Relative effects of breastfeeding intention and practice on maternal responsiveness

Our objective was to examine the differential effects of antenatal breastfeeding intention (BI) and breastfeeding practice (BP) on maternal postnatal responsiveness. We conducted a secondary analysis of longitudinal data from a subsample of 962 mother–infant dyads from a U.K.-based birth cohort study the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Exposures were BI and BPs measured at 32 weeks of gestation and 18 months’ postpartum. The outcome was maternal responsiveness assessed at 12 months’ postpartum. We used logistic regression analyses unadjusted and adjusted for confounders. Intention to breastfeed was associated with increased odds of postnatal maternal responsiveness independent of BP, adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 2.34, 95% CI [1.42, 3.86]. There was no evidence that BP was an independent predictor of maternal responsiveness, OR = 0.93, 95% CI [0.55, 1.57]. Life-course epidemiology analyses demonstrated that maternal responsiveness is most positive when both BI and BP are present. This is the first population-based study to provide evidence that BI during pregnancy is more strongly associated with maternal postnatal responsiveness than is BP. Further research is needed to understand the determinants of BI in pregnancy and its relationships with maternal responsiveness.     

A hermeneutic study of integrating psychotherapist competence in postnatal Child Health Care: Parents’ perspectives

A child's emotional and social development depends on the parents’ provision of optimal support. Many parents with perinatal distress experience difficulties in mastering parenthood and seek help from professionals within primary healthcare. A clinical project was launched in Stockholm, where psychodynamic psychotherapists provided short-term consultations at Child Health Centers. This study qualitatively explored parents’ experiences of perinatal distress and of receiving help by nurses and therapists in the project. Thirteen parents were interviewed, and their responses were analyzed with a hermeneutical method. Three main themes crystallized; accessibility of psychological help and detection of emotional problems; experiences of therapy at the Child Health Center; and the therapists’ technique. Parents were also clustered into three so-called ideal types: the insecure; parents in crisis; and parents with lifelong psychological problems. Parents experienced obstacles in accessing psychological care within primary healthcare. Psychotherapists with a holistic family perspective and who managed to oscillate between insight-promoting and supportive interventions were especially appreciated. Patient categories who benefitted from insight promotion and support, respectively, were identified.     

Early childhood mental health consultation: Care providers’ experiences of the consultative relationship

This article presents findings from a qualitative research study exploring child care teachers’ experiences receiving early childhood mental health consultation (ECMHC). As an emerging intervention in early childhood education, ECMHC is already yielding promising results, namely in helping teachers better address challenging behaviors in their classroom and promote a more nurturing classroom environment. However, there remains a lack of personal testimony from teachers who receive this intervention. Considering that teachers are the primary focus of most ECMHC interventions, the purpose of this study was to examine child care teachers’ personal experiences receiving consultation. Eight child care teachers were interviewed for this study. Results from this study illuminate key interpersonal processes in the development of the consultant–consultee relationship, indicate what teachers consider to be the most helpful components of consultation, and speak to the challenges that teachers experience in consultation. By examining the personal testimony of child care teachers who have received ECMHC services, consultants and researchers can consider ways to expand and improve future implementation of ECMHC.     

Promoting parent–infant responsiveness in families experiencing homelessness

My Baby's First Teacher is an intervention designed specifically for parents with infants staying in emergency homeless shelters. Infants are overrepresented in shelter populations and face considerable risk to their development, including mental health. We utilized a randomized controlled design across three family shelters to evaluate the program's effectiveness with 24 dyads assigned to the intervention compared to 21 dyads in care-as-usual. Dyads were randomized by round at each site to account for shelter effects. We used path analysis to illustrate change over time and in relation to intervention assignment.     

