Maternal factors and experiences associated with observed parenting behavior in mothers attending a residential parenting program

Parents experiencing early parenting difficulties often seek support through parenting programs. Characteristics of mothers seeking parenting support and information at an early parenting center in Victoria, Australia and the relationships between these factors and parenting behavior were explored using an observational measure of parent–child interaction. Participants were 43 mothers and children attending a 5‐day residential parenting program at the Queen Elizabeth Centre. Maternal and sociodemographic data as well as an observational mother–child interaction task from the Nursing Child Assessment Satellite Training Parent Child Interaction Teaching scale were completed and scored on the first day of the program. Certain maternal factors and experiences were associated with observed parenting behavior. Poorer maternal sleeping quality, unplanned pregnancy and preterm birth were all associated with less optimal parenting behavior in certain domains. Findings are discussed with reference to the impact of past experiences around pregnancy and birth as well as the current context and well‐being of mothers attending early parenting centers.     

Mental Health Research in Correctional Settings: Perceptions of Risk and Vulnerabilities

With more than half of individuals incarcerated having serious mental health concerns, correctional settings offer excellent opportunities for epidemiological, prevention, and intervention research. However, due to unique ethical and structural challenges, these settings create risks and vulnerabilities for participants not typically encountered in research populations. We surveyed 1,224 researchers, Institutional Review Board (IRB) members, and IRB prisoner representatives to assess their perceptions of risks and vulnerabilities associated with mental health research conducted in correctional settings. Highest ranked risks were related to privacy, stigma, and confidentiality; lowest ranked risks were related to prisoners’ loss of privileges or becoming targets of violence due to having participated in research. Cognitive impairment, mental illness, lack of autonomy, and limited access to services emerged as the greatest sources of vulnerability; being male, being female, being older than age 60, being a minority, and being pregnant were the lowest ranked sources of vulnerability. Researchers with corrections experience perceived lower risks and vulnerabilities than all other groups, raising the question whether these researchers accurately appraise risk and vulnerability based on experience, or if their lower risk and vulnerability perceptions reflect potential bias due to their vested interests. By identifying areas of particular risk and vulnerability, this study provides important information for researchers and research reviewers alike.     

Involvement of amygdala in inhibitory control over aggression in the rat: A synopsis

An experimentally produced hyperreactivity facilitates initiation of mouse-killing in rats that did not previously develop any stable inhibition of interspecific aggression. Destruction of the corticomedial amygdala or interruption of the stria terminalis interferes with the development of such an inhibition on the basis of “social” influences, whereas lateral amygdaloid lesions have no effect on mouse-killing.     

Discrimination between aversive brain stimulations: effect of stimulation parameters

Rats placed in a T maze were shown to be able to discriminate between two stimulations applied to one and the same brain site and inducing aversive effects of different magnitude. Discrimination occurred irrespective of whether the two stimulations differed in either intensity or frequency, and irrespective of whether they were applied to a medial hypothalamic or to a mesencephalic central gray site. Generalization experiments were performed in which either the stimulation parameter used to establish the discrimination or another parameter was varied. The results show that the animal's choice cannot be predicted on the sole basis of either the electrical charge/second applied or the escape latency induced.     

Can the home environment promote resilience for children born very preterm in the context of social and medical risk?

Relationships between the home environment and early developmental outcomes were examined in 166 children born very preterm in one tertiary maternity hospital to explore whether a more optimal home environment could promote resilience. In particular, we explored whether this effect was apparent over and above social risk and children's biological risk, as measured by cerebral white matter abnormality (WMA) evaluated using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at term-corrected age and length of hospital stay (LOS), and whether the effect of the home environment differed according to WMA. The home environment and social-emotional outcomes were assessed at 2years' corrected age using the Home Screening Questionnaire (HSQ) and the Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (ITSEA). Children's cognitive and motor development was assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development II. A more optimal home environment was associated with better cognitive and social-emotional development after adjusting for social risk, WMA, and LOS. Neonatal cerebral WMA moderated the relationship between the home environment and dysregulation problems only, such that the home environment had less effect on dysregulation for children with mild or moderate to severe WMA. The need to support parents to create an optimal home environment is discussed.     

Interspecific aggressiveness and reactivity in mouse-killing and nonkilling rats: Compared effects of olfactory bulb removal and raphe lesions

The experiments aimed at uncovering possible correlations between inter-specific aggressiveness and general and emotional responsiveness (appraised by means of the open-field technique) in the rat. Killer rats showed a higher level of emotional responsiveness than nonkillers. Removal of the olfactory bulbs induced an increased reactivity both in the rats which were converted into killers in those whose behavior toward mice remained unchanged. Destruction of the dorsal and medial nuclei of the raphé induced a clear hyperreactivity in most lesioned animals, but provoked initiation of mouse-killing behavior in only one-third. When produced in rats which had remained nonkillers following olfactory bulb removal, the raphé lesion clearly enhanced both the general and the emotional responsiveness; it provoked initiation of mouse-killing behavior in about 75% of the lesioned animals. The discussion bears on the correlations between interspecific aggressiveness and experimentally induced hyperreactivity in the rat.