Support Group Needs for People Living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) in Communities around Durban,South Africa

The study constructed a participant centred perspective of what members of a support group for people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) desired from their group meetings. The study sample (n = 34) was from three support groups of PLWHA in a province of South Africa (males = 7, female = 27, mean age = 34.2 years, SD = 6.8 years). Participants completed a brief survey and participated in focus group discussion on views on the ideal support group, actual experience with the support group, and solutions for effective support groups. Findings suggest most members of the support group experienced a high degree of stigma at home and needed a so-called ‘safe space’ to escape to and discuss issues with people experiencing similar problems. Respondents wanted to acquire skills to allow them to help themselves and others in the community. They also desired HIV education so that they could properly understand the virus and help the community understand it to reduce stigma.     

HeartMath: a positive psychology paradigm for promoting psychophysiological and global coherence

This article proposes HeartMath as a positive psychology paradigm for promoting psychophysiological and global coherence . It provides evidence for the value of psychophysiological and global coherence, with special reference to human functioning through synchronisation between positive emotions, cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous, immune and other physiological systems . Various HeartMath tools and techniques are described and evidence for their effectiveness provided, drawing from several related South African studies . Psychophysiological and global coherence bear promise as fertile fields for future research and intervention of great potential to develop humanity and promote global health and wellbeing.     

Psychological need-satisfaction,and basketball performance

ObjectivesWe applied self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000) to examine whether pre-game psychological need-satisfaction predicts the quality of sports performance, and whether performance, in turn, predicts post-game need-satisfaction.Design/methodUndergraduate participants competing in a recreational league basketball season completed autonomy, competence, and relatedness need-satisfaction measures before and after games (N = 150 person-games). For each game, data were collected on the number of one, two, and three point shots taken, as well as shooting percentages for each type of shot.ResultsParticipants with greater pre-game autonomy performed best overall during games, although this pattern did not emerge within-subjects. Good game performance predicted enhanced post-game relatedness and competence, both between- and within-subjects.ConclusionImplications for optimal sports performance are considered.     

Assessing the Incidence and Perceptions of Sexual Harassment Behaviors Among American Undergraduates

A nine-item scale of sexual harassment behaviors was developed and tested in a two-study sequence. In the first study, male and female college students with job experience rated the frequency with which they experienced these behaviors from both supervisors and co-workers. Revisions were made on the basis of these results, and the revised scale was administered to a different yet similar sample to measure the perceptions of each behavior as sexual harassment. Results of both studies showed a significant difference for the ratings of supervisor and co-worker behaviors.     

Integrative Psychotherapy in the Current Managed Care Environment

ABSTRACT

Contact (internal, with the self, and external, with others) is growth-enhancing. When couples improve their ability to be contact-ful with each other, both their relationship and their individual level of emotional well-being are likely to improve. Integrative Psychotherapists help couples to deepen their level of contact by teaching them to utilize inquiry, attunement, and involvement in their transactions with each other/The authors discuss teaching these skills to couples, in the context of eight common relational needs that must be responded to if a relationship is to survive and grow. An extensive clinical example is provided.     

威胁敏感性的概念和测量：生理和认知两种取向

对威胁敏感是人类在应对外部环境过程中不断发展的生存技能。威胁敏感性的研究主要存在两种取向：生理取向以敏感性强化理论为基础, 将行为抑制系统的敏感性界定为威胁敏感性, 量化为个体应对威胁时的生理、情绪和行为反应水平; 认知取向以信息加工的认知风格理论为基础, 将个体在对威胁信息加工过程中的敏感性偏向定义为威胁警觉, 量化为威胁刺激呈现前后的预期水平和探测水平。未来研究还需进一步整合和界定威胁敏感性的概念内涵, 验证各测量指标之间的关系, 拓展不同种类威胁敏感性的研究方法。     

压力性生活事件对青少年烟酒使用的影响：基本心理需要和应对方式的链式中介作用

采用压力性生活事件量表、基本心理需要量表、特质应对方式问卷和烟酒使用问卷对867名青少年进行调查,考察了基本心理需要和积极应对方式、消极应对方式在压力性生活事件与烟酒使用关系中的链式中介效应。结果表明：（1）基本心理需要是压力性生活事件与青少年烟酒使用之间的中介变量;（2）积极应对方式、消极应对方式是基本心理需要与青少年烟酒使用之间的中介变量。因此,基本心理需要和积极应对方式、消极应对方式在压力性生活事件与青少年烟酒使用之间起链式中介作用。研究结论对青少年烟酒使用的预防和干预具有重要价值。     

Heart failure patients’ desires for spiritual care,perceived constraints,and unmet spiritual needs: relations with well-being and health-related quality of life

Little information is available about HF patients’ desires regarding having their healthcare providers address their spiritual concerns, feeling constrained in doing so, and the extent to which their spiritual needs go unmet. Nearly half of our sample reported high levels of unmet spiritual needs and reported moderately strong desires to have their doctor or other healthcare professional attend to their spiritual needs, and moderately strong feelings of constraint in doing so. Spiritual constraint and unmet spiritual needs were associated with poorer spiritual, psychological and physical well-being, but these effects varied, depending on patients’ desire to discuss spiritual needs. These findings have important implications for clinical management of HF patients.     

Older age South African persons’ experiences of their needs with cell phone use

This study explored the needs met by cell phone use by older persons. Informants were 52 older South Africans (age range 65 to 89 years, male = 8, female = 44). The older persons completed a visual representation and semi-structured interviews on the needs met by their cell phone usage. Thematic analysis of the data revealed the following needs to be met by their cell phone usage: personal safety, sense of control, managing daily routine, and staying connected with loved ones. Findings are consistent with the propositions of the basic psychological needs theory (BPNT) regarding competence, autonomy, and personal well-being.     

权力基础理论:对应生存需要的权力

权力是社会关系和社会活动的核心,对应于生存需要,与人们的生活品质息息相关。采用心理–生态途径,权力基础理论将其界定为个体依据环境限制与供给满足自身需要的能力,并识别出6种基本权力类型,同时阐述了权力动态性如何通过增生性交易导致或加剧社会不平等。该理论试图从人际和群际心理层面探讨权力的起源问题,并将其与一般社会不平等现象建立联系,为权力的社会心理学研究提供了一个崭新的视角。