Concerns about research and prevention strategies in Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSBP) abuse

There would seem to be three motives for research into Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSBP) abuse; first to enhance treatment; second to enhance our understanding of the psychopathology of those who carry out the abuse; and third to find interventions to prevent its occurrence. We will argue that only the first justification is valid. The second and third should be questioned for several reasons including: MSBP abuse is the wrong kind of event to think of in terms of categorical diagnosis; rare events are inherently difficult to predict; and better research targets are available. We propose that research energy would be more productively directed towards furthering our understanding of somatization and certain problematic aspects of modern pediatric practice. We offer suggestions as to appropriate areas for research.     

Students’ multiple state goals as a function of appraisals,trait goals,and their interactions

Although many motivational theories have emphasized that person- and situation-based aspects should be recognized simultaneously when explaining actual learning behavior, not much is known about the occurrence of state goals. The model of adaptive learning (Boekaerts & Niemivierta, 2000) proposes that state goals are influenced by trait goals, perceptions of the situation (i.e., appraisals), and interactions between trait goals and appraisals. Nevertheless, empirical evidence for this model is scarce. The present study aimed to overcome this research deficit by integrating trait goals and appraisals as well as their interactions in explaining state goals in authentic learning episodes. As suggested by Boekaerts and Niemivierta (2000), we adopted a multiple-goal approach and included achievement goals (i.e., mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goals) as well as well-being goals (i.e., affiliation and work-avoidance goals). They outlined the meaning of perceived relevance and autonomy for learning behavior. Therefore, we included both appraisals in our study. Using longitudinal data with one trait and two state measurements (N = 542), we applied structural equation modeling to test three different effect models with latent variables: an additive effect model, a reactive effect model, and an interaction effect model. Our data did not fit the reactive effect model: Trait goals did not impact appraisals. The joint influence of trait goals and appraisals on state goals was not unitary but multiform: Additive and multiplicative relations between trait goals and appraisals explained the occurrence of state goals. State goals are important predictors of proximal learning behavior. Thus, these results are important for theory development and for practitioners.     

Dyads at risk: methadone-maintained women and their four-month-old infants

As part of a longitudinal study of offspring born to substance abusers, we videotaped 17 methadone-exposed and 23 comparison 4-month-old infants interacting with their mothers. Using a scale we developed, we rated communicative functioning in dyadic interaction and related mothers' interactive performance to their psychological and psychosocial resources and infants' interactive performance to their motor functioning as assessed on the Bayley Infant Behavior Record. We found, cutting across drug groups, that mothers who performed poorly on interaction were likely to have poor maternal resources and that infants showing poor communicative functioning were likely to show problematic motor functioning--namely, greater tension and poorer coordination relative to activity level; it was the opposite for mothers or infants who communicated well. Methadone was only one among several risk factors affecting interaction.     

The role of poly-victimization in predicting differences in foster youths’ appraisals

The present article examines the role of poly-victimization (i.e., number of categories of maltreatment experiences and total maltreatment exposure) in predicting differences in appraisals for 272 youth in foster care (ages 8–21). Poly-victimization was hypothesized to be predictive of negative appraisal valence (i.e., interpreting the impact of a stressful life event as being bad/negative) and appraisal rigidity (i.e., interpreting the impact of life events as being consistently positive or negative across different events) above and beyond any single category of maltreatment. Results show a high prevalence of poly-victimization, such that those youth who experience only one form of maltreatment (e.g., physical, sexual, psychological, or neglect) are among the minority of maltreated youth. Additionally, results show that total maltreatment exposure, accounting for not only different categories of maltreatment but also different types or forms of maltreatment within those broader categories, is the most predictive of negative appraisal valence, above and beyond single categories of maltreatment and number of categories of maltreatment experienced. Contrary to the study’s hypothesis, neither total exposure nor number of maltreatment categories experienced is significantly predictive of appraisal rigidity above and beyond single categories. Correlations also show that less rigid or more flexible appraisals are associated with more maltreatment experiences than are rigid appraisals. The current study highlights the importance of examining maltreatment from a poly-victimization perspective and begins to explain why some youth have more negative appraisals than others.     

