On Luo Congyan’s Ethics

Luo Congyan put forward the idea that benevolence is the substance while righteousness is its function, which placed the intrinsic value of human beings on a more fundamental position and affirmed the unity of benevolent principle and universal norms from the perspective of the relationship between substance and function. The unity of benevolence and righteousness involves the connection between value and norms, and the latter relate to the relationship between morality and law in the broader sense. On the basis of the idea of using both benevolence and righteousness, Luo Congyan examined the relationship between morality and law. Corresponding to the emphasis on the role of both law and political power, Luo Congyan concerned himself with how to establish rational interpersonal relationships in various ways. Furthermore, Luo Congyan emphasized the significance of behavior in everyday life, while he affirmed that the universal principle should be followed. In this way, he developed the earlier Confucian thought. Translated from Studies in Ethics by Xiao Mo     

新生儿重症监护病房患儿家属心理状况分析

探讨新生儿重症监护病房（NICU）住院患儿家属的心理状况及影响因素。采用焦虑自评量表（SAS）及自行设计的调查问卷对190名NICU住院患儿家属进行调查。结果显示患儿家属表现出不同程度的焦虑,与全国常模（29．78±0．46）相比,其焦虑情绪标准分49．54±1．07,高于常模组（P〈O．05）。影响因素主要包括文化水平、家庭人均收入及患儿病情严重程度等。患儿父母关注的主要问题包括：病情严重程度、预后、医护人员解释病情满意度及病房探视制度。笔者认为医护人员应加强与患儿家属的有效沟通,满足其心理需求,提高医疗护理质量,促进医患关系和谐。     

孔子与泰德·本顿的生态观之比较

20世纪后半期,人类面临的最突出的问题就是全球性的生态危机和环境问题。摆脱人类生存的困境,走向具有生态持续性的文明社会是中国现代化实践面临的严峻挑战。本文试将孔子和泰德·本顿的生态观加以比较,求同存异,发掘其中蕴含的积极因素。两者在对自然的解读上,强调自然的客观实在性,重视自然的内在价值和对自然规律的遵循;在人与自然的关系上,阐发人与自然的息息相关性和密不可分性,强调二者相互作用。相互影响;在对自然资源的利用上,强调合理地支配和有限地利用自然,承认自然的极限。这些思想为我国生态文明建设提供了有益的借鉴。     

Paternal Family Expressiveness as a Mediator Between Father's Dispositional Optimism and Child's Dispositional Optimism

Although dispositional optimism serves as a resource for psychological and physical well-being, very little research has explored how to promote child dispositional optimism within the family context. The authors evaluated paternal emotional expressiveness within the family as a mediator of the association between father's and child's dispositional optimism. Participants were 422 father (M age = 44.97 years, SD = 4.21 years)–child (M age = 11.75 years, SD = 0.77 years) dyads in South Korea. Results showed that fathers’ dispositional optimism was positively linked to their expressiveness, which in turn was positively linked to their children's dispositional optimism. No significant gender or socioeconomic status differences were found. The findings have important implications for future research and for preventive interventions.     

How Do Romantic Relationship Satisfaction,Gender Stereotypes,and Gender Relate to Future Time Orientation in Romantic Relationships?

The present study is an investigation into how romantic relationship satisfaction and attitudes toward gender stereotypes about romantic relationship and gender are related to future time orientation in romantic relationships (FTORR). Four hundred and thirteen (208 men and 205 women) university students taking elective psychology courses at Middle East Technical University were given a scale including items about FTORR, romantic relationship satisfaction, and attitudes toward gender stereotypes about romantic relationships. All the participants were then involved in a heterosexual romantic relationship. Multiple regression results showed that for the women, attitudes toward men's assertiveness and men's dominance in relationships were more important predictors of FTORR than relationship satisfaction. For the men, attitudes toward men's assertiveness and romantic relationship satisfaction were important predictors of FTORR, but attitude toward men's dominance was not a predictor of FTORR. Women were more future oriented in their ongoing romantic relationships than were men. Finally, participants who were highly satisfied with their relationships scored higher on FTORR than those who were less satisfied.     

