Mothers and fathers in treatment for methamphetamine addiction—Parenting,parental stress,and children at risk

Parents addicted to methamphetamine (“crystal meth”) are likely to be impaired in meeting parental responsibilities, and the developmental settings can be highly disadvantageous for children. Therefore, parenting by methamphetamine‐addicted mothers and fathers needs further exploration, while considering the impact on children affected by parental substance use. In our study, we analysed parenting practices and parental stress as well as children's behavioural problems using standardized assessments. The sample consisted of 87 methamphetamine‐addicted parents in recovery. We obtained data on parents' current substance use and on their psychological distress. Multiple regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of children's overall problems. Parents reported high levels of parental and psychological distress, even after achieving abstinence. Especially depressive perceptions of parenthood appeared problematic. While recovering from methamphetamine addiction, parents exhibited a precarious psychosocial situation and problematic parenting behaviour. Dysfunctional parenting practices were evident in both indifferent and overreactive tendencies. Children were at risk of behavioural and emotional problems. Variables associated with parenting showed significant predictive value for children's overall problems, beyond current substance use, and psychological distress. These findings are discussed in terms of a family‐oriented perspective in order to promote parenting capabilities of methamphetamine‐addicted parents and to prevent problematic development of their children.     

?Ein bisschen wie ein Au?erirdischer“: subjektive imperative und mentale Blockaden von Frauen in technisch-naturwissenschaftlichen Berufsfeldern

Women are still gravely underrepresented in technical and engineering professions. So far there is few research regarding psychological barriers and especially mental blocks of women in technical fields. This study investigates mental blocks of women that might hinder their career advancement in technical professions. To this end, a secondary analysis of 19 qualitative interviews with women from technical fields was conducted. The analysis was based on the theory of mental interference and the respective text analysis method proposed by Wagner (Gelassenheit durch Aufl?sung innerer Konflikte. Mentale Selbstregulation und Introvision. Stuttgart, Kohlhammer, 2007). The analysis shows that numerous so-called subjective imperatives could be identified that might interfere with women??s career advancement. They were grouped in three main categories: Work-life balance, gender stereotypes, and career advancement. Practical implications are discussed.     

ARTIFICIAL STATES

We define artificial states as those in which political borders do not coincide with a division of nationalities desired by the people on the ground. We propose and compute for most countries in the world two measures of the degree to which borders may be artificial. One measures how borders split ethnic groups into two separate adjacent countries. The other measures the straightness of land borders, under the assumption the straight land borders are more likely to be artificial. We then show that these two measures are correlated with several measures of political and economic success.     

Effects of ground surface permeability on the growth of urban linden trees

Street trees are an important part of urban vegetation due to their provisioning of different types of ecosystem services such as local climate regulation and contribution to aesthetical and recreational values. In order to provide these services, urban trees need to endure many stress factors not present in natural environments, such as the widespread use of impervious surfaces in the vicinity of street trees. However, few studies have evaluated the effect of this potential stress factor on urban tree growth. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate how ground surface permeability affects stem and current-year shoot growth of linden (Tilia europaea) street trees in Gothenburg, Sweden. We found that a small fraction of permeable ground surface in the vertically projected tree crown area caused lower stem growth and strongly suppressed current-year shoot growth. This finding can guide future city planning, demonstrating that the vitality of street trees is compromised when the permeable surface area in the vicinity of the tree is small.     

Floral biodiversity of allotment gardens and its contribution to urban green infrastructure

Allotment gardens are a key feature of the urban landscape, providing numerous benefits beyond those of food production. These include ecosystem services such as local climate modification, pollination, and providing a pleasant location for socialising. The biodiversity of flora underpins many of these ecosystem services. The aims of this study are to assess the spontaneous vascular flora of urban allotment gardens and derive estimates of the species richness and diversity. In doing so, the specific position of allotment gardens within urban green infrastructure will be revealed and the role of allotment users in shaping local biodiversity determined. 358 species of spontaneous flora were recorded in 11 representative allotment garden estates (total area 150 ha) in Poznań, Poland. Fourteen biodiversity features were taken into account. The investigated areas exhibited high plant species richness, high diversity, low synanthropisation level, and contained valuable geobotanical elements, including plants of key importance for the European Community. For these reasons, allotment gardens should be considered as biodiversity hotspots for native species within urban green infrastructure. Based on an analysis of the spatial and functional organization of 110 individual plots, four types of usage, and corresponding plant diversity have been distinguished. The composition of the flora depends mostly on spatial and functional organization of allotment gardens and, to a much lesser extent, on the habitat conditions, which on individual plots varied very little. The high species richness and diversity in allotment gardens has important consequences for urban planning.     

