Fear of abandonment, borderline personality features, and attitudes regarding Intimate Partner Victimization

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by unstable interpersonal relationships and frantic efforts to avoid abandonment (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Intimate partner victimization (IPV) is overrepresented within the romantic relationships of those with BPD and also affects them more negatively (Bouchard, Sabourin, Lussier, & Villeneuve, 2009). However, on the individual level, there may also be a particular mechanism by which people with BPD are more often victimized by their romantic partners (Few & Rosen, 2005). The aspect of BPD that best explains this association is potentially its hallmark diagnostic criterion—fear of abandonment. This study attempted to induce feelings of insecurity about one’s romantic relationship—using a false feedback manipulation—to see if this prime leads to attitudes more tolerant of sexual coercion from a romantic partner, which is a risk factor for intimate partner victimization. Participants were randomly told that they match poorly or highly with their partners. Participants higher in BPD features reported more tolerant attitudes toward sexual coercion. Moreover, there may be a significant interaction between BPD traits and condition. Those in the poorly matched condition expressed more tolerant attitudes toward sexual coercion the higher their borderline features; this association was not present in the highly matched condition. Follow-up analyses investigated various motivations for and approaches to sexual behavior. It appears that those higher in borderline features in the poorly matched condition use sexual behavior to avoid losing their partner or having conflict with their partner

"Interpreting Mozart: The Performance Practice of his Piano Pieces and Other Compositions" by Eva Badura-Skoda and Paul Badura-Skoda

This article is a review and critique of Eva and Paul Badura-Skoda's 2009 book “Interpreting Mozart: The Performance Practice of his Piano Pieces and Other Compositions”

Editorial

Bartolomeo Cristofori's production of a cembalo with a viable hammer action, first documented in 1700, has always been recognized as an epochal breakthrough for Western music. Commencing an article discussing three grand pianos in the Florentine tradition, John Koster observed astutely that ‘arguably, no new invention in the history of music has had a greater or more lasting influence. Within a few decades of its appearance, Cristofori's invention, the piano, was known and imitated throughout most of Europe’ (see ‘Three Grand Pianos in the Florentine Tradition’, Revue française d'organologie et d'iconographie musicale 4/2 (1999), 95)

Jouez le Fortepiano!: An Interview with Malcolm Bilson

In an interview, fortepianist Malcolm Bilson discusses performing on early pianos, recording Mozart's concertos on period instruments in the 1970s, his experiences studying abroad, his recent video project "Knowing the Score: How to Read Urtext Editions, and How Can This Lead to More Expressive, Even Passionate Playing?," musical traditions, and other subjects

Womanist intellectuals : developing a tradition

This study traces a womanist intellectual tradition, beginning in early Victorian England and ending in late twentieth-century America. Prominent studies on the public intellectual have excluded women from their discussions, and in recent years there has been an attempt to co-opt women into the Victorian sage tradition. This study presents an alternative intellectual tradition for women, which I term womanist. Womanist intellectuals cannot be traced through a mother/daughter line, but through what Virginia Blain describes as the aunt/niece paradigm, a lineage which allows for "gaps, omissions, forgettings, and suppressions," while simultaneously revealing fascinating "intertextual relationships" and patterns between women intellectuals of different centuries and cultures. In general, womanist intellectuals share the following characteristics: 1) a position of marginality; 2) an interest in border-crossing; 3) a non-hierarchical relationship with their audience; 4) a journey toward self-redefinition; 5) a purpose, which is to speak the truth to power

Perceived needs of senior high school students concerning adult roles and responsibilities in Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools : Charlotte, North Carolina

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceived needs of high school students concerning adult roles and responsibilities as a basis for curriculum planning. A stratified cluster sample consisting of students from grades 10, 11, and 12, and from three ability levels of instruction were chosen from each of the 10 senior high schools. A questionnaire was given to each student in the classes selected for the study. Of the 731 questionnaires returned, data from 671 were used for analyses. A clustering process was used to group the 52 item questionnaire. Seven clusters--Adult problem solving, Child care skills, Adult responsibilities, Family responsibilities, Occupational responsibilities, Social responsibilities, and Coping with family problems--were identified and used in the analysis of the independent variable. Coefficient studies were performed to obtain coefficients of reliability. Multiple analysis of variance was used to test the hypotheses. There were significant differences in five of the clusters between perceived needs of students and their ability level. Basic-level students expressed greater need for adult roles and responsibilities information than did regular and advanced students. There was a significant difference in two clusters between perceived needs and sex. Females indicated a greater need for information than did males. There were no significant differences in perceived needs between grade level, school attended, ethnic origin, student employed or not employed, mother employed and father employed

The treatment validity of classifying obese clients on a cognitive measure

This dissertation investigated client-by-treatment interactions in the treatment of obesity and examined process issues related to the two treatments employed. Specifically, the "treatment validity" of classifying subjects on the basis of the severity of their negative and self-defeating eating-related thoughts was examined by evaluating the contribution of the assessment distinction to treatment effectiveness for two types of treatment. The prediction was made that subjects high in such thoughts would respond better to a cognitive treatment, while subjects low in such thoughts would respond better to a behavioral treatment. Thirty-two clinically overweight females participated. On the basis of their scores on the Master Questionnaire and a role-play task, subjects were classified as "high" or "low" on the self-reported frequency of negative and self-defeating eating-related thoughts. Subjects then received one of two self-control treatments for weight control: (a) a cognitive change treatment, or (b) a behavior change treatment. Weight measures, psychological measures, and measures of change in cognitions and eating habits were collected pre-and-post-treatment and analyzed statistically

