Associations among mothers’ representations of their relationship with their toddlers,maternal parenting stress,and toddlers’ internalizing and externalizing behaviors

This study examined the array of associations among the emotional valence and the coherence of mothers’ representations of their relationship with their toddlers, mothers’ reported parenting stress, and toddlers’ internalizing and externalizing behaviors. To evaluate maternal representations, 55 mothers were interviewed using the Five Minute Speech Sample procedure (FMSS; Magaña et al., 1986), which was coded for criticism and positive comments (Magaňa-Amato, 1993), as well as coherence (Sher-Censor & Yates, 2015). Mothers also completed the Parenting Stress Index − Short Form (PSI; Abidin, 1997) to evaluate their parenting stress and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL/1.5–5; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2000) to assess their toddlers’ internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Results indicated that parenting stress was associated with maternal criticism and fewer positive comments in the FMSS, but not with the coherence of mothers’ FMSS. Parenting stress, criticism, and lower coherence in the FMSS were associated with maternal reports of externalizing behaviors. Only parenting stress and lower coherence in the FMSS were related to mothers’ reports of internalizing behaviors of the child. Thus, the emotional valence and the coherence of mothers’ representations of their relationship with their child and parenting stress may each constitute a distinct aspect of parenting and contribute to the understanding of individual differences in toddlers’ internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Implications for research and practice with families of toddlers are discussed.     

An examination of the interactions between mothers and children with anxiety disorders

This study examined the association between parenting styles and mother and child anxiety. Maternal overinvolvement and negativity/criticism were evaluated during a speech preparation task (N = 135 dyads) and a Five Minute Speech Sample (FMSS) from mothers (N = 155). During the speech task interaction, mothers of anxious children (aged 4–16 years), regardless of their own anxiety, were observed to be more overinvolved than mothers of nonanxious children. Similarly, the FMSS showed that mothers of anxious children (aged 4–17 years) were more overprotective, self-sacrificing, or nonobjective than mothers of nonanxious children, irrespective of maternal anxiety status. No differences in maternal negativity were found on the speech task between any of the groups. However, the FMSS showed that mothers of anxious children were more critical than mothers of nonanxious children, regardless of maternal anxiety status. These results support the relationship between overinvolved, critical parenting and child anxiety, but suggest that maternal anxiety is not associated with increased overinvolvement or criticism. Theoretical implications are discussed.     

Psychological Well-Being and Parent-Child Relationship Quality in Relation to Child Autism: An Actor-Partner Modeling Approach

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often report poor psychological well-being, including a high level of parenting stress and depressive symptoms. Little is known about the extent to which poor parent psychological well-being alters the emotional quality of the parent-child relationship in a context of child ASD. This study examined the association between actor (one's own) and partner (one's partner's) level of parenting stress and depressive symptoms and the emotional quality of the parent-child relationship using a Five Minute Speech Sample (FMSS) in 150 families of children with ASD, aged 5–12 years (85.7% male). Mothers and fathers were aged 38.69 (SD = 5.62) and 40.76 (SD = 6.19), respectively; 76% of mothers and 68% of fathers had a college degree. Structural equation modeling, using Analysis of Moment Structures software, was used to test Actor-Partner Interdependence Models. Results indicated that mother's level of parenting stress and depressive symptoms were associated with her own FMSS Warmth and Criticism toward the child with ASD 12 months later in negative and positive directions. Mother's level of parenting stress was also negatively associated with father's FMSS Warmth toward the child with ASD 12 months later. Finally, father's level of parenting stress was positively associated with his FMSS Criticism toward the child with ASD. Overall, findings indicate that the mother-child and father-child relationship are both impacted by parent psychological well-being in families of children with ASD; however, actor effects are stronger for mothers and partner effects were only found for fathers. Implications for interventions are discussed.     

Coherent accounts of coping with a chronic illness: convergences and divergences in family measurement using a narrative analysis

Researchers and clinicians have shown increasing interest in family narratives as an avenue for accessing the family meaning-making process. In this study, we examine the convergences and divergences between narrative assessment, family self-report, and verbal accounts of family climate. Sixty-two families with a child with pediatric asthma were interviewed about the impact that asthma had on family life. These interviews were coded for narrative coherence, relationship expectations, and engagement with the interviewer. Primary caregivers were also interviewed using the Five Minute Speech Sample (FMSS) and completed self-report assessments of family functioning (Family Assessment Device [FAD]; Impact on the Family Scale [IOF]). Contrary to prediction, narrative coherence was higher in those cases where Emotional Over-involvement (EOI) was present on the FMSS. Narrative coherence and engagement with the interviewer were positively related to self-report of family problem solving, communication, and affective responsiveness as measured on the FAD. Divergences and convergences between different types of family measurement are discussed in light of meaning-making processes associated with coping with a chronic illness.     

