Trauma, forgiveness and the witnessing dance: making public spaces intimate

In this paper I explore the concept of forgiveness as a response to gross human rights violations. I present a conceptual examination of the effects of massive trauma in relation to what I refer to as the 'unfinished business' of trauma. Using a psychoanalytic framework, I consider the process of 'bearing witness' about trauma and examine how this process opens up the possibility of reciprocal expressions of empathy between victim and perpetrator. I then argue that, in this context of trauma testimony and witnessing, empathy is essential for the development of remorse on the part of perpetrators, and of forgiveness on the part of victims. Using a case study from South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) I clarify the relationship between empathy and forgiveness, and show how the restorative model of the TRC can open up an ethical space and create the possibility of transformation for victims, perpetrators and bystanders. In my conclusion I suggest that forgiveness in politics is the only action that holds promise for the repair of brokenness in post-conflict societies, particularly if, as in South Africa, victims have to live together with perpetrators and beneficiaries in the same country.     

What does it take to let go? An investigation into the facilitating and obstructing factors of forgiveness–the therapist's perspective

The phenomenon of forgiveness, initially neglected by psychotherapists due to its religious connotation, is finding increasing recognition as a transformative process involving the injured party in a profound way. This thesis is based on therapists’ experiences with clients who have been emotionally wounded. However, its content may be of relevance also for those who are struggling to forgive as well as those who are in a position to help others undergoing this process. Fifteen practitioners, most of them highly experienced, from eleven different countries on four different continents, have shared their observations and experiences by filling in an e-mail administered in-depth questionnaire. The topic has been approached with the following study objectives: the nature of forgiveness, intrapersonal and interpersonal factors affecting forgiveness, and the role of the therapist in the client's process of letting go. A qualitative research design has been applied for the data analysis, to identify the major themes of each research question, representing the facilitating and obstructing conditions relevant for forgiveness. Since the danger of premature forgiveness emerged as a recurrent concern, a “forgiveness chart” has been developed, assigning the analysed data to relevant categories: A reference tool designed to support a genuine process of letting go.     

Can organisational safety climate and occupational stress predict work-related driver fatigue?

Road crashes are a significant cause of work-related injury and death. Driver fatigue is thought to cause 20–30% of fatal crashes. The current study utilised a survey to examine the relationship between safety climate, occupational stress and work-related driver fatigue. Drivers (n = 219) from two government organisations responded to items from the job-related tension scale [Kahn, R. L., Wolfe, D. M., Quinn, R. P., & Snoek, J. D. (1964). Organisational stress: Studies in role conflict and ambiguity. Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing], safety climate questionnaire [Glendon, A., & Litherland, D. (2001). Safety climate factors, group differences and safety behaviour in road construction. Safety Science, 39, 157–188] and purpose-designed items on fatigue-related behaviour. Outcome measures were current self-reported, fatigue-related behaviour and self-reported ‘near (crash) misses’ during the previous 6 months. Together, occupational stress and safety climate predicted fatigue-related behaviour, accounting for 29% of the variance over and above that explained by control variables. Further, logistic regression revealed occupational stress and safety climate to be significant predictors of fatigue-related near misses. Safety climate emerged as a stronger predictor of both fatigue-related behaviour and near misses than occupational stress. Results suggest that organisations can play a part in improving the safety-related behaviours of their workforce through attention to safety climate and occupational stress.     

Home Environment and Classroom Climate: An Investigation of their Relation to Students’ Academic Self-Concept in a Streamed Setting

Many studies concur that students’ perceptions of their home and school environments, such as relationships with parents and teachers, are related to their academic self-concept (for example, Chang et al., Int J of Behav Dev 27(2):182–189, 2003; Ireson and Hallam, Br J Educ Psychol 75:297–311, 2005; Jang, J Kor Home Econ, 39:101–114, 2001; Lau and Leung, Br J Educ Psychol, 62:193–202, 1992; Lau and Pun, Social Behav Pers, 27(6):639–650, 1999; Masche and Barber, “Connectedness and separation in parent-adolescent relationships: Indicators of a successful identity development.” Paper presented at the SRCD Biennial Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, April 19–22, 2001; Sanders, “School–family–community partnerships and the academic achievement of African American, urban adolescents.” Report No. 7. EDRS. ED 402404, 1996). Nonetheless, little is known about whether the strength of the relationships is comparable for students of different ability streams, or if the predictors of variance of their academic self-concept are similar. To fill the empirical gap, a 3-year longitudinal study was conducted with Secondary One students (approximate age 13) from three government schools in Singapore. Pearson product–moment correlation and Fisher’s z _r transformation showed that there were significant differences in the strength of the relationships between higher- and lower-ability stream students’ academic self-concept and their perceived home environment and classroom climate. In addition, stepwise multiple linear regressions established that lower-ability stream students’ perceived teachers’ expectations had more consistent and substantial impact on their confidence level than that of their higher-ability stream counterparts. In comparison, higher-ability stream students’ perceived parental academic support had more consistent impact on their academic self-concept than that of their lower-ability stream peers.     