Trauma appraisals,emotion regulation difficulties,and self-compassion predict posttraumatic stress symptoms following childhood abuse

Experiencing traumatic events and abuse is unfortunately common in general, non-clinical samples. Recent research indicates that the ways in which individuals interpret traumatic experiences, as well as the ways that they manage challenging emotions in general, may statistically predict post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms to a greater extent than does trauma itself. Negative trauma appraisals, generalized emotion regulation (ER) difficulties, and low levels of self-compassion have each been shown to influence the connection between trauma exposure and subsequent PTSD symptoms. However, little is known regarding how these processes interact, or their relative contributions to mental health after trauma. The current study analyzed data from 466 university students who completed self-report measures of childhood abuse, PTSD symptoms, trauma appraisals, ER difficulties, and self-compassion. Childhood abuse exposure and PTSD symptoms were positively associated with negative trauma appraisals and ER difficulties, and negatively associated with self-compassion. Self-compassion was inversely associated with negative trauma appraisals and ER difficulties. Multiple mediation analyses demonstrated that negative trauma appraisals, ER difficulties, and levels of self-compassion fully explained the link between abuse exposure and PTSD symptoms via several specific pathways. These findings suggest that researchers, clinicians, and abuse survivors can benefit from addressing these interconnected domains during treatment and recovery processes.     

“Yes …, But I Was Drunk”: Alcohol References and the (Re)Production of Masculinity on a College Campus

In residence halls on college campuses, one may hear a (male) student say, “Yes I did vandalize the wall, but I was drunk,” or “I ‘had a few’ before I kissed that ‘butter face’.” Researchers and university administrators could point to these as examples consistent with the problems of student drinking. They could also read these utterances as problematic performances of masculinity. Both groups would be correct. Ethnographers would seek to understand the underlying patterns of these statements, and ethnomethodologists the usefulness of these statements for actors in situ. This ethnography reports the findings of a study of student ways of speaking on a residential college campus. Data show that students’ patterned ways of speaking, especially when making references to drinking, mitigate problematic student behaviors, such as urinating in a corridor of a residence hall. Although such mitigating statements are, at times, by themselves problematic, they (re)produce a much more troubling masculinity.     

Peer relationships among 4 preschool second language learners in “Small-group time”

Second language learners entering preschool are challenged by unfamiliar social and communicative expectations that limit them from full participation in the classroom. In this ethnographic study, the experiences of four Korean 3-year-olds new to preschool were studied during 1 school year to learn how peer relationships among the four would affect their participation, specifically in teacher-initiated events. Findings revealed that young second language learners from the same ethnolinguistic background were able to establish relationships and construct participant structures that guided their participation before individually acquiring the social and communicative skills shared by other class members. Their joint initiatives, including use of native language and imitation, led them to a higher level of participation than is typical for second language learners in a new setting. Their participation was facilitated by a teacher who accommodated their interdependent behavior and guided them into further involvement to experience the benefits of small-group activities.     

Self-regulated learning in the museum: understanding the relationship of visitor's goals,learning strategies,and appraisals

Self-regulated learning (SRL) in the museum was explored by 2 investigations. The first one investigated 233 visitors on their goals and intended learning strategies by questionnaire before they visited the science museum. Results indicated visitors’ learning goals can predict their intended deep-learning strategy. Moreover, visitors can be clustered into 4 groups and their cluster identity can also predict the intended learning strategies. The second investigation asked 244 visitors about their actual learning strategies and motivational appraisals (self-efficacy and control beliefs) after visiting. In all, 5 kinds of learning strategies were found: elaborating, help-seeking, effort-making, reorganizing, and surface-learning. These strategies can further predict their motivational appraisals. The characteristics of SRL in the informal learning context were discussed.     

Issues associated with participation in on line forums—the case of the communicative learner

This paper reports on participation within on-line forums. The focus is on asynchronous text based discussion within small groups of learners following a learning event or course. Participation is a key issue within such forums and research was carried out into adult learners' experiences within three case studies. Learners were positive about the forums in which they took part but participation was less than many would have liked. This paper describes the constraints on participation and outlines three patterns of participation—non participation, quiet participation and communicative participation. Discussion focuses on the communicative leaner—someone who participates regularly in forums and in ways which are broadly welcomed by others in the group. A profile of the communicative learner is developed in which the importance of fluency, coherence and informality is highlighted. The paper summarises the issues associated with on-line participation and their implications for supporting communicative participation.     

Students’ Emotions in the High School Mathematical Class: Appraisals in Terms of a Structure of Goals

Little research in the field of Mathematics Education is directed towards emotions of students beyond their emotions in problem-solving. In particular, the daily emotions of students in a mathematics class have been sparsely studied in the field of mathematics education. In order to fill this gap, this qualitative research aims to identify high school students’ emotional experiences in the mathematics classroom and identify the appraisal structures that support such emotional experiences. Focus group interviews were carried out until theoretical saturation of the data was achieved (N = 53 in nine focus groups interviews). Data analysis is based on the theory of cognitive structure of emotions, which specifies eliciting situations for each emotion and the variables that affect intensity. The emotional experiences in this structure are as follows: satisfaction, disappointment, hope, fear, joy, distress, boredom, interest, pride, reproach, self-reproach, like and dislike. These results show that the emotional experiences of students are based on their appraisals of events, objects and agents in terms of a structure of goals.     

