Development and initial validation of the comprehensive early childhood parenting questionnaire (CECPAQ) for parents of 1–4 year-olds

Parenting is a multifaceted task and the way in which parents fulfill this task plays an important role in children’s growth and development, especially in early childhood. Conceptualization and assessment of parenting behavior is elementary for research on child and family development and would fill a gap in clinical work, as there is a lack of questionnaires simultaneously assessing multiple parenting behaviors specific for early childhood. Therefore the Comprehensive Early Childhood Parenting Questionnaire (CECPAQ) was designed; a parent report measure of commonly occurring behaviors in five domains of parenting (i.e., support, stimulation, structure, harsh discipline, and positive discipline) central to early childhood. Data were collected from 1139 mothers and 526 fathers of 1–4 year-old children. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed a five-factor structure (composed of 54 items). The five parenting domains were found to have good internal consistency and temporal stability. Preliminary evidence of validity of the CECPAQ was demonstrated by moderate relationships with measures of parental stress and child problem behavior. It is concluded that the CECPAQ is a promising measure of self-perceived parenting behavior for parents of 1–4 year-old children.     

Predicting sugar-sweetened behaviours with theory of planned behaviour constructs: Outcome and process results from the SIPsmartER behavioural intervention

Objective: Guided by the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and health literacy concepts, SIPsmartER is a six-month multicomponent intervention effective at improving SSB behaviours. Using SIPsmartER data, this study explores prediction of SSB behavioural intention (BI) and behaviour from TPB constructs using: (1) cross-sectional and prospective models and (2) 11 single-item assessments from interactive voice response (IVR) technology.

Design: Quasi-experimental design, including pre- and post-outcome data and repeated-measures process data of 155 intervention participants.

Main Outcome Measures: Validated multi-item TPB measures, single-item TPB measures, and self-reported SSB behaviours. Hypothesised relationships were investigated using correlation and multiple regression models.

Results: TPB constructs explained 32% of the variance cross sectionally and 20% prospectively in BI; and explained 13–20% of variance cross sectionally and 6% prospectively. Single-item scale models were significant, yet explained less variance. All IVR models predicting BI (average 21%, range 6–38%) and behaviour (average 30%, range 6–55%) were significant.

Conclusion: Findings are interpreted in the context of other cross-sectional, prospective and experimental TPB health and dietary studies. Findings advance experimental application of the TPB, including understanding constructs at outcome and process time points and applying theory in all intervention development, implementation and evaluation phases.     

Treatment rejecting and treatment seeking personality disorders: Type R and Type S

An important distinguishing feature of one group of personality disorders is the wish of the sufferer to seek treatment. For another group this wish is rarely entertained. Although there is some variation between different types of personality disorder the wish to change is not confined to any one diagnostic category. A useful subclassification of personality disorders is therefore into Type R (treatment rejecting) and Type S (treatment seeking) personality disorders, and these are defined operationally. The classification of 68 personality disordered patients on the caseload of an assertive community team using a simple scale showed a 3 to 1 ratio between Type R and Type S personality disorders with Cluster C personality disorders being significantly more likely to be Type S, and paranoid and schizoid (Cluster A) personality disorders significantly more likely to be Type R than others. It is suggested that this typology is useful for those contemplating treatment with those who have personality disorders.     

Co-constructing a cross-cultural course: resisting and replicating colonizing practices

This article examines the cross-cultural complexities of teaching and learning processes at different levels in a family therapy training program delivered in a different country. It presents two interlinked narratives of an advanced family therapy training program delivered in Slovenia by a U.K-based family therapy training institute. The context in which the training was negotiated and planned is discussed, highlighting issues at the macrosystemic level. Dilemmas that arose in relation to differing beliefs about teaching and learning are elaborated. We examine power relationships, ways that we positioned ourselves and each other, and how we tried and sometimes failed to take these into account. We question how the issue of spoken language and its meanings creates its own constraints and power structures, and how we respond to the impossibilities of translation. We argue that it is through the examination of uncomfortable processes that we develop self-reflexivity and work toward more equitable relationships.     

Post-traumatic stress disorder in a Danish population of elderly bereaved

The objectives of this study were to examine psychological sequalae of loss of a spouse in late life especially the occurrence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and possible predictors of PTSD and symptom development. Fifty-four bereaved Danes (mean age 75 years) from five geographically different areas were studied by the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ), the Trauma Symptom Checklist (TSC), and the Crisis Support Scale (CSS). One month after the loss, 27% of the subjects had PTSD. Six months after the loss, this number decreased to 17%; if the A2 criterion was dismissed, the number increased to 24%. Lack of expressive ability, numbing, fear of death or illness, and helplessness in relation to the loss predicted 73% of the variance of the HTQ-total scores. The study concluded that for a considerable number of elderly, losing a spouse in late life appeared to be a traumatic experience. Pre- and peritraumatic factors together with numbing were important predictors of traumatization. Research implications are discussed.     

