Mutual visual regard during mother-infant play.

Mutual visual regard was observed in 48 mother-infant dyads during a 6-min. play session. Infant-mother dyads containing 4 mo. -olds displayed significantly more mutual visual regard than dyads containing 6- or 8-mo.-olds. In addition, the more time infants spent in face-to-face interaction with mother, the more smiling they engaged in. No sex difference were observed.     

The heart of control: Proactive cognitive control training limits anxious cardiac arousal under stress

Research and theory suggest that anxious people employ cognitive control on a relatively late and transient basis. This tendency may impair emotion regulation that depends on early, persistent implementation of cognitive control. We examined whether anxious people could be trained to apply cognitive control proactively (i.e., in advance of goal-related action) and whether such training limited anxiety’s rise during stress. In Study 1, 96 high trait-anxious participants completed proactive or reactive training followed by the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) with measurement of subjective anxiety, heart rate, and skin conductance level (SCL). In Study 2, 59 high trait-anxious participants completed a proactive or no-instruction training for 4 days and then completed the TSST. For Study 2 but not Study 1, the proactive versus control training was associated with lower stress-related increases in subjective anxiety and heart rate, but not sympathetically mediated SCL. Exercising proactive control may leverage the parasympathetic nervous system to inhibit the escalation of anxious arousal during stress.     

Predicting Parenting Stress in Families of Children with ADHD: Parent and Contextual Factors

We examined parental ADHD symptoms and contextual (parental education, social support, marital status) predictors of parent domain parenting stress (parental distress) as a function of child ADHD symptoms in a sample of 95 parents of 8 to 12 year-old children with and without ADHD. Parents’ perceptions of parental distress and social support were inversely-related. Parental ADHD symptomatology was the strongest predictor of parental distress of the variables considered. Models using teacher reports of child ADHD symptomatology and oppositionality differed from ones using parent reports, in that child oppositionality was only predictive of parental distress in the parent-report model. A post-hoc analysis showed that child factors did not predict parental distress over and above parent ADHD symptoms and contextual factors. These results suggest that parental ADHD symptomatology and parenting stress reduction should be considered in development of interventions for families of children with ADHD.     

Suicide assessment and evaluation strategies: a primer for counselling psychologists

Suicide is a recognized national health risk in many countries. In order to effectively intervene in suicidal crises, it is important for mental health professionals to understand facts about suicidal behaviour, procedures for assessing an individual's risk of self-harm, and the evaluation of the lethality of a client's suicidal gestures. With updated knowledge and proper training, counselling psychologists can play a vital role in suicide prevention. This paper summarizes for counselling psychologists current statistics about suicide, general and specific risk factors for suicidality, and assessment tools used to evaluate suicidal risk.     

Examining Walkability and Social Capital as Indicators of Quality of Life at the Municipal and Neighborhood Scales

Walkability has been linked to quality of life in many ways. Health related benefits of physical exercise, the accessibility and access benefits of being able to walk to obtain some of your daily needs, or the mental health and social benefits of reduced isolation are a few of the many positive impacts on quality of life that can result from a walkable neighborhood. In the age of increasing energy costs and climate considerations, the ability to walk to important locations is a key component of sustainable communities. While the health and environmental implications of walkable communities are being extensively studied, the social benefits have not been investigated as broadly. Social capital is a measure of an individual’s or group’s networks, personal connections, and involvement. Like economic and human capital, social capital is considered to have important values to both individuals and communities. Through a case study approach this article argues that the generation and maintenance of social capital is another important component of quality of life that may be facilitated by living in a walkable community. Residents living in neighborhoods of varying built form and thus varying levels of walkability in three communities in New Hampshire were surveyed about their levels of social capital and travel behaviors. Comparisons between the more walkable and less walkable neighborhoods show that levels of social capital are higher in more walkable neighborhoods.     

Discrepancy Analysis of Emerging Adult and Parental Report of Psychological Problems and Relationship Quality

Cross-informant discrepancies on reports of psychopathology can have detrimental consequences on the relationship between emerging adults and their parents. The current study utilized emerging adult reports of their own psychopathology and their perspective on their parent’s psychopathology as well as their parents’ reports of parental psychopathology and their perspective on the emerging adult’s psychopathology (measured using the Adult Self Report and Adult Behavior Checklist). Analyses were performed to further examine the associated between the discrepancies between emerging adult and parent reports of psychopathology on dyadic relationship qualities (i.e., affection, conflict, and satisfaction within the emerging adult-parent relationship). Emerging adults and their parents demonstrated significant differences in their reports of parental depression as well as emerging adult depression, anxiety, and antisocial personality problems. Furthermore, discrepancies on parental depression and antisocial problems and emerging adult depression were associated with differences on relationship qualities. Additional results and implications are discussed.

     

The Effect of a Swarm of Local Tornados on Tornado Preparedness: A Quasi‐Comparable Cohort Investigation1

Previous research has indicated that experience with natural disasters appears to affect the extent to which populations act to mitigate and prepare for these events. Such efforts, however, have failed to disclose precisely why this relationship appears viable. Furthermore, rarely have these investigations included pre‐ and post‐tornado data from similar populations. In an effort to investigate further the effects of the mechanisms underlying the relationship between experience with disasters and preparedness actions, relevant data were assessed for 2 samples from the same population before and after the occurrence of a swarm of local tornados. Results indicate that tornado preparedness levels increased significantly following the tornados. Furthermore, appraised threat of tornados and personal responsibility for preparedness actions also increased significantly following the tornados. Implications of these results are discussed.     

Effects of parent enhancement therapy on the treatment outcome and generalization of a parent training program

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of parent enhancement training in facilitating treatment and maintenance effects of a parent training program. Seventeen mothers and their clinic-referred noncompliant children were assigned to either a parent training alone group or a parent training plus parent enhancement therapy group. Fifteen mothers and their nonclinic children served as a quasi-control group. All clinic-referred mother-child dyads were treated individually by teaching the mother to reward compliance and other prosocial behavior and to use time-out for noncompliance. In addition, mothers in the parent training plus parent enhancement group also received treatment related to the following areas: parent's perception of their child's behavior, parent's personal adjustment, parent's marital adjustment, and parent's extrafamilial relationships. Assessment consisted of four home observations by independent observers prior to treatment, after treatment, and at a 2-month follow-up. The data indicated that the parent training plus parent enhancement therapy was more effective than parent training alone in changing child deviant behavior at posttreatment and in maintaining child compliance, child deviant behavior, parental rewards and parent contingent attention at follow-up. The control group did not change over the three assessment periods.