Maternal Role Confusion: Relations to Maternal Attachment and Mother–Child Interaction from Infancy to Adolescence

Self‐reports of role confusion with the parent in childhood are associated with a variety of adverse outcomes. However, role‐confusion has been studied primarily from the point of view of the child. The current study evaluated an instrument for assessing role confusion from maternal interviews rather than from child observations or self‐reports in adulthood. Fifty‐one mothers participating in a longitudinal study since their own child's infancy were administered the Experiences of Caregiving Interview (C. George & J. Solomon, 1996) when the child was age 20. Interviews were coded using the newly developed Parental Assessment of Role Confusion (PARC; L. Vulliez‐Coady & K. Lyons‐Ruth, 2009). Maternal PARC scores were related to observational measures of role‐confusion in interaction with the child both in infancy and late adolescence. PARC scores also were related to mothers’ hostile‐helpless states of mind on the Adult Attachment Interview (C. George, N. Kaplan, & M. Main, 1984, 1985, 1986) and to the extent of Unresolved loss, but not Unresolved Trauma. PARC scores also were related to mothers’ self‐reports of helplessness experienced in the parenting role. Discriminant validity of the PARC was demonstrated in that role confusion on the PARC was not related to hostile or disoriented forms of parent–child interaction. Implications for clinical assessment of role confusion are discussed.     

Early Postpartum Parental Preoccupation and Positive Parenting Thoughts: Relationship with Parent–Infant Interaction

Parenting behaviors and parent–infant emotional bonding during the early postpartum months play a critical role in infant development. However, the nature and progression of parental thoughts and their relationship with interactive behaviors have received less research. The current study investigated the trajectory of parental thoughts and behaviors among primiparous mothers (n = 18) and fathers (n = 15) and multiparous mothers (n = 13) and fathers (n = 13), which were measured at the first and third postpartum month. At the third postpartum month, the relationship between parental thoughts and parental interactive behaviors also was tested. Mothers and fathers showed high levels of preoccupations and caregiving thoughts during the first postpartum month that significantly declined by the third postpartum month. In contrast, positive thoughts about parenting and the infant increased over the same time interval. Mothers presented higher levels of preoccupations and positive thoughts than did fathers, and first‐time parents reported more intense preoccupations than did experienced parents. Although maternal sensitivity was inversely related to maternal anxious thoughts, paternal sensitivity was predicted by higher levels of anxious as well as caregiving and positive thoughts.     

Trajectories and predictors of developmental skills in healthy twins up to 24 months of age

Background

Low birth weight and low 5-min Apgar scores have been associated with developmental delay, while older maternal age is a protective factor. Little is known about trajectories and predictors of developmental skills in infant twins, who are generally born with lower birth weights, lower Apgar scores and to older mothers.

Methods

Developmental skills were assessed at 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months using the Ages and Stages Questionnaires in 152 twins from the Birmingham Registry for Twin and Heritability Studies. Multilevel spline and linear regression models (adjusted for gestational age, gender, maternal age) were used to estimate developmental trajectories and the associations between birth weight, maternal age and Apgar scores on developmental skills.

Results

Twins performed worse than singletons on communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem solving and personal-social skills (p < 0.001). Twins caught up around 6 months (score within −1 standard deviation of norm), except on gross motor skills, which did not catch up until after the age of 12 months. A one-year increase in maternal age was significantly associated with decreases in gross motor and personal–social z-scores of up to −0.09, whereas one unit increases in Apgar score increased z-scores up to 0.90 (p < 0.01).

Conclusions

Healthy twins should be considered at a higher risk for developmental delay. Whether these results are comparable to preterm singletons, or whether there are twin-specific issues involved, should be further investigated in a study that uses a matched singleton control group.     

Influences on the Food Choice Behaviors of Adults With Severe Mental Illness

The objective of this research was to gain a deeper understanding of factors influencing the healthiness of food choice behaviors of community-dwelling adults with severe mental illness. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in an outpatient treatment facility with 20 program participants and 10 staff. Grounded theory analysis methods were used. Five dominant themes emerged: food availability, preference for simple food preparation, perceived cost of food, complexity of choice, and relative importance of healthy food choices. The theme of medication effects only emerged from staff interviews. This research can be useful to inform the design of nutrition interventions for this population.     

Redecision family therapy: Its use with intensive multiple family groups

Abstract

Intensive multiple family group therapy combines the advantages of group therapy with those of time-limited, goal-oriented approaches. Using the Redecision Family Therapy model further refines the technique by integrating the seemingly disparate methods of intrapsychic and systemic therapy. In this paper we describe our 10-year experience with this model, elaborate on the model itself and discuss the results of an outcome survey.     

