The Effects of Sibling Death on the Surviving Child: A Family Perspective

The death of a child invariably affects the family, who in effect become survivors. Adaptations are made in order to secure a new family equilibrium attendant upon such a loss. Surviving siblings not infrequently become the focus of maneuvers unconsciously designed to alleviate guilt and control fate through silence and efforts to maintain silence, through substitution for the lost child, and through endowing the survivor-child with qualities of the deceased. Three types of clinically identifiable types of survivor-children are described. Families that emphasize silence and focus on guilt, families in which the child becomes incomparably precious, and families in which substitution and replacement provide the major theme lead respectively to the "haunted,""bound," and "resurrected" child.
These children share many features, as do their families, but there appears to be a connection between the family defensive maneuver and the specific consequences for a child of the bereaved family.     

AN INVESTIGATION OF COMPLIANCE-GAINING AS POLITENESS

This study considers an alternative perspective on the compliance-gaining phenomenon, specifically the theory of politeness articulated by Brown and Levinson (1978). They posit that all interaction is characterized by concern over the other person's autonomy needs and his or her desire to be liked, manifested in message behavior that addresses these needs (i.e., politeness). Brown and Levinson's typology of politeness strategies was translated into 32 items to which 155 respondents indicated likelihood of use and perceived politeness. Respondents assessed the items while imagining themselves in one of eight hypothetical scenarios created to manipulate the three situational factors posited as significant by Brown and Levinson: relationship distance, relationship power, and the magnitude of the request. A factor analysis reduced the 32 tactics to four underlying factors, which in turn served as one variable set for a canonical correlation whose second variable set was the situational factors and the agent's gender. Results indicated that females and persons in close relationships use more polite tactics than males and persons in more distant relationships. Secondarily, results also indicated that persons with power use less politeness than less powerful persons.     

MANAGERIAL FUNCTIONS: AN ALTERNATIVE TO TRADITIONAL ASSESSMENT CENTER DIMENSIONS?

The construct validity of traditional assessment center dimensions was compared with that of a set of alternative constructs based on the functional structure of managerial work. Subjects were 75 middle-level managers in state government who participated in two developmental assessment centers as part of a centralized management development program. One assessment center measured performance in terms of traditional attribute dimensions and the other in terms of functions performed in managerial work. Results show that evidence for construct validity is weak for both sets of constructs.     

Coping With Life Events Through Possible Selves1

This study examines the integration of life events into the possible‐selves repertoire and explores the potential relationship between event‐related possible selves and coping. The sample consisted of 198 participants between 18 and 84 years old. Participants were given the Possible Selves Interview, the Social Readjustment Rating Scale, and the Ways of Coping Checklist–Revised. The results indicate that a positive correlation exists between the stress level of a life event and the degree to which that event integrates into the possible‐selves repertoire. A life event that demonstrates a high degree of integration results in a positive impact on coping. This study paves the way for prevention programs aimed at promoting an individual's well‐being while facing challenging life events across adulthood.     

The Relationship Between Psychological Health and Attitude Toward Christianity Among Pupils Aged 11 to 15 Years in England

Advocates of the secularization thesis describe radical decline in the significance of the Christian tradition among young people in England. In this context, a sample of 5,808 pupils age 11 to 15 years provided data about their religious identity and practice and completed the short-form Revised Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (as a measure of psychological health) and the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity (as a measure of their affective commitment to the Christian tradition). The data showed that half of the pupils retained some connection with the Christian tradition and that a positive attitude toward Christianity was associated both with lower psychoticism scores and with higher neuroticism scores. There is evidence, therefore, to link a positive view of Christianity with some indicators of better psychological health (lower psychoticism) and with some indicators of poorer psychological health (higher neuroticism).     

Contacting the Spirits of the Dead: Paranormal Belief and the Teenage Worldview

A number of previous studies have examined both the overall level of belief expressed by young people in the paranormal and the major demographic predictors of such belief. Building on this research tradition, the present study examines how one specific paranormal belief concerning contact with the spirits of the dead integrates with the wider teenage worldview. Data provided by 33,982 pupils age 13 to 15 years throughout England and Wales demonstrated that almost one in three young people (31%) believed that it is possible to contact the spirits of the dead. Compared with young people who did not share this belief, the young people who believed in the possibility of contacting the spirits of the dead displayed lower psychological wellbeing, higher anxiety, greater isolation, greater alienation, less positive social attitudes, and less socially conforming lifestyles. Overall, paranormal beliefs seem to be associated with a less healthy worldview, in both personal and social terms.