Social acquisition context matters: Increased neural responses for native but not nonnative taboo words.

This study examined whether the context of acquisition of a word influences its visual recognition and subsequent processing. We utilized taboo words, whose meanings are typically acquired socially, to ensure that differences in processing were based on learned social taboo, rather than proficiency. American English-speaking participants made word/non-word decisions on American taboo (native dialect), British taboo (non-native dialect), positive, neutral, and pseudo- words while EEG was recorded. Taboo words were verified as taboo by both American and British English speakers in an independent norming survey. American taboo words showed a more positive amplitude of the Late Positive Complex (LPC), a neural correlate of emotionality and social processing, compared with British taboo words and all other word categories. Moreover, in an item-wise analysis, LPC amplitudes of American taboo words were positively correlated with their taboo ratings. British taboo words did not show this effect. This indicates that American participants, who had very limited social contact with British English, did not have the same perception of social threat from British taboo words as they had from American taboo words. These results point to the importance of social context of acquisition in establishing social-affective meaning in language.

A harmful religio-cultural practice (Chhaupadi) during menstruation among adolescent girls in Nepal: Prevalence and policies for eradication.

BACKGROUND: Chhaupadi is a deeply rooted tradition and a centuries-old harmful religio-cultural practice. Chhaupadi is common in some parts of Karnali and Sudurpaschim Provinces of western Nepal, where women and girls are considered impure, unclean, and untouchable in the menstrual period or immediately following childbirth. In Chhaupadi practice, women and girls are isolated from a range of daily household chores, social events and forbidden from touching other people and objects. Chhaupadi tradition banishes women and girls into menstruation huts', or Chhau huts or livestock sheds to live and sleep. These practices are guided by existing harmful beliefs and practices in western Nepal, resulting in poor menstrual hygiene and poor physical and mental health outcomes. This study examined the magnitude of Chhaupadi practice and reviewed the existing policies for Chhaupadi eradication in Nepal. METHODS: We used both quantitative survey and qualitative content analysis of the available policies. First, a quantitative cross-sectional survey assessed the prevalence of Chhaupadi among 221 adolescent girls in Mangalsen Municipality of Achham district. Second, the contents of prevailing policies on Chhaupadi eradication were analysed qualitatively using the policy cube framework. RESULTS: The current survey revealed that most adolescent girls (84%) practised Chhaupadi in their most recent menstruation. The Chhaupadi practice was high if the girls were aged 15-17 years, born to an illiterate mother, and belonged to a nuclear family. Out of the girls practising Chhaupadi, most (86%) reported social and household activities restrictions. The policy content analysis of identified higher-level policy documents (constitution, acts, and regulations) have provisioned financial resources, ensured independent monitoring mechanisms, and had judiciary remedial measures. However, middle (policies and plans) and lower-level (directives) documents lacked adequate budgetary commitment and independent monitoring mechanisms. CONCLUSION: Chhaupadi remains prevalent in western Nepal and has several impacts to the health of adolescent girls. Existing policy mechanisms lack multilevel (individual, family, community, subnational and national) interventions, including financial and monitoring systems for Chhaupadi eradication. Eradicating Chhaupadi practice requires a robust multilevel implementation mechanism at the national and sub-national levels, including adequate financing and accountable systems up to the community level.

