A Community of Psychotherapists

Services for chronic mental patients in this era of deinstitutionalization present a major challenge to clinicians and planners alike. The complexity of these patients' clinical and other programmatic needs requires that an array of viable comprehensive services be made available to them. Following certain established principles of service planning will help facilitate patients' longitudinal, psychological, financial, and geographical access to care.     

Potential perceptual bases for successful use of a vibrotactile speech perception aid

This paper examines the possibility that perception of vibrotactile speech stimuli is enhanced in adults with early and life-long use of hearing aids. We present evidence that vibrotactile aid benefit in adults is directly related to the age at which the hearing aid was fitted and the duration of its use. The stimulus mechanism responsible for this effect is hypothesized to be long-term vibrotactile stimulation by high powered hearing aids. We speculate on possible mechanisms for enhanced vibrotactile speech perception as the result of hearing aid use: (1) long-term experience receiving degraded or impoverished speech stimuli results in a speech processing system that is more effective for novel stimuli, independent of perceptual modality; and/or (2) long-term sensory/perceptual experience causes neural changes that result in more effective delivery of speech information via somatosensory pathways.     

INCREASING SPONTANEOUS PLAY BY SUPPRESSING SELF-STIMULATION IN AUTISTIC CHILDREN1

Appropriate play with toys was studied in two autistic children with high occurrences of self-stimulatory behavior. Each child participated in the experimental sessions in an A-B-A design, where “A” refers to baseline sessions and “B” refers to self-stimulation suppression sessions. It was found that: (a) during the baseline sessions, the children exhibited low levels of play and high levels of self-stimulatory behavior; (b) the per cent of unreinforced, spontaneous, appropriate play increased when self-stimulatory behavior was suppressed; and (c) when the suppression of self-stimulation was discontinued, the per cent of self-stimulation and that of appropriate play approached their presuppression levels. These results seem particularly significant because they identify a set of conditions under which spontaneous appropriate behavior, uncommon in autistic children, occurs at an increased level.     

Mothers', fathers' and children's perceptions of parents' expectations about children's family obligations in nine countries

Children's family obligations involve assistance and respect that children are expected to provide to immediate and extended family members and reflect beliefs related to family life that may differ across cultural groups. Mothers, fathers and children (N = 1432 families) in 13 cultural groups in 9 countries (China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Philippines, Sweden, Thailand and United States) reported on their expectations regarding children's family obligations and parenting attitudes and behaviours. Within families, mothers and fathers had more concordant expectations regarding children's family obligations than did parents and children. Parenting behaviours that were warmer, less neglectful and more controlling as well as parenting attitudes that were more authoritarian were related to higher expectations regarding children's family obligations between families within cultures as well as between cultures. These international findings advance understanding of children's family obligations by contextualising them both within families and across a number of diverse cultural groups in 9 countries.     

Risky Sexual Behavior of Multiple Partner Relations and Women’s Autonomy in Four Countries

Existent research reveals that inequitable gender-based power in relationships and intimate partner violence contribute to HIV rates among women in the developing world. This study uses a multi-country analysis to examine women’s autonomy in negotiating safe sex practices such as having sex with a partner with no other concurrent partner to reduce the risk of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, and Nepal. The Demographic Health Survey data for Nigeria (2013), Kenya (2008–2009), Malawi (2010), and Nepal (2011) provide geographical variability as well as HIV risk variables. The sample included 16,540 women aged 15–49 years who self-identified as ever married. Factor analysis for women’s autonomy was conducted based on socio-cultural theory. Logistic regression was conducted and results identified decision-making, labor force participation, and individual autonomy as women autonomy factors significantly reduced the risk for HIV infection by having one sex partner who has only one sex partner. Other women autonomy factors related to lower risk for HIV include education, place of residence, and religion. Our study indicates that effective management of HIV transmission requires addressing women autonomy factors within the context of culture.     

Introduction: Forgiveness and Conflict

The papers collected in this volume are a selection of papers that were presented - or scheduled to be presented - at a workshop entitled Forgiveness and Conflict, which took place from 8-10 September 2014, as part of the Mancept Workshops in Political Theory at the University of Manchester. Some of these contributions are now compiled in this volume. The selected papers draw from different philosophical traditions and conceptual frameworks, addressing many aspects of contemporary philosophical debates on the nature and normativity of forgiveness, including its political aspects. The result is a rich collection of essays which covers a wide variety of philosophical issues, displaying cutting edge scholarship in this area. This introduction provides a brief overview of some of the central themes discussed in the volume with a particular emphasis on their innovative aspects.     

Between critics and caretakers: current introductions to Islam

Among a general abundance of literature on Islam, a number of books by scholars of religion and Islamicists have now found regular use in religious-studies programs. This article examines recent introductions to Islam, written by academics, and distinguishes between introductory books in general and textbooks that share more specific features. All books undergo assessment with respect to such qualities as accessibility, structure, and content. Moreover, two broader approaches come into view: some books seek to counter “misrepresentations” of Islam by extremists and the media and try to present a more sympathetic picture of “true” Islam, while others place a stronger focus on the constructed nature of Islam and follow a more critical approach. The books reviewed thus reflect reactions to current developments and discourses as well as the plurality of academic approaches to the field. Aside from more critical assessments, this article contends that some excellent and useful works introduce newcomers not only to Islam itself, but also to the academic study of Islam and religion more generally.     

Risk Factors Associated with Proactive and Reactive Aggression in a Child Psychiatric Inpatient Sample

Proactive and reactive aggression represent distinct functions of aggression that are associated with different risk factors, including individual and contextual characteristics. However, more research evaluating the interactive effects of risk factors is needed. The current study evaluated whether corporal punishment moderated the influence of neighborhood problems and anger coping on proactive and reactive aggression in a child psychiatric inpatient sample of 6 to 13 year olds (n?=?151). Findings were compared across child- and caregiver-reports of aggression. Consistent with expectations, anger coping was more strongly associated with reactive aggression than proactive aggression across informants. In contrast, perceived neighborhood problems were only associated with child-reports of proactive aggression, with corporal punishment moderating this association. Specifically, the association between neighborhood problems and proactive aggression was only evident at high levels of corporal punishment. Treatment implications and future directions are discussed.