The national council on family relations

Abstract

This study tested two hypotheses concerning the nature of family rules about affect which were derived from the systems models of Satir (1967, 1972); Satir, Stachowiak and Taschman (1975); Turner and Gross (1976); and Umana, Gross and Turner (1978). The major hypotheses examined were: 1) family members share common rules about how they should handle their affect and 2) family rules about handling affect differentiate families according to their level of adjustment. Fifty-four family triads of father, mother and an adolescent child filled out questionnaires designed to measure how family members believed that they should behave (ideal) in affective situations and also how they perceived themselves behaving (actual) in the same situations. The results indicated support for the first hypothesis but not for the second. Alternative explanations of the data were offered including the idea that the questionnaire tapped social norms.     

Alcoholism and the family in peru: The impact of an alcoholic on teenagers' perceptions of the family

Abstract

We studied Peruvian high school students' perceptions of their family environment when a member of their household had a significant problem with alcohol using specialized forms of both the Family Environment Scale (FES) and the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (SMAST). Of our sample of 218 high school students in Lima, Peru, 91.7% lived in a household in which a member had a significant problem with alcohol as defined by the family form of the SMAST. Also, when the alcoholic individual was a member of the nuclear family, the high school students perceived their families as less cohesive, less well organized, and with a lesser ability to express themselves. These family perceptions are similar to those found in American high school students who live with an alcoholic family member. Possible epidemiologic and family implications of these findings are discussed.     

Biased processing of sad faces: An ERP marker candidate for depression susceptibility

Depression has been associated with task-relevant increased attention toward negative information, reduced attention toward positive information, or reduced inhibition of task-irrelevant negative information. This study employed behavioural and psychophysiological measures (event-related potentials; ERP) to examine whether groups with risk factors for depression (past depression, current dysphoria) would show attentional biases or inhibitory deficits related to viewing facial expressions. In oddball task blocks, young adult participants responded to an infrequently presented target emotion (e.g., sad) and inhibited responses to an infrequently presented distracter emotion (e.g., happy) in the context of frequently presented neutral stimuli. Previous depression was uniquely associated with greater P3 ERP amplitude following sad targets, reflecting a selective attention bias. Also, dysphoric individuals less effectively inhibited responses to sad distracters than non-dysphoric individuals according to behavioural data, but not psychophysiological data. Results suggest that depression risk may be most reliably characterised by increased attention toward others' depressive facial emotion.     

Lesbianism: Some Developmental and Psychodynamic Considerations

In order to further our understanding of lesbianism the newer ideas of female development and of sexual object choice must be integrated into psychoanalytic theory. This includes such concepts as primary femininity, the girl's primary wish for a baby, and female genital sensations leading to a gradual understanding of female anatomy. Ties to each parent develop in tandem, not sequentially. Boys and girls have different attachment and separation experiences. Genital release, a major organizer of male psychological development, may not be as important as intimacy in the girl's development. Multitudes of environmental influences play a role in establishing gender identity, gender role and sexual object choice. Nature and nurture interact. Homosexuality and psychopathology are not connected and psychodynamics is not the same as etiology. A case presentation focuses on the role of aggression in female development. The importance of ambivalence is considered in its impact on maternal identification and sexual object choice.     

The Relationship of Suicidal Ideation to Objective and Subjective Executive Functioning

Prior research on executive ability and suicidal ideation (SI) has frequently failed to account for either symptom or performance validity. Similarly, studies have not adequately examined both objective performance on executive tests and subjective report of executive deficits in relationship to SI. The purpose of this study was to address these gaps in research by accounting for performance validity, symptom validity, and considering self-reported executive complaints with objective performance. We hypothesized that (a) increases in self-reported SI on the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991 Morey, L. C. (1991). Personality Assessment Inventory: Professional manual. Tampa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources. [Google Scholar]) Suicidal Ideation subscale would be related to poorer performance on objective and subjective tests of executive function and (b) level of self-reported depressive symptoms would moderate the relationship between SI and measures of executive function, such that individuals with higher levels of both depressive symptoms and executive dysfunction would be more likely to experience higher levels of SI. No measure of executive function was related to SI when accounting for demographic variables and depressive symptoms. Wisconsin Card Sort Test categories completed was the only measure of executive function to interact significantly with depressive symptoms to predict SI (β = .43). Of particular note, self-reported executive dysfunction was highly correlated with Beck Depression Inventory?II ( Beck, Steer, &; Brown, 1996 Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., &; Brown, G. K. (1996). Beck Depression Inventory (2nd ed.). San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation. [Google Scholar]) scores (r = .78). Clinical implications and future directions for research are discussed.