Kinderpornografie

The quantity and distribution of child abuse material (“child pornography”) has substantially risen since the advent of the internet facilitated access. Due to the international character of the associated delinquency prosecution is confronted with several difficulties. In 2003 the European Union established a framework agreement to legally combat child pornography. The market for child abuse material is profitable, as production is comparably cheap. The number of convictions for relevant crimes varies but is generally still on a high level, even though reporting of relevant contents is decreasing. Providers and users might have switched to less controllable internet platforms. The physical and/or psychological sequelae for victims of child pornography are serious and ongoing. Studies show that compared to hands-on-offenders users of child exploitation material are generally younger, better educated and less often have a criminal record. Some of them (10–25?%) fulfill the diagnostic criteria of pedophilia. A child pornography offender’s risk of committing a hands-on-offence seems to be increasing with the diagnosis of pedophilia and antisocial personality traits. According to existing data, individuals whose only criminal record refers to illegal pornography seem to be at low risk for future offending with child abuse (0.2–6.6?%). Offenders who were already convicted for child abuse have a higher risk for re-offending when consuming (deviant) pornography. Several cognitive behavioral treatment manuals exist, however accurate diagnostic assessment and indication are required.     

The Failure to Use Gender Information in Parsing: A Comment on van Berkum, Brown, and Hagoort (1999)

We critically review the empirical evidence published by van Berkum, Brown, and Hagoort (1999a, b) against syntax-first models of sentence parsing. According to van Berkum et al., discourse factors and word gender information are used instantaneously to guide the parser. First, we note that the density of the experimental trials (relative to fillers) and the slow presentation rate of the van Berkum et al. design seem likely to have elicited the use of tactics involving rapid reanalysis of the material. Second, we present new data from a questionnaire study showing that the grammatical gender information of a relative pronoun in Dutch is often completely ignored, even during the wrap-up phase at the end of the sentence.     

The neural bases of sport fan reactions to teams: Evidence from a neuroimaging study

This study uses neuroimaging methods to identify patterns of brain activation among sport fans in reaction to team stimuli. In a whole-brain analysis without selected regions in advance, the purposes were to identify the structures involved when fans are exposed to positive, neutral, and negative events and to learn what events activate more limbic networks. A total of 53 individuals participated in and functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment involving the presentation of videos in various situations. Findings indicate the activation of the cingulate gyrus and other structures of the limbic system, as the hippocampus and parahippocampus. We also found involvement of the ventral tegmental area of the reward system. Additionally, brain activity in emotional regulation and memory areas were more influenced by positive than neutral and negative videos. It was also found the involvement of other areas not directly included in the limbic or reward systems. This study provides the neural basis of fan reactions to team-related stimuli. Sport clubs should be aware that negative content seems to be suppressed from emotional memory and positive videos trigger more emotion and memory areas than neutral and negative videos.     

Social identity and the perception of history: cultural representations of Aotearoa/New Zealand

The context of intergroup relations in Aotearoa/New Zealand was investigated using perceptions of history by Maori (Polynesian‐descended) and Pakeha (European‐descended) samples from university and the general public. There was strong consensus that the Treaty of Waitangi was the most important event in New Zealand's history, but only Maori, the subordinate ethnic group, showed in‐group favouritism in their judgments regarding the Treaty. Pakeha, the dominant group, showed outgroup favouritism, and distanced themselves from past injustices using linguistic strategies. Maori students showed interest in their ethnic origins (ontogeny), rating the distant past and Polynesian history higher, and free‐recalling more events prior to European arrival than other groups; Maori in the general population shared a more similar perception of history to Pakeha. Both in‐group favouritism and ontogeny were found in sentence‐completion choices. Historical perceptions were strongly related to positions on current political issues. Results are related to social identity theory, social representations theory, and social dominance theory. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Apparent contrast of suprathreshold gratings varies with stimulus orientation

Human contrast sensitivity is known to vary with both stimulus spatial frequency and orientation. Previous research has indicated, however, that the apparent contrast of a sinusoidal grating is independent of spatial frequency at suprathreshold levels. We have found that the apparent contrast of suprathreshold gratings is not independent of its orientation. Observers adjusted the apparent contrasts of vertical and oblique gratings to match a 40% standard. Contrast match deviations were found at a number of spatial frequencies, indicating a lack of contrast constancy with stimulus orientation. The apparent contrast of gratings in different orientations could not be predicted in any simple fashion from either contrast threshold differences or ratios.     

