The comparative efficacy of Milan family therapy for disturbed children and their families

This paper describes a study comparing the efficacy of Milan family therapy with that of other treatments routinely used in an out-patient child psychiatry department. Some 118 subjects were allocated on a random, prospective basis to one of two treatment groups, the Milan family therapy group or the other treatments group. The methods of assessment included semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, visual analogue scales and standardized therapy schedules. The results showed that whilst subjects in both treatment groups achieved comparable symptomatic improvement at the end of treatment and at six-month follow-up, the Milan approach produced more changes for family members other than the referred child as well as requiring less treatment time than the other treatments.     

Associations between power,stress, and dominance in romantic relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic: Examining curvilinear and within-person effects

Two key processes in romantic relationships—power and dominance—can contribute to relationship disruption, but the association between these variables is complex. Elucidating the association between power and dominance during the COVID-19 pandemic is particularly important given the economic, social, and health-related stressors that pose a risk to relationship health. We examined associations between power, stress, and dominance by recruiting 1813 participants to complete an initial online survey at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were contacted 10 and 22 months later to complete follow-up surveys. Results revealed two main effects: individuals who had greater relationship power and experienced more COVID-19-related stressors than other people engaged in more dominance behaviors. A significant curvilinear effect revealed that at low levels of power, power was not associated with dominance behaviors. However, once power surpassed low levels, individuals with more power engaged in more dominance behaviors. Finally, people engaged in more dominance behaviors when they experienced more power and stress compared to their own average (i.e., within-person effects) during the pandemic. Implications for theories of power, dominance, and relationship disruption and distress are discussed.     

The moral contents of anti‐atheist prejudice (and why atheists should care about it)

Anti‐atheist prejudice is pervasive worldwide. Past research indicates that this is driven by perceptions of atheist immorality, yet such perceptions have not been explored in detail. Using Moral Foundations Theory and samples of U.S. Christians, we investigated whether anti‐atheist prejudice is explained by atheists' perceived adherence to certain foundational moral values more than others. Study 1 participants completed measures of moral value endorsements from the perspective of a typical atheist. Study 2 participants read that either atheists or people in general strongly endorse one of five moral foundations. Anti‐atheist prejudice was consistently explained best by perceived atheist concern for values of caring/compassion rather than fairness/justice, loyalty, deferential respect, or purity/decency. Findings suggest that efforts to reduce anti‐atheist prejudice should emphasize atheists' capacity for kindness and caring.     

From me to we: Revolutionising Mindfulness in Schools

The practice of mindfulness adapts Buddhist meditation to everyday life. It seems effective at managing depression and anxiety, and is taught in schools to boost resilience and grades. Mostly, this prioritises calm. Students learn to focus on themselves, without Buddhist teachings on ethics or interdependence. This limits the scope for transformation. Whilst it can help to share techniques to cope with stress, it would be more insightful to target its causes not just symptoms. Instead, a fixation on self gets reinforced, which serves the prevailing market system. The onus is on individuals to be more resilient, instead of changing how things work. Widening inequality and a volatile climate are communal expressions of the roots of suffering, identified by Buddhists as greed, hatred and delusion. If mindfulness in schools were to cultivate ‘moral and civic virtues’, as British members of parliament argue it should, it could foster compassionate ‘pro-social’ action.     

What makes responses prepotent for young children? Insights from the grass–snow task

Understanding how responses become prepotent is essential for understanding when inhibitory control is needed in everyday behaviour. We investigated prepotency in the grass–snow task—in which a child points to a green card when the experimenter says ‘snow’ and a white card when the experimenter says ‘grass’. Experiment 1 (n=48, mean age=3.5 years) investigated the response method effect—whether pointing is prepotent because it is habitual. Experiment 2 (n=60, mean age=3.5 years) investigated the response set effect—whether responses are prepotent because the child plans to make them in the task. Experiment 2 also provided evidence that children could remember the rules in the task. Experiment 3 (n=30, mean age=3.4 years) produced further evidence that children could remember these rules. We found no evidence for the response method and response set effects, suggesting that prepotency in the grass–snow task is more ‘stimulus‐driven’ than in tasks previously studied. The implications of our findings are discussed in relation to other developmental inhibitory tasks and to children's reliance on inhibitory control to regulate their everyday behaviour. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relationship Trajectories: A Meta-Theoretical Framework and Theoretical Applications

This article introduces a metatheoretical framework—the Relationship Trajectories Framework—that conceptualizes how human mating relationships develop across their complete time span, from the moment two people meet until the relationship ends. The framework depicts relationships as arc-shaped evaluative trajectories that vary on five dimensions: shape (which includes ascent, peak, and descent), fluctuation, threshold, composition, and density. The framework can depict single trajectories in isolation or two partners’ trajectories with respect to each other (dyadic trajectories). Two theoretical models demonstrate the generative power of the framework—the relationship coordination and strategic timing (ReCAST) model and the sociosexuality trajectory model—both of which integrate close relationships and evolutionary psychological perspectives on mating. Finally, additional examples illustrate how the framework can generate new research questions about core relationships topics.     

Psychological Foundations of Trust

ABSTRACT— Trust lies at the foundation of nearly all major theories of interpersonal relationships. Despite its great theoretical importance, a limited amount of research has examined how and why trust develops, is maintained, and occasionally unravels in relationships. Following a brief overview of theoretical and empirical milestones in the interpersonal-trust literature, an integrative process model of trust in dyadic relationships is presented.     

Vitamins, minerals, and mood

In this article, the authors explore the breadth and depth of published research linking dietary vitamins and minerals (micronutrients) to mood. Since the 1920s, there have been many studies on individual vitamins (especially B vitamins and Vitamins C, D, and E), minerals (calcium, chromium, iron, magnesium, zinc, and selenium), and vitamin-like compounds (choline). Recent investigations with multi-ingredient formulas are especially promising. However, without a reasonable conceptual framework for understanding mechanisms by which micronutrients might influence mood, the published literature is too readily dismissed. Consequently, 4 explanatory models are presented, suggesting that mood symptoms may be expressions of inborn errors of metabolism, manifestations of deficient methylation reactions, alterations of gene expression by nutrient deficiency, and/or long-latency deficiency diseases. These models provide possible explanations for why micronutrient supplementation could ameliorate some mental symptoms.