Philosophy of Education in a Poor Historical Moment: A Personal Account

Under the post-metaphysical sky “old” humanistic-oriented education is possible solely at the cost of its transformation into its negative, into a power that is determined to diminish human potentials for self-exaltation. Nothing less than total metamorphosis is needed to rescue the core of humanistic genesis: the quest for edifying Life and resistance to the call for “home-returning” into the total harmony that is promised to us within nothingness.     

Depression screening and treatment among uninsured populations in Primary Care

Uninsured populations have poor treatment engagement and are less likely to receive evidence-based interventions for depression. The objective of the current study was to retrospectively examine depression screening, diagnosis, and treatment patterns among uninsured patients in primary care. Study sample included all patients (N = 11,803) seen in nine community-based clinics. Key variables included depression screener and/or a depression diagnosis, anti-depressant initiation, behavioral health visits, and patient follow up measures. Treatment patterns from the subsample of patients diagnosed with depression were analyzed by collecting the number of behavioral health visits and antidepressant use six months (180 days) following the diagnosis. Utilization of the depression screening tool was high (67%, n = 7,935) and 24% (n = 2,789) of the patients had a diagnosis of depression, however, more than half of the patients with a depression diagnosis did not have a recorded treatment plan (n = 1,474). The odds of anti-depressant use and behavioral visits for Hispanic patients were significantly greater than for Non-Hispanic patients. Universal screening with brief measures in primary care is improving, however, guideline-concordant depression treatment remains elusive for uninsured populations.     

Mothers and fathers and mothers and babies: Interrelationship among relationships

The relationship between perceived marital satisfaction and early mother-infant interaction was investigated. Seventeen mothers and their three-day-old infants served as subjects. Dyads were observed via a modified time-sampling technique during a hospital feeding session. Then mothers completed a questionnaire concerning their perceptions of the marital relationship. Correlational analyses revealed a significant covariance of positive perceptions of the expressive aspects of the marital relationship and heightened social interaction for mother and infant. An interrelationship was observed between mother-neonate social-visual communication and maternal reports of planned pregnancies, time spent talking with spouse, general ratings of “getting along with spouse,” and positive overall evaluations of the material relationship. Also observed was the interrelationship of mother holding infant away from close bodily contact with reports of decreased love felt toward spouse, less optimal perceptions of ease of emotional expression and spousal interest in maternal daily activities, and less optimal overall ratings of the relationship. Implications of the results and the need for further research are discussed.     

Hostile masculinity,sexual aggresion,and gender-biased domineeringness in conversations

This study assessed the ability of certain variables to predict which men would be more domineering in conversations with a woman and/or with a man. The variables included men's self-reported sexually aggressive behavior and several components comprising a personality profile labeled “Hostile Masculinity.” As expected, these variables successfully predicted domineering behavior toward the female but not toward the male. These findings supported theories hypothesizing that men's desire to control women and men's antisocial behavior toward them are due to specific rather than to general factors (i. e., evolutionary and feminist theorizing). © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Sex and genes,part 2: A biopsychosocial approach to assess and treat challenging sexual behavior in persons with intellectual disabilities including fragile X syndrome and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome

Individuals with intellectual disabilities (IDs) – and specifically those with genetic disorders – are more prone to medical and psychological challenges that affect their sexual development, experiences, and fertility. In this review paper we first provide an overview of the biopsychosocial (BPS) model and then explain how the model can guide and improve the assessment and treatment of challenging sexual behaviors by persons with IDs. We discuss two genetic conditions – fragile X syndrome and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome – in case studies, showing how the BPS model can be used to assess and treat the sexual problems of individuals with various types of ID. We conclude with BPS-formulated treatment considerations in three key domains: biomedical treatment (e.g., medication side effects; stopping or changing medications), psychological treatment (e.g., providing psychological therapies), and socio-environmental interventions (e.g., providing socio-sexual education and staff training). Together, these treatment interventions can aid clinicians to prevent and/or treat problematic sexual behaviors of people with IDs.     

An update on the study of playfulness in adolescents: its relationship with academic performance,well-being,anxiety, and roles in bullying-type-situations

Playfulness is an individual differences variable at the trait-level. It describes the ability to experience or (re)frame everyday situations as stimulating, interesting, and/or entertaining. Playfulness in adolescents is understudied. We collected self-report data on four facets of playfulness (other-directed, lighthearted, intellectual, and whimsical) in two German-speaking samples of adolescents (N1 = 210, N2 = 270; age range 13–18 years). The facets correlated positively, but to varying degrees with life satisfaction (social life, self, friends) and intrinsic goals. There was no relationship with self-reported school grades and achievement goals (Sample 1). Playfulness in girls was associated with peer-nominated (classmates) bullying behaviors and victimization status (Sample 2). Overall, the findings show that playfulness has an impact on various domains of the life of adolescents. We discuss directions for further research in the field.