An Argument for Intrinsic Value Monism

Philosophia - In this paper I argue that there is only one intrinsic value (i.e. intrinsic value monism). I start by examining three aspects of values that are often taken to count against this...     

Gender Differences in Parental Images and Intimate Relationships: A Northern Finland Sample

One of the most important components of the developmental environment is the emotional atmosphere. Childhood experiences and perceptions of parental roles and behavior result in memory models and images, which may affect the children’s relationships in adulthood. In the present study, the cross-sectional associations between childhood parental images and the quality of current intimate adult relationships were studied in a sub-study of a mother–child follow-up in northern Finland. The data were collected with a questionnaire mailed to 28–29-year-old adults, with a total of 337 replies. The present study included those respondents (N = 253) who were married or cohabiting (153 women, 100 men). Since offspring can be affected by gender-specific parenting patterns, the analyses were made separately for both genders. In women, supportiveness in both maternal and paternal images was associated with a balanced intimate relationship, the latter also being associated with a loving relationship and providing protection against quarrelsome and repressive–submissive aspects of the relationship. In men, maternal supportiveness was linked with a balanced and loving intimate relationship and protected against a quarrelsome relationship. Paternal domination was associated with repressive–submissive relationships regardless of gender. In conclusion, the qualities of recalled childhood parenting are important to adult well-being in intimate relationships in a gender-specific manner. The specific importance of the father to the children’s later life was also observed. This would indicate that supporting the relationship of the child with both parents is equally important for professionals working with children and families.     

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder among inmates in Bergen Prison

The aim of this study was to investigate whether clinical findings are consistent with research indicating a high prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among prison inmates. Forty‐three male inmates who were referred for ADHD assessment at the health service in Bergen prison participated. Although most of them reported symptoms in accordance with ADHD both in childhood and adulthood, only 35% of the referred inmates fulfilled the criteria for ADHD when a comprehensive assessment was conducted. The results emphasize the importance of a comprehensive assessment when diagnosing ADHD among prison inmates.     

Symptomatic distress and effectiveness of psychological treatments delivered at a nationwide student counseling service

The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of student counseling in Denmark and to compare the symptomatic distress among student counseling clients with that of Danish outpatients. The pre-intervention level of self-reported symptomatic distress among 1256 students closely paralleled that of psychiatric outpatients. Participants in the intervention study were the 739 student clients with two or more counseling sessions. For the 530 (71.7%) participants with both pre- and post-measurements, the mean pre–post Cohen’s d effect size (ES) was .76 on the Global Severity Index of the Symptom Check List-90-Revised. An intention-to-treat analysis of all 739 clients resulted in an ES of .59. The number of recovered clients according to the Jacobson and Truax criteria was 295 (68.8%) of the 429 (80.9%) clients above the clinical cut-off at pre-intervention, while 66 (12.5%) of the 530 clients reliably deteriorated. The mean number of sessions was 5.0. Individual counseling, number of sessions, and ending counseling in agreement predicted better outcome. In line with results from other countries, this study may indicate that in Denmark student counseling is an effective intervention for a highly needy clientele, even though a high proportion of clients deteriorated (12.5%) or dropped out (31.7%).     

Towards Dialogical Models of Radicalization and de-Radicalization

According to social psychology, radicalization occurs for a variety of reasons reasons. They include a sense of exclusion, threatened identity, loss of meaning and significance, negative emotions and defensive identification with a group representing power and a clear-cut ideology. In the terms of the Dialogical Self Theory, radicalization implies atrophy of the internal polyphony and dialogical functions of the self. Two hypothetical models of the radicalized self are proposed. The first posits the creation of a powerful I-position that represents a “universal” truth that is not open to doubt. The second introduces twin I-positions, one representing a sense of insecurity and another depicting a redemptive idea. Both types imply lowered openness and reduction of social and internal dialogs, resulting in a dysfunctional, rigid organized self. The question discussed in this article is: How can such an internal organization of the self be changed? Thus it aims to describe and explain the process of de-radicalization, which is proposed to consist of three elements: (1) reorganization of the self-structure and stimulation of a promoter position, (2) restoration of security, which can awaken the polyphony and dialogicality of the self, and (3) supporting internal dialog, promoter functions and a meta-position by reference to values that are significant for the relevant I-positions and the system as a whole.