The Solar Neighborhood XXVII: Discovery of New Proper Motion Stars with mu > 0.18 "/yr in the Southern Sky with 16.5 > R_59F > 18.0

Here we present 1584 new southern proper motion systems with mu > 0.18 "/yr and 16.5 > R_59F > 18.0. This search complements the six previous SuperCOSMOS-RECONS (SCR) proper motion searches of the southern sky for stars within the same proper motion range, but with R_59F < 16.5. As in previous papers, we present distance estimates for these systems and find that three systems are estimated to be within 25 pc, including one, SCR 1546-5534, possibly within the RECONS 10 pc horizon at 6.7 pc, making it the second nearest discovery of the searches. We find 97 white dwarf candidates with distance estimates between 10 and 120 pc, as well as 557 cool subdwarf candidates. The subdwarfs found in this paper make up nearly half of the subdwarf systems reported from our SCR searches, and are significantly redder than those discovered thus far. The SCR searches have now found 155 red dwarfs estimated to be within 25 pc, including 10 within 10 pc. In addition, 143 white dwarf candidates and 1155 cool subdwarf candidates have been discovered. The 1584 systems reported here augment the sample of 4724 systems previously discovered in our SCR searches, and imply that additional systems fainter than R_59F = 18.0 are yet to be discovered.Comment: 11 pages of text, seven figure

Rethinking the relationship between attachment and personality disorder

Attachment approaches have played a crucial role in furthering our understanding of individuals with personality disorders (PDs) and their treatment. Yet, recent years have witnessed the emergence of a number of findings that urge us to reconsider the role of attachment in PDs. Besides the overlap between conceptualizations of attachment and core features of PD, there is increasing evidence that the link between childrearing environments, including attachment contexts, and later outcomes is less substantial than often assumed. Here, we summarize these findings and propose a novel approach to the role of attachment in PDs by situating attachment within a broader socio-communicative approach to PDs. This approach involves a reconceptualizing of attachment as an adaptation strategy to a given environment, with attachment contexts being only one, albeit important, context to learn about the social environment. Evidence for these assumptions is reviewed, and clinical implications discussed

The fear of insignificance from a socio-communicative perspective: Reflections on the role of cultural changes in Carlo Strenger's thinking

This paper commemorates the work of Carlo Strenger, a prolific writer and unparalleled critic of contemporary culture, with a focus on his thinking concerning the role of cultural changes, and globalization in particular, on the development of what he termed the fear of insignificance. We relate Strenger’s thinking in this regard to socio-evolutionary and developmental psychopathology approaches concerning the role of culture in engendering a sense of agency and selfhood. These views illustrate our own shift in thinking concerning the role of psychological and socio-cultural factors in the development and course of psychopathology. The implications of these views for the role of culture in psychoanalytic theory and practice are discussed

Absolute effects of schooling as a reference for the interpretation of educational intervention effects

Knowledge of the absolute effects of schooling provides a useful reference for the interpretation of the effectiveness of educational interventions. We use discontinuities in test scores between the oldest pupils in one birth cohort and the youngest in the next to assess the absolute effects of schooling. Our study includes 90 % of all pupils in year-groups 4–6 of primary education (ages 7–10) in Northern Ireland. Assignment to year-groups is strictly determined by date of birth in Northern Ireland. This creates a situation which parallels randomized controlled experimentation. The findings support the view that the guidelines suggested by Cohen (in 1969) may be overly ambitious when evaluating the effectiveness of educational interventions

The Solar Neighborhood XXV: Discovery of New Proper Motion Stars with 0.40 "/yr > mu > 0.18 "/yr between Declinations -47 degrees and 00 degrees

We present 2817 new southern proper motion systems with 0.40 "/yr > mu > 0.18 "/yr and declination between -47 degrees and 00 degrees. This is a continuation of the SuperCOSMOS-RECONS (SCR) proper motion searches of the southern sky. We use the same photometric relations as previous searches to provide distance estimates based on the assumption that the objects are single main sequence stars. We find 79 new red dwarf systems predicted to be within 25 pc, including a few new components of previously known systems. Two systems - SCR 1731-2452 at 9.5 pc and SCR 1746-3214 at 9.9 pc - are anticipated to be within 10 pc. We also find 23 new white dwarf candidates with distance estimates of 15-66 pc, as well as 360 new red subdwarf candidates. With this search, we complete the SCR sweep of the southern sky for stars with mu > 0.18 "/yr and R_59F < 16.5, resulting in a total of 5042 objects in 4724 previously unreported proper motion systems. Here we provide selected comprehensive lists from our SCR proper motion search to date, including 152 red dwarf systems estimated to be within 25 pc (nine within 10 pc), 46 white dwarfs (ten within 25 pc), and 598 subdwarf candidates. The results of this search suggest that there are more nearby systems to be found at fainter magnitudes and lower proper motion limits than those probed so far.Comment: 47 pages, 16 of text. 7 figure

