“Living in sin” and sinful living: Toward filling a gap in the explanation of violence against women

The present article argues that the failure of most family violence researchers to analyse cohabiting relationships separately from marital unions constitutes a major gap in our understanding of violence against women. The review of available evidence indicates that violence by men in cohabiting relationships is more common and more likely to be severe. Research is therefore needed to identify the causal pathways leading to violence for marrieds and cohabitors separately. Recognising a lack of theoretical application, a number of explanatory frameworks that may be used to study marital status differences in violence are articulated. An application of Berger and Kellner's phenomenological thesis to the study of selection and relationship factors appears particularly promising. As part of an agenda for future research in this area, several problems of past studies that need to be overcome are identified along with possible solutions.     

An examination of the Clinical Impairment Assessment among women at high risk for eating disorder onset

Identifying measures that reliably and validly assess clinical impairment has important implications for eating disorder (ED) diagnosis and treatment. The current study examined the psychometric properties of the Clinical Impairment Assessment (CIA) in women at high risk for ED onset. Participants were 543 women (20.6 ± 2.0 years) who were classified into one of three ED categories: clinical ED, high risk for ED onset, and low risk control. Among high risk women, the CIA demonstrated high internal consistency (α = 0.93) and good convergent validity with disordered eating attitudes (rs = 0.27-0.68, ps < 0.001). Examination of the CIA's discriminant validity revealed that CIA global scores were highest among women with a clinical ED (17.7 ± 10.7) followed by high risk women (10.6 ± 8.5) and low risk controls (3.0 ± 3.3), respectively (p < 0.001). High risk women reporting behavioral indices of ED psychopathology (objective and/or subjective binge episodes, purging behaviors, driven exercise, and ED treatment history) had higher CIA global scores than those without such indices (ps < 0.05), suggesting good criterion validity. These data establish the first norms for the CIA in a United States sample. The CIA is psychometrically sound among high risk women, and heightened levels of impairment among these individuals as compared to low risk women verify the relevance of early intervention efforts.     

The Psychometric Properties of the Personality Assessment Inventory-Short Form (PAI-SF) in Inpatient Forensic and Civil Samples

Research focusing on the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) has increased substantially over the past decade. However, there has been relatively little focus on the PAI short-form (PAISF). The current study evaluated the psychometric characteristics of the PAI-SF clinical scales using participants admitted to a large northeastern hospital under forensic (N?=?178) and civil (N?=?320) statutes. Results indicate that the internal consistency of the PAI-SF clinical scales is adequate for both the Forensic (range of alphas: 0.74 to 0.88) and Civil (0.79 to 0.91) samples, and assumptions of item-scale convergence and divergence were generally met with some exceptions. Finally, the PAI-SF exhibited strong agreement with the full-form PAI scores overall, and at the upper extreme (T?≥?70) of the distributions for both samples. The results are discussed in terms of how they extend prior research on the PAI-SF.     

Semantic Presuppositions in Political Personhood: The Case of Discourse-Theoretic Rationality and Social Externalism

Questions about the mind and those about politics have conventionally found separate treatments in the philosophical literature. This paper proposes that crucial assumptions about the nature of the human person in politics actually turn on a compatible account of mental content. The particular relation that I will focus on here would be one between a discourse-theoretic model of persons in political ontology and social externalism in philosophy of mind. For the former, I’ll concern myself largely with Philip Pettit’s presentation of it and its expression in terms of intentional systems which, I’ll argue, renders itself to a version of social externalism that emerges out of Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations. An auxiliary consequence of this exercise is the diagnosis of a familiar problem that is associated with the notion of rule-following—I’ll argue that skepticism about rule-following is only tenable when one holds on to an internalist thesis about the individuation of mental content. This objection is dissolved once a theory of understanding is adopted which works with a distinctly externalist account of mental content. Finally, I will take stock of the implications of this exercise in terms of suggesting basic grounds for a philosophically interesting relationship between political ontology and philosophy of mind.

     

Investigating Relationships Among Distress Tolerance,PTSD Symptom Severity,and Alcohol Use

Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment - Exposure to trauma (particularly interpersonal trauma), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and low distress tolerance (DT; the...     

