The Use of Religion Among HIV-Infected African American Women

A study of the associations among physical and mental health and differential patterns of religiosity among African American women was conducted with a sample of 253 participants: 104 HIV-infected, 46 chronically ill (not HIV-infected), and 103 healthy subjects. Participants' uses of private (i.e., prayer) and public (i.e., church attendance) forms of religiosity were assessed using data from semi-structured interviews. The relationship between religiosity and mental health exhibited an incongruous pattern, differing across health condition and forms of religious behavior. The practice of public religiosity was found to be inversely associated with engagement in high-risk health behaviors among HIV-infected and healthy women but not among the chronically ill. Although private religiosity was unrelated to participants' perceptions of physical health, public religiosity was positively associated with physical health among HIV-infected women and inversely associated with their CD4 count. Finally, having a sense of control over one's health was positively related to religiosity. Results from this study support the important role religion plays for persons faced with chronic terminal diseases, as in the case of HIV/AIDS.     

Infant psychiatry clinic grand rounds. Unresolved grief: A two-year-old brings her mother for treatment

Rebecca was a 2 ¹/₂ -year-old Caucasian female who was brought to the Infant Psychiatry Clinic by her 28-year-old widowed mother. Her mother's chief concern was around parenting issues as well as how to explain to Rebecca the death of her father. This loss occurred when Rebecca was 6 months old and was a source of great pain and unresolved grief to her mother. Central to this case was the chaotic history of Rebecca's mother, who was a victim of incest from the time she was 13 until she was 23 years old. Both of her parents struggled with chronic alcoholism during much of her childhood. It appeared that a factor precipitating the mother's request for help was her struggle to move out of her own mother's home. This outpatient Infant Clinic case involved two primary goals: (1) the assessment of the parent-child relationship and (2) the development of confidence in this “good enough” mother. Vitally important to the process of treatment was the mother's modulation of timing and frequency of sessions. The issue of pacing was carefully monitored as this mother could have been overwhelmed by delving precipitously into her incestuous history. The use of a structured videotape interview to address mother-child interaction and parenting issues was particularly helpful. Referral to an AlAnon group provided the mother with social support as she separated herself from her alcoholic mother and moved toward autonomy in her own parenting role.     

The Daily Child Behavior Checklist

The purpose of this study was to develop a child behavior checklist that could be completed on a daily basis and that included both positive and negative child behaviors. Participants in the study were six groups of individuals, including one group of clinical psychology graduate students and five groups of either clinic-referred or nonclinic children and their parents. Content, discriminant, concurrent, and statistical conclusion validity data as well as test-retest reliability data were collected on the Daily Child Behavior Checklist (DCBC). The results indicated that the instrument has satisfactory validity and reliability and is reasonably sensitive to daily changes in child behaviors. The advantages and uses of the DCBC are discussed.     

Anomalous Monism and Epiphenomenalism

Abstract: I argue that, on plausible assumptions, anomalous entails monism epiphenomenalism of the mental. The plausible assumptions are (1) events are particulars; (2) causal relations are extensional; (3) mental properties are epiphrastic. A principle defender of anomalous monism, Donald Davidson, acknowledges that anomalous monism is committed to (1) and (2). I argue that it is committed to (3) as well. Given (1), (2), and (3), epiphenomenalism of the mental falls out immediately. Three attempts to salvage anomalous monism from epiphenomenalism of the mental are examined and rejected. I conclude with reflections on the status of non-reductive physicalism.     

Finding the g-factor in brain structure using the method of correlated vectors

It is unclear whether brain mechanisms underlying human intelligence are distributed throughout the brain or mainly concentrated in the frontal lobes. Data are inconsistent possibly due, at least in part, to the different ways the construct of intelligence is measured. Here we apply the method of correlated vectors to determine how the general factor of intelligence (g) is related to regional gray matter and white matter volumes. This is a re-analysis of an earlier study showing regional gray matter and white matter volume is correlated to Full Scale IQ (FSIQ). However, it is well-known that FSIQ taps several cognitive abilities and skills in addition to g. The results now show that the g factor accounts for several but not all FSIQ/gray matter correlations distributed throughout the brain and these areas may differ for young and older adults.     

Dropping out of parent training

The purpose of the present study was to determine the dropout rate when parents are taught to modify their children's problem behavior. Eight journals were examined for parent-training studies. Forty-five studies were found but only 22 of these reported dropout data. Studies were examined for dropout rate and in order to determine if the point in therapy at which dropout occurred was specified. The overall dropout rate was 28% and most studies specified when the dropout occurred. Finally, variables that are critical to dropping out when parent training is undertaken are presented and recommendations are made for future research.