Investigation of fine motor performance in children younger than 36-month-old using PDMS-2 and Bayley-III

ABSTRACT

The aim of the study was to investigate the concurrent validity of fine motor (FM) development scores between the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales, Second Edition (PDMS-2), and Bayley Scale of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (Bayley-III). Both tests were administered to 223 children aged 13–36 months with suspected developmental delays from a medical centre. Concurrent validity and agreement of FM delay were assessed. The Bayley-III FM scale scores (FMSS) and motor composite quotients were moderately correlated with PDMS-2 FM quotients. The agreement of FM delay between the two instruments was excellent (Kappa coefficient value = .80) in children aged 13–18 months and good in children aged 19–36 months. When using PDMS-2 as the reference standard, Bayley-III (FMSS < 7) identified fewer children aged 19–24 months as delayed but more in children aged 25–36 months as delayed. When adjusting the cut-off point of Bayley-III FMSS to 8 for children aged 19–24 months and to 6 for children aged 25–36 months, the agreement improved between these two instruments. FM delays might be underestimated solely using Bayley-III in children aged 19–24 months. Additional tests, such as PDMS-2 should be considered to avoid delays in accessing early intervention services.     

Expressed Emotion,Parental Stress,and Family Dysfunction Among Parents of Nonclinical Italian Children

Expressed emotion (EE) is an index of the amount of emotion typically displayed by a family member or caretaker characterized by high emotional involvement, hostility or criticism. The aims of the current study were (a) to examine EE, stress and helplessness in childcare, and family functioning in mothers and fathers of elementary and junior high school children without clinical mental health problems living in a “nonclinical” family context; (b) to assess relationships between child age, gender, socio-economic status and EE; and (c) to investigate whether there are some factors—in a “normal family” context—that play a crucial role in the quality of EE. EE, assessed using the Five Minute Speech Sample (FMSS), and questionnaires assessing parenting alliance, family functioning, parenting stress index, and the parent’s state of helplessness in caring for the child were completed by a community-based Italian sample of mothers and fathers of children (N = 381) aged 6–14 years (M = 9.8, SD = 2.25). As expected, low rates in all FMSS variables were found for mothers and fathers, without significant differences between them. Mothers and fathers who showed high EE scores reported higher family non-adaptive functioning. Mothers also reported higher parental stress and higher Helplessness in caring for the child. Mothers’ stress and fathers’ reports of higher family non-adaptive functioning were the most consistent predictors of EE. Further research is needed to highlight associations between EE and family functioning.     

Changes in maternal expressed emotion toward clinically anxious children following cognitive behavioral therapy

The aim of this study was to determine whether maternal expressed emotion (criticism and emotional overinvolvement) decreased across treatment for childhood anxiety. Mothers of 48 clinically anxious children (aged 6-14 years) were rated on levels of criticism (CRIT) and emotional overinvolvement (EOI), as measured by a Five Minute Speech Sample (FMSS) from mothers, prior to and following cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for their children’s anxiety. Results showed a significant decrease in the proportion of mothers who expressed high levels of criticism and emotional overinvolvement from pretreatment to posttreatment. This finding suggests that interventions aimed at reducing symptoms of child anxiety can also result in a decrease of maternal expressed emotion (criticism and emotional overinvolvement).     

Expressed Emotion In The Narrative Context of Family Photographs

This study aims to elucidate cognitive and contextual aspects of the EE (Expressed Emotion) concept. The EE levels of both parents of two first admission psychotic patients were rated from the Five Minute Speech Sample (FMSS), and the emotional responses were further analyzed in narratives of family photographs. The attribution model was found to provide an explanatory framework for understanding relatives' expressed emotions (EE) toward a family member suffering from psychotic disturbances. Four case reports indicated that family photographs induced parents to create narratives in which emotions, attributions, and strategies for coping with stressful aspects of the illness came forward as intertwined phenomena. The method can offer more comprehensive data for intervention strategies aiming to alter the prevailing atmosphere and interaction patterns within the high EE family.     

