Coming out stories framed as faith narratives, or stories of spiritual growth

The tension between religion and sexuality is particularly pronounced for gay and lesbian people who are often “caught in the middle” between a constitutional sexual orientation and a religious body that rejects it. This paper demonstrates how gay men can be helped in trying to integrate these deeply human and intrinsic parts of themselves, using a developmental approach first articulated by Robert Kegan. It argues that such development is often reflected later in theological language: in this case, in these men's coming out narratives, which are often framed as stories of spiritual growth.     

Estimating state IQ: Measurement challenges and preliminary correlates

The purpose of this study is threefold. First, an estimate of state IQ is derived and its strengths and limitations are considered. To that end, an indicator of downward bias in estimating state IQ is provided. Two preliminary causal models are offered that predict state IQ. These models were found to be highly predictive of state IQ, yielding multiple R's of 0.83 and 0.89. Second, the extent to which state IQ predicts state outcome variables (e.g., gross state product, health, violent crime, and government effectiveness) is estimated. State IQ shows positive correlations with gross state product, health, and government effectiveness and negative correlations with violent crime. These results are consistent with the extent to which IQ predicts outcomes at the level of the individual. Third, a research agenda is provided for improving estimates of state IQ, identifying factors that cause differences in state IQ, and delineating the role of IQ in predicting important variables.     

Étude de certaines propriétés psychométriques de l’Older Adult Self-Report (OASR) en population générale québécoise

The aim of the present study was to evaluate some psychometric properties of the French-Canadian version of the Older Adult Self-Report (Achenbach et al., 2004), a self-reported measure of emotional, behavioral and interpersonal difficulties intended for people aged 60 years and older. This study examines some psychometric properties of the OASR, in terms of reliability (internal consistency) of the seven syndrome scales, and construct validity (structural, convergent and criterion validity). The instrument was completed by 321 older adults aged 60 years and older (M = 68.36; SD = 5.82) who were participating at the Université du troisième âge activities, which were taking place in two cities of the province of Quebec, Canada. Polychoric alpha coefficients varied between 0,72 and 0,93 and indicated a good internal consistency for the syndrome scales. Convergent validity was measured by multiple linear regression using life satisfaction as a dependent variable. A confirmatory factor analysis supported the seven-factor structure proposed in the original version of the instrument (CFI = .916, TLI = .914, RMSEA = .022 [.019, .025]). Results showed a good convergent validity, with 37.5% of variance explained by the problem scales. Overall, the results indicated that psychometric properties of the OASR meet expected standards for professional use of the French-Canadian version of the instrument.     

School achievement strongly predicts midlife IQ

The relationship between measures of IQ and standardized school achievement tests is well established at around r ≈ 0.5 when the two are measured in close proximity. The current paper examined the stability of this correlation when comparing elementary school achievement (grades 3–8) and midlife IQ. Iowa Adoption Study participants who had standardized school achievement measures (ITBS) on file were given the WAIS-III. Mean age at IQ testing was 44.01 years (SD 6.65 years). The correlation between school achievement and WAIS-III FSIQ was r = 0.64, suggesting substantial life span stability in this relationship. Furthermore, elementary school achievement was substantially correlated with occupational status and household income at midlife. These findings suggest that standardized school achievement data is a useful measure of premorbid IQ.     

Seemingly Anomalous WISC-IV Full Scale IQ Scores in the American and Canadian Standardization Samples

The American and Canadian standardization samples for the fourth edition of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children were used to ascertain the prevalence of “seemingly anomalous” Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) scores for all possible sums of scaled scores combinations of the Verbal Comprehension Index, Perceptual Reasoning Index, Working Memory Index, and Processing Speed Index. About 1% of FSIQ scores in both samples were anomalous (that is, fell outside the range of the four indices). Interestingly, the prevalence of anomalous scores was higher at the extremes of the FSIQ distribution. Moreover, anomalous FSIQ scores occurring above or below the mean of the FSIQ distribution (that is, 100) were larger or smaller, respectively, than any of the four indices. Furthermore, if the range of the four indices did contain the FSIQ (the non-anomalous case), when the FSIQ was below or above 100 it tended to be located distally in the half-segment of the range furthest below or above 100, respectively. A non-technical intuitive analogy from Olympic sports and a statistical explanation for the findings are provided. Important implications for practitioners are also presented. Portions of this paper were presented March 17, 2006 at the 20th annual Joseph R. Royce Research Conference, Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta.     

