Saving graces: Impact of partner support and maternal attachment on partner attachments in an individualistic and a collectivist context

The current study investigated the relationships between current attachment to mother and attachment to romantic partners, and the role of current partner support and culture as moderators of that relationship. University students who were currently in a romantic relationship were recruited from Hong Kong and USA, and completed measures on attachment styles and partner support. Results showed that maternal attachment anxiety was correlated with romantic attachment anxiety; maternal attachment avoidance was correlated with romantic attachment avoidance, but this linkage varied by level of current partner support. Romantic attachment avoidance was also associated with current partner support, but this linkage was stronger for HK Chinese than for Americans. These results are discussed in terms of how interpersonal and personality factors promoted by culture can affect the developmental course of romantic relationships.     

Attachment theory and psychoanalysis Some remarks from an epistemological and from a Freudian viewpoint1

The author examines Bowlby's attachment theory and more recent versions of it from an epistemological viewpoint and subjects it to questioning on whether they are in line with central concepts of Freudian psychoanalysis. He argues that Bowlby's basic tenets regarding attachment theory, which later attachment theorists never seriously questioned, do not conform to scientifi c standards, and that psychoanalytic issues such as the dynamic unconscious, internal confl icts, interaction of drive wishes and the role of defence in establishing substitutive formations are either ignored or not treated in suffi cient depth. In the light of this, Fonagy's assertion that psychoanalytic criticism of attachment theory arose from mutual misunderstandings and ought nowadays to be seen as outdated is reversed: psychoanalytic criticism can only be regarded as outdated if either basic tenets of Freudian psychoanalysis, or attachment theory or both are misunderstood.     

Cognitive Insight in Inpatients with Psychotic, Bipolar, and Major Depressive Disorders

The Beck Cognitive Insight Scale (BCIS; Beck, Baruch, Balter, Steer, & Warman, 2004) was administered to 42 (28%) inpatients with psychotic disorders, 52 (35%) with a bipolar disorder, and 56 (37%) with a major depressive disorder (MDD). The hypotheses were (a) that the mean level of cognitive insight in a psychotic or a bipolar disorder is lower than that in a MDD, (b) that the mean levels of cognitive insight in psychotic and bipolar disorders were comparable, and (c) that the mean BCIS index score for a bipolar disorder in which the most recent episode had been mania is lower than the mean BCIS index score for a bipolar disorder in which the most recent episode had been mixed or depressed. All three hypotheses were supported. The results were discussed as supporting cognitive insight as a psychological construct that varies predictably according to the nature of a psychiatric disorder.     

The Impact of “Scary” TV and Film on Children's Internalizing Emotions: A Meta‐Analysis

Despite a general perception that violent or scary television creates anxiety in children, the research literature is small and disparate. A meta‐analysis quantifies the impact of scary television and film on children's internalizing emotions (fear, anxiety, sadness, and sleep problems). Scary television has a relatively small impact on children's internalizing emotions (r = .18) overall, and this association was not significantly moderated by whether the televised material was factual (e.g., news) or fictional or contained violence. Children under 10 were more susceptible to scary TV. The overall result contrasts with the dramatic effects found for individual children within studies, suggesting that research is needed to unpick the factors that moderate the effect that scary television has on children.     

Anxiety between personality and cognition: The gray zone

The aim of the study was to explore relations between Gray’s revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (rRST) systems (Behavior Inhibition, Behavior Activation and Fight/Flight/Freeze System – BIS, BAS and FFFS) and two cognitive vulnerabilities to anxiety disorders (Intolerance of Uncertainty – IU and Anxiety Sensitivity – AS). The sample comprised 223 participants. The results suggested that BIS was a significant predictor of all components of the anxiety vulnerability measures. However, Freeze and Flight had also significant contributions, particularly in explaining vulnerabilities to physical and social threats as well as inhibitory behaviours while facing uncertainty. The findings provide insights into the nature of AS and IU which is in accordance with the rRST.     