培训迁移影响因素研究述评

对培训迁移的研究从关注培训本身发展到关注培训以外影响其效果的因素,且焦点集中在对于企业来说更可控的因素上,主要是迁移气氛与组织特征。培训迁移气氛包括情境线索与结果两个维度。该文分析了影响培训迁移的几个主要因素,并根据已有的研究,提出了培训迁移研究未来的方向,例如,组织和个人的职业生涯管理与培训迁移的关系,以及培训类型的扩展对培训迁移带来的影响     

Impact of Conflict on Mental Health in Northern Ireland: The Mediating Role of Intergroup Forgiveness and Collective Guilt

The aim of the present research was to investigate the mediating role of group-level forgiveness and guilt in the relationship between victimhood (the extent to which the conflict affected an individual's life), exposure to violence (the level of violence in their area of residence), and group identity on the one hand, and mild psychiatric morbidity on the other. Specifically the study focused on the psychological impact of the ethnopolitical conflict in Northern Ireland, utilizing people's identification with either the Catholic or Protestant community. Our results revealed that intergroup forgiveness mediated the relationship between both victimhood and group identification, as predictors, and mild psychiatric morbidity. Collective guilt, on the other hand, mediated the relationship between both exposure to violence and group identification, as predictors, and intergroup forgiveness. Overall this study shows that forgiveness and collective guilt can act as mediators in the relationship between impact of ethnopolitical conflict and mental health, at the group level, and thus demonstrates their centrality to the reconciliation process. Implications for intergroup reconciliation initiatives in Northern Ireland are discussed.     

Classroom climate and students' goal preferences: a cross-cultural comparison

Goal preferences indicate intentions to achieve or avoid particular states. We examined whether Curacaoan and Dutch students differ in goal preferences related to school and whether goal preferences are associated with students' evaluation of the classroom climate. Measurement invariance of the instruments was also tested between samples. Participants attended vocational high schools in Curacao ( N = 276) or in the Netherlands ( N = 283). Both the classroom climate and goal preferences differed between the samples. In the Netherlands the preference for individuality, belongingness, and recognition was stronger, whereas in Curacao mastery, satisfaction, self-determination, and material gain were more frequently endorsed. The two variables were modestly correlated. Schools do have a globalizing effect on students' school experiences and hardly adapt to goal preferences. The latter seem to be affected by non-school related cultural factors.     

自我宽恕的概念、测量及其与其他心理变量的关系

自我宽恕是指当自己是侵犯者时,发生于自己内部的,对待自己的动机由报复转向善待的变化。自我宽恕的概念在其对象、过程、实质和价值方面都存在着争议,即自己与他人、给予与寻求、特质与情境、积极与消极的争论。自我宽恕与人际宽恕在其对象、影响因素与后果等诸多方面也存在区别。对自我宽恕的测量现有宽恕自我（FS）量表、Heartland宽恕量表（HFS）以及状态自我宽恕量表（SSFS）3种工具。有关自我宽恕的相关研究显示,自我宽恕与人格特质的关系还待探讨,而自我宽恕与心理健康水平有相关。未来的研究应深化自我宽恕的界定、拓展其研究方法、扩大其研究内容。     

Middle school student perceptions of school climate: Examining protective functions on subsequent adjustment problems

The present study examined the roles of student perceptions of four aspects of school climate (friction, cohesion, competition among students, and satisfaction with classes) as moderators of the relations between effortful control and subsequent conduct problems and depressive symptoms. Participants were 488 10-to-14-year old students involved in two waves, with one year between each wave, of a study. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that high levels of perceived friction predicted more subsequent conduct problems and depressive symptoms, even after baseline levels of these problems were partialled out. Low levels of effortful control also elevated risk for subsequent conduct problems. However, perceptions of the school as high in cohesion offset the risk associated with low levels of effortful control. Perceived satisfaction with classes also offset this risk, but only for females. Contrary to expectations, student perceptions of school climate did not interact with effortful control to predict subsequent depressive symptoms.