The disturbed caregiving system: Relations among childhood trauma,maternal caregiving,and infant affect and attachment

The interrelations among maternal childhood experiences of physical or sexual abuse, adult trauma-related symptoms, adult caregiving behavior, and infant affect and attachment were investigated among 45 low-income mothers and their 18-month-old infants. A history of physical abuse was associated with increased hostile-intrusive behavior toward the infant, increased infant negative affect, and a decreased tendency to report trauma-related symptoms. A history of sexual abuse was associated with decreased involvement with the infant, more restricted maternal affect, and more active reporting of trauma-related symptoms. Infants of mothers who had experienced childhood violence or abuse were not more likely to display insecure attachment strategies than infants of mothers who had not experienced trauma. However, the form of insecure behavior was significantly different. Insecure infants of violence-exposed mothers displayed predominantly disorganized strategies, whereas insecure infants of mothers with benign childhoods or neglect only displayed predominantly avoidant strategies. Results are discussed in relation to Main and Hesse's (1990) concept of frightened or frightening behavior and to current literature on psychological sequelae of trauma.     

Simulating the pattern of right-hemisphere-damaged patients for the processing of the alternative metaphorical meanings of words: evidence in favor of a cognitive resources hypothesis

Lately, many studies have suggested that communication impairments in brain-damaged individuals might be explained--at least in part--in terms of cognitive resource allocation. Reproducing a clinical pattern in normal subjects by using a dual-task treatment might be a way of evaluating the role of cognitive resources in the right hemisphere's contribution to verbal communication. This study suggests that the RH's presumed specific contribution to the processing of the alternative metaphorical meanings of words is, at least to some extent, the expression of the RH's complementary, and necessary, contribution to the pool of attentional resources needed for the most effortful processing.     

ASSESSING MEDIATED MODELS OF FAMILY CHANGE IN RESPONSE TO INFANT HOME VISITING: A TWO-PHASE LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS

The objective of this study was to assess whether a mediated model of change could account for the long-term effects of infant home-visiting services observed at ages 5 and 7 years in a high-risk cohort. Participants were 41 mothers and infants from low-income families who were referred to parent-infant home-visiting services during the first 9 months of life due to concerns about the caretaking environment. Services ended when infants reached 18 months of age. Families received between 0 and 18 months of weekly home visits based on infant age of entry into the study. During childhood (ages 5 and 7 years), teachers rated children's behavior problems using standardized instruments. Early home-visiting services accounted for positive child outcomes at 18 months, 5 years, and 7 years of age; however, earlier positive outcomes related to intervention did not account for intervention-related effects at later ages. Further inspection of the data revealed that two additional principles, one of escalating morbidity among less intensively served groups and one of generalized family problem-solving skills, were needed to account for the pattern of effects over time. We conclude that the "domino models" assessed by mediational analyses may be too simple to capture the intervention-related change processes occurring in high-risk cohorts over time.     

The influence of problem features and individual differences on strategic performance in simple arithmetic

The present study examined the influence of features differing across problems (problem size and operation) and across individuals (gender, amount of daily arithmetic practice, calculator use, and arithmetic skill) on simple arithmetic performance. Regression analyses were used to investigate the role of these variables in both strategy selection and strategy efficiency. Results show that more skilled and highly practiced students used memory retrieval more often and executed their strategies more efficiently than did less skilled and practiced students. Furthermore, calculator use correlated with both retrieval and procedural strategy efficiency but not with strategy selection. Only very small associations with gender were observed, with boys retrieving slightly faster than girls. Implications of the present findings for models of mental arithmetic are discussed.     

Differential effects of age-of-acquisition for concrete nouns and action verbs: evidence for partly distinct representations?