Emotion generation and regulation following an intrusion induction: Implications for taboo or autogenous obsessions.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Research demonstrates that autogenous (AO) and reactive obsessions (RO) differ in obsessional content; however, no experimental research has examined differences in emotion generation and regulation. Characterizing this taxonomy with respect to emotion generation and regulation could refine conceptualizations of obsessionality and optimize clinical interventions. METHODS: Seventy undergraduates were randomly assigned to imagine a personally-relevant AO or RO. Subsequently, emotional reactivity was assessed. Participants then rated their emotion regulation efforts and the degree to which the intrusion violated their values. RESULTS: Broadly aligning with expectations, bootstrapped linear regression models indicated that AOs led to a significant increase in self-conscious emotions (guilt, shame, and embarrassment), and these effects were stronger for those whose values were more severely threatened by the intrusion. A conditional process analysis revealed that the relationship between the AO condition and emotion regulation difficulties was explained by an increase in negative emotional reactivity, and the strength of this effect depended upon the degree of conflict with participants' values. LIMITATIONS: The use of an analogue sample, and minimal emotional reactivity in the RO condition, threaten the ecological and external validity of the study. CONCLUSIONS: The current study employed a novel experimental design demonstrating a meaningful relationship between AOs and both emotional activation and regulation. Results highlight the relevance of self-conscious emotions to the conceptualization of AOs and the utility of addressing them in the context of exposure therapy.

Decision-making about intrusive thoughts: Relationships to attitudes towards them.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The present study investigated decision-making strategies about and evaluations of intrusive thoughts in OCD presented in hypothetical targets in vignettes in a non-clinical population. It was expected participants would be hastier in their decisions for violent and sexual thoughts than checking and contamination thoughts and find those thoughts more credible. In addition, it was expected that hastier decision-making would be related to poorer evaluation of the targets. It was further expected that higher OC traits would be related to collecting fewer data. METHODS: Participants (N = 84) read four vignettes, two detailing a target with taboo intrusive thoughts and two detailing a target with non-taboo intrusive thoughts. Participants engaged in decision-making tasks about the targets before making decisions about the validity of the fears and rating their thoughts about the target. RESULTS: There was a relationship between data gathering and evaluations of the targets, but only for targets with taboo thoughts - requesting fewer data was associated with believing that the violent and sexual thoughts were true and evaluating them more negatively. Participants with higher OC traits gathered fewer data before deciding on three of the four tasks. LIMITATIONS: The sample was non-clinical and homogenous; stimuli may have been unbalanced across vignettes. CONCLUSIONS: Reasoning about and attitudes about taboo intrusive thoughts appear to be considerably related.

Neuromodulation of cursing in American English: A combined tDCS and pupillometry study.

Many neurological disorders are associated with excessive and/or uncontrolled cursing. The right prefrontal cortex has long been implicated in a diverse range of cognitive processes that underlie the propensity for cursing, including non-propositional language representation, emotion regulation, theory of mind, and affective arousal. Neurogenic cursing often poses significant negative social consequences, and there is no known behavioral intervention for this communicative disorder. We examined whether right vs. left lateralized prefrontal neurostimultion via tDCS could modulate taboo word production in neurotypical adults. We employed a pre/post design with a bilateral frontal electrode montage. Half the participants received left anodal and right cathodal stimulation; the remainder received the opposite polarity stimulation at the same anatomical loci. We employed physiological (pupillometry) and behavioral (reaction time) dependent measures as participants read aloud taboo and non-taboo words. Pupillary responses demonstrated a crossover reaction, suggestive of modulation of phasic arousal during cursing. Participants in the right anodal condition showed elevated pupil responses for taboo words post stimulation. In contrast, participants in the right cathodal condition showed relative dampening of pupil responses for taboo words post stimulation. We observed no effects of stimulation on response times. We interpret these findings as supporting modulation of right hemisphere affective arousal that disproportionately impacts taboo word processing. We discuss alternate accounts of the data and future applications to neurological disorders.

Building the perfect curse word: A psycholinguistic investigation of the form and meaning of taboo words.

