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Cuyvers B, Ein-Dor T, Houbrechts M, Freson K, Goossens L, Van Den Noortgate W, van Leeuwen K, Bijttebier P, Claes S, Turner J, Chubar V, Bakermans-Kranenburg MJ, Bosmans G. Exploring the role of OXTR gene methylation in attachment development: A longitudinal study. Dev Psychobiol 2024; 66:e22496. [PMID: 38689124 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Revised: 03/26/2024] [Accepted: 04/07/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024]
Abstract
The current study explored longitudinally whether oxytocin receptor gene methylation (OXTRm) changes moderated the association between parental sensitivity changes and children's attachment changes over three waves. Six hundred six Flemish children (10-12 years, 42.8%-44.8% boys) completed attachment measures and provided salivary OXTRm data on seven CpG sites. Their parents reported their sensitive parenting. Results suggest that OXTRm changes hardly link to attachment (in)security changes after the age of 10. Some support was found for interaction effects between parental sensitivity changes and OXTRm changes on attachment changes over time. Effects suggest that for children with increased OXTRm in the promotor region and decreased methylation in the inhibitor region over time, increased parental sensitivity was associated with increased secure attachment and decreased insecure attachment over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bien Cuyvers
- Clinical Psychology, KU Leuven University, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Tsachi Ein-Dor
- Social Sciences, School of Psychology, Reichman University Herzliya, Herzliya, Israel
| | | | - Kathleen Freson
- Centre for Molecular and Vascular Biology, KU Leuven University, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Luc Goossens
- School Psychology and Development in Context, KU Leuven University, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Karla van Leeuwen
- Family and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven University, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Patricia Bijttebier
- School Psychology and Development in Context, KU Leuven University, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Stephan Claes
- Research Group Psychiatry, UZ Leuven-KU Leuven University, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jonathan Turner
- Immune Endocrine Epigenetics Research Group, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Esch sur Alzette, Luxembourg, Luxembourg
| | - Viktoria Chubar
- Research Group Psychiatry, UZ Leuven-KU Leuven University, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Marian J Bakermans-Kranenburg
- William James Center for Research, ISPA University Institute of sychological, Social and Life Sciences, Lisbon, Portugal
- Centre for Attachment Research, the New School for Social Research, New York, USA
| | - Guy Bosmans
- Clinical Psychology, KU Leuven University, Leuven, Belgium
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2
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Stamp GE, Wadley AL, Iacovides S. Could relationship-based learnt beliefs and expectations contribute to physiological vulnerability of chronic pain? Making a case to consider attachment in pain research. THE JOURNAL OF PAIN 2024:104619. [PMID: 38945383 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2024.104619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Revised: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 06/22/2024] [Indexed: 07/02/2024]
Abstract
Pain is an interpersonal and inherently social experience. Pain perception and administration of medical treatment all occur in a particular environmental and social context. Early environmental influences, and early learning experiences and interactions, condition the body's response to different threats (like pain), ultimately shaping the underlying neurophysiology. These early interactions and experiences also determine what situations are perceived as threatening, as well as our belief in our own ability to self-manage, and our belief in others to offer support, during perceived threats. These beliefs intrinsically drive the combination of behaviours that emerge in response to perceived threats, including pain. Such behaviours can be categorised into attachment styles. In this interdisciplinary review, we synthesise and summarise evidence from the neurobiological, psychobiological, psychosocial and psychobehavioural fields, to describe how these beliefs are embedded in the brain's prediction models to generate a series of expectations/perceptions around the level of safety/threat in different contexts. As such, these beliefs may predict how one experiences, and responds to, pain; with potentially significant implications for the development and management of chronic pain. Little attention has been directed to the effect of adult attachment style on pain in research studies and in the clinical setting. Using interdisciplinary evidence, we argue why we think this interaction merits further consideration and research. PERSPECTIVE: This review explores the influence of attachment styles on pain perception, suggesting a link between social connections and chronic pain development. It aligns with recent calls to emphasise the social context in pain research and advocates for increased focus on adult attachment styles in research and clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriella Elisabeth Stamp
- Brain Function Research Group, School of Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
| | - Antonia Louise Wadley
- Brain Function Research Group, School of Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
| | - Stella Iacovides
- Brain Function Research Group, School of Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
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3
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Richardson E, Beath A, Boag S. The Development of the Attachment Defenses Questionnaire (ADQ-50): A Preliminary Examination of Reliability, Validity, and Factor Structure. J Pers Assess 2024:1-15. [PMID: 38776445 DOI: 10.1080/00223891.2024.2353142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2023] [Accepted: 04/28/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
This paper marks the initial phase in the development of the Attachment Defenses Questionnaire (ADQ-50), a self-report tool crafted to assess defense mechanisms associated with attachment processes, catering to both clinical and research contexts. Anchored in the theoretical framework of attachment theory, the ADQ posits that an individual's internalized attachment style plays a influential role in predicting their defense mechanisms. The paper outlines the comprehensive development and refinement process of the ADQ-50. In Study 1 a preliminary 176-item version of the ADQ was examined. Data was collected online drawing from participants sourced from Prolific and undergraduate students (N = 1994). Study 2 further refined the ADQ, evaluating its initial convergent validity with a diverse participant pool (N = 726), including undergraduates, Prolific contributors, general practice medical patients, and individuals from social media. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a robust ten-factor structure, resulting in a 50-item scale aligning with theoretical expectations and demonstrating good psychometric properties. Findings, limitations, strengths and future research directions are discussed. We posit that the ADQ holds great potential to deepen our comprehension of defense mechanisms linked to attachment, with wide-ranging implications for clinical practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Richardson
- School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Alissa Beath
- School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Simon Boag
- School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
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4
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Santaguida E, Bergamasco M. A perspective-based analysis of attachment from prenatal period to second year postnatal life. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1296242. [PMID: 38840732 PMCID: PMC11150629 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1296242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Attachment is one of the foundational themes in the history of the psychological development of human beings. For this reason, we assume that it must be approached by taking into account multiple scientific perspectives. The present review aims at analyzing the state of the art regarding the genetic, neurobiological and cognitive mechanisms underlying the development of attachment bonding, considering the child as the frame of reference. We hypothesize that attachment may be present in prototypical forms even in the prenatal period, thus our analysis has a temporal origin in the intrauterine period preceding birth. The intrauterine period is assumed to be a period of maximum sensitivity to stimuli and in particular to those coming from a potential primary caregiver: the biological mother. We conclude with a reframing of the state of the art and propose that future research work would benefit from a superordinate model of attachment, capable of containing and regulating all its components and variables.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica Santaguida
- Institute of Mechanical Intelligence, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy
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5
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Strøyer de Voss S, Wilson PMJ, Kirk Ertmann R, Overbeck G. Increased family psychosocial focus during children's developmental assessments: a study of parents' views. BMC Pediatr 2024; 24:335. [PMID: 38750557 PMCID: PMC11094963 DOI: 10.1186/s12887-024-04800-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Family psychosocial challenges during the early years of a child's life are associated with later mental and physical health problems for the child. An increased psychosocial focus on parents in routine child developmental assessments may therefore be justified. METHODS Participants in this qualitative study included 11 mothers and one parental couple (mother and father) with children aged 9-23 months. Participants were recruited to Project Family Wellbeing through their general practice in Denmark. Twelve interviews were conducted, transcribed and analysed with a deductive approach. The topic guide drew on the core components of the Health Belief Model, which also served as a framework for the coding that was conducted using thematic analysis. RESULTS Results are presented in four themes and 11 subthemes in total. Parents welcome discussion of their psychosocial circumstances during their child's developmental assessments. Clinicians' initiatives to address psychosocial challenges and alignment of parents' and clinicians' expectations may be required to allow this discussion. A flowing conversation, an open communication style and a trustful relationship facilitate psychosocial discussion. Barriers included short consultation time, concerns about how information was used and when parents found specific psychosocial aspects stigmatising or irrelevant to discuss. CONCLUSION Enquiry about the family's psychosocial circumstances in routine developmental assessments is acceptable among parents. Alignment of clinical and parental expectations of developmental assessments could facilitate the process. Future research should examine the predictive validity of the various components of developmental assessments. TRIAL REGISTRATION This is a qualitative study. The study participants are part of the cohort from Project Family Wellbeing (FamilieTrivsel). The project's trial registry number: NCT04129359. Registered October 16th 2019.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Strøyer de Voss
- Centre for General Practice, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5, bg. 24, opg. Q, København K, 1353, Denmark.
