Child care before 6 months of age: a qualitative study of mothers' decisions and feelings about employment and non‐maternal care

Employment of women while their children are infants has increased in the UK in the last decade. This study of 57 employed mothers of infants less than seven months old examined their retrospective reports of planning child care and their contemporaneous feelings about the child care they were using, based on qualitative interviews. Issues addressed included mothers' reasons for returning to employment at that time, their theoretical preferences among a range of child care types and providers and the process of making actual choices, including the range and types of advice received and the involvement of fathers. Mothers were also encouraged to discuss their feelings about how child care was working out once the infant was settled. Continuing concerns expressed by mothers included the importance of open communication with caregivers, their desire to keep control over infants' daily lives and upbringing, worries about infants' safety and concerns about the levels of cognitive stimulation they received. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The correlates of dyadic synchrony in high-risk, low-income toddler boys

Synchrony has been broadly conceptualized as the quality of the parent-child dyadic relationship. Parenting, factors that compromise caregiving quality, and child characteristics have all been theoretically linked to synchrony, but little research has been conducted to validate such associations. The present study examined correlates of synchrony including parenting, maternal psychological resources and child attributes, among a sample of 120 mother-son dyads who were participating in a treatment study for children identified as being at risk for developing early conduct problems. There families participated in an at-home assessment, which included a series of mother-son interactions. Synchrony was associated with aspects of parenting and child attributes, including maternal nurturance, and child emotional negativity and language skills. The findings are discussed in terms of parent and child contributions to the development of synchrony.     

Use of a religious hymn in remission of symptoms of social phobia (social anxiety disorder): a case study

This case report described a veteran with social anxiety disorder who reported fears of negative evaluation by others, social avoidance, and accompanying physiological symptoms of heart palpitations, gastrointestinal discomfort, muscle tension and mental confusion. The symptoms of social anxiety disorder subsided with the use of a Christian hymn "Be Still My Soul" and its accompanying musical poem, in Finlandia. The veteran attributed the symptom remission to the feeling of stillness and surrender to God conveyed by the words and music of the hymn. Although previous studies have shown that both music and religious beliefs can affect mental health, the findings in this case cannot be generalized without conducting further prospective empirical studies.     

Book Reviews

Pastoral Psychology -     

Examining Sex Differences in Altering Attitudes About Rape: A Test of the Elaboration Likelihood Model

This intervention sought to improve first-year college students' attitudes about rape. The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) was used to examine men and women's attitude change processes. Both quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used to examine how men and women construed rape prevention messages. Results indicated numerous sex differences in the ways in which men and women experienced and changed during and after the rape prevention intervention. Women seemed to use more central-route attitude change processes and showed more lasting change from the intervention at 2-month follow-up, whereas men seemed to attend more to peripheral cues of the speaker and demonstrated more transient attitude change.     

Outgrowing physics envy: Reconceptualizing social research

There is a pervasive sense of unease among social scientists concerning the status of social research. This unease is rooted partly in a false dichotomy between objectivity and subjectivity and a belief that an idealized positivist version of classical physics should be the model for all sciences. Experimental methodology is one of many valid ways of obtaining knowledge and carries with its use a particular set of problems, particularly when social phenomena are studied. A reconceptualization of social research is needed, in which experimental and quasi-experimental methods are used with more caution and are supplemented by a more thorough conceptual apparatus.