Theological Education at the Crossroads

Theological education and ministerial training must prepare people for a post‐Christendom context. Moving on from the subject‐object dualism of modernity, where ministry is seen as a professional task done to and for others, this article proposes that attending to the subjectivity of others is necessary for the formation of mature community, and for genuine missional engagement. It proposes a contextualised training in which students learn theologically reflective practice from the heart of Christian community.     

The White Cross in Muslim Java: Muslim–Christian Politics in the Javanese City of Salatiga

The interplay of religion and politics has been a consistent theme within the literature of political radicalism and religious violence in the contemporary Muslim world. Indonesia, which has long paraded its multi-layered history of religions, recently emerged as one of the main sites of Muslim–Christian violence. The religious volatility that has characterized Indonesia over the past decade has, however, left variations in vitality between faith-based organizations under-researched. In order to examine how the Christian churches undergird their institutions in the world's largest Muslim country, this article takes as its case study Salib Putih (White Cross) in the Javanese city of Salatiga and traces how a legal issue comes to transcend the boundary between religion and politics at local and national levels.     

The Church of Greece in critical times: reflections through philanthropy

In this article we reflect on the position and role of the Orthodox Church of Greece in contemporary Greek society as the latter is ravaged by a multi-layered crisis. This we do through the study of the discursive prerequisites and underlying logic governing the philanthropic response of the Church to the crisis, as promulgated by the Church’s major institutional settings, the Synodical Committee on Social Welfare and Beneficence and the Archdiocesan Anti-Poverty Fund. Viewing the Church and the state as uneasy partners in the process of the modernisation of Greece, we first consider the Church’s understanding of the crisis before focusing on the way this informs the practice of the above-mentioned institutional settings. We conclude with some thoughts on the Church’s attempt to transcend the secular–religious divide through imbuing its philanthropic praxis with its transcendental Christian hope.     

Women’s Perspectives Related to Occupational Performance Following Participation in Substance Use Recovery Programs

Very little research has examined how substance abuse programs affect occupational performance. The progression of addiction and its etiology for women are still under-reported. This study aimed to explore perceived effects of substance use and participation in peer-based programs on women’s occupational performance. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were completed with seven women. Four themes were identified: (1) substance use did not markedly inhibit participation in daily life; (2) recovery was supported by replacing substance related occupations with non-substance related occupations; (3) perceived value of shared perspectives and experiences with others; and (4) the embracing of new perspectives as part of recovery.     

PREGNANT WOMEN'S RECOLLECTIONS OF EARLY MATERNAL BONDING: ASSOCIATIONS WITH MATERNAL–FETAL ATTACHMENT AND BIRTH CHOICES

Recollections of own maternal care measured by parental bonding were found to be important in the pregnant woman's construction of herself as a mother. Although these recollections were studied with regard to various variables, there is a dearth of studies associated with pregnancy and childbirth. In this cross‐sectional study, 341 pregnant women were recruited. Measures included a Sociodemographics–Obstetric History Questionnaire; the Childbirth Choices Questionnaire (H. Preis, M. Gozlan, U. Dan, & Y. Benyamini, 2018); the Parental Bonding Instrument (G. Parker, H. Tupling, & L.B. Brown, 1979); a question regarding the planned presence of the woman's mother at delivery; and the Maternal‐Fetal Attachment Scale (M.S. Cranley, 1981). Parental recollections of Care were associated with fewer natural birth choices (hence, a more “medicalized” delivery), lower maternal–fetal attachment, and a wish for the mother's mother to be present at the birth. Parental recollections of Encouragement of Behavioral Freedom in childhood were associated with more natural choices regarding childbirth. In addition, women with higher scores on the parental bonding Denial of Autonomy factor reported stronger maternal–fetal attachment. Thus, early recollections of experiences with caregivers as manifested in parental bonding may be a possible influence on the transition to motherhood, and working through possible difficulties associated with these recollections may improve adjustment to motherhood.     