| | - Philip Michael John Wilson
- Centre for General Practice, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5, bg. 24, opg. Q, København K, 1353, Denmark
| | - Ruth Kirk Ertmann
- Centre for General Practice, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5, bg. 24, opg. Q, København K, 1353, Denmark
| | - Gritt Overbeck
- Centre for General Practice, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5, bg. 24, opg. Q, København K, 1353, Denmark
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Kristen A, Moretti MM, Osman F. "It opened a new door for me": A qualitative study of forcibly displaced parents' experiences of an attachment-based parenting program. Clin Child Psychol Psychiatry 2024; 29:700-712. [PMID: 37728567 PMCID: PMC10945979 DOI: 10.1177/13591045231202875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/21/2023]
Abstract
The aim of the study was to explore forcibly displaced parents' experiences of how an online attachment-based parenting program (eConnect) impacted their relationships with their teens. Data was collected from four focus group discussions with 28 parents who participated in the eConnect program. Data was analyzed using network thematic analysis. A global theme emerged from the analysis: Strengthened Parent-Teen Relationships. Four underpinning organizing themes described the process through which the parent-teen relationship was strengthened: Knowledge Served as the Foundation for Change, Increased Parental Self-Efficacy, Improved Emotional Attunement Facilitates Dyadic Affect Regulation, and Shifted Power Dynamics and Emerging Mutual Parent-Teen Partnership. Findings suggest that eConnect is promising intervention for strengthening parent-teen relationships and supporting forcibly displaced families.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Kristen
- Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Canada
| | | | - Fatumo Osman
- School of Health and Welfare, Dalarna University, Sweden
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Abramson L, Callaghan BL, Silvers JA, Choy T, VanTieghem M, Vannucci A, Fields A, Tottenham N. The effects of parental presence on amygdala and mPFC activation during fear conditioning: An exploratory study. Dev Sci 2024:e13505. [PMID: 38549194 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 04/30/2024]
Abstract
Learning safe versus dangerous cues is crucial for survival. During development, parents can influence fear learning by buffering their children's stress response and increasing exploration of potentially aversive stimuli. Rodent findings suggest that these behavioral effects are mediated through parental presence modulation of the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Here, we investigated whether similar parental modulation of amygdala and mPFC during fear learning occurs in humans. Using a within-subjects design, behavioral (final N = 48, 6-17 years, mean = 11.61, SD = 2.84, 60% females/40% males) and neuroimaging data (final N = 39, 6-17 years, mean = 12.03, SD = 2.98, 59% females/41% males) were acquired during a classical fear conditioning task, which included a CS+ followed by an aversive noise (US; 75% reinforcement rate) and a CS-. Conditioning occurred once in physical contact with the participant's parent and once alone (order counterbalanced). Region of interest analyses examined the unconditioned stress response by BOLD activation to the US (vs. implicit baseline) and learning by activation to the CS+ (vs. CS-). Results showed that during US presentation, parental presence reduced the centromedial amygdala activity, suggesting buffering of the unconditioned stress response. In response to learned stimuli, parental presence reduced mPFC activity to the CS+ (relative to the CS-), although this result did not survive multiple comparisons' correction. These preliminary findings indicate that parents modulate amygdala and mPFC activity during exposure to unconditioned and conditioned fear stimuli, potentially providing insight into the neural mechanisms by which parents act as a social buffer during fear learning. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: (1)This study used a within-participant experimental design to investigate how parental presence (vs. absence) affects youth's neural responses in a classical fear conditioning task. (2)Parental presence reduced the youth's centromedial amygdala activation to the unconditioned stimulus (US), suggesting parental buffering of the neural unconditioned response (UR). (3)Parental presence reduced the youth's mPFC activation to a conditioned threat cue (CS+) compared to a safety cue (CS-), suggesting possible parental modulation of fear learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lior Abramson
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, New York, USA
| | - Bridget L Callaghan
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Jennifer A Silvers
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Tricia Choy
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, New York, USA
| | - Michelle VanTieghem
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, New York, USA
| | - Anna Vannucci
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, New York, USA
| | - Andrea Fields
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, New York, USA
| | - Nim Tottenham
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, New York, USA
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8
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Cuyvers B, van IJzendoorn M, Bakermans-Kranenburg M, Verhaeghe J, Molenberghs G, Lafit G, Houbrechts M, Bosmans G. Oxytocin and state attachment responses to secure base support after stress in middle childhood. Attach Hum Dev 2024; 26:1-21. [PMID: 38240065 DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2024.2304874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 04/24/2024]
Abstract
We tried to replicate the finding that receiving care increases children's oxytocin and secure state attachment levels, and tested whether secure trait attachment moderates the oxytocin and state attachment response to care. 109 children (9-11 years old; M = 9.59; SD = 0.63; 34.9% boys) participated in a within-subject experiment. After stress induction (Trier Social Stress Test), children first remained alone and then received maternal secure base support. Salivary oxytocin was measured eight times. Secure trait and state attachment were measured with questionnaires, and Secure Base Script knowledge was assessed. Oxytocin levels increased after receiving secure base support from mother after having been alone. Secure state attachment changed less. Trait attachment and Secure Base Script knowledge did not moderate oxytocin or state attachment responses to support. This might mean that, regardless of the attachment history, in-the-moment positive attachment experiences might have a beneficial effect on trait attachment development in middle childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bien Cuyvers
- Clinical Psychology Research Group, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Child & Youth Institute, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Marian Bakermans-Kranenburg
- William James Center for Research, ISPA - Instituto Universitário, Lisbon, Portugal
- Department of Psychology, Personality, Social and Developmental Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Johan Verhaeghe
- Department of Development and Regeneration, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Ginette Lafit
- Methodology of Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | - Melisse Houbrechts
- Clinical Psychology Research Group, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Child & Youth Institute, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | - Guy Bosmans
- Clinical Psychology Research Group, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Child & Youth Institute, KU Leuven, Belgium
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Cavallo A, Casartelli L. Is rich behavior the solution or just a (relevant) piece of the puzzle?: Comment on "Beyond simple laboratory studies: Developing sophisticated models to study rich behavior" by Maselli, Gordon, Eluchans, Lancia, Thiery, Moretti, Cisek, and Pezzulo. Phys Life Rev 2023; 47:186-188. [PMID: 37926019 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2023.10.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Cavallo
- Move'n'Brains Lab, Department of Psychology, Università degli Studi di Torino, Italy; C'MoN Unit, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Luca Casartelli
- Theoretical and Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, Scientific Institute IRCCS E. MEDEA, Bosisio Parini (LC), Italy
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10
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Van Vlierberghe L, Diamond G, Bosmans G. Middle childhood attachment-based family therapy: Theory and model description. FAMILY PROCESS 2023; 62:1040-1054. [PMID: 37070348 DOI: 10.1111/famp.12887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2022] [Revised: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 03/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
In middle childhood, the first manifestations of mental health problems can emerge and become a precursor of mental health issues in adolescence. Given that weak parent-child attachment can contribute to this distress, it is possible that strengthening the attachment bond could reduce risk trajectory. Unfortunately, evidence-based attachment-focused interventions are lacking at this age. Attachment-based family therapy (ABFT) is a well-studied intervention for troubled adolescents and has the potential to be extended downward to children. However, ABFT for adolescents focuses on mentalization and trauma conversation strategies that may be developmentally advanced for children's capacities. Therefore, we modified the intervention strategies to be more developmentally sensitive to childhood. Middle childhood ABFT (MCABFT) builds on the theory that insecure attachment develops through a learning process that can be interrupted and reorganized to promote secure attachment development. MCABFT uses less conversation and more play and puts parents more at the center of the therapy compared with ABFT for adolescents. In this article, we describe MCABFT's theoretical and clinical model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leen Van Vlierberghe
- Clinical Psychology Research Group, KULeuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
| | - Guy Diamond
- Center for Family Intervention Science, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Guy Bosmans
- Clinical Psychology Research Group, KULeuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
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11
