The Personal and Social Worries of Adolescents in Northern Ireland: Results of a Survey

The aim of this study was to ascertain the self-perceived social and personal concerns of adolescents attending educational institutions in Northern Ireland. 446 questionnaires from 15-18-year-old students at ten institutions were analysed in order to determine the frequency with which respondents reported worrying about the following broad areas: school, choosing a job, finding a job, home, starting work, opposite-sex relationships, personal issues, and relating to others. The effects of variables such as gender, age and nature of educational institution attended were also examined. The results indicated that most frequent worry was reported about finding and choosing employment, personal issues and opposite-sex relationships. Gender, age and religious affiliation of school attended exerted major effects. Implications for those involved in working with adolescents within educational contexts are discussed.     

By your attributions you shall be known: Consequences of attributional accounts for professional and gender identities

We demonstrate the power of a situated identity perspective for understanding the different attributional patterns of women and men in an academic setting and their differential experiences in the workplace. Two explanations for the gender difference found in attributions of success are considered. This difference may be due either to different identities being attributed to men and women employing the same explanations for success and failure, or to the inconsistency between actions that confirm a professional (academic) identity and women's gender identity. The results of this survey of senior social science faculty men support the latter explanation but not the former. An editorial acceptance was seen as more professional but less feminine than a rejection. In the eyes of senior colleagues, the modest account of success, typical of women academics, enhances femininity but detracts from professionalism. The self-serving account typical of men makes the offerer appear less feminine but more professional. Thus in their situated identity claims, successful academic women, but not men, must choose between their professional and gender identities. Despite the movement of women into university social science positions, the role of academic has a masculine face.Order of authors was determined by a coin toss.     

MORAL INERTIA

Abstract. The phenomenon of moral inertia is often explained by reference to all-encompassing features of human nature, such as laziness and cowardice, but in fact it has many causes. A modern person may fail to "stand up" to social evil because he has difficulty seeing it-perhaps because it is deliberately hidden or because she and her neighbors cannot find ways to recognize and discuss it as a soluble problem. Fourteen factors contributing to moral inertia will be listed here under the headings of cognitive and linguistic factors. Further, a consideration of ideology's role (both liberal and Marxist) in inhibiting action against social evil will be presented.     

Family reunions: Visionary encounters with the departed in a modern-day psychomanteum

A poignant feature of many near-death experiences is a visionary encounter with deceased loved ones. Over the centuries, researchers have sought safe ways to replicate near-death and related experiences, hoping to induce the powerful aftereffects of these events. The ancient Greeks contructed psychomanteums, or oracles of the dead, where seekers could consult spirits of the deceased. I describe a modern attempt to recreate the psychomanteum. Like near-death experiences, visionary encounters in this modern psychomanteum are experienced as real and not as hallucinatory, and have profound personal aftereffects. This novel experimental technique may permit the scientific study of phenomena that previously occurred only spontaneously and under uncontrolled circumstances.     

The relationship between counsellor interpersonal skills and the core conditions of client-centred counselling

The present study aimed to determine whether there was a systematic relationship between Rogers'(1957) core conditions of empathy, acceptance and genuineness, and counsellors' use of specific behaviours or skills which have been isolated for training. Video recordings of 12 counsellors' performance in 'naturalistic' counselling interactions were analysed. Counsellor, client and judges' ratings of the core conditions were obtained. Skill assessment included molar ratings of eight skill areas and molecular measures of 29 behaviours. The results indicated that there were few significant relationships. It is concluded that there is a discrepancy between specification of the skills or behaviours which are thought to communicate the core conditions and those which have been empirically demonstrated to do so. Implications for counsellor training and proposals for future research are discussed.     

Pharmacological treatment of affective disorders: A review and guide for the non-medical practitioner

Mental health professionals who lack medical training may also lack knowledge and understanding of the potential utility of medications in the treatment of emotional disturbance. They may also lack information regarding the effects and side-effects of medications which their clients may already be taking, or be uncertain when the nature of their client's situation suggests a psychiatric assessment regarding drug therapy. This paper offers an educational review in one such area: the pharmacological treatment of depression. It includes a brief review of theories regarding the aetiology of affective disorder, examines the methodes, mechanisms and efficacy of anti-depressants, and draws conclusions regarding the appropriate use of pharmacological treatment.     

Developmental sequences in the age of onset of disruptive child behaviors

Retrospective and prospective reports of the onset of disruptive child behaviors were analyzed in a sample of clinic-referred boys. The younger boys (ages 7–9 years), compared with the older boys (ages 10–12 years), showed the highest level of disruptive behavior and, judging from mothers' reports, had the fastest progression of onsets from less serious to more serious problem behaviors. Despite some overlap, developmental sequences in problem behavior within the domains of hyperactivity/inattention, oppositional behavior, and conduct problems were similar across the two age groups. This was also the case for developmental sequences of overt or confrontive problem behaviors and covert or concealing conduct problems. Sequences of the onset of oppositional behavior and conduct problems were validated through prospective data, based on the information from mothers, teachers, and boys themselves. The implications of the findings are discussed for the formulation of developmental pathways of behavior and the analysis of causal factors.     

Marital satisfaction and family stress as predictors of classroom behaviors

The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between parents' perceptions of marital satisfaction and family stress and their third grade children's classroom behavior. Twenty-one married couples completed questionnaires during home visits. Behavior observations were made from videotapes of children recorded in their classroom during lunch and group academic periods on each of three days. Frequencies of peer interactions, solitary behaviors, and teacher interactions were coded. Regression analyses showed that mothers' level of marital satisfaction (but not fathers') predicted their children's frequency of peer interactions during lunch. Fathers' level of perceived family stress (but not mothers') predicted their children's frequency of peer interactions during lunch. Neither measure for either parent was related to the frequency of peer interactions, solitary behaviors, or teacher interactions observed during the academic sessions. These findings highlight the importance of assessing the potential differential relation of parent variables to children's trans-situational behaviors, and the examination of these variables in relation to different social-environmental contexts in which children participate outside the home.