The Relationship of Cognitive Development to Age, When Education and Intelligence Are Controlled For

In this study 165 volunteers aged 18–87 were recruited from educational, employment, church, and social organizations and administered 3 paper-and-pencil instruments: the Quick Test, a measure of verbal–perceptual intelligence; the Scale of Intellectual Development, a Perry measure of cognitive development; and an inventory of life experiences. Age was found to be negatively related to cognitive development, as was extent of participation in community or church activities, whereas intelligence and education were positively so related. Less dualistic thinking and more relativistic thinking were related to higher educational achievement. Nevertheless, dualistic thinking was found to increase among older age groups, even with intelligence and education controlled for.     

Entheogens in the Study of Religious Experiences: Current Status*

This article addresses the potential significance of archetypal and mystical experiences sometimes reported when entheogens are employed in supportive, legal research contexts. This area of research, which has been difficult to pursue in recent decades due to Federal legislation and concerns about drug-abuse, is presented as a frontier in the psychology of religious experience that could prove to have profound implications for advancing our understanding of spiritual dimensions of consciousness. Consideration is given to how the action of entheogens may be understood, the question of experiential validity, the apparent universality of both archetypal and mystical experiences, and initial theological reflections.     

Incompleteness and harm avoidance in OCD symptom dimensions

Incompleteness (INC) and harm avoidance (HA) are motivational core dimensions of OCD. While HA-related concepts (e.g., inflated responsibility, overestimation of threat) are a main focus of current cognitive-behavioural OCD research, there is also a renewed interest in INC feelings and "not just right experiences" with an inability to achieve "closure" concerning actions/perceptions. This study systematically examines the association of OCD symptom dimensions with INC and HA in a large clinical OCD sample (n=202). Hierarchical linear multiple regression analyses controlling for anxiety, depression and symptom severity demonstrated a unique association of symmetry/ordering and checking (but not of contamination/washing and obsessional thoughts) with INC, and of obsessional thoughts and checking with HA. Thus, in contrast with symmetry/ordering (predominantly INC-related) and obsessional thoughts (predominantly HA-related), checking was motivationally heterogeneous, i.e., associated with INC and HA to a comparable and substantial degree. Contamination/washing failed to show a unique association with HA in two of three analyses, and with INC in all three analyses. Symptom severity uniquely contributed to INC in two of three analyses, but not to HA. Clinically, our results indicate that a conceptualization of OCD as an anxiety disorder is too narrow.     

How competent are trainee and newly qualified counsellors to work with Lesbian,Gay, and Bisexual clients and what do they perceive as their most effective learning experiences?

Aim: Professional therapy organisations promote the importance of working with difference, yet subtle negative biases towards lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) clients continue. Issues of competence in this area have only recently been addressed. This research aims to study the effectiveness of training to support therapists working with LGB clients in Britain. Method: Students (past and present) of an integrative counselling diploma course completed questionnaires including: background details, a Sexual Orientation Counselor Competence scale (Bidell, 2005), and two qualitative questions about previous learning relating to LGB issues. Quantitative analysis utilising a one way ANOVA test was used to compare the levels of competence at different times in training, and grounded theory to analyse the qualitative responses. Results: Results show that students have a high level of awareness, although a lower level measured in year two of the programme. The qualitative results indicate the learning value of personal experiences. Further themes describe the ways in which students learnt about LGB issues. Discussion: The reduction in scores for awareness may indicate that training facilitates a deeper understanding of self. Key themes indicate the importance of challenging old internal working models of sexual orientation. Implications for practice: The results will enable competences and effective learning experiences to be mapped in the curriculum.     

Diary reports on emotional experiences in the onset of a psychosocial transition: becoming drug‐free

The process of becoming drug free is viewed as a psychosocial transition in the life of drug addicts. A specific form of treatment of heroin addiction within residential communities is based on the importance of interpersonal relationships for change. Well‐being of 65 drug addicts during the first 2 weeks in a residential community is explored using a time‐sampling diary which was completed four times a day. The influence of subjects' history, situational context, and motive activation on well‐being and emotions is investigated. Results show that well‐being and emotions differ mainly according to subjects' history, but not — at least at the beginning of treatment within the community — according to situations. This is interpreted as a ‘state of shock’ in the new environment and highlights the necessity for special individual care for subjects with a long drug career. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The theory of agency and breastfeeding

Objective: In this paper, we apply psychological agency theory to women’s interviews of their breastfeeding experiences to understand the role of agency in relation to breastfeeding initiation, maintenance and duration.

