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The World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (WHO EURO) and the German Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA) published the Standards for Sexuality Education in Europe in 2010. The standards were developed to provide an overview of those sexuality education issues that should be addressed in school at various specific age levels. They were intended to guarantee that sexuality education teaching is age-appropriate and of uniformly good quality throughout Europe. In the context of the present survey, Austrian teachers and parents or guardians were asked about the importance of the topics covered by the WHO standards and about any aspects they would like to see for such sexuality education to be successful. The paper concludes that parents and teachers agree on the sexuality education topics they find important for coverage in Austrian primary schools, although teachers find sexuality education in general to be of greater importance than do parents. Teacher’ wishes for sexuality education in practice correlate highly with parents’ ideas of quality. Overall, qualifications and support for work in this field are viewed as essential, with survey respondents perceiving the need for high-quality initial training and continuing education and appropriate frameworks for implementation in school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The consequences of hearing loss hinder the everyday life of older adults and are associated with reduced well-being. The research aim was to explore the influence of hearing problems, various coping strategies, and perceived social support on quality of life. Method: Sixty-five older adults with age-related hearing loss (≥55 years) in Austria participated and completed a paper--pencil survey with standardized questionnaires: Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly (Ventry and Weinstein, 1982), Assessment for Coping and Stress (Laireiter, 1997), short form of the Social Support Questionnaire (Fydrich, Sommer, Tydecks, & Brähler, 2009), and World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale--Brief Version (World Health Organization, 1996). Results: Quality of life was predicted by perceived social support and the number of comorbid diseases (i.e., the physical, psychological, environmental, and social quality of life was better the greater the extent of perceived social support and poorer the more diseases from which the participants suffered). Conclusions: Perceived social support may be a relevant factor to focus on in auditory rehabilitation programs, in particular, for participants who communicate little support in hearing-related situations and are, hence, at a relative disadvantage. The involvement of significant others in counseling could facilitate the everyday life for older adults with age-related hearing loss and their significant others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Research on unmet care needs lacks contributions based on qualitative data. • Only practical or physical care needs are recognized whereas psychosocial needs are ignored. • With content analysis of interview data, the psychosocial nature of care needs is revealed. • Informal carers may act as buffers and meet unmet needs on behalf of care users. Unmet care needs are usually defined in terms of receiving sufficient help in instrumental activities and activities of daily living. Research on unmet needs is mostly based on quantitative data. Older persons' and informal carers' views and experiences have received less attention. In this paper, we rely on a definition of unmet needs which includes both unmet needs due to insufficient care and those situations where informal carers experience undue strain. Using theory-driven content analysis, we examine community-dwelling older adults' and their informal carers' experiences of unmet needs: what kind of unmet needs they have, why and in which ways these needs are left unmet and what would they want to do to improve the situation. The data consists of interviews gathered in Austria, Finland and Slovenia. Results of the analysis reveal that unmet needs are largely psychosocial in nature. The predominating task-oriented care systems often do not consider these as care needs. Using methods of qualitative content analysis, we conclude that care users' unmet psychosocial needs are related to lacking a personal relationship with care workers; means to maintain or develop social contacts and pursue activities and interests; and adequate home care services or respite care. Excessive responsibilities are put on informal carers as they top up and fill in the insufficient care. This study contributes to a broader understanding of unmet care needs: the relational aspects of care and the universal nature of psychosocial care needs should be addressed in care services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to explore the phenomenon of self-knowledge from a Wittgensteinian perspective, subject of great interest to the philosophy of psychology. In Wittgenstein's later work, much of his thoughts are focused on the analysis of phenomenological states expressions and propositional attitudes. From the analysis of self-ascriptions of mental states, many philosophers have tried to build an image of what would be the self-knowledge for the Austrian philosopher in his later writings. In this article we show (1) that Wittgenstein has a dual position in regard to the meaning of psychological verbs in the first person. On some occasions would use expressive in other, informational use. And (2) that none of the three attempts that we will show is successful, although all three appear to find textual support in the work of Austrian philosopher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

sieger m., fritz e. & them c. (2012) In discourse: Bourdieu's theory of practice and habitus in the context of a communication-oriented nursing interaction model. Journal of Advanced Nursing 68(2), 480-489. Abstract Aims. This paper presents a discussion on the potential of the theories of practice and habitus as espoused by the sociologist Bourdieu. Background. The interaction between nurses and patients is a constitutive element in the nursing process and a central aspect in the theories developed by Paterson and Zderad, and Orlando. Bourdieu′s theory of habitus and practices assists in understanding and explaining differentiated results concerning nurse-patient interaction. Data sources. In a study on interactions with paraplegic patients, distinguished levels of interactions, which show considerable diversity among one another, could be identified. The data were collected over a period of 20 months in 2004-2006. The results present the central topics of interaction and show that understanding-oriented interaction is rare. Discussion. Communicative acting in nursing always takes place in a social context. In the interaction with patients, nurses assign a higher distinctive value to the standardized concepts of care facilities than to the actually perceived need of care. An understanding-oriented interaction assumes that the nurses with their own contributions, themes and authorities, prove themselves in the eyes of the patient. It is expected from nurses that they habitualize their own concepts so that they can be represented in a convincing manner. Conclusion. If an understanding-oriented interaction is to extend into the practice of nursing, it is of crucial importance that both interaction partners assure each other how and with what capital their interaction is to be realized. Nurses need professional habitus to become agents in the social field of health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methodological issues in psychology consist of a key aspect for the scientific development of the discipline. In this paper I elaborate on the reasons why I partially agree with Toomela’s ideas, and why I also disagree with some of his arguments. The convergence refers to the need for a radical change concerning the widespread use of methodologies that has been typical of mainstream psychology, which still flavors too positivist and pseudo-quantitative, overlooking the central relevance of theory for scientific development. The divergence resides in Toomela’s insistence to oppose what he designates as “the North American” to “the German–Austrian” scientific thinking: from my perspective, the misuse of cultural categories can only lead to misguided and unconstructive dichotomies that entails a naïve concept of culture, and do not contribute to scientific development. From a contemporary systemic approach, complex issues deserve more sophisticated analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The beginning of this paper documents Sigmund Freud's pre-psychoanalytic experience as a 'first hand' observer of childhood behavior both professionally and as the patriarch of a large extended family in Vienna. During 1898, Freud was in the midst of an intensive correspondence with Wilhelm Fliess - his most trusted confidant, mentor and colleague - when he wrote, in part, about his sister Marie whose family was relocating in Berlin. She was apparently about to consult Fliess as her prospective physician. During the process, Freud voiced psychological assessments not only about his sister; but, also about her husband and their three daughters. The youngest among them was a 5-year old whom he characterized as "a rather gifted child, severely [hysterical]" (bracketed word in quotation juxtaposed for clarity). Eleven years later, Freud wrote a case study about a 5-year old boy whose pseudonym, for publication purposes, was Little Hans. The life of Little Hans (as well as the lives of his parents) has been thoroughly examined and we now know something about how he matured as an adult. In a contrasting context, less is known about the 'psychological trajectory' of Freud's 5-year old niece who also distinguished herself in certain respects as she matured during her abbreviated later life. She remained the subject of documentable correspondence mailed to him by his youngest daughter Anna as well as foreboding prospects articulated in a letter he subsequently wrote to an English nephew. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper elucidates and discusses Jung's conceptions of the relation between psychology, psychotherapy and religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]