Adult Attachment,Multidimensional Perfectionism,and the Alliances Among Counselor Supervisees

This study examined the moderating role that 2 dimensions of perfectionism (standards [adaptive] and discrepancy [maladaptive]) had on 2 dimensions of adult attachment (anxious and avoidant) and both client and supervisory alliances among 170 counselor supervisees. Anxious attachment and discrepancy were significant negative predictors of the client working alliance. A significant 3‐way interaction was found between anxious attachment, standards, and discrepancy on the supervisory working alliance. Implications from these findings are discussed.     

Parents’ Experiences of Receiving the Initial Positive Newborn Screening (NBS) Result for Cystic Fibrosis and Sickle Cell Disease

The clinical advantages of the newborn screening programme (NBS) in the UK are well described in the literature. However, there has been little exploration of the psychosocial impact on the family. This study followed the principles of grounded theory to explore parents’ experiences of receiving the initial positive NBS result for their child with cystic fibrosis (CF) or sickle cell disease (SCD). Semi-structured, qualitative interviews were conducted with 22 parents (12 mothers and 10 fathers) whose children had been diagnosed with CF or SCD via NBS and were under the age of 1 year at the time of interview. The main themes that arose from the data were; parents previous knowledge of the condition and the NBS programme, the method of delivery and parental reactions to the result, sharing the results with others, the impact on parental relationships and support strategies. Study conclusions indicate that most parents thought initial positive NBS results should be delivered by a health professional with condition specific knowledge, preferably with both parents present. Genetic counselling needs to include a focus on the impact of NBS results on parental relationships. Careful consideration needs to be given to strategies to support parents of babies who have positive NBS results both in terms of the psychological health and to assist them in sharing the diagnosis.     

Burnout,compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction among nurses in the context of maternal and perinatal deaths

This study investigated the prevalence and levels of burnout, compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction among nurses with exposure to maternal and perinatal deaths. A convenience sample of 83 nurses was selected for participation from six hospitals in Limpopo province, South Africa, comprising 98% females with an age range of 21 to 62 years, and 15 to 18 mean years of experience in maternal and perinatal care. The nurses completed the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL R-IV), which is a measure of burnout, compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction. The analysis examined the prevalence and level of burnout, compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction among the nurses. Most of the respondents (92%) reported with moderate burnout scores, and about 67% reported with moderate to high compassion fatigue scores, whilst 82% reported with compassion satisfaction scores. Moderate levels of high burnout and compassion fatigue can co-occur with relatively high compassion satisfaction among nurses in critical-care health services.     

Early and Late Life Exposure to Trauma and Biopsychosocial Well-Being in Centenarians

Few studies have investigated the proximal versus distal influence of traumatic life events (TLE) on biopsychosocial resources of very old adults. The Developmental Adaptation Model was used to test TLE experienced before and after the age of 60 on outcomes of centenarians’ physical disability, perceived health impairments, depressive symptoms, and social support. Cross-sectional data were collected from 154 community-dwelling centenarians. Results indicated that TLE in the latter half of life were positively associated with health impairments and depressive symptoms. The present results emphasize the importance of a process-oriented approach to resilience that allows flexibility in successful coping across the lifespan.     

How Do Logics Explain?

Anti-exceptionalists about logic maintain that it is continuous with the empirical sciences. Taking anti-exceptionalism for granted, we argue that traditional approaches to explanation are inadequate in the case of logic. We argue that Andrea Woody's functional analysis of explanation is a better fit with logical practice and accounts better for the explanatory role of logical theories.     

An Approach for Determining the Mix between Human and Automated Service Providers

With the growing popularity of self‐service technologies (SST), businesses have to determine how to combine traditional human service with SST technologies. These mix problems have not received adequate attention in the research literature. This paper offers a decision model for solving mix problems between human service channels and SSTs. The decision problem cannot be determined as a traditional max or min problem and it is fuzzy. In fuzzy problems, the decision maker (DM) is considered as the focal point with the relevant knowledge and preferences and therefore, the objective is to maximize the DM's preferences. This paper develops a decision support system for eliciting a DM's value function when the service channels are considered to be substitutes, but when the rate of substitution may change and then uses a linear‐fractional model to fit the DM's data and optimize the DM's preferences. A service mix problem for a grocery store with human service providers and SSTs is used to demonstrate how the decision model can be employed to analyze and solve service mix decision making problems. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Positive Aging Through Reading Our Lives

