Maternal and child contributions to cortisol response to emotional arousal in young children from low-income, rural communities

Relations of maternal and child characteristics to child cortisol reactivity to and recovery from emotional arousal were examined prospectively at approximately 7 months of age (infancy) and then again at approximately 15 months of age (toddlerhood). The sample was diverse and population based (N = 1,292 mother-infant dyads) and included families from predominantly low-income, rural communities. Maternal behavior, family income-to-need ratio and social advantage, and child temperament, attention, and mental development were assessed, and children's saliva was sampled before and after standardized procedures designed to elicit emotional arousal. Maternal engagement in infancy was associated with greater cortisol reactivity at the infancy assessment and with reduced overall cortisol level at the toddler assessment. Also at the toddler assessment, child attention, mental development, and temperamental distress to novelty were associated with increased cortisol reactivity and regulation, whereas temperamental distress to limitations and African American ethnicity were associated with reduced cortisol reactivity. Findings are consistent with prior work linking early caregiving to the development of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis stress response system and with a conceptual model in which developing temperament is characterized by the interplay of emotional reactivity and the emergence of the ability to effortfully regulate this reactivity using attention.     

Comparative decline of professional school graduates' performance on the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology

The discrepancy between traditional (Boulder Model) and professional school (Vail Model) clinical psychology graduate programs on the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) was greater using 1997-2005 data than in an earlier study using 1988-1995 data. The relative decline of the performance of professional school graduates on the EPPP was attributed in part to the increase of 31.1% in number of listed professional schools over the last decade, in particular, because those schools have lower academic standards. It is recommended that professional programs accept fewer students and have more rigorous quality control mechanisms for the students who have been accepted. It is further recommended that no new professional schools be started and that marginal programs be phased out.     

Dissociating word stem completion and cued recall as a function of divided attention at retrieval

The aim of this study was to investigate the widely held, but largely untested, view that implicit memory (repetition priming) reflects an automatic form of retrieval. Specifically, in Experiment 1 we explored whether a secondary task (syllable monitoring), performed during retrieval, would disrupt performance on explicit (cued recall) and implicit (stem completion) memory tasks equally. Surprisingly, despite substantial memory and secondary costs to cued recall when performed with a syllable-monitoring task, the same manipulation had no effect on stem completion priming or on secondary task performance. In Experiment 2 we demonstrated that even when using a particularly demanding version of the stem completion task that incurred secondary task costs, the corresponding disruption to implicit memory performance was minimal. Collectively, the results are consistent with the view that implicit memory retrieval requires little or no processing capacity and is not seemingly susceptible to the effects of dividing attention at retrieval.     

Clinical Interview for high‐risk Parents of premature infants (CLIP) as a predictor of early disruptions in the mother–infant relationship at the nursery

The relations between mothers' narrative regarding the infant and the premature birth and the quality of mother–infant interaction were examined in mothers of 47 very low birth weight (<1650 g) premature singletons prior to discharge. Maternal representations were assessed with the Clinical Interview for high‐risk Parents of premature babies (CLIP), a semistructured interview that explores mothers' experiences of the pregnancy, delivery, hospitalization period, thoughts and feelings about the infant, and impending discharge. Ten minutes of mother–infant interaction were videotaped, and global and microanalytic codes were used to define three interactive variables: maternal adaptation, maternal touch, and infant withdrawal. Factor analysis of the CLIP items identified two factors with eigen values of 2.00 and above, termed Readiness for Motherhood and Maternal Rejection. Regression analyses were used to predict the three interactive variables by the infant's medical condition, maternal anxiety and depression, and the CLIP factors. Maternal adaptation to the infant's signal and maternal positive touch were each uniquely predicted by the mother's readiness for the maternal role, and were each negatively related to maternal depression. The infant's interactive withdrawal was independently predicted by maternal rejection. The clinical implications of the findings and the potential use of the CLIP for routine detection of early disruptions in the mother–infant relationship are discussed. ©2003 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.     

