Soviet patriotism in a comparative perspective: a passion for oxymora

The official patriotic narrative that emerged in the USSR during the Stalin period shows the continuity of imperial models that served to constitute “love of the fatherland”. This article presents several concepts about the formation of imperial patriotism prevalent in the course of history; it identifies tendencies of interaction between cultural tradition and foreign models. It also shows the principal possibility of combining patriotism with other forms of unifying and mobilizing discourses. The official patriotic discourse of the Stalin era is analyzed as an eclectic ideological construct that, to a large extent, relied on the tradition of imperial patriotic education. The constants distinguishing Russian-Soviet patriotism include the representation of Russia’s imperial past, viewing the question of a multi-national state through the paradigm of the empire’s “civilizing mission”, and patriotism as an integral part of public political education. Some of the elements fundamental for Soviet “love of the fatherland” are preserved in modern Russian patriotism as for instance in the form of “Soviet” nostalgia or representations of militant “statehood”.     

Psychopathological Symptom Dimensions in Patients with Gastrointestinal Disorders

The current study aims to investigate the factorial validity of a widely used psychopathological rating scale, the Symptom Check List-90-R (SCL-90-R), in a group of patients suffering from gastrointestinal disorders, and to determine the specific psychopathological profiles that characterize the individual patient subgroups. Patients suffering from either irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, non-erosive reflux disease or erosive reflux disease completed the SCL-90-R at a tertiary care gastroenterology department. Seven factors were identified, with one major distress factor and six minor factors. Comparison of the gastrointestinal disorder subgroups indicated that irritable bowel syndrome patients exhibited significantly more psychological distress compared to the other groups, and that gastrointestinal patients as a group, compared to healthy controls, were characterized by high levels of irritable depression and somatization. In planning further studies we encourage the use of factors identified in our study. The treatment of substantial irritable depression can be an important factor in improving quality of life in patients suffering from gastrointestinal disorders.     

Der Einsatz von Hausaufgaben in der Psychotherapie

Homework is not only an essential part of cognitive-behavioral treatment but is also used in a variety of other therapy approaches. Its positive relation to therapy outcome has been proved. In consequence, patients’ compliance with homework assignments is an important therapeutic goal. In the last years, numerous papers focused on recommendations for enhancing acceptance and completion of homework assignments. The present article provides an overview about existing recommendations. Proposals are summarized and opposed to empirical studies on single homework procedures and their influence on homework compliance. Due to a lack of empirical data, the effectiveness of most recommendations could not yet be proved. General problems in homework study design and possible directions of further research addressing homework use are discussed.     

The Normal,Improving, and Productive Self: Unpacking Neoliberal Governmentality in Therapeutic Interactions

Psychotherapy might be seen as a site of reproduction of neoliberal capitalist ideology. Unpacking therapeutic discourse affords the opportunity to explore neoliberalism in operation. We present a theoretical case for exploring neoliberalism in the therapeutic context. Specifically, we identify and illustrate three neoliberal discourses: the normal self, the improving self, and the productive self. We discuss how therapists might orient to these discourses and identify ways to challenge neoliberal ideology. Doing so will not dismantle power systems that yield oppression; however, it may help clients reclaim and negotiate preferred subjectivities within this system while also working toward broader social justice.     

Spiritual resilience: Understanding the protection and promotion of well-being in the later life

Spirituality is important to a large percentage of the older adult population and serves as a key factor of resilience. Using qualitative research, we conducted and analyzed interviews with 64 participants willing to discuss their experiences with adversity. Participants ranged in age from 52 to 93 with a mean age of 74. For the purposes of this study, we analyzed 46 of the 64 interviews, selecting participants who indicated that spirituality was an important resource for managing hardship. The researchers examined the connections between spirituality and resilience. Using in-depth interviews, we explored the interplay between spirituality and resilience and the importance spirituality plays in dealing with adversity and hardship. A grounded theory analysis of the 46 interviews was performed. Major findings include participants’ use of spirituality as a tool to promote and maintain resilience in late life in five key domains: reliance on relationships, spiritual transformation, spiritual coping, power of belief, and commitment to spiritual values and practices. Results are presented as an interpretation of the participants’ perceptions of their spirituality, and indicate their reliance on spirituality to overcome hardship. In addition, we discuss the connections between spirituality and resilience and how these connections play out in the lives of older adults when considering their generational and cohort status. The roles these two constructs play in the lives of older adults are considered.     

