Premise Acceptability and Message Effectiveness

Previous research shows inconsistent evidence in regard to gender differences in optimism for experiencing a happy marriage or avoiding divorce depending on whether optimism is measured as comparative optimism (thinking you are better off than your peers) or as personal optimism (estimating your own chances). Results from four samples of unmarried college students (N = 814) indicated that men exhibited greater comparative optimism than women for having a happy marriage but not for getting divorced. For having a happy marriage and avoiding divorce, men exhibited greater personal optimism relative to women. Experience (with parental divorce) moderated the gender difference in personal optimism and perceived control partially mediated the gender difference in comparative optimism (but only for having a happy marriage) and in personal optimism (for both having a happy marriage and avoiding divorce). Results are discussed as they relate to the existing literatures on risk perception and gender differences in romantic relationships.     

Traditional Literacy Skills and Internet Use Among 8- to 12-Year-Old Children

Ninety children in third through sixth grade attending an elementary school in western Canada completed a 15-item rating scale of their Internet use across home, school, and community contexts. Children's literacy skills were assessed with standardized measures of reading fluency and sentence comprehension and teacher ratings of reading and writing ability. Results suggest that Internet use during childhood is a complex behavior that varies across children and across contexts. Instant messaging and community-based Internet use during childhood were associated with decreased literacy skills, while other applications used at home and school were associated with increased literacy skills.     

Cognitive factors in the explanation of the mismatch between confidence and competence in performing basic life support

Abstract

The main approach to rectifying the well documented poor basic life support (BLS) skills of doctors and nurses, based on a Skills Model, has met with only partial success. This study compares the utility of a Skills Model with one that incorporates a cognitive component in predicting BLS skills. Outcome-expectancy, self-efficacy, training and experience of BLS, and BLS ability were assessed in 53 trained nurses. Ability was unrelated to training or experience of BLS. Nurses who scored highest on the BLS skills assessment perceived the procedure as significantly more successful than those with lower scores. Self-efficacy was unrelated to ability, but was related to status: senior nurses were significantly more confident but no more competent in performing BLS than junior nurses. Nurses who had attended more arrests, while more confident, were no more competent than those who had attended fewer. Assessment of BLS skills reduced self-efficacy beliefs. A model for predicting the relationship between self-assessed ability and objectively assessed skill is outlined.     

Word frequency effects in immediate serial recall: Item familiarity and item co‐occurrence have the same effect

In immediate serial recall, high‐frequency words are better recalled than low‐frequency words. A prevalent interpretation of this effect suggests that, at the point of recall, degraded representations undergo a reconstruction process calling upon long‐term knowledge of the to‐be‐remembered items. Recently, Stuart and Hulme () following Deese (), suggested that high‐frequency items are better recalled due to their better long‐term associative links. Their results revealed that a familiarisation procedure involving repeated presentations of the to‐be‐remembered items in pairs abolished the usual frequency effect. In the experiment reported here, an alternative interpretation of this result is examined. Prior to the memory task, subjects received either no familiarisation, item familiarisation, or pair familiarisation. Both item and pair familiarisation improved the item recall of low‐frequency items to the same extent, suggesting that increased familiarity can account for the co‐occurrence effect.     

From Enemy Combatant to Strange Bedfellow The Role of Religious Narratives in the Work of W. R. D. Fairbairn and D. W. Winnicott

Psychoanalysis has a well-documented history of antipathy toward religion. As a consequence of the postmodern shift in philosophy, however, there are those who, albeit cautiously, are attempting to approach religion with a renewed spirit of dialogue and inquiry as a narrative among many narratives that has informed and even enriched the development of psychoanalysis.

In this spirit of dialogue, the author traces the influence of early religious affiliations on two object relations theorists, W. R. D. Fairbairn and D. W. Winnicott. Fairbairn's early imbibing of Calvinist theology in Scotland and Winnicott's involvement in the Wesleyan church are detailed. The theological differences between these Protestant perspectives (which form counterpoints to one another) are clarified and the perspectives are positioned within the framework of British culture. These religious themes are then identified within the works of Fairbairn and Winnicott.

As a final consideration, the relational nature of the Judeo-Christian God, and the subsequent view of human life that flows from that theology, are posited as influential in the development of the relational shift in psychoanalysis. The author details the association between this shift and the seminal work of Fairbairn and Winnicott.     

