HIV-related stigma in African and Afro-Caribbean communities in the Netherlands: manifestations, consequences and coping

HIV-related stigma in African and Afro-Caribbean diaspora communities in the Netherlands was investigated. Interviews with HIV-positive and HIV-negative community members demonstrated that HIV-related stigma manifests as social distance, physical distance, words and silence. The psychological consequences of HIV-related stigma among those diagnosed with HIV reported were emotional pain, sadness, loneliness, anger, frustration and internalised stigma. The social consequences included decreased social network size, limited social support and social isolation, and resulted from not only enacted stigma but also self-imposed social withdrawal. Also, poor treatment adherence was a health-related consequence. People living with HIV employed both problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies to mitigate the negative consequences of stigma. Problem-focused coping strategies included selective disclosure, disengagement, affiliating with similar others, seeking social support and, to a lesser extent, activism. Emotion-focused strategies included distraction, positive reappraisal, religious coping, external attributions, disidentification and acceptance. HIV-related stigma clearly permeates African and Afro-Caribbean communities in the Netherlands, and should be targeted for intervention.     

Moral Objections and Fear of Hell: An Important Barrier to Suicidality

This review explores the literature to test the hypothesis that ‘moral objections to suicide (MOS), especially the conviction of going to hell after committing suicide, exert a restraining effect on suicide and suicidality.’ Medline and PsycInfo were searched using all relevant search terms; all relevant articles were selected, rated and reviewed. Fifteen cross-sectional studies were available on this topic, and raise sufficient evidence to confirm a restraining effect of MOS, and sparse data on fear of hell. MOS seem to counteract especially the development of suicidal intent and attempts, and possibly the lethality of suicidal attempts. A differential pattern of influence of MOS on the suicidal continuum is suggested.     

Procedural and interpersonal fairness moderate the relationship between outcome fairness and acceptance of merit pay

An organizational field study (N = 257) investigated employees' acceptance of a new merit pay system as involving an assessment of whether merit pay can make their earnings more fair, compared to their earnings in the current, seniority-based pay system. We expected that improvement of unfair earnings, and consequently acceptance of merit pay, is considered likely when existing procedures that produce these earnings are unfair, because merit pay improves such procedures. We also expected improvement of unfair earnings, and increased merit pay acceptance, to be likely when employees anticipate fair performance evaluation in a new system, as indicated by fair interpersonal treatment by their supervisor. Results showed that procedural and interpersonal fairness in the existing pay system indeed moderated the relationship between fairness of current outcomes and merit pay acceptance as predicted. Implications for the introduction of merit pay in organizations and for our understanding of the different roles of procedural and interpersonal fairness in outcome evaluations are discussed.     

Learning and adult neurogenesis: survival with or without proliferation?

Recent high quality papers have renewed interest in the phenomenon of neurogenesis within the adult mammalian brain. Many studies now show that neurogenesis can be modulated by environmental factors including physical activity, stress, and learning. These findings have considerable implications for neuroscience in general, including the study of learning and memory, neural network plasticity, aging, neurodegeneration, and the recovery from brain injury. Although new light has been shed on this field, many contradictory findings have been reported. Here we propose two principle issues which underlie these inconsistencies, with particular focus on the interaction between learning and neurogenesis. The first issue relates to the basic methodology of measuring the generation of new brain cells, i.e., proliferation, as compared to survival of the newly made cells. Mostly, measures of neurogenesis reported are a combination of proliferation and survival, making it impossible to distinguish between these separate processes. The second aspect is in regards to the role of environmental factors which can affect both proliferation and survival independently. Especially the interaction between stress and learning is of importance since these might counteract each other in some circumstances. Reviewing the literature while taking these issues into account indicates that, in contrast to some findings, cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus as a result of learning cannot be ruled out yet. On the other hand, increased survival of granule cells in the dentate gyrus as a result of hippocampal-dependent learning has been clearly demonstrated. Moreover, this learning-induced survival of granule cells, which were born before the actual learning experience, might provide a molecular mechanism for the 'use it or lose it' principle.     

Towards a multidisciplinary guideline religiousness,spirituality, and psychiatry: what do we need?

