Moving Beyond the Enduring Dominance of Positivism in Psychological Research: An Australian Perspective

Almost since its inception, the dominant narrative of modern psychology has embraced positivism through its insistence that psychological science is objective, generalisable, and value free (or neutral). Consequently, quantitative research and in particular, experimental designs, are privileged over other forms of enquiry and other epistemologies, methodologies, and methods remain marginalised within the discipline. Alternative epistemologies and methodologies remain predominantly at the margins within psychological research yet have resulted from the growing dissatisfaction with the dominance of positivism. We argue that the enduring hegemony of positivism needs to be opposed to enable psychology to genuinely understand the antecedents of, and provides meaningful sustainable solutions for, complex human issues without being constrained by a narrow focus on method. We discuss how psychology in Australia can move towards embracing methodological and epistemological pluralism and provide a number of suggestions for change across the interrelated areas of accreditation, curriculum, the Australian Psychological Society, and research

The specter of cancer: Exploring secondary trauma for health professionals providing cancer support and counseling

Health professionals are vulnerable to occupational stress and tend to report high levels of secondary trauma and burnout; this is especially so for those working in “high-death” contexts such as cancer support and palliative care. In this study, 38 health professionals (psychologists, social workers, pastoral carers/chaplains, nurses, group facilitators, and a medical practitioner) who provide grief support and counseling in cancer and palliative care each participated in a semistructured interview. Qualitatively, a grounded theory analysis revealed four themes: (a) the role of health professionals in supporting people who are experiencing grief and loss issues in the context of cancer, (b) ways of working with patients with cancer and their families, (c) the unique qualities of cancer-related loss and grief experiences, and (d) the emotional demands of the work and associated self-care. The provision of psychological services in the context of cancer is colored by the specter of cancer, an unseen yet real phenomenon that contributes to secondary trauma and burnout. The participants’ reported secondary trauma has serious repercussions for their well-being and may compromise the care they provide. The findings have implications for the retention and well-being of personnel who provide psychosocial care in cancer and the quality and delivery of services for people with cancer and their families

Silenced voices: Experiences of grief following road traffic crashes in Western Australia

Despite the introduction of road safety measures and media campaigns, crashes are a leading cause of death in Western Australia. While economic costs of crashes are relatively easy to determine, their psychosocial burden remains appreciably under-studied, as are the social, cultural, historical, temporal, and political contexts within which grief experiences are housed. As such, I explored the experience of grief resulting from losing a loved one in a crash in Western Australia and described the influence of contextual factors on those grief experiences

The effect of caring on post-bereavement outcome: Research gaps and practice priorities

Family caregivers are the primary caregivers of family members over the course of illness. Some caregivers exhibit elevated levels of distress following the death of the person for whom they were caring. Despite the practical relevance for providing supports and services to caregivers and families, pre- and post-bereavement, the effect of caregiving on bereavement is obscured. In examining the research literature on caregiving and bereavement, three methodological limitations were identified – caregivers’ perspectives on preparing for the death of the person for whom they were caring is typically not assessed; the effect of caring on post-death adjustment tends to be assessed qualitatively, cross-sectionally, and retrospectively; and there is a lack of adequate comparison groups. This paper highlights the need to address two important gaps in understanding the effects of caregiving and bereavement: (1) caregivers’ understandings and experiences of the anticipating and preparing for the death of the person for whom they are caring, and (2) the relationship between caregivers’ pre-death grief and distress and post-death adjustment. Caregivers relieve significant costs from the health system, and improved support, pre- and post-bereavement, will continue to benefit them as well as society. Without significant research investment, palliative care services will continue to operate without a suitable evidence base to support their bereavement care efforts

Buffalo Child Care Means Business: Executive Summary

[Excerpt] This study of child care needs and opportunities in downtown Buffalo includes original empirical evidence from a representative survey of employers in core zip codes 14201-2-3-4. The Survey Research Institute of Cornell University conducted the telephone survey of chief operating officers or human resource directors of 117 employers in the spring of 2006. The data pool was scientifically balanced to include small, medium, and large employers from both the public and private sectors as well as all child care employers within the geographic area of the study. Highlights of the findings are included here

The Perception of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Values : Is Value Incongruence Related to Social Distance?

