Semiotic transformations in psychoanalysis with infants and adults

The author addresses issues that emerge when we compare psychoanalytic experiences with adults and with infants. Two analyses-one with a 35 year-old woman and one with a 2 week-old boy and his mother-illustrate that infant psychoanalytic experiences help us understand and handle adult transference. However, we cannot extrapolate infant experiences to adult work. Truly, witnessing the baby's communication widens our sensitivity to non-verbal layers of the adult's communication. Infant work also offers a direct encounter with the container and the contained personified by a mother with her baby. But we need to conceptualize carefully the links between clinical experiences with babies and adults. When we call an adult transference pattern 'infantile', we imply that primeval experience has been transformed into present behaviour. However, if we view the analytical situation as one in which infantile invariants have transformed into adult symptoms, we face the impossible task of indicating the roots of the present symptoms. The author rather suggests that what is transformed is not an invariant infantile essence but signs denoting the patient's inner reality. He proposes we define transformation as a semiotic process instead of building it on an essentialist grounding. If we view the analytic situation as a map of signs that we translate during our psychoanalytic work, we can proceed into defining containment as a semiotic process. This idea will be linked with a conceptualization of the mother-infant relation in semiotic terms.     

Using Adult Learning Theory Concepts to Address Barriers to Cancer Genetic Risk Assessment in the African American Community

Utilization of cancer genetic risk assessment can be profoundly influenced by an individuals’ knowledge of risk assessment, attitudes regarding illness and healthcare, and affective reactions derived from social norms. Race and ethnicity play a powerful role in the development of an individual's attitudes and should be considered when attempting to understand a person's openness to cancer genetic risk assessment (Lannin et al., 1998). Until recently, however, cancer screening and prevention programs have been primarily based on data from studies conducted with the Caucasian population, yielding data that are not fully applicable to the African American community. In the last several years, research findings regarding African American's knowledge, attitudes, and feelings about genetic counseling and testing have grown (Matthews et al., 2000; Singer et al., 2004; Thompson et al., 2003). However, to the authors’ knowledge, these data have yet to be presented in a manner that both summarizes the barriers that African Americans have reported regarding cancer genetic risk assessment, while at the same time suggesting methods individual genetic counselors can utilize during community presentations to help address these barriers. This article will first summarize previous empirical findings regarding African Americans’ knowledge, attitudes, and feelings about cancer genetic risk assessment. The article will then apply adult learning theory to those findings to provide genetic counselors with practical, theory based techniques to apply toward community based educational programs with African American groups.     

不同卷入度人群的组织公平结构

以国家助学金分配为背景,选取755名大学生为被试,运用量表测量和验证性因素分析办法考察不同卷入度人群的组织公平维度结构.结果表明:不同卷入程度个体的组织公平维度不一致.卷入程度低和卷入程度高但同时作为分配者的个体的组织公平是三因素结构.卷入程度高且只作为接受分配者的组织公平是四因素结构.同时,指出了信息公平在组织公平中具有重要的作用.     

大学生成人依恋、社会支持与抑郁的关系

通过整群随机抽样的方法抽取了438名大学生, 对其施测关系问卷、亲密关系经历量表、社会支持评定量表和抑郁问卷, 以探讨成人依恋关系、社会支持与抑郁之间的相互关系。结果表明:(1)依恋回避、依恋焦虑、社会支持和抑郁在依恋类型上存在显著差异;(2)依恋回避与不同来源社会支持均存在显著负相关, 与抑郁存在显著正相关。依恋焦虑与主观社会支持存在显著负相关, 与抑郁存在显著正相关。不同来源社会支持与抑郁均存在显著负相关;(3)社会支持可以部分中介成人依恋对抑郁的影响。     

癌痛治疗指南解析

对多国成人癌痛指南进行检索、回顾,发现近年癌痛治疗领域新进展和各国普遍遵循的共同原则,为临床医生改进癌痛治疗提供参考。采用现有的互联网临床实践指南检索平台,对成人癌痛指南进行检索,分析各国指南的异同之处,重点对疼痛评估、WHO三阶梯药物治疗及辅助治疗进行比较、归纳。全面的癌痛评估是指痛治疗的必要前提,也是众多癌痛指南强调的重点;按疼痛程度选择三阶梯镇痛药物仍是药物止痛的基本原则;口服途径是止痛治疗的首选给药途径;第一阶梯药物中阿司匹林的应用逐渐淡化,NSAIDs的毒性反应受到关注;第二阶梯药物的选择更灵活。应根据疼痛性质、患者的具体情况合理选择复合制荆。吗啡仍是强阿片类药物中的首选,可用于中、重度疼痛的治疗。因此,我国成人癌痛治疗需要改进,应重点推广全面的疼痛评估,提倡根据患者的具体情况合理、灵活的选择三阶梯药物,个体化治疗是止痛治疗的关键。     