Problematic Internet use: clinical implications

Impulse-control disorders have received relatively little attention from the mental health community. An increasing awareness of the prevalence and impact of these disorders is emerging. Among impulse-control disorders, problematic Internet use has been considered and examined. Prevalence estimate studies indicate that problematic Internet use is experienced across geographic locations by many individuals of diverse backgrounds. This review examines problematic Internet use from epidemiological and clinical perspectives. Clinicians should be familiar with the extent of problematic Internet use and the data regarding the efficacies and tolerabilities of available treatments.     

Maternal responsiveness to young children at three ages: longitudinal analysis of a multidimensional, modular, and specific parenting construct

Responsiveness defines the prompt, contingent, and appropriate reactions parents display to their children in the context of everyday exchanges. Maternal responsiveness occupies a theoretically central position in developmental science and possesses meaningful predictive validity over diverse domains of children's development, yet basic psychometric features of maternal responsiveness are still poorly understood. In this prospective longitudinal study, the authors examined structure, individual variation, and continuity of multiple dimensions of responsiveness in 40 mothers to their infants' activities at 10, 14, and 21 months during natural home-based play interactions. Both age-general and age-specific patterns emerged in maternal responding. The study's developmental results support the multidimensionality, modularity, and specificity of this central parenting construct.     

Influence of delayed muscle reflexes on spinal stability: Model-based predictions allow alternative interpretations of experimental data

Model-based calculations indicate that reflex delay and reflex gain are both important for spinal stability. Experimental results demonstrate that chronic low back pain is associated with delayed muscle reflex responses of trunk muscles. The aim of the present study was to analyze the influence of such time-delayed reflexes on the stability using a simple biomechanical model. Additionally, we compared the model-based predictions with experimental data from chronic low back pain patients and healthy controls using surface-electromyography. Linear stability methods were applied to the musculoskeletal model, which was extended with a time-delayed reflex model. Lateral external perturbations were simulated around equilibrium to investigate the effects of reflex delay and gain on the stability of the human lumbar spine. The model simulations predicted that increased reflex delays require a reduction of the reflex gain to avoid spinal instability. The experimental data support this dependence for the investigated abdominal muscles in chronic low back pain patients and healthy control subjects. Reflex time-delay and gain dependence showed that a delayed reflex latency could have relevant influence on spinal stability, if subjects do not adapt their reflex amplitudes. Based on the model and the experimental results, the relationship between muscle reflex response latency and the maximum of the reflex amplitude should be considered for evaluation of (patho) physiological data. We recommend that training procedures should focus on speeding up the delayed reflex response as well as on increasing the amplitude of these reflexes.     

Psychological intervention with couples coping with breast cancer: A systematic review

Objective: Information about psychological intervention with couples coping with breast cancer is not well-disseminated. This can be explained, at least in part, by the absence of knowledge about the efficacy of this kind of intervention. The aim of the present systematic review is to identify and describe psychological interventions for couples coping with breast cancer and evaluate their efficacy.

Design: Studies identified by a searching multiple literature databases related to health and psychology between 1975 and 2013. Rigorous inclusion and exclusion criteria were utilised.

Results: Of 129 abstracts, 13 were extracted for further analysis and a final ten studies were deemed eligible for inclusion. Data were extracted from each study regarding study sample characteristics, design, results and methodological limitations. The results obtained were mixed in regard to efficacy, although the overwhelming majority of studies (eight studies) found benefits for both women and their partners in some dimensions, such as quality of life, psychological distress, relationship functioning and physical symptoms associated with cancer.

Conclusion: Psychological interventions for couples coping with breast cancer appear to be effective for both women and their partners. However, further studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy of couple-based interventions and, to identify for whom and how they are more effective.