A feeding scale for research and clinical practice to assess mother—infant interactions in the first three years of life

The Feeding Scale provides a reliable rating of mother-infant/toddler interactions during a 20-minute feeding in a laboratory setting. The scale consists of 46 mother and infant behaviors, which are rated at the end of the feeding session. Observations of mother—infant interactions during two feedings separated by 2 weeks showed considerable stability. Five subscale scores are derived (1) Dyadic Reciprocity, (2) Dyadic Conflict, (3) Talk and Distraction, (4) Struggle for Control, and (5) Maternal Non-Contingency, Predictive validity of the Feeding Scale has been demonstrated and it discriminates between infants with and without feeding disorders as well as three diagnostic categories of feeding-disordered infants. The Feeding Scale can be used with infants and toddlers ranging in age from 1 month to 3 years. © 1997 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health     

Multi-Couple Group and Self-Directed PREP Formats Enhance Relationship Satisfaction and Improve Anger Management Skills in Air Force Couples

This study examined the effectiveness of delivering the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) to volunteer couples in the U.S. Air Force in either a six-week instructional multi-couple group condition or a self-directed book condition. A standardized pre/post protocol was employed and outcomes included relationship satisfaction and anger management skills, two known risk factors for partner maltreatment. Significant improvement was found for the group condition in both relationship satisfaction and anger management skills, but only for anger management skills in the self-directed book condition. Finally, the group condition reported greater program satisfaction. Implications are discussed.     

Creativity and Brain-Functioning in Product Development Engineers: A Canonical Correlation Analysis

This study used canonical correlation analysis to explore the relation among scores on the Torrance test of figural and verbal creativity and demographic, psychological and physiological measures in Swedish product-development engineers. The first canonical variate included figural and verbal flexibility and originality as dependent measures and (a) higher scores on the brain integration scale, (b) faster speed of processing in an event-related potential task, (c) faster conflict-resolution during the Stroop task, (d) higher moral reasoning, and (e) higher manageability and lower comprehensibility as independent measures. Flexibility and originality reflect the ability to see old situations in new ways leading to unique responses. Greater mental adaptability was associated with greater brain integration and speed of processing along with higher moral reasoning and feeling of being in control. Future research could investigate effects of interventions that optimize brain integration on creative output across professions.     

Tracking the implicit self using event-related potentials

Negative biases in implicit self-evaluation are thought to be detrimental to subjective well-being and have been linked to various psychological disorders, including depression. An understanding of the neural processes underlying implicit self-evaluation in healthy subjects could provide a basis for the investigation of negative biases in depressed patients, the development of differential psychotherapeutic interventions, and the estimation of relapse risk in remitted patients. We thus studied the brain processes linked to implicit self-evaluation in 25 healthy subjects using event-related potential (ERP) recording during a self-relevant Implicit Association Test (sIAT). Consistent with a positive implicit self-evaluation in healthy subjects, they responded significantly faster to the congruent (self–positive mapping) than to the incongruent sIAT condition (self–negative mapping). Our main finding was a topographical ERP difference in a time window between 600 and 700 ms, whereas no significant differences between congruent and incongruent conditions were observed in earlier time windows. This suggests that biases in implicit self-evaluation are reflected only indirectly, in the additional recruitment of control processes needed to override the positive implicit self-evaluation of healthy subjects in the incongruent sIAT condition. Brain activations linked to these control processes can thus serve as an indirect measure for estimating biases in implicit self-evaluation. The sIAT paradigm, combined with ERP, could therefore permit the tracking of the neural processes underlying implicit self-evaluation in depressed patients during psychotherapy.     

When modesty wins: Impression management through modesty,political skill,and career success—a two-study investigation

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of employees' upward self-presentation through modesty and political skill on their subsequent career success. Study 1 used a predictive design over a 3 year period with 141 employees, controlling for age, gender, and self-esteem. Political skill positively moderated the relationship between employees' upward modesty and career success (attained position, career satisfaction) after 3 years. Study 2 (n = 132 employees) provided construct validation, demonstrating high discriminant validity of the impression management through modesty scale used in Study 1 with a trait-modesty scale, thus attenuating rival explanations of the findings in Study 1. Implications, limitations, and future directions for research are discussed.     

Promoting Inter-Relational Reflexivity with Psychosocial Workers in Community Work: A Case Study from Burundi

We explore the practice of creating reflexive spaces within community work with psychosocial workers living in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A central idea is inter-relational reflexivity—reflexivity within relationships that leads to collective action. Theoretical ideas related to inter-relational reflexivity are examined and a case study of the engagement with the psychosocial workers, which used these ideas, is presented. Among the issues explored are: the importance of staying with the lived experiences of people; the challenge of ensuring that inter-relational thinking is transferred to collective social action; and the methodologies that can be used to establish ongoing psychological and social processes that address the structure of power and promote transformation and healing within traumatised communities.     

Military Marriages: The Aftermath of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) Deployments

An examination of how members of military marriages were affected by and adapted to OIF/OEF deployment found three themes: communicating to stay connected, emotional and marital intimacy, and managing change. The findings demonstrate the nuanced and subtle nature of deployment-related challenges. While open and frequent communication was important in the adaptation process, communication was not synonymous with transparency. Unshared stories created a void that prevented couples from confiding in and supporting their partners. Although wives maintained their marriages by restraining sexual desires and over-extending their responsibilities post-deployment, these behaviors had a negative effect on marital quality. Clinical and research implications are discussed.     

Spirituality and Religiosity in Urban Adolescents with Asthma

Predictors of multiple dimensions of spirituality/religiosity (S/R) and adolescents’ preferences for having S/R (e.g., prayer) addressed in hypothetical medical settings were assessed in a sample of urban adolescents with asthma. Of the 151 adolescents (mean age = 15.8, 60% female, 85% African-American), 81% said that they were religious and spiritual, 58% attended religious services in the past month, and 49% prayed daily. In multivariable models, African-American race/ethnicity and having a religious preference were associated with higher levels of S/R (R ² = 0.07–0.25, P < .05). Adolescents’ preferences for including S/R in the medical setting increased with the severity of the clinical situation (P < .05).