Young infants' vocalizations towards mother versus stranger: associations with the infant–mother relationship

Infants' differential vocal response (DVR) towards their mother and a female stranger at 3 months of age has been predominantly investigated as an index of early cognitive functioning. The present study explored the relationship between DVR and different infant and mother indicators of the developing relationship quality in a sample of 23 mother–infant dyads. Mother–infant interactions and stranger–infant interactions were videotaped during home visits when the infants were 3 months old. At the age of 12 months, infants' behaviour was assessed in the Ainsworth's strange situation. In both assessments, mothers noted the infants' behavioural states on 3 successive days. Results revealed a specific relation between DVR and the emotional atmosphere of the early mother–infant interaction. Particularly, DVR was less pronounced in favour of the mother when the mother displayed emotional expressions defined as rejection. DVR is discussed as an index that may indicate both infant emotional engagement and infant cognitive competencies. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of presence of mother versus preschool teacher on the behaviour of infants in a strange situation

Seventeen infants (10–24 months of age) were observed twice in a strange situation, once accompanied by mother and once in the company of a familiar preschool teacher. On basis of video-tape recordings a total of 13 behaviour items relevant to infant attachment were scored. The results failed to demonstrate definite differential effects of mother vs. preschool teacher on the infants' behaviors in this situation. In particular, the infants were just as ready to separate themselves from their companions and explore into an adjoining room when attended by the preschool teachers as when accompanied by their mothers. Implications for Ainsworth's and Bowlby's theory of infant attachment are briefly discussed.     

Planning a reader-oriented strategy for a publishing company: a case study

Scientific research in the sector of press readability and specifically magazines is not particularly extensive. This paper suggests a framework for the development of strategic decisions based on reader satisfaction measurements. The methodology is illustrated through a real-world application, i.e. customer-oriented strategy planning for the leading monthly IT magazine in Greece. This study implements the MUSA (Multicriteria Satisfaction Analysis) method to evaluate reader satisfaction, in order to support the editor in making decisions while planning his editorial strategy. Reader satisfaction was analysed based on a tree containing seven main criteria and 32 sub-criteria. Readers proved to be very satisfied and non-demanding, which results in narrower margins for efficient improvement suggestions. However, the evaluation of the MUSA results led to putting forward suggestions that could support the editor in making amendment decisions. Some of these suggestions were successfully implemented within the scope of a new strategy. This revealed the need for two separate editions, an IT magazine for pupils and students as well as an IT magazine focused on women. The decision maker received suggestions on what these new publications' features should be, deriving from the study's quantitative results. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Suicidal ideation versus suicidal obsession: a case report

This case report illustrates the relationship between stress and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) by describing an unusual case of OCD sequelae following a suicide attempt. The patient is a 29-year-old married woman who suffered a major depressive episode without OCD and tried to commit suicide by drinking household cleaner. Following the attempt, violent obsessive thoughts of harming herself and others emerged along with avoidance behavior. After exposure therapy, there was a decrease in her obsessive thoughts, less anxiety, and no avoidance behavior. This report highlights not only the existence of "posttraumatic obsession" but also the importance of accurate interpretation of suicidal preoccupation, leading to the diagnosis of OCD rather then suicidal ideation secondary to depression.     

The non-mirroring mother and the missing paternal dimension in a case of narcissistic disturbance

SUMMARY

Heinz Kohut (1971, 1972, 1977), has developed an innovative framework for understanding the dynamics and genesis of disturbances in the sense of self — broadly speaking, the area of narcissistic disturbance. He has emphasized the failure of the primary objects (in his terms ‘selfobjects’) to be available as responsive mirroring figures who can also be idealized. The role of oedipal conflict is specifically de-emphasized. In this paper a patient is described for whom the factors noted by Kohut were relevant, but as well as these, issues related to a failure to negotiate the oedipal position and a denial of the primal scene were also crucial. These phenomena are not described in Kohut's writings. For this patient, the exclusion or foreclosure of the ‘paternal dimension’ (Chiland 1982) left her with a fundamental defect in psychic structure with profound ramifications. In addition various features of the transference pointed to a failure of early communication via projective identification and maternal containment, of the kind described by Bion (1962). This process is compared with that subsumed by Kohut's concept of mirroring.     

Keeping mother alive: psychotherapy with a teenage mother following human trafficking

The power of new traumatic events to reignite memories and the distress of traumatic experiences earlier in life is well known to psychotherapists. When the recent trauma has been extreme, the task of assisting the patient to understand their response in the light of their earlier experience can be doubly challenging. This paper describes the therapy with an adolescent girl and her infant daughter, following the girl's escape from illegal detention, physical abuse and forced prostitution, after she was trafficked to the UK from Eastern Europe. The discussion works towards developing an understanding of the emotional interchange between the mother and infant, and the influence of the mother's traumatic experiences, on that interchange. Projective identification could be seen to occur from the mother, into her daughter, in a reversal of the situation traditionally described. The function of this for the mother and the impact on the developing infant, are considered.     

