Maternal and paternal infant representations: A comparison between parents of term and preterm infants

Objective

Research on parental attachment representations after preterm birth is limited and inconclusive. The present study is the first in which maternal and paternal attachment representations after term, moderately and very preterm birth are compared. In addition, special attention was directed toward disrupted attachment representations.

Method

Mothers and fathers of term infants (≥37 weeks of gestational age, n = 71), moderately preterm infants (≥32–37 weeks of gestational age, n = 62) and very preterm infants (<32 weeks of gestational age, n = 56) participated in the present study. Attachment representations (balanced, disengaged, distorted) about their infants were evaluated with the Working Model of the Child Interview (WMCI). To asses disrupted representations the coding of the WMCI was extended with the disrupted scale (WMCI-D).

Results

The three main classifications of attachment representations were not affected by preterm birth. In addition, there were no gender differences in the rate of balanced representations. In case of non-balanced representations however, maternal representations were more often distorted, whereas fathers showed more often disengaged representations. Results further revealed that maternal disrupted attachment representations were marked by role/boundary confusion or disorientation, whereas paternal disrupted attachment representations were characterized by withdrawal.

Conclusion

Given the gender differences it is essential to tailor interventions according to the attachment representations of the parent, in order to be able to alter their non-balanced and/or disrupted attachment representations.     

Presence,Content, and Characteristics of Memories of Individuals with Dental Phobia

Knowledge about memories of distressing events underlying fears and specific phobias is limited. This study assessed (1) the presence, content, and characteristics of memories of events that initiated or exacerbated dental anxiety levels; and (2) the relationship between dental trait anxiety and some key features of these memories. This study used a semi‐structured interview and included dental phobics (n = 42), subthreshold dental phobics (n = 41), and normal controls (n = 70). Dental phobics were more likely to report a memory underlying their anxiety than the normal controls. Moreover, dental phobics' memories were reported as more vivid, disturbing, and more intensely relived than the memories of the normal controls. Greater severity of dental trait anxiety was significantly associated with greater disturbance of patients' memories. The results suggest that memories of distressing events play a significant role in the development of dental phobia and that their characteristics are associated with severity of dental trait anxiety. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geometries and Dynamics of a Rod Determine How It Is Used for Reaching

Displacing an object with a hand-held rod provided a simple paradigm for studying tool use. The authors asked how reaching was affected by manipulations of rod properties. Adults held a rod (length = .10 to 1.5 m), with its tip in the air; walked toward an object on a table; chose a place to stop; and displaced the object with the rod's tip. In 3 experiments (Ns = 9, 22, and 17 participants), the authors manipulated rod length, mass, and mass distribution to determine whether and how geometric and dynamic properties affected the chosen distance and the posture. Both the chosen stopping distance and the postures were well accommodated to rod characteristics. Postural adaptations took place only in the arm, which was organized as a synergy. Predictably, rod length explained most of the variance, but small and reliable differences in both distance and posture depended on mass and mass distribution. The chosen distance anticipated not only rod length but also the upcoming posture needed to control the rod.     

Individual differences in nostalgia proneness: The integrating role of the need to belong

Who is the nostalgia-prone person? The ‘sociality view’ sees an individual who frequently recalls meaningful memories rich in social content. The ‘maladaptation view’ sees an emotionally unstable, neurotic individual. In four studies, we integrated these contrasting views. We hypothesized that the link between neuroticism and nostalgia proneness arises because (a) neuroticism is associated with the need to belong and (b) the need to belong triggers nostalgia, with its abundant social content. Consistent with this hypothesis, Studies 1–2 found that the correlation between neuroticism and nostalgia proneness was eliminated when controlling for the need to belong. The need to belong predicted increased nostalgia proneness, above and beyond neuroticism. Specifically, Study 2 revealed that a deficit-reduction (rather than growth) belongingness orientation predicted increased nostalgia proneness. When the role of this deficit-reduction belongingness orientation was controlled, the positive correlation between neuroticism and nostalgia disappeared. Studies 3–4 showed that experimental inductions of a belongingness deficit augmented nostalgia, providing support for its compensatory role.     

Lateralisation of diffuse positive and negative affect: Ascribing valence to ambiguous stimuli

The available evidence regarding the lateralisation of affect is rather divergent. Interestingly, the common procedure in previous research on affective lateralisation has been to measure hemispheric dominance following exposure to concrete affective stimuli. Therefore, prior research seems to tap primarily into the lateralisation of specific approach–avoidance motivations rather than diffuse affective states. The present research adopted an alternative methodological approach that excluded approach–avoidance motivations and merely studied the lateralised nature of diffuse affect. Participants evaluated ambiguous stimuli presented in either the right or left visual field. Results showed that stimuli presented in the left visual field were significantly more often ascribed a positive meaning compared to information in the right visual field. The present findings are compatible with related lateralised processes and underscore the necessity of distinguishing between specific motivations and diffuse affect.     

Devaluation of distracting stimuli

Previous research has shown that distracting stimuli are evaluated more negatively than new stimuli in a dual task paradigm (Raymond, Fenske, & Tavassoli, 2003). The present research aimed to extend this research by showing that repeatedly selecting targets in a perceptual identification task leads to lower evaluations of distracting stimuli embedded in this task, even when participants are unaware that they will be asked to evaluate the stimuli in a subsequent (separate) task. Results indeed show that repeatedly selecting target stimuli in the presence of distracting stimuli leads to devaluation of these distracting stimuli compared to both target stimuli and new stimuli in a subsequent task. The findings of the present research indicate that devaluation of repeatedly ignored stimuli arises even when stimulus evaluation is not salient during target selection.     

Training in health psychology: An international look

With the progression of health psychology as a new field in psychology specific training programs are more and more needed. A survey of the training situation of health psychology in Northern America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand highlighted a lack of formalized training programs in most countries except the United States and Canada, as well as an enormous variety between countries on standards of training, and on the differentiation of health psychologists from clinical psychologists.

For the qualification of health psychology as an independent psychological discipline a plea is made for international standardization of quality control and suggestions for the content of formalized training programs in health psychology are given.