Children of Incarcerated Mothers

We review the literature on children whose mothers are incarcerated in jails or prisons. These children typically experience a great many risk factors besides their mothers' incarceration, including poverty, drug and alcohol problems in their families, community violence, and multiple changes in caregivers. Children's lives are greatly disrupted when mothers are arrested, and most children show emotional and behavioral problems. The impact this has depends on the age of the child, the alternate caregiving arrangements, and the course of the mother's incarceration. Children of incarcerated mothers experience internalizing (fear, withdrawal, depression, emotional disturbance) and externalizing (anger, fighting, stealing, substance abuse) problems, as well as heightened rates of school failure and eventual criminal activity and incarceration. Research in this area is scarce and often of poor quality. A research agenda which is guided by a transactional, ecological, and developmental model, and which examines children's well-being over the course of the mothers' incarceration is suggested.     

Support groups for persons experiencing divorce in later life

Middle-aged and older couples are divorcing at increasing rates, and statistics indicate this trend will continue. Separating or divorcing people over 50 are similar to but different from younger separating or divorcing people. This article describes one model for addressing the mental health needs of this older population. A group format was used with 66 people who were divorced after 19 or more years of marriage. Recruitment of participants, organization, group process, outcome, problems, and successes of this model are offered as a method for mental health professionals to consider.     

On the connection between sickness and sin: a commentary.

In response to the articles by Eibach and Groenhut in this issue, I argue that there is a general connection between sickness and the entrance of sin into the world. There are times when there is a causal link between more specific sin and sickness, though often the patient is the one who has been sinned against. Illness can also expose sin in a patient's life. Integrating the reality of illness into the life history of a patient is a significant pastoral care issue and can be done with humility and sensitivity if done in accordance with the teaching of Job and Ecclesiastes. These books argue that "under the sun" or this side of eternity, human beings can't grasp the coherence of life, including the "why" of illness. Rather, God provides His loving presence, through His people as a comfort to those suffering from illness.     

The role of causal attributions in competitive situations

Previous data have shown that successful women are judged to have masculine characteristics [J. A. Doyle (1989), The Male Experience(2nd ed.), Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown; D. L. Gill (1986), Psychological Dynamics of Sport,Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; D. J. Murphy (1988), “Sport and Gender,” in W. M. Leonard II (Ed.), A Sociological Perspective of Sport(3rd ed.), New York: Macmillan; P. Willis (1994), “Women in Sport in Ideology,” in S. Birrell and C. L. Cole (Eds.), Women, Sport, and Culture,Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics]. Two experiments were conducted to test two different explanations for this effect, the appraisal and attribution hypotheses. In Experiment 1, male participants who lost to a female confederate on a masculine-relevant task rated her as having more masculine and fewer feminine characteristics than when the task was described as feminine-relevant. However, heart rate and blood pressure data failed to support the appraisal hypothesis that these reactions were due to the stress of losing to the female, or defensiveness. The alternative hypothesis that these ratings were due to standard attributional processes was more consistent with the data. Consequently, this hypothesis was tested in Experiment 2 using an attributional paradigm. Consistent with Experiment 1, the attribution hypothesis fared better than did the appraisal hypothesis.     

The Presence of Psychiatric Disorders in HIV-Infected Women

Many women of low socioeconomic status who have contracted HIV qualify for individual, dual, and multiple psychiatric diagnoses that predate their knowledge of their HIV infection. Two case studies of HIV-infected women are presented. Psychoactive substance use disorders are the most common Axis I diagnoses, followed by depression. The most frequently diagnosed Axis II disorders are borderline and antisocial personality disorders. These women reported histories that often included alcohol and other drug use, childhood sexual abuse, violent interpersonal relationships, depression, and learning disabilities. Earlier intervention addressing these problems might have prevented the onset of psychiatric disorders as well as high-risk behaviors that lead to HIV infection.     

Active and passive distraction using a head-mounted display helmet: effects on cold pressor pain in children.