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Windhorst DA, Klein Velderman M, van der Pal S, de Weerth C. The effects and process of the intervention "Individual Shantala Infant Massage" in preventive child healthcare to improve parent-child interaction: study protocol for a quasi-experimental study. BMC Complement Med Ther 2023; 23:231. [PMID: 37434181 DOI: 10.1186/s12906-023-04039-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 07/13/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Individual Shantala Infant Massage is an intervention that is offered by several Dutch Preventive Child Healthcare (PCH) organizations as optional preventive support, in addition to basic care as offered to all children. It targets vulnerable families and aims to enhance sensitive parenting and to reduce (effects of) parental stress. The intervention is carried out by a certified nurse. It consists of three structured home visits. Parents learn to massage their infant and receive parenting support. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness and the process of the intervention. The main hypothesis is that Individual Shantala Infant Massage leads to increased parental sensitive responsiveness, lower perceived and physiological parental stress, and improved child growth and development in the intervention group, compared to a control group where this intervention is not offered by PCH. Secondary research questions address effects on parenting confidence and parental concerns regarding the infant, the influence of background characteristics and the intervention process. METHODS The study is a quasi-experimental non-randomized trial. The aim is to include 150 infant-parent dyads in both the intervention and the control group. This takes into account possible attrition and missing data as 105 dyads with complete data per group are sufficient for analysis. All participants complete questionnaires at T0 (pre-test, child age between six-sixteen weeks), T1 (post-intervention, or ± four weeks after T0), and T2 (follow-up at five months). At T2, a hair tuft is cut from the parents' head to measure hair cortisol levels. Data on infant growth and development is obtained from PCH files. In the intervention group, additional data is collected to evaluate the intervention process: parents complete an evaluation questionnaire at T1, nurses keep semi-structured logbooks of intervention sessions and interviews are conducted with parents and professionals. DISCUSSION Study results can contribute to the evidence base of infant massage as applied in Dutch PCH, and can inform parents, PCH practitioners, policy makers and researchers both inside and outside the Netherlands on feasibility and effectiveness of the infant massage intervention as applied in this format and setting. TRIAL REGISTRATION ISRCTN registry: ISRCTN16929184. Date (retrospectively) registered: 29/03/2022.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dafna A Windhorst
- Department of Child Health, Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research TNO, Leiden, the Netherlands.
- Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Mariska Klein Velderman
- Department of Child Health, Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research TNO, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Sylvia van der Pal
- Department of Child Health, Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research TNO, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Carolina de Weerth
- Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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12
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Smrtnik Vitulić H, Gosar D, Prosen S. Attachment and family functioning across three generations. FAMILY PROCESS 2023; 62:775-794. [PMID: 35701878 DOI: 10.1111/famp.12787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Revised: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 04/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The present study explores the transmission of attachment and family functioning across three generations. It is based on a sample of 460 female emerging adults (aged 18-26), their mothers (N = 440), fathers (N = 368), maternal grandmothers (N = 224), and maternal grandfathers (N = 113). Participants self-assessed their attachment anxiety and avoidance using the Relationship Style Questionnaire and evaluated the functioning of their families of origin using the Family Adaptation and Cohesion Scale-IV. The results reveal two mechanisms, both of which have a small but significant effect on the development of attachment across generations. The first operates via direct trans-generational transmission of attachment from parent to child, mainly involving the mother-child dyad, while the second operates through primary family functioning, especially balanced family cohesion, but also enmeshment and chaos in the case of attachment avoidance. The findings highlight the importance of including content related to attachment and family functioning in intervention programs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - David Gosar
- Department of Child, Adolescent and Developmental Neurology, University Children's Hospital, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Simona Prosen
- Faculty of Education, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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13
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Verhage ML, Tharner A, Duschinsky R, Bosmans G, Fearon RMP. Editorial Perspective: On the need for clarity about attachment terminology. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2023; 64:839-843. [PMID: 35916428 PMCID: PMC10953320 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Part of the appeal of attachment language is that it feels near to our everyday experience, as terms like 'attachment', 'security' or 'disorganisation' feel readily recognisable. Yet, not one of these terms is used by academic attachment researchers in line with ordinary language. This has hindered the evidence-based use of attachment in practice, the feedback loop from practice to research and the dialogue between attachment researchers in developmental psychology and in social psychology. This paper pinpoints the difficulties arising from the existence of multiple versions of 'attachment theory' that use exactly the same terms, held by communities that assume that they are referring to the same thing and with little infrastructure to help them discover otherwise. When we talk past one another, the different communities with a stake in knowledge of attachment are obstructed from genuinely learning from one another, drawing on their respective strengths and pursuing collaborations. One factor contributing to this situation has been the use of attachment terminology with technical meanings, but often without setting out clear definitions. We here introduce a guide to attachment terminology used by the academic community, which has recently been published on the website of the Society for Emotion and Attachment Studies. The guide is meant for researchers, clinicians and everyone concerned with attachment to increase understanding of the technical meaning of important terminology used by researchers, and support the quality of discussions between researchers, and between researchers and clinicians and other publics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marije L. Verhage
- Clinical Child and Family StudiesVrije Universiteit AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands
- Amsterdam Public Health Research InstituteAmsterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Anne Tharner
- Clinical Child and Family StudiesVrije Universiteit AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands
- Amsterdam Public Health Research InstituteAmsterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Robbie Duschinsky
- Department of Public Health and Primary CareUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
| | | | - R. M. Pasco Fearon
- Centre for Family Research, Department of PsychologyUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
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14
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Camerman E, Scheveneels S, Bosmans G. In safe hands: Attachment figures' safety properties and the link with attachment style. Behav Res Ther 2023; 163:104274. [PMID: 36803742 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2023.104274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2022] [Revised: 01/25/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023]
Abstract
According to the Learning Theory of Attachment, naturalistic learning experiences about others' responsiveness during distress are an underlying mechanism in the development of attachment. Previous studies have demonstrated attachment figures' unique safety-inducing effects in highly controlled conditioning procedures. Yet, neither have studies examined the presumed influence of safety learning on state attachment, nor have they examined how attachment figures' safety-inducing effects relate to attachment styles. To address these gaps, a differential fear conditioning paradigm was used in which pictures of participants' attachment figure and two control stimuli served as safety cues (CS-). US-expectancy and distress ratings were measured as indicators of fear responding. Results indicate that attachment figures evoked enhanced safety responding compared to control safety cues at the start of acquisition, which was maintained throughout acquisition and when presented together with a danger cue. Attachment figures' safety-inducing effects were reduced in individuals with higher attachment avoidance, although attachment style did not affect the rate of new safety learning. Finally, safe experiences with the attachment figure in the fear conditioning procedure resulted in diminished anxious state attachment. Adding to previous work, these findings underscore the importance of learning processes for attachment development and attachment figures' provision of safety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eline Camerman
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Sara Scheveneels
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Guy Bosmans
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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15
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Becske M, Lázár I, Bódizs R. A questionnaire measure of adult attachment anxiety correlates with frontal hemispheric asymmetry in sleep spindle activity. Sleep Biol Rhythms 2023; 21:155-163. [PMID: 38469282 PMCID: PMC10899928 DOI: 10.1007/s41105-022-00426-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Subjects with high levels of attachment anxiety and neuroticism were proposed to be characterized by higher relative right rather than left frontal activity. Since sleep spindles are argued to reflect enhanced offline neuroplasticity, higher spindle activity measured over the right frontal areas relative to the corresponding left frontal ones could index higher attachment anxiety and neuroticism. Our aim was to explore the relationship between the lateralization patterns of frontally dominant slow sleep spindles and questionnaire measures of adult attachment anxiety and neuroticism. Thirty-four healthy subjects (male = 19; Mage = 31.64; SDage = 9.5) were enrolled in our preliminary study. Second night EEG/polysomnography records and questionnaire measures of personality (Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire) and adult attachment (Relationship Scales Questionnaire) were collected. Frontal slow sleep spindles were measured by the Individual Adjustment Method (IAM), whereas hemispheric asymmetry indexes of spindle occurrence rate, duration, and amplitude were derived as normalized left-right differences (electrode pairs: Fp1-Fp2, F3-F4, and F7-F8). Relative right lateralization of frontolateral and frontopolar slow sleep spindle density and mid-frontal slow spindle duration were associated with attachment anxiety, but spindle lateralization was less closely related to neuroticism. The relationships between frontal slow spindle laterality and attachment anxiety remained statistically significant even after controlling for the effect of neuroticism, whereas attachment avoidance-independence was not correlated with frontal slow spindle lateralization. Right frontal lateralization of slow sleep spindle activity might indicate attachment status in terms of the negative view of the self. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s41105-022-00426-0.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melinda Becske
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
- Institute of Behavioural Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Imre Lázár