ABSTRACT

A multidisciplinary guideline on religion, spirituality (R/S), and psychiatry aims to address: (1) organising R/S consultation in mental health care, (2) categorising research findings, and (3) professionalism and education with respect to R/S. Contents are derived from brainstorm sessions with key participants in the field of R/S and psychiatry in the Netherlands, and from the position statements on R/S and psychiatry in the UK and by the World Psychiatric Association. The following chapters are proposed: (1) ethical and existential themes and R/S, (2) R/S in stages of mental health care practice, (3) R/S counselling, (4) collaboration, and (5) relationship to other guidelines. The core themes need verification by specialists in the field, nurses, therapists, counsellors, patient-practitioners, and psychiatrists. The author recommends to approach R/S in an easy way, to listen to matters of personal meaning, and to leave the task to others in case of a lack of affinity.     

Reducing AIDS-related stigma in developing countries: the importance of theory- and evidence-based interventions

In many developing countries persons living with HIV and AIDS experience strong stigma and discrimination, and AIDS-related stigma has an enormous negative impact on their social relationships, access to resources, and psychological well being. Moreover, AIDS-related stigma hampers HIV-related health promotion, including voluntary HIV counselling and testing. In this article, we will argue that programs to reduce AIDS-related stigma are most likely to be effective if these programs are based upon thorough needs assessments, theory- and evidence-based intervention strategies and collaborative planning. A protocol for health promotion programs design is outlined. Furthermore, psychosocial correlates of AIDS-related stigma in developing countries, social-psychological theories that might be useful in designing intervention strategies to reduce stigmatisation and successful elements of previous interventions aimed at stigma reduction are discussed. It is concluded that psychological theory does provide guidelines for the development of stigma-reducing intervention programs, but that such programs can only be effective when based upon context-specific needs assessment and collaborative planning.     

Holy Apparition or Hyper-Religiosity: Prevalence of Explanatory Models for Religious and Spiritual Experiences in Patients with Bipolar Disorder and Their Associations with Religiousness

Pastoral Psychology - One point that emerges from qualitative research on religion and bipolar disorder (BD) is the problem patients with BD experience in distinguishing between genuine religious...     

Unhindered Spatial Processing During Route Memorization is Required to Maximize Both Spatial and Verbal Route Knowledge

To successfully remember a route in a physical environment, individuals are believed to process and store both verbal and spatial information of that route. The present study tested whether both spatial and verbal contents are necessary to form an effective route memory. For that purpose, route learning was performed in three concurrent task conditions (spatial, verbal and control) and appraised at two moments in time, via three route memory tests (spatial, verbal and spatial–verbal). Results showed that route memory generally improved across time and that spatial information was remembered better than verbal information. The concurrent spatial condition resulted in lower retention scores of both spatial and verbal route knowledge. These results suggest that effective spatial processing forms a scaffold without which long‐term retention lacks detail of both spatial and verbal route knowledge. It is discussed how these findings add to understanding spatial memory of routes. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of personal and group discrimination on the subjective well-being of people with mental illness: the role of internalized stigma and collective action intention

The goal of this study is to test a model in which personal discrimination predicts internalized stigma, while group discrimination predicts a greater willingness to engage in collective action. Internalized stigma and collective action, in turn, are associated to positive and negative affect. A cross-sectional study with 213 people with mental illness was conducted. The model was tested using path analysis. Although the data supported the model, its fit was not sufficiently good. A respecified model, in which a direct path from collective action to internalized stigma was added, showed a good fit. Personal and group discrimination appear to impact subjective well-being through two different paths: the internalization of stigma and collective action intentions, respectively. These two paths, however, are not completely independent, as collective action predicts a lower internalization of stigma. Thus, collective action appears as an important tool to reduce internalized stigma and improve subjective well-being. Future interventions to reduce the impact of stigma should fight the internalization of stigma and promote collective action are suggested.     

Divine timelessness: A coherent but unfruitful doctrine?

The author argues in this article that it is possible to have a consistent and coherent version of the doctrine of divine timelessness. Towards the objection that a timeless God cannot act it is defended that a timeless God can certainly act in the world and can love human people. In spite of the consistency and coherence of the doctrine of divine timelessness, however, the author has serious problems with the fruitfulness of this doctrine when it comes to essential practices of the Christian faith, such like seeking help from God, loving God, and prayer.