To minimize animal suffering, broaden the definition of animal cruelty

Mandatory veterinary reporting of suspected abuse might discourage caregivers from seeking treatment for their injured animals. Animal abusers are more likely to be brought to justice by raising community awareness about the link between animal cruelty and human violence and its implications for the wellbeing of both humans and animals. Commonly accepted definitions of animal cruelty focus only on cruelty that is socially unacceptable, excluding an enormous amount of unnecessary animal suffering caused by humans. Only by broadening the definition of animal cruelty can we bring about the cultural change necessary to minimize this animal suffering

To minimize animal suffering, broaden the definition of animal cruelty

Mandatory veterinary reporting of suspected abuse might discourage caregivers from seeking treatment for their injured animals. Animal abusers are more likely to be brought to justice by raising community awareness about the link between animal cruelty and human violence and its implications for the wellbeing of both humans and animals. Commonly accepted definitions of animal cruelty focus only on cruelty that is socially unacceptable, excluding an enormous amount of unnecessary animal suffering caused by humans. Only by broadening the definition of animal cruelty can we bring about the cultural change necessary to minimize this animal suffering

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf: a prospective paradigm to test Rachman's indirect pathways in children

Rachman's theory [The conditioning theory of fear insition: a critical examination. Behav. Res. Ther. 15 (1977) 375–387] of fear acquisition suggests that fears and phobias can be acquired through three pathways: direct conditioning, vicarious learning and information/instruction. Although retrospective studies have provided some evidence for these pathways in the development of phobias during childhood [see King, Gullone, & Ollendick, Etiology of childhood phobias: current status of Rachman's three pathway's theory. Behav. Res. Ther. 36 (1998) 297–309 for a review], these studies have relied on long-term past memories of adult phobics or their parents. The current study was aimed towards developing a paradigm in which the plausibility of Rachman's indirect pathways could be investigated prospectively. In Experiment 1, children aged between 7 and 9 were presented with two types of information about novel stimuli (two monsters): video information and verbal information in the form of a story. Fear-related beliefs about the monsters changed significantly as a result of verbal information but not video information. Having established an operational paradigm, Experiment 2 looked at whether the source of verbal information had an effect on changes in fear-beliefs. Using the same paradigm, information about the monsters was provided by either a teacher, an adult stranger or a peer, or no information was given. Again, verbal information significantly changed fear-beliefs, but only when the information came from an adult. The role of information in the acquisition of fear and maintenance of avoidant behaviour is discussed with reference to modern conditioning theories of fear acquisition

Visuo-spatial cognition in Williams syndrome: Reviewing and accounting for the strengths and weaknesses in performance

Individuals with Williams syndrome typically show relatively poor visuo-spatial abilities in comparison to stronger verbal skills. However, individuals' level of performance is not consistent across all visuo-spatial tasks. The studies assessing visuo-spatial functioning in Williams syndrome are critically reviewed, in order to provide a clear pattern of the relative difficulty of these tasks. This prompts a possible explanation of the variability in performance seen which focuses on the processing demands of some of these tasks. Individuals with Williams syndrome show an atypical processing style on tests of construction, which does not affect tests of perception

The Human–Nature Relationship and Its Impact on Health: A Critical Review

Within the past four decades, research has been increasingly drawn toward understanding whether there is a link between the changing human–nature relationship and its impact on people’s health. However, to examine whether there is a link requires research of its breadth and underlying mechanisms from an interdisciplinary approach. This article begins by reviewing the debates concerning the human–nature relationship, which are then critiqued and redefined from an interdisciplinary perspective. The concept and chronological history of “health” is then explored, based on the World Health Organization’s definition. Combining these concepts, the human–nature relationship and its impact on human’s health are then explored through a developing conceptual model. It is argued that using an interdisciplinary perspective can facilitate a deeper understanding of the complexities involved for attaining optimal health at the human–environmental interface

The Role of Parental and Peer Attachment Relationships and School Connectedness in Predicting Adolescent Mental Health Outcomes

Background: Adolescent attachment relationships with parents and peers and the sense of connectedness with the schools attended have been established as salient predictors of psychological wellbeing. Few studies, however, have assessed the relative importance of each attachment or connectedness relationship and how they interrelate to influence mental health outcomes. Method: 203 adolescents (11-16 years) completed self-report measures of parental and peer attachment (Inventory of Parental & Peer Attachment – Revised; Gullone & Robinson, 2005); school connectedness (Psychological Sense of School Membership; Goodenow, 1993); conduct problems, emotional symptoms, and prosocial behaviour (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; Goodman, 1997). Results: Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that more insecure parental attachment (although not peer attachment or school connectedness) predicted conduct problems and emotional difficulties. Peer attachment and school connectedness were significant predictors of prosocial behaviour, whereas parental attachment was not. A mediational analysis revealed that peer attachment and school connectedness both mediate the relationship between parental attachment and prosocial behaviour. No significant moderation effects of either peer attachment or school connectedness on the relationship between parental attachment and mental health outcomes were found. Conclusions: Different attachment and connectedness relationships, although related, predict adolescent mental health outcomes in distinct ways. Improving parental attachment may have particular salience in reducing negative behaviours such as conduct problems and emotional difficulties, whereas improving peer attachment and school connectedness could be important for the display of prosocial behaviour

Is conditioning a useful framework for understanding the development and treatment of phobias?

