A reply to Gallagher, O'Donnell, Minescu, & Muldoon's commentary on 'The effects of identification with a support group on the mental health of people with multiple sclerosis'

We wish to thank Gallagher and his colleagues for their kind words and insightful comments regarding our recent paper on the effects of identification with a support group on the mental health of people with multiple sclerosis. We too agree that this is an important area of research that is worthy of much future study. Below we provide a brief discussion of each of the three comments that Gallagher and colleagues made about our paper

Communities as conduits of harm : A social identity analysis of appraisal, coping and justice-seeking in response to historic collective victimization

Social identity approach (SIA) research shows that commu- nity members often work together to support survivors of collective victimization and rectify social injustices. How- ever, complexities arise when community members have been involved in perpetrating these injustices. While many communities are unaware of their role in fostering victimi- zation, others actively deny their role and responsibility to restore justice. We explore these processes by investigating experiences of community violence and collective justice- seeking among Albanian survivors of dictatorial crimes. Sur- vivors (N = 27) were interviewed, and data were analysed using theoretical thematic analysis guided by the SIA. The analysis reveals the diverse ways communities can become harmful ‘Social Curses’. First, communities in their various forms became effective perpetrators of fear and control (e.g., exclusion and/or withholding ingroup privileges) dur- ing the dictatorship because of the close relationship between communities and their members. Second, commu- nities caused harm by refusing to accept responsibility for the crimes, and by undermining attempts at collective action to address injustices. This lack of collective accountability also fosters survivors' feelings of exclusion and undermines their hope for systematic change. Implica- tions for SIA processes relating to health/wellbeing (both Social Cure and Curse) are discussed. We also discuss impli- cations for understanding collective action and victimhood.Peer reviewe

The pain of low status: the relationship between subjective socio-economic status and analgesic prescriptions in a Scottish community sample

There is a strong positive relationship between objective measures of socioeconomic status (OSS) and general health. However, there is an increasing interest in the relationship between health and subjective socioeconomic status (SSS), which describes one’s perceived rank in relation to the rest of society, based on factors such as income, occupation, and education. While the relationship between SSS and general health is well2established, the relationship between SSS and pain has received little attention. Gathering both self2report questionnaire data and General Practitioner medical data from a large representative community sample in Scotland between 2012 and 2013 ( N = 1824), we investigated the relationship between SSS and prescriptions for analgesic drugs. We found that higher levels of SSS significantly predicted lower odds of participants having been prescribed at least one analgesic drug in the previous six months. We obtained this result even after controlling for OSS2related variables (education, occupational status, and geographical location) and demographic variables (age and gender). This suggests that, just like the relationship between SSS and general health, SSS has important effects on pain that go beyond the influence of OSS

Post-traumatic growth enhances social identification in liver transplant patients: a longitudinal study

Objective: The main aim of this paper is to investigate the prediction that greater subjective identification with relevant groups and social categories (i.e. family ) can be an outcome of post-traumatic growth (PTG). To date there are no studies that have explored these relationships. Methods: A longitudinal study was conducted with a group of 100 liver transplant patients from the outpatient populations of the participating centre. Data were collected by means of a self-report questionnaire, which was completed at two different time points (T1 and T2) that were 24 months apart. PTG was assessed using the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory, while both transplantee and family identification were assessed using group identification scales. A path model was tested, using a structural equation model (SEM) approach, to examine the reciprocal effects among family identification, transplantee identification, and PTG over time. Results: As predicted, we found that greater PTG T1 predicted both greater family identification T2 and marginally greater transplantee identification T2. However, the two identification variables did not predict PTG over time. Conclusions: The results show that family identification and transplantee identification may be outcomes of the PTG process, confirming the importance of adopting a thriving multidimensional model of adjustment to medical illness, whereby people facing adverse life events, such as transplantation, may flourish rather than deteriorate psychologically

Discutindo a educação ambiental no cotidiano escolar: desenvolvimento de projetos na escola formação inicial e continuada de professores

A presente pesquisa buscou discutir como a Educação Ambiental (EA) vem sendo trabalhada, no Ensino Fundamental e como os docentes desta escola compreendem e vem inserindo a EA no cotidiano escolar., em uma escola estadual do município de Tangará da Serra/MT, Brasil. Para tanto, realizou-se entrevistas com os professores que fazem parte de um projeto interdisciplinar de EA na escola pesquisada. Verificou-se que o projeto da escola não vem conseguindo alcançar os objetivos propostos por: desconhecimento do mesmo, pelos professores; formação deficiente dos professores, não entendimento da EA como processo de ensino-aprendizagem, falta de recursos didáticos, planejamento inadequado das atividades. A partir dessa constatação, procurou-se debater a impossibilidade de tratar do tema fora do trabalho interdisciplinar, bem como, e principalmente, a importância de um estudo mais aprofundado de EA, vinculando teoria e prática, tanto na formação docente, como em projetos escolares, a fim de fugir do tradicional vínculo “EA e ecologia, lixo e horta”.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

'Enemy of the people' : Family identity as social cure and curse dynamics in contexts of human rights violations

Although Social Cure research shows the importance of family identification in one's ability to cope with stress, there remains little understanding of family responses to human rights violations. This is the first study to explore the role of family identity in the collective experience of such violations: meanings ascribed to suffering, family coping strategies, and family-based understandings of justice. Semi-structured interviews (N = 27) with Albanian dictatorship survivors were analysed using Social Identity Theory informed thematic analysis. The accounts reveal Social Cure processes at work, whereby family groups facilitated shared meaning-making, uncertainty reduction, continuity, resilience-building, collective self-esteem, and support, enhanced through common fate experiences. As well as being curative, families were contexts for Social Curse processes, as relatives shared suffering and consequences collectively, while also experiencing intergenerational injustice and trauma. Although seeking and achieving justice remain important, the preservation of family identity is one of the triumphs in these stories of suffering.Peer reviewe