Bayesian journey-to-crime modelling of juvenile and adult offenders by gender in Manchester

This study tested the Bayesian journey-to-crime (JTC) model by gender and age for serial offenders from Manchester, England. The data were 4056 crimes committed by 171 serial offenders between 2003 and 2006. The data were subdivided by gender and age group to examine whether accuracy and precision varied by these subgroups. In general, the centre of minimum distance was found to be the most accurate measure, but the Bayesian risk and product measures were found to be the most precise measurements. The traditional ‘distance decay’ type of JTC function did not produce estimates that are as accurate nor as precise as the Bayesian approach. Tests were conducted on whether specific gender and age group JTC functions and origin–destination matrices improved predictability. With the exception of juvenile male offenders, the general functions were more accurate and precise. In terms of building an accurate and precise geographical profiling methodology, the results point to the need to include information on the likely predisposition of neighbourhoods to produce offenders as well as information on the crime opportunities available to offenders. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Young adults with severe congenital hypothyroidism: cognitive event related potentials (ERPs) and the significance of an early start of thyroxine treatment

Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) has devastating effects upon brain development if left untreated. Despite early start of thyroxine treatment, patients still show subtle cognitive deficits compared to controls. We aimed to study auditory event related potentials (ERPs) in young CH adults (N = 12) to verify previous reports of normal attention functions measured by P3 in CH children. We also include ERP components (P1, N1, P2) allowing assessment of a wider range of auditory processing functions. No significant change in P3 latency or amplitude was found in the CH group, but a more subtle change in amplitude topography. A later start of thyroxine treatment was related to increased P3 latency and reduced amplitude. Group differences were found in early ERP components tapping sensory processing, sensory gating and selective attention. The results suggest persisting abnormalities in auditory processing and selective attention that may have influenced cognitive development.     

Freirean Philosophy and Pedagogy in the Adult Education Context: The Case of Older Adults’ Learning

Central tenets of Freirean philosophy and pedagogy are explored and applied to the emerging field of older adults’ learning (educational gerontology), a sub-field of adult education. I argue that many of Freire’s concepts and principles have direct applicability to the tasks of adult educators working alongside marginalized older adults. In particular, Freire’s ideas fit comfortably within a critical educational gerontology approach as they challenge prevailing orthodoxies and provide a robust analytical framework from which radical adult educators can work effectively in promoting social transformation.

Choices in Life: A Clinical Tool for Facilitating Midlife Review

A critical developmental task of midlife involves reviewing one's past as well as preparing for one's future. The ability to identify past choices, task responsibility for them, and utilize developing patterns in future decision making is seen as a critical component of continued adult development. The Choicemap offers a structured clinical tool to guide such a midlife review. Engaging in this process assists adults in developing choicemaking skills, and provides a powerful clinical intervention.     

Differences in High and Low Anxiety Sensitive Women's Responses to a Laboratory‐Based Cold Pressor Task

Anxiety sensitivity (AS) has been linked to a variety of disabling chronic health conditions, including pain‐related conditions. A recent study has found that healthy women with high AS reported significantly higher levels of sensory and affective pain on an experimental cold pressor task compared to women with low AS. However, this study found no differences between AS groups for pain tolerance or pain threshold. In the present study, which was designed to replicate and extend these findings, 90 undergraduate university women were selected for inclusion in 1 of 2 AS groups (high or low) based on their screening scores on a 16‐item measure of AS. Participants were tested individually on a lab‐based cold pressor task using a variety of self‐report and observer‐measured variables. Data analyses revealed that, as expected, the high AS participants reported significantly more fear in response to the cold pressor on a relevant item of the McGill Pain Questionnaire – Short Form (SF‐MPQ) than did the low AS participants. Also as expected, the high AS participants reported more pain in response to the cold pressor on the Present Pain Index (PPI) of the SF‐MPQ than did the low AS participants. High AS participants did not differ from low AS participants on other aspects of the cold pressor response (e.g. pain threshold, pain tolerance, pain recovery). These results support the role of pain‐related fear as a mediating variable between AS and increased perceived pain intensity.