Taboo words represent a potent subset of natural language. It has been hypothesized that "tabooness" reflects an emergent property of negative valence and high physiological arousal of word referents. Many taboo words (e.g., dick, shit) are indeed consistent with this claim. Nevertheless, American English is also rife with negatively valenced, highly arousing words the usage of which is not socially condemned (e.g., cancer, abortion, welfare). We evaluated prediction of tabooness of single words and novel taboo compound words from a combination of phonological, lexical, and semantic variables (e.g., semantic category, word length). For single words, physiological arousal and emotional valence strongly predicted tabooness with additional moderating contributions from form (phonology) and meaning (semantic category). In Experiment 2, raters judged plausibility for combinations of common nouns with taboo words to form novel taboo compounds (e.g., shitgibbon). A mixture of formal (e.g., ratio of stop consonants, length) and semantic variables (e.g., ± receptacle, ± profession) predicted the quality of novel taboo compounding. Together, these studies provide complementary evidence for interactions between word form and meaning and an algorithmic prediction of tabooness in American English. We discuss applications for models of taboo word representation.

When did "teaching" become a taboo word for clinician educators?

In our recent work with clinician educators leading UME small groups, we noticed a phenomenon - many clinician educators are saying they don't teach, they just facilitate. Medical schools have moved to a new model of curriculum that integrates basic, clinical, and social science concepts. As curriculum shifts, so too must the definition and role of a teacher in medical education. The purpose of this article is to explore the work of current clinician educators and to encourage clinician educators to embrace their teaching role and seek educator development opportunities. In this article, we explore the history of how and why the word "teaching" became taboo for clinician educators. Then we explain the current state of the complex work of teaching for today's clinician educators and its implications for educator development.

Rationalization and Reflection Differentially Modulate Prior Attitudes Toward the Purity Domain.

Outside Western, predominantly secular-liberal environments, norms restricting bodily and sexual conduct are widespread. Moralization in the so-called purity domain has been treated as evidence that some putative violations are victimless. However, respondents themselves disagree: They often report that private yet indecent acts incur self-harm, or harm to one's family and the wider community-a result which we replicate in Study 1. We then distinguish two cognitive processes that could generate a link between harmfulness and immorality, and recreate them in Studies 2 and 3: Colombian and British participants were randomly assigned to either reflect (decide whether acts are harmful and reconsider their initial moral judgments) or rationalize (decide whether acts are immoral and reconsider their initial harmfulness beliefs). In both countries, reflection promoted opposition to unjust, but not impure, behavior. Additionally, in both countries, ruminating on the moral status of impure acts elevated beliefs in the acts' harmfulness. We conclude by suggesting that rationalization aggravates, while reflection mitigates, intergroup disagreement regarding putative violations of purity and decency.

Are you really cursing? Neural processing of taboo words in native and foreign language.

The use of socially opprobrious words (taboo words) is a cross-cultural phenomenon occurring between individuals from almost all social extractions. The neurocognitive correlates of using taboo words in the native language (L1) as compared to their use in a second (L2) language are largely unknown. We used fMRI to investigate the processing of taboo and non-taboo stimuli in monolinguals (Experiment 1) and highly proficient bilinguals (Experiment 2) engaged in lexical decision tasks. We report that for L1 socio-pragmatic knowledge is automatically conveyed and taboo words are processed with less effort than non-taboo words. For L2 the processing of taboo words is more effortful and engages additional structures (anterior cingulate cortex, insula) involved in social-norm representation and evaluation. Our results contribute to understand the interface between language and social-norm processing indicating that lexical processing is affected by socio-pragmatic knowledge, but only when the speaker has a contextual use of the language.

Food taboo among pregnant Ethiopian women: magnitude, drivers, and association with anemia.

