Psychologists' and counsellors' perspectives on prolonged grief disorder and its inclusion in diagnostic manuals

Introduction: In this research, proposed criteria for what has been termed ‘Prolonged Grief Disorder’ (PGD) (more recently termed, ‘Persistent Complex Bereavement‐Related Disorder’ (PCB‐RD) in the proposed DSM‐V), were presented to psychologists and counsellors. Method: Participants were asked about their views on the ‘disorder’ and whether they considered its inclusion in diagnostic manuals was justified. A total of 185 participants, (147 psychologists, specialist and general, and 38 counsellors) responded to an online survey (part of a larger research project), concerning their attitudes, choices and activities regarding bereavement therapy. In this part of the research, therapists’ perspectives about pathological grief, the recognition of PGD and its inclusion in diagnostic manuals were explored. Fifty‐nine participants took the option of adding written remarks to the survey to expand on their opinions regarding PGD. Results/Conclusions: Tentative support for the inclusion of PGD in diagnostic manuals was given; however many therapists indicated considerable reservations about potential negative repercussions of using such a diagnosis. One‐way between‐groups analysis of variance was undertaken to determine whether participants' opinions varied according to main occupation or specialism; however, no significant difference was found. This research was conducted prior to the latest update to the proposed revision and diagnostic category concerning bereavement in the DSM‐5 of April 2012, but many observations and recommendations concerning PGD made by the therapists participating in this research can be seen to be applicable to PCB‐RD. Implications: The implications of this research for assessing and diagnosing grief, and ways of working with bereaved clients, are discussed.     

Misunderstood Stoicism: The negative Association Between Stoic Ideology and well-Being

Journal of Happiness Studies - Ancient philosophy proposed a wide range of possible approaches to life which may enhance well-being. Stoic philosophy has influenced various therapeutic traditions....     

Young Children's Self-Generated Object Views and Object Recognition

Two important and related developments in children between 18 and 24 months of age are the rapid expansion of object name vocabularies and the emergence of an ability to recognize objects from sparse representations of their geometric shapes. In the same period, children also begin to show a preference for planar views (i.e., views of objects held perpendicular to the line of sight) of objects they manually explore. Are children's emerging view preferences somehow related to contemporary changes in object name vocabulary and object perception? Children aged 18 to 24 months old explored richly detailed toy objects while wearing a head camera that recorded their object views. Both children's vocabulary size and their success in recognizing sparse three-dimensional representations of the geometric shapes of objects were significantly related to their spontaneous choice of planar views of those objects during exploration. The results suggest important interdependencies among developmental changes in perception, action, word learning, and categorization in very young children.     

A Population-Based Study of Children’s Well-Being and Health: The Relative Importance of Social Relationships,Health-Related Activities,and Income

This study investigated how various risk and protective factors interface with child health and well-being at the population level. Specifically, we examined the association of income, social-contextual variables, and indicators of health-related habits and activities to children’s life satisfaction and perceived overall health. Child data were collected via a self-report survey, the Middle Years Development Instrument, which was administered in three demographically diverse Canadian school districts to 5026 grade 4 students (83 % of the students had complete data and were included in the analyses). Multiple regression and mediation analyses were conducted to examine the joint associations of social relationships with adults and peers, nutrition and sleep habits, and after school sports activities with children’s satisfaction with life and perceived health. Results indicate that peer belonging and relationships with adults at home and school were the strongest predictors of life satisfaction. Furthermore, the (small) association between income and life satisfaction was mediated by social relationship variables. Child reports of perceived health were predicted by peer belonging, adult relationships (home, school, neighborhood), after-school team sports, and nutrition habits. The (small) association between income and health was mediated by social relationships and team sports participation. Findings are discussed in light of previous research on social determinants and socio-economic gradients of children’s health and life satisfaction.     

Vicarious Peer Victimization and Adolescent Violence: Unpacking the Effects of Social Learning,General Strain,and Peer Group Selection

This study examines how the victimization of a close friend, or vicarious peer victimization, affects adolescent violence. Competing processes linking vicarious peer victimization and violence are empirically evaluated including social learning theory, general stain theory, and peer group selection models. The analyses use peer-network data from three waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Regression models demonstrate that the association between vicarious peer victimization and violence is attributed primarily to peer-group selection and social learning mechanisms. These findings indicate that victimization affects not only the immediate victims of violence, but permeates throughout adolescent social networks.