Integration and identity in Muslim schools: Britain,United States and Montreal

Despite discrimination in mainstream Canadian society, local Muslim communities are a significant resource for immigrants. Recruited by friendship and kin networks, some families choose to educate their children in private full‐time Muslim schools which provide academic/economic credentials and social support. This research depicts a Muslim school in Montreal which both reflects Quebec society and nurtures minority ethnic/religious identity. For many parents, Arabic language classes, academic standards and behavioral norms were as important as the school's religious affiliation. Rejecting the hypothesis that emphasizing religious and cultural identities distanced children from mainstream society, some felt that the psychological and social effects of affirming a child's background were vital to integration and participation in mainstream society. In addition, the school also provided entry into social networks which offered parents an important support system.     

Gratitude,Citizenship and Education

Citizenship education is a complex matter, and not least the place of civic virtues in it. This is illustrated by a consideration of the civic virtue of gratitude. Two conceptions of gratitude are explored. Gratitude seen as a debt is examined and Kants exposition of it, including his objections to a persons getting himself into the position where he has to show gratitude as a beneficiary, is explored. An alternative conception of gratitude as recognition is developed. This, it is claimed, has more relevance to the kind of gratitude it would be appropriate for citizens of a democratic state to feel. The educational implications of these views are indicated.     

Bringing order to the arbitrary: one- to two-year-olds’ recall of event sequences

Recall by children ages 16–32 months was tested on event sequences that were either arbitrarily ordered or were constrained by enabling relations. Even the youngest children reliably recalled the enabling sequences. It was not until 20 months and older that the children performed at above-chance levels on the arbitrarily ordered events.     

Adrenocortical reactivity and social competence in seven year-olds

We examined temporal changes in salivary cortisol in response to a peer self-presentation task in a group of seven year-olds, some of whom scored high, average, and low on the Harter, 1983 Perceived Social Competence Scale. Salivary cortisol was measured pre-task, and 20 and 35 min post-task. We found a significant relation between individual differences in perceived social competence and salivary cortisol reactivity in response to the task. Children who perceived themselves as socially competent exhibited a significantly greater decrease in salivary cortisol from 20 to 35 min following the task compared with children who self-reported a relatively lower degree of social competence. We speculate on the meaning of salivary cortisol changes in childrens socio-emotional development.     

Direct and Nondirect Communication of Maternal Beliefs to Adolescents: Adolescent Motivations for Premarital Sexual Activity1

Communication between mothers and adolescents about premarital sexual intercourse was studied in the context of a model of maternal influence on the formation of adolescent beliefs about sexual behavior. Two different forms of maternal influence were explored: (a) direct communication, and (b) indirect transmission of maternal orientations. Respondents were 751 inner-city, African American adolescents (ages 14 to 17) and their mothers. Results indicated that adolescent motivations were related to their sexual behavior, and that maternal beliefs about sex were predictive of those motivations, independent of reports of the amount of communication that had taken place. These data are consistent with a model that underscores multiple mechanisms by which parents influence adolescent sexual behavior over and above direct communication.     

Using the Short Form-36 with multiple sclerosis patients in five countries: a cross-cultural comparison

Questionnaires measuring health-related quality of life are increasingly used in international studies of medical effectiveness. It is important to know if data from these instruments are comparable across countries. We initiated a collaboration among five research groups--from the USA, The Netherlands, Belgium, France, and the UK--in the field of health-related quality of life in multiple sclerosis. All groups used the 36-item Short Form Health Survey. The goal of our study was to make a cross-cultural comparison. In the five countries under study the sample size varied from 50 to 134 patients with multiple sclerosis. The survey was completed by a total of 457 patients, who were heterogeneous in relation to age, duration of illness, severity and type of multiple sclerosis. There appeared to be major differences among the samples in scores on each of the eight scales. These findings may be influenced by differences in method of recruitment, demographic and disease-related characteristics, administration, and cultural factors. After having performed a number of analyses, it appeared that the differences were mainly attributable to sampling effects; however, cultural influences could not be excluded.     

Going Beyond Certain Limits Together: How Ferenczi's Notion of Elasticity Informs Group Treatment of Traumatized Patients

This paper explores Ferenczi's elasticity techniques, ideas about mutuality, and analyst self-disclosure. It describes the application of Ferenczi's theory of working with traumatized patients to a group comprised of six patients. By exploring Ferenczi's techniques in working with his patients individually, the author hopes to guide clinicians in applying and recognizing the special value of Ferenczi's theory in a group setting. The author's emphasis on promoting an atmosphere of tenderness in the group led members to reveal their experiences of trauma after they had developed sufficient feelings of safety and freedom in the group.     

Feature integration that routinely occurs without focal attention

To analyze visual scenes, the visual system decomposes the visual scene into features that are processed in parallel by separate subsystems. Certain theories (Treisman, Wolfe) propose that these subsystems function independently before focal attention integrates their output. We describe a new paradigm—the gestalt detection task—that directly assesses the degree of preattentive dependence between any two subsystems. We present five experiments that test whether the subsystems that process form and color function independently in processing brief (and, therefore, preattentively processed) stimuli. Our data show that these two subsystems interact during the preattentive processing of featuredependent information. They are synergistic when the information they receive is consistent; they are antagonistic when the information they receive is inconsistent.     

Comparison of Scoring Criteria for Clock Drawing Test

This study compared clock drawings by 42 medically hospitalized patients with a mean age of 51.9 (SD = 10.1) years, using four sets of published scoring criteria to determine comparability of classification and to assess validity by comparison to other measures of cognitive functioning. We found impairment in 20 of 42 cases using the criteria of Mendez et al. (1992); 11 of 42 cases by Sunderland et al. (1989); 9 of 42 cases with Freedman et al. (1994); and 8 of 42 cases according to Rouleau et al. (1992). Kappa coefficients of impairment status between sets of scoring criteria ranged from .41 to .86. Pearson correlations of raw scores between schemes ranged from .72 to .94. All except Sunderland et al. were significantly correlated with the Standardized Mini-Mental State Examination. All correlated significantly with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–Revised Block Design; however, only Mendez et al. correlated significantly with the Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Examination. On the basis of these results and our experience, we recommend using the Freedman scoring scheme.     

Risk of sexual revictimization: A theoretical model

Survivors of child sexual abuse suffer serious short- and long-term psychological consequences. Sexual revictimization as an adult is one of the consequences that has been reported. At present, there is no theoretical model identifying the risk factors that result in child sexual abuse survivors being at greater risk of experiencing an adult sexual assault. The proposed model is designed to integrate existing research, stimulate further empirical work, and eventually aid in the development of a program to prevent revictimization. The variables hypothesized to play a mediating role in the pathway to revictimization include: severe psychological symptoms as a consequence of the child sexual abuse, poor coping styles, an insecure attachment style, hyperfemininity, delinquent behavior, drug use, and high risk sexual behavior.