Sexueller Sadismus und Sexualkriminalität

The categorization of sadism has turned out to be a versatile phenomenon, which covers a spectrum from harmless symbolic rituals to extremely violent acts where strong impulses or prolonged fantasies and rituals are involved. As the phenomenon is versatile its causes and appearances vary as well, although so-called BDSM (bondage & discipline & dominance & submission & sadism & masochism) practitioners and persons with severe sadism in a forensic context share only few common preferences. Based on own clinical experiences with sadism in forensic patients the authors support the proposed revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) especially the diagnostic disjuncture of sadism and masochism. Sexual sadism appears more frequently in forensic contexts in combination with sadistic, antisocial and borderline personality disorders but rarely with masochism. Masochism is otherwise reported to be more prevalent in patients of general psychiatry, however, combined with depression or dependent personality traits rather than with sadism. Moreover, the authors believe that if use of the diagnostic term sadism is perpetuated the establishment of the proposed new diagnosis “paraphilic coercive disorder” is unnecessary. The diagnostic term is also important for treatment and assessment. Despite the lack of reliable long-term studies with larger samples, it is reasonable to assume that medication, sometimes even anti-androgenic treatment, can be indicated in patients with severe sadism.     

Psychotherapie bei lebensbedrohlich Erkrankten

In den letzten 20 Jahren ist die begleitende psychotherapeutische Behandlung bei körperlich Schwerkranken fester Bestandteil der Tätigkeit von psychosomatischen Konsiliar- und Liaisondiensten im Krankenhaus geworden. Eine Konzeptualisierung dieser Tätigkeit auf psychodynamischer Basis wird beschrieben. Ziele der psychotherapeutischen Interventionen sind die Stabilisierung der Abwehr des Patienten und die Rückgewinnung eines strukturierten Umgangs mit der Krankheit, mit den Behandlern und den nahen Bezugspersonen. Therapiebausteine sind eine narrative Gesprächsstruktur, ein psychodynamisches Verständnis der aktuellen Krankheitssituation auf dem Hintergrund der Lebensgeschichte, aktives Zuhören, Fokusformulierung und systemische Sichtweise. Wichtige Wirkfaktoren sind eine empathische Beziehung, Verbalisierung von belastenden, negativen Gefühlen, Fokussieren auf aktuelle Probleme und Ressourcenorientierung. Probleme entstehen durch negative Gegenübertragung des Psychotherapeuten und ausgeprägte Verleugnungsvorgänge auf Patientenseite. Die Umsetzung erfordert vom Psychotherapeuten kontinuierliche Präsenz und regelmäßige Rücksprachen und Konsultationen mit dem behandelnden Team.     

Everyday Victimization of Adolescent Girls by Boys: Sexual Harassment, Bullying or Aggression?

School-based sexual harassment of adolescent girls by boys appears commonplace, yet aggression and bullying studies rarely yield sexualized material. This qualitative Australian study with 72 14- to 15-year-olds and 7 teachers aimed to discover whether interviewer use of neutral language in gender-segregated focus groups and interviews would yield material indicating that the victimization of girls by boys is sexualized. Verbal and indirect victimization were reported to be everyday occurrences, and almost entirely sexual. Findings are discussed in the light of definitions of sexual harassment, bullying and aggression. It is concluded that the term “sexual bullying” appropriately captures the gendered power structure underlying these behaviors. As such, they need to be understood, and become visible, more broadly than in terms of individual pathology.     

Psychophysical supervenience: Its epistemological foundation

My primary goal in this paper is to focus attention on a certain conception of internal access, on the Cartesian conception that a rational subject's capacity to determine sameness and difference in explicit propositional attitudes is independent of knowledge of the external world. This conception of introspection plays a crucial, if unacknowledged, role in numerous arguments and theoretical positions. In particular, it plays a large role in motivating psychological internalism. I argue in favor of rejecting this epistemology and the internalism it supports.     

Internal-external locus of control and performance on a vigilance task.

Previous studies have demonstrated there are large individual differences in subjects' ability to perform on vigilance or watch-keeping tasks. This study used Rotter's Internal-External (I-E) Locus of Control Scale to resolve some of the variance attributed to individual differences and tested the hypothesis that the internally controlled person is a better monitor on a vigilance task than an externally controlled person. There were 64 subjects who performed a visual watch-keeping task for a 1-hr. period. The results indicated that the external subjects made significantly more incorrect responses and missed significantly more signals during the entire task. The internal-external dimension was effective in differentiating performance on a vigilance task.     

Values disparity and academic achievement among Ugandan adolescents

A century ago, Christian missionaries founded Uganda’s earliest schools. Many of these schools continue to espouse values inculcation as a stated goal. In this study of 502 Ugandan children completing primary school (P7), students’ personal values and their perception of their school’s values were measured using adaptations of the Rokeach Values Survey (RVS). A disparity score was computed for each respondent to determine the degree of similarity between personal and school values. The relationship between the disparity score and performance on the Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) was then computed. Results reveal a small but significant correlation between values disparity and academic achievement (r = .35, p < .001).     

Are boundary extension and representational momentum related?

Boundary extension (BE) is misremembering more of a particular scene than actually presented. Representational momentum (RM) is misremembering the final position of a moving object as further along its implied trajectory. There is a sense in which both BE and RM are predictions, and the current experiments explore the possibility that these are related phenomena. We showed participants single photographs to measure baseline BE, and then approach sequences and measured BE and RM. We found significant BE and RM, and a significant interaction between baseline BE and BE following an approach sequence, but no interaction with RM. The initial evidence suggests that BE and RM are separate processes, and that BE (the establishing of spatial layout) occurs before RM (the continuation of movement) within a scene.     

Dispositional optimism and recovery from coronary artery bypass surgery: the beneficial effects on physical and psychological well-being

The effect of dispositional optimism on recovery from coronary artery bypass surgery was examined in a group of 51 middle-aged men. Patients provided information at three points in time--(a) on the day before surgery, (b) 6-8 days postoperatively, and (c) 6 months postoperatively. Information was obtained relating to the patient's rate of physical recovery, mood, and postsurgical quality of life. Information was also gathered regarding the manner in which the patients attempted to cope with the stress of the surgery and its aftermath. As expected, dispositional optimism proved to be an important predictor of coping efforts and of surgical outcomes. More specifically, dispositional optimism (as assessed prior to surgery) correlated positively with manifestations of problem-focused coping and negatively with the use of denial. Dispositional optimism was also associated with a faster rate of physical recovery during the period of hospitalization and with a faster rate of return to normal life activities subsequent to discharge. Finally, there was a strong positive association between level of optimism and postsurgical quality of life at 6 months.