The role of impairments in self–other distinction in borderline personality disorder: a narrative review of recent evidence

Impairments in maintaining a differentiated sense of “self” and “other” are thought to be a central feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, studies directly focusing on self–other distinction (SOD) in BPD are scarce, and these findings have not yet been integrated with novel insights into the neural mechanism involved in SOD. Here, we present a narrative review of recent behavioral and neuroimaging findings focusing on impairments in SOD in BPD. Behavioral findings of SOD at the embodied level provide preliminary evidence for impairments in multisensory integration in BPD. Furthermore, both behavioral and neuroscientific data converge to suggest that SOD impairments in BPD reflect an inability to shift between self and other representations according to task demands. Research also suggests that disruptions in infant–caregiver synchrony may play a role in the development of these impairments. Based on these findings, we present a new, integrative model linking impairments in SOD to reduced neural and behavioral synchrony in BPD. The implications of these findings for future research and clinical interventions are outlined

Reconciling Psychoanalytic Ideas with Attachment Theory

The relationship between attachment theory and psychoanalysis, historically, has not been an easy one (Cassidy & Shaver, 2008; Eagle, 2013; Fonagy, 2001). But in recent years, developments in both fields have led to a growing rapprochement (Eagle, 2013; Holmes, 2009). Changes in psychoanalytic thinking have made it more accommodating of attachment thinking; conversely, aspects of the development of attachment findings, applications, and theory have made it more pertinent to psychoanalysis. In this chapter we examine the disagreements between psychoanalysis and attachment theory, and point to some of the two disciplines’ common foundations. We then describe an approach to the role of attachment in human development that considers it in relation to the capacity to mentalize, that is, to understand ourselves and others in terms of intentional mental states, and places both attachment and mentalizing in the context of the development of epistemic trust—the capacity to trust others as a source of knowledge about the world. This approach builds on some of Bowlby’s assumptions drawn from evolutionary biology, placing some of the better founded psychoanalytic criticisms of attachment theory in a different perspective. We suggest that this context allows the ongoing significance of Bowlby and Ainsworth’s thinking for the psychoanalytic project to be appreciated

The mentalizing approach to psychopathology: State of the art and future directions

Mentalizing is the capacity to understand others and oneself in terms of internal mental states. It is assumed to be underpinned by four dimensions: automatic–controlled, internally–externally focused, self–other, and cognitive–affective. Research suggests that mental disorders are associated with different imbalances in these dimensions. Addressing the quality of mentalizing as part of psychosocial treatments may be helpful for individuals with various mental disorders. We suggest that mentalizing is a helpful transtheoretical and transdiagnostic concept explaining vulnerability to psychopathology and its treatment. This review summarizes the mentalizing approach to psychopathology from a developmental socioecological evolutionary perspective. We then focus on the application of the mentalizing approach to personality disorders, and review studies that have extended this approach to other types of psychopathology, including depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. We summarize core principles of mentalization-based treatments and preventive interventions, and the evidence for their effectiveness. We conclude with recommendations for future research

Mentalizing, epistemic trust and the phenomenology of psychotherapy

This paper seeks to elucidate the phenomenological experience of psychotherapy in the context of the theory of mentalizing and epistemic trust. We describe two related phenomenological experiences that are the domain of psychotherapeutic work. The first is the patient’s direct experience of their own personal narrative being recognised, marked and reflected back to them by the therapist. Secondly, this intersubjective recognition makes possible the regulation and alignment of the patient’s imaginative capacity in relation to our phenomenological experiences. In describing three aspects of the communication process that unfold in effective psychotherapeutic interventions – 1) the epistemic match, 2) improving mentalizing, and 3) the re-emergence of social learning – the way in which any effective treatment is embedded in metacognitive processes about the self in relation to perceptual social reality is explained. In particular, attention is drawn to wider social determinants of psychopathology. We discuss the possible mechanism for the relationship between the social-economic environment and psychopathology, and the implications of this for psychotherapeutic treatment

Psychodynamic therapy of depression

In this journal, Malhi et al. (2021) present the 2020 Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists clinical practice guidelines for mood disorders While we applaud their efforts to develop a comprehensive treatment guideline, we call attention to several factual errors leading to erroneous conclusions and recommendations with regard to the treatment of mood disorders