Maternal Response to Father-Daughter Incest: Experiences of Mothers Following Disclosure

This study explored the impact of the disclosure of sexual abuse of the daughter by the father or father figure on the mother. Data were collected from seven mothers aged between 31 and 48 years whose daughters had a history of sexual abuse by the biological father, stepfather or live-in boyfriend. The children's ages ranged between 5 and 11 years with disclosure having taken place in the last two years before data collection. Data were collected using an interview schedule. The results obtained from the thematic content analysis indicate that the mothers were traumatized by the disclosure of the sexual abuse. The most prevalent symptoms were anger, anxiety, guilty, depression, insomnia, headache and fatigue. It is recommended that mothers be provided with psychological intervention in order to assist them deal with the trauma associated with the disclosure of the father-daughter incest.     

Solving distant analogies reduces belief-based responding in transitive inference

ABSTRACT

Previous research demonstrated that relational processing in transitive inference problems can be disrupted by belief-based content. Given the premises, The horse is larger than the goat, and The goat is larger than the elephant, accepting the valid conclusion, The horse is larger than the elephant suggests use of relational processing whereas accepting the invalid conclusion The elephant is larger than the horse indicates belief-based responding. This research examined whether solving analogies influenced participants’ reliance on belief-based or relational processing. Participants generated solutions to either distant analogies (e.g. nose:scent::antenna: ______) or near analogies (e.g. nose:scent::tongue:______) before evaluating the conclusions of transitive inference problems that were valid (V) or invalid (I) and believable (B), unbelievable (U) or neutral (N). Solving distant analogies eliminated belief-based responding (possibly reflecting improved inhibitory control) and facilitated relational responding on VU problems.     

“Where Are You?” Defensive Dissociation and Fragments of Annihilated Faith

This article addresses the relation between defensive dissociation and faith. Defensive dissociation is understood as a response to severe trauma. In this response there is no interpreting subject to process the event linguistically and the result is fragments of unformulated memory that continue to be painfully present long after the original trauma. The victim of severe trauma alternates between the need to be here in the presence of other human beings and the dissociative isolation of not being here. There are two related claims in this article. First, defensive dissociation stands for an event where faith is annihilated. As a defense it protects a person's remnant sense of faith, subjectivity, agency, and personhood by creating a space of non-experience. Fragments of annihilated faith continue to be present in the person's present formulations of faith and concomitant behaviors, relationships, and use of objects. The second claim is that the core of severe trauma remains outside the victim and community's capacities to represent it symbolically. This incommunicable core of annihilated faith can be contained by a community of faithful persons who are willing to face the horror of non-being and being nowhere without succumbing to despair.     

Studying aggression in school children: The use of a wireless microphone and micro‐video camera

This paper describes a wireless microphone and micro‐video camera used successfully by the present authors to study direct, indirect, and relational forms of aggression in schools. Two major advantages of this equipment are identified; first, it avoids some of the potential biases and difficulties associated with the other methods and, second, it allows researchers to record and analyze a large number of significant variables that may otherwise be difficult to assess. The importance of this kind of data is discussed in relation to the development of effective interventions aimed at reducing aggression in schools. Aggr. Behav. 28:356–365, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Frequency and Impact of Interpersonal Trauma in Older Women

Interpersonal violence impacts the lives of many women in society. However, despite the proliferation of research in this area, there is limited information about the frequency and impact of interpersonal trauma experiences in late life. This study investigated the relationship between a history of interpersonal trauma and subsequent adjustment difficulties, including psychological distress and physical health, in women over the age of 60. Findings demonstrate that interpersonal trauma has a significant impact on later-life functioning. Additionally, the presence of multiple traumatization experiences was a critical factor in determining which individuals manifested long-term trauma symptoms.     

Teaching Genesis: A Present-Day Approach Inspired by the Prophet Nathan

The prophets Nathan (2 Samuel 12:1–15) and John the Baptist (Mark 6:16–28) had comparable tasks before them: to convince their respective kings about the wrongs of taking somebody else's wife and marrying her. Nathan succeeded, while John failed and furthermore lost his life. What made the difference? One possible explanation is that Nathan proceeded in two steps: (1) Tell an interesting, nonthreatening story that nevertheless makes the point at issue; (2) transfer that message to the case at hand. In contrast, John used a direct approach, which raised apprehension, even fear (on the part of Herodias, the woman involved), and led to failure. That lesson has wider applications, as illustrated here for teaching the biblical Genesis narration. The other ingredient in this teaching is relational and contextual reasoning (RCR), the use of which is also indicated for other issues besides teaching Genesis.     

Relational aggression in college students: Examining the roles of social anxiety and empathy

This study examined the unique contributions of social anxiety and empathy to relational aggression in 300 19–to–25–year–old (M=21.25; SD=1.32) male (n=97) and female (n=203) college students using hierarchical linear regression analysis. The interactive relations between gender and social anxiety, and between gender and empathy, were also assessed. In addition to the gender and overt aggression covariates, fear of negative evaluation and perspective taking were unique predictors of relational aggression. Males, students who were more overtly aggressive, and those who reported greater fear of negative evaluation were more relationally aggressive than were peers. Students with higher levels of perspective taking reported using less relational aggression than did peers. A gender x empathetic concern interaction indicated that for males only, lower levels of empathetic concern were associated with higher levels of relational aggression. Results are discussed within a social information‐processing perspective. Aggr. Behav. 29:430–439, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Destructiveness, atrocities and healing: epistemological and clinical reflections

In this paper, destructiveness is approached as a multi-dimensional phenomenon where the mental health perspective addresses only one of these dimensions. An attempt is made to locate this phenomenon in the context of epistemological and societal considerations. Critical of mono-dimensional explanations based on causal-reductive epistemology, the paper instead proposes the idea of an 'ecology of destructiveness', according to which mental health professionals cannot possibly continue to assume the role of detached observers. The ordinariness and archetypal fascination of destructiveness are discussed as preventing the psychologizing and pathologizing of it. In addition, it is suggested that 'destructiveness may be a tragic facet of the human condition', without this implying any justification of it. Based on my work with a group of Bosnian ex-camp prisoners, some basic principles of how one can work with survivors of atrocities are derived and discussed. A central feature of this work is the attempt to create an appropriate therapeutic context within which a 'therapeutic presence' and 'therapeutic witnessing' can be developed. Finally, the relevance of Jungian insights to this kind of work is reviewed and the emergence of new types of defences of the self is identified.