How identity develops: using attachment, differentiation, mood, communication, and personal narrative to predict identity status among emerging adults

Identity has been acknowledged by scholars as an important part of human development for about 50 years (Erikson, 1968), and researchers have found empirical support for the importance of identity development. Much of the identity development research is based on Erik Erikson's psychosocial development (Erikson, 1968) and James Marcia's (1966) identity statuses that expanded on the identity versus role confusion stage in Erikson's model. Specifically, the identity statuses relate to whether an individual has committed to an identity and whether the individual has explored her or his identity or had an identity crisis. Many researchers have found that committing to an identity clearly is connected with greater overall wellness (Hofer, Kartner, Chasiotis, Busch, & Keissling, 2007; Schwartz, Beyers, et al. 2011a,). Phinney (1989) and Meeus, Iedema, Helsen, and Vollebergh (1999) also have shown that not committing to an identity is linked with higher levels of psychological distress such as depression or anxiety. Researchers studying identity statuses have developed a clear understanding that committing to an identity tends to result in greater overall wellness and lower levels of psychological distress, yet it is not yet fully apparent what factors best predict Marcia's identity statuses (Kroger, Martinussen, & Marcia, 2010; Meeus et al., 1999). Two different predictors of identity status, attachment and differentiation of self, have been proposed and empirically examined. Generally, researchers have found mild to moderate correlations between attachment style and identity status (Arseth, Kroger, Martinussen, & Marcia, 2009b; Berman, Weems, Rodriguez, & Zamora, 2006; Kennedy, 1999; MacKinnon & Marcia, 2002) and between differentiation of self and identity status (Ford, Nalbone, Wetchler, & Sutton, 2008; Jenkins, Buboltz Jr., Schwartz, & Johnson, 2005; Johnson, Buboltz Jr., & Seemann, 2003). No study was located that investigated both constructs together as predictors of identity status, so it is unknown what portion of the predictive ability of each is shared, warranting an examination of the two as simultaneous predictors. At the same time, because these correlations have been modest, it seems there is a need to consider other possible predictors of identity status (Kroger, 2007; Marcia, 1989; 2002). Accordingly, three constructs (mood, communication, and personal narrative), based on Eisenberg's (2001) Identity Process Model, also were considered as predictors. The purpose of this study, then, was to test a more comprehensive model of six predictor variables (attachment-related anxiety, attachment-related avoidance, differentiation of self, mood, communication, and personal narrative) based on theoretical connections between Bowlby (1973, 1982, 1988) and Ainsworth's (1978; 1989; Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978) work on attachment styles, Bowen's (1976, 1978) work on differentiation of self, and Eisenberg's (2001) Identity Process Model, as well as some recent empirical investigations (Arseth et al., 2009b; Berman et al., 2006; Ford et al., 2008; Jenkins et al., 2005; MacKinnon & Marcia, 2002). This study was built on the previous research and served to connect different theoretical orientations to better understand identity statuses and their predictors, which will further inform the development processes within counseling. The results showed that more variance in identity status can be explained when using the proposed predictors than has been found in previous research. Also, the identity statuses have different predictors that significantly predict each status. This knowledge can provide counselors with a framework for better understanding identity development and for how to facilitate clients' work in counseling. Implications for counselors, counselor educators, and researchers are discussed including recommendations of counseling interventions to encourage identity development and the associated wellness benefits

"United essential harmony" : the Puritan perception of Edward Taylor

Contrary to much modern opinion, the American Puritans, in the words of Edward Taylor, expected their doctrine to yield "United Essential harmony." This study is an attempt to find the harmony of which Taylor spoke in terms of some of his more prominent metaphors. An exploration into Taylor's figures appears appropriate, since he himself claimed the "Metaphoricall" mode of Scripture as his own "truth Speaking form." The five chief figures to be examined here are called in this study the hygienic, the erotic, the organic, the domestic and the forensic. The first four can be found more definitely in Taylor's Preparatory Meditations and Taylor's occasional poetry, and the last in Taylor's long poem, Gods Determinations. Taylor's "hygienic" figures are an exposition of New England preparationism, which required man to admit his sinful condition in terms of disease and degradation. The purposes of such description, however, were not ultimately to denigrate man but to set forth God's grace as correspondingly great and to show how, by his confession, man could assist the Lord in the preparation of the grounds of his own salvation

Myths, morals, and models : implications for special education

The dissertation is an essay in curriculum criticism. Its method is interdisciplinary. It is modeled on curriculum theorizing and literary criticism; it uses typologies taken from ethics and theology; and it is patterned after a hermeneutical method taken from philosophy. In this interdisciplinary venture curriculum criticism becomes a method of inquiry and a means of self-understanding. It is used to construct three curriculum models from the literature in Special Education, to investigate curriculum at a diagnostic center, and to put an alternate type of curriculum into practice at the center. The essay concludes reflectively with a dialogue that explores the implications of myths, morals, and models for curriculum