Design: Qualitative, video interviews were collected from 49 women in the UK from a wide range of ethnic, religious, educational and employment backgrounds about their breastfeeding experiences. We undertook secondary analysis of the data focusing on their accounts of vulnerability and agency.

Findings: Women’s agency was impacted by a variety of factors including their own vulnerability, knowledge, expectations and experience, the feeding environment and the support of health professionals in sharing decision-making and dealing with uncertainty.

Conclusion: Health professionals as co-agents with women are well positioned to maintain, enhance or restore women’s sense of agency. Breastfeeding goals should be included in women’s birth plans. Training related to agency, continuity of care, and staffing and workload management supported by national breastfeeding policies could improve breastfeeding rates and experiences.     

Earliest memories in Israeli kibbutz upbringing: it is parental engagement that makes a difference

Culture and parenting shape the ability to recall early childhood experiences. This research focused on the unique context of upbringing in the Israeli kibbutz and examined how cultural orientation and experiences of parental engagement in Kibbutz and non-Kibbutz settings shaped adults’ earliest memories. Participants were 108 women (study 1) and 75 women and men (study 2) who were raised in traditional kibbutz upbringing or in a non-kibbutz family setting. In addition to reporting their earliest memory and age at earliest memory, participants estimated retrospectively the amount of daily time spent in interaction with parents, caregivers, and other children during the time of earliest memory. Overall, upbringing-related variations in cultural orientation were evident in the content of memories. A prediction of later age at earliest memory due to limited opportunities for parent–child interaction characteristic of traditional kibbutz upbringing was not supported. Rather, in both studies, age at earliest memory was linked to retrospective estimation of parental engagement, after controlling for childhood ecology. Study 2 revealed also a link of age at earliest memory to retrospective estimation of involvement with non-parental caregivers. These findings are congruent with the social-interaction model’s claims about the importance of interaction with caregiving adults to autobiographical memory’s development.     

Analysis of early representations and personality among victims of domestic violence

IntroductionThis exploratory study analyses the individual elements of the victims of domestic violence through life events, early dysfunctional representations and personality.ObjectivesThis research aims, firstly, to show the existence of early traumatic experiences for the victims of domestic violence. Secondly, it aims to measure the prevalence of early maladaptive schema and identify personality traits in these subjects. Finally, our aim is to highlight that depending on the violence carried out within the couple (reciprocal/unilateral), activated schemas and personality traits are different.MethodOur sample consists of 80 female subjects, non-abused women (n = 40) and victims of domestic violence (n = 40), of which 22 victims of unilateral violence and 18 victims of reciprocal violence. Participants filled out an initial questionnaire as well as the scales and self-report questionnaires as follows: Life events (Amiel-Lebigre, 1984); TCI (Cloninger et al., 1993); YSQ-S3 (Young et al., 2005). The data were subject to statistical analysis and were processed using the software SPSS 22.ResultsThe results show that the victims have experienced more early traumas than non-victims, that schemas (emotional deprivation, mistrust and abuse, subjugation, self-sacrifice) are more active. We note also different personality traits according to the different groups (victims/non-victims) and subgroups (reciprocal violence/unilateral violence).ConclusionOur study sheds light on the role of the individual elements of the victims on the perception of the relationship and on the process of engagement and disengagement of women in abusive relationships. Limits and expectations of the study are discussed.     

Understanding and management of epilepsy in a rural community in South Africa: An exploratory study

The aim of the study was to explore how people living with epilepsy in an indigenous rural South African community understood and managed their epilepsy. Six people with epilepsy were informants (male = 3, female = 3; age range = 16 to 58 years, unemployed = 5, learner = 1). They completed individual interviews on their meanings of epilepsy and also on their experiences managing the illness. The results indicated that the participants’ understanding of epilepsy is closely linked to their own experiences of the condition, as well as to cultural beliefs about seizure disorder. Moreover, they reported that the unpredictability associated with a seizure generated a greater level of distress to the participants than the fact that they had seizure disorder. The participants reported to rely on family, and both traditional and Western medicine to manage their epilepsy.