How Common is Men's Self-Reported Sexual Interest in Prepubescent Children?

Consistent evidence exists for sexual interest in children in nonclinical/nonforensic male populations. However, prevalences for community men's self-reported sexual interest in children have been based on indiscriminate definitions including postpubescent individuals, age-restricted samples, and/or small convenience samples. The present research assessed men's self-reported sexual interest in children (including child prostitution and child sex tourism) on the community level and examined the link between strictly defined sexual fantasies and behaviors involving prepubescent children. In an online survey of 8,718 German men, 4.1% reported sexual fantasies involving prepubescent children, 3.2% reported sexual offending against prepubescent children, and 0.1% reported a pedophilic sexual preference. Sexual fantasies involving prepubescent children were positively related to sexual offending against prepubescent children. Sexual interest in children was associated with subjectively perceived need for therapeutic help. In contrast to findings from forensic samples, men who reported child pornography use exclusively were identified as a subgroup differing from contact sexual offenders against prepubescent children and men who reported both child pornography use and contact sexual offenses against prepubescent children. The empirical link between child-related sexual fantasies and sexual victimization of prepubescent children and high levels of subjective distress from this inclination underscore the importance of evidence-based child sexual abuse prevention approaches in the community. Findings are discussed in terms of their relation to pedophilic disorder.     

Emotion Recognition in Nonverbal Face-to-Face Communication

The perception of emotional facial expressions may activate corresponding facial muscles in the receiver, also referred to as facial mimicry. Facial mimicry is highly dependent on the context and type of facial expressions. While previous research almost exclusively investigated mimicry in response to pictures or videos of emotional expressions, studies with a real, face-to-face partner are still rare. Here we compared facial mimicry of angry, happy, and sad expressions and emotion recognition in a dyadic face-to-face setting. In sender-receiver dyads, we recorded facial electromyograms in parallel. Senders communicated to the receivers—with facial expressions only—the emotions felt during specific personal situations in the past, eliciting anger, happiness, or sadness. Receivers mostly mimicked happiness, to a lesser degree, sadness, and anger as the least mimicked emotion. In actor-partner interdependence models we showed that the receivers’ own facial activity influenced their ratings, which increased the agreement between the senders’ and receivers’ ratings for happiness, but not for angry and sad expressions. These results are in line with the Emotion Mimicry in Context View, holding that humans mimic happy expressions according to affiliative intentions. The mimicry of sad expressions is less intense, presumably because it signals empathy and might imply personal costs. Direct anger expressions are mimicked the least, possibly because anger communicates threat and aggression. Taken together, we show that incidental facial mimicry in a face-to-face setting is positively related to the recognition accuracy for non-stereotype happy expressions, supporting the functionality of facial mimicry.     

One Size Fits All? The Validity of a Composite Poverty Index Across Urban and Rural Households in South Africa

Composite indices have been prominently used in poverty research. However, validity of these indices remains subject to debate. This paper examines the validity of a common type of composite poverty indices using data from a cross-sectional survey of 2477 households in urban and rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Multiple-group comparisons in structural equation modelling were employed for testing differences in the measurement model across urban and rural groups. The analysis revealed substantial variations between urban and rural respondents both in the conceptualisation of poverty as well as in the weights and importance assigned to individual poverty indicators. The validity of a ‘one size fits all’ measurement model can therefore not be confirmed. In consequence, it becomes virtually impossible to determine a household’s poverty level relative to the full sample. Findings from our analysis have important practical implications in nuancing how we can sensitively use composite poverty indices to identify poor people.