Parental Knowledge/Monitoring and Depressive Symptoms During Adolescence: Protective Factor or Spurious Association?

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - Parental knowledge/monitoring is negatively associated with adolescents’ depressive symptoms, suggesting monitoring could be a target for...     

Motherhood and Mistakes about Defeasible Duties to Benefit

Discussion of the behaviour of pregnant women and mothers, in academic literature, medical advice given to mothers, mainstream media and social media, assumes that a mother who fails to do something to benefit her child is liable for moral criticism unless she can provide sufficient countervailing considerations to justify her decision. I reconstruct the normally implicit reasoning that leads to this assumption and show that it is mistaken. First, I show that the discussion assumes that if any action might benefit her child, the mother has a defeasible duty to perform that action. I suggest that this assumption is implicitly supported by two arguments but that each argument is unsound. The first argument conflates moral reasons and defeasible duties; the second misunderstands the scope of a defeasible duty to benefit. This argument has important practical and theoretical implications: practically, it provides a response to a highly damaging discourse on maternal behaviour; theoretically, it provides the framework for a clearer understanding of the scope and nature of defeasible duties to benefit.     

Metaphilosophy and Relativism

I am concerned with the metaphilosophical questions of how we are to proceed when doing philosophy, and whether there is more than one way of achieving our aim. These questions are tackled initially by an examination of the answers given by Richard Double in his book Metaphilosophy and Freewill . It is argued that the considerations he rehearses in favour of metaphilosophical relativism are inconclusive, and that, in any case, it is a position that contains serious internal difficulties. An analogy is made with the problems encountered by Hume's sceptical theory of the self, and it is suggested that Double, like Hume, is implicitly presupposing the conclusion he is seeking to deny. He does so by relying upon certain critical procedures in the course of his argument. Next, I consider how Double might respond to this criticism, and it is concluded that such a rejoinder fails. Finally, I return to the questions which served as the starting point of this discussion, and I apply the conclusions I have reached to their possible resolution. It is claimed that a form of rationalism has been vindicated.     

The factor structures of the STEM and the STEU

The factor structures of two recently developed measures of emotional intelligence, the Situational Test of Emotional Understanding and Situational Test of Emotion Management (STEU, STEM; MacCann & Roberts, 2008) were examined. The results did not support a factor structure of either measure’s subscales indicated by the approach used in developing the test items, and examination of the factors obtained using parallel analysis to determine the number of factors to extract did not yield interpretable factors. These findings suggest that only total scale scores should be used for these tests, although the general factor extracted from the items was not strong for either test; further development work on these tests is indicated.     

Rejection as a call to arms: inter-racial hostility and support for political action as outcomes of race-based rejection in majority and minority groups

Both majority and minority group members fear race-based rejection, and respond by disparaging the groups that they expect will reject them. It is not clear, however, how this process differs in minority and majority groups. Using large representative samples of White (N= 4,618) and Māori (N= 1,163) New Zealanders, we found that perceptions of race-based rejection predicted outgroup negativity in both groups, but in different ways and for different reasons. For White (but not Māori) New Zealanders, increased intergroup anxiety partially mediated the relationship between cognitions of rejection and outgroup negativity. Māori who expected to be rejected on the basis of their race reported increased ethnic identification and, in part through this, increased support for political action benefiting their own group. This finding supports collective-action models of social change in historically disadvantaged minority groups.     

Involving Parents in Indicated Early Intervention for Childhood PTSD Following Accidental Injury

Accidental injuries represent the most common type of traumatic event to which a youth is likely to be exposed. While the majority of youth who experience an accidental injury will recover spontaneously, a significant proportion will go on to develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). And yet, there is little published treatment outcome research in this area. This review focuses on two key issues within the child PTSD literature—namely the role of parents in treatment and the timing of intervention. The issue of parental involvement in the treatment of child PTSD is a question that is increasingly being recognized as important. In addition, the need to find a balance between providing early intervention to at risk youth while avoiding providing treatment to those youth who will recover spontaneously has yet to be addressed. This paper outlines the rationale for and the development of a trauma-focused CBT protocol with separate parent and child programs, for use with children and adolescents experiencing PTSD following an accidental injury. The protocol is embedded within an indicated intervention framework, allowing for the early identification of youth at risk within a medical setting. Two case studies are presented in order to illustrate key issues raised in the review, implementation of the interventions, and the challenges involved.     

Women counsellors' experiences of personal therapy: A thematic analysis

Background: Following recent moves to relax the requirements for clinical mental health trainees to undergo personal therapy, this qualitative project explored the effects of personal therapy on volunteer counsellors. Method: Interviews were conducted with 19 volunteer counsellors at a women's community centre, and the data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: Emerging themes included the importance of personal therapy for trainee development, key elements of personal therapy and the idea that personal therapy is ‘a double‐edged sword’. Discussion: Allowing for evident methodological difficulties in evaluating the impact of personal therapy on trainees, this study suggests that close consideration should be given to the potentially adverse effects of reducing requirements for personal therapy in clinical trainings.     

The New Problem of Numbers in Morality

Discussion of the “problem of numbers” in morality has focused almost exclusively on the moral significance of numbers in whom-to-rescue cases: when you can save either of two groups of people, but not both, does the number of people in each group matter morally? I suggest that insufficient attention has been paid to the moral significance of numbers in other types of case. According to common-sense morality, numbers make a difference in cases, like the famous Trolley Case, where we must choose whether to kill a person (or persons) as a side effect of saving a greater number. I argue that recognition of the role of numbers in killing cases forces us to reassess purported solutions to the problem of numbers.     

Informing Children of Their Newborn Screening Carrier Result for Sickle Cell or Cystic Fibrosis: Qualitative Study of Parents’ Intentions,Views and Support Needs

Newborn screening for cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease enables the early identification and treatment of affected children, prolonging and enhancing their quality of life. Screening, however, also identifies carriers. There are minimal or no health concerns for carriers. There are, however, potential implications when carriers reach reproductive age, and thus research attention has been given to how best to convey information about these implications in a meaningful, balanced way which does not raise undue anxieties. Most research focuses on the communication from health professional to parent, yet ultimately this information is of greatest significance to the child. This study examines parents’ intentions to inform their child of newborn screening carrier results. Semi-structured interviews with 67 family members explored their intentions to inform the child, and related views and support needs. Parents almost unanimously indicated they planned to inform the child themselves. Health professionals were expected, however, to provide guidance on this process either to parents through advice and provision of written materials, or directly to the child. Although parents initially stated that they would convey the result once their child had developed the ability to understand the information, many appeared to focus on discrete life events linked to informed reproductive decision making. The results highlight ways in which health care providers may assist parents, including providing written material suitable for intergenerational communication and ensuring that cascade screening is accessible for those seeking it. Priorities for further research are identified in light of the results.