Parent Ratings of the Oppositional Defiant Disorder Symptoms: Item Response Theory Analyses of Cross-National and Cross-Racial Invariance

Item response theory (IRT) based differential item functioning (DIF) was used to examine the construct and normative invariance of the DSM-IV oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms for ratings across Malaysian and Australian children, and Malaysian Malay and Malaysian Chinese children. To accomplish these goals, parents completed the Disruptive Behavior Rating Scale, which includes the eight DSM-IV ODD symptoms. Although the comparisons involving Malaysian and Australian children indicated DIF for five symptoms, only the symptom for “touchy” showed notable DIF. This was also the only symptom that showed DIF for the comparisons involving Malay and Chinese children. There were also minimal differences in the latent mean scores across Australian and Malaysian children and also Malay and Chinese children. These results indicate good support for the construct and normative invariance of the ODD symptoms for the samples compared.     

Books received

Analytical Psychology
Thomas Singer, (ed) The Vision Thing: Myth, Politics and Psyche in the World
Erel Shalit, The Hero and his Shadow. Psychopolitical aspects of Myth and Reality in Israel
J. Hollis, The Archetypal Imagination
Psychoanalysis
A. Ferro, The Bi-Personal Field – Experiences in Child Analysis
M. Parsons, The Dove that Returns, The Dove that Vanishes–Paradox and Creativity in Psychoanalysis
Miscellaneous
J. W. Ciarocchi, & R. J. Wicks, Psychotherapy with Priests and Protestant Clergy and Catholic Religious: A Practical Guide
Chopra Deepak, How to Know God. The Soul's Journey into the Mystery of Mysteries
Rachel Charles, Your Mind's Eye. How to heal yourself and release your potential through creative visualisation
Joyce Rockwood Hudson, Natural Spirituality. Recovering the Wisdom Tradition in Christianity
Zerka T. Moreno, Leif Dag Blomkvist, & Thomas Rützel, Psychodrama, Surplus Reality and the Art of Healing
Ann Ulanov, & Barry The Healing Imagination. The Meeting of Psyche and Soul     

Integrating Spirituality and Domestic Violence Treatment

Summary

This article provides a brief reflection on how the Change of Seasons treatment model developed and the reasons for its success with Aboriginal men. Parallels between Aboriginal perspectives, or worldviews, and Ken Wilber's transpersonal psychology, Rupert Sheldrake's fields theory, and Peter Senge's systems thinking are also discussed. Practical rituals and ceremonies that have been successfully integrated into psychoeducational group counselling as practiced in the Change of Seasons model are explained. These musings are included to initiate further dialogue on holistic approaches to counselling and other community initiatives.     

The psychometric properties of the Quality of Life Inventory in an Australian community sample

The Quality of Life Inventory (QOLI, Frisch) is an importance‐weighted measure of life satisfaction that has been found to possess adequate psychometric properties in US and clinically‐based samples. The current study aimed to investigate the normative distribution, factor structure and key psychometric properties of the QOLI in an Australian general community sample. Results indicated that the Australian sample (n = 259) reported slightly better quality of life than the US‐based standardisation sample. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that a three‐factor model provided the best fit for the data. Psychometric properties were all generally found to be adequate and close to Frisch's reported levels. In conclusion, this study indicated that the QOLI may be used in the Australian context with confidence. Future research could examine the clinical utility of the three‐factor model.     

Australian Norms and Retest Data for the Rey Auditory and Verbal Learning Test

This article presents normative data for the Rey Auditory and Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). A representative sample of 390 healthy young adults aged between 18 and 34 living within the Sydney metropolitan area, Australia, completed Form AB of the RAVLT as part of the Macquarie University Neurological Normative Study. Retest data were collected from a subsample of 98 participants after an interval of 1 year. Norms were derived for commonly used measures of the RAVLT and are presented for the whole sample as well as separately for males and females with different levels of education. Age was not found to impact significantly on test performance for this group of young adults, and therefore age‐adjusted norms are not provided. An excel program to calculate RAVLT standard scores (mean of 10 and standard deviation of 3) can be downloaded from http://www.psy.mq.edu.au/RAVLT . Poor test–retest reliability raises concerns about the use of the RAVLT in clinical diagnosis.     

The Imagined Immunities of Defense Nationalism

This article examines the narratives, imaginaries, and subjectivities that underpin the far-right, ethnic nationalist “defense leagues” that have emerged in Australia (and across Europe) in the past decade. Referencing three, interrelated nationalist events in Australia—the Cronulla Riots, Cronulla Memorial Day, and the “race-riot” that occurred in Melbourne on January 5, 2019—I argue that defense leagues resist conceptualization through existing theories of nationalism and community, including those articulated by Anderson, Hage, and Esposito. Drawing on Lacanian psychoanalytic theory, I argue that unlike other nationalists, defense nationalists are not primarily concerned with realizing their avowed political projects (such as fortifying national borders, halting immigration, and preserving so-called national values). Instead, they are focused on constructing and enjoying themselves as the privileged national subjects who get to do the nation's defending. As I elaborate, the enjoyment they derive from defending the nation—which is approximate to the Lacanian concept of jouissance—means that paradoxically, that which threatens the nation legitimizes and fortifies the nationalist, because the more the nation is threatened, the more the nationalist's perceived role within it is secured. Ultimately, I argue this jouissance salvages a symbolic life within the nation that is always-already dead.     

Equity in Staff Selection: Managerial Attitudes and Practices

A survey of 486 managers was designed to examine how well employment equity is being implemented in Australian public and private sector organizations. Respondents were asked to report on the procedures they themselves used in their most recent staff selection. The findings on the incidence of the various selection techniques generally confirmed those of previous studies, specifically that the interview is the single most common technique. Although the large majority of managers professed pro-equity attitudes, most also displayed a belief in gender stereotypes and almost half misunderstood the requirements of affirmative action in Australia. Most selection decisions appear to have been based on merit-related factors, but a surprisingly high proportion of managers admitted to potentially discriminatory practices. Factors such as age, good looks and the absence of physical disability were rated as having been important in more than a third of selection decisions. Also, factors such as gender, marital status, race and colour influenced some managers in job selection. However, such discriminatory factors appear to have been less important in the public sector and in larger organizations which would have had more exposure to equity and affirmative action programs.