The same turn toward ??narrative?? that has been making its way across psychology, sociology, and related disciplines is influencing how gerontologists view the inner experience of aging??inside aging, as it were: subjective aging or biographical aging. In sympathy with Kenneth and Mary Gergen??s vision of ??positive aging??, and in contrast to the biomedical paradigm that dominates societal perceptions of aging in general, a narrative gerontology appreciates that lives are in many ways ??texts?? that are socially constructed - and co-authored??amid our relationships with others within a wide range of narrative environments, larger stories, and master narratives??families, friendships, cultures, creeds, etc.. In this way, it opens up a theoretical space for appreciating the poetic complexity of later life and for seeing aging as a process, potentially, of growing old and not just getting old. This paper explores how a poetic or narrative perspective sheds light on the intimate links between memory, meaning, wisdom, and spirituality; moreover, how learning to ??read our lives?? can aid us in developing resilient, robust stories??of self, other, and world??with which to meet the many challenges of later life.     

Identification of Individuals at Risk for Lynch Syndrome Using Targeted Evaluations and Genetic Testing: National Society of Genetic Counselors and the Collaborative Group of the Americas on Inherited Colorectal Cancer Joint Practice Guideline

Identifying individuals who have Lynch syndrome (LS) involves a complex diagnostic work up that includes taking a detailed family history and a combination of various genetic and immunohistochemical tests. The National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) and the Collaborative Group of the Americas on Inherited Colorectal Cancer (CGA-ICC) have come together to publish this clinical practice testing guideline for the evaluation of LS. The purpose of this practice guideline is to provide guidance and a testing algorithm for LS as well as recommendations on when to offer testing. This guideline does not replace a consultation with a genetics professional. This guideline includes explanations in support of this and a summary of background data. While this guideline is not intended to serve as a review of LS, it includes a discussion of background information on LS, and cites a number of key publications which should be reviewed for a more in-depth understanding of LS. These guidelines are intended for genetic counselors, geneticists, gastroenterologists, surgeons, medical oncologists, obstetricians and gynecologists, nurses and other healthcare providers who evaluate patients for LS.     

Refining the Preschool Self‐regulation Assessment for Use in Preschool Classrooms

To aid in understanding preschoolers' self‐regulation and refinement of measurement, we examined properties of a field‐based assessment battery of preschooler's self‐regulation, the Preschool Self‐regulation Assessment (PSRA). The PSRA, which includes seven age‐appropriate tasks that tap children's executive control, was administered to 313 preschoolers and then to 261 of these children approximately 3 months later. Teachers reported on children's school readiness (social competence and classroom adjustment) at the end of preschool and kindergarten years, and on academic success in kindergarten. PSRA tasks were examined for ceiling effects at 35–65 months; Pencil Tap, Balance Beam, Toy Wrap and Snack Delay were retained for lack of such effects. Confirmatory factor analyses showed two components at each time point – hot and cool executive control – and cross‐time correlations showed significant stability of individual differences. Four‐year‐old girls and children of higher socioeconomic status outperformed 3‐year‐old boys and those at socioeconomic risk. Children, especially girls, scored higher on hot executive control. Finally, aspects of executive control differentially predicted teacher‐reports of school readiness at both times of assessment, with age, gender and risk status controlled. These selected PSRA tasks, as a shortened battery, have potential for research and applied usage, and findings speak to theoretical understanding of preschoolers' self‐regulation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Distinct contributions of the caudate nucleus, rostral prefrontal cortex, and parietal cortex to the execution of instructed tasks

When we behave according to rules and instructions, our brains interpret abstract representations of what to do and transform them into actual behavior. In order to investigate the neural mechanisms behind this process, we devised an fMRI experiment that explicitly isolated rule interpretation from rule encoding and execution. Our results showed that a specific network of regions (including the left rostral prefrontal cortex, the caudate nucleus, and the bilateral posterior parietal cortices) is responsible for translating rules into executable form. An analysis of activation patterns across conditions revealed that the posterior parietal cortices represent a mental template for the task to perform, that the inferior parietal gyrus and the caudate nucleus are responsible for instantiating the template in the proper context, and that the left rostral prefrontal cortex integrates information across complex relationships.