Neighborhood Identity Helps Residents Cope with Residential Diversification: Contact in Increasingly Mixed Neighborhoods of Northern Ireland

Research on residential diversification has mainly focused on its negative impacts upon community cohesion and positive effects on intergroup relations. However, these analyses ignore how neighborhood identity can shape the consequences of diversification among residents. Elsewhere, research using the Applied Social Identity Approach (ASIA) has demonstrated the potential for neighborhood identity to provide social and psychological resources to cope with challenges. The current article proposes a novel model whereby these “Social Cure” processes can enable residents to cope with the specific challenges of diversification. We present two studies in support of this model, each from the increasingly religiously desegregated society of postconflict Northern Ireland. Analysis of the 2012 “Northern Ireland Life and Times” survey shows that across Northern Ireland, neighborhood identity impacts positively upon both well‐being and intergroup attitudes via a reduction in intergroup anxiety. A second custom‐designed survey of residents in a newly mixed area of Belfast shows that neighborhood identification predicts increased well‐being, reduced intergroup anxiety, and reduced prejudice independently of group norms and experiences of contact. For political psychologists, our evidence suggests a reformulation of the fundamental question of “what effects do residential mixing have on neighborhoods?” to “how can neighborhood communities support residents to collectively cope with contact?”     

Executive functioning and memory as potential mediators of the episodic feeling-of-knowing accuracy

The study focused on the cognitive determinants of the accuracy of feeling-of-knowing (FOK) judgments made on episodic memory information. An individual differences approach was used on a sample of healthy older adults assessed on an episodic FOK task and on several neuropsychological measures. At a global level of analysis of FOK accuracy, the contributions of four general cognitive processes--episodic memory, executive functioning, fluid intelligence and processing speed--were examined concurrently. Stepwise regression analyses showed that executive functioning accounted for the major part of variance on FOK accuracy, followed by a significant contribution of episodic memory. After controlling for executive and memory involvement, fluid intelligence and processing speed no longer accounted for significant variance. At a more detailed level of analysis of FOK accuracy, the contributions of three specific executive processes--shifting, updating and inhibition--were assessed. The results revealed shifting function as the primary executive process engaged in the production of accurate FOK judgments in episodic memory. Some hypotheses are put forward to better understand the central role of executive functioning in the production of accurate FOK judgments.     

Latina breast cancer survivors' lived experiences: diagnosis, treatment, and beyond

Latina breast cancer survivors are not benefiting from advances in psychosocial interventions. Despite their greater breast cancer burden, there is a dearth of information about this population. This qualitative study examined the experiences of 18 immigrant Latina breast cancer survivors along the survivorship continuum, from diagnosis to long-term survivorship. The authors conducted separate focus groups with women in the acute, reentry, and long-term survivorship stages. Through grounded theory analysis, the authors uncovered 5 themes of experience: perceptions of psychological well-being, impact of diagnosis, impact of treatment, need for social support, and development of new attitudes. Some themes were applicable across all survivorship stages, whereas others were more salient at a particular stage. Within themes, the authors identified experiences reported in the general literature (i.e., the debilitating effect of chemotherapy) and distinct cultural experiences (i.e., fear that a cancer diagnosis leads to certain death). Results suggest that treatments tailored for each survivorship stage are more likely to be effective than generic interventions. These findings have the potential to lessen health disparities in utilization of psychosocial treatments by Latina breast cancer survivors.     

A modified procedure for parallel analysis of ordered categorical data

Parallel analysis has been well documented to be an effective and accurate method for determining the number of factors to retain in exploratory factor analysis. The O'Connor (2000) procedure for parallel analysis has many benefits and is widely applied, yet it has a few shortcomings in dealing with missing data and ordinal variables. To address these technical issues, we adapted and modified the O'Connor procedure to provide an alternative method that better approximates the ordinal data by factoring in the frequency distributions of the variables (e.g., the number of response categories and the frequency of each response category per variable). The theoretical and practical differences between the modified procedure and the O'Connor procedure are discussed. The SAS syntax for implementing this modified procedure is also provided.     

ARE ALL LATINAS THE SAME? PERCEIVED BREAST CANCER SCREENING BARRIERS AND FACILITATIVE CONDITIONS

In this article, we examine perceived breast cancer screening barriers and facilitative conditions for immigrant women from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, El Salvador, and South America ( N = 58). Focus groups conducted separately with women of each ancestry were analyzed using grounded theory methods. Identified barriers comprise secrecy, lack of information, embarrassment, fear, and distrust of health care providers. Perceived facilitative conditions include knowing the importance of early detection and noticing a symptom. We compare and contrast findings across ancestries and discuss how psychosocial and cultural factors could be better integrated into early detection programs. The women's high screening rates also suggest that breast cancer screening can be facilitated in this population by addressing institutional factors (e.g., access to health care, transportation).