There is growing evidence that words that are acquired early in life are processed faster and more accurately than words acquired later, even by adults. As neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies have implicated different brain networks in the processing of action verbs and concrete nouns, the present study was aimed at contrasting reaction times to early and later-acquired action verbs and concrete nouns, in order to determine whether effects of word learning age express differently for the two types of words. Our results show that while word frequency affected both types of words in the same way, distinct learning age effects were observed for action verbs and concrete nouns. A further experiment specified that this difference was observed for verbs describing actions belonging to the human motor repertoire, but not for verbs denoting actions past this repertoire (e.g., to neigh). We interpret these data within a recently emerging framework according to which language processing is associated with sensory motor programs.     

LACAN AND FERENCZI: PARADOXICAL KINSHIP?

The kinship between Ferenczi and Lacan can be compared with the phases of an eclipse. Throughout the first period of his teaching, Lacan presents Ferenczi as the most relevant analyst among the first pioneers. It is clear that he hopes to develop Ferenczi’s subversive reflections about clinical practice. Surprisingly, in the second period references to Ferenczi seem to disappear, even when he takes on the question of trauma in light of what he calls the register of the Real; he does not cite Ferenczi at all. In a third period, after Lacan’s death, certain Lacanians are very critical about Ferenczi, often excessively. Today, analysts open to Lacan’s teaching are discovering Ferenczi and the richness of his work, in which Lacan found numerous springheads for his own work.     

Couple and Family Treatments: Study Quality and Level of Evidence

This paper examines the application of the guidelines for evidence‐based treatments in family therapy developed by Sexton and collaborators to a set of treatment models. These guidelines classify the models using criteria that take into account the distinctive features of couple and family treatments. A two‐step approach was taken: (1) The quality of each of the studies supporting the treatment models was assessed according to a list of ad hoc core criteria; (2) the level of evidence of each treatment model was determined using the guidelines. To reflect the stages of empirical validation present in the literature, nine models were selected: three models each with high, moderate, and low levels of empirical validation, determined by the number of randomized clinical trials (RCTs). The quality ratings highlighted the strengths and limitations of each of the studies that provided evidence backing the treatment models. The classification by level of evidence indicated that four of the models were level III, “evidence‐based” treatments; one was a level II, “evidence‐informed treatment with promising preliminary evidence‐based results”; and four were level I, “evidence‐informed” treatments. Using the guidelines helped identify treatments that are solid in terms of not only the number of RCTs but also the quality of the evidence supporting the efficacy of a given treatment. From a research perspective, this analysis highlighted areas to be addressed before some models can move up to a higher level of evidence. From a clinical perspective, the guidelines can help identify the models whose studies have produced clinically relevant results.     

Progression and Verification of Situation Calculus Agents with Bounded Beliefs

We investigate agents that have incomplete information and make decisions based on their beliefs expressed as situation calculus bounded action theories. Such theories have an infinite object domain, but the number of objects that belong to fluents at each time point is bounded by a given constant. Recently, it has been shown that verifying temporal properties over such theories is decidable. We take a first-person view and use the theory to capture what the agent believes about the domain of interest and the actions affecting it. In this paper, we study verification of temporal properties over online executions. These are executions resulting from agents performing only actions that are feasible according to their beliefs. To do so, we first examine progression, which captures belief state update resulting from actions in the situation calculus. We show that, for bounded action theories, progression, and hence belief states, can always be represented as a bounded first-order logic theory. Then, based on this result, we prove decidability of temporal verification over online executions for bounded action theories.     

Cognitive style in attainment of an upside-down posture in water with and without vision

It is well known that adopting a posture required by the central nervous system takes into account a frame of reference. This frame of reference is built on sensory information and, more particularly, on vision, which is often considered to be the main input. The contribution of vision varies by participant and defines their cognitive style. This study investigates the contribution of visual information and cognitive style to postural strategy and, more precisely, to the construction of an upside-down posture in an underwater condition. Eight synchronized swimmers performed the Rod-and-Frame Test (RFT) to assess their cognitive style and practiced upside-down posture in water to measure their body inclination. The Rod-and-Frame Test scores did not distinguish the participants, as the results of the test showed that most of them were visual-field independent. However, in a closed-eyes condition, participants achieved a more precise vertical position than when using translucent goggles.