Maternal prenatal psychological distress and temperament in 1–4 month old infants – A study in a non-western population

In this longitudinal study, conducted in women attending antenatal visits at the obstetrics and gynecology clinic of a general hospital in Bangalore, India, we aimed to assess the relationship between prenatal distress in mothers, and maternal report of infant temperament at four months. 100 mothers with normal full term deliveries completed the General Health Questionnaire-28 item version (GHQ) in the third trimester and postnatally. Salivary cortisol and temperament (using the Early Infancy Temperament Questionnaire – EITQ) were assessed in their infants aged 1–4 months. In this study, maternal prenatal psychological distress was not significantly associated with maternal report of difficult temperament in infants. Infants of mothers who were a negative screen for psychological distress (GHQ < 7), n = 85 had higher scores on the adaptability and approach dimensions of temperament. Infant salivary cortisol was significantly higher in infants with higher intensity scores. These results introduce the possibility of cultural differences in the relationship between prenatal distress in the mother and infant temperament. These could be factors linked to child rearing practices or to the measures employed to study infant temperament. These findings derive from a small sample with few mothers with psychological distress, and need replication in a larger sample.     

Maternal alexithymic traits,prenatal stress,and infant temperament

We aimed at investigating, whether maternal alexithymia or prenatal anxiety influences infant temperament (Infant Temperament Questionnaire, IBQ) at six months. Maternal alexithymic trait of “Difficulty in Identifying Feelings” predicted higher infant “Duration of Orienting”. “Fear of Bearing a Handicapped Child” predicted lower infant “Activity Level”.     

Being marked as different: The emotional politics of experiences of depression and migrant belongings

This article asks the question: “What does it mean to think about ‘home’ and ‘belonging’ when migratory experience is enmeshed with the story of depression?”. The article focuses on the personal story of a woman who migrated from the United States (US) to Australia, and whose sense of disconnection and displacement in relation to everyday life is embedded within a narrative of depression. Our discussion of her twin narratives of emotional distress and migration is located within theoretical debates about depression, migration and the constitution of subjectivity. In particular, we draw on psychoanalytical approaches to subjectivity to argue that her emotional distress and the medical diagnosis of depression together represent a form of ‘experienc[ing] oneself as a subject’ (Butler, 2005), and function as a precondition to her narrative of migration. Ultimately, we conclude, the woman's intertwined narratives of depression and migration operate simultaneously to provide retroactive order to her subjectivity.     

DISORGANIZATION,FEAR AND ATTACHMENT: WORKING TOWARDS CLARIFICATION

In 1990, M. Main and J. Solomon introduced the procedures for coding a new “disorganized” infant attachment classification for the Ainsworth Strange Situation procedure (M.D.S. Ainsworth, M. Blehar, E. Waters, & S. Wall, 1978). This classification has received a high degree of interest, both from researchers and from child welfare and clinical practitioners. Disorganized attachment has primarily been understood through the lens of E. Hesse and M. Main's concept of “fright without solution,” taken to mean that an infant experiences a conflict between a desire to approach and flee from a frightening parent when confronted by the Strange Situation. Yet, looking back, it can be observed that the way Hesse and Main's texts were formulated and read has generated confusion; there have been repeated calls in recent years for renewed theory and clarification about the relationship between disorganization and fear. Responding to these calls, this article revisits the texts that introduced the idea of fright without solution, clarifying their claims through articulating more precisely the different meanings of the term fear. This clarified account will then be applied to consideration of pathways to infant disorganized behaviors.     

Sensory Modulation for People with Anxiety in a Community Mental Health Setting

Anxiety is a common mental health issue involving cognitive and physiological hypersensitivity to threat. It negatively affects occupational participation. Sensory modulation intervention aims to use calming sensory input to manage the hypersensitivity and physiological arousal associated with anxiety. The empirical evidence for using sensory interventions for anxiety, however, is limited. This mixed methods single subject case design explored the effectiveness of a 6-week sensory modulation intervention for reducing anxiety and improving occupational participation. Results showed significant reduction in anxiety and improved participation, providing further evidence that sensory modulation is an effective approach for the self-management of anxiety.     

