Differential effects of social support and social network on physiological and social outcomes in men and women with type II diabetes mellitus

Patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) were advised to comply with a complex behavioral regimen of diet and exercise. The relationship between social support satisfaction and social support network size was evaluated using the Social Support Questionnaire for 32 men and 44 women with a confirmed diagnosis of NIDDM. Control of diabetes, as measured by the glycosylated hemoglobin assay, was significantly correlated with social support satisfaction for women but negatively correlated with social support satisfaction for men. Social support network size differentially predicted success in a program for men and women. For women, network size was significantly correlated with failure to attend sessions and with failure to complete a diary. For these women, network size was not significantly correlated with weight loss, which was the goal of the program. For men, network size was correlated with increases in weight, cholesterol, and triglycerides over an 18-month period. We conclude that social support network size and satisfaction have different functions for men and women faced with a serious chronic illness. Network size adversely affects success in a program, whereas social support satisfaction has some benefits for women. The direction of the influence of social network may be determined by the similarity or dissimilarity of network norms to the desired behavior.     

The problem with descriptive correctness

In the 1980s and early 1990s, the normativity of meaning was thought to be more-or-less ‘incontestable.’ But in the last 25 years, many philosophers of mind and language have contested it in several seemingly different ways. This, however, is somewhat illusory. There is an unappreciated commonality among most anti-normativist arguments, and this commonality, I argue, poses a problem for anti-normativism. The result, however, is not a wholesale rejection of anti-normativism. Rather, an insight from the anti-normativist position can be harnessed to reveal an unappreciated position in the normativity of meaning debate.     

Head and eye movements affect object processing in 4‐month‐old infants more than an artificial orientation cue

This study investigates the effects of attention‐guiding stimuli on 4‐month‐old infants' object processing. In the human head condition, infants saw a person turning her head and eye gaze towards or away from objects. When presented with the objects again, infants showed increased attention in terms of longer looking time measured by eye tracking and an increased Nc amplitude measured by event‐related potentials (ERP) for the previously uncued objects versus the cued objects. This suggests that the uncued objects were previously processed less effectively and appeared more novel to the infants. In a second condition, a car instead of a human head turned towards or away from objects. Eye‐tracking results did not reveal any significant difference in infants' looking time. ERPs indicated only a marginally significant effect in late slow‐wave activity associated with memory encoding for the uncued objects. We conclude that human head orientation and gaze direction affect infants' object‐directed attention, whereas movement and orientation of a car have only limited influence on infants' object processing.     

Patient Suicide: A Survey of Therapists' Reactions

A substantial proportion of therapists will at some point in their professional life experience the loss of a patient to suicide. Our aims were to assess how therapists react to patient's suicide over time and which factors contribute to the reaction. One third of the therapists, mostly women, suffer from severe distress. The impact is not different for therapists in institutional settings and therapists in private practice. The item “overall distress” immediately after the suicide predicts emotional reactions and changes in behavior. Our data suggest that identifying the severely distressed subgroup could be done using a visual analogue scale for overall distress. As a consequence, more specific and intensified help could be provided to these individuals.