Sex Differences in Judgments of Social Desirability

This study evaluates sex differences in the perceived desirability of personality behaviors and beliefs. Men and women (N = 149, M_age = 18.7) judged the social desirability scale values (SDSVs) of 150 personality statements as applied either to a male target or a female target. For comparison, some estimated SDSVs with no target sex specified. A separate sample of 537 respondents endorsed the 150 items via self‐report. Raters showed a high consensus in their SDSV judgments within conditions (α = .86 to .90) and no sex‐of‐rater effects across conditions. Substantial sex‐of‐target effects (p < .001), however, revealed many behaviors that were viewed as desirable for one sex but not for the other. The behaviors seen as more (less) desirable when applied to men rather than to women were endorsed more (less) by men than by women in the respondent sample. Similar results were found when no target sex was specified for the SDSV ratings, presumably because judges evaluated the behaviors as applied to a target of their own sex. The present results have important implications for the measurement and reporting of SDSVs, the evaluation of substance versus style in self‐reports, and the construction of desirability‐reduced personality inventories.     

Conflict and postconflict behaviour in two lemur species with different social organizations (Eulemur fulvus and Eulemur macaco): A study on captive groups

Although the brown lemur (Eulemur fulvus) and the black lemur (Eulemur macaco) share many life parameters and are genetically closed, they show considerable difference in social organization. Dominance relationships with no systematic effect of gender characterize the former, whereas the latter is based on female dominance. The present study was done on two captive groups of brown lemurs and one semi–free‐ranging group of black lemurs. To reveal links between the specific pattern of social organization and agonistic behaviors, agonistic interactions were analyzed for each species as for their context of occurrence, symmetry, initiation, and outcome. The effect of gender in the initiation of conflicts appeared as the only notable interspecific difference, aggression being mostly initiated by females in E. macaco and by males in E. fulvus. Conflict outcome was generally in favor of the initiator, regardless of gender in both species. The analysis of postconflict behaviors revealed conciliatory processes in the brown lemur, whereas reconciliation seemed to be absent in the black lemur, a characteristic shared with the ring‐tailed lemur (Lemur catta), another lemur species with female dominance. Aggr. Behav. 28:62–74, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Joint attention and object learning in 5‐ and 7‐month‐old infants

We examined the effects of joint attention for object learning in 5‐ and 7‐month‐old infants. Infants interacted with an adult social partner who taught them about a novel toy in two conditions. In the Joint Attention condition, the adult spoke about the toy while alternating gaze between the infant and the toy, while in the Object Only condition, the adult looked to the toy and to a spot on the ceiling, but never at the infant. In the test trials following each social interaction, we presented infants with the ‘familiarization’ toy and a novel toy, and monitored looking times to each object. We found that 7‐month‐olds looked significantly longer to the novel toy following the Joint Attention relative to the Object Only condition, while 5‐month‐old infants did not show a significant difference across conditions. We interpret these results to suggest that joint attention facilitated 7‐month‐old infants' encoding of information about the familiarization object. Implications for the ontogeny of infant learning in joint attention contexts are discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mental Health, Social Environment and Sexual Risk Behaviors of Adolescent Service Users: A Gender Comparison

We examined individual mental health problems (depression, conduct disorder, and substance abuse) and social environment (family, peer, and neighborhood) factors associated with the sexual risk behaviors of male and female adolescents. Interviews with 778 adolescents, aged 14 to 18, showed that both mental health problems and social environment were related to adolescents' involvement in sexual risk behaviors. Conduct disorder symptoms, substance abuse or dependence symptoms, and the interaction between peer misbehavior and neighborhood problems were significantly associated with risky sexual behaviors. Peer misbehavior was a particularly strong factor related to sexual risk behaviors for youths who lived in neighborhoods with multiple problems. The only gender differences were found in age, with older males more likely to report engaging in high risk sexual behaviors. This study suggests the utility of multidimensional intervention strategies to deal with various adolescent problem behaviors, including risky sexual behaviors, within the context of their social environment.     

