Art - A Feasible Illusion

This article discusses the approximation between art and psychoanalysis, considering both as manifestations of the unconscious. Art is viewed as a successful instinctual substitute which differs from the symptom in terms of effectiveness. A work of art is the symbolic universe of the artist, who, by withdrawing into the world of imagination, encounters the pathways of reality. Artistic manifestation is not interpretable, however it communicates with the observer who may also find satisfaction for his own unconscious desires therein.     

Factors associated with traumatic symptoms and internalizing problems among adolescents who experienced a traumatic event

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to identify factors that are related to the traumatic symptoms and problem behavior among adolescents who experienced the New Years fire in 2001 in Volendam, The Netherlands. Three groups of factors were considered: pre-trauma (personality and coping), trauma-related (physical and emotional proximity to disaster), and post-trauma factors (received social support). Forty-five adolescents completed the questionnaire. Two years after the disaster, these adolescents experienced significant traumatic stress reaction (70% within the clinical range) and showed clinically significant levels of internalizing problems (37%). Pre-trauma, individual factors were identified as the most important predictors of distress, followed by received social support. The indicators of physical and emotional proximity to disaster explained little variance in distress.     

Brief strategic therapy in first myocardial infarction patients with increased levels of stress: a randomized clinical trial

Background: Little is known about the impact of interventions targeting chronic stress levels on clinical outcomes among myocardial infarction (MI) patients with increased levels of stress. Objectives: To examine the impact of the addition of brief strategic therapy (BST) to usual care (UC) on clinical outcomes in first MI patients with increased levels of stress. Design: Eighty-one patients were randomly assigned to BST in conjunction with UC (medical treatment, risk factor information, and guidance on unhealthy behavior change) or to UC. Methods: The outcome measures were scores on the Perceived Stress Scale, reinfarction and cardiac mortality rates, and scores on the Health Survey. Measures were taken before, post-treatment, and at two follow-ups. Results: Patients subjected to BST showed reduced perceived stress at post-treatment and maintained decreased levels at follow-ups. At 1-year follow-up, they had a lower rate of non-fatal reinfarction, and at 2.5-year follow-up, they had a lower rate of fatal reinfarction. Their mental and physical health was improved at post-treatment and this was sustained at follow-ups. Conclusion: The addition of BST to UC favorably influences the disease course after MI in patients with increased levels of stress.     

Focusing on Educational Outcomes

National education goals, content standards, and national tests are the hot topics of the day in educational reform. Special services personnel eventually will be faced with these issues, and can either be part of the discussion from the beginning, or wait and have to deal with someone else's decisions. In this article, we highlight some recent national and state educational reform activities and their probable implications for students with disabilities. We explain in brief the impetus behind the thrust toward an outcomesbased approach to education, and summarize the response of the National Center on Educational Outcomes for Students with Disabilities to this push. Possible ways in which special service providers can act to influence the focus on outcomes are described.     

基于知识异质性团队的异质性知识网络运行机制

基于知识异质性团队的异质性知识网络是指团队内每个异质性知识成员因原来的学习经历或工作经历所建立起来的跨组织异质性知识网络.本研究旨在探明这一异质性知识网络的互动机制、创新路径与双向动态演变过程.努力将知识管理、社会网络、认知心理学理论结合起来,选择典型的高管团队,研发团队,以现场研究为主,综合运用实验研究和问卷调查等方法对异质性知识网络的三种基本形态、知识流运行特征和模式进行研究.同时考察基于网络交互记忆系统、知识冲突和个人图式拓展的多重创新路径,并在此基础上考察异质性知识网络的双向动态演变过程和相应的结网与优化策略.     

A Study of Happiness and Unhappiness in the Childhood and Adolescence of Girls in Different Cultures

Experiments were reviewed which dealt with the effect of an auditory cue stimulus on sensitivity to a visual detection stimulus, and vice versa. In most cases the heteromodal cue was temporally varied around the time of occurrence of the detection stimulus.

Different results were reported when a prolonged cue was used (which overlapped the detection stimulus when the onsets of both were not simultaneous) than when a brief-duration cue was used: e.g., in the former case, but not in the latter, sensitivity to the detection stimulus was affected by the intensity of a clearly perceptible heteromodal cue. Es tended to explain the effects of prolonged cue in “neurophysiological-interaction” terms and of brief-duration cue in “attentional” terms. Delta t (difference between times of detection-stimulus and cue onset) was most likely to affect sensitivity to the detection stimulus when marker stimuli reliably informed S when to attend for the detection stimulus, but did not exactly define its time of possible occurrence. A consistent delta-t effect was that a light-cued sound stimulus was best detected when the flash preceded it by 0 to 500 msec.     

Sliding doors: some reflections on the parent–child–therapist triangle in parent work–child psychotherapy

The parental presence as therapy agents, namely as a medium and support for the therapeutic process, is one of the paradoxical parameters of working with children. Parental presence serves as a reminder of the need to find a balance between inner and outer reality. The door that is closed in the therapy room leaves a parent on the other side but at the same time provides the child’s inner world with more latitude to reveal itself. This paper examines the fabric of relations created in the therapeutic parent–child–therapist triangle (analogous to Britton’s conceptualisation of the parent–parent–child link). How does this triangular connection affect the ability to be with the silent self (Winnicott) when the parent remains (tangibly and symbolically) on the other side of the therapy door? This paper presents two clinical examples to illustrate the complex fabric of relations created in the therapeutic parent–child–therapist triangle and the interactions between the internal and external reality of the parent–child relationship.     

The Satisfaction With Life Scale: Measurement invariance across immigrant groups

The current study examined measurement invariance of the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985) across three immigrant groups, namely, immigrants from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) in Israel, Turkish-Bulgarians, and Turkish-Germans. The results demonstrate measurement invariance of the SWLS across groups. The findings that Turkish-Bulgarian and FSU immigrants in Israel scored significantly lower on the SWLS compared to Turkish-Germans can be explained by assimilative policies in Israel and Bulgaria. In conclusion, our results suggest the SWLS is feasible for cross-cultural comparisons of immigrants of various age groups. Future investigation of measurement invariance over time is needed to use the SWLS in a developmental perspective.     

Children with Disabilities

Abstract

Children in out-of-home care due to abuse and neglect are at disproportionately high risk for disabling conditions. The reasons for the over-representation of children with disabilities in the child welfare system are reviewed and discussed in this chapter. Factors discussed include impact of abuse and neglect, the impact risk factors such as exposure to community and domestic violence and poverty, risk of abuse or neglect associated with disability, and child welfare system factors. In addition, the need for greater efficacy in identification of disability, identification of service needs, and linkage with and delivery of services to serve the needs of children with disabilities in out-of-home care is addressed. Recommendations for policy review at State and Federal levels are offered along with direction for future research.     

Testing relations between group cohesion and satisfaction in project teams: A cross-level and cross-lagged approach

Based on a two-dimensional perspective of group cohesion, this study examines the emergence of task cohesion and interpersonal cohesion in project teams and their roles in changes in members’ individual satisfaction with the team. Specifically, we tested a direct-effect and mediation model of the cross-level relationship between team task and interpersonal cohesion and individual satisfaction with the team over time. With a sample of 74 newly created project teams, the hypotheses were tested using a two-wave panel design. Results indicate that task cohesion emerges more strongly than interpersonal cohesion during the first stages of work in project teams. Moreover, the cross-lagged relationship between team interpersonal cohesion and individual satisfaction with the team was mediated by team task cohesion.