Child physical punishment,parenting, and school readiness

This study explored how physical punishment (PP) and other parenting approaches may predict school readiness outcomes. By using the Canada‐wide representative data, 5,513 children were followed over a 2‐year period. Caregivers reported on their use of PP and other parenting approaches (i.e., literacy and learning activities and other disciplinary practices) when children were 2–3 years old, whereas school readiness was measured at 4–5 years using interviewer‐administered tests of number competence and receptive vocabulary skills. Analyses controlled for PP use at 4–5 years, child externalizing behaviours, and various sociodemographics. Results indicated that PP does not directly predict school readiness; however, the effect of PP was moderated by other parenting approaches. Children's receptive vocabulary was weaker if caregivers used PP together with less frequent explaining/teaching regarding problem behaviour, or PP with less frequent engagement in literacy and learning activities. Children had weaker number competence when PP co‐occurred with more frequent psychological aggression (e.g., yelling/scolding). Results suggest that PP hinders children's school readiness when used alongside other parenting approaches, which reflects the reality of parenting (i.e., PP does not occur in isolation). Findings support early education efforts aimed at promoting early learning and literacy opportunities, as well as positive disciplinary strategies that do not involve PP.

Highlights

• We explored how physical punishment and other parenting approaches may predict school readiness outcomes using Canada‐wide data.
• Results provided little evidence of positive effects of physical punishment on school readiness across a range of parenting and disciplinary contexts.
• To promote school readiness, early education efforts should promote early learning opportunities and positive disciplinary strategies that do not involve physical punishment.

     

Cognitive and emotional control and perspective taking and their relations to empathy in 5-year-old children

The experience of empathy has been described as involving both emotional and cognitive components. The primary hypothesis tested in this study is that cognition and emotion are integrated within 2 distinct types of abilities-control and perspective taking-and that interactions between emotional and cognitive control and between affective and cognitive perspective taking would be related to children's empathic responding. We also hypothesized that boys' control and perspective-taking skills would be more strongly related to empathy than would those of girls. Fifty-seven 5-year-olds completed tasks measuring cognitive control, cognitive and affective perspective taking, and empathy, and their mothers completed a measure of children's emotional control. Results indicated that cognitive perspective taking moderated the relation between affective perspective taking and empathy. In addition, the relation between cognitive inhibitory control and empathy was moderated by gender; boys' control was positively related to empathy, but girls' control was marginally negatively related to empathy.     

Loving, discernment, and distance: pastoral care in schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is very common in our society, yet many people, both clergy and lay, are afraid of it and do not know what to do when confronted with someone who suffers from the disorder. Strange ideas and behavior can be frightening for those who don't understand and often result in further marginalization, even within the church community. This article seeks to outline the main features of schizophrenia and considers how to deal with particular situations which may arise in pastoral care. It suggests ways of dealing with people who express religious delusions and also argues that the "staples" of pastoral care--relationship building, empathy and inclusion--may not always be appropriate in the care of people with schizophrenia, who often need a "safe distance" between themselves and others. Some practical advice for families is also offered.     

Do Extenuating Circumstances Influence African American Women's Attitudes Toward Suicide?

African American women commit suicide less than other U.S. women and men, perhaps partly due to strong, anti-suicide attitudes. To see if suicide attitudes might be softened by extenuating circumstances such as terminal illness, 192 African American and European American women imagined themselves in one of four extenuating circumstances, then completed measures of suicide acceptability and religiosity. Both ethnic groups reported a greater likelihood of suicide when imagining depression, regardless of religiosity. Religiosity, but not extenuating circumstances, corresponded with negative attitudes toward suicide and physician assisted suicide. These African American and European American young women remained steadfastly against suicide, regardless of circumstance.     

Speech rate as a sticky switch: a multiple lesion case analysis of mutism and hyperlalia

Though it has long been known on the basis of clinical associations and serendipitous observation that speech rate is related to mood and psychomotor baseline, it is less known that speech rate is also related to libido and to immune function. We make the case for a bipolar phenomenon of "psychic tonus," encompassing all these dimensions. The elated, agitated, libidinal, immunofacilitated, and talkative pole is an "approach" disposition primarily activated by the normal left hemisphere-especially, though not exclusively, its frontal lobe. The dejected, lethargic, delibidinized, immunosuppressed, and mute pole is an "avoidance" disposition primarily activated by the normal right hemisphere-especially, though not exclusively, its frontal lobe. In support of this proposed model, we present new evidence, via meta-analysis of previously published single lesion case reports, of a highly significant association between right hemisphere lesions and non-aphasic hyperlalia, and between left hemisphere lesions and non-aphasic mutism.     

Behavioural treatment of trichotillomania: two-year follow-up results

Post-treatment evaluation studies of behaviour therapy (BT) for trichotillomania (TTM) have shown that BT is successful in reducing symptoms in this impulse-control disorder. The present study was aimed at investigating gain maintenance at long-term follow-up. TTM-related symptoms and other symptom characteristics were evaluated in 28 patients suffering from TTM before and after brief BT and at a 3-month and 2-year follow-up. The manual-based BT consisted of self-control procedures offered in six sessions. Pre-post effect sizes for TTM symptoms at post-treatment evaluation and at the two follow-ups were 2.91, 1.47, and .87. Compared to the post-treatment effects, the 3-month and 2-year follow-up effect sizes had decreased by 49% and 70%, respectively. Better 2-year follow-up results were associated with lower pre-treatment levels of depressive symptoms and with complete abstinence from hair pulling immediately after treatment.