Evaluation of parenting,depression and violence profiles in methadone maintained women

Twenty-one patients of the Family Center Program for pregnant drug dependent women were studied employing tools which indicate potential ability to parent or risk of child abuse. The Profile of Mood States and Beck Depression Inventory were administered, and a Violence Questionnaire was self-administered to ascertain the presence of physical or sexual abuse in the mothers' lives. These results were compared to an assessment of parenting ability as well as general demographics and urinalyses which indicate whether the mothers were taking any drugs in addition to their methadone. Results revealed that there were strong relationships between parenting ability and abusive life events, prenatal clinic attendance, use of depressant drugs, number of children, age, and education and/or employment. These variables were also interrelated with depression, abnormal mood states, and general drug abuse. It appears that while polydrug abuse, psychological problems, and stressful life events are strong indicators of poor parenting ability, the successfully methadone maintained woman who does not feel the need to supplement her methadone with other drugs, whose life has stabilized, and who is relatively normal in her affect and mood, has a strong potential for good childrearing ability.     

La violence médicale envers les jeunes enfants

Medical Violence Toward Young Children. Two types of medical “abuse” are to be considered: (1) Mandatory violence in the form of preventive medical activities, i.e., immunizations, and curative medical activities, i.e., intensive care medicine. Means of decreasing the psychological trauma associated with these inevitable activities are considered. (2) Avoidable medical violence, of which three different forms can be identified: ? In the institutions: separation of mother and child is still a common occurrence in maternity hospitals and in pediatric hospital services. ? In medical practice: too often symptoms common in infants and children are dealt with by prescribing unnecessary drugs (cough, cold, crying during the night). ? In placement of children under the pretence of medical cures for such foggy diagnoses as “rickets” or “recurring rhinopharyngitis,” which are cover-ups of the inability or refusal on part of the physician to apprehend a child's real problems. Such placements are apt to irreversibly destroy the psychological bonds of the child with his family.The physicians and health care personnel in general should be better prepared to cope with their own subconscious mechanisms, which often result in questionable automatic reflexes and decisions. This would result in a decrease in physical or symbolic abuses toward children.     

精彩与无奈:陈兰彬与晚清出洋官员的两难选择

陈兰彬作为中国首任留学生监督和第一任驻美国公使,属清政府少数较早走向世界的官员之一.其出国感受和受美国社会文化浸染后的思想文化观念变化,在晚清出洋官员中具有典型性.陈兰彬到美国后,一方面为美国发达的经济、现代化的建筑和优美的环境赞叹,精彩之情深藏于日记和其他书信、报告之中;一方面又不适应美国的生活,甚觉无聊,尤其是面对自由、民主、发达的美国比专制、独裁、落后的清廷优越的客观现实,又不敢直抒己见,只能无可奈何地去维护清廷的封建主义.加之,陈兰彬生性谨慎、胆小,惧怕出事丢官,出洋的数年中始终在精彩与无奈的两难中煎熬.这看似个人的悲剧,其实是近代中国畸形社会变迁过程中两难选择的一种反映.     

美国20世纪60年代中后期高校校园骚乱研究

20世纪60年代中后期,美国高校校园爆发了一系列不同程度的学生骚乱,引起社会各界的广泛关注.通过对骚乱事件的举例,分析骚乱产生的内部原因及外部原因,指出学生与教师、学生与学校关系的疏离以及社会矛盾的激化是引起骚乱的根源,并在此基础上探讨校园骚乱平息的可行措施.     

Personality characteristics and disciplinary attitudes of child-abusing mothers

The literature indicates that child abusing mothers are characterized by distinctive personality attributes. No studies appear pertaining to the attitudes of abusive mothers on child discipline. To further explore the personality characteristics and examine disciplinary attitudes manifested by abusive mothers (AMs), 20 AMs receiving Aid to Dependent Children (ADC) and 20 nonabusive, ADC mothers were administered the Family Concept Inventory, a measure of self-esteem (California Test of Personality), selected items from the MMPI reflecting depression/apathy and resentment/ agression, measures of reward- and punishment-oriented disciplinary stance, a series of seven Eriksonian developmental conflict scales, and selected stimuli from the TAT. Multivariate analysis of covariance revealed highly significant differences between the groups on the personality measures. Abusive mothers manifested lower self esteem, lower family concept, lower frustrated independence and greater depression and apathy; they scored lower on measures of the first six Eriksonian developmental stages. AMs scored higher on MMPI and TAT measures of aggression. No difference in attitudes towards discipline was found. Discriminant analysis using these data and actuarial data rendered 97.5% correct differentiation between the groups. Implications of the results are discussed.     

School programs to prevent intrafamilial child sexual abuse

The incidence of child sexual abuse would argue for the schools assuming a larger role in the development of preventive and educational programs. Because of the public school system's consistent and longitudinal contact with children and families it is perhaps the most promising institution for the delivery of preventive efforts. This article presents specific suggestions for school-based programs directed toward the prevention of intrafamilial child sexual abuse. Further, it is argued that for maximum effectiveness, the support of local parent-teacher organizations be elicited; that educational programs be presented separately for parents and children; and that a variety of programs in concert with the development level of participants be presented on topics related to child sexual abuse. Topics regarded as important for prevention efforts are factual information on sexual abuse, appropriate and inappropriate touch, the respective role responsibilities and rights of parents and children, and a sex education approach that stresses the values of nonexploitation and discrimination in the choice of whether to engage in sexual behavior and the choice of partners.     

Use of a mnemonic technique to teach young children foreign language vocabulary

Children 3 to 6 years of age learned simple Spanish vocabulary items using an adaptation of the keyword method of foreign language vocabulary learning. Using this version of the keyword method, the learner remembered a picture of the translation referent of the vocabulary item interacting with the referent of a concrete English word which sounded like part of the foreign word (the keyword). Children who used the keyword method remembered more vocabulary translations than children who were not instructed in keyword method usage.