This review examines prejudicial actions directed towards outgroups as a function of personal values and the perception of the values held by other groups. Prejudice is a result of social and cognitive categorisation. Although it is well learned, prejudice is not inevitable, if individuals attend to and control their prejudicial thoughts. Pleasurable interaction, cooperation, equal status, and making humanitarian values conspicuous serve to reduce intergroup conflict. It was proposed that values motivate approach and avoidance behaviours directed at outgroups, and both belief congruence theory and expectance-value theory arc relevant in explaining such behaviour

Buffalo Child Care Means Business: Full Study Report

[Excerpt] Buffalo Child Care Means Business presents the economic and business case for making Buffalo\u27s children the focus of economic development. The 2006 survey of 117 businesses located in downtown Buffalo, New York, documents the business sector\u27s present and projected reliance upon high quality child care services as a necessary component to optimum workplace recruitment, productivity and stability. This promising study highlights research specific to the Buffalo region measuring the cost the community bears as a result of low quality child care and early education. It draws upon nationally recognized economic development strategies to offer recommendations for a strategic child care plan integral to the City of Buffalo\u27s overall strategic initiatives to strengthen downtown\u27s attractiveness to successful enterprises. The early development needs of Buffalo\u27s children must be front and center if the potential economic power of broadly successful education is to be realized. With business, government, education and child care leaders at the table, Buffalo\u27s economic renaissance can be built on individual and social foundations that last a lifetime

From consultation to participation in public health research: reflections on a community-based research partnership

Background - Road traffic crashes and their outcomes are substantial global public health issues and public health initiatives are increasingly involving relevant community members in order to create sustainable change. This paper describes an applied research project utilizing participatory methods to establish a road trauma support service in Western Australia and reflects on the extent of participation in the community-based research partnership. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) provided the basis for the research project conducted in partnership with 34 government and non-government agency representatives and people affected personally by road trauma and which resulted in 22 recommendations for establishing the service. Findings - Attempts to position the group as co-researchers highlighted the dynamic interplay of factors that hinder and enable participation in participatory research. Barriers to participation within the research process included the limited time and funds, reluctance to share authorship, and a lack of clarity regarding roles and processes. Factors that enabled participation were the recognition of each member’s expertise, providing different forms and methods of communication, and the reimbursement of costs according to role. Discussion - In May 2012, the Government of Western Australia announced it would fund the recommendations and Road Trauma Support Western Australia was launched in November 2013. Notwithstanding this successful outcome, there were varied experiences of participation in the research process, and this was despite the use of a research methodology that is by definition participatory, with explicit and embedded participatory structures and processes. The research project shows that elements of CBPR can be incorporated into public health research, even in projects with externally-imposed time and budget constraints

Psychology and the research enterprise: Moving beyond the enduring hegemony of positivism

Almost since its inception, psychology has embraced the positivist orientation of the natural sciences. The research enterprise in psychology has reinforced this through its insistence that psychological science is objective, generalisable, and value free (or neutral). Consequently, experimental designs are privileged over other forms of enquiry and alternate epistemologies, methodologies, and methods remain marginalised within the discipline. We argue that alternate methodologies, and the philosophies that underpin the research endeavour, should be included in mainstream psychology programmes so that the existing imbalance is rectified. Achieving this balance will mean that psychology will be better positioned to address applied research problems and students will graduate with the skills and knowledge that they will need in the multidisciplinary workforce they will enter. We discuss recommendations for how psychology in Australia can move towards embracing methodological and epistemological pluralism. Breen, L. & Darlaston-Jones, D. (2008). Psychology and the research enterprise: Moving beyond the enduring hegemony of positivism. Australian Journal of Psychology, 60 (S1), 107-208. doi:10.1080/0004953080238555

Public Attitudes About Normal and Pathological Grief

Determining public expectations of grief is an important contributor to the debate differentiating normal from pathological grief. An international sample of 348 participants was randomly allocated to 1 of 12 conditions comprising a bereavement vignette and self-report items measuring grief expectations and social distance. Participants expected grief to decrease steadily between 2 weeks and 6 months then stabilize; however, time did not affect social distance. Gender of the bereaved and circumstances of death did not influence expectations, but did interact to influence social distance. These factors must be accounted for in determining a deviation from the norm in diagnostic nosology