Problematic donation procedures vs. futuristic research and treatment applications: A dichotomous social representation of stem cells in Italy

IntroductionCurrently, stem cells (SC) are one of the most studied issues of medical research as well as a widespread, complex, socially and ethically relevant issue.ObjectiveThe general aim of the present study is to explore how social representations (SR) of SC is different for people more or less willing to donate SC, also comparing bone marrow SC (BMSC) donation and umbilical cord blood SC (UCBSC) donation.MethodA paper-and-pencil survey was administrated to 78 Italian respondents. A structural analysis of SC-SRs (prototypical and co-occurrence analysis) was conducted comparing people with a high/low intention to donate UCBSC/BMSC.ResultsSimilarly to other bioethically relevant issues, SR of SC seems to be ambivalent and dichotomously organized, with the donation procedure been a barrier.ConclusionThese results are in line with studies finding two sets of dichotomies: on the one hand, a gift-of-life/replacement-of-body-parts dichotomy coexisting within people's SR of organ donation; on the other hand, a help/pain and needle dichotomy within blood donation's SR. Directions for future research are suggested.     

Is weight-related bullying addressed in school-based anti-bullying programs?

IntroductionThe high prevalence and numerous negative correlates of weight-related bullying among youth emphasize the need to prevent and counter this phenomenon in school settings. This scoping review aims at: (a) determining whether the anti-bullying programs identified in previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses take weight-related bullying into account, and (b) pinpointing effective intervention strategies against weight-related bullying.Literature findingsNone of the 10 systematic reviews and meta-analyses retained addressed weight-related bullying directly. However, their findings highlighted some intervention strategies that may help prevent and reduce this type of bullying.Discussion and conclusionThe results underscore the need to consider weight-related bullying more closely in anti-bullying programs implemented in elementary, middle, and high schools. It is also important to target the intervention strategies most likely to lead to the prevention and reduction of weight-related bullying. Such strategies could include, for example: (a) education, training, and awareness-raising, for school personnel, concerning weight bias, norms and prejudices; and (b) social and emotional support for students who are victims of weight-related teasing or bullying.     

Supervising away from home: clinical,cultural and professional challenges

This paper explores some challenges of supervising clinical work of trainees, known as ‘routers’, who live in countries with diverse cultural, social and political traditions, and the analysts who travel to supervise them. It is written as an evolving dialogue between the authors, who explore together the effects of their own culture of origin, and in particular the legacy and values of their own training institutes on the styles and models of analytic supervision. Their dialogue is framed around the meaning of home and experiences of homesickness for analysts working away from home in an interactive field of strangeness in countries where analytical psychology is a relatively new discipline. The authors outline the findings from their own qualitative survey, where other supervisors working abroad, and those they have supervised, describe their experiences and their encounters with difference. The dialogue ends with both authors discussing what they have learned about teaching and supervising abroad, the implications for more flexible use of Jungian concepts, and how such visits have changed their clinical practice in their home countries.     

La révision du texte : une activité de contrôle et de réflexion

Recent proposals in the field of text revision reveal significant changes in perspective concerning cognitive processes involved in writing. Whereas revision has been considered for a long time as being aimed at enhancing writing, this activity is now seen as a control of the different writing processes. Thus, planning is now added to this control process. Our review shows how results of novel studies strengthen this conception and in which way further researches should be pursued. In particular, we focus on three issues: training of control performed by expert writers, the cognitive cost of the required cognitive treatments and the conditions which permit to increase this control among writers during learning.     

Les manifestations comportementales de l'habilitation au travail : développement d'un cadre conceptuel et d'un instrument de mesure

Despite a strong interest for empowerment in business organizations, specific conceptual framework and measurement instruments do not exist to assess in a behavioural way if employees are really empowered. First, based on a literature review and interviews with twenty managers, seven behavioural indicators associated with empowerment have been identified and integrated in a theoretical framework distinguishing three investment areas (task, group, organization) and two types of contributions (assuring efficacy or improving efficiency). Second, questionnaires based on this framework have been administrated to 374 employees and their immediate supervisors. Factor analyses that have been performed showed a five-factor solution comparable for the self-report version and the version completed by the supervisor. Strengths and limitations of the new measurement instrument as well as the new research possibilities are discussed.     

The Garden of the Heart and Soul: the image,the way,and the meaning

This paper begins with an explanation of the four Chinese characters that represent the project of the Garden of the Heart and Soul. This project was founded to help the psychological development of orphans, as well as to provide psychological relief for the victims of ecological disasters such as earthquakes through the use of Jungian psychology, sandplay therapy, and the psychology of the Heart. Eleven years after its founding, there are 83 work‐stations on mainland China. The authors discuss how the Chinese characters influenced the way they set up their project and the values that guide them. In addition to helping the individuation of the people they work with, their work provides a container for the collective psyche and a connection with the cultural archetypal roots.     

Considering the role of early discrimination experiences and the parent–child relationship in the development of disruptive behaviors in adolescence

Discrimination has been shown to be related to diminished psychological adjustment and greater risk for substance use when personally experienced by adolescents and when their caregivers experience discrimination. Our research considers the impact of primary caregiver experiences of racial- and socioeconomic-based discrimination in early (age 3–5 years) and late childhood (age 9½) on adolescent disruptive behaviors (age 14) with a large sample of diverse caregiver–child dyads (N = 634). In addition, we examine the potential protective effects of parent–child relationship quality in early and late childhood in buffering the effects of caregiver discrimination on adolescent disruptive behaviors. We also explore possible gender differences in children's vulnerability to engage in disruptive behaviors in the context of caregiver experiences of discrimination. The findings from this study indicate that at trend level, early childhood experiences of primary caregiver discrimination (ages 3–5) predicted adolescent disruptive behaviors, accounting for the effects of more recent (age 9½) caregiver discrimination. In addition, parent–child relationship quality at age 9½ years was found to buffer the effects of late childhood (age 9½) primary caregiver discrimination on adolescent disruptive behaviors for both male and female youth. The findings highlight the need for prevention and intervention techniques that foster healthy and positive primary caregiver–child relationships.