Human Development and Pastoral Care in a Postmodern Age:Donald Capps, Erik H. Erikson, and Beyond

This article discusses Donald Capps’s use of Erik H. Erikson’s life-cycle theory as the basic psychological framework for his theory of pastoral care. Capps was attracted to Erikson’s existential-psychological model, his hermeneutic approach, and his religious sensitivity. Capps’s thought develops from first exploring biblical foundations for using Eriksonian theory for pastoral care to gradually embracing certain postmodern features. The article concludes with reflections on the usefulness of Erikson’s life-cycle theory and Capps’s work for contemporary pastoral care

Psychosocial issues for adolescent and young adult cancer patients in a global context: A forward‐looking approach

The first decade of adolescent and young adult (AYA) oncology psychosocial care and research (2005–2015) was driven by a normative, developmental framework that assumed a generalizable life experience for AYAs that is distinct from both younger children and older adults. As we proceed through a second decade, new considerations emerge regarding diversity of life experiences as occurring within and influenced by a complex global context. The purpose of this paper is to review and provide commentary on the impact of global and contextual conditions on AYAs. We expound upon the effects of precarious labor conditions, changing timetables and priorities for developmental tasks, sexual and gender plurality, and expanding cultural diversity. We discuss the implications of social genomics and technology and social media for enhancing precision psychosocial medicine. To build a forward‐looking approach, this paper calls for tailored, multilevel treatments that consider variability of AYAs within the social and global contexts in which they live.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149735/1/pbc27789_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149735/2/pbc27789.pd

Life of a Fatso : Young, Fat and Vulnerable in a Scandinavian Society of Perfection

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The impact of living with long-term conditions in young adulthood on mental health and identity: What can help?

Background: It has been suggested that the mental health impacts of living with long-term conditions are greater in young adulthood compared to older adulthood, due to greater disruption to identity and routine life events. Objectives: To explore the impact of living with long-term conditions in young adulthood on mental health and identity, and what helps living well with these conditions. Methods: Fifteen in-depth interviews with young adults with various conditions were conducted and analysed thematically. Results: Themes related to the impacts on mental health and identity include: negative mood and depression; anxiety and fear for the future; identity as ‘ill’/abnormal compared to former self and ‘normal’ others. Themes related to suggestions for addressing negative impacts include: promotion of positive thinking; support reaching acceptance with altered identity and limitations (through stages of denial, anger, depression, then acceptance); and more professional mental health support. Discussion: In order to promote mental health and a positive sense of self/identity, young adults with long-term conditions should be offered advice and support on: positive thinking; the long and difficult process of reconstructing identity; and reaching acceptance. This is particularly important for young adults for whom the identity reconstruction process is more complex and psychologically damaging than for older adults; as this life stage is associated with health/vitality and illness represents a shift from a perceived normal trajectory to one that appears and feels abnormal

Exploring young people's dignity: A qualitative approach

Aim: Human dignity as an important consideration in health care has been primarily investigated from an adult perspective. This paper explores young people's perceptions of dignity and how it impacts on their health-care experience. Method: A qualitative pilot study was undertaken at the Children's Hospital, Westmead in from 2010 to 2011. Semi structured interviews were conducted with five inpatients, and data were analysed using a grounded theory approach. Results: The adolescents interviewed perceived dignity as a way of protecting their personhood. Privacy and maintaining integrity were the means by which dignity could be preserved in a health-care setting. Conclusions: The study found that young people had unique perceptions of privacy and personhood with regards to dignity. Of the concepts of dignity in the existing literature, the dignity of identity was most applicable to adolescents' conceptions. This understanding of young people's views of dignity could prevent dignity violations in health care and beneficially impact their development. Keywords: adolescent; behavioural; ethic

Are virtues national, supranational, or universal?

Many studies investigated cultural differences in values, most notably by Hofstede and Schwarz. Relatively few have focused on virtues, a related and important concept in contemporary social science. The present paper examines the similarities and differences between nations, or blocks of - culturally related - nations on the perceived importance of virtues. Adults (N = 2.809 students) from 14 countries were asked to freely mention which virtues they found important to practice in daily life, and next to rate a list of 15 virtues, which reflect the most frequently mentioned categories in The Netherlands, as found in a previous study. The 14 nations included the United States, Mexico, nine European and three Asian nations. For the free-listed virtues, we compared the top-ten lists of most frequently mentioned virtues across the nations. We used a correspondence analysis on the frequency table to assess the relationships between the virtues and nations. For the 15 virtues ratings, a MANOVA, and follow-up ANOVA’s were used to examine effects of nation, age, gender and religion. We found strong evidence for relationships between nations and blocks of culturally related nations and the importance attached to various virtues. There appear to be some country specific virtues, such as generosity in France, but also some relatively universal virtues, most notably honesty, respect, and kindness

Real world challenges in delivering person centred care: A community based case study

Community nurses face many challenges when trying to practice evidence-based, person-centred care. Ongoing concerns regarding the impact of the 2013 Francis Report (Ford and Lintern, 2017) suggest that individualised and holistic care is an impossible dream, one made harder when the client appears uncooperative. This paper presents a case study that sets out how some of these challenges were met in a potentially difficult situation experienced by a student nurse and her mentor in practice, in which the student was supported to further examine and explore issues that may have influenced the situation. In this instance, the solution came with the recognition that the client had expertise and knowledge that needed to be taken into account, alongside that of the nurses looking after him. His care became a partnership, not an imposition of expertise; a principle which is transferable to many other situations. Underpinning it was the recognition of our shared humanity, wherein lies the essence of truly holistic care, and student nurses learning this, through the guidance and support of their mentor.

The holistic phase model of early adult crisis

The objective of the current study was to explore the structural, temporal and experiential manifestations of crisis episodes in early adulthood, using a holistic-systemic theoretical framework. Based on an analysis of 50 interviews with individuals about a crisis episode between the ages of 25 and 35, a holistic model was developed. The model comprises four phases: (1) Locked-in, (2) Separation/Time-out, (3) Exploration and (4) Rebuilding, which in turn have characteristic features at four levels—person-in-environment, identity, motivation and affect-cognition. A crisis starts out with a commitment at work or home that has been made but is no longer desired, and this is followed by an emotionally volatile period of change as that commitment is terminated. The positive trajectory of crisis involves movement through an exploratory period towards active rebuilding of a new commitment, but ‘fast-forward’ and ‘relapse’ loops can interrupt Phases 3 and 4 and make a positive resolution of the episode less likely. The model shows conceptual links with life stage theories of emerging adulthood and early adulthood, and it extends current understandings of the transitional developmental challenges that young adults encounter

Not lost in translation: Managerial career narratives and the construction of protean identities

How can managers remain in charge of their own careers based on personal values and motivations, rather than surrendering to the vulnerabilities of modern day corporate bureaucracies? This question represents a core issue for managers whose careers have been significantly affected by changing business environments, new organizational forms and the related changes of work organization in modern day corporations. Managers can no longer rely on the traditional linear models of organizational careers. It is increasingly demanded that they be more flexible and direct their own careers, which is captured in new career concepts, such as the ‘protean career’. Drawing on narrative identity theory, this study sets out to investigate how managers construct a protean identity and how specific narrative practices support individuals in shaping, implementing and defending this identity. The life stories of 29 individuals, all of whom have experienced significant career changes, are analysed. Based on these stories, four core narrative building blocks at the heart of protean identity construction and related narrative practices are identified, including (i) the discovery of conflicting expectations, (ii) the exploration of one’s own values and capabilities, (iii) the commitment to one’s own path and (iv) defending that path