The Ego and the Yid,Revisited: Commentary on Daniel Gaztambide’s “A Preferential Option for the Repressed: Psychoanalysis Through the Eyes of Liberation Theology”

In this commentary on Daniel Gaztambide’s “A Preferential Option for the Repressed: Psychoanalysis Through the Eyes of Liberation Theology” we discuss the Ego and the Y(id) to emphasize the otherness of the unconscious. In the idiom of racial anti-Semitism, the Y(id) was the personification of the feminine, the infantile, the irrational, the perverse, the primitive, and of “Blackness.” Gaztambide rightly refers to psychoanalysis’s marginal and progressive origins and to the role of Freud’s own racial identity as a Jew in producing that marginality. However, we caution against Gaztambide’s metaphorical equation of psychoanalysis and prophecy, and contend that psychoanalysis is at its best when it occupies a position of thirdness, critiquing both from within and without.     

Dynamic and Static Balancing Ability of Preschool Children

Performance differences in dynamic and static balance ability of 150 preschool Ss aged 3,4, and 5 yr. were studied. Ss performed 4 balance-beam tasks and 2 balance-board tasks. An Age by Sex (3 × 2) factorial, design employing both univariate and multivariate ANOVA techniques were the statistics used. For both dynamic and static balance Age was highly significant, and the use of multivariate ANOVA indicated significant sex differences on the static balance tasks. The appropriateness of multivariate techniques where more than one dependent variable is measured on the same population was discussed, and the need to take into account the relationship between these variables when analyzing the data was noted.     

Psychometric Characteristics of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support

The initial study describing the development of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) indicated that it was a psychometrically sound instrument (Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet, & FarIey, 1988). The current study attempted to extend the initial findings by demonstrating the internal reliability, factorial validity, and subscale validity of the MSPSS using three different subject groups: (a) 265 pregnant women, (b) 74 adolescents living in Europe with their families, and (c) 55 pediatric residents. The MSPSS was found to have good internal reliability across subject groups. In addition, strong factorial validity was demonstrated, confirming the three-subscale structure of the MSPSS: Family, Friends, and Significant Other. Finally, strong support was also found for the validity of the Family and Significant Other subscales.     

Multicultural Personality Questionnaire: Development of a Short Form

This study reports on the development of the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire–Short Form among 511 participants. Using a split-sample scale validation design, Study 1 (N = 260) employed a principal component analysis and rigorous item selection criteria to extract a 40-item short form (MPQ–SF) from the original 91-item Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ; van der Zee & van Oudenhoven, 2000, 2001). In Study 2 (N = 251), the MPQ–SF was subjected to confirmatory factor analysis and resulted in a reasonably good fit to the data (comparative fit index = .94; root mean squared error of approximation = .066). Satisfactory coefficient alphas and high correlations with the original scales were found. Moreover, relationships with related scales were largely in the predicted direction. Specific directions for follow-up research are posited.     

An Exploratory Study of HIV+ Adolescents’ Spirituality: Will You Pray with Me?

The aims of the study were (1) to determine whether adolescents find it acceptable to have physicians explore their spiritual beliefs as part of their medical care, (2) to characterize the role of spirituality and religious beliefs in adolescents with and without HIV, and (3) to examine associations between spirituality/religion and quality of life. Adolescents receiving their medical care at an urban Adolescent Health Clinic completed a study-specific questionnaire about spiritual inquiry by their physician, the Brief Multidimensional Measurement of Religiousness/Spirituality, and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0. Chi-squared analysis, Fischer’s exact test, and t tests were used to assess associations. A total of 45 participants enrolled: 19 HIV+ (53% vertical transmission) and 26 HIV?; mean age 17.2 years; 80% African American. Four out of 45 (9%) had ever been asked by their doctor about their spiritual/religious beliefs, and only 8 (18%) had ever shared these beliefs with their healthcare provider. Most teens wanted their provider to ask them about their spiritual beliefs during some visits, especially when dealing with death/dying or chronic illness (67%). Those with HIV were more likely to endorse wanting their doctors to pray with them (42% vs. 15%), feeling “God’s presence” (Mean = 3.95 vs. 2.83), being “part of a larger force” (Mean = 2.58 vs. 1.69), and feeling “God had abandoned them” (Mean = 1.63 vs. 1.15). There are certain circumstances in which healthcare providers should include a spiritual history with teenage patients. Few differences emerged in the teens studied with and without HIV.     

The Presentation of Self-Harm Recovery: A Thematic Analysis of YouTube Videos

ABSTRACT

Little is known about how recovery from self-harm is understood by individuals with personal experience of self-harm. YouTube is an important online venue for posting and discussion of user-generated self-harm videos. Drawing on this material, this study explores how self-harm recovery is presented on YouTube. The 30 most highly-viewed videos about recovery from self-harm were thematically analysed. Three themes were identified: 1) a desire for change, 2) control over change, 3) implementing change. This study identifies multiple understandings of self-harm, which in turn shape individuals’ understandings of self-harm recovery. This has implications for self-harm advice or support.     

Predicting Dropout in a Filial Therapy Program for Parents and Young Children

The present study examined child and parent factors that predict dropout from a filial therapy program for mothers and children (ages 2–10). A total of 41 families who had participated in the program during a two-year period were included in this study. The variables mother's perceived social support from family and friends, mother's communication of acceptance in play with her child, mother age, and child age were shown to be predictive of the number of sessions attended. Implications for improving program retention are discussed.     

A comparison of obese and normal-weight families' sychological characteristics

Abstract

The present study assessed obese and normal-weight family members' perceptions of their nuclear family's social and environmental characteristics. Preliminary results support previous correlational and case studies that suggest obese families are dysfunctional. Results from the Family Environment Scale indicate that obese families perceive their family characteristics differently compared to normal-weight families or to a representative sample of families. Specifically, obese families perceive their homes as less cohesive, more conflictual, less interested in social and cultural activities, and less organized compared to normal-weight families. Obese parents also perceive themselves as more controlling and their families as less independent compared to nonobese parents.     

Perceptual asymmetry and youths’ responses to stress: Understanding vulnerability to depression

This research examined the hypothesis that reduced posterior right hemisphere activity interferes with the regulation of emotions and behaviour in response to stress, creating vulnerability to depression. Consistent with a diathesis–stress model, we predicted that youths with a reduced posterior right hemisphere bias in emotional processing would engage in less adaptive responses to stress, which would be associated with depressive symptoms in those who reported the recent experience of high, but not low, levels of stress. Participants were 510 4th through 8th graders who completed the Chimeric Faces Task and measures of responses to stress and depressive symptoms. Results supported the idea that responses to stress account for the association between reduced posterior right hemisphere activity and depressive symptoms in youths who report high, but not low, levels of stress. This study provides insight into one process through which reduced posterior right hemisphere activity may confer vulnerability to depressive symptoms, and implicates responses to stress as a target for intervention.