BACKGROUND: There are pervasive pregnancy-related food taboos and myths (PRFT) in Ethiopia. The evidence, however, is limited on whether PRFT contributes to the burden of maternal anemia. Thus, this study was aimed to determine the magnitude of PRFT, the reasons for adherence to PRFT, and the association of adherence to PRFT with anemia, among pregnant Ethiopian women. METHODS: The study was case-control in design and recruited a sample of 592 pregnant women attending antenatal care in four health facilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Participants were classified into anemic cases (n = 187) and non-anemic controls (n = 405) based on their hemoglobin level. PRFT was assessed by the participants' subjective reporting of avoidance of certain food items during the current pregnancy due to taboo reasons. The specific types of food items avoided and the underlying reasons for the avoidance were also assessed. The relation of PRFT with anemia was evaluated by multiple logistic regression analysis, controlling for covariate factors. RESULT: Almost a fifth of the study participants (18.2%) avoided one or more food items due to PRFT. Adherence to PRFT was 26.2 and 14.6% among the anemic and the non-anemic individuals, respectively. The food items most avoided due to adherence to PRFT were green chili pepper, organ meat, and dark green leafy vegetables like spinach, lettuce, kale, and broccoli. The underlying reasons for the adherence to PRFT were largely traditionally held beliefs and misconceptions. After controlling for covariates, PRFT was significantly and independently associated with a higher odds of anemia [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.12, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.32-3.42, P = 0.002]. CONCLUSION: PRFT might be contributing to the burden of maternal anemia in Ethiopia. It is time for public health authorities in Ethiopia to recognize PRFT as a public health risk, strengthen maternal nutrition counseling, and create public awareness of the consequences of PRFT. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03251664), 16 August 2017.

Between food delicacies and food taboos: A structural equation model to assess Western students' acceptance of Amazonian insect food.

Interest in commercializing insect-based foods is growing steadily. Nevertheless, most Western consumers still consider insects a food taboo. In this study, we investigated how persuasion strategies based on technology and social communication can intervene to reduce aversion towards the practice of eating a tropical insect from the Ecuadorian Amazon. We used a research design based on ethnoentomological information to place the insect-based food in its cultural context. The study is based on an online survey of 125 students from an international university based in a cross-border region of the Italian Alps. We used a covariance-based structural equation model to test the influence of the 6-item version of the Food Neophobia Scale and of the aforementioned persuasion strategies on stated willingness to consume insects. Results show that food neophobia negatively affects persuasion strategies but that the latter do have a positive influence on stated consumption intention. Additionally, the model shows that the negative effect of Food Neophobia Scale on the willingness to consume insects is fully mediated by persuasion strategies. Our findings are in line with previous studies which indicate that peers' recommendations on the safety and palatability of edible insects, as well as the practice of disguising them in familiar food, increase the stated willingness to consume them. Moreover, the importance of the commercial context where the insects are sold is a driver of entomophagous practices. Finally, our study suggests that the introduction of contextual cultural information about insects as a food source may help to preclude a priori false assumptions regarding entomophagy. This is also one of the aims of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 on insects as novel food which recently came into force. We discuss the implications of the findings for both scholars and practitioners.

Relations between emotion, memory encoding, and time perception.

This study examined duration judgments for taboo and neutral words in prospective and retrospective timing tasks. In the prospective task, participants attended to time from the beginning and generated shorter duration estimates for taboo than neutral words and for words that they subsequently recalled in a surprise free recall task. These findings suggested that memory encoding took priority over estimating durations, directing attention away from time and causing better recall but shorter perceived durations for taboo than neutral words. However, in the retrospective task, participants only judged durations in a surprise test at the end, and their duration estimates were longer for taboo than neutral words. Present findings therefore suggest that the same emotion-linked memory encoding processes can cause underestimation of durations in prospective tasks but overestimation in retrospective tasks, as if emotion enhances recall of ongoing events but causes overestimation of the durations of those events in retrospect.

Exposure to violence in breast cancer patients: systematic review.

RESULTS: The nine studies included were reviewed under two titles as descriptive and qualitative. Based on the results of six descriptive studies, it was determined that the majority of these studies focused on violence and abuse in childhood; depression is high among breast cancer patients exposed to violence; healing is unfavorably influenced among breast cancer patients exposed to spouse violence or abuse/violence in childhood; physical, emotional and functional welfare/comforts are restricted and quality of life is low during disease process; there is positive correlation between advanced-stage cancer and history of violence; they hesitate to ask the clinical staff for support. Although breast cancer women underreport the violence they have been exposed to, a study stated that 55% of women are exposed to violence after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Results of the three qualitative study revealed that violence is the field of "taboo" among breast cancer patients and they reconsider the "life", "relationship-origin stress", "social support" and "importance of breast for herself" over the disease process. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, it is underlined that giving care becomes difficult, maintenance of treatment fails, and quality of life is decreased in breast cancer patients exposed to violence.

