“THE MAN WHO COMMITTED A HUNDRED BURGLARIES”: MARK BENNEY'S STRANGE AND EVENTFUL SOCIOLOGICAL CAREER

This article examines the life and career of the sociologist Mark Benney. It describes the processes, not all of them edifying, by which he made the transition from life as a career criminal, via literature, to become a sociologist first at the London School of Economics and then at the University of Chicago. Benney's career is then used to illuminate particular episodes in the history of sociology, including the attempt to introduce into British sociology in the period after the Second World War quantitative survey techniques of the kind that were then becoming more widely used in the United States, and his work with David Riesman on the Interview Project, Riesman's attempt to develop a empirically based sociology of the interview.     

THE IMPACT OF DEPRESSION ON MATERNAL RESPONSES TO INFANT FACES IN PREGNANCY

Research has suggested that prenatal depression may be associated with disrupted maternal responses to infant stimuli, with depressed pregnant women not showing the bias toward distressed infants as that observed in nondepressed pregnant women. The current study examined the effects of depression on self‐ reported responses to infant stimuli, in early pregnancy. Women with clinical depression (n = 38), and nondepressed women (n = 67) were recruited from a wider cognitive behavioral therapy trial. They completed Maternal Response Scales in which they were presented with images of distressed, neutral, and happy infant faces, with no time limit. The women rated their responses to these images along three dimensions—wanting to comfort, wanting to turn away, and feelings of anxiety—using Likert scales via a computerized task. There was evidence that women with depression in pregnancy showed different responses than did women without depression. Women with depression were substantially more likely to be in the highest quartile for ratings of wanting to turn away, odds (OR) ratio = 4.15, 95% confidence intervals (CIs) = 1.63–10.5, p = .003, and also were substantially less likely to be in the highest quartile for wanting to comfort a distressed infant face, OR = 0.22, 95% CIs = 0.09–0.54, p < .001. Findings are consistent with there being both a heightened avoidant and a reduced comforting response toward distressed infants in depressed pregnant women, providing some support that depression disrupts maternal preparations at a conscious level.     

金钱对幸福感的影响及其心理机制

传统经济学家认为,更多的收入会导致更高的幸福水平。心理学家在这个问题上则显得谨慎一些,他们从多个方面考察了金钱与幸福感之间的关系,并从中得出了一些引人深思的结论。研究表明,金钱能够通过人格、目标、动机、社会比较、适应与压力等中介变量对幸福感产生影响。未来研究应该在研究对象和方法上加以改进,在心理机制方面进行更深入的探讨。此外,本土化研究在我国有着重要的现实意义,有待于加强     

Impact of School Psychological Environment Variables on Happiness of Korean Youths

Abstract: This study analyzed the structural relationships between school‐related psychological variables (teacher support, learning flow, friendship) and the happiness of Korean youths, and compared structural equation models for middle and high schools. Questionnaire data were collected from students in middle and high schools in 10 cities and provinces of Korea. The final data set from 870 students was analyzed with Amos 20.0. Goodness of fit indices for the hypothetical model were good, and all paths were significant. That is, a model incorporating indirect and direct impact of school‐related psychological environment variables, such as teacher support, learning flow, and friendship, on the happiness of Korean youths is valid. Second, structural equation models for middle and high schools demonstrated significant differences. Therefore, different types of assistance are needed to increase the happiness of students in middle schools and high schools.     

Characteristics of patients in routine psycho-oncological care,and changes in outcome variables during and after their treatment

Objective: The primary aim of this study was to determine the characteristics of clients and interventions in routine psycho-oncological care. The secondary aim was to determine the course of symptomatology during and after the psychological interventions.

Design: During a period of nine months, all clients who sought help in one of the seven psycho-oncological care institutes in the Netherlands were approached to participate in the present study (N = 483). Information was gathered with respect to demographic and medical characteristics, and type and duration of the interventions. In addition, depression, anxiety, well-being, quality of life, fatigue and daily function were determined before interventions and three and nine months later.

Results and conclusions: Compared to the Dutch cancer population, patients in psycho-oncological care were more often young and female. Compared to the general Dutch population, they were highly educated and were more likely to have a partner. Clinical levels of depression, anxiety and/or fatigue were found among 83% of the patients. After three months, only 23% had completed their intervention; this figure was 62% after nine months. Symptoms decreased significantly for all outcome variables. An importance difference with randomised controlled trials is the low session frequency and the long intervention time of patients in clinical care.     

Effect of Socioeconomic Status on the Linkage Between Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempts

Previous suicide attempts are a leading risk factor for completed suicide. To identify specific characteristics of those at high risk for attempts, we investigated associations with socioeconomic status (SES). Data from the 2013 Korean Community Health Survey (KCHS) included adults who reported suicidal ideation (N = 220,245). Attempts in the past 12 months were assessed. Associations of demographic, socioeconomic, and suicide‐related behavioral factors were analyzed using multiple logistic regression. Among those with suicidal ideation, 862 (3.9%) had attempted suicide. After stratification by age and gender, results showed that low education and unemployed young adult men and women had significantly higher rates of attempts. The lowest income level was associated with significantly higher rates of attempts in only young adult women. Among those with the lowest and highest income, the association between ideation and attempts was attenuated, whereas it was enhanced among other income groups.     

Suicidality Among Chronically Homeless People with Alcohol Problems Attenuates Following Exposure to Housing First

This study is the first to document suicidality among chronically homeless people with alcohol problems (N = 134) and examine its trajectory following exposure to immediate, permanent, low‐barrier housing (i.e., Housing First). Suicidal ideation, intent, plans, and prior attempts were assessed at baseline and during a 2‐year follow‐up. Baseline suicidal ideation was over four times higher than in the general population. Two‐year, within‐subjects, longitudinal analyses indicated severity of suicidal ideation decreased by 43% from baseline to follow‐up. Significant decreases were also found for intent and clinical significance of ideation. No participants died by suicide during the 2‐year follow‐up.