Child abuse and neglect reporting laws: Understanding interests,understanding policy

This article focuses on the interests of the persons involved in the child abuse and neglect reporting process—(1) the child, the accused, and the family members of the child and of the accused; (2) physicians, psychologists, therapists, private agency and hospital social workers, educators, and other professionals; (3) law enforcement officers, state social service workers, lawyers, and judges; and (4) legislators. With this focus, the article illuminates the rationales and explicit and implicit policy choices reflected in the legislation's reporting requirements and processes. Such insight is necessary to a critical review of existing legislation and future improvements in the practical operation of reporting law legislation. This article demonstrates that the interaction of these interests is complex and often creates competing concerns and goals. This article concludes that efforts should be made to better harmonize these interests in future legislation.     

Models of family functioning and their contribution to patient outcomes in chronic pain

This paper analyzes the relationship between family functioning and chronic pain, and evaluates a model which integrates the role of family variables with the pain-coping process in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and fibromyalgia (FM). Family variables, assessed by subscales of the Family Environment Scale (FES), and different components of the pain-coping process varied significantly in their contribution to pain, psychological functioning, and disability in these two chronic pain disorders. High system maintenance control and low independence contributed significantly to pain in RA and FM, respectively, while low family cohesiveness contributed to psychological disturbances in FM subjects. Lack of promotion of activity and recreation in the family was associated with greater disability in both groups. In addition to family variables, helplessness proved to be a potent predictor of pain and psychological functioning in both groups, and disability in FM subjects. Pain-coping had its predominant influence on pain. As an exploratory test of the model, the data confirm the importance of examining this integrated framework in longitudinal, prospective studies, and its potential utility in clinical assessment and intervention.This research was supported by a Multipurpose Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases Center grant AR40770 from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases at the University of California, San Diego. Portions of this paper were presented at the convention of the American Psychological Association, August 1992, in Washington, DC, and at the meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, March 1993, in San Francisco.The authors gratefully acknowledge Teresa A. Krall, M.A., and Karen Schoenfeld-Smith, M.A. for their valuable assistance in statistical analysis for this article.     

Journal Reviews

A ffield -N iemeyer , P. (Berlin). 'Laughter and its shadow: archetypal symbols and their history, exemplified by a discussion of the recognition of the Gestalt in the human face, in smiling, laughing, and the fear of being thought ridiculous'. Analytische Psychologic
E rlenmeyer , A. (Berlin). 'Die Funktion des Religiösen und der Über–Ich–Begriff in C. G. Jungs Theoriebildung. Historische und klinische Aspekte (The function of religion and the concept of the super-ego in the formation of C. G. Jung's theories. Historical and clinical aspects)'. Analytische Psychologic
McG lashan , A. R. (London). 'Symbolization and human development: The use of symbols in religion from the perspective of analytical psychology'. Journal of Religious Studies
O dajnyk , V. W alter (New York). 'Meditation and alchemy'. Psychological Perspectives
S amuels , A. (London). 'Gender and the borderline'. Chiron .
S amuels , A. (London). 'On fathering daughters'. Observer
S amuels , A. (London). 'Dimensioni simboliche dell'eros nella relazione transferale–controtransferale: impieghi clinici della metafora alchemica di Jung' (Symbolic dimensions of Eros in transference and countertransference: some clinical uses of Jung's alchemical metaphor). Analysis
S pringer , A. (Berlin). 'The return of the repressed in the mask of the victim'. Journal of Psychohistory
S auer , G. (Berlin). 'Lehrer traumen von Schule und Schulern (Teachers' dreams about school and pupils)'. Beiträge, Pädagogischer Arbeit
U rban , E. (London). 'Childhood and the child within: views of an analytical psychologist'. Journal of the British Association of Psychotherapists
V an E enwyk , J. R. (Evanston) 'Switching tracks in psychotherapy: parallel paradigms in psychology and religion'. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy     

Culture Wars and COVID-19 Conduct: Christian Nationalism,Religiosity, and Americans’ Behavior During the Coronavirus Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans’ behavioral responses were quickly politicized. Those on the left stressed precautionary behaviors, while those on the (religious) right were more likely to disregard recommended precautions. We propose the far right response was driven less by partisanship or religiosity per se, but rather by an ideology that connects disregard for scientific expertise; a conception of Americans as God's chosen and protected people; distrust for news media; and allegiance to Trump―Christian nationalism. Analyzing panel data collected in the thick of the COVID-19 crisis, we find Christian nationalism was the leading predictor that Americans engaged in incautious behavior like eating in restaurants, visiting family/friends, or gathering with 10+ persons (though not attending church), and was the second strongest predictor that Americans took fewer precautions like wearing a mask or sanitizing/washing one's hands. Religiosity, in contrast, was the leading predictor that Americans engaged in more frequent precautionary behaviors. Findings document that Christian nationalism, not religious commitment per se, undergirded the far-right response to COVID-19 that disregarded precautionary recommendations, thus potentially worsening the pandemic.     

Validation of continuous measures of peer social interaction with self- and teacher-reports of friendship and social engagement

ABSTRACT

The present study validates a new procedure that combines continuous measures of proximity (Ubisense) and vocalization (LENA) into measures of peer social interaction. The data were collected from 4 boys and 5 girls (ages 2–3 at the outset) on 8 separate days (3–4 hours per day) over the course of an academic year. Teacher reports of friendship were positively correlated with continuous measures of dyadic social interaction (i.e., the amount of time two children spent in proximity to one another, talking). Self-reports of reciprocated friendship were marginally correlated with continuous measures of dyadic social interaction, but only in the spring semester (when children were older and their reports of friendship more reliable). At the individual level, peer nominations of likeability, and teacher ratings of sociability and withdrawal were correlated with continuous measures of social interaction (i.e., the amount of time a child spent in proximity to other children, talking).     

Assessing the inhibitory account of retrieval-induced forgetting with implicit-memory tests

Five experiments examined whether retrieval-induced-forgetting effects are observed for implicit tests of memory. In each experiment participants first studied category-exemplar paired associates, then practiced retrieval for a subset of items from a subset of categories before finally completing memory tests for all the studied items. In standard fashion, inhibition was measured as the performance difference of unpracticed items from practiced categories and unpracticed items from unpracticed categories. Across the 5 experiments poorer performance for unpracticed items was seen in conceptual implicit memory (category generation and category matching) but not in perceptual implicit memory (stem completion, perceptual identification). Thus, retrieval-induced-forgetting effects are limited to tests of conceptual memory.     

Expressed emotion and attributions in the carers of patients with Alzheimer's disease: the effect on carer burden

Burden of care, expressed emotion (EE), causal attributions, and salivary cortisol were assessed in 100 carers of patients with Alzheimer's disease. Forty-one carers were rated high EE, which was associated with higher scores of carer distress and strain, and greater reports of noncognitive features in the patient, but not with cortisol levels. High EE carers made more attributions personal to, and controllable by, the patient for negative events. Critical carers made more attributions of the patient's behavior that was idiosyncratic. Warmth toward the patient was associated with the opposite of this pattern. Overinvolved carers made attributions of the patient's behavior to causes external to the patient and internal to themselves. Cortisol levels were associated with self-reports of strain and distress.     

A prework assessment of task preferences among adults with autism beginning a supported job

A prework paired-task assessment was evaluated for identifying work preferences among 3 adults with autism beginning a supported job. When the workers began the job, choices were provided between more and less preferred tasks (determined by previous assessment). Results supported the assessment for identifying single task preferences, but did not reveal preferences of 2 workers for alternate tasks. Results are discussed in terms of evaluating other prework assessments that may reveal task-alternation preferences.