- Institute of Behavioural Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
- Institute of Social and Communication Sciences, Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Róbert Bódizs
- Institute of Behavioural Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
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16
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Jiang Y, Xiao H, Yang F. Accompanying your children: Living without parents at different stages of pre-adulthood and individual physical and mental health in adulthood. Front Public Health 2023; 11:992539. [PMID: 36992894 PMCID: PMC10040656 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.992539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/14/2023] Open
Abstract
ObjectivesThis study examined how living without parents at different stages of childhood and adolescence affects physical and mental health in adulthood.MethodsThe data came from 3,464 survey respondents aged 18–36 in the 2018 China Labor-Force Dynamics Survey. Physical health was self-rated. Mental health was measured by the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale. The ordered probit and ordinary least-squares regression analyses were employed to determine the associations between growing up without parents at different stages in pre-adulthood and individual physical and mental health in adulthood.ResultsIndividuals who did not live with their parents during their minor years were more likely to report worse physical and mental health in adulthood, compared to those who lived with their parents. This difference was heterogeneous among different age stages and genders.ConclusionsAbsence of parents in the household has long-term impacts on the physical and mental health of children in adulthood, especially for females. The government should make feasible institutional arrangements to avoid the separation of minor children from their parents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yao Jiang
- Department of Demography, Zhou Enlai School of Government, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
| | - Hanling Xiao
- Department of Labor and Social Security, School of Public Administration, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Fan Yang
- Department of Labor and Social Security, School of Public Administration, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- *Correspondence: Fan Yang
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17
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Houbrechts M, Cuyvers B, Goossens L, Bijttebier P, Bröhl AS, Calders F, Chubar V, Claes S, Geukens F, Van Leeuwen K, Noortgate WVD, Weyn S, Bosmans G. Parental support and insecure attachment development: the cortisol stress response as a moderator. Attach Hum Dev 2023; 25:104-116. [PMID: 33871320 DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2021.1907968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
The current study investigated whether variations at the level of the cortisol stress response moderate the association between parental support and attachment development. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a one-year longitudinal study with two waves in which 101 children (56% girls, Mage = 11.15, SDage = 0.70) participated. Attachment anxiety and avoidance were measured at baseline (Wave 1) and one year later (Wave 2). Parental support and children's cortisol stress response during the Trier Social Stress Test were measured at Wave 2. Children's cortisol stress response was found to moderate the association between parental support and relative change in anxious attachment. A strong cortisol stress response weakened the associated between parental support and relative change in anxious attachment. No moderation effects were found for relative change in avoidant attachment.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Houbrechts
- Clinical Psychology Research Group, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
| | - B Cuyvers
- Clinical Psychology Research Group, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
| | - L Goossens
- School Psychology and Development in Context Research Unit, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
| | - P Bijttebier
- School Psychology and Development in Context Research Unit, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
| | - A S Bröhl
- School Psychology and Development in Context Research Unit, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
| | - F Calders
- Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
| | - V Chubar
- KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
| | - S Claes
- KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
| | - F Geukens
- School Psychology and Development in Context Research Unit, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
| | - K Van Leeuwen
- Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
| | - W Van Den Noortgate
- Methodology of Educational Sciences Research Group, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium.,imec-ITEC, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Kortrijk, Belgium
| | - S Weyn
- School Psychology and Development in Context Research Unit, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
| | - G Bosmans
- Clinical Psychology Research Group, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
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18
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Merrill SM, Gladish N, Fu MP, Moore SR, Konwar C, Giesbrecht GF, MacIssac JL, Kobor MS, Letourneau NL. Associations of peripheral blood DNA methylation and estimated monocyte proportion differences during infancy with toddler attachment style. Attach Hum Dev 2023; 25:132-161. [PMID: 34196256 DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2021.1938872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Attachment is a motivational system promoting felt security to a caregiver resulting in a persistent internal working model of interpersonal behavior. Attachment styles are developed in early social environments and predict future health and development outcomes with potential biological signatures, such as epigenetic modifications like DNA methylation (DNAm). Thus, we hypothesized infant DNAm would associate with toddler attachment styles. An epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) of blood DNAm from 3-month-old infants was regressed onto children's attachment style from the Strange Situation Procedure at 22-months at multiple DNAm Cytosine-phosphate-Guanine (CpG) sites. The 26 identified CpGs associated with proinflammatory immune phenotypes and cognitive development. In post-hoc analyses, only maternal cognitive-growth fostering, encouraging intellectual exploration, contributed. For disorganized children, DNAm-derived cell-type proportions estimated higher monocytes -cells in immune responses hypothesized to increase with early adversity. Collectively, these findings suggested the potential biological embedding of both adverse and advantageous social environments as early as 3-months-old.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah M Merrill
- BC Children's Hospital Research Institute Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.,Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Nicole Gladish
- BC Children's Hospital Research Institute Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.,Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Maggie P Fu
- BC Children's Hospital Research Institute Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.,Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Sarah R Moore
- BC Children's Hospital Research Institute Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.,Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Chaini Konwar
- BC Children's Hospital Research Institute Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.,Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Gerald F Giesbrecht
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.,Owerko Centre at the Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Julia L MacIssac
- BC Children's Hospital Research Institute Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.,Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Michael S Kobor
- BC Children's Hospital Research Institute Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.,Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Vancouver, Canada.,Program in Child and Brain Development, CIFAR, Toronto, Canada
| | - Nicole L Letourneau
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.,Owerko Centre at the Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.,Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
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19
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Abstract
This introduction aims to set out the potential as well as some of the pitfalls of the newly emerging area of the Social Neuroscience of Human Attachment (SoNeAt). To organize and interconnect the burgeoning empirical studies in this line of research, including those in this special issue, we outline a programmatic framework including an extension of our conceptual proposals NAMA and NAMDA to guide future research. We hope that this special issue will act as a stimulus for redoubling our efforts advancing the newly emerging SoNeAt area bridging attachment theory and social neuroscience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lars White
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Melanie Kungl
- Department of Psychology, Friedrich-Alexander-University, Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany
| | - Pascal Vrticka
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, UK
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20
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Improving parenting, child attachment, and externalizing behaviors: Meta-analysis of the first 25 randomized controlled trials on the effects of Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline. Dev Psychopathol 2023; 35:241-256. [PMID: 35034668 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579421001462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Improving parenting, child attachment, and externalizing behaviors: Meta-analysis of the first 25 randomized controlled trials on the effects of Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP-SD). VIPP-SD combines support of parental sensitive responsiveness with coaching parents in sensitive limit setting. Here, we present meta-analyses of 25 RCTs conducted with more than 2,000 parents and caregivers. Parents or children had various risks. We examined its effectiveness in promoting parental cognitions and behavior regarding sensitive parenting and limit setting, in promoting secure child-parent attachment, and reducing externalizing child behavior. Web of Science, MEDLINE, PubMed, and recent reviews were searched for relevant trials (until May 10, 2021). Multilevel meta-analysis with META, METAFOR, and DMETAR in R took account of the 3-level structure of the datasets (studies, participants, measures). The meta-analyses showed substantial combined effect sizes for parenting behavior (r = .18) and attitudes (r = .16), and for child attachment security (r = .23), but not for child externalizing behavior (r = .07). In the subset of studies examining effects on both parenting and attachment, the association between effect sizes for parenting and for attachment amounted to r = .48. We consider the way in which VIPP-SD uses video-feedback an active intervention component. Whether VIPP-SD indeed stimulates secure attachment through enhanced positive parenting remains an outstanding question for further experimental study and individual participant data meta-analysis.
