Development of parenting self‐efficacy in mothers of infants with high negative emotionality

Maternal parenting self‐efficacy (PSE) is a potential target for infant mental health interventions because it is associated with a number of positive outcomes for children and mothers. Understanding the development of maternal PSE under conditions of increased parenting stress, such as parenting an infant who is easily distressed and difficult to soothe, will contribute to providing more effective interventions. This study examines the development of maternal PSE in mothers of infants with high negative emotionality (NE). The Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS; T. Brazelton, 1973 ) was administered twice to 111 infants to select a sample of irritable (n = 24) and nonirritable (n = 29) infants for a prospective study comparing the development of PSE in mothers of infants differing in neonatal NE. Consistent with our hypotheses and previous research, at 8 weeks' postpartum, mothers of irritable infants have significantly lower domain‐specific PSE than do mothers of nonirritable infants. Contrary to our predictions, mothers of irritable infants exhibit a significant increase in domain‐specific and domain‐general PSE from 8 to 16 weeks' postpartum. The implications of these results for infant mental health screening, infant mental health interventions, and research on self‐efficacy theory are discussed.     

Using self-generated validity to promote exercise behaviour

Self-generated validity (SGV) refers to the fact that measurement of cognitions can lead to behaviour change. The present research tested to two predictions in relation to SGV: SGV is stronger when supplementing measures of intentions and other components of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) with measures of anticipated regret; SGV is only stronger when measuring anticipated regret before measuring intentions and other components of the TPB. A total of 576 18-22-year-old students were randomly allocated to complete one of three questionnaires in relation to exercise: (1) TPB questionnaire in relation to exercising in a sports centre (TPB only); (2) TPB questionnaire including anticipated regret questions that appear after intention items and are mixed in with other items (TPB + regret mixed); (3) TPB questionnaire with anticipated regret questions first (TPB + regret first). Past use of the sports centre was also measured by self-report in all conditions. Use of the sports centre 4 and 5 weeks later was measured based on objective records. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated no effect of measuring anticipated regret compared to only measuring TPB variables, but a significant effect of measuring anticipated regret first compared to the other two conditions on sports centre use. This effect persisted after controlling for TPB variables and past behaviour (PB). The effect was moderated by intention strength but not PB. Implications for understanding SGV and behaviour change are discussed.     

Evidence for two facets of pride in consumption: Findings from luxury brands

This paper documents the multifaceted nature of pride in consumer behavior. Drawing on recent psychological research on pride, we provide evidence for two separate facets of pride in consumption. In a series of studies, we propose a model wherein luxury brand consumption and pride are systematically interrelated. Whereas authentic (but not hubristic) pride leads to a heightened desire for luxury brands, hubristic (but not authentic) pride is the outcome of these purchases, and is the form of pride signaled to observers by these purchases. Further, we show that these effects are generally exacerbated for those low in narcissism. These findings shed new light on why consumers purchase luxury brands, highlighting a paradox: these purchases may be sought out of heightened feelings of accomplishment (and not arrogance), but they instead signal arrogance to others (rather than accomplishment).     

“My iPhone Changed My Life”: How Digital Technologies Can Enable Women’s Consumption of Online Sexually Explicit Materials

Digital technologies continue to change the ways women can access and consume sexual materials online, including pornography. Yet, limited research has considered the possibilities of digital technologies to enhance women’s access and consumption of online pornographic materials. In this paper, we use a cyberfeminist lens to examine women’s experiences consuming online sexually explicit materials, which most women defined as pornography including videos and images. In particular, we consider the ways women who identify as porn consumers can use digital technologies to enable and enhance their consumption of these pornographic materials. Drawing on qualitative, in-depth interviews with 11 women, our findings illustrate the ways women can use digital technologies to consume pornography online in ways that help them to fulfill their sexual needs, embrace and explore their sexual selves, connect in sexual relationships, and normalize their sexual desires.     

West African Immigrant Perspectives on Female Genital Cutting: Experiences,Attitudes, and Implications for Mental Health Service Providers

This small pilot study analyzed the experiences of female genital cutting (FGC) among West African immigrants in New York City from three West African countries (the Gambia, Guinea, and Mali) with FGC prevalence rates of 76, 97, and 89%, respectively, among girls and women aged 15 to 49 years. Nine women participated in two focus group sessions. In the first group, five female participants ranged in age from18–20, and in the second, four participants ranged in age from 31 to 44. Focus group data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Despite the small sample size, the findings of this exploratory study highlight important aspects of immigrant women’s experiences regarding FGC and indicate the need for further exploration. Participants drew from personal experiences to discuss FGC and their views of the practice. Salient themes that emerged included the secretive and violent nature of the practice, the primacy of matriarchal decision-makers, the fear among immigrant mothers that their children would be subjected to FGC without their consent, and health care encounters in the USA. The findings of this study are considered in light of their implications for research, service provision, and policy.     

A comparison of procedures for unpairing conditioned reflexive motivating operations

This study compared the effectiveness of two procedures to reduce behavior evoked by a reflexive conditioned motivating operation (CMO‐R). Task demands were shown to evoke escape‐maintained problem behavior for 4 students with disabilities. Alternative communication responses were taught as an appropriate method to request escape and this treatment combined with extinction for problem behavior led to decreases in problem behavior for all students. A beeping timer was then arranged to temporally precede the task demand to create a CMO‐R that evoked communication responses. When data showed that the sound of the timer was functioning as a CMO‐R, two methods to reduce behavior evoked by a CMO‐R—extinction unpairing and noncontingent unpairing—were evaluated. Results indicated that noncontingent unpairing was an effective method to reduce the evocative effects of the CMO‐R. Extinction produced unsystematic effects across participants. Results are discussed in terms of abolishing CMOs and the implications of CMOs.     

A prospective investigation of rumination and executive control in predicting overgeneral autobiographical memory in adolescence

The CaR-FA-X model (Williams et al., 2007), or capture and rumination (CaR), functional avoidance (FA), and impaired executive control (X), is a model of overgeneral autobiographical memory (OGM). Two mechanisms of the model, rumination and executive control, were examined in isolation and in interaction in order to investigate OGM over time. Across two time points, six months apart, a total of 149 adolescents (13–16 years) completed the minimal-instruction autobiographical memory test, a measure of executive control with both emotional and nonemotional stimuli, and measures of brooding rumination and reflective pondering. The results showed that executive control for emotional information was negatively associated with OGM, but only when reflective pondering levels were high. Therefore, in the context of higher levels of reflective pondering, greater switch costs (i.e., lower executive control) when processing emotional information predicted a decrease in OGM over time.     

Dynamic measures of anxiety-related threat bias: Links to stress reactivity

Exaggerated attention to threatening information, or the threat bias, has been implicated in the development and maintenance of anxiety disorders. Recent research has highlighted methodological limitations in threat bias measures, such as temporal insensitivity, leading to the development of novel metrics that capture change and variability in threat bias over time. These metrics, however, have rarely been examined in non-clinical samples. The present study aimed to explore the utility of these trial-level metrics in predicting anxiety-related stress reactivity (stress-induced negative mood state) in trait anxious adults (N?=?52). Following a stressor, participants completed the dot probe task to generate threat bias scores. Stress reactivity was measured via stress-induced changes in subjective mood state. More variability in trial-level bias scores (TL-BSs) and greater bias away from threat (both mean and peak negative TL-BSs) predicted increased stress reactivity. The temporal characteristics of threat bias and implications for clinically-relevant measurement are discussed.