Posttraumatic Stress Following Acute Medical Trauma in Children: A Proposed Model of Bio-Psycho-Social Processes During the Peri-Trauma Period

Millions of children worldwide experience acute medical events. Children’s responses to these events range from transient distress to significant posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms (PTSS). While many models suggest explanations for the development and maintenance of PTSS in adults, very few have focused on children. Current models of child PTSS are primarily restricted to the post-trauma period, thus neglecting the critical peri-trauma period when screening and preventive interventions may be most easily implemented. Research on PTSS in response to pediatric medical trauma typically examines predictors in isolation, often overlooking potentially important interactions. This paper proposes a new model utilizing the bio-psycho-social framework and focusing on peri-trauma processes of acute medical events. Understanding the relationships among bio-psycho-social factors during peri-trauma can inform early identification of at-risk children, preventive interventions and clinical care. Recommendations for future research, including the need to examine PTSS in the context of multiple influences, are discussed.     

Empathy and Its Role in Morality

In this paper, I will argue, contra Prinz, that empathy is a crucial component of our moral lives. In particular, I argue that empathy is sometimes epistemologically necessary for identifying the right action; that empathy is sometimes psychologically necessary for motivating the agent to perform the right action; and that empathy is sometimes necessary for the agent to be most morally praiseworthy for an action. I begin by explaining what I take empathy to be. I then discuss some alleged problems for empathy and explain why some argue that empathy is unnecessary and sometimes even problematic in the moral domain. Next, I criticize a prominent alternative to an empathy‐based morality. Finally, I argue that that empathy is sometimes epistemologically and psychologically necessary for doing the right thing and is sometimes necessary for moral worth. I conclude with a discussion of the important role of empathy in our everyday lives.     

Professional,Personal, and Relational: Exploring the Salience of Identity in Academic Careers

This article explores the role of identity in lived experiences within the professoriate. While scholarship has given some attention to professional identity and personal identity, little in the literature has attempted to present a holistic view of identity and the complex ways that it defines and influences academic careers. The authors present findings from their analysis of interview data from 50 participants across career stages, from doctoral students to full professors. These findings suggest that three distinct but related, and potentially synergistic, components of identity are salient in shaping perceptions of and experiences within academic careers. The authors offer future directions for research centered on a rich conceptualization of identity as critical for understanding faculty development, experiences, and needs.     

Exposure-based Interventions for the management of individuals with high levels of needle fear across the lifespan: a clinical practice guideline and call for further research

Needle fear typically begins in childhood and represents an important health-related issue across the lifespan. Individuals who are highly fearful of needles frequently avoid health care. Although guidance exists for managing needle pain and fear during procedures, the most highly fearful may refuse or abstain from such procedures. The purpose of a clinical practice guideline (CPG) is to provide actionable instruction on the management of a particular health concern; this guidance emerges from a systematic process. Using evidence from a rigorous systematic review interpreted by an expert panel, this CPG provides recommendations on exposure-based interventions for high levels of needle fear in children and adults. The AGREE-II, GRADE, and Cochrane methodologies were used. Exposure-based interventions were included. The included evidence was very low quality on average. Strong recommendations include the following. In vivo (live/in person) exposure-based therapy is recommended (vs. no treatment) for children seven years and older and adults with high levels of needle fear. Non-in vivo (imaginal, computer-based) exposure (vs. no treatment) is recommended for individuals (over seven years of age) who are unwilling to undergo in vivo exposure. Although there were no included trials which examined children < 7 years, exposure-based interventions are discussed as good clinical practice. Implementation considerations are discussed and clinical tools are provided. Utilization of these recommended practices may lead to improved health outcomes due to better health care compliance. Research on the understanding and treatment of high levels of needle fear is urgently needed; specific recommendations are provided.     

Advice seeking and loaning of money related to relapse in recovery homes

Recovery homes help individuals who have completed substance use treatment programs re‐integrate back into the community. However, it is unclear what factors determine who will succeed in these settings and how these factors may be reinforced or undermined by the social interactions and social networks between residents living in the Oxford House recovery homes. In an effort to better understand these factors, the current study evaluated (a) the extent to which the density of social networks (i.e., friendship, willingness to loan money, and advice‐seeking relationships) is associated with social capital (i.e., sense of community, quality of life, hopefulness, self‐efficacy), and (b) whether the density of social networks predicts relapse over time. Among the findings, willingness to loan money was positively associated with all four individual‐level social capital variables, suggesting that availability of instrumental resources may be important to ongoing recovery. To test whether these house‐level social network factors then support recovery, a survival analysis was conducted, finding associations between relapse risk and the network densities over a 28‐month span. In particular, more dense advice‐seeking networks were associated with higher rates of relapse, suggesting that the advice‐seeking might represent a sign of organisational house problems, with many residents unsure of issues related to their recovery. In contrast, more dense loaning networks were associated with less relapse, so willingness to lend money could be measuring a willingness to help those in need. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Not Simply in the Eye of the Beholder: Authenticity as a Product of Candidate Preference and Unfettered Speech

Authenticity has emerged over recent decades as a prominent theme in both the press and in political research—and peaked in the 2016 presidential contest that pitted Donald Trump against Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz. In this context, we attempted to answer the question: How do voters judge a presidential candidate's authenticity? Here we use motivated reasoning and correspondent inference theory as theoretical frameworks to examine how partisan preference combines with perceptions of unfettered speech and strategic impression management to influence voter judgments of a candidate's authenticity. An online survey of 525 respondents demonstrated that individuals' partisan preferences influenced both judgments of a candidate's authenticity and their perceptions of behaviors signifying authenticity (use of unfettered speech versus strategic impression management). These behavioral signals partially mediated the relation between candidate preferences and authenticity judgments. Moreover, voters, given their partisan preferences, differentially weighted candidates' use of unfettered speech and strategic impression management tactics in their judgments of authenticity. Finally, unfiltered/politically incorrect speech was found to have both positive and negative effects on authenticity judgments. Findings further elucidate the nature of authenticity as perceived in others and identify intermediary variables and boundary conditions that influence those perceptions.