The relationship between hostility and perceived parental rearing behaviour: A study of male myocardial infarction patients and healthy controls

Mediators of the Association Between Childhood Emotional Maltreatment and Young Adult Men's Life Satisfaction

Childhood emotional maltreatment has been linked to a wide range of deleterious physical and psychological adult health outcomes. The present study extends past research by examining the effects of childhood emotional maltreatment on young adult men's life satisfaction through its effects on hostility and perceptions of social relationships. Participants were 423 single men who completed two interviews 1 year apart. As hypothesized, the association between self-reported childhood emotional maltreatment and adult life satisfaction was mediated through general hostility, rejection sensitivity in romantic relationships, and perceptions of male friends' social support. These findings suggest that interventions which address distorted perceptions of romantic partners and friends might reduce the negative impact of childhood emotional maltreatment.

The Validity of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory—Revised in a Community Sample

Research on the Psychopathic Personality Inventory—Revised (PPI-R) has revealed two factors: Fearless Dominance, and Self-Centered Impulsivity. This study examined the validity of these PPI-R factors in a community sample ( N = 675). First, confirmatory factor analyses did not support the two-factor structure. Second, the PPI-R factors showed good convergent and discriminant validity with two other self-report measures of psychopathy, that is, the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory and Levenson’s Self-Report of Psychopathy. Third, PPI-R factors exhibited good external validity in relation to various theoretically relevant correlates. The results indicate that the PPI-R factors have good convergent, discriminant, and external validity, but confirmatory factor analysis raises concerns about the robustness of the two-factor structure.

Interpersonal rejection as a determinant of anger and aggression

This article reviews the literature on the relationship between interpersonal rejection and aggression. Four bodies of research are summarized: laboratory experiments that manipulate rejection, rejection among adults in everyday life, rejection in childhood, and individual differences that may moderate the relationship. The theoretical mechanisms behind the effect are then explored. Possible explanations for why rejection leads to anger and aggression include: rejection as a source of pain, rejection as a source of frustration, rejection as a threat to self-esteem, mood improvement following aggression, aggression as social influence, aggression as a means of reestablishing control, retribution, disinhibition, and loss of self-control.

Family stability during childhood and the risk to develop hypertensive diseases in pregnancy

BACKGROUND

Parental care giving, divorce and death are associated with physical health as an adult.

AIM

To investigate whether the structure of the nuclear family during childhood shows any correlation with the development of hypertensive diseases in pregnancy as an adult.

STUDY DESIGN

Self-administered questionnaires were sent to 2600 women with hypertensive diseases in pregnancy and to 1484 controls.

SUBJECTS

After confirmation of the diagnosis data from 842 patients and 623 control women were evaluated.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Type, number and involvement of different caregivers, parental separation, parental death.

RESULTS

In both groups parental separation and parental death were found equally often. In all age groups during childhood fathers were involved significantly less often in care giving when women with hypertensive disorders in pregnancy were compared to control women (1st-3rd year 23.4%/17%, <0.0001; 4th-10th year 25.7%/19.3%, <0.0001; 11th-18th year 30.1%/23.9%, <0.0001). The total number of caregivers involved was significantly higher in patients.

CONCLUSIONS

The quality of parental care giving, i.e. the involvement of fathers and the total number of caregivers correlate with the risk to develop HDP. Further research is needed to specify underlying mechanisms and the relevant factors of the parent-child relationship.

Anger and hostility in adolescents: relationships with self-reported attachment style and perceived parental rearing styles

OBJECTIVE

To examine relationships between self-reported attachment style and parental rearing behaviors, on the one hand, and anger/hostility, on the other hand, in a sample of nonclinical adolescents (N=441).

METHOD

Participants completed (a) a single-item measure of attachment style; (b) a questionnaire measuring perceptions of parental rearing behaviors; and (c) two scales assessing anger and hostility.

RESULTS

Self-reported attachment style was related to anger/hostility. That is, adolescents who defined themselves as avoidantly or ambivalently attached displayed higher levels of anger/hostility than adolescents who classified themselves as securely attached. Furthermore, perceived parental rearing was also related to anger/hostility. More specifically, low levels of emotional warmth and high levels of rejection, control, and inconsistency were accompanied by high levels of anger/hostility. Finally, regression analyses showed that both attachment status and parental rearing behaviors accounted for a unique and significant proportion of the variance in anger/hostility.

CONCLUSION

These findings are in keeping with the notion that family environment factors such as attachment style and parental rearing are involved in the development of anger/hostility in youths.