Ovarian cancer patients' psychological distress: the role of physical impairment, perceived unsupportive family and friend behaviors, perceived control, and self-esteem.

Although research has indicated that illness-related and interpersonal stress are associated with greater psychological distress among cancer patients, little empirical attention has been given to mechanisms that account for these relationships. In the present study, 2 mechanisms for the association between illness-related stress (physical impairment) and interpersonal stress (family and friend unsupportive responses) and psychological distress of 143 ovarian cancer patients were examined cross-sectionally. Separate structural equation models tested whether physical impairment impacted patients' distress via decrements in perceived control over their illness and whether unsupportive behaviors impacted patients' distress via decrements in patients' self-esteem. Results supported the proposed models and suggest that perceived control and self-esteem are 2 mechanisms for explaining how illness-related and interpersonal stress may be associated with psychological distress among women with ovarian cancer.     

Labor and land at the start of Jewish settlement in Argentina

Studying nearly two decades of activity as reflected in materials found in the archives of the Jewish Colonization Association, this essay explores the early stages of organized Jewish agricultural settlement in Argentina. JCA directors debated the optimal size of land that could constitute an economically viable farm. The issues of non-Jewish labor and the leasing of land to non-Jews were also a concern. The JCA further promoted the ideal of settler “productivization” through farming, a goal shared by many settlers. The rising price of land, as well as shifts in national patterns of economy and agriculture, brought about significant changes in the Argentine settlement project. The JCA responded by increasing the size of allocated land, introducing animal husbandry, and by recognizing the need for hired hands at harvest time. Aided by the JCA, and despite objective and psychological obstacles, immigrants from the Russian Empire established colonies that endured for decades.     

Neuropsychological test norms controlled for physical health: Does it matter?

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of physical health on neuropsychological test norms. Medical and neuropsychological data from 118 healthy volunteer controls, aged 26–91 years, were collected during five recruitment occasions. The examinations included a clinical investigation, brain neuroimaging, and a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery. Test‐specific statistical regression‐weights for age, education and gender were calculated to establish preliminary test norms. Hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that control in addition for physical health moved best performance from age 60 to 65 for abstraction; replaced a plateau above age 70 for verbal fluency, with a continued rise in performance; eliminated significant negative influences of age on auditory learning, spatial reasoning and complex copying; reduced them on wordlist recall, psychomotor speed, visual scanning and mental shifting; and slightly reduced negative influences of low education on most verbal tests, several memory tests, and psychomotor speed, indicating rises in normative scores of up to 0.8 SD at age 80 and 0.4 SD at age 60. No differences were found at age 40. Although the sample size is not adequate to be used for normative data, the findings indicate that norms uncontrolled for health overestimate the negative influence of advanced age and low education, implying a risk of drawing false diagnostic conclusions.     

Affect,meaning in life,and life satisfaction among immigrants and non-immigrants: A moderated mediation model

Current Psychology - Immigration has become a global phenomenon as part of modern life. However, immigrants often demonstrate negative emotional states following the immigration process, which may...     

The politicization of deviance: Resisting and reversing degradation and stigmatization

Using the Israeli case of Abu‐hatzira, this paper argues that processes of degradation, stigmatization and deviantization can be reversed. The case itself is documented to be followed by an interpretation clustered along two axes. It is argued, first, that Abu‐hatzira used in his favor an existing ethnic dispute in Israel, coupled with a religious factor. Second, reversal of deviantization can be achieved by politicizing “regular” deviance, subsequently making a political statement within the context of an effective ideology geared to mobilize a receptive audience.¹     

Revisiting rapprochement in the light of contemporary developmental theories

Margaret Mahler's thinking, revolutionary for its time, led to the observational study of mother-infant pairs, followed almost day by day as the preverbal infant developed into a toddler whose increasing cognitive capacities made new demands on the mother's presence and emotional availability. The rapprochement crisis, as formulated based on these observations, is reexamined in the light of contemporary theory, and the concept of co-construction is used to show how mother and toddler repair misunderstandings and inevitable conflicts. With the growth of new verbal capacities during rapprochement, the toddler moves from early, sensorimotor interactions to interactions governed by language, in the process gaining new understanding of his or her emotional life.