Patients' experiences of sexuality as a taboo subject in the Danish healthcare system: a qualitative interview study.

BACKGROUND: Sexual dysfunction is common in patients diagnosed with cancer or chronic disease, having psychological, emotional and social ramifications. The consequences are ultimately significant impaired quality of life and reduced mental well-being, and it therefore requires professional attention. However, evidence suggests that sexuality is a taboo subject in the healthcare system, as healthcare professionals and patients rarely initiate conversations on this subject. AIM: Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand how patients diagnosed with cancer or chronic disease experiencing sexual dysfunction experience sexuality as a taboo subject in the healthcare system. METHODS: Ten women diagnosed with cancer or chronic disease experiencing sexual dysfunction were recruited from the Sexological Centre in Aalborg, Denmark. Using an interview guide, semi-structured interviews were conducted and a qualitative thematic analysis was performed. RESULTS: The analysis revealed that sexuality is a sensitive and taboo subject in the Danish healthcare system. Some patients initiated conversations about their sexuality, but felt rejected by healthcare professionals, who dismissed these initiatives, whereas other patients were reluctant to discuss sexuality, but did not experience healthcare professionals bringing up sexuality either. Despite these differences between patients' experiences, sexuality constituted a taboo subject, as patients or healthcare professionals deliberately avoided discussing the patients' sexuality-related issues. CONCLUSIONS: Communication about sexuality is essential for improving patients' well-being, and healthcare professionals should routinely address sexuality and sexual intimacy with patients diagnosed with cancer or chronic disease in order to break the taboo and accommodate patients' needs.

The sexuality scripts constructed by nurses and an interface with attention of sexually transmited infection/HIV / Guías de la sexualidad construidos por enfermeros y la interfaz con la atención en enfermedades transmitidas sexualmente/HIV / Roteiros de sexualidade construídos por enfermeiros e a interface com a atenção em infecções sexualmente transmissíveis/HIV

Abstract Objective: To understand the routines of sexuality constructed by nurses and the interface with attention in STI/HIV in primary health care. Method: Qualitative study, anchored in the theory of sexual scripts. A total of 35 in-depth interviews were conducted with nurses from the Family Health Strategy between May and August 2017. The material was organized using MAXQDA Standard 12® software and was submitted to Structural Analysis of Narration and content. Results: The analysis of participants' trajectories allowed the construction of three categories: sexuality scripts in childhood and adolescence; scripts of sexuality in formation; sexuality scripts and STI/HIV care. Conclusion and implications for practice: Sexuality scripts are marked by stereotypes, constructed throughout life, and result in obstacles to STI/HIV prevention practices. It was pointed out the need for investments in vocational training processes that focus on the paradigm shift in health and consider the cultural constructions that hinder the insertion of sexuality into care practices, with emphasis on preventive actions in STI/HIV.

Resumen Objetivo: Comprender las guías de la sexualidad construidas por enfermeros y la interfaz con la atención en IST/HIV en la atención primaria de la salud. Método: Estudio cualitativo, anclado en la teoría de las guías sexuales. Se realizaron 35 entrevistas en profundidad con enfermeros de la Estrategia Salud de la Familia, entre mayo y agosto de 2017. El material se organizó con la ayuda del software MAXQDA Standard 12® y se sometió al Análisis Estructural de Narración y de contenido. Resultados: El análisis de las trayectorias de los participantes permitió la construcción de tres categorías: guías de sexualidad en la infancia y en la adolescencia; guías de la sexualidad en la formación; guías de la sexualidad y el cuidado en IST/VIH. Conclusión e implicaciones para la práctica: Las guías de la sexualidad están marcadas por estereotipos y resultan en obstáculos para las prácticas de prevención de las IST/VIH. Se apunta la necesidad de inversiones en los procesos de formación profesional que se enfoquen en el cambio de paradigma en la salud y consideren las construcciones culturales que dificultan la inserción de la sexualidad en las prácticas de cuidado, con énfasis en las acciones preventivas en IST/VIH.