Teachers' emotional expression about disruptive boys

Objectives. To assess teachers' emotional expression about pupils using the Five Minute Speech Sample (FMSS) and coding procedures for parental expressed emotion (EE). To compare EE for disruptive and non‐disruptive pupils. Method. Twenty‐one teachers provided speech samples for both a disruptive and a non‐disruptive pupil in their class selected using standard behaviour rating scales. Results. Teachers' emotional expression was reliably measured using EE codings. Teachers displayed no emotional overinvolvement (EOI) and made few critical comments. High EE, characterized by criticism and a lack of positive comments, was associated with children's behavioural difficulties. Multiple regression suggested that conduct problems rather than hyperactivity were associated with high EE. Discussion. Results support the application of certain elements of the EE construct to teachers' emotional expression about pupils. However, there was an absence of EOI and a lack of association between relationship and other EE categories. The absence of this association suggests that EE might be most usefully considered as a measure of teachers' emotional response to pupils, rather than the emotional quality of the teacher–pupil relationship.     

论人、我、自然的和谐发展:疫情的社会心理学反思

新型冠状病毒疫情的预防和控制不仅是一个科学技术的问题,还是一个人文社会科学的议题。从社会心理学的视角来看,新型冠状病毒疫情的发生、蔓延是人与自然、人与他人以及人与自己的关系失调的体现。他人、自我、自然的和谐是社会和谐发展的前提和保证。培育好自尊自信、理性平和、亲善友爱的良好社会心态,把握好物质与精神、自由与规范、统筹与协作平衡发展的社会治理方法,可以在疫情的预防和控制中起到重要作用。     

哲学革命变革的源头和对"历史之谜"的解答--纪念马克思写作《1844年经济学哲学手稿》160周年

本文从异化思想和对共产主义的论述两个问题入手,从实践唯物主义的思想奠基、异化概念的真实意义、共产主义的哲学形上境界、价值评价和历史评价的统一等四个方面,对《1844年经济学哲学手稿》进行了有针对性的辩白和论证。目的在于拭去蒙其之上的灰垢,恢复并光大其在马克思主义形成中的里程碑式的地位与意义。     

急性疼痛与慢性疼痛对奖赏加工的影响及神经机制

疼痛和奖赏能够为个体提供不同的行为动机和主观价值体验,寻求奖赏和避免疼痛对于生存都很重要。疼痛可划分为急性疼痛和慢性疼痛,奖赏可区分为预期阶段的动机成分和体验阶段的享乐成分。奖赏对疼痛的抑制作用已经被广泛证实,但关于疼痛对奖赏的影响,目前的研究结果并不一致。因此需要进一步区分并探究急性疼痛与慢性疼痛对奖赏加工不同阶段的影响,分析两种疼痛对奖赏加工产生不一致影响的现象。这种现象出现的原因可能与急性疼痛向慢性疼痛转变过程中出现的奖赏加工能力缺陷有关。未来可以考虑从改善奖赏加工能力缺陷的角度进行检测和治疗,提前预防急性疼痛向慢性疼痛转变。     

Science and Religion: Getting Ready for the Future

I explore three challenges for the current dialogue between science and religion: the challenges from hermeneutics, feminisms, and postmodernisms. Hermeneutics, defined as the practice and theory of interpretation and understanding, not only deals with questions of interpreting texts and data but also examines the role and use of language in religion and in science, but it should not stop there. Results of the post‐Kuhnian discussion are used to exemplify a wider range of hermeneutical issues, such as the ideological potential of scientific concepts, the dynamics of interdisciplinarity, and the significance of the socioeconomic situatedness of science and religion. Feminist research analyzes the consequences of the interplay of masculine, feminine, and gender typologies in religion and science. Examples from the history of science as well as current scientific conceptualizations indicate that beliefs in the inferiority of woman form part of our inherited scientific, religious, and metaphysical framework. It is argued that postmodernism in its most constructive form shares the best fruits of modernity, especially of the Enlightenment, while avoiding some of its most serious mistakes. In conclusion, reflecting on the three publics engaged in the dialogue between science and religion—academe, religious communities, and societies—I offer constructive suggestions and critical observations concerning the future of this dialogue.     