The Problem of Second-generation Decline: Perspectives on Integration in Canada

Recent studies in North America have produced mixed results on the socioeconomic success of second-generation immigrants. This study contributes to this debate by analysing the data of the 1999 Equality, Security, and Community Survey. The analysis reveals that children of immigrant parents are not performing as well as most theories of linear assimilation suggest. Their performance varies depending on whether one or both parents are foreign-born. Specifically, there is a marked similarity between the outcomes of native-born children and second-generation children with only one immigrant parent, and between immigrant children and those of the second generation with two foreign-born parents.     

Limitations in Verbal Fluency Following Heavy Burdens of Early Childhood Diarrhea in Brazilian Shantytown Children

The effects of heavy burdens of diarrhea in the first 2 years of life on specific executive control function like verbal fluency are not well understood. In previous studies, we have shown associations of early childhood diarrhea (ECD) with nonverbal intelligence and school functioning. Therefore, we postulated that ECD might affect early neuropsychological development leading to long-term deficits in normal cognitive development. Based on our extensive 14-year prospective cohort studies of early childhood diarrheal illnesses in a Brazilian shantytown community, we examined ECD correlations between specific impairments of higher mental function and executive skills in shantytown children 5–10 years later (now at 6–12) years of age. Specifically we examined whether heavy diarrheal illnesses correlate with reduced performance on selected tests of executive function. Our study, for the first time, suggests a disproportional impairment in semantic but not phonetic fluency in a subset of children with heavy burdens of diarrhea in their first 2 years of life even when controlling for maternal education, breastfeeding, and child schooling. Similar semantic decrements have been associated with impaired recovery from brain injury. These exploratory studies suggest the importance of verbal fluency tests to assess executive functioning in children challenged by poor nutrition and diarrhea in early life. In addition, our unique findings show the potential influences of early childhood diarrhea on language development that is so critical to productive adulthood and potentially set a foundation for new neuropsychological approaches, which assess early burdens of enteric illnesses on childhood development.     

Assessment of Parental Disclosure of a 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome Diagnosis and Implications for Clinicians

Most children with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) have an IQ in the range that may allow them to be capable of understanding a genetic diagnosis despite mild intellectual disabilities. However, there are no publications that relate to the disclosure of a 22q11DS diagnosis to the affected child, or the factors that influence parents’ disclosure to the child. A pilot study was conducted including eight semi-structured interviews with caregivers of children with 22q11DS, 10 to 17?years of age, to investigate the factors that influence how parents inform their children of the diagnosis. Six of eight participants had disclosed the diagnosis to the child, and most of these parents felt they could have benefited from additional advice from professionals to increase their confidence and success, as well as the child’s comprehension of the information. Those who had not informed the child were uncertain about the words to use, how to initiate the conversation, or were concerned about the child’s level of understanding. Our results demonstrate that genetics professionals should help prepare caregivers for conversations with their children about the diagnosis of 22q11DS, monitor the understanding of the diagnosis over time, and provide ongoing support.     

Communication of Psychiatric Risk in 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome: A Pilot Project

Individuals with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) have an increased chance of developing a psychiatric disorder. While parents of children affected by 22q11.2DS typically receive counseling about risk for non-psychiatric health concerns, genetic counselors may be reluctant to discuss psychiatric risk. Further education of genetic counselors may be necessary to encourage discussion of psychiatric risk with these families. The goal of this project was to develop recommendations for genetic counselors to provide psychiatric risk information to families affected by 22q11.2DS. The recommendations were developed by synthesizing resources in the literature about risk communication. These recommendations were refined following an online focus group meeting with five health care professionals who were recruited for participation from 22q11.2DS clinics across the U.S.A. The focus group data revealed three themes related to discussion of psychiatric risk: 1) Stepwise approach, 2) Discussing treatment options and reducing risks, and 3) Addressing stigma. These recommendations may be used as a foundation for a future clinical protocol to encourage discussion about the risk for psychiatric illness at an earlier point in the diagnostic process for 22q11.2DS and to provide improved information, support and resources to affected families.