Resumo Objetivo: Compreender os roteiros de sexualidade construídos por enfermeiros e a interface com a atenção em IST/HIV na atenção primária à saúde. Método: Estudo qualitativo, ancorado na teoria dos roteiros sexuais. Foram realizadas 35 entrevistas em profundidade com enfermeiros da Estratégia Saúde da Família, entre maio e a agosto de 2017. O material foi organizado com auxílio do software MAXQDA Standard 12® e foi submetido à Análise Estrutural de Narração. Resultados: A análise das trajetórias dos participantes permitiu a construção de três categorias: roteiros de sexualidade na infância e na adolescência; roteiros de sexualidade na formação; roteiros de sexualidade e o cuidado em IST/HIV. Conclusão e implicações para prática: Os roteiros de sexualidade são marcados por estereótipos e resultam em obstáculos às práticas de prevenção das IST/HIV. Apontou-se a necessidade de investimentos nos processos de formação profissional que focalizem a mudança de paradigma na saúde e considerem as construções culturais que dificultam a inserção da sexualidade nas práticas de cuidado, com destaque para as ações preventivas em IST/HIV.

Testimony of an Ethiopian girl sexually assaulted by her stepfather: a case report.

BACKGROUND: The sensitiveness and stigma associated with sexual assault deter many victims from speaking about their experiences. This silence of victims worsens the problem, especially in patriarchal communities like Ethiopia where sex is taboo and girls are encouraged to remain behind curtains. CASE PRESENTATION: This is the personal testimony of a 25-year-old Amhara woman, a student at an Ethiopian public university, and it is presented in her own words. The data were collected during an in-depth interview on 19 April 2015. The interview was conducted in a private environment and her name was concealed to protect her anonymity. A digital voice recorder was used to audio-tape the interview which was later transcribed and translated verbatim from the local language, Amharic, to English. CONCLUSIONS: The trouble and pain our participant experienced is beyond description. Four themes emerged from her narrative: Incest assault, repeated assault, feelings of guilt and shame, and orphanhood. Incest is both more common and more severe in stepparent families but reported cases are only the very tip of the iceberg and thus may greatly under-represent actual population rates. Therefore, more effort is required to hold the perpetrators accountable and restore the life of the victims.

Cultural processes in psychotherapy for perinatal loss: Breaking the cultural taboo against perinatal grief.

This paper argues that there is a cultural taboo against the public recognition and expression of perinatal grief that hinders parents' ability to mourn and their psychological adjustment following a loss. It is proposed that this cultural taboo is recreated within the therapy relationship, as feelings of grief over a perinatal loss are minimized or avoided by the therapist and parent or patient. Importantly, it is suggested that if these cultural dynamics are recognized within the therapy relationship, then psychotherapy has the immense opportunity to break the taboo by validating the parent's loss as real and helping the parent to mourn within an empathic and affect-regulating relationship. Specifically, it is suggested that therapists break the cultural taboo against perinatal grief and help parents to mourn through: acknowledging and not pathologizing perinatal grief reactions, considering intrapsychic and cultural factors that impact a parent's response to loss, exploring cultural reenactments within the therapy relationship, empathizing with the parent's experience of loss and of having to grieve within a society that does not recognize perinatal loss, coregulating the parent's feelings of grief and loss, and helping patients to create personally meaningful mourning rituals. Lastly, the impact of within and between cultural differences and therapist attitudes on the therapy process is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record