Repression and splitting in the psychoanalytic process

The authors examine the concepts of repression and splitting and their interplay during the psychoanalytic process. Initially, repression was introduced by the clinical phenomenon of resistance, leading to the formulation of the association between intrapsychic conflicts and neurotic symptoms. Later, repression was linked to normal development and to personality organization. Splitting, on the other hand, has been defined in quite diverse ways. The two main definitions are of splitting within the ego, and splitting of representations of the self, and of internal and external objects. Repression and splitting are compared developmentally, dynamically, and with respect to their relationship to psychic functioning and energic conditions. Clinical material is presented from the analysis of a patient who presented with borderline personality organization and narcissistic features. During the initial phase of analysis, splitting associated with projection, projective identification and idealization were the main defence mechanisms. As the analysis progressed and the themes of omnipotence and mourning were explored with the simultaneous working through of drive derivatives expressed in the transference, repression gained ground over the more primitive defence mechanisms. The evolution of the case showed a gradual shift from splitting to repression and the association of repression with a more advanced psychic organization. This development reflected the dynamic movement from borderline to hysterical organization in psychoanalytic nosology.     

THE SENSE OF BEAUTY

This paper proposes an integrative psychoanalytic model of the sense of beauty. The following definition is used: beauty is an aspect of the experience of idealisation in which an object(s), sound(s) or concept(s) is believed to possess qualities of formal perfection. The psychoanalytic literature regarding beauty is explored in depth and fundamental similarities are stressed. The author goes on to discuss the following topics: (1) beauty as sublimation: beauty reconciles the polarisation of self and world; (2) idealisation and beauty: the love of beauty is an indication of the importance of idealisation during development; (3) beauty as an interactive process: the sense of beauty is interactive and intersubjective; (4) the aesthetic and non-aesthetic emotions: specific aesthetic emotions are experienced in response to the formal design of the beautiful object; (5) surrendering to beauty: beauty provides us with an occasion for transcendence and self-renewal; (6) beauty's restorative function: the preservation or restoration of the relationship to the good object is of utmost importance; (7) the self-integrative function of beauty: the sense of beauty can also reconcile and integrate self-states of fragmentation and depletion; (8) beauty as a defence: in psychopathology, beauty can function defensively for the expression of unconscious impulses and fantasies, or as protection against self-crisis; (9) beauty and mortality: the sense of beauty can alleviate anxiety regarding death and feelings of vulnerability. In closing the paper, the author offers a new understanding of Freud'semphasis on love of beauty as a defining trait of civilisation. For a people not to value beauty would mean that they cannot hope and cannot assert life over the inevitable and ubiquitous forces of entropy and death.     

The drive revisited: Mastery and satisfaction

Starting from the theory of the libido and the notions of the experience of satisfaction and the drive for mastery introduced by Freud, the author revisits the notion of the drive by proposing the following model: the drive takes shape in the combination of two currents of libidinal cathexis, one which takes the paths of the ‘apparatus for obtaining mastery’ (the sense‐organs, motricity, etc.) and strives to appropriate the object, and the other which cathects the erotogenic zones and the experience of satisfaction that is experienced through stimulation in contact with the object. The result of this combination of cathexes constitutes a ‘representation’, the subsequent evocation of which makes it possible to tolerate for a certain period of time the absence of a satisfying object. On the basis of this conception, the author distinguishes the representations proper, vehicles of satisfaction, from imagos and traumatic images which give rise to excitation that does not link up with the paths taken by the drives. This model makes it possible to conciliate the points of view of the advocates of ‘object‐seeking’ and of those who give precedence to the search for pleasure, and, further, to renew our understanding of object‐relations, which can then be approached from the angle of their relations to infantile sexuality. Destructiveness is considered in terms of “mastery madness” and not in terms of the late Freudian hypothesis of the death drive.     

论儿童心理发展的动力及其机制

本文依据马克思主义的唯物史观和唯物辩证法原理,从儿童的实际社会生活过程出发,运用系统方法论证了儿童心理发展的动力是主客体之间的结构性矛盾,而由“主体──活动──客体”三项格式构成的反馈回路系统则是心理发生发展的动力场。本文还运用儿童心理发展的控制论模型,从活动的机能性方面探讨了同化和顺应之间的平衡化动力机制,揭示了主客体之间矛盾运动的原理和过程;平衡化机制是受社会文化历史的发展规律支配的。     

THE RELIGION OF A SCIENTIST: EXPLORATIONS INTO REALITY (RELIGIO PHILOSOPHI NATURALIS)