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21
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Rifkin-Graboi A, Tsotsi S, Syazwana N, Stephenson MC, Sim LW, Lee K. Variation in maternal sensitivity and the development of memory biases in preschoolers. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17:1093619. [PMID: 36873774 PMCID: PMC9978004 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1093619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Links between maternal sensitivity, hippocampal development, and memory abilities suggests early life insensitive care may shape structures and schemas influencing future decisions and stress management, biasing children to negative information. While it is possible that this pattern of neurodevelopment may have adaptive consequences, for example, preventing children from encountering untoward experience with future adversity, it may also leave some children at risk for the development of internalizing problems. Methods Here, in a Two Wave Study, we examine whether insensitive care predicts sub sequentially assessed memory biases for threatening (but not happy) stimuli in preschoolers (n = 49), and if such relations cut across different forms of relational memory, i.e., memory for relations between two "items," between an "item" and its spatial location, and an "item" and its temporal sequence. In a subset (n = 18) we also examine links between caregiving, memory, and hippocampal subregion volume. Results Results indicate no main or interactive influence of gender on relational memory. However, insensitive caregiving predicted the difference between Angry and Happy memory during the Item-Space condition (B = 2.451, se = 0.969, p = 0.014, 95% CI (0.572, 4.340)], as well as memory for Angry (but not Happy) items [B = -2.203, se = 0.551, p < 0.001, 95% CI (-3.264,-1.094)]. Memory for the difference between Angry and Happy stimuli in the Space condition associated with larger right hippocampal body volumes (Rho = 0.639, p = 0.004). No relations were observed with internalizing problems. Discussion Results are discussed with reference to developmental stage and in consideration of whether negative biases may serve as an intermediate factor linking early life insensitive care and later socioemotional problems including an increased incidence of internalizing disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Rifkin-Graboi
- Office of Educational Research, Centre for Research in Child Development, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Stella Tsotsi
- PROMENTA Research Centre, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Nadhrah Syazwana
- Office of Educational Research, Centre for Research in Child Development, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Mary C Stephenson
- Centre for Translational MR Research, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Lit Wee Sim
- Office of Educational Research, Centre for Research in Child Development, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Kerry Lee
- Centre for Educational and Developmental Sciences, Department of Early Childhood Education, Faculty of Education and Human Development, Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
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22
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Carter CS. Sex, love and oxytocin: Two metaphors and a molecule. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 143:104948. [PMID: 36347382 PMCID: PMC9759207 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Revised: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Dozens of studies, most conducted in the last four decades, have implicated oxytocin, as well as vasopressin and their receptors, in processes that mediate selective sociality and the consequences of early experience. Oxytocin is critical for the capacity to experience emotional safety and healthy sexuality. Oxytocin also plays a central role in almost every aspect of physical and mental health, including the coordination of sociality and loving relationships with physiological reactions to challenges across the lifespan. Species, including prairie voles, that share with humans the capacity for selective social bonds have been a particularly rich source of insights into the behavioral importance of peptides. The purpose of this historical review is to describe the discovery of a central role for oxytocin in behavioral interactions associated with love, and in the capacity to use sociality to anticipate and cope with challenges across the lifespan - a process that here is called "sociostasis."
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Affiliation(s)
- C Sue Carter
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA; Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
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23
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Lindblom J, Bosmans G. Attachment and brooding rumination during children's transition to adolescence: the moderating role of effortful control. Attach Hum Dev 2022; 24:690-711. [PMID: 35536544 DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2022.2071953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Brooding rumination is a maladaptive form of emotion regulation and confers a risk for psychopathology. Insecure attachment and low cognitive self-regulation are important antecedents of brooding. Yet, little is known about the developmental interplay between these two systems. Thus, we tested how children's attachment and cognitive self-regulation, conceptualized as effortful control (EC), interact to predict brooding. The participants in the three-wave longitudinal study were n = 157 children (10 to 14 years) and their mothers. Children reported their attachment and brooding, and mothers reported children's EC. Results showed that children with low avoidance received benefit from high EC to decrease brooding, whereas children with high anxiety brooded irrespective of EC. Thus, high EC may foster constructive emotion regulation among securely attached children, whereas the beneficial effects of high EC on emotional functioning seem to be overridden by insecurity. The functional role of cognitive self-regulation on different attachment strategies is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jallu Lindblom
- Clinical Psychology,KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Guy Bosmans
- Clinical Psychology,KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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24
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Qiu Y, Dou H, Dai Y, Li H, Lei Y. The influence of being left behind on fear acquisition and academic performance—a study of left-behind children. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03914-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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25
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Tammilehto J, Bosmans G, Kuppens P, Flykt M, Peltonen K, Kerns KA, Lindblom J. Dynamics of attachment and emotion regulation in daily life: uni- and bidirectional associations. Cogn Emot 2022; 36:1109-1131. [PMID: 35674671 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2022.2081534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Attachment theory proposes that the activation of the attachment system enacts emotion regulation (ER) to maintain security or cope with insecurity. However, the effects of ER on attachment states and their bidirectional influences remain poorly understood. In this ecological momentary assessment study, we examined the dynamics between attachment and ER. We hypothesised that attachment states and ER influence each other through time. Specifically, we hypothesised bidirectional short-term cycles between state attachment security and reappraisal, state attachment anxiety and rumination, and state attachment avoidance and suppression. We also tested how trait attachment is related to state attachment and ER. One hundred twenty-two participants (Mage = 26.4) completed the Experiences in Close Relationship-Revised and reported state attachment and ER seven times daily for seven days. The results were only partly consistent with our cycle hypotheses yet revealed a cycle between low state attachment security and rumination that was attenuated by reappraisal. Moreover, rumination and suppression predicted increased insecure states, and reappraisal predicted increased secure and insecure states. Finally, trait attachment showed associations with state attachment and ER. Our study suggests regulatory dynamics between attachment and ER and opens important questions about their functional relationship in maintaining attachment-related behavioural patterns and emotional well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaakko Tammilehto
- Faculty of Social Sciences / Psychology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Guy Bosmans
- Clinical Psychology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Peter Kuppens
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Marjo Flykt
- Faculty of Social Sciences / Psychology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.,Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Kirsi Peltonen
- Research Center for Child Psychiatry, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.,INVEST Research Flagship Center, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Kathryn A Kerns
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
| | - Jallu Lindblom
- Faculty of Social Sciences / Psychology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.,Clinical Psychology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
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26
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Boddez Y, Van Dessel P, De Houwer J. Learned helplessness and its relevance for psychological suffering: a new perspective illustrated with attachment problems, burn-out, and fatigue complaints. Cogn Emot 2022; 36:1027-1036. [PMID: 36107793 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2022.2118239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
We develop a new perspective on various forms of psychological suffering - including attachment issues, burn-out, and fatigue complaints - by drawing on the construct of learned helplessness. We conceptualise learned helplessness in operant terms as the behavioural effects of a lack of reinforcement and in goal-directed terms as the dysregulation of goal-directed behaviour. Our central claim is that if one fails to reach a goal (e.g. the goal to secure a job), then not only this goal but also other related goals (e.g. the goal to maintain social relationships) may lose their motivating effects. The similarity relation between goal stimuli can therefore shed light on how failure in one life domain can come to affect various other life domains. We detail the relation between our proposal and existing theories and discuss new research and clinical directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yannick Boddez
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.,Center for the Psychology of Learning and Experimental Psychopathology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Pieter Van Dessel
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Jan De Houwer
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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27