唐宋寺院的茶筵﹑茶会和茶汤礼

唐代社会饮茶风气盛行,禅宗僧人在其中起了有力的推动作用。唐宋时期寺院的饮茶活动主要有两种:一是交际式的"茶筵";二是礼仪式的"茶会"。茶筵起于唐,由文人茶宴转化而来,形式较为自由;茶会盛于宋以后,模仿世俗社会的礼制,有严格的礼仪要求。唐宋时期寺院"茶筵"、"茶会"和"茶汤礼"的沿革演变,反映出唐宋禅宗的世俗化转变已由思想文化而深入到制度文化的层面。     

Symptomatology in adolescents following initial disclosure of sexual abuse: The roles of crisis support, appraisals and coping

ObjectiveThe present study examined possible explanations for symptom development and variability in sexually abused adolescents. A theoretical model of sexual abuse, in which appraisal, coping and crisis support play prominent roles, was tested in a clinical group of 100 sexually abused adolescents.MethodParticipants, aged 12–18 years, completed questionnaires regarding severity of abuse, negative appraisals, crisis support, coping strategies, and trauma-related stress symptoms.ResultsSince severity of abuse had no influence on the association between appraisals and symptoms it was eliminated from our model. Structural equation modeling analyses showed a significant interrelationship between the examined concepts. Adolescents who appraised the abuse as more threatening showed more internalizing and externalizing trauma symptoms. Moreover, more negative appraisals were associated with more avoidance as well as with more active coping strategies. Direct crisis support was associated with less negative appraisals and with the use of more active coping strategies.ConclusionsThe study showed that especially the buffering role of crisis support and the role of negative appraisals explained symptom development and variety in sexually abused adolescents.Practice implicationsAdaptation to sexual abuse includes the ways in which adolescents perceive the event as threatening and harmful, how they cope with the abusive experience, and how they receive direct support from their family. Clinicians, therefore, need to expand the focus of their assessments beyond age- and trauma-specific symptoms, to age- and trauma-specific appraisals, coping, and social support. The assessment of these factors should take place as soon as possible after the disclosure of the abuse. Individualized treatment plans and clinical interventions need to be based on these personal and environmental variables, rather than reliance on the influence of abuse-related characteristics, such as the severity or type of abuse.     

Effects of infant cries on alcohol consumption in college males at risk for child abuse

This analog study examines the effect of hearing a child's cries on alcohol consumption, comprising one link in a possible association between drinking and child abuse. Thirty-two male undergraduate volunteers were preselected by age, drinking practices, and abuse potential. Subjects were assigned to either a high or low abuse potential group and were then randomly assigned to hear either an infant cry or a smoke alarm. Blood pressure was measured during each of three stimulus presentations. Following each presentation, the subject was asked to rate the stimulus on a number of different dimensions (e.g., soothing-arousing). Additionally all subjects participated in a subsequent taste-rating task as an unobtrusive measure of alcohol consumption. The results indicate that, regardless of risk group, subjects who listened to the infant cry consumed significantly more alcohol (M = 206 ml, SD = 126.43) during the taste-rating task than did those who heard only the smoke alarm (Mr = 95.68 ml, SD = 62.94) which was also rated as aversive. There was no relationship between abuse potential and alcohol consumption. Although diastolic blood pressure did not differ between groups, analysis of the infant rating scales revealed that, regardless of risk group, subjects who heard the infant cry reported feeling more aversion, arousal, and distress, than did those who heard the smoke alarm. These results lend additional support to studies depicting the infant cry as a stressful and aversive event, capable of eliciting increased drinking. Implications for arousal reduction by alcohol and a model of alcohol-induced child abuse are discussed.     

Positive biases in self-assessment of mathematics competence, achievement goals, and mathematics performance

The study examined how biases in self-evaluations of math competence relate to achievement goals and progress in math achievement. It was expected that performance goals would be related to overestimation and mastery goals to accurate self-assessments. A sample of French high-school students completed a questionnaire measuring their math achievement goals and their perceived competence in math. Students’ math grades for the three trimesters of the school year were collected from school records. Bias in self-evaluations was computed by comparing students’ rating on the ‘perceived competence in math’ scale with their actual math achievement as measured by their second trimester math grades. Students were classified into one of three groups (over-raters, accurate raters, or under-raters) depending on whether their self-perceptions of competence in math were higher than, similar to, or lower than their relative math achievement in their class. As expected, overrating of one's performance was related to performance goals. Furthermore, the over-raters were the only group who progressed in their math achievement from Trimester 2 to 3. No relation was found between mastery goals and accurate self-assessment.     