Prenatal depression effects on the fetus and newborn: a review

A review of research on prenatal depression effects on the fetus and newborn suggests that they experience prenatal, perinatal and postnatal complications. Fetal activity is elevated, prenatal growth is delayed, and prematurity and low birthweight occur more often. Newborns of depressed mothers then show a biochemical/physiological profile that mimics their mothers' prenatal biochemical/physiological profile including elevated cortisol, lower levels of dopamine and serotonin, greater relative right frontal EEG activation and lower vagal tone. Elevated prenatal maternal cortisol is the strongest predictor of these neonatal outcomes. Moderate pressure massage can alleviate these effects including reducing prematurity.     

Reconsidering the miracle argument on the supposition of transient underdetermination

In this paper, I will show that the Miracle Argument is unsound if one assumes a certain form of transient underdetermination. For this aim, I will first discuss and formalize several variants of underdetermination, especially that of transient underdetermination, by means of measure theory. I will then formalize a popular and persuasive form of the Miracle Argument that is based on “use novelty”. I will then proceed to the proof that the miracle argument is unsound by means of a mathematical example. Finally, I will expose two hidden presuppositions of the Miracle Argument that make it so immensely though deceptively persuasive.     

The relative effects on math performance of single- versus multiple-ratio schedules: a case study

This series of four experiments sought to assess the comparative effects of multiple- versus single-ratio schedules on a pupil's responding to mathematics materials. Experiment I, which alternated between single- and multiple-ratio contingencies, revealed that during the latter phase the subject responded at a higher rate. Similar findings were revealed by Exp. II. The third experiment, which manipulated frequency of reinforcement rather than multiple ratios, revealed that the alteration had a minimal effect on the subject's response rate. A final experiment, conducted to assess further the effects of multiple ratios, provided data similar to those of Exp. I and II.     

Family functioning and the adolescent mother: a systems approach

This study examines unwanted adolescent pregnancy and early childbearing within the context of the family system. Fifty pregnant adolescents and their families were interviewed prenatally and again during the postpartum period. Utilizing the concepts of structural family theory and therapy as described by Minuchin, certain characteristics of family style and structure of organization were rated. These family variables were then related to aspects of the adolescent mother's adaptation postpartum. Boundaries, in terms of degree of intrusiveness and differentiation, were related to such variables as whether the adolescent is maintained in the household and to her continuing relationship with the baby's father. Similarly, the family's style of dealing with conflict was related to the relationship between the adolescent parents, among other outcome variables. Implications of the findings both for working with these families and for further research are discussed, and issues are raised about hypothesized relationships between independent and dependent variables which were not borne out.     

Public justification versus public deliberation: the case for divorce

I drive a wedge between public deliberation and public justification, concepts tightly associated in public reason liberalism. Properly understood, the ideal of public justification imposes no restraint on citizen deliberation but requires that those who have a substantial impact on the use of coercive power, political officials, advance proposals each person has sufficient reason to accept. I formulate this idea as the Principle of Convergent Restraint and apply it to legislators to illustrate the general reorientation I propose for the public reason project.     

English adaptation versus mother tongue: reliability of the English version of MODDI-F administered to Hong Kong Chinese college students

Two samples of Hong Kong college students completed the English and the Chinese version of the Multidimensional Orientation Toward Dying and Death Inventory (MODDI-F), respectively. Results show substantially lower coefficients of internal consistency in the English version when compared with its Chinese counterpart. The construct validity of the instrument, i.e., the statistical relationships between its subtests, was confirmed. Whenever available, the use of a questionnaire that is worded in the participants' mother tongue is recommended.     

Symptoms versus impairment: the case for respecting DSM-IV's Criterion D

Diagnosing ADHD based primarily on symptom reports assumes that the number/frequency of symptoms is tied closely to the impairment imposed on an individual's functioning. That presumed linkage encourages diagnosis more by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) style symptom lists than well-defined, psychometrically sound assessments of impairment. The current study correlated measures reflecting each construct in four separate, large-scale ADHD research samples. Average correlation between symptoms and impairment accounted for less than 10% of variance. Symptoms never predicted more than 25% of the variance in impairment. When an ADHD group was formed according to a measure of current symptoms, the sample size shrunk by 77% when a criterion-based measure of impairment was added. The partial unlinking of symptoms and impairment has implications for decisions about the diagnostic process, research criteria for participant inclusion, prevalence estimates, gender ratios, evaluation of treatment effects, service delivery, and many other issues.