Social Learning,Self-Control,Gender, and Variety of Violent Delinquency

This study tested the role of social learning and self-control theories in the variety of violent delinquent behaviors engaged in by male and female adolescents (N = 833). Results of Tobit analyses indicated that neither theory was able to account for the gender gap. Low self-control was significantly associated with an increase in the variety of violent delinquency among females. Among male respondents, those who were more susceptible to peer pressure engaged in fewer types of violent delinquency. We conclude that theories must actively recognize the role of gender to better account for the differences in violent delinquent behavior.     

The social foundation of executive function

In this study, we propose that infant social cognition may ‘bootstrap' the successive development of domain‐general cognition in line with the cultural intelligence hypothesis. Using a longitudinal design, 6‐month‐old infants (N = 118) were assessed on two basic social cognitive tasks targeting the abilities to share attention with others and understanding other peoples' actions. At 10 months, we measured the quality of the child's social learning environment, indexed by parent's abilities to provide scaffolding behaviors during a problem‐solving task. Eight months later, the children were followed up with a cognitive test‐battery, including tasks of inhibitory control and working memory. Our results showed that better infant social action understanding interacted with better parental scaffolding skills in predicting simple inhibitory control in toddlerhood. This suggests that infants' who are better at understanding other's actions are also better equipped to make the most of existing social learning opportunities, which in turn may benefit future non‐social cognitive outcomes.     

The editorial perspective

This study utilizes in‐depth interviews of female injecting drug users (IDUs) supplemented by analyses of a large national data set to explore the association between the strength of the social bond and participation in a health‐related form of deviance: AIDS risk behaviors. The theoretical framework extends social control theory by examining the effects of further weakening of the social bond in an already deviant population. Risk behaviors are operationalized as a second‐level of deviance among individuals already participating in initial‐level deviant behavior (drug use). Prior research on how aspects of the social bond deter the individual from further deviance during adulthood has focused on males. Careers and marriage have been examined as elements of social control. The subjects of this study are female, however. For women, careers and marriage are often less salient, and relationships with children may be a more relevant measure of the social bond.

In‐depth interviews with eighteen female IDUs and two former IDUs are presented to explore the degree to which relationships with children deter female IDUs from participating in risky behaviors. Analysis of the interview data suggests that the presence, weakening, or rupturing of the bond to children is related to higher levels of second‐level deviance in the form of AIDS‐risk behaviors. However, the interviews also suggest that there are qualitative differences in the deterrence effects of weakened bonds to children, depending on the circumstances as well as the level of ongoing interaction between mother and child. Analyses of the data from the National AIDS Demonstration Research (NADR) Project are then presented, providing additional support to the conclusion that loss of relationships with children is related to higher levels of risk.     

Attachments,gender, and delinquency

The purpose of this study is to contribute to a gender‐integrated theory of delinquent behavior by testing the assumptions of gender specialized delinquent behavior and of sex typed bonds as inhibitors of deviance. Data from self‐administered questionnaires completed by a sample of teenagers in the 10th grade and one year later were used in the study. We found no clear evidence of gender specialization in the deviant behavior reported by the youth. Furthermore, the analysis did not lend support to traditional theories that link male and female delinquency to the weakening of different bonds. The testing of an inclusive model of bond theories produced very similar results for both genders.     

Here's looking at you,kid: attention to infant emotional faces in mothers and non‐mothers

Infant facial cues play a critical role in eliciting care and nurturance from an adult caregiver. Using an attentional capture paradigm we investigated attentional processing of adult and infant emotional facial expressions in a sample of mothers (n = 29) and non‐mothers (n = 37) to determine whether infant faces were associated with greater task interference. Responses to infant target stimuli were slower than adult target stimuli in both groups. This effect was modulated by parental status, such that mothers compared to non‐mothers showed longer response times to infant compared to adult faces. Both groups also responded more slowly to emotional faces, an effect that was more marked for infant emotional faces. Finally, it was found that greater levels of mothers' self‐reported parental distress was associated with less task interference when processing infant faces. These findings indicate that for adult women, infant faces in general and emotional infant faces in particular, preferentially engage attention compared to adult faces. However, for mothers, infant faces appear to be more salient in general. Therefore, infant faces may constitute a special class of social stimuli. We suggest that alterations in attentional processing in motherhood may constitute an adaptive behavioural change associated with becoming a parent.     

