Blurring boundaries and advancing interreligious understanding by engaging textual ‘others’ in a women’s interfaith book group

This article casts analytical light on how Jewish, Christian and Muslim women develop understanding of religious identities by engaging with multidimensional textual ‘others’ in the Daughters of Abraham interfaith book groups. It focuses on a group discussion of a rabbi’s memoir about her religious journey. Drawing on ethnographic material and Talal Asad’s analysis of the relationship between text and reader, I examine how narratives outside primary religious texts influence ideas about Jewish, Christian and Muslim identities. I argue that the Daughters members’ appropriation of literary voices advances their engagement with religious diversity by developing understanding of religious self and others. Moreover, members’ navigation of inter- and intra-religious relations during discussions of texts blur boundaries for inclusion into this interfaith encounter. This examination raises questions about issues of identity, power dynamics and interfaith relations. Importantly, it provides novel insight into the understudied areas of women’s interreligious encounter and shared reading practices.     

Improving Treatment Response for Paediatric Anxiety Disorders: An Information-Processing Perspective

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is considered the treatment of choice for paediatric anxiety disorders, yet there remains substantial room for improvement in treatment outcomes. This paper examines whether theory and research into the role of information-processing in the underlying psychopathology of paediatric anxiety disorders indicate possibilities for improving treatment response. Using a critical review of recent theoretical, empirical and academic literature, the paper examines the role of information-processing biases in paediatric anxiety disorders, the extent to which CBT targets information-processing biases, and possibilities for improving treatment response. The literature reviewed indicates a role for attentional and interpretational biases in anxious psychopathology. While there is theoretical grounding and limited empirical evidence to indicate that CBT ameliorates interpretational biases, evidence regarding the effects of CBT on attentional biases is mixed. Novel treatment methods including attention bias modification training, attention feedback awareness and control training, and mindfulness-based therapy may hold potential in targeting attentional biases, and thereby in improving treatment response. The integration of novel interventions into an existing evidence-based protocol is a complex issue and faces important challenges with regard to determining the optimal treatment package. Novel interventions targeting information-processing biases may hold potential in improving response to CBT for paediatric anxiety disorders. Many important questions remain to be answered.     

Measuring grief: A short version of the perinatal grief scale

Despite a considerable number of studies, there are two major drawbacks in the literature on grief and bereavement. One is a lack of adequate and generally agreed upon measures for assessing grief. The second is a lack of ability to predict from existing measures the likelihood of what has been termed chronic or pathological grief reactions. This paper reports the results of the development of a bereavement measure for the study of perinatal loss which attempts to address these gaps. The measure is specific to a pregnancy-related loss, although it has the potential for adaptation to use for other types of loss. Analysis of responses from 138 women has resulted in the reduction of the original measure from 104 to a more manageable and almost equally comprehensive and reliable 33 items. In addition, a factor analysis has produced three factors, two of which indicate the possibility for longer-term and more severe grief reactions. Because of its sound psychometric qualities and interesting factor structure, the measure shows promise of being useful for both research and clinical purposes.This research was funded by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Grant R01 H18431-04, with additional assistance from the Center for Social Research at Lehigh University. Dr. Potvin is supported by the Quebec Health Research Fund.     

Two adolescents at risk for schizophrenia: A family case study

This is a study of the complex factors that contributed to the development of adolescent psychoses in two stepbrothers, ages 12 and 15. The identified patient, the younger boy, was in what appeared to be a reversible stage of early adolescent psychosis and his 15 year old newly acquired stepbrother in a nonreversible stage. Each boy was a mentally gifted, neurologically handicapped adolescent who was inextricably vulnerable on the basis of his neurodevelopmental sensitivity to specific immobilizing parental fears and conflicts. Their inherent problems set them apart from their intact teenage sisters and affected the nature and quality of their total life experience. Those working with psychotic children and their families must bear these relationships in mind for optimal strategic intervention and change. In the management of psychotic adolescents and their families, the individual and family therapist could work to everyone's disadvantage if these important neurodevelopmental difficulties are not considered.This study was supported in part by the Maternal and Child Health Services Training and Study Project No. 144, Department of Health, Education and Welfare.     

Increased wait-list time predicts dropout from outpatient enhanced cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT-E) for eating disorders

Between 30 and 70% of patients with eating disorders drop out from outpatient treatment. However, research has been unable to identify factors that consistently predict dropout from eating disorder treatment. Most studies have exclusively investigated the role that individual patient characteristics play in dropout and have ignored more process-based factors such as expectations about treatment, the therapeutic alliance, or time spent on a treatment waiting list. This study aimed to investigate the roles of both individual patient characteristics and process-based factors in dropout from outpatient treatment for eating disorders. The study involved data collected from consecutive eating disorder referrals to the only public specialist eating disorder service for youth and adults in Perth, Western Australia. The standard treatment provided at this service is Enhanced Cognitive Behaviour Therapy on an individual basis. The study involved 189 patients referred to the service between 2005 and 2010. Forty five percent of this sample dropped out of treatment. Results showed that, in this sample, two individual factors, lowest reported weight and the tendency to avoid affect, and one process-based factor, time spent on the wait list for treatment, were significant predictors of dropout. These findings are valuable because a process-based factor, such as wait-list time, may be easier to address and modify than a patient's weight history or the trait of mood intolerance. Increased resources for eating disorder services may reduce waiting list times which would help to reduce dropout and maximize treatment outcomes.     

Assessing the prevalence of mental health disorders and mental health needs among preschool children in care in England

Although school‐aged children living in foster care have been identified as a high‐risk group for mental health and developmental disorders, there is a paucity of data relating to preschool children in care (CIC). This study aimed to identify the prevalence of mental health and developmental disorders along with corresponding need for interventions in preschool CIC. All CIC aged 0 to 5 years in an inner city local authority underwent comprehensive, multifaceted assessments consisting of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (J. Squires, D. Bricker, & E. Twombly, 2003), interviews with caregivers based on the Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment (H.L. Egger & A. Angold, 2006), Mullen Scales of Early Learning (E.M. Mullen, 1995 ), and systematic clinical observation. Of 58 eligible preschoolers, 43 completed the assessment. At least one mental health disorder was found in 26 (60.5%) participants, and at least one developmental disorder was found in 11 (25.6%). When mental health and/or developmental disorders were considered together, 30 (69.8%) preschoolers fulfilled criteria for at least one diagnosis, and 18 (41.9%) had two or more comorbid conditions. Whereas 36 (83.7%) of the preschoolers needed an intervention, only 3 of these had received adequate input. In conclusion, preschool CIC constitute a high‐risk group for mental health and developmental disorders. Without age‐appropriate assessments, their needs go undetected, and opportunities for early intervention are being missed.