Coping Functions of Prayer and Posttraumatic Growth

Research on prayer and posttraumatic growth (PTG) indicates that those who pray report more PTG. Research is beginning to identify which types of prayer may be operating in this relationship. We sought to identify specific prayer functions related to PTG while considering differences due to the types of trauma experienced. Participants were trauma survivors from diverse, Midwestern Christian churches (N = 327). Participants completed questionnaires assessing trauma history, prayer coping functions, and PTG. Multiple linear regression analyses found that praying for calm and focus was independently related to higher levels of PTG. When considering all variables in the model, the relationship between prayer for calm and focus and PTG was not significant for those whose most significant trauma was interpersonal in nature, but significant for those with noninterpersonal trauma.     

The lived experiences of single mothers in Swaziland of their son's aggressive behaviour

The study explored and described the lived experiences of single mothers and described guidelines for psychiatric nurses to facilitate the mental health of single mothers subjected to aggression by their adolescent sons. Participants were a purposive sample of 8 (single mothers, aged between 40 and 50 years, 7 mothers were employed and 3 were professionally trained, 4 mothers were domestic workers and 1 earned living by selling vegetables). The mothers attended the outpatient department at the National Psychiatric Hospital in Swaziland because of being exposed to aggression by their adolescent sons and had adolescent sons living with them 6 months prior to as well as during the study. Data were collected using individual in-depth phenomenological interviews, direct observation and field notes. Analyses used thematic coding. Results reflected that single mothers experienced their adolescent sons as disrespectful and violent, they had negative experiences about their adolescent sons which resulted in anxiety related symptoms, they had negative experiences of self and experienced poor relationships with their neighbours. Guidelines concerning intra- and interpersonal challenges were formulated for the psychiatric nurse to facilitate the mental health of these mothers.     

Communication of Genetic Information by Other Health Professionals: The Role of the Genetic Counsellor in Specialist Clinics

Many children with chronic genetic diseases are followed by specialty clinics that provide genetic information as part of the care. Health services restrictions in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) can make the wait for an appointment with a genetic counsellor long. We examined whether genetic information was being adequately understood when presented by medical, but non-genetics staff to long term patients, using our national metabolic service as an example. The aim was to inform health professionals about the need or role of a genetic counsellor in a specialist setting. A questionnaire was used to assess knowledge among parents and patients affected by galactosaemia and Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD). Twenty seven families with galactosemia and 10 with MSUD were interviewed in clinic. Comparative analysis showed significant differences in knowledge between parents of children with galactosemia and adult patients (p = 0.001) and between ethnicities (p > 0.05). While parents are well informed, the majority expressed a wish for more information about the condition and its transmission. Adult patients with galactosemia and parents from certain ethnic backgrounds could especially benefit from genetic counselling. This study highlights the need for a genetic counsellor in specialist clinics.     

Personality Traits Associated with Genetic Counselor Compassion Fatigue: The Roles of Dispositional Optimism and Locus of Control

Compassion fatigue (CMF) arises as a consequence of secondary exposure to distress and can be elevated in some health practitioners. Locus of control and dispositional optimism are aspects of personality known to influence coping style. To investigate whether these personality traits influence CMF risk, we surveyed 355 genetic counselors about their CMF, locus of control orientation, and degree of dispositional optimism. Approximately half of respondents reported they experience CMF; 26.6% had considered leaving their job due to CMF symptoms. Mixed-method analyses revealed that genetic counselors having an external locus of control and low optimism were at highest risk for CMF. Those at highest risk experienced moderate-to-high burnout, low-to-moderate compassion satisfaction, and tended to rely on religion/spirituality when coping with stress. CMF risk was not influenced by years in practice, number of genetic counselor colleagues in the workplace, or completion of graduate training in this area. Recommendations for practice and education are outlined.     

Anticipated work–family conflict: A construct investigation

To date, little is known about how work–family issues impact the career development process. In the current paper, we explore this issue by investigating a relatively unstudied construct: anticipated work–family conflict. We found that this construct can be represented by the same six-dimensional factor structure used to assess concurrent experiences of work–family conflict. Drawing upon the social-cognitive theory of career development (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994) and the bi-directional model of the work–family interface (Frone, Russel, & Cooper, 1992), we investigated the nomological net of anticipated work–family conflict. Our findings and directions for future research and practice are presented.