Sources of Psychological Disturbance Among Siblings of Handicapped Children

Professionals who provide services to handicapped children and their parents often ignore the impact a chronically disabled child may have on normal siblings. This article explores the potential sources of sibling maladjustment.     

USING RANDOM RATHER THAN FIXED EFFECTS MODELS IN META-ANALYSIS: IMPLICATIONS FOR SITUATIONAL SPECIFICITY AND VALIDITY GENERALIZATION

Combining statistical information across studies (i.e., meta-analysis) is a standard research tool in applied psychology. The most common meta-analytic approach in applied psychology, the fixed effects approach, assumes that individual studies are homogeneous and are sampled from the same population. This model assumes that sampling error alone explains the majority of observed differences in study effect sizes and its use has lead some to challenge the notion of situational specificity in favor of validity generalization. We critique the fixed effects methodology and propose an advancement–the random effects model (RE) which provides estimates of how between-study differences influence the relationships under study. RE models assume that studies are heterogeneous since they are often conducted by different investigators under different settings. Parameter estimates of both models are compared and evidence in favor of the random effects approach is presented. We argue against use of the fixed effects model because it may lead to misleading conclusions about situational specificity.     

BLAME AND RESPONSIVENESS TO MORAL REASONS: ARE PSYCHOPATHS BLAMEWORTHY?

Abstract: Many philosophers believe that people who are not capable of grasping the significance of moral considerations are not open to moral blame when they fail to respond appropriately to these considerations. I contend, however, that some morally blind, or ‘psychopathic,’ agents are proper targets for moral blame, at least on some occasions. I argue that moral blame is a response to the normative commitments and attitudes of a wrongdoer and that the actions of morally blind agents can express the relevant blame‐grounding attitudes insofar as these agents possess the capacity to make judgments about non‐moral reasons.     

Mindfulness as a Psychological Attractor: The Effect on Children

Mindfulness ( Langer, 1978, 1989, 1997, 2005 )—a process of actively making novel distinctions about objects in one's awareness—has been shown to have personal, interpersonal, and health benefits. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that mindfulness is (a) perceived and preferred by children; and (b) has positive effects on them. The results indicate that children ages 9 to 12 not only preferred to interact with mindful adults, but devalued themselves following the mindless interaction, despite the fact that only positive content was discussed. Potential implications of adults' mindless responding to children are discussed.     

The Eternal ‘Spirit of the Son’: Barth,Florovsky and Torrance on the Filioque

This article offers an Orthodox response to Barth's defense of the filioque. Florovsky's theology exemplifies how Orthodoxy addresses the concerns underlying Barth's filioque without resort to the filioque. Entailed in the elaboration of Florovsky's Christocentric pneumatology is a critique of other currents in modern Orthodox theology (Florensky, Lossky). Common emphases are noted between Florovsky and T.F. Torrance regarding the consubstantiality and propriety of the Spirit to the Son and the significance of this doctrine for ecclesial life, suggesting a basis for further ecumenical reintegration.     

Young romance in China: Effects of family,attachment, relationship confidence,and problem solving

Guided by the development of early adult romantic relationships (DEARR) model (Bryant & Conger, 2002), this study sought to examine associations between family dysfunction and relationship satisfaction via the mechanisms of anxious and avoidant attachment, relationship confidence, and problem solving in a sample of Chinese young adults (N = 189). Structural equation model results and bootstrap tests of indirect effects indicated several indirect pathways from family dysfunction to relationship satisfaction for Chinese young adults. Follow‐up moderation analyses suggest that men's relationship satisfaction is more intrapersonally driven whereas women's satisfaction is largely determined by interpersonal interaction. The present results provide additional support for the cross‐cultural applicability of DEARR model. Implications of the findings and suggestions for future exploration are discussed.     

BRIDGING DIFFERENCE THROUGH DIALOGUE: A CONSTRUCTIVIST PERSPECTIVE

Differences in culture invariably underpin the communication failures and misunderstandings that lead to social conflict and dissension. In contemporary organizations, for example, conflicts in values between different occupational groups have the potential to create significant organizational dysfunction. Equally, however, bridging between these conflicts may present an opportunity for organizational learning and insight. Dialogue provides a means of bridging between such differences, but it is notoriously difficult to implement. In this article, we explore the potential of Personal Construct Theory as a way into dialogue. We illustrate our argument with the results of a workshop that involved senior managers and clinicians from a large public hospital.     

PERFECTION AND DESIRE: SPINOZA ON THE GOOD

While Spinoza claims that our good is both what increases our essential power and what helps us to satisfy our desires, he admits that people desire things that do not increase their power. This paper addresses this problem by arguing that Spinoza conceives of desires as expressions of our conatus , so that satisfying our desires necessarily increases our power and vice versa. This reading holds, in opposition to recent work, that Spinoza upholds a desire-satisfaction theory of the good, though an unusual one, since our good is only determined by desires arising from our conatus , in other words, active desires.