Suicidality,Self‐Harm,and Body Dissatisfaction in Transgender Adolescents and Emerging Adults with Gender Dysphoria

Prevalence of suicide attempts, self‐injurious behaviors, and associated psychosocial factors were examined in a clinical sample of transgender (TG) adolescents and emerging adults (n = 96). Twenty‐seven (30.3%) TG youth reported a history of at least one suicide attempt and 40 (41.8%) reported a history of self‐injurious behaviors. There was a higher frequency of suicide attempts in TG youth with a desire for weight change, and more female‐to‐male youth reported a history of suicide attempts and self‐harm behaviors than male‐to‐female youth. Findings indicate that this population is at a high risk for psychiatric comorbidities and life‐threatening behaviors.     

Perfectionistic Concerns,Social Negativity,and Subjective Well‐Being: A Test of the Social Disconnection Model

Partner‐specific perfectionistic concerns (PC) include concern over mistakes, self‐criticism, and socially prescribed perfectionism as it pertains to one's partner. The social disconnection model proposes that PC influences well‐being indirectly through interpersonal problems. Thus, we hypothesized that social negativity (expressed anger, hostility, and rejection) would mediate the relationship between dyadic PC and subjective well‐being. Data from 203 romantic dyads (92.1% heterosexual) were collected using self‐report surveys and a four‐wave, 4‐week longitudinal design. Participants were predominantly female (53.1%), young (M = 22.69 years), and Caucasian (82.3%). Data were analyzed using an actor‐partner interdependence model with multilevel structural equation modeling. There were significant actor effects at the between‐subjects and within‐subjects levels, and significant partner effects for the relationship between PC and social negativity at the within‐subject level. Social negativity mediated the relationships between PC and both negative affect and life satisfaction. However, positive affect was more weakly related to PC and social negativity. The social disconnection model was supported. PC was positively associated with one's own social negativity and evoked hostile behaviors from one's partner. Hostile, rejecting behaviors reduced the well‐being of the actor, but not the partner. Results suggest perfectionism may be best understood within an interpersonal context.     

Agonistic and sociable behaviors in the mound‐building mice,Mus spicilegus: A comparative study with Mus musculus domesticus

Present social organization and mating systems result from selective pressures and ecological conditions but also from proximate interactions between individuals. Many studies report on a polygynous mating system with a social group territoriality in commensal populations of Mus musculus domesticus. However, little is known about the social organization of other Mus species living in outdoor conditions, such as the mound‐building mouse Mus spicilegus. Comparative studies between M. m. domesticus and M. spicilegus have already shown behavioral differences in female sexual preferences and paternal care. To study agonistic and sociable interactions and gain insight into the social organization and the mating system of M. spicilegus, the present study compared intraspecific dyadic encounters between unfamiliar adults in these two species. Results demonstrated less tolerance between females and between the sexes in M. spicilegus than in M. m. domesticus unfamiliar mice. The consequences of those differences between M. spicilegus and M. m. domesticus on social organization and mating system are discussed. Aggr. Behav. 28:75–84, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Oxytocin trajectories and social engagement in extremely premature infants during NICU hospitalization

Extremely premature infants, born 28 weeks gestation or less, are at high risk for impaired socioemotional development, due in part to exposure to early stressful social experiences that alter brain development. Understanding mediators that link experience with outcomes is necessary to assess premature infant responses to social experiences that are critical to brain development. The hormone oxytocin (OT), released during supportive interactions, has potential as a biomarker of the premature infant's responses to social experiences. The purpose of this study was to examine associations among infant plasma OT trajectories and maternal-infant social engagement behaviors during initial hospitalization. This study also examined demographic correlates of engagement behaviors in mothers and infants. Plasma from 28 extremely premature infants, born gestational ages 25–28 6/7 weeks, was collected at 14 days of life, then weekly until 34 weeks. Social engagement behaviors were measured by the Parent-Child Early Relational Assessment during a videotaped feeding when the infant was receiving one-quarter full oral feeds. Maternal-infant demographics were extracted from the medical record. Higher infant plasma OT was associated with lower infant social engagement, but no associations were found with maternal social engagement. Infant social engagement was positively related to maternal social engagement. Maternal parity was related to maternal social engagement, and infant demographics did not predict infant social engagement. The significant, yet negative, association between infant OT and engagement provides support for the measurement of OT as a neurobiological antecedent to infant social behaviors. Finally, this research suggests that during the earliest period of infant socio-behavioral development, premature infants are behaviorally reactive to the social engagement behaviors of their mothers.     