POSTPARTUM BONDING DIFFICULTIES AND ADULT ATTACHMENT STYLES: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION AND CHILDBIRTH‐RELATED PTSD

Despite decades of research demonstrating the role of adult attachment styles and early mother–infant bonding in parenting behaviors and maternal mental health, these constructs have seldom been studied together. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between attachment styles and specific bonding difficulties of mothers. In addition, as postpartum depression and childbirth‐related posttraumatic stress symptoms have been associated with both constructs, we explored their possible mediation effect. One hundred fourteen mothers, 4 to 12 weeks’ postpartum, completed a demographic questionnaire, the Adult Attachment Style Questionnaire (M. Mikulincer, V. Florian, & A. Tolmacz, 1990), the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (L.F. Brockington, C. Fraser, & D. Wilson, 2006), the Modified Perinatal Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Questionnaire (J.L. Callahan, S.E. Borja, & M.T. Hynan, 2006), and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (J.L. Cox, G. Chapman, D. Murray, & P. Jones, 1996), using an online survey system. As predicted, insecure attachment styles were associated with bonding difficulties wherein anxious/ambivalent attachment was associated with greater infant‐focused anxiety, mediated by postpartum depression but not childbirth‐related PTSD symptoms. In contrast, greater avoidant attachment style was associated with greater rejection and anger, mediated by childbirth‐related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but not depression symptoms. The current study confirmed the association of different attachment styles with bonding as well as the mediating roles of childbirth‐related PTSD and postpartum depression symptoms. Future psychological interventions may utilize such evidence to target interventions for bonding disorders in accordance with individual differences.     

The Sexual Abuse Crisis in the Roman Catholic Church: What Psychologists and Counselors Should Know

Recent events regarding child sexual abuse committed by Roman Catholic priests in the Archdiocese of Boston and elsewhere have yet again resulted in a tremendous amount of media attention and frenzy regarding this topic. During 2002 alone, approximately 300 American Catholic priests, including several bishops, were accused of child sexual abuse. Many were forced to resign their positions while others were prosecuted and went to prison. Curiously, there still exist many myths and misperceptions about priests who sexually abuse children and their victims. Since psychologists and other mental health professionals are likely to interact with many who have been impacted by these recent events, it is important for them to have some basic understanding of the various myths and misperceptions about sexual abuse committed by Roman Catholic priests.     

Trait BIS predicts alpha asymmetry and P300 in a Go/No‐Go task

Inspired by the revised Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS) theory the present study probed the association between individual differences in Trait BIS and electroencephalogram indicators of conflict processing/inhibition. Sixty‐nine male participants either high or low in Trait BIS completed a Go/No‐Go task while the electroencephalogram was recorded. As expected, Trait BIS was associated with the No‐Go‐anteriorisation of the P300 event‐related potential (i.e. an index of response inhibition presumably generated in the dorsal anterior cingulate—an area implicated in conflict processing) and with No‐ Go‐related changes towards left frontal alpha activity (i.e. presumably more activity in right prefrontal cortex—an area implicated in response inhibition). These findings support the role of conflict processing attributed to BIS functioning in the revised theory. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

血液系统恶性肿瘤患者相关疲劳的生物-心理-社会模式探讨

普遍的疲劳感是引起血液系统恶性肿瘤患者治疗及康复过程中生活质量显著降低的主要因素之一。因此如何减少肿瘤相关疲劳逐渐引起了血液病医生的关注。在医学从传统的"生物"模式向新的"生物-心理-社会"模式转变的背景下,本文就如何利用生物心理社会模式分析血液系统恶性肿瘤相关疲劳的病因、机制、评估、干预进行探讨。     

Is there a memory profit after repeated learning of subject‐performed actions? Comparing direct and long‐term memory performance level as a function of age

Schatz, T.R., Spranger, T. & Knopf, M. (2010). Is there a memory profit after repeated learning of subject‐performed actions? Comparing direct and long‐term memory performance level as a function of age. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 51, 465–472. The present two studies investigated the possibility for improvement and maintenance of episodic memory in young and older adults. In a first study, the performance‐enhancing effect of two separate as well as combined learning devices, enactive encoding and repeated learning, was tested. With a time lag of one week, four different series of 30 action phrases were encoded either verbally or by enacting them symbolically. Memory was assessed in four immediate free recall tests. In a second study, the maintenance of the memory profit was tested in an unexpected fifth session half a year later. As expected, there was a steady improvement of memory performance as a function of repeated learning in study one. This holds true regardless of age. In addition, enactive encoding led to a better memory performance than verbal encoding in both age groups. Moreover, younger adults outperformed the elderly regardless of type of encoding. The combination of the two learning devices was not efficient enough to eliminate aging effects in episodic memory. However, memory flexibility is demonstrated also in the elderly. In the long‐term follow‐up, maintenance of learning and memory could be found in all participant groups.