Transportation,Stress, and Community Psychology

Conditions of transportation were investigated as sources of psychological stress as they affect the physiology, task performance, and mood of commuters. Participants in the study were 100 employees of industrial firms. Traffic congestion was construed as a behavioral constraint in terms of the concept of impedance which is defined by the parameters of distance and time. It was expected that the effects of impedance would be mediated by personality factors, such as locus of control. Multivariate tests of the internal validity of the impedance factor were significant. However, significant main effects for impedance were obtained only for mood and residential adaptation. The predicted interactions of impedance with locus of control were obtained across task performance indices. In multiple regression analyses, the distance and speed of the commute to work were found to account for significant proportions of variation in blood pressure, while several indices of personal control had significant regression effects on the task measures. The implications of the results for research in community psychology are discussed.     

Memory impairments and hippocampal modifications in adult rats with neonatal isolation stress experience

Early life events have profound consequences. Our research demonstrates that the early life stress of neonatal isolation (1-h individual isolation on postnatal days 2-9) in rats has immediate and enduring neural and behavioral effects. Recently, we showed neonatal isolation impaired hippocampal-dependent context conditioned fear in adult rats. We now expand upon this finding to test whether neonatal isolation impairs performance in inhibitory avoidance and in the non-aversive, hippocampal-dependent object recognition task. In addition to assessments of hippocampal-dependent memory, we examined if neonatal isolation results in cellular alterations in the adult hippocampus. This was measured with antibodies that selectively label calpain-mediated spectrin breakdown product (BDP), a marker of cytoskeletal modification that can have neuronal consequences. Neonatally isolated male and female rats showed impaired performance in both memory tasks as well as elevated BDP levels in hippocampal immunoblot samples. In tissue sections stained for BDP, the cytoskeletal fragmentation was localized to pyramidal neurons and their proximal dendrites. Interestingly, the hippocampal samples also exhibited reduced staining for the postsynaptic marker, GluR1. Neonatal isolation may render those neurons involved in memory encoding to be vulnerable to calpain deregulation and synaptic compromise as shown previously with brain injury. Together with our prior research showing enhanced striatal-dependent learning and neurochemical responsivity, these results indicate that the early experience of neonatal isolation causes enduring yet opposing region-specific neural and behavioral alterations.     

Examination of a multi-factorial model of body-related experiences during pregnancy: the relationships among physical symptoms, sleep quality, depression, self-esteem, and negative body attitudes

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate relationships among women's body attitudes, physical symptoms, self-esteem, depression, and sleep quality during pregnancy. Pregnant women (N = 215) at 15–25 weeks gestation completed a questionnaire including four body image subscales assessing self-reported feeling fat, attractiveness, strength/fitness, and salience of weight and shape. Women reported on 29 pregnancy-related physical complaints, and completed the Beck Depression Inventory, Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. In regressions, controlling for retrospective reports of body image, more frequent and intense physical symptoms were related to viewing the self as less strong/fit, and to poorer sleep quality and more depressive symptoms. In a multi-factorial model extending previous research, paths were found from sleep quality to depressive symptoms to self-esteem; self-esteem was found to be a mediator associated with lower scores on feeling fat and salience of weight and shape, and on higher perceived attractiveness.     

The Impact of Physical Maltreatment History on the Adolescent Mother–Infant Relationship: Mediating and Moderating Effects During the Transition to Early Parenthood

Using attachment theory as a framework, this paper examines how pregnant adolescents' experiences of physical maltreatment during childhood influence the subsequent mother-infant relationship in 203 low-income adolescents followed from the 3rd trimester of pregnancy through the 1st year of parenthood. The relation between physical maltreatment history and early difficulty in the mother-infant relationship was mediated by adolescents' evaluations of the relationship with their primary caretaker and the feelings they associated with motherhood measured prior to childbirth. In addition, a supportive romantic relationship during pregnancy acted as a protective factor by moderating the impact of maltreatment history on the quality of the subsequent mother-infant relationship. Findings support the importance of assessments and interventions that consider the social context and relational history of pregnant and parenting adolescents.     

The mediating role of maternal responsiveness in some longer term effects of postnatal depression on infant development

We hypothesized a mediating role for low maternal responsiveness in certain child developmental deficits found previously to be associated with postnatal depression. Forty depressed inpatients and 48 control (non-depressed) mothers and their infants were followed until 42 months postpartum. Mother–infant interactions were impaired at 6 months postpartum in the depressed group. Subsequent cognitive deficits were found in children's Full Scale IQ on the Wechsler Preschool Primary Scale of Intelligence (Revised) at 42 months of age. Statistical modeling of the mediation hypothesis confirmed that these effects were overwhelmingly explained by lowered maternal responsiveness at 6 months. Similarly, increased temperamental difficulties were apparent in children of depressed mothers but were not correlated with maternal responsiveness. Male infants of depressed mothers were disproportionately vulnerable (compared to females) to impaired cognitive abilities associated with maternal depression. The data concur with previous work and provide empirical support for the theoretical prediction that early disturbances of the mother–infant interaction will mediate some developmental deficits in the children of depressed mothers.     

RELATIONSHIP VIOLENCE AMONG ADOLESCENT MOTHERS: FREQUENCY, DYADIC NATURE, AND IMPLICATIONS FOR RELATIONSHIP DISSOLUTION AND MENTAL HEALTH

This article examines whether the frequency, dyadic nature, and potential implications of relationship violence differ in parenting ( n = 163) and nulliparous (i.e., never given birth; n = 165) adolescent females from low-income, urban communities. We found the frequency and dyadic nature of violence did not differ between parental status groups. Over half of the adolescents in both groups reported relationship violence in the past year, with female-enacted violence more common than male-enacted violence. However, significant group differences emerged in the relationship between violence and subsequent relationship dissolution and mental health. Higher levels of female-enacted violence predicted relationship dissolution among nulliparous adolescents but predicted increases in depression in parenting adolescents. Findings highlight the need for violence prevention programs tailored specifically to the developmental and contextual needs of adolescent mothers.     

Status,Gender, and Nonverbal Behavior in Candid and Posed Photographs: A Study of Conversations Between University Employees

Ninety-six male and female university employees (93% White, 6% African American, 1% Asian) were photographed in dyads while they conversed about working at their university (candid photographs) and again while they deliberately faced the camera (posed photographs). Eight nonverbal behaviors were coded from the photographs, and relative status was ascertained from a postexperimental questionnaire. Status differences were found for upward (chin-up) head tilt and for resting elbows on leg or furniture; candid versus posed differences were found for upward head tilt, smiling, and raising the eyebrows; and gender differences were found for smiling, erect posture, forward lean, and touching self. Interactions involving gender, candid/posed photographs, and/or status suggested limitations to generalizations about main effects.