Multiple factors of cognitive failure and their relationships with stress vulnerability

Use of the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) in clinical research assumes that the questionnaire measures a single factor. A factor analysis of the CFQ was performed, on a sample of 475 students, using accurate procedures for determining the number of factors. These procedures gave mutually inconsistent results: at least two alternative factor structures can be extracted from the CFQ. An interpretable seven factor solution was found, but the CFQ probably has insufficient items to measure more than two strongly defined factors. The capacity of CFQ multiple factors to predict measures related to stress vulnerability was tested in a further study (N=57). Correlations between CFQ total score and neuroticism and use of coping strategies appeared to depend mainly on a single CFQ multiple factor, related to failures of concentration. Some of the other CFQ factors predicted other criteria. Further research on multiple factors of cognitive failure might improve the validity of the CFQ as a predictor of stress vulnerability and of cognitive performance.     

Transformative Treatments

Contemporary social‐scientific research seeks to identify specific causal mechanisms for outcomes of theoretical interest. Experiments that randomize populations to treatment and control conditions are the “gold standard” for causal inference. We identify, describe, and analyze the problem posed by transformative treatments. Such treatments radically change treated individuals in a way that creates a mismatch in populations, but this mismatch is not empirically detectable at the level of counterfactual dependence. In such cases, the identification of causal pathways is underdetermined in a previously unrecognized way. Moreover, if the treatment is indeed transformative it breaks the inferential structure of the experimental design. Transformative treatments are not curiosities or “corner cases,” but are plausible mechanisms in a large class of events of theoretical interest, particularly ones where deliberate randomization is impractical and quasi‐experimental designs are sought instead. They cast long‐running debates about treatment and selection effects in a new light, and raise new methodological challenges.     

Psychostimulant treatment of stroke and brain injury

Psychopharmacology is rapidly becoming an adjuvant treatment to traditional rehabilitation strategies for patients with stroke or brain injury because it helps to facilitate recovery in a time-efficient manner. Norepinephrine, dopamine, acetylcholine, and serotonin appear to play important roles in recovery from stroke or brain injury. Animal models have shown that blockade of these neurotransmitters inhibits recovery, whereas recovery is promoted by drugs that promote norepinephrine, dopamine, acetylcholine, and serotonin activity. Preliminary evidence from human trials supports these findings. Further study is needed, but expanded use of pharmacologic agents for stroke and brain-injured patients appears imminent.     

Adolescents' explanations for political issues: concordance with their views of self and society.

The relationships between adolescents' explanations for unemployment, poverty, and homelessness and their beliefs about opportunity, reports of family values, and personal aspirations were tested for 434 teenagers (mean age = 16 years 4 months). Explanations were coded for references to individual causes, societal causes, or both. Higher maternal education and average household income in the adolescent's school district were positively related to the likelihood of attributing all three problems to societal causes. When explaining unemployment, older adolescents noted both causes, and boys mentioned individual factors whereas girls mentioned societal factors. After adjustment for background factors, those endorsing individual causes were more likely to believe that all Americans enjoyed equal opportunity and that government support encouraged dependency, and they were more committed to materialist goals. In contrast, youth endorsing societal or situational causes had more altruistic life goals and reported that compassion was emphasized in their families.     

Book reviews

The Rise of Christianity: A Sociologist Reconsiders History. Rodney Stark, 1996 Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press xiv + 247 pp., US$24.95, £16.95 ISBN 0–691–02749–8

Church Watch: Christianity in the Countryside. Leslie J. Francis, 1996 London: SPCK 248 pp., £9.99 ISBN 0–281–04951–3

Strategic Church Leadership. Robin Gill & Derek Burke, 1996 London: SPCK vii + 96 pp., £9.99 ISBN 0–281–04901–7

’Nice When They Are Young’: Contemporary Christianity in Families and Schools. Mairi Levitt, 1996 Aldershot: Avebury viii +171 pp., £32.50 ISBN 1–85972–388–8

Die Sekten‐Kinder. Kurt‐Helmuth Eimuth, 1996 Freiburg: Herder Verlag 239 pp., DM 19.80 (pb) ISBN 3–451–04397–1

The Good Heart: His Holiness the Dalai Lama Explores the Heart of Christianity—and of Humanity. H.H. The Dalai Lama, 1997. London: Rider xiv + 207pp., £9.99 (pb) ISBN 0–7126–7275–3