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Jugovac S, O'Kearney R, Hawes DJ, Pasalich DS. Attachment- and Emotion-Focused Parenting Interventions for Child and Adolescent Externalizing and Internalizing Behaviors: A Meta-Analysis. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 2022; 25:754-773. [PMID: 35680711 PMCID: PMC9622525 DOI: 10.1007/s10567-022-00401-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Attachment- and emotion-focused parenting interventions (AE) have grown in popularity as an alternative to behavioral parent training (BPT) for children and adolescents. AE go beneath behavior by helping parents understand and respond to their child’s underlying attachment and emotional needs. Past reviews have examined their effects on attachment security and caregiver sensitivity, though less is known regarding their effects on child mental health symptoms. Reported here is the first systematic review and meta-analysis of individual and group AE on externalizing behavior (EXT) and internalizing behavior (INT) for children aged 0–18 years. A search of four databases prior to July 2021 elicited 43 studies that met eligibility criteria. Meta-analysis revealed that AE were superior to waitlist controls for EXT (SMD = − 0.17) and INT (SMD = − 0.34). Effects were sustained at follow-up periods of 6 months and greater, and AE considered to target child mental health were significantly more effective than those that did not in reducing EXT and INT. Two studies retrieved directly compared AE to BPT, which showed no evidence of a difference for follow-up measures of EXT. No studies compared AE to BPT on INT. AE demonstrated no evidence of superiority compared to controls for parent mental health. Findings support the potential for AE to reduce EXT and INT in children and adolescents; however, future research should consider the relative effectiveness of AE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha Jugovac
- Research School of Psychology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
| | - Richard O'Kearney
- Research School of Psychology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - David J Hawes
- School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Dave S Pasalich
- Research School of Psychology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
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28
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Chen L, Du H, Zilioli S, Zhao S, Chi P. Effects of parental care and overprotection on adolescents' diurnal cortisol profiles. Horm Behav 2022; 140:105121. [PMID: 35081488 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2022.105121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Revised: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Parental bonding is a strong determinant of children's health. One of the proposed pathways through which parenting impacts children's health is by altering the functioning of stress response systems. The current study aims to investigate the associations between two types of parental bonding (care and overprotection) and functioning of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis (i.e., diurnal cortisol secretion) in a sample of 255 healthy adolescents (46.3% girls; aged 11-14 years). Participants completed the Parental Bonding Instrument and provided eight cortisol samples across two consecutive days to assess patterns of diurnal cortisol secretion. Multilevel modeling and multiple linear regression were utilized to test the main effects and interactive effects of parental care and overprotection on adolescents' wakeup cortisol, cortisol awakening response, cortisol slope, and total cortisol secretion. Results showed that parental care was associated with higher cortisol levels at awakening, while parental overprotection was associated with lower cortisol levels at awakening. Parental overprotection, but not parental care, was associated with flatter cortisol slopes. No interactive effects between parental care and overprotection on cortisol parameters emerged. The current findings add to the existing literature on parenting behavior and HPA functioning by showing that parental care and overprotection differently regulated daily cortisol parameters implicated in health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lihua Chen
- Higher Education Research Institute, Shantou University, China; Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau, China
| | - Hongfei Du
- Institute of Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai, China
| | - Samuele Zilioli
- Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, United States of America; Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University, United States of America
| | - Shan Zhao
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, China
| | - Peilian Chi
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau, China; Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Institute of Collaborative Innovation, University of Macau, China.
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Hornstra R, Dekkers TJ, Bosmans G, van den Hoofdakker B, van der Oord S. Attachment Representation Moderates the Effectiveness of Behavioral Parent Training Techniques for Children with ADHD: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Microtrial. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol 2022; 50:1151-1164. [PMID: 35362776 PMCID: PMC9525431 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-022-00921-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Behavioral parent training is an evidence-based intervention for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but knowledge on the differential effects of behavioral techniques for specific subgroups of children is very limited. Attachment representations of children with ADHD may affect how receptive children are to changes in parenting. In this study, we investigated whether specific behavioral techniques were more or less effective for children with ADHD in relation to their attachment representations. We included parents of 74 children with ADHD (4-11 years, M = 8.15) who took part in a larger randomized controlled microtrial in which they were randomized to a two session training in antecedent-based techniques (i.e., stimulus control techniques: rules, instructions; n = 26), a two session training in consequent-based techniques (i.e., contingency management techniques: praise, rewards, ignoring; n = 25) or a waitlist control condition (n = 23). We examined whether attachment representation moderated the effectiveness of a) training versus waitlist, and b) antecedent- versus consequent-based techniques. Attachment representations were measured with a story stem task, the intervention outcome was daily parent-rated problem behaviors of the children. Attachment representation did not moderate the effects of the training compared to the waitlist. However, compared to antecedent-based techniques, consequent-based techniques were less effective for more securely and less disorganized attached children, and particularly effective for more disorganized attached children. This was the first study examining attachment as a moderator of behavioral techniques for ADHD. If replicated, the findings of this study can be used for treatment development and tailoring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rianne Hornstra
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.
- Accare Child Study Center, Groningen, the Netherlands.
| | - Tycho J Dekkers
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
- Accare Child Study Center, Groningen, the Netherlands
- Academic Center for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Levvel, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Amsterdam University Medical Center (AUMC), Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Guy Bosmans
- Department of Clinical Psychology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Barbara van den Hoofdakker
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
- Accare Child Study Center, Groningen, the Netherlands
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Saskia van der Oord
- Department of Clinical Psychology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Brain Institute, Leuven, Belgium
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30
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Dou H, Dai Y, Qiu Y, Lei Y. Attachment voices promote safety learning in humans: A critical role for P2. Psychophysiology 2022; 59:e13997. [PMID: 35244973 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2020] [Revised: 11/20/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Humans have evolved to seek the proximity of attachment figures during times of threat in order to obtain a sense of safety. In this context, we examined whether or not the voice of an intimate partner (termed "attachment voice") could reduce fear-learning of conditioned stimuli (CS+) and enhance learning of safety signals (CS-). Although the ability to learn safety signals is vital for human survival, few studies have explored how attachment voices affect safety learning. To test our hypothesis, we recruited thirty-five young couples and performed a classic Pavlovian conditioning experiment, recording behavioral and electroencephalographic (EEG) data. The results showed that compared with a stranger's voice, the voices of the partners reduced expectancy of the unconditioned stimulus (a shock) during fear-conditioning, as well as the magnitude of P2 event-related potentials within the EEG responses, provided the voices were safety signals. Additionally, behavioral and EEG responses to the CS+ and CS- differed more when the participants heard their partner's voice than when they heard the stranger's voice. Thus, attachment voices, even as pure vowel sounds without any semantic information, enhanced acquisition of conditioned safety (CS-). These findings may provide implications for investigating other new techniques to improve clinical treatments for fear- and anxiety-related disorders and for psychological interventions against the mental health effects of the public health emergency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haoran Dou
- Institute for Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China.,Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.,College of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yuqian Dai
- College of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yiwen Qiu
- College of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yi Lei
- Institute for Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
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31
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Carter CS. Oxytocin and love: Myths, metaphors and mysteries. COMPREHENSIVE PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY 2022; 9:100107. [PMID: 35755926 PMCID: PMC9216351 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpnec.2021.100107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Oxytocin is a peptide molecule with a multitude of physiological and behavioral functions. Based on its association with reproduction - including social bonding, sexual behavior, birth and maternal behavior - oxytocin also has been called “the love hormone.” This essay specifically examines association and parallels between oxytocin and love. However, many myths and gaps in knowledge remain concerning both. A few of these are described here and we hypothesize that the potential benefits of both love and oxytocin may be better understood in light of interactions with more ancient systems, including specifically vasopressin and the immune system. Oxytocin is anti-inflammatory and is associated with recently evolved, social solutions to a variety of challenges necessary for mammalian survival and reproduction. The shared functions of oxytocin and love have profound implications for health and longevity, including the prevention and treatment of excess inflammation and related disorders, especially those occurring in early life and during periods of chronic threat or disease. Oxytocin is a peptide molecule with functions that support a sense of safety, sociality, as well as survival and reproduction. Oxytocin is associated with social and neuroimmune solutions to chronic stress. The related, but more primitive, peptide vasopressin supports more individualistic survival strategies. Controversies and myths surround the properties of oxytocin and love.