Despite the prevalence of therapeutic interventions based on conditioning models of fear acquisition, conditioning has been seen by many as a poor explanation of how fears develop: partly because research on conditioning has become less mainstream and models of teaming have become increasingly more complex. This article reviews some of what is now known about conditioning/associative teaming and describes how these findings account for some early criticisms of conditioning models of fear acquisition. It also describes how pathways to fear such as vicarious teaming and fear information can be conceptualised as forms of associative teaming that obey the same teaming rules. Some popular models of conditioning are then described with a view to highlighting the important components in teaming. Finally, suggestions are made about how what we know about conditioning can be applied to improve therapeutic interventions and prevention programs for child anxiety. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

"i'm not really afraid of Osama Bin Laden!" fear of terrorism in dutch children

We examined to what extent children in The Netherlands are affected by the threat of terrorism. For this purpose, a sample of school children living in Rotterdam or adjacent satellites (N = 216) completed a fear survey that included a number of terrorism-related items, and were confronted with ambiguous vignettes to measure threat-related interpretation bias. The results demonstrated that although a number of terrorism-related items (i.e., bombing attacks, explosions in a bus or subway) listed high in a ranking of most intense childhood fears, very few children made terrorist-related interpretations of ambiguous situations

Effects of a Discourse Intervention on End-Of-Life Knowledge and Attitudes of BSN Nursing Students

Introduction. A number of challenges exist to providing effective, formalized end of life (EOL) education for undergraduate nursing students. Despite advanced resources provided by the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC), many nursing program curricula are overloaded with content and have little opportunity to incorporate other content and information. In addition, the topic of EOL care may elicit significant emotional responses from nursing students with numerous studies indicating nursing students experience fear and anxiety when caring for patients at EOL. Recent research demonstrates the need to approach emotionally laden topics such as EOL care from a pedagogical perspective that acknowledges and addresses student attitudes and the potential effects they may have on learning. Recognizing that beliefs and emotional perspectives could potentially influence learning, Mezirow (1991) developed a teaching strategy known as a discourse intervention based on his Transformational Learning Theory (TLT) that has been effective across multiple disciplines such as sociology, education, and nursing. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine if the addition of a discourse intervention to the ELNEC Undergraduate (UG) Nursing Modules effectively improved junior level pre-licensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students’ knowledge and attitudes toward EOL care. In addition, the study examined possible moderating effects of demographics, past EOL education, and EOL experience on the participants’ knowledge and attitude. Methods. A quasi experimental two-group comparison (control vs intervention), pretest/posttest design was used to determine the effectiveness of a theory-based discourse intervention added to the ELNEC UG nursing modules in a sample of BSN students located in the southern region of the U.S. Applying Mezirow’s TLT, the two-hour discourse intervention included a self-reflective journal, an unfolding case study focused on loss, and discussion with question and answer session that was implemented at the completion of the ELNEC UG nursing modules for the intervention group. Study participants (N = 135) completed surveys focused on demographics, EOL care knowledge (Palliative Care Quiz for Nurses-PCQN) and EOL care attitudes (Frommelt’s Attitudes Toward Care of the Dying-FATCOD) before and after the intervention. Ttests, path analysis and Hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis calculated the degree to which each independent variable explained the variance in self-reported knowledge and attitudes of junior level BSN nursing students. Results. The intervention group had a statistically significant greater improvement on EOL care knowledge scores (M=3.86, SD=2.88 vs. M=2.37, SD=2.54, p = .002) and EOL care attitude (M= 6.35, SD= 8.71 vs. M= 2.62, SD= 9.56, p = .020) compared to the control group. No moderating effect was found for the relationship between group placement and knowledge and attitude. Knowledge (PCQN scores) and attitude (FATCOD scores) were moderately correlated (r = .311, p \u3c .001). Hierarchical linear regression for knowledge revealed step one (demographics) explained 4% of the variance but was not significant; step two (group control vs. intervention) explained 11.2% [F (1, 126) = 9.793, p = .002]; step three (FATCOD difference scores treated as an independent variable) explained 17.5% [F(1, 125) = 9.469, p = .003] of the variance; step four (cohort) explained 29.5%. The final regression model with demographics, group, FATCOD difference scores and cohort accounted for 29.5% of the variance in self-reported PCQN scores and was significant [F (1, 124) = 21.041, p \u3c .001]. Hierarchical linear regression for attitude revealed step one (demographics) explained 2.9% of the variance but was not significant; step two (group control vs. intervention) explained 8% [F(1, 126) = 7.008, p = .009]; step three (PCQN difference scores treated as an independent variable) explained 14.5% [F(1, 125) = 9.469, p = .003] of the variance; step four (cohort) explained 17.8% . The final regression model with demographics, group, PCQN difference scores and cohort accounted for 17.8% of the variance in self-reported FATCOD scores and was significant [F(1, 124) = 11.321, p \u3c .028]. Discussion This study demonstrated the effectiveness of a discourse intervention when added to the ELNEC UG modules, affirming the application of reflective learning strategies when addressing emotionally laden content such as EOL. In addition, the study supports the value of theory-based educational interventions to enhance effective pedagogy. This study may have also given a glimpse into how a global pandemic may affect end-of-life knowledge and attitudes during a time where death is commonplace