Faced with the contemporary proliferation of a “religion of emotional communities” and the multiplication of gurus, spiritual directors and masters, the psychologist of religion should question the impact of the paternal function on the structuring of religious experience. This question is examined here within the context of ancient monasticism and on the basis of ascetic sources (mainly the Ladder of John Climacus, 7th c.), as well as by means of the analysis of rituals such as baptism and monastic profession. The author demonstrates that the spiritual father refers to paternity as function, and that this function is both structural and structuring with respect to religious experience. It is also examined how this crossroads-concept of fatherhood is linked to other psychic realities such as the maternal dimension of religious desire and the role of the community, the relations between the real, the imaginary, and the symbolic, the paternal uncertainty, the articulation of the mystical desire with the Law, and the control of sexuality. This study shows the importance of this function for bringing together structure and development in the religious experience and indicates the risks of this paternity for a religious pathology.

Recent societal changes have challenged long-established concepts in psychoanalysis, including the Oedipus complex, parental functions, and male and female psychosexuality. 'Postmodern families', based on sexual and emotional exchanges independent of gender, now include homoerotic couples who adopt children, or who create them through assisted fertilisation, as well as single parent families and blended families. A number of highly-renowned Latin American psychoanalysts have drawn attention to the urgency of revising theoretical and clinical concepts in the light of these new scenarios. In this book, they open up ideas which cover familiar territory of current concerns in psychoanalytic work, as well as other little-explored areas, with the emphasis on evolving sexualities and new experiences of parenthood. The first section revisits psychoanalytic theories, particularly parental functions in the area of sexuality and gender. The following section discusses new family configurations, and vicissitudes of the desire to have a child in men and women, with the authors presenting some psychic consequences for parents in therapy who have turned to assisted fertilisation.

A father's role in the family has been defined in various ways throughout the history of the United States. The English heritage of the first settlers encouraged patriarchal rule in the family. As changing technology spurred the Industrial Revolution, the father was propelled out of the home and into the workplace, and his role became that of breadwinner. Consequently, mothers soon found their authority in the home heightened. Both parents left the home when the World War II effort urged citizens into the factories and offices to serve the United States in a time of crisis. This again led to a more aggressive female presence in society as well as the family. As the father's role in the family changed, so did the laws reflecting the father's rights. Today the line is skewed, as more often the establishment of paternity becomes a difficult process no longer defined by the old standards of marriage or adoption. This text discusses the changes in paternity laws over time and the ways in which each era's societal norms have been reflected in those laws. Custody, legitimacy, adoption and paternity are examined from a legal standpoint. Child support, visitation scheduling and third party parenting and visitation rights are also discussed. Finally, current trends that affect paternity laws are examined. Major cases, statutes and model acts that exemplify changes in paternity laws are listed in three appendices.

Sperm Competition and Sexual Selection presents the intricate ways in which sperm compete to fertilize eggs and how this has prompted reinterpretations of breeding behavior. This book provides a theoretical framework for the study of sperm competition, which is a central part of sexual selection. It also discusses the roles of females and the relationships between paternal care in sperm competition. The chapters focusing on taxonomic development are diverse and cover all the major animal groups, both vertebrate and invertebrate, and plants. The final chapter provides an overview discussing the relationship between sperm competition and sexual selection in terms of both function and mechanism and how these translate into species fitness. This book will be of prime interest to behaviorists, ecologists and evolutionary biologists, suggesting new avenues of research and new ways of approaching old problems.

Multivariable Modeling and Multivariate Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences shows students how to apply statistical methods to behavioral science data in a sensible manner. Assuming some familiarity with introductory statistics, the book analyzes a host of real-world data to provide useful answers to real-life issues. The author begins by exploring the types and design of behavioral studies. He also explains how models are used in the analysis of data. After describing graphical methods, such as scatterplot matrices, the text covers simple linear regression, locally weighted regression, multiple linear regression, regression diagnostics, the equivalence of regression and ANOVA, the generalized linear model, and logistic regression. The author then discusses aspects of survival analysis, linear mixed effects models for longitudinal data, and the analysis of multivariate data. He also shows how to carry out principal components, factor, and cluster analyses. The final chapter presents approaches to analyzing multivariate observations from several different populations. Through real-life applications of statistical methodology, this book elucidates the implications of behavioral science studies for statistical analysis. It equips behavioral science students with enough statistical tools to help them succeed later on in their careers. Solutions to the problems as well as all R code and data sets for the examples are available at www.crcpress.com

For most of human history, paternity was uncertain. Blood types, fingerprinting, and, recently, DNA analysis promised to solve the riddle of paternity. But even genetic certainty did not end the quest for the father. Rather, as Nara Milanich reveals, it confirms the social, cultural, and political nature of the age-old question: Who’s your father?