Thoughts about early pathology

In this paper, I have presented the assumption that some symptom pictures such as attachment to pain, the masochistic character, the negative therapeutic reaction, a basic depressive response, and anhedonia are rooted in a prevalence of organismic distress during the symbiotic phase. Neuroscientists taught us that early experiences are associated with the neuronal structuring of the developing brain, which then affects concurrent or subsequent reactions. In particular I followed Ginsburg's (1982) assumption of a neuronally, genetically given aggressive drive potential which influences and is influenced by early experiences, and which can interact with other gene potentials. In some patients aggressive drive components contributed to a less than harmonious basic core associated with failure of the early infant/mother interaction. Unpleasure prevailed during the symbiotic phase; aggressive energies predominated and enmeshed with the neuronal encoding, the early structuralization in both the neurophysiological and psychological meaning. Thus, the structuring of the function of internalization and the emerging self-object experience were disturbed from early on. This then continued to foster a proclivity for unstable (fusion and) diminished neutralization tendencies. As biological discharge phenomena evolve into vague psychological awareness, such an infant does not attain a sense of well-being, but rather attains a sense of "not-well-being" (Joffe and Sandler, 1965) which remains continuous or can be triggered--kindled--by any reactivating constellation, and the object is experienced as a source of unpleasure. This is in line with Mahler's bad mother and bad self-introjects. Primary narcissism has not evolved well or, said differently, is invested more with aggressive than with libidinal cathexis and is in an unfortunate association or balance with primary masochism. Aggressive drive components subsequently color fantasies, readiness for and severity of conflicts. The aggressivization of self-feelings and of the function of internalization with its influence on--and exacerbation of--the rapprochement crisis is traced into later symptomatology. The basic pathology as described in this paper then compounds the oedipally derived problems.     

Hyperactivity in Italy

Prevalence rates of hyperactivity in Italy using commonly accepted cutoff scores in the United States were 20% for boys and 3% for girls;the combined prevalence rate was 12%. Italian children exhibited rates of hyperactive behaviors similar to those of children in New Zealand, Spain, and portions of the United States. Nevertheless, rates of hyperactivity are influenced by ethnic and cultural factors, and differences in prevalence rates may be expected in many situations. Factor structures of the Conners' Teacher Rating Scale for boys and girls were different. The need for separate factor analyses for males and females is stressed;hyperactivity and conduct problems, in fact, were separate factors for girls whereas such behaviors were subsumed under one factor for boys. There were also important similarities and differences with the factor structures for boys and girls in Italy and Spain. Methodological issues such as complete specification of the sample and assuring representativeness of samples are discussed.The authors give special thanks to John Richters III and Julian Barling, who aided in the computer analysis of these data; Susan O'Leary, who gave substantive and editorial feedback; and Julian Barling and Ileana Arias, who provided helpful editorial comments.     

Catching up with wonderful women: The women‐are‐wonderful effect is smaller in more gender egalitarian societies

Inequalities between men and women are common and well‐documented. Objective indexes show that men are better positioned than women in societal hierarchies—there is no single country in the world without a gender gap. In contrast, researchers have found that the women‐are‐wonderful effect—that women are evaluated more positively than men overall—is also common. Cross‐cultural studies on gender equality reveal that the more gender egalitarian the society is, the less prevalent explicit gender stereotypes are. Yet, because self‐reported gender stereotypes may differ from implicit attitudes towards each gender, we reanalysed data collected across 44 cultures, and (a) confirmed that societal gender egalitarianism reduces the women‐are‐wonderful effect when it is measured more implicitly (i.e. rating the personality of men and women presented in images) and (b) documented that the social perception of men benefits more from gender egalitarianism than that of women.     

Does spatial information impact immediate verbatim recall of verbal navigation instructions?

The present study addresses the issue of whether spatial information impacts immediate verbatim recall of verbal navigation instructions. Subjects heard messages instructing them to move within a two-dimensional depiction of a three-dimensional space consisting of four stacked grids displayed on a computer screen. They repeated the instructions orally and then followed them manually by clicking with a mouse on the grids. Two groups with identical instructions were compared; they differed only in whether the starting position was indicated before or after the instructions were given and repeated, with no differences in the manual movements to be made. Accuracy on both the oral repetition and manual movement responses was significantly higher when the starting position was indicated before the instructions. The results are consistent with the proposal that there is only a single amodal mental representation, rather than distinct verbal and nonverbal representations, of navigation instructions. The advantage for the before condition was found even for the oral repetition responses, implying that the creation of the amodal representation occurred immediately, while the instructions were being held in working memory. In practical terms, the findings imply that being able to form a mental representation of the movement path while being given verbal navigation instructions should substantially facilitate memory for the instructions and execution of them.     

Conceptions of love in Ghana: An exploration among Ghanaian Christians

We explored conceptions of love from the perspective of Ghanaian Christians. Using an ethnographic approach, we interviewed 61 participants (males = 39; females = 22; age range 20 to 70) on their understanding and experiences of love in the context of family. Thematic analysis of the interview data revealed understandings of love expression in meeting material needs (of children, spouse, parents, and close relatives), helping other people in need (including the elderly, friends, and strangers), and affectionate care. Communal and maintenance-oriented love appears to characterise love expression among Ghanaian Christians.     

Advancing age progressively affects obstacle avoidance skills in the elderly

The ability to adequately avoid obstacles while walking is an important skill that allows safe locomotion over uneven terrain. The high proportion of falls in the elderly that is associated to tripping over obstacles potentially illustrates an age-related deterioration of this locomotor skill. Some studies have compared young and old adults, but very little is known about the changes occurring within different age groups of elderly. In the present study, obstacle avoidance performance was studied in 25 young (20-37 years) and 99 older adults (65-88 years). The participants walked on a treadmill at a speed of 3 km/h. An obstacle was dropped 30 times in front of the left foot at various phases in the step cycle. Success rates (successful avoidance) were calculated and related to the time available between obstacle appearance and the estimated instant of foot contact with the obstacle (available response times or ARTs ranging from 200 to more than 350 ms). In addition, latencies of avoidance reactions, the choice of avoidance strategies (long or short step strategy, LSS or SSS), and three spatial parameters related to obstacle avoidance (toe distance, foot clearance, and heel distance) were determined for each participant. Compared to the young, the older adults had lower success rates, especially at short ARTs. Furthermore, they had longer reaction times, more LSS reactions, smaller toe and heel distances, and larger foot clearances. Within the group of elderly, only the 65-69 year olds were not different from young adults with respect to success rate, despite marked changes in the other parameters measured. In particular, even this younger group of elderly showed a dramatic reduction in the amount of SSS trials compared to young adults. Overall, age was a significant predictor of success rates, reaction times, and toe distances. These parameters deteriorated with advancing age. Finally, avoidance success rates at short ARTs were considerably worse in elderly participants who sustained recurrent falls in the six-month period prior to the assessment compared to those who sustained no or only one fall. An exercise program has been shown to improve avoidance success rates, especially at short ARTs, but the training effects on the determinants of success still need to be assessed.