Maternal avoidance,anxiety cognitions and interactive behaviour predicts infant development at 12 months in the context of anxiety disorders in the postpartum period

BackgroundFew studies have examined the relation between anxiety disorders in the postpartum period and cognitive as well as language development in infancy.AimsThis longitudinal study investigated whether anxiety disorder in the postpartum period is linked to infant development at twelve months. A closer look was also taken at a possible link between maternal interaction and infant development.Study designSubjects were videotaped during a Face-to-Face-Still-Face interaction with their infant (M = 4.0 months). Specific maternal anxiety symptoms were measured by self-report questionnaires (Anxiety Cognition Questionnaire (ACQ), Body Sensations Questionnaire (BSQ), Mobility Inventory (MI)) to check for a connection with infant development. The Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-III (Bayley-III) were used to assess infant language and cognitive development at one year of age.Subjectsn = 34 mothers with anxiety disorder (SCID-I; DSM-IV) and n = 47 healthy mothers with their infant.Outcome measuresInfant performance on Bayley-III language and cognitive scales.ResultsInfants of mothers with anxiety disorder yielded significantly lower language scores than infants of controls. No significant group differences were found regarding infant cognitive development. Exploratory analyses revealed the vital role of “maternal avoidance accompanied” in infant language and cognitive development. Maternal neutral engagement, which lacks positive affect and vocalisations, turned out as the strongest negative predictor of cognitive development. Maternal anxiety cognitions and joint activity in mother-infant interaction were the strongest predictors of infant language performance.ConclusionsResults underline the importance to also consider the interaction behaviour of women with anxiety disorders to prevent adverse infant development.     

The Contribution of Attachment and Social Media Practices to Relationship Development

This study tested the hypothesized directional relationship that college students (N = 717; 10.1% response rate to an online survey) who score higher on measures of insecure attachment and social media practices would have lower relationship development quality scores. Structural equation modeling results indicated that participants with greater insecure attachment had lower relationship development quality (large effect size), whereas individuals with greater social media practices had higher relationship development quality scores. Implications for counselors are presented.     

流动儿童的亲子依恋与其城市适应的关系:心理韧性的中介作用

本研究旨在探讨流动儿童的亲子依恋与城市适应的关系,并探讨心理韧性在其中是否起到了中介作用。采用城市适应问卷、亲子依恋问卷、心理韧性量表,对北京市3所小学三到六年级的665名流动儿童进行了调查。经分析发现：（1）女生、低年级、父母教育水平高、公立学校、未转学的流动儿童能更好地城市适应;（2）亲子依恋、城市适应和心理韧性各维度两两相关;（3）亲子依恋中的自我模型和父母模型对城市适应均有直接预测效应。亲子依恋中的自我模型通过心理韧性进而间接影响城市适应;亲子依恋中的父母模型通过心理韧性进而间接影响城市适应;亲子依恋中的自我模型和父母模型可以共同通过心理韧性进而间接影响城市适应;心理韧性在其中均起到显著的部分中介作用。总的来说,亲子依恋可以直接影响城市适应,也可以通过心理韧性的中介作用间接影响城市适应。     

父母教养投入对青少年亲社会行为的影响:亲子依恋的中介作用

在北京、广东、河南、辽宁等省市的20所中小学中选取小学五年级、初中二年级和高中二年级学生共2370名,采用父母教养投入问卷（青少年版）、亲子依恋问卷和亲社会行为问卷,通过结构方程模型探讨青少年感知的父母教养投入行为对其亲社会行为的影响及其作用机制。结果表明：（1）青少年感知的父母教养投入显著正向预测青少年的亲社会行为,母亲的影响显著大于父亲;（2）亲子依恋在父母教养投入对青少年亲社会行为的影响中具有中介作用;（3）父亲和母亲教养投入影响青少年亲社会行为的作用机制存在差异,其中父亲教养投入通过父子依恋的完全中介作用对亲社会行为产生正向影响;母亲教养投入对亲社会行为的影响既会通过母子依恋的部分中介作用发挥积极作用,也会通过父子依恋的遮掩效应产生负向削弱作用。