal thoughts who had attempted suicide had the highest levels of psychopathology severity compared to males in the other three groups. Females with a past suicide attempt or current suicidal ideation had higher psychopathology severity scores compared to nonsuicidal females. Results show greater psychopathology in school-based adolescents who have engaged in past and/or current suicidal behavior. The need for clinicians and mental health professionals working with at-risk youth to focus on concurrent psychopathology along with suicidal behavior is discussed.     

Can the Media Create Public Opinion? A Social-Identity Approach

The media remains a powerful presence in U.S. culture. It gives people news of world and local events, it entertains, and it may even function as a companion to children. Because it functions as a window to the outside world, what appears across its landscape actually may become people's reality. Thus, the potential for distorting their view of that world is high if the picture provided is unrepresentative of actual events. For example, the prevalence of violent acts on television has been linked to increased aggression and escalating impressions of a dangerous world, and the overrepresentation of youth and beauty may be a causal factor of eating disorders. In this article, we explore the possibility that the media may also serve as a powerful creator of the very public opinions it seeks to reflect in its news. Subtle nonverbal cues of newscasters have been shown to influence voting behavior, and the media's overrepresentation of the proportion of blacks in poverty may decrease whites' support of welfare. By portraying a world in which people's opinions are based on their ethnic or demographic group membership, the media may also subtly but powerfully create the very opinions they seek to reflect.     

Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics Index to Volume 20

Volume Contents

heoretical Medicine and Bioethics Index to Volume 20     

Images of God and the imaginary in the face of loss: a quantitative research on Vietnamese immigrants living in Canada

ABSTRACT

This study examines the relationships between images of God, the imaginary and experiences of loss among Vietnamese immigrants living in Canada. One hundred twenty-nine participants completed four sets of questionnaires: a demographic questionnaire, a Questionnaire on God Image, the Brief Symptom Inventory, the Davidson Trauma Scale. In the second phase, 32 participants were administered the AT.9 test (an archetypal test with nine elements). In this test, participants are asked to draw, using nine symbolic elements, and then write a story based on their drawing. Results showed that a positive perception of God negatively correlated with somatisation, anxiety and hostility, whereas negative God image was significantly related to high levels of emotional distress. Results also showed that the synthetic categories of the imaginary were associated with a positive perception of God; and were negatively associated with somatisation, intrusion and hyper-vigilance. Further discussions on the main findings will address cultural implications in the fields of Mental Health, Religion and Culture.