Metacognitions,intolerance of uncertainty and worry: An investigation in adolescents

BackgroundCognitive models of Generalized Anxiety Disorder have mainly been tested in adult samples to date. Studies investigating whether the concepts are also applicable to worry in adolescents are largely lacking. The goal of the present study was to test the relationship between worry and key cognitive variables (positive and negative metacognitions; intolerance of uncertainty) in adolescents.MethodSecondary school students (N = 521) completed self-report measures of worry frequency, metacognitions, intolerance of uncertainty, and depression.ResultsResults showed a significant association between metacognitions, intolerance of uncertainty and worry, even after controlling for depression. In regression analyses, a substantial proportion of the variance of worry could be accounted for by the cognitive variables of interest.ConclusionsThe findings support the relevance of metacognitions and intolerance of uncertainty for understanding cognitive mechanisms underlying worry in adolescents. It appears useful to combine them into a more comprehensive integrated model.     

Attachment to God,adult attachment,and spiritual pathology: mediator and moderator effects

In this exploratory study, we examined moderated mediation models grounded in psychoanalytic and attachment theory regarding the correspondence between adult attachment and Divine–human relating in a sample of graduate students in the USA. Results supported the correspondence hypothesis as positive correlations between adult attachment dimensions and attachment to God dimensions were observed. An interaction effect was observed as spiritual grandiosity moderated the indirect effect between insecure adult attachment and insecure God attachment dimensions through spiritual instability. Results therefore provided support for the theoretical notion that spiritual dysregulation can function as a mechanism of the attachment correspondence that varies as a function of spiritual grandiosity. Findings are discussed in the context of advancing existing theory on implicit models of attachment correspondence and the nature of the association between spiritual insecurity and spiritual grandiosity.     

Changes in Attachment‐Related Behavioural Problems of Internationally Adopted Toddlers in Finland: Results from the FinAdo Study

This study investigated attachment‐related behavioural problems and their change over time among internationally adopted toddlers (N = 171, boys 40%) in Finland. The parents filled in questionnaires posted in 2007 and again in 2009. At the baseline (on average, 1.9 years from adoption), the mean age of the adoptees was 2.8 years. The comparison group (N = 244, boys 46%) was collected through well‐baby clinics. Results from the paired t‐test and mixed models showed that the adoptees' attachment‐related behavioural problems decreased during the 2‐year follow‐up and that they did not manifest more problems than their age‐mates any more 4 years after adoption. The decrease in behavioural problems was associated with the child's female gender, country of origin and adoptive parents' positive experience about adoption. A child's stereotypic or self‐injurious behaviour was not associated with the change in attachment‐related behaviour over time, although both were associated with behavioural problems. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

‘The child's past in the adult's present’: The trauma of the Siege of Leningrad (1941–1944)

This study deals with the individual and collective memory of Leningrad Siege survivors who experienced mass and prolonged wartime trauma during childhood (1941–44). While much has been published about the Siege, there has to date been no investigation by psychologists into the effects of extreme deprivation on Siege victims apart from one pilot study (Gulina et al., 2005). This study is still underway. Interviews with 80 participants (68 female and 12 male) are analysed and discussed here. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and content analysis are utilized. Unpublished archival writings by children caught in the Siege have been analysed. The principal method of interpretation is based on a psychoanalytic understanding of child development, mourning and the metabolizing of traumatic experience. The subjective meaning of the Siege experience to individual children is considered     

Targeted Prevention of Childhood Anxiety: Engaging Parents in an Underserved Community

Selective prevention programs hold the promise of alleviating child anxiety symptoms, decreasing the risk for emotional problems across the lifespan. Such programs have particular public health import for young children of poor, underserved communities. Identifying factors related to parent engagement, and methods to improve engagement, are paramount in the effort to develop anxiety‐focused, community prevention programs. This feasibility study investigated the effect of an enhanced recruitment strategy to maximize parent engagement, as well as factors related to attendance in a single session focused on anxiety prevention. Participants were poor, ethnic minority parents of children aged 11–71 months (n = 256) who completed a survey that assessed anxiety risk according to trauma exposure, child anxiety, or parent anxiety, as well as preferences for preventive services (phase 1). Those meeting risk criteria (n = 101) were invited to a preventive group session (phase 2). Half of parents received enhanced recruitment (ER), which included personalized outreach, matching parent preferences, and community endorsement. Other parents were invited by mail. Chi square analyses indicated that ER was associated with planning to attend (49 vs. 6 % of control). Parents receiving ER were 3.5 times more likely to attend. Higher sociodemographic risk was correlated with higher child anxiety symptoms but not attendance. Results highlight the need for improved strategies for engaging parents in preventive, community‐based interventions.