Digit ratios,but not facial width-to-height ratios,are associated with the priority placed on attending to faces versus bodies

Testosterone has been linked to a sexual preference for bodies rather than faces. Low digit ratio (2D:4D) and high facial width-to-height ratio (WHR) are associated with high prenatal testosterone. We tested whether low 2D:4D and high facial WHR were correlated with a preference for bodies over faces. Our sample consisted of 109 college students (64 males). A two-way analysis of variance demonstrated a significant main effect of digit ratio on the priority placed on paying attention to faces or bodies such that low 2D:4D was linked to a preference for bodies, but the effect of sex was not significant. There were no significant interaction effects. Another two-way analysis of variance revealed no significant effects for facial WHR and attentional priority but significant associations between sex and attentional priority. There were no significant interaction effects. Our findings indicate that individuals with low digit ratios tended to pay more attention to bodies than to faces compared with individuals with higher digit ratios, independently of sex. We also found that males tended to pay more attention to bodies than to faces compared with females, independently of facial WHR.     

Expecting More in Relationships – Implications of Relational Entitlement

Abstract

Sense of relational entitlement refers to what individuals’ believe they “should” expect from their romantic partner. When expectations are both unrealistic and not met by one’s partner, there is a potential for adverse consequences. Researchers surveyed 195 female participants between the ages 18-60. The study examined the influence of one’s sense of relational entitlement with varying conflict strategies. The findings revealed that extreme forms of one’s sense of relational entitlement was associated with conflict strategies like verbal aggression, and control & domination. Thus, one’s sense of relational entitlement appears to play a significant role in how individuals handle conflict.     

Mentoring Youth with Psychiatric Disorders: The Impact on Child and Parent Functioning

ABSTRACT

This study examined the effectiveness of a behavioral mentoring program aimed at serving youth with psychiatric disorders. Participants included 30 youth (8–12 years old) receiving services in a mentoring program for a mental health population and 30 wait-listed youth and their maternal caregivers. Participating in mentoring services was related to higher family functioning across a number of domains including child behavior, parenting stress, perceived parent social support, and perceived parent-child relationship quality. As predicted, parenting stress mediated the relationship between mentoring and children's externalizing behavior problems. Results suggest that mentoring services may be a useful adjunct service for highly stressed families with children with emotional and behavioral disorders.     

The Role of Relationships in Understanding the Alexithymia–Depression Link

Alexithymia is associated with increased depressive symptoms in both clinical and community samples. One way that alexithymia may lead to depression is through its impact on interpersonal relationships. Individuals with alexithymia report lower perceived social support, intimacy, and relationship satisfaction. Furthermore, poor relationship functioning is a clear risk factor for depressive symptoms. Given the established alexithymia–depression link and marital dysfunction–depression link, a logical next step is to examine whether relationship dysfunction (low social support, intimacy, negative relationship behaviours, and relationship dissatisfaction) mediates the association between alexithymia and depressive symptoms. The hypothesized mediation model was assessed in a sample of 104 community couples with two analytical approaches—first with cross‐sectional measures using path analysis and second with daily diary measures collected over a seven‐day period using a multilevel modelling approach. Poor relationship functioning mediated the association between alexithymia and depressed mood in the daily diary data and partially mediated that association with the cross‐sectional measures. These results identify alexithymia as an important variable in understanding the marital functioning–depression association, and this finding has implications for treatment. Copyright © 2012 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Standardized assessment of relationship functioning in OEF/OIF Veterans with and without PTSD

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is associated with difficulties in intimate relationships, with most prior research examining associations with continuous, single-dimension, and often-unstandardized measures of general relationship quality or aggression. Standardized, well-normed assessments that include multiple couple problem areas could provide more precise information about the presence and specific nature of clinically significant concerns in patient care settings. This investigation aimed to replicate findings regarding increased difficulties in relationship functioning among Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom Veterans with PTSD and their romantic partners, specifically using a standardized assessment that permits identification of cases of clinically significant general couple distress and difficulties across multiple problem areas. We compared 32 male Veterans with PTSD and 33 without PTSD, and their romantic partners on reports of several problem areas using the revised Marital Satisfaction Inventory (MSI-R). All participants underwent structured diagnostic interviewing. PTSD couples reported clinically significant levels of relationship distress several times more frequently than comparison couples, both for general distress and across all specific problem areas (e.g., aggressive behavior, quality of leisure time together, sexual functioning, conflicts about finances and child rearing). The most notable problem areas for PTSD couples were affective and problem-solving communication. These results replicate associations of PTSD with general couple discord and multiple specific areas of couple difficulties and extend them by documenting the clinical severity of these problems. Mental health providers may consider incorporating standardized couple assessments into their evaluations of Veterans’ functioning. Couple therapies may consider using such measures to prioritize targets for treatment.