Intercorrelations and developmental pathways of mothers' and fathers' loneliness during pregnancy,infancy and toddlerhood – STEPS study

Our aim was to study the inter‐correlations and developmental pathways of mothers' and fathers' social and emotional loneliness during pregnancy (20th pregnancy week), infancy (child aged 8 months), and early childhood (child aged 18 months). Moreover, we aimed to study whether mothers and fathers who have different developmental profiles (identified by latent growth curve mixture models) differ in their experiences of marital dissatisfaction (RDAS), social phobia (SPIN) and depression (BDI) during pregnancy. Both mothers' social and emotional loneliness and fathers' social and emotional loneliness were highly stable, and within individuals these loneliness factors were strongly correlated. However, the correlations between mothers' loneliness experiences and fathers' loneliness experiences were weaker than expected. Separate latent growth curve groups were identified, which differed in feelings of marital dissatisfaction, social phobia, and depression. These groupings revealed that the higher the loneliness was, the more the parents experience these other psychosocial problems.     

Parental Division of Household Labour and Sibling Relationship Quality: Family Relationship Mediators

Research examining antecedents to sibling relationship quality have explored factors such as parenting and temperament (Brody, 1998); however, there has been no previous research on the topic of the current study. The present study used a cross‐informant approach to examine parent–child and marital relationships as potential mediators of links between parents' gendered attitudes and behaviours and sibling relationship quality. One hundred and twenty‐four families with older (M = 7.4 years) and younger (M = 5.2 years) siblings were assessed. Parents reported on division of household labour, gender‐role attitudes and marital satisfaction. Each child reported on sibling relationship quality and parental warmth and hostility. Results revealed a link between more egalitarian division of household labour and more positive sibling relationship quality. Furthermore, this association was not mediated by the marital nor parent–child relationship. We conclude that families with a more egalitarian division of household labour may model positive interactions for siblings. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

婚姻承诺与婚姻质量的关系:夫妻牺牲行为的中介作用

婚姻承诺和婚姻质量的关系近年来是婚姻研究领域关注的重要课题。承诺是保持婚姻的意愿,会导致婚姻中牺牲行为的产生。然而,承诺和牺牲对婚姻质量的影响至今并没有得到一致结论。那么,承诺对婚姻质量影响的不一致是否是因为牺牲所起作用的不一致导致?以往研究并没有得到探讨。为此,从北京选取389对夫妻,采用夫妻独立作答的方式,对他们的婚姻承诺,牺牲行为和婚姻质量进行测查,以探讨婚姻承诺、牺牲与婚姻质量的关系,以及牺牲在婚姻承诺和婚姻质量关系间的作用。结果发现:(1)丈夫对婚姻承诺和婚姻质量的感知显著高于妻子;并且丈夫比妻子报告有更多的"行动服务"上的牺牲行为。(2)夫妻的婚姻承诺对自身牺牲频率和婚姻质量均有显著预测作用,同时妻子的婚姻承诺还对丈夫的婚姻质量有显著预测作用。(3)丈夫的牺牲频率在丈夫婚姻承诺对自身婚姻质量的影响中起着完全中介作用。同时,丈夫的牺牲频率也能显著预测妻子感知到的婚姻质量,而妻子的牺牲频率在本身对双方的婚姻质量均无直接或间接的预测作用。说明丈夫的牺牲行为对婚姻关系有非常重要的作用。     

Evaluating the pilot Narnian Virtues Character Education English Curriculum Project: a study among 11- to 13-year-old students

Abstract

In order to evaluate the impact of the pilot Narnian Virtues Character Education English Curriculum Project, a pilot sample of 86 year 7 and year 8 students (11 to 13 years of age) completed a battery of tests both before and after participating for six weeks in the programme. The battery of tests comprised 12 Narnian Character Virtue Scales (NCVS) (to assess the degree to which students saw themselves as behaving virtuously), the Knowledge Index of Narnian Character Virtues (KINCV) (to assess knowledge of virtues gained during the programme), and established measures of personality, happiness, self-esteem, empathy, and religious affect (as control variables). Mean scores were significantly higher at the end of the programme on the KINCV, but on none of the 12 NCVSs, and on none of the control variables. These data suggest that the Narnian Virtues Character Education English Curriculum Project was successful in enhancing knowledge of virtues but not in changing self-perceived behaviour. These findings are consistent both with the general educational principle that education informs understanding prior to affecting behaviour and also with the expectations of the project – that improving virtue literacy and understanding of virtues precedes the practice of virtues.     