OBJECTIVE: The current study tested the effectiveness of interactive versus passive distraction that was delivered via a virtual reality type head-mounted display helmet for children experiencing cold pressor pain. DESIGN: Forty children, aged 5 to 13 years, underwent 1 or 2 baseline cold pressor trials followed by interactive distraction and passive distraction trials in counterbalanced order. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Pain threshold and pain tolerance. RESULTS: Children who experienced either passive or interactive distraction demonstrated significant improvements in both pain tolerance and pain threshold relative to their baseline scores. In contrast, children who underwent a second cold pressor trial without distraction showed no significant improvements in pain tolerance or threshold. CONCLUSION: Although both distraction conditions were effective, the interactive distraction condition was significantly more effective. Implications for the treatment of children's distress during painful medical procedures are discussed.     

The Life of Leaders: An Intensive Health Program for Clergy

Clergy suffer from chronic disease rates that are higher than those of non-clergy. Health interventions for clergy are needed, and some exist, although none to date have been described in the literature. Life of Leaders is a clergy health intervention designed with particular attention to the lifestyle and beliefs of United Methodist clergy, directed by Methodist LeBonheur Healthcare Center of Excellence in Faith and Health. It consists of a two-day retreat of a comprehensive executive physical and leadership development process. Its guiding principles include a focus on personal assets, multi-disciplinary, integrated care, and an emphasis on the contexts of ministry for the poor and community leadership. Consistent with calls to intervene on clergy health across multiple ecological levels, Life of Leaders intervenes at the individual and interpersonal levels, with potential for congregational and religious denominational change. Persons wishing to improve the health of clergy may wish to implement Life of Leaders or borrow from its guiding principles.     

Purity, Privacy and Procreation: Constructions and Experiences of Sexual and Reproductive Health in Assyrian and Karen Women Living in Australia

It is widely recognised that sexual and reproductive health services are underutilised by culturally and linguistically diverse migrant communities, leading to risk of poor health outcomes. This study examined the constructions and experiences of reproductive and sexual health, and associated services, in Assyrian and Karen women who had arrived in Australia as refugees. Forty two women, across a range of age groups and marital status, participated in five focus groups, with thematic analysis and positioning theory used to analyse the results. Two major themes were identified. The first, the ??Premarital Chastity Imperative?? centres on the cultural prohibition of coital hetero-sex before marriage, and taboos associated with same-sex relationships. This has implications for unmarried women??s access to sexual health services, such as contraception, cervical screening, and abortion; prohibition of sex education and communication about sex; and lack of recognition of non-heterosexual identities. The second theme, ??Marital Sex and Reproductive Imperative??, positioned coital sex and motherhood as mandatory within marriage, and was associated with women??s inability to refuse marital sex, limited knowledge about contraception and sexual pain, acceptance of fertility services, as well as lack of recognition of post-natal depression. It is concluded that health care workers need to be aware of cultural constructions of sex and sexuality, as well as the construction of gendered roles within heterosexual relationships, when designing and offering sexual health services to non English speaking or migrant communities.     

Feasibility and Acceptability of Technology-supported Sexual Health Education Among Adolescents Receiving Inpatient Psychiatric Care

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Mental illness in adolescence is associated with high-risk sexual behaviors including multiple sex partners, infrequent or inconsistent condom use, and nonuse...     

The Relationship between Mindfulness and Subjective Well-Being: Examining the Indirect Effects of Self-Connection and Meaning in Life

Over the past decade, support for the relationship between mindfulness and happiness has increased dramatically. The consensus is that people who are mindful also experience greater happiness. However, little is still known about how and why greater mindfulness leads one to be happier. The current research calls on recent theorizing to help understand the process by which this occurs. In particular, we studied the indirect effects of both self-connection and meaning in life on the relationship between mindfulness and subjective well-being. To this end, we compiled data collected in our lab over the past 3 years. A total of 2,929 participants provided cross-sectional data while 465 participated in longitudinal studies. Across both samples, the data supported our proposed model. Self-connection and meaning in life combined to mediate the relationship between mindfulness and the various aspects of subjective well-being. In all, it is clear that, although mindfulness is important, self-connection and meaning in life play key roles in one’s subjective well-being. This suggests that more research and interventions should focus on ways to increase self-connection and meaning in life as ways to help people experience greater happiness.