The Brothers Karamazov: Dostoevskij’s Hosanna

The novel The Brothers Karamazov shows the spiritual rebirth of man and society. At first the world of the town Skotoprigon’evsk is depicted as heathen and even demonic, where everyone is in search of earthly justice, forgetting about love and losing a connection to God; here the theme of orphanhood is dominant. The second half of the novel is dominated by the image of the Holy Trinity, the symbol of mutual love and unity. The human world, according to Dostoevskij, cannot be divided into adults and children, the guilty and the innocent, insofar as all can freely participate in the redemption of humanity’s sin (like Christ, the paragon of innocence). If all people are God’s children, death does not have power over them. Upon completing his final novel Dostoevkskij wrote: “my Hosanna has passed through a big crucible of doubt.” The Brothers Karamazov is Dostoevskij’s Hosanna. Translated by Robert Bird     

中西文化互释与世界根源性精神

东西方文明冲突与文化融合,既不是争夺话语权及同化的问题,也不是消融各自的特色,而是基于和谐在文化差异中分享与互尊。惟有正视这一点,中华文明的精神价值和思想资源才可能通过与西方经典的相互诠释来与西方文明沟通与交流,并追寻到当今世界根源性精神;进而发现一个为人类理性所能认同的共同的真理与价值标准。恰恰是通过对中西文化元典的比较研究,我们发现不同文化的冲突不可怕;它是进化的一个条件,但是你必须共同融合才能产生新的文明。     

A General Factor of Personality in the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III, the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology, and the Personality Assessment Inventory

A General Factor of Personality (GFP) occupies the apex of the hierarchy in three prominent personality disorder inventories. On the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III, a GFP accounted for 41% of the variance in two second-order factors, 31% of the variance in five first-order factors, and 26% of the variance in all 24 scales. On the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology, a GFP accounted for 61% of the variance in six first-order factors and 36% of the variance in all 18 scales. In a cross-validation study of the Personality Assessment Inventory, a GFP accounted for 65% of the variance in two second-order factors, 47% of the variance in five first-order factors, and 27% of the variance in all 18 scales.     

Does a fitness factor contribute to the association between intelligence and health outcomes? Evidence from medical abnormality counts among 3654 US Veterans

We suggest that an over-arching ‘fitness factor’ (an index of general genetic quality that predicts survival and reproductive success) partially explains the observed associations between health outcomes and intelligence. As a proof of concept, we tested this idea in a sample of 3654 US Vietnam veterans aged 31–49 who completed five cognitive tests (from which we extracted a g factor), a detailed medical examination, and self-reports concerning lifestyle health risks (such as smoking and drinking). As indices of physical health, we aggregated ‘abnormality counts’ of physician-assessed neurological, morphological, and physiological abnormalities in eight categories: cranial nerves, motor nerves, peripheral sensory nerves, reflexes, head, body, skin condition, and urine tests. Since each abnormality was rare, the abnormality counts showed highly skewed, Poisson-like distributions. The correlation matrix amongst these eight abnormality counts formed only a weak positive manifold and thus yielded only a weak common factor. However, Poisson regressions showed that intelligence was a significant positive predictor of six of the eight abnormality counts, even controlling for diverse lifestyle covariates (age, obesity, combat and toxin exposure owing to service in Vietnam, and use of tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and hard drugs). These results give preliminary support for the notion of a superordinate fitness factor above intelligence and physical health, which could be further investigated with direct genetic assessments of mutation load across individuals.     

Parents' estimations of their own intelligence and that of their children: a comparison between English and Icelandic parents

In this study, 158 parents (79 fathers and 79 mothers) with a mean age of 38.3 yrs (SD = 8.2), estimated their own, and their children's, overall intelligence as well as their children's score on the 12 intelligence scales from the Wechsler's Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-III). The sample included English (n = 122) and Icelandic parents (n = 36), and a comparison between them showed few differences except that Icelandic parents' estimates were lower than English parents' estimates. The results showed fathers estimated their own overall intelligence higher than mothers estimated theirs and sons were estimated higher than daughters on overall intelligence. Two factors (verbal, performance) of intelligence were identified through factor analysis of the ratings of the 12 WISC subscale score estimates. A hierarchical regression showed that these two factors explained most of the variance in the estimation of the child's overall intelligence; however, gender of child and parents' self-estimated own overall intelligence added incremental variance.