Maternal speech style with prelinguistic twin infants

The mother–infant communicative speech of a group of mothers of 4‐month‐old first‐born twin infants was compared to the speech of a group of mothers of first‐born singleton infants. Maternal groups were matched on age, education level, mother–infant attachment status and infant gender, and maternal depression was assessed as a control variable. Maternal speech was coded for focus, content, complexity and syntax of mothers' utterances. The findings of earlier studies with toddler age twins, that maternal speech style was more directive and less infant‐focused, were replicated in this prelinguistic period of infancy. Compared to mothers of singletons, mothers of twins used less infant‐focused speech, were less responsive to their infants' cues, and attributed less agency to their infants. Mothers of twins also used fewer questions and requests but did not differ from mothers of singletons in their use of negatives and imperatives. These early differences in the language learning environments of twin and singleton infants may be due to the reduced opportunities that mothers of twins have to establish dyadic communicative routines with their infants and to familiarize themselves with their infants as interactive partners, and may have implications for the early language development of twins. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Initial Reliability and Validity of the Life Satisfaction Scale for Problem Youth in a Sample of Drug Abusing and Conduct Disordered Youth

Responses to Life Satisfaction Scale for Problem Youth (LSSPY) items were examined in a sample of 193 substance abusing and conduct disordered adolescents. In responding to the LSSPY, youth endorse their percentage of happiness (0 to 100%) in twelve domains (i.e., friendships, family, school, employment/work, fun activities, appearance, sex life/dating, use of drugs, use of alcohol, money/material possessions, transportation, control of one's life). Results indicated that the LSSPY yielded three factor structures (i.e., Social Satisfaction, External Obligations Satisfaction, Substance Use Satisfaction), demonstrated good initial psychometric properties, and appears to be a useful instrument in the evaluation of treatment outcome in problem youth. Males were more satisfied in the Social and External Obligations domains than females, although no gender differences were indicated in Substance Use Satisfaction. Caucasian, African-American, and Hispanic youths responded to LSSPY items similarly. Future directions are discussed in light of these results.     

Implicit memory: a prime example for brand consideration and choice

Three experiments investigated the influence of implicit memory for familiar brand names on consumer choice. Priming was measured using modified preference judgment tasks that comprised both brand consideration and choice components. Experiment 1 used a ‘complex choice task’ where consideration and choice stages were characterized as acting in sequence. Experiment 2 explored a different formulation whereby consideration and choice were assumed to act in parallel. Both experiments demonstrated that priming had an influence on brand consideration but not on final or preferred choice. Finally, Experiment 3 replicated and extended these findings under more realistic conditions where participants actually received some of the products that they selected. Overall, the experiments suggested that for many decisions involving the consideration of familiar brands prior to choice, previous exposure to brand names can increase the likelihood that they will enter the consumers' consideration set. However, the advantage does not appear to extend to choice itself. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Understanding the relationship between repetition priming and mere exposure

Over the last two decades interest in implicit memory, most notably repetition priming, has grown considerably. During the same period, research has also focused on the mere exposure effect. Although the two areas have developed relatively independently, a number of studies has described the mere exposure effect as an example of implicit memory. Tacit in their comparisons is the assumption that the effect is more specifically a demonstration of repetition priming. Having noted that this assumption has attracted relatively little attention, this paper reviews current evidence and shows that it is by no means conclusive. Although some evidence is suggestive of a common underlying mechanism, even a modified repetition priming (perceptual fluency/attribution) framework cannot accommodate all of the differences between the two phenomena. Notwithstanding this, it seems likely that a version of this theoretical framework still offers the best hope of a comprehensive explanation for the mere exposure effect and its relationship to repetition priming. As such, the paper finishes by offering some initial guidance as to ways in which the perceptual fluency/attribution framework might be extended, as well as outlining important areas for future research.     

Negative Interpretations of Interpersonal Situations and the Relation Between Low Perceived Support and Psychological Distress Among Divorced Adults1

This research tested hypotheses for a mechanism by which low perceived support may lead to psychological distress. According to social‐cognitive models, perceived support guides the interpretation of interpersonal situations. People with low perceived support interpret these situations more negatively than do people with high perceived support, and these negative interpretations lead to psychological distress. This mechanism is hypothesized to be distinct from similar mechanisms involving other social‐cognitive constructs, such as dysfunctional attitudes. These hypotheses were tested in 2 samples of adults adjusting to divorce. The data were consistent with predictions. Implications for understanding low perceived support's relation to distress and adults' adjustment to divorce were discussed.