Scientists as Theologians: A Comparison of the Writings of Ian Barbour, Arthur Peacocke & John Polkinghome. John Polkinghorne, 1996 London: SPCK 95 pp., £9.99 ISBN 0–281–04945–9

Psychiatry and Religion: Context, Consensus and Controversies. Dinesh Bhugra, ed., 1996 London, New York: Routledge 236 pp., £50.00, US$65.00 ISBN 0–415–08955–7 (hb)

Ethical Issues in Six Religious Traditions. Peggy Morgan & Clive Lawton, eds, 1996 Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press 278 pp., £14.95 (pb) ISBN 0–7486–0709–9

Religious Institutions and Women's Leadership: New Roles Inside the Mainstream. Catherine Wessinger, ed., 1996 Columbia: University of South Carolina Press x +434 pp., US$24.95 ISBN 1–57003–073–1

Traveller in Space: In Search of Female Identity in Tibetan Buddhism. June Campbell, 1996 London: Athlone Press 225 pp., £17.95 ISBN 0–485–11494–1

Forbidden Revolutions: Pentecostalism in Latin America, Catholicism in Eastern Europe. David Martin, 1996 London: SPCK 96 pp., £7.99 ISBN 0–281–04999–8

The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Soviet State (1939–1950) Bohdan R. Bociurkiw, 1996 Edmonton, Toronto: Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Press 310 pp., Ca$39.95(hb) ISBN 1–895571–12‐X

Qur'an, Liberation & Pluralism: An Islamic Perspective of Interreligious Solidarity against Oppression. Farid Esack, 1997 Oxford: Oneworld Publications xii + 288 pp., 3 Appendices + Glossary + Bibliography; £14.99, US$22.95 ISBN 1–85168–121–3

A Sociological Analysis of the Theology of Quakers: The Silent Revolution Studies in Religion and Society Volume 34 Pink Dandelion, 1996 Lampeter: Edwin Mellen Press xxxiv +417 pp., £59.95 ISBN 0–7734–8807–3

Counting the Days to Armageddon: The Jehovah's Witnesses and The Second Presence of Christ Robert Crompton, 1996 Cambridge: James Clarke & Co. 160 pp., £22.50 ISBN 0–2276–7939

Magical Religion and Modern Witchcraft. James R. Lewis, ed., 1996 Albany, NY: State of New York University Press vi + 423 pp., US$19.95 (pb) ISBN 0–7914–2890–7

The Divine Versus The Asurian: An Interpretation of Indo‐European Cult and Myth. Michael York, 1995 Bethesda, MD: International Scholars Publications 635 pp., US$94.95 ISBN 1–57309–029–8     

The factorial structure of sleep dissatisfaction

Research into sleep problems has been dominated by a number of theoretical perspectives from each of which useful treatment applications have been derived. However, the rich diversity of problems that are subsumed under insomnia or sleep disturbance often remain unappreciated. This paper reports the results of a factor analysis performed on the combined items of two questionnaires designed to assess sleep disturbance. Six factors are described, two of which relate to cognitive aspects of sleep disturbance; two which map onto sleep onset and sleep maintenance problems; and two which are drawn from dissatisfaction with poor sleep. Correlations of factor scores with measures of neuroticism, worry and various sleep history variables provide a strong level of construct validity. The results are discussed in terms of their treatment implications.     

Interculturalism: A new diversity ideology with interrelated components of dialogue,unity, and identity flexibility

Increased cultural diversity has led to considerable debate on how to best promote intergroup harmony within pluralistic nations. In the current research, we consider the nature of interculturalism, a new diversity ideology extensively discussed by political philosophers and policy-makers in Europe and beyond. Interculturalism consists of three interrelated components of dialogue, unity, and identity flexibility. Using data (N = 2,364) from three national surveys in two ethnically diverse nations (Netherlands and USA), we test a new measure of interculturalism and establish its independence from multiculturalism and assimilation. We then demonstrate that interculturalism predicts positive intergroup outcomes, over and above multiculturalism, and is in a theoretically meaningful way related to various criterion measures. Collectively, these studies establish the uniqueness of interculturalism from multiculturalism and demonstrate its promise for improving intergroup relations in culturally diverse nations.