Abstract. Sir Thomas Browne's reflection on the synthesis between his Christian religion and his practice as a medical doctor, made over three centuries ago, leads into reflections on the present relation between religion and science in the personal experience of the writer. An account is given of how the actual practice of scientific investigation led the author to theistic inferences and how the study of DNA provoked questions concerning reductionism and emergence. This evoked the need for a map of knowledge, and an attempt is presented in a figure which also serves to clarify what kind of realistic reference is involved in both scientific and humanistic contexts–especially with respect to personal language. Theological investigations thereby receive at least provisional legitimization and, with this encouragement, the article pursues the questions of the nature of the divine Source ("God") of the world's being and becoming, of God's interaction and communication with the world, especially with human beings in that world. The penultimate section outlines why the writer considers an explicit communication from God to humanity in Jesus of Nazareth is coherent with the foregoing and what this implies for human fulfillment, individually and corporately. The article concludes with a plea for humility before God and nature in our inquiries in the spirit both of Sir Thomas Browne and of the arch "agnostic" T. H. Huxley.     

Neuroendocrine mechanisms involved in the physiological effects caused by skin-to-skin contact – With a particular focus on the oxytocinergic system

The positive clinical effects caused by skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth or after repeated skin-to-skin contact of premature infants (kangaroo care) or fullterm infants are well documented in the literature. However, information regarding the physiological mechanisms mediating these effects are surprisingly scarce and incomplete. In this article the oxytocinergic system and the cutaneous sensory pathways by which the oxytocinergic system is activated in response to skin-to-skin contact are presented in more detail. In addition, we discuss how the effects of skin-to-skin treatment can be attributed to different aspects of the effect spectrum of the oxytocinergic or calm and connection system.The structure of the oxytocinergic system, comprising the peripheral (circulating, hormonal) and the central (neurotransmitter) components, as well as, the pathways and mechanisms by which these functions are coordinated are described. Also the various effects induced by the oxytocinergic system (the calm and connection system) are reviewed.The sensory pathways, which include visual, auditory, olfactory and tactile stimuli, given and received by both mother and newborn and which activate the oxytocinergic system in response to skin-to-skin contact, are reviewed. A special emphasis is placed on the role of cutaneous sensory nerves and their activation by touch, light pressure and in particular warmth. The important role of the rise and the pulsatility of maternal temperature in mediating the positive effects of skin-to-skin contact in the newborn is highlighted. The concept of maternal giving of warmth and its possible link to the experience of trust and safety in the newborn is discussed from an evolutionary perspective.The effects induced by skin-to-skin contact can be attributed to the different functions of the oxytocinergic system. Ameliorated social interaction (e.g., more tactile and auditory interaction, more sensitive and synchronous interaction between mother and baby, the baby’s crawling behavior) are expressions of oxytocin’s ability to stimulate social interaction. The decreased levels of fear and stress are expressions of oxytocin’s ability to reduce the activity of the amygdala and of the stress system, e.g. the activity in the HPA-axis and the sympathetic nervous system. Increased HRV, increased activity in endocrine system of the gastrointestinal tract as well as stimulation of growth and maturation are examples of oxytocin’s ability to stimulate the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system and other peripheral and central mechanisms related to restoration and growth.The propensity of different types of treatment with skin-to-skin contact to induce long-term effects is also highlighted. We propose that the sustained effects caused by skin-to-skin contact are induced by an enduring shift in the balance between the oxytocinergic system (the calm and connection system) and the stress system (fight flight reaction) in favor of the oxytocinergic system. This shift leads to a sustained decrease in the HPA-axis and the sympathetic nervous system probably involving alpha 2-adrenoceptors.It is of clinical importance to be aware of the mechanisms by which skin-to-skin contact induces short and longterm positive effects in parents and newborns. If ward routines are adapted to ascertain a maximal stimulation of these mechanisms, the function of the oxytocinergic system will be optimized, which will be linked to a better clinical outcome for parents and newborns.     

Together – apart: in touch in a time of separation

This paper explores the experience of working as a Jungian analyst through the various phases of the global COVID-19 pandemic, examining the importance of the physical containing space alongside the analyst’s internal mind and how technology can both help and hinder understanding. A number of clinical vignettes illustrate the challenge of communicating over a distance, paying particular attention to the way countertransference phenomena can become re-attuned. Reference is made to mythology and symbols of hope, and consideration given to the meaning and purpose of the pandemic.