Antenatal caregiving representations and perinatal behavior in mothers with severe lifetime psychopathology

Psychopathology poses a risk for optimal parenting. The current study explored antenatal caregiving representations as markers for later risk of nonoptimal maternal behavior among mothers with severe mental illness. Sixty-five mothers diagnosed with psychosis, bipolar disorder, depression (psychopathology group), and nonclinical controls participated in a longitudinal study from pregnancy to 16 weeks after birth. Mental health diagnoses and caregiving representations were assessed during pregnancy. Maternal behavior was assessed during the 5-min recovery phase of the still-face paradigm at 16 weeks. Mothers with psychopathology reported significantly higher levels of “heightened” caregiving representations (i.e., separation anxiety from the child) than did controls. The only significant diagnostic group difference in perinatal maternal behavior was that mothers diagnosed with depression exhibited more overriding-intrusive behavior than did nonclinical control mothers. Regression modeling results showed that antenatal caregiving representations of “role reversal” predicted significantly lower levels of sensitivity and higher levels of overriding-intrusive behavior independent of the effect of psychopathology. The findings can be interpreted in the context of representational transformation to motherhood during pregnancy. The results provide preliminary evidence for the potential of a new questionnaire measure of caregiving representations as a screening instrument for antenatal representational risk.     

Examining the Use of Digital Storytelling and Immersion in a Multicultural Counseling Course

This article explored the use of digital storytelling as a method to support multicultural counseling competency. Thematic analysis examined the experiences of 9 students who created a digital story through an immersion activity in a multicultural counseling course. Qualitative data revealed 4 themes: (a) initial discomfort with technology, (b) initial reservations with group work, (c) digital storytelling as a learning tool, and (d) multicultural counseling competency. Recommendations for counselor education and future research are provided. Este artículo exploró el uso de la narrativa digital como método para apoyar la competencia en consejería multicultural. Un análisis temático examinó las experiencias de 9 estudiantes que crearon una historia digital mediante una actividad de inmersión en un curso de consejería multicultural. Los datos cualitativos revelaron 4 temas: (a) una carencia inicial de familiaridad con la tecnología, (b) reservas iniciales en cuanto al trabajo en equipo, (c) la narrativa digital como herramienta de aprendizaje y (d) la competencia en consejería multicultural. Se ofrecen recomendaciones para la educación de consejeros e investigaciones futuras.     

Network change point detection in resting-state functional connectivity dynamics of mild cognitive impairment patients

Background/Objective: This study aims to characterize the differences on the short-term temporal network dynamics of the undirected and weighted whole-brain functional connectivity between healthy aging individuals and people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The Network Change Point Detection algorithm was applied to identify the significant change points in the resting-state fMRI register, and we analyzed the fluctuations in the topological properties of the sub-networks between significant change points. Method: Ten MCI patients matched by gender and age in 1:1 ratio to healthy controls screened during patient recruitment. A neuropsychological evaluation was done to both groups as well as functional magnetic images were obtained with a Philips 3.0T. All the images were preprocessed and statistically analyzed through dynamic point estimation tools. Results: No statistically significant differences were found between groups in the number of significant change points in the functional connectivity networks. However, an interaction effect of age and state was detected on the intra-participant variability of the network strength. Conclusions: The progression of states was associated to higher variability in the patient's group. Additionally, higher performance in the prospective and retrospective memory scale was associated with higher median network strength.     

Investigation into Combinatory Systems with Dual Combinators

Combinatory logic is known to be related to substructural logics. Algebraic considerations of the latter, in particular, algebraic considerations of two distinct implications (, ), led to the introduction of dual combinators in Dunn & Meyer 1997. Dual combinators are "mirror images" of the usual combinators and as such do not constitute an interesting subject of investigation by themselves. However, when combined with the usual combinators (e.g., in order to recover associativity in a sequent calculus), the whole system exhibits new features. A dual combinatory system with weak equality typically lacks the Church-Rosser property, and in general it is inconsistent. In many subsystems terms "unexpectedly" turn out to be weakly equivalent. The paper is a preliminary attempt to investigate some of these issues, as well as, briefly compare function application in symmetric -calculus (cf. Barbanera & Berardi 1996) and dual combinatory logic.     

Der “dritte Weg” der “neo-eurasischen” Zeitschrift “Elementy” -- zurück ins Dritte Reich?

Studies in East European Thought - Articulated in the twenties, the doctrines of the exiled Russian ‘Evrazijstvo’ movement are undergoing a renaissance in Russia today. As the...