Too much to swallow? Some reflections on adolescent overdose

Overdose, as a subcategory of self-harm, is under-represented in the psychoanalytic literature in terms of attempts to understand what may underpin it. Given the current prevalence of overdose amongst self-harming adolescents, it seems important to try to understand this from a psychoanalytic perspective. Drawing on clinical material from adolescent patients who overdosed, the author attempts to make sense of how overdose was used by these patients as a means of unconsciously communicating their difficulties. It is suggested that overdose might be understood in the following ways: as a physical enactment of the way in which the patient’s mind is overwhelmed by thoughts, feelings and experiences which it cannot digest or process; as a disguised wish beneath overt self-destructiveness to take in a ‘good feed’; as an enactment of past and present force-feeding, both literally and figuratively, by parents or carers; as an enactment of an internalised death wish from an object which has projected something poisonous into the patient.     

行为遗传学的终结？

虽然遗传研究在20世纪初期的心理学里呈上升趋势,早期行为遗传学与优生学的襟带关系使这个学科蒙上阴影。20世纪下半叶的双生子和养子女的研究重新树立了该学科的威信,并为现今的遗传与环境互动的研究奠定了基础。本文以发展行为遗传学、遗传环境互动以及用行为遗传学来验证因果关系的研究为例,来突显这一学科对心理学的贡献。今后遗传与环境互动的研究将更侧重于辨识“候选基因”的技术。“全基因组关联”的研究为未来行为遗传学的发展提供了一个乐观的前景     

“Don’t you want the dream?”: Psycho-social determinants of car share adoption

The benefits of car share, in terms of reduced car ownership and sustainable transport use have been widely recognised. Knowledge of motivators and barriers of car share adoption is crucial to inform policy, and yet this aspect has received little attention so far. This paper aims to comprehensively explore the range of psycho-social factors which determine the adoption of car share.In this study, two theoretical approaches were used to explore psycho-social determinants of car share adoption. First, the Theory of Planned Behaviour is used as a theoretical lens to identify the role of attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control in car share adoption. Second, the Theory of Innovation Diffusion is used to examine the process of adoption of car share and the barriers at different stages. While the former considers the determinants of the binary decision of becoming a car share, the latter unpacks the process of car share adoption. This qualitative study draws on data from five focus groups and 18 semi-structured interviews, conducted in Melbourne, Australia, with station-based car share member, ex-members and non-members.Insights confirmed that while cost, convenience and environmental concerns are important motivators, others factors also encourage car share use including sharing with the community, reducing/avoiding hassles related to car ownership (e.g. maintenance, parking) and, a desire to own fewer material possessions. Normative beliefs about car ownership, perceived difficulties in using car share (e.g. with children) and the planning and effort required to book and use car share were identified as some of the barriers. Barriers related to car share use varied depending on the stage of car share adoption. Initial barriers related to a lack of knowledge and normative beliefs about car ownership. The study also highlighted how motivators and barriers might vary for peer-to-peer and fleet-based car share. Insights from this study will be useful for car share operators and policymakers to address the practical and social barriers to car share adoption.     

Catastrophic Conditions in Couple Systems

SUMMARY

A presentation of case studies forms the focus for an exploration of the discovery of an abortion or adoption used as the management of an unwelcome pregnancy which occurred in the context of the marital system. Managing an impasse in the middle phase of therapy in each case led to the emergence of information which then allowed the therapist to work with the couple system to alleviate the core situation out of which presenting problems emanated. In these cases the unwelcome pregnancy had the potential to be cataclysmic to the couple system. Therefore, the possibility that a couple is concealing an abortion or an adoption should be considered by couples' therapists when there is little or no response to usual strategies for change. The reason for concealment is immaterial. What is paramount is that the therapist bring the event to the fore of treatment and work with a couple to put closure on what is generally an unresolved issue.     

Changes in Attachment‐Related Behavioural Problems of Internationally Adopted Toddlers in Finland: Results from the FinAdo Study

This study investigated attachment‐related behavioural problems and their change over time among internationally adopted toddlers (N = 171, boys 40%) in Finland. The parents filled in questionnaires posted in 2007 and again in 2009. At the baseline (on average, 1.9 years from adoption), the mean age of the adoptees was 2.8 years. The comparison group (N = 244, boys 46%) was collected through well‐baby clinics. Results from the paired t‐test and mixed models showed that the adoptees' attachment‐related behavioural problems decreased during the 2‐year follow‐up and that they did not manifest more problems than their age‐mates any more 4 years after adoption. The decrease in behavioural problems was associated with the child's female gender, country of origin and adoptive parents' positive experience about adoption. A child's stereotypic or self‐injurious behaviour was not associated with the change in attachment‐related behaviour over time, although both were associated with behavioural problems. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling determinants of walking and cycling adoption: A stage-of-change perspective

Shifting travel away from cars and towards more active modes has proven a formidable policy challenge. This study aims to uncover the determinants of walking and cycling adoption by applying a stage-of-change framework. Drawing on the Transtheoretical Model, this framework models the adoption of active modes as a series of stages from pre-contemplation to maintenance. Ordinal logit models applied to US data (n = 914) illustrate the importance of both observable demographic-personal and perceptual-attitudinal variables for determining stage-of-change membership. Comparing walking and cycling, the model reveals both shared variables (vehicle ownership, self-identity) and differing factors (gender, environmental spatial ability) distinguishing among adoption stages, which has significant implications for transport policy. Results indicate that a model combining both demographic-personal and perceptual-attitudinal factors has the best fit and validity, suggesting that travel behavior interventions would benefit from multivariate segmentation methods that consider an array of individual and group characteristics. This research also gives evidence of different determinants motivating change processes for cycling versus walking. Taken together, results suggest a need for tailored policy interventions to promote behavioural adoption based not merely on the specific mode selection, but also on the usage stage under consideration.     

Side-bet theory and the three-component model of organizational commitment

We tested Becker’s (1960) side-bet conceptualization of commitment within the context of Meyer and Allen’s (1991) three-component model of organizational commitment. Employees (N=202) from various organizations completed a survey including measures of (a) seven categories of side bets (b) affective, normative, and continuance commitment, and (c) turnover intention. The findings provided strong support for Becker’s theory. All seven side-bet categories correlated significantly with a revised measure of high-sacrifice continuance commitment, and structural equation modeling analyses revealed that the relations between the side bets and turnover intention were fully mediated by commitment. The findings also address issues pertaining to the dimensionality and measurement of continuance commitment, and help to explain relations among the three components of commitment.     

Risk-Reduction Surgery Decisions in High-Risk Women Seen for Genetic Counseling

Women at greatest risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer may consider prophylactic removal of breasts or ovaries as a risk-reduction measure. This report describes uptake of risk-reduction mastectomy (RRM), risk-reduction oophorectomy (RRO), and related factors in 62 high-risk women who received genetic counseling. Seven (11%) participants underwent RRM and 13 (21%) underwent RRO. Of these women, 37% did not have BRCA testing, suggesting other factors influence decisions to undergo surgery. Women who had indicated (pre-genetic counseling) their intent not to have surgery chose not to have surgery. Information received during genetic counseling that women perceived as being most important for influencing risk-reduction surgery decisions was BRCA test result (positive or negative), followed by discussion of family cancer history. Reasons for indecision about risk-reduction surgery included genetic testing results, concerns about surgery, timing in life, and early menopause. The findings enhance our understanding of information that is helpful to women considering this surgery.