Toward a critical rhetoric of risk communication: Producing citizens and the role of technical communicators

In this article, we build on arguments in risk communication that the predominant linear risk communication models are problematic for their failure to consider audience and additional contextual issues. The “failure”; of these risk communication models has led, some scholars argue, to a number of ethical and communicative problems. We seek to extend the critique, arguing that “risk”; is socially constructed. The claim for the social construction of risk has significant implications for both risk communication and the roles of technical communicators in risk situations. We frame these implications as a “critical rhetoric”; of risk communication that (1) dissolves the separation of risk assessment from risk communication to locate epistemology within communicative processes; (2) foregrounds power in risk communication as a way to frame ethical audience involvement; (3) argues for the technical communicator as one possessing the research and writing skills necessary for the complex processes of constructing and communicating risk.     

Preschoolers' Understanding of the Link between Thinking and Feeling: Congnitive Cuing and Emotional Change

In 3 studies we investigated 3- through 6-year-olds' knowledge of thinking and feeling by examining their understanding of how emotions can change when memories of past sad events are cued by objects in the current environment. In Study 1, 48 4-, 5-, and 6-year-olds were presented with 4 illustrated stories in which tocal characters experience minor sad events. Later, each story character encounters a visual cue that is related to one of his or her previous sad experiences. Children were told that the character felt sad and they were asked ot explain why. Study 1 suggested considerable competence as well as substantial development in the years between 4 and 6 in the understandings of the influence of mental activity on emotions. Studies 2 and 3 more systematically explored preschoolers' understanding of cognitive cuing and emotional change with difterent types of situations and cues. Across these 2 studies, 108 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds listened to illustrated stories that featured story characters who each experienced a sad event and swho were later exposed to a related cue. Children were not only asked to explain why the characters suddenly felt sad, but in some stories, they were also asked to predict and explain how another character, who was never at the past sad event, would feel. Results of studies 2 and 3 showed an initial understanding of cognitive cuing and emotion in some children as young as 3, replicated and extended the evidence for significant developmental changes in that understanding during the preschool years, and revealed that the strenght and consistency of preschoolers' knowledge of cognitive cuing and emotion was affected by whether cues were the sme, or only similar to, parts of the earlier events.     

Child maltreatment re-offending in families served by the United States Air Force Family Advocacy Program

The current study examined child maltreatment re-offending in United States Air Force (USAF) families. In a clinical database containing 24,999 child maltreatment incidents perpetrated by 15,042 offenders between the years 1997 and 2013, 13% of offenders maltreated a child on more than one date (i.e., they re-offended). We explored several offender demographic characteristics associated with who re-offended and found that civilians re-offended at a similar rate as active duty members, males re-offended at a similar rate as females, and younger offenders were more likely to re-offend than older offenders. We also explored incident characteristics associated with who re-offended: Re-offending was more likely if the initial maltreatment was neglect or emotional abuse and re-offenders were likely to perpetrate subsequent maltreatment that was the same type and severity as their initial incident. The current data indicate that young offenders and offenders of neglect and emotional maltreatment are the greatest risk of re-offending. These offender and incident characteristics could be used by the USAF to guide their efforts to reduce re-offending.     

Emotions in group work: insights from an appraisal-oriented perspective

Small group work is common practice in higher education. However, empirical research on students’ emotions related to group work is still relatively scarce. Particularly, little is known about students’ appraisals of a group task as antecedents of emotions arising in the context of group work. This paper provides a first attempt to systematically disentangle the relationship between individual differences in group work appraisals and emotions that arise in the context of a real-life group assignment. Beginning and end questionnaires (with an interval of 6 weeks) from 446 teacher education students who completed a mandatory, assessed group assignment within a university course were used to examine students’ multi-dimensional group work appraisals and emotional experiences. Findings showed that individual differences in emotions emerge as a function of appraisal processes and provided support for systematically treating students’ group work experiences as multi-dimensional, as appraisal dimensions have distinct implications for students’ emotional experiences.     

附带民事赔偿对量刑影响的法理分析

一则题为《广东东莞尝试赔钱减刑抢劫犯赔5万获轻判死缓》的报道,引发了公众对法院根据被告人赔偿被害人民事损失的情况而酌情轻判的质疑和争论。附带民事赔偿是犯罪人对其犯罪行为所承担的民事侵权责任。刑法理论把犯罪人赔偿民事损失的情况界定为犯罪后的一种态度,属于酌定量刑情节之一。基于相关司法解释和刑事政策,法院根据犯罪人附带民事赔偿的情况作为其悔罪的一种事实情节而酌情从轻或者减轻处罚,已成为普遍的司法实践。附带民事赔偿引入量刑环节,既有积极作用,也有其消极影响。为使法律适用更具权威和防止滥用量刑自由裁量权,可以将附带民事赔偿确定为法定量刑情节之一,并设置相应的程序条件予以控制。