Predictors of Protest Among Anti‐Globalization Demonstrators1

Anti‐globalization protest is analyzed as a function of ideological opposition to social hierarchy and identification with the social movement. Demonstrators (N = 145) at the Summit of the Americas in Québec City in April 2001 completed measures of social dominance orientation (SDO), social identification with the anti‐globalization movement, and the likelihood of engaging in various protest behaviors. Results supported the hypothesis that social identification mediates the link between SDO and inclinations toward 2 forms of collective action (anti‐globalization protest and indirect protest), whereas non‐normative protest tended to be endorsed most strongly by male demonstrators. These relationships inform theoretical perspectives on politicized collective identity and the social psychology of social movement participation.     

Getting ready: Results of a randomized trial of a relationship‐focused intervention on the parent–infant relationship in rural early head start

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of a relational intervention (the Getting Ready intervention) on parenting behaviors supporting the parent–infant relationship for families enrolled in Early Head Start home‐based programming. Two‐hundred thirty‐four parents and their children participated in the randomized study, with 42% of parents reporting education of less than a high‐school diploma. Brief, semistructured parent–child interaction tasks were videotaped every 4 months over a16‐month intervention period. Observational codes of parent–infant relationship behaviors included quality of three parental behaviors: warmth and sensitivity, support for learning, and encouragement of autonomy; two appropriateness indicators: support for learning and guidance/directives; and one amount indicator: constructive behaviors. Parents who participated in the Getting Ready intervention demonstrated higher quality interactions with their children that included enhanced quality of warmth and sensitivity, and support for their children's autonomy than did parents in the control group. They also were more likely to use appropriate directives with their children and more likely to demonstrate appropriate supports for their young children's learning. Results indicate an added value of the Getting Ready intervention for Early Head Start home‐based programming for families of infants and toddlers.     

Foetal trauma,body memory and early infant communication: a case illustration

This paper presents the complex case of a male patient who started life as an unwanted pregnancy and adoptee in an era of socio‐cultural shame and blame. When able to contact his birth mother later in life, he experienced a number of confronting synchronicities as well as visions which he felt were related to failed abortion attempts and to other pre‐ and post‐natal events. The case material lends weight not only to Freud's, Ehrenwald's and FitzHerbert's assertions that the earliest form of mother‐infant communications is telepathic in nature but that this mode of communication can be retained if emotional trauma inhibits normal developmental processes. Contemporary neuroscience research is presented supporting the hypothesis that emotional memory can become imbedded in the psyche/soma of the foetus. Such memory traces can later emerge into imagery and/or words if the traumatic impingement has been substantial enough and if other defensive strategies are in place. Clinical implications are then suggested regarding analysts’ attention to the emotional conditions underpinning their patients’ conceptions and foetal development; the connection to projective identification components of the countertransference as being aspects of the earliest telepathic mother/infant communication channel and the need for reductive analyses in analyst training programmes.     

Early Postpartum Parental Preoccupation and Positive Parenting Thoughts: Relationship with Parent–Infant Interaction

Parenting behaviors and parent–infant emotional bonding during the early postpartum months play a critical role in infant development. However, the nature and progression of parental thoughts and their relationship with interactive behaviors have received less research. The current study investigated the trajectory of parental thoughts and behaviors among primiparous mothers (n = 18) and fathers (n = 15) and multiparous mothers (n = 13) and fathers (n = 13), which were measured at the first and third postpartum month. At the third postpartum month, the relationship between parental thoughts and parental interactive behaviors also was tested. Mothers and fathers showed high levels of preoccupations and caregiving thoughts during the first postpartum month that significantly declined by the third postpartum month. In contrast, positive thoughts about parenting and the infant increased over the same time interval. Mothers presented higher levels of preoccupations and positive thoughts than did fathers, and first‐time parents reported more intense preoccupations than did experienced parents. Although maternal sensitivity was inversely related to maternal anxious thoughts, paternal sensitivity was predicted by higher levels of anxious as well as caregiving and positive thoughts.     