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32
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Bosmans G, Borelli JL. Attachment and the Development of Psychopathology: Introduction to the Special Issue. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12020174. [PMID: 35203937 PMCID: PMC8870158 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12020174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2022] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
When Bowlby [...]
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Affiliation(s)
- Guy Bosmans
- Clinical Psychology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
- Correspondence:
| | - Jessica L. Borelli
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92617, USA;
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Abstract
Abstract
The current study explored dynamics of secure state attachment expectations in everyday life in middle childhood, specifically state attachment carry-over and reactivity to experiences of caregiver support in the context of stress. In two independent samples (one community sample, N = 123; one adoption sample, N = 69), children (8–12 years) daily reported on their state attachment for respectively 14 and 7 consecutive days. Additionally, they reported daily on their experiences of distress and subsequent experiences of caregiver support. Results in both samples indicated that secure state attachment on a day-to-day basis is characterized by a significant positive carry-over effect, suggesting that state attachment fluctuations are (partially) self-predictive. In Study 1, experiencing no support following distress significantly related to intraindividual decreases in secure state attachment; in Study 2, experiencing effective support during distress related to intra-individual increases in secure state attachment. Taken together, the current studies provide novel and important insights into how state attachment temporally evolves on a day-to-day basis in middle childhood.
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34
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Variation in differential reactions to comfort by parents versus strangers in children with severe or profound intellectual disabilities: the role of parental sensitivity and motor competence. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-021-02501-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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35
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Bosmans G, Van Vlierberghe L, Bakermans-Kranenburg MJ, Kobak R, Hermans D, van IJzendoorn MH. A Learning Theory Approach to Attachment Theory: Exploring Clinical Applications. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 2022; 25:591-612. [PMID: 35098428 PMCID: PMC8801239 DOI: 10.1007/s10567-021-00377-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/28/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Although clinicians typically acknowledge the importance of insecure attachment as one factor that can contribute to children's psychopathology, translating attachment theory into clinical practice has proved a challenge. By specifying some of the mechanisms through which the child's attachment develops and changes, learning theory can enhance attachment based approaches to therapy. Specifically, interventions building on operant (parent management training) and classical (exposure therapy) learning can be used to stimulate new learning that increases the child's security and confidence in the parent's availability and responsiveness. To explore the clinical application and utility of a Learning Theory of Attachment (LTA), we focus on two attachment-focused interventions: Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP-SD) and Middle Childhood Attachment-based Family Therapy (MCAT). VIPP-SD is an evidence-based parent management training designed to promote sensitive parenting and secure attachment in early childhood. MCAT is a recently developed intervention that uses exposure to stimulate secure attachment in middle childhood. LTA sheds light on the mechanisms set in train by VIPP-SD and MCAT facilitating the induction of professionals in clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guy Bosmans
- Clinical Psychology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
| | | | | | - Roger Kobak
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, USA
| | - Dirk Hermans
- Centre for Psychology of Learning and Experimental Psychopathology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Marinus H van IJzendoorn
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
- Research Department of Clinical, Education and Health Psychology, Faculty of Brain Sciences, UCL, London, UK
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36
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Attachment Representations in Children with and without Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11111516. [PMID: 34827515 PMCID: PMC8615467 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11111516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children is associated with several adverse family characteristics, such as higher parenting stress, more conflicted parent–child relationships, lower parental competence, and higher levels of parental psychopathology. Hence, children with ADHD more often grow up under suboptimal circumstances, which may impact the development of their attachment representations. Here, we investigated whether children with ADHD have more insecure and disorganized attachment representations than their typically developing peers, and which factors could explain this association. We included 104 children between 4 and 11 years old, 74 with ADHD (without Conduct Disorder) and 30 typically developing control children. Children completed a state-of-the-art story stem task to assess their attachment representation, and we measured parents’ expressed emotion (as an index of parent–child relationship quality), parents’ perceived sense of competence, parental education levels, and parent-rated ODD symptoms of the child. We found that, after controlling for multiple comparisons, children with ADHD had less secure and more ambivalent and disorganized attachment representations relative to their typically developing peers. These group differences were independent of comorbid ODD and parental education levels. There were no group differences on avoidant attachment representations. Explorative analyses within the ADHD group showed that attachment representations were not related to parent–child relationship quality, perceived parenting competence, parental education levels, and comorbid ODD symptoms. We conclude that children with ADHD disproportionately often have attachment problems. Although this conclusion is important, treatment implications of this co-occurrence are yet unclear as research on ADHD and attachment is still in its infancy.
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37
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State Attachment Variability: Between- and within-Person Level Associations with Trait Attachment and Psychological Problems. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11101264. [PMID: 34679330 PMCID: PMC8533933 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11101264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Revised: 09/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Research suggests that inter-individual differences in the degree of state attachment variability are related to differences in trait attachment and psychological problems between children. In this study, we tested whether such associations are also relevant at a within-person level, and if so, whether intra-individual fluctuations in the degree of variability were predictive of or predicted by intra-individual fluctuations in trait attachment and psychological problems. Children (N = 152; Mage = 10.41 years, SDage = 0.60 at time 1) were tested three times over a period of one year. At each timepoint, children reported on their expectations of maternal support in different distressing situations. Additionally, we administered measures of trait attachment to children and psychological problems to children and their mothers. We used Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Models to distinguish between-person from within-person associations between these constructs over time. The results revealed that the degree of state attachment variability was mainly relevant to understand differences between children in trait attachment and psychological problems: children who overall showed more state attachment variability were overall less securely attached at a trait-level and reported more psychological problems. Although evidence for within-person associations was less robust, there was some indication that the degree of state attachment variability might be related to the development of trust and psychological problems at a within-person level.
