Psychoanalyse und Verbrechen

Foulkes’ paper on “Psycho-Analysis and Crime” was first published in 1943. Today, only parts of this paper are published in the Selected Papers (1990). Foulkes’ paper is part of the tradition of psychoanalytic work and psychoanalytically inspired social research in delinquent behaviour. The paper is of special interest for the development of Foulkes’ works as it seems to mark the transition from a Freudian psychoanalyst to the founder of Group Analysis.     

Bedürfnis- und Motivorientierte Beziehungsgestaltung

According to the Bernese concept of motivational attunement therapists are supposed to offer each patient a custom tailored relationship taking into account the patients’ individual motivational goals. While empirical studies validate the concept, concrete implementation of motivational attunement into practice is not always easy. Therapists have to be able to correctly identify the patients’ motivational goals and attune their behavior to them flexibly. In the following article concrete instructions for therapists are given in order to better realize motivational attunement.     

A preliminary report on the use of a new method of presenting the Rorschach Test to evaluate the relationship of couples

The authors present a new relational Rorschach Test for couples. First, the Rorschach is given individually, then it is administered to the couple together, when they have the task of agreeing on one interpretation for each card. All ten cards are used. The protocols, transcribed from the video tape, are analysed in order to evaluate:

• the typology of the dyad in the light of the concepts of symmetry and complementarity;

• communication within the dyad in terms of: single messages, single message sequences, and of the evaluation of the subjects capacity to understand each other;

• data obtained through task performance such as, which partner formulates the interpretation agreed on and which one decides on the interpretation.

An application of the method to a couple, one of whom is alcoholic, is presented.     

Illness representations and distress in women undergoing screening for familial ovarian cancer

Women with a familial or genetic predisposition to ovarian cancer are at significantly increased risk of developing the disease, and this warrants effective risk management strategies. A clinical trial of ovarian cancer screening (OCS) is being conducted to establish the effectiveness of this risk management strategy. This article reports data from its psychological partner study which aims to evaluate the psychological effects of OCS. Leventhal's Self-Regulatory Model provided the theoretical framework for understanding emotional responses to OCS. The revised Illness Perceptions Questionnaire (IPQ-R) is based on this model and the IPQ-R, adapted to the risk of ovarian cancer, was completed by women (N?=?1999) prior to screening. The original IPQ-R factor structure was not replicated but IPQ-R variables explained 14.70% of the variance in women's ovarian cancer-specific distress after controlling for age, general anxiety and depression. Negative emotional representations of ovarian cancer risk and general anxiety were moderately associated with greater ovarian cancer-specific distress whereas cognitive illness representations were weakly related to ovarian cancer-specific distress. Further analyses of data from the ongoing psychological evaluation are needed to determine the predictive utility of IPQ-R variables in explaining distress during OCS.     

Cultural issues in disease management for chinese americans with type 2 diabetes

The purpose of this study is to highlight culturally unique experiences and responses to type 2 diabetes among Chinese immigrant families. Patient and spouse narratives from 16 different families were elicited in a series of group interviews on this topic. Using interpretive phenomenology, 5 primary cultural considerations in diabetes management emerged from the narratives: (1) conceptualization of diabetes, illness and health, (2) significance and meaning of food, (3) perceptions of Chinese and Western medicines, (4) exercise and physical activity, and (5) effects of the disease on family dynamics. The relation of these cultural considerations to an interdependent view of the self, collectivistic social orientation, Chinese cultural beliefs and norms, and acculturation processes are discussed. Clinical recommendations for culturally appropriate disease management strategies are outlined.     

A new approach to surface photovoltage measurements on hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon layers

A new approach to the surface photovoltage method is demonstrated on thick undoped microcrystalline silicon films grown on different substrates. The model, which includes top as well as bottom space-charge regions, gives a good picture of rather complex experiments and allows good fitting of theoretical curves to experimental results. This method gives us not only the diffusion length of minority carriers but also information on the existence and properties of the space-charge regions in the sample and the results are verified by comparison with the standard procedure.     

Nanocracks at grain boundaries in nanocrystalline materials

A theoretical model is proposed to describe the generation and evolution of nanoscale cracks (nanocracks) in strained nanocrystalline materials. In the framework of the model, the nanocracks are nucleated and grow along grain boundaries, changing the direction of their growth at triple junctions.