DEVELOPMENT OF THE PARENT‐CHILD PLAY SCALE FOR USE IN CHILDREN WITH FEEDING DISORDERS

The Parent‐Child Play Scale was developed as a scale that complements the Parent‐Child Feeding Scale, created by I. Chatoor et al. (1997), to evaluate mother–infant/toddler interactions in two different caregiving contexts of a young child's everyday life, specifically play and feeding. This Play Scale can be used with infants and toddlers ranging in age from 1 month to 3 years and provides reliable global ratings of mother–child interactions during 10 min of videotaped free‐play in a laboratory setting. The scale consists of 32 mother and infant/toddler interactive behaviors which are rated by trained observers from videotaped observations. Four subscales are derived: Dyadic Reciprocity, Maternal Unresponsiveness to Infant's/Toddler's Cues, Dyadic Conflict, and Maternal Intrusiveness. Construct validity and interrater and test‐retest reliability of the Play Scale have been demonstrated. This Play Scale discriminates between children with and without feeding disorders as well as between children with different subtypes of feeding disorders as defined by the Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood, Revised (DC:0–3R) (Feeding Disorder of State Regulation, Feeding Disorder of Caregiver‐Infant Reciprocity, and Infantile Anorexia). It can be used for research or clinical practice in the diagnosis and treatment of early feeding problems, to assess the pervasiveness of mother–infant/toddler difficulties and to monitor changes following therapy.     

Synchrony in the Triad: A Microlevel Process Model of Coparenting and Parent‐Child Interactions

Guided by a microanalytic approach to the study of relationships, we assessed parent, infant, and coparental behaviors during triadic interactions in 94 parents and their 5‐month‐old firstborn child. Relational behaviors in each family subsystem—mother‐infant, father‐infant, and coparenting—were microcoded. Marital satisfaction and infant temperament were self‐reported. No differences were found in the infants' behavior toward mother and father or in the time spent with each parent. Mothers' and fathers' relational behavior during parent‐infant episodes were generally comparable, yet mothers vocalized more and the latency to father's displaying positive affect was longer. Conditional probabilities indicated that under conditions of coparental mutuality, fathers showed more positive behaviors than mothers. Lag‐sequential analysis demonstrated that change in the infant's social focus between parents followed change in coparental behavior. Fathers' coparental mutuality was independently predicted by maternal behavior during mother‐child episodes, father marital satisfaction, and infant difficult temperament, whereas mothers' coparental mutuality was only linked with fathers' relational behavior. Results highlight the importance of including a microlevel perspective on the family system at the first stages of family development.     

Who's my little monkey? Effects of infant‐directed speech on visual retention in infant rhesus macaques

Both human and nonhuman primate adults use infant‐directed facial and vocal expressions across many contexts when interacting with infants (e.g., feeding, playing). This infant‐oriented style of communication, known as infant‐directed speech (IDS), seems to benefit human infants in numerous ways, including facilitating language acquisition. Given the variety of contexts in which adults use IDS, we hypothesized that IDS supports learning beyond the linguistic domain and that these benefits may extend to nonhuman primates. We exposed 2.5‐month‐old rhesus macaque infants (N = 15) to IDS, adult‐directed speech (ADS), and a non‐social control (CTR) during a video presentation of unrelated stimuli. After a 5‐ or 60‐minute delay, infants were shown the familiar video side‐by‐side with a novel video. Infants exhibited a novelty preference after the 5‐minute delay, but not after the 60‐minute delay, in the ADS and CTR conditions, and a novelty preference in the IDS condition only after the 60‐minute delay. These results are the first to suggest that exposure to IDS affects infants’ long‐term memory, even in non‐linguistic animals.