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38
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Verhees MWFT, Finet C, Vandesande S, Bastin M, Bijttebier P, Bodner N, Van Aswegen T, Van de Walle M, Bosmans G. Attachment and the Development of Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence: The Role of Regulating Positive and Negative Affect. J Youth Adolesc 2021; 50:1649-1662. [PMID: 33797009 PMCID: PMC8270806 DOI: 10.1007/s10964-021-01426-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2021] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Although widely accepted, attachment theory's hypothesis that insecure attachment is associated with the development of depressive symptoms through emotion regulation strategies has never been longitudinally tested in adolescence. Additionally, previous research only focused on strategies for regulating negative affect, whereas strategies for regulating positive affect may also serve as a mechanism linking insecure attachment to depressive symptoms. This study aimed to fill these research gaps by testing whether the association between attachment and change in depressive symptoms over time is explained by strategies for regulating negative and positive affect in adolescence. Adolescents (N = 1706; 53% girls; Mage = 12.78 years, SDage = 1.54 at Time 1) were tested three times, with a 1-year interval between measurement times. They reported on their attachment anxiety and avoidance at Time 1, depressive symptoms at Times 1 and 3, and regulation of negative affect (brooding and dampening) and positive affect (focusing and reflection) at Time 2. The results from multiple mediation analyses showed that more anxiously attached adolescents developed more depressive symptoms via increased brooding and dampening. More avoidantly attached adolescents developed more depressive symptoms via decreased focusing. These findings provide longitudinal support for attachment theory's emotion regulation hypothesis, and show that the regulation of both negative and positive affect is important.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martine W F T Verhees
- Clinical Psychology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
- Clinical Child and Family Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Chloë Finet
- Clinical Psychology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- School Psychology and Development in Context, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Margot Bastin
- School Psychology and Development in Context, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Nadja Bodner
- Quantitative Psychology and Individual Differences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Tanya Van Aswegen
- Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
- Clinical Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | - Guy Bosmans
- Clinical Psychology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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39
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Potter-Dickey A, Letourneau N, Silveira PP, Ntanda H, Giesbrecht GF, Hart M, Dewell S, de Koning APJ. Associations Among Parental Caregiving Quality, Cannabinoid Receptor 1 Expression-Based Polygenic Scores, and Infant-Parent Attachment: Evidence for Differential Genetic Susceptibility? Front Neurosci 2021; 15:704392. [PMID: 34385904 PMCID: PMC8353245 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.704392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Attachment is a biological evolutionary system contributing to infant survival. When primary caregivers/parents are sensitive and responsive to their infants’ needs, infants develop a sense of security. Secure infant attachment has been linked to healthy brain and organ-system development. Belsky and colleagues proposed the term differential susceptibility to describe context-dependent associations between genetic variations and behavioral outcomes as a function of parenting environments. Variations in the Cannabinoid Receptor Gene 1 (CNR1) are associated with memory, mood, and reward and connote differential susceptibility to more and less optimal parental caregiving quality in predicting children’s behavioral problems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nicole Letourneau
- Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.,Owerko Centre, Child Development Centre, Department of Pediatrics, Cumming School of Medicine, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.,Department Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Patricia P Silveira
- Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Henry Ntanda
- Owerko Centre, Child Development Centre, Department of Pediatrics, Cumming School of Medicine, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Gerald F Giesbrecht
- Owerko Centre, Child Development Centre, Department of Pediatrics, Cumming School of Medicine, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.,Department Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Martha Hart
- Owerko Centre, Child Development Centre, Department of Pediatrics, Cumming School of Medicine, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Sarah Dewell
- Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.,School of Nursing, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC, Canada
| | - A P Jason de Koning
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.,Department of Medical Genetics, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
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40
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Herpers PCM, Neumann JEC, Staal WG. Treatment Refractory Internalizing Behaviour Across Disorders: An Aetiological Model for Severe Emotion Dysregulation in Adolescence. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 2021; 52:515-532. [PMID: 32748274 PMCID: PMC8113221 DOI: 10.1007/s10578-020-01036-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2019] [Revised: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Auto-aggressive behaviour, especially treatment refractory suicidality in adolescents with psychiatric disorders, may be challenging to clinicians. In search of therapeutic possibilities, we have integrated current opinions regarding causality and interdependency of suicidality and auto-aggressive behaviour across disorders within the HiTOP framework. We propose a developmental model regarding these unsettling behaviours in youths that may help to guide future directions for research and interventions. We argue that the interdependent development of biologic factors, attachment, moral reasoning and emotion regulation in an overprotective environment may lead to social anxiety and later during development to emotion dysregulation and severe internalizing behaviour disorders. To optimize treatment efficacy for both internalizing and externalizing behaviour, we emphasize the importance transdiagnostic interventions, such as addressing non-compliance, restoration of trust between parents and their child, and limitation of avoidance behaviour. These may be seen as higher order interventions within the HiTOP framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre C M Herpers
- Karakter Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Centre, Reinier Postlaan 12, Nijmegen, 6525 GC, The Netherlands.
- Department of Psychiatry, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Kapittelweg 29, Nijmegen, 6525 EN, The Netherlands.
| | - Josephine E C Neumann
- Karakter Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Centre, Reinier Postlaan 12, Nijmegen, 6525 GC, The Netherlands
| | - Wouter G Staal
- Karakter Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Centre, Reinier Postlaan 12, Nijmegen, 6525 GC, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Centre, Geert Grooteplein 10, Nijmegen, 6525 GA, The Netherlands
- Faculty of Social Sciences, Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Postzone C2-5, P.O. Box 9600, Leiden, 2300 RC, The Netherlands
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41
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Van IJzendoorn MH, Bakermans-Kranenburg MJ. Replication crisis lost in translation? On translational caution and premature applications of attachment theory. Attach Hum Dev 2021; 23:422-437. [PMID: 33952087 DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2021.1918453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
In the biomedical, behavioral and neurobiological sciences reproducibility and replicability of research results have become a major issue. The question is whether attachment research is also plagued by lack of replicability, and if so whether one can speak of a crisis? Furthermore, discussions about the applicability of attachment research findings to policy and (clinical) practice have recently been intensified. The subsequent question arises whether one could even speak of a "translational crisis". In this paper assumptions and conditions of replicability and applicability will be outlined. Some examples of attachment findings lost or found in translation to policy and practice (e.g. on infant crying and parental insensitive responsiveness) will be used to illustrate the challenges and chances of bridging the gap between attachment science and practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marinus H Van IJzendoorn
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.,School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Marian J Bakermans-Kranenburg
- Department of Clinical Child and Family Studies, and Amsterdam Public Health, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Leiden Consortium on Individual Development, Leiden University and VU Amsterdam, Netherlands
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42
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Jones JD, Stern JA, Fitter MH, Mikulincer M, Shaver PR, Cassidy J. Attachment and attitudes toward children: effects of security priming in parents and non-parents. Attach Hum Dev 2021; 24:147-168. [PMID: 33559538 DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2021.1881983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
The present two-study investigation is the first to examine whether experimentally boosting attachment security (security priming) affects attitudes in the parenting domain for both parents and non-parents. Mothers (n = 72) and childless undergraduates (n = 82) were randomly assigned to a neutral or a secure prime condition and then completed measures of implicit attitudes (a child-focused version of the Go/No-Go Association Task) and explicit attitudes (self-reported) toward children. Following the priming manipulation, mothers in the secure prime condition had more positive implicit attitudes toward their child compared to mothers in the neutral prime condition. Security priming also increased mothers' positive explicit attitudes toward their children, but only among mothers who scored high on self-reported attachment-related avoidance. No priming effects emerged among non-parents. These results provide the first evidence for a causal link between parental attachment security and parental attitudes toward children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason D Jones
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Jessica A Stern
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Megan H Fitter
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Mario Mikulincer
- School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center Herzlyia, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Phillip R Shaver
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Jude Cassidy
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
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43
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Bosmans G, Verschueren K, Cuyvers B, Minnis H. Current Perspectives on the Management of Reactive Attachment Disorder in Early Education. Psychol Res Behav Manag 2020; 13:1235-1246. [PMID: 33376419 PMCID: PMC7755333 DOI: 10.2147/prbm.s264148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2020] [Accepted: 12/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Children with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) have special educational needs that are challenging for teachers in early education. In the current contribution, we will discuss a large body of research suggesting that stimulating these children's attachment development is feasible for teachers and potentially a successful strategy to ensure that these children thrive better in the classroom and socially. The current overview discusses research and theory on RAD and RAD treatment and results in the formulation of specific recommendations for the successful management of children with RAD in the classroom.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guy Bosmans
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Karine Verschueren
- Department of School Psychology and Development in Context, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bien Cuyvers
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Helen Minnis
- Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland
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Children's Attention to Mother and Adolescent Stress Moderate the Attachment-Depressive Symptoms Link. Psychol Belg 2020; 60:294-314. [PMID: 32944262 PMCID: PMC7473194 DOI: 10.5334/pb.550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The breadth of children’s attentional field around their mother determines whether securely or insecurely attached children are at risk to develop depressive symptoms when confronted with distress in adolescence. To test this effect longitudinally, we measured children’s (Mage = 10.93; N = 109) baseline attentional breadth around their mother, attachment status (combining attachment coherence, secure base script knowledge, and self-reported trust), and self-reported depressive symptoms. One and two years later, we measured self-reported distress and depressive symptoms. We tested three-way interactions between attentional breadth × attachment × distress on changes in depressive symptoms. This three-way interaction was marginally significantly linked with changes in depressive symptoms from baseline to year 1, and significantly with changes in depressive symptoms from baseline to year 2. Results pointed to the protective role of a narrow attentional field around the mother in middle childhood for securely attached children who are confronted with distress later in life.
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