A faith for all seasons

A FAITH FOR ALL SEASONS:ISLAM AND WESTERN MODERNITY. By Shabbir Akhtar. London: Bellew Publishing, 1990. 251pp. Hb. £25.00. ISBN 0–947792–41–4.     

GPS: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Sexual Health Counseling for Gay and Bisexual Men Living With HIV

Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBM) continue to have high rates of HIV and sexually transmitted infections, including syphilis. GBM have therefore been identified by public health agencies as a high-priority population to reach with prevention initiatives. Despite the importance of mental health in preventing HIV and related infections, there is a shortage of credentialed mental health professionals to deliver behavioral Counseling interventions. The current study evaluated the efficacy of GPS, a community-based and peer-delivered sexual health promotion motivational interviewing–based intervention for HIV-positive GBM who engaged in condomless anal sex (CAS) in the past 2 months. GPS prevention counseling demonstrated a 43% relative reduction at 3-month follow-up in CAS with serodiscordant partners and significant reductions in sexual compulsivity. The study demonstrated that community-based counselors can administer an efficacious motivational interviewing program, and suggests a continued benefit of counseling methods to promote the sexual health of higher risk populations.     

Linking perceived market competition threat to moral disengagement: The roles of fear of failure and moral relativism

Current Psychology - Drawing on moral disengagement theory, this study examined the interplay of perceived market competition threat, fear of failure, moral relativism, and moral disengagement....     

Psychometric properties and measurement invariance of Depression,Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21) across cultures

Cross-culturally measurement invariant instruments are useful for the assessment of mental symptoms across cultures. The current study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties and measurement invariance of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21) (DASS) across Pakistan and Germany. German participants were recruited through an online survey (N = 1323), while Pakistani participants were recruited through online survey or paper-and-pencil survey (N = 1841). The DASS-21 showed good reliability, construct and structure validity in both countries. The DASS-21 indicated partial weak (stress subscale) and partial strong measurement invariance (depression and anxiety subscales) between both countries. Latent mean comparison of depression and anxiety symptoms between Pakistani and German students indicated that Pakistani university students experience more symptoms of depression and anxiety. Results suggest that the DASS-21 could be used in Pakistan and Germany, but caution should be taken when making direct comparisons between the two countries.     

Immigrant Sex: the Transport of Affection and Sensuality across Cultures

This paper outlines the ways in which an individual’s notions of sexuality are challenged by immigration. It describes four basic facets of sexuality and the ways in which each are rooted in culture. These include (1) the relative importance of sexuality in daily life; (2) potential or overt homosexuality; (3) marriage—whether based on arrangement or love; and (4) cross-cultural romantic and marital relationships. Immigration can stir up conflicts in each of these realms and lead to defensive retreat into familiar customs or a counterphasic plunge into new cultural avenues. Ideally, it would lead to a working-through of these conflicts and subsequent growth in the immigrant’s understanding of his or her sexual self.     

Long-term memory survives nerve injury and the subsequent regeneration process

A three-neuron network (a central pattern generator [CPG]) is both sufficient and necessary to generate aerial respiratory behavior in the pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis. Aerial respiratory behavior is abolished following a specific nerve crush that results in axotomy to one of the three CPG neurons, RPeD1. Functional regeneration of the crushed neurite occurs within 10 days, allowing aerial respiratory behavior to be restored. Functional regeneration does not occur if the connective is cut rather than crushed. In unaxotomized snails, aerial respiratory behavior can be operantly conditioned, and following memory consolidation, long-term memory (LTM) persists for at least 2 weeks. We used the Lymnaea model system to determine (1) If in naive animals axotomy and the subsequent regeneration result in a nervous system that is competent to mediate associative learning and LTM, and (2) if LTM survives RPeD1 axotomy and the subsequent regenerative process. We show here that (1) A regenerated nervous system is competent to mediate associative memory and LTM, and (2) LTM survives axotomy and the subsequent regenerative process.     

Humility

This paper offers a nuanced discourse on the otherwise ignored topic of humility. It brings together scattered comments within psychoanalysis, secular lay-literature, sociocultural studies, and religious thought on humility. The paper also describes pathological variants of humility (excessive, deficient, false, and compartmentalized) and delineates five areas of clinical practice where humility plays an important role: (i) humility in selecting patients to treat, (ii) humility in daily conduct with patients, (iii) humility in the attitude of listening to clinical material, (iv) humility in the manner of intervening, and (v) humility in deciding upon the longevity of our professional careers.