Grammatik mit Widersprüchen

This paper presents and discusses important aspects of Optimality Theory, which has become one of the dominant models in theoretical linguistics. Optimality Theory is a system of constraints that are potentially in conflict with each other. Conflicts are resolved by ordering the principles in a strict hierarchy. We show that there are many respects in which Optimality Theory is a much more restrictive model of the language faculty than any of its competitors. Furthermore, the implications of the specific way how OT resolves conflicts seem to be more or less correct for natural language. However, modifications may be called for with respect to graded grammaticality and ineffability.     

Youth Exposed to Violence: Stability, Co-occurrence, and Context

With considerable literature establishing how separate types of violence disrupt the lives of children, there is emerging interest in examining violence across multiple interpersonal domains. This article examines four commonly occurring and frequently researched domains of violence exposure: marital physical aggression, mother-to-youth aggression, father-to-youth aggression, and community violence. A community-based sample of 103 parents and youth provided three waves of data at annual intervals beginning when the youth were aged 9–10. We explored stability of exposure, co-occurrence across different types of violence exposure, and associations with co-occurring risk factors. Approximately 30–45% of youth reported intermittent exposure over the 3 years. In addition to overlap among types of violence exposure within the family, we found overlap between parent-to-youth aggression and community violence, an association that was exacerbated in families where fathers reported high levels of global distress symptoms. Mother-to-youth, father-to-youth, and community violence related to youth behavior problems beyond the contextual risk factors of low income, stressful life events, and parents’ global distress symptoms. These results highlight the importance of examining violence longitudinally, across multiple types, and with attention to contextual factors.     

An historical perspective of incest

Incest has been documented in most civilizations and for as long as can be remembered. This article begins with a brief historical overview of incest across cultures and times. The second part includes a review of several theories that place the significance of the incest taboo in an historical continuum.     

Neuropsychological evidence for "word-meaning deafness" in a Spanish-speaking patient

In this paper we present a case of "word-meaning deafness," characterised by serious problems in the comprehension of spoken language, whilst repetition and writing words and non-words from dictation are preserved. This performance indicates the impossibility of correctly accessing phonological representation from the semantic representation of words. Neuropsychological evidence on specific alterations in word-meaning disorders is scarce, and this study contributes new findings with a Spanish-speaking patient. The nature of the processes involved in understanding language and the cerebral mechanisms that might be affected in each case were discussed, in accordance with current neuropsychological theories.     

Maternal attachment representations and the development of very low birth weight premature infants at two years of age

There is a consensus that prematurity could increase the risk of attachment impairment. We studied 90 premature children with very low birth weights (<1,500 g) and 96 healthy children born at term with similar age and sociodemographic characteristics. Our objective was to assess maternal stress and attachment representations, and compare development indices on both groups at 2 years of age. Premature infants had a medium‐to‐severe degree of immaturity and biological risk (M gestational age = 29.98 weeks; birth weight = 1,159.76 g), with 57% staying in the ICU ≥1 week. These children born prematurely had lower scores on the development indices within the normal range. Mothers of premature infants (n = 74) reported higher levels of stress during their first year of life (59%) than did controls (41%), but no significant differences were detected in maternal attachment discourse between the two groups. The findings confirm that premature birth has a great influence on maternal emotional responses and the health and development of children in the first years of life, and indicate that stress responses in parents and warning signs for attachment problems should be assessed as early as possible.     

Social Isolation and Perceived Barriers to Establishing Social Networks Among Latina Immigrants

Research has identified numerous mechanisms through which perceived social isolation and lack of social support negatively impact health. Little research attention has been dedicated to factors that influence the development of social networks, which have the potential to decrease perceptions of social isolation and provide social support. There is mixed evidence concerning the availability of supportive social networks for Latinos in the US. This study explores trauma-exposed Latina immigrants’ experiences of social isolation in the US and its perceived causes. Twenty-eight Latina immigrant women participated in an interview about traumatic experiences. Informal help seeking and the availability of friendships in the US were also queried. Frequent comparisons between experiences in their home countries and in the US shaped the emerging themes of social isolation and lack of social support. Women reported feeling lonely, isolated, closed-in, and less free in the US due to family separation and various obstacles to developing and maintaining relationships. Socioeconomic, environmental, and psychosocial barriers were offered as explanations for their limited social networks in the US. Understanding experiences of social isolation as well as barriers to forging social networks can help inform the development of social support interventions that can contribute to improved health among Latinos.     

Learning to read and write in Spanish: phonology in addition to which other processes? / Aprendiendo a leer y escribir en español: además de la fonología, ¿qué otros procesos?

Abstract

This study reviews some of the most relevant cognitive skills related to literacy acquisition in Spanish. Beyond the well-known influence of phonological segmental skills, it highlights the growing importance of other cognitive skills needed for acquisition, whether explicit or implicit in nature, to which too little attention has been devoted, including suprasegmental or prosodic skills, morphological skills and the implicit learning of linguistic regularities. It appears that all these skills constitute relevant factors that should be taken into account in order to understand typical as well as atypical literacy development.     

A socioemotional intervention in a Latin American orphanage

A pilot intervention that emphasized training and technical assistance to promote warm, sensitive, and responsive one‐on‐one caregiver–child interactions primarily during feeding and bathing/changing was implemented using regular staff in a depressed orphanage for children birth to approximately 8 years of age in Latin America. Despite a variety of unanticipated irregularities in the implementation of the intervention, many beyond the researchers' control, ward environments improved; caregivers displayed more warm, sensitive, and responsive interactions with children; and children improved an average of 13.5 developmental quotient (DQ) points after 4+ months' exposure to the completed intervention. Furthermore, 82% of the children had DQs greater than 70 before the intervention, but only 27.8% did so afterward. Although the training for all caregivers was aimed at children birth to 3 years, the number of different caregivers was reduced, and technical assistance was provided only to caregivers serving children less than 3 years, younger and older children (3–8 years) improved approximately the same amount. However, children who were transitioned from a younger to an older ward during the intervention improved less than did children who remained in either a younger or an older ward, the first evidence suggesting that the common orphanage practice of periodically graduating children from one homogeneous age group to another may impede their development. The study is consistent with others that have shown that orphanages can be changed, and increases primarily in warm, sensitive, responsive caregiver–child interactions can produce improvements in children's development.     

Burnout in Spanish physiotherapists

Diverse works on health sciences emphasise the importance of burnout in specific jobs. However, there is a lack of research about the presence of this syndrome in Spanish physiotherapists. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of burnout among physiotherapists and the relationship with work-related factors. 462 questionnaires were sent to health-centres. The questionnaire of work-related factors was administered, as well as the Maslach burnout inventory (MBI). 258 responses were received (55.8% response rate) from Murcia and Valencia. Regarding results 10 (4%) physiotherapists showed severe burnout. In relation to work-related factors, significant differences were observed. Although the percentage of physiotherapists with severe burnout was relatively low, it is important take into account that the syndrome requires the combined presence of three dimensions, which implies a very relevant situation of mental deterioration.