A 32-society investigation of the influence of perceived economic inequality on social class stereotyping

There is a growing body of work suggesting that social class stereotypes are amplified when people perceive higher levels of economic inequality—that is, the wealthy are perceived as more competent and assertive and the poor as more incompetent and unassertive. The present study tested this prediction in 32 societies and also examines the role of wealth-based categorization in explaining this relationship. We found that people who perceived higher economic inequality were indeed more likely to consider wealth as a meaningful basis for categorization. Unexpectedly, however, higher levels of perceived inequality were associated with perceiving the wealthy as less competent and assertive and the poor as more competent and assertive. Unpacking this further, exploratory analyses showed that the observed tendency to stereotype the wealthy negatively only emerged in societies with lower social mobility and democracy and higher corruption. This points to the importance of understanding how socio-structural features that co-occur with economic inequality may shape perceptions of the wealthy and the poor.     

Neurophysiologic markers of primary motor cortex for laryngeal muscles and premotor cortex in caudal opercular part of inferior frontal gyrus investigated in motor speech disorder: a navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) study

Transcranial magnetic stimulation studies have so far reported the results of mapping the primary motor cortex (M1) for hand and tongue muscles in stuttering disorder. This study was designed to evaluate the feasibility of repetitive navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for locating the M1 for laryngeal muscle and premotor cortical area in the caudal opercular part of inferior frontal gyrus, corresponding to Broca’s area in stuttering subjects by applying new methodology for mapping these motor speech areas. Sixteen stuttering and eleven control subjects underwent rTMS motor speech mapping using modified patterned rTMS. The subjects performed visual object naming task during rTMS applied to the (a) left M1 for laryngeal muscles for recording corticobulbar motor-evoked potentials (CoMEP) from cricothyroid muscle and (b) left premotor cortical area in the caudal opercular part of inferior frontal gyrus while recording long latency responses (LLR) from cricothyroid muscle. The latency of CoMEP in control subjects was 11.75 ± 2.07 ms and CoMEP amplitude was 294.47 ± 208.87 µV, and in stuttering subjects CoMEP latency was 12.13 ± 0.75 ms and 504.64 ± 487.93 µV CoMEP amplitude. The latency of LLR in control subjects was 52.8 ± 8.6 ms and 54.95 ± 4.86 in stuttering subjects. No significant differences were found in CoMEP latency, CoMEP amplitude, and LLR latency between stuttering and control-fluent speakers. These results indicate there are probably no differences in stuttering compared to controls in functional anatomy of the pathway used for transmission of information from premotor cortex to the M1 cortices for laryngeal muscle representation and from there via corticobulbar tract to laryngeal muscles.     

Social Desirability Scales as Indicators of Self-Enhancement and Impression Management

This article presents 2 studies testing Paulhus's (2002) assumption that unconscious self-enhancement and conscious impression management represent separate processes of socially desirable responding (SDR) that can be observed within 2 content domains (egoistic and moralistic bias). In Study 1, we devised egoistic and moralistic SDR scales intended to measure self-enhancement in honest responding and impression management under demands for positive self-presentation. In Study 2, we correlated scores on these scales with external indicators of self-enhancement and impression management. In honest responding, both SDR scales most strongly correlated with self-enhancement indicators, whereas under demands for positive self-presentation they correlated more strongly with external measures of impression management.     

Integrating who “we” are with what “we” (will not) stand for: A further extension of the Social Identity Model of Collective Action

Collective action refers to any action that individuals undertake as group members to pursue group goals such as social change. In this chapter, we further extend the Social Identity Model of Collective Action (SIMCA) by including not just (politicised) identity but also moral motivations into its core, effectively integrating who “we” are with what “we” (will not) stand for. Conceptually, we utilise self-categorisation theory’s notion of normative fit to elaborate this special relationship between the moral and identity motivations for collective action. Empirically, we review two research projects (the experimental and survey-based Value-Identity Fit Project and the longitudinal Politicisation Project) that both suggest that the SIMCA needs to be extended to include, both conceptually and empirically, a broader range of (violated) moral beliefs and a focus on identity content. We discuss key implications of expanding the core of the SIMCA for the social psychology of collective action and social change, and suggest new directions for future theorising and research in this field.