Multiplicity Within and Between: Addressing Multiple Roles Through Role Profiles in Couples

The purpose of this study is to test the validity of a personality assessment, Role Profiles, by exploring the relationship between role balance and individual well-being and the relationship between couples’ role profiles similarity and their marital satisfaction. Twenty couples were recruited and completed the assessments. This study partially supported Role Profiles’ validity and the findings were consistent with previous studies: individuals with higher role confusion were more likely to report lower self-esteem, and couples who shared many identical roles in their roles profiles were more likely to report higher marital satisfaction. The utility of Role Profiles as a clinical assessment in couples therapy is discussed.     

Learning Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy: Four Clinicians' Perspectives

This study examined the experiences of four clinicians learning emotionally focused couple therapy (EFT). Two group interviews, separated by 6 years, explored topics that included emotion, gender, model differences, personal practitioner impact, and the long-term influence of EFT training on clinical work. Emotion emerged as a major theme, with three subthemes at each phase. Phase 1 results indicated an increase in personal awareness of emotions, a positive impact on close personal relationships, and challenges for males in learning to elicit and use emotion. Phase 2 results, 6 years later, revealed that focusing on emotions remained salient and that EFT continues to influence the work of each clinician to varying degrees. Limitations, future research suggestions, and clinical implications are discussed.     

Communicative action,the lifeworlds of learning and the dialogue that we aren't 1

Abstract

The first section of the paper reviews the kind of action which unfolds in Plato's Republic, and argues that, from Book II onwards, its character shifts from a genuine dialogue (communicative action) to a more manipulative kind of intercourse (strategic action). While the former kind of action was characteristic of the educational activities of the historical Socrates, the case is made that this kind of action became largely eclipsed in Western education and superseded by the strategic concerns to which Platonist conceptions of learning gave prominence. The Platonist legacy, it is pointed out, had a decisive impact on Western conceptions of learning, even beyond the Enlightenment. These conceptions were largely custodial rather than emancipatory in character. An argument is presented in thirteen steps in the second section of the paper, to establish the case that the kind of action which properly describes the experience of teaching and learning is that of a cultural courtship. A distinction is drawn between honourable and dishonourable forms of courtship, the honourable being a candidate for defence in universalist terms. The practical import of the distinction is considered. Under the title ‘The Dialogue that we Aren't’, the third section reviews postmodern objections ‐ particularly those of Lyotard ‐ to the kind of argument made in the thirteen steps, and the concluding section considers Habermas’ later theories in relation to my own ‘universalist’ argument.     

Depression and marital status determine the 10-year (2004–2014) prognosis in patients with acute coronary syndrome: The GREECS study

Background: The aim of the present work was to examine the association of depression and marital status, with the long-term prognosis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), among a Greek sample of cardiac patients.

Methods: From October 2003 to September 2004, a sample of 2172 consecutive ACS patients from 6 hospitals was enrolled. In 2013–2014, the 10-year follow-up was performed in 1918 participants. Depressive symptoms were evaluated using the validated CES-D score (range 0–60), while marital status was classified as: single, married/cohabitants, divorced and widowed at the time of entry to the study.

Results: Patients in the upper tertile of CES-D (>20 score) had 41% (95%CI 14%, 75%) higher risk of ACS incidence as compared with those in the lowest (<7 score). In contrary, married patients had 29% lower risk (95%CI 6%, 46%) of ACS mortality compared with single, widowed or divorced. Multi-adjusted analysis revealed that among the ‘not married’ patients, 1-point increase in the CES-D score was associated with 2% (p = .02) and 4% (p = .001) higher risk of having non-fatal and fatal cardiac events, respectively.

Conclusions: The present study highlights the important role of depression in the context of marital relationships among ACS patients. Secondary public health care intervention programmes are needed to improve patient outcomes and minimise disease burden in clinical and community setting.     

Myths and Mates in Childbearing Depression

Abstract

Many myths exist about postpartum depression (PPD), all of which are based on the assumption that PPD differs qualitatively from depression that occurs at other times in women's lives. These myths paint a misleading picture of how PPD arises and may prevent women from receiving treatment for their difficulties. In this article, I identify five common myths and review the research literature to demonstrate that each lacks an empirical basis. Next, I present a model based on attachment theory, which I use to conceptualize PPD that occurs in the context of relationship distress. Finally, I illustrate this model with a clinical case.     

Women and Physical Distinction:

With few exceptions, the special concerns and status of women with physical distinctions (physical disability and facial disfigurement) have been largely ignored in the disability literature. Women with physical distinctions are perceived negatively and are devalued and marginalized in our culture. They face a double discrimination due to their gender and their disability. The situation is even more acute for ethnic minority women with physical distinctions. This paper will review the literature on women with physical distinctions and explore some of the issues for ethnic minority women with physical distinctins. Recommendations are offered for feminist therapists who work with this population.