Attachment dimensions in adolescence: an adaptation of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) into Basque / Dimensiones del apego en la adolescencia: adaptación al euskera del Inventario de Apego de Progenitores y Pares (IPPA)

Abstract

The aim of this study was to develop a short Basque version of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA), as well as to test its factor structure and analyse other psychometric properties. Two studies were carried out. In the first study a confirmatory factor analysis conducted on a sample of 1037 adolescents did not show an optimal model fit of the three-dimensional structure of the original instrument. A subsequent analysis of principal components revealed a one-dimensional structure. The analysis of items led to the elaboration of short forms. In the second study, carried out on another sample of 2129 adolescents, the one-dimensional structure was confirmed, further external validity evidence was provided, and good reliability indices were obtained. A single dimension is concluded, attachment security, as well as the validity and reliability of the short forms of the IPPA in Basque scales.     

Research off the couch: Re-visiting the transsexual conundrum

This paper outlines the findings of a qualitative study involving interviews with eight transsexual individuals who had volunteered to take part in a television (TV) documentary about transsexuality. The participants were interviewed before taking part in the documentary and after its screening on national TV. The author proposes that for either biological and/or psychological reasons, some transsexual individuals experience early on a profound and disturbing incongruence at the level of the bodily self. In turn, this experience of incongruity is not contingently mirrored by primary attachment figures and remains unmentalized, thus disrupting self-coherence. In an attempt to restore self-coherence, the individual searches for the ‘right’ body that is anticipated to relieve the felt incongruity. The way this modified body relieves the incongruity is through the certainty it imparts that the image in the ‘mirror’ will match the subjective experience of the body. In this study, the experience of being mirrored through the group process during filming and the audience's response to the TV series, which was very positive, appeared to be associated with an attenuation in the urgency with which planned body modifications were being discussed post-TV screenings.     

Dialogue of unconsciouses: conversations we have without our knowledge

Following Ferenczi's tradition of examining the dynamics between analyst and analysand, I will explore aspects of this relationship particularly around issues of mutuality versus inequality, all occurring without the conscious involvement of either participant. I propose that these issues of attachment can be further illuminated by examining the underlying neuropsychobiological processes. Case examples will be offered to illustrate these points.     

Parental Attachment,Family Communalism,and Racial Identity Among African American College Students

Parental attachment and familial communalism were examined as contributors to the racial identity of 165 African American college students. Students with secure attachments and high reports of communalism were in the later stage of their racial identity development, whereas students with insecure attachments and lacking communalism were in the earlier stages of their racial identity development. El apego parental y el comunalismo familiar se examinaron como contribuyentes a la identidad racial de 165 estudiantes universitarios afroamericanos. Los estudiantes con apegos seguros y alto índice de comunalismo se encontraban en la etapa avanzada del desarrollo de su identidad racial, mientras que los estudiantes con apegos inseguros y falta de comunalismo se encontraban en las etapas tempranas del desarrollo de su identidad racial.     

Direct touches to clear barriers: Developmental sensitivity of a new measure of the production of ineffective responses in infancy

Current interpretation of the object retrieval task (Diamond, 1990 Diamond, A. 1990. The Development and the Neural Bases of Higher Cortical Functions, New York, NY: New York Academy of Sciences.  [Google Scholar]) as an infant assessment of response inhibition requires evidence that younger infants make more ineffective attempts to retrieve toys through clear barriers. On two 30-second trials, infants (9 or 11 months of age) saw an inaccessible toy in the front or back of a clear box. The location of the infants touches corresponded with the toy's location and, on the second trial, the younger infants touched the box more. In previous research nonhuman primates with orbital-frontal, but not dorsa-lateral, lesions also made ineffective barrier touches. The current developmental decreases in barrier touches may selectively tap developmental increases in inhibitory control supported by the developing orbital-frontal cortex.     

Applying cognitive training to target executive functions during early development

Developmental psychopathology is increasingly recognizing the importance of distinguishing causal processes (i.e., the mechanisms that cause a disease) from developmental outcomes (i.e., the symptoms of the disorder as it is eventually diagnosed). Targeting causal processes early in disordered development may be more effective than waiting until outcomes are established and then trying to reverse the pathogenic process. In this review, I evaluate evidence suggesting that neural and behavioral plasticity may be greatest at very early stages of development. I also describe correlational evidence suggesting that, across a number of conditions, early emerging individual differences in attentional control and working memory may play a role in mediating later-developing differences in academic and other forms of learning. I review the currently small number of studies that applied direct and indirect cognitive training targeted at young individuals and discuss methodological challenges associated with targeting this age group. I also discuss a number of ways in which early, targeted cognitive training may be used to help us understand the developmental mechanisms subserving typical and atypical cognitive development.     

从强迫运动到进食障碍症状:依恋的中介效应

目的:考察在校大学生依恋关系在强迫运动与进食障碍症状之间的中介效应。方法:研究一和研究二采用问卷调查法分别对466名男大学生和334名女大学生的依恋焦虑、依恋回避水平、强迫运动和进食障碍临床症状进行考察,通过分层回归检验依恋焦虑和依恋回避在强迫运动与进食障碍症状间的中介效应,并用Bootstrap法对中介效应进行验证。结果:在男女大学生中强迫运动可显著预测进食障碍症状; 在男生当中,依恋的两个维度依恋焦虑和依恋回避在强迫运动与进食障碍间的部分中介作用显著; 在女生当中,仅依恋焦虑起到部分中介作用。结论:强迫运动是进食障碍症状的重要风险因子,可通过依恋关系的中介作用影响进食障碍症状,依恋关系对强迫运动与进食障碍症状之间关系的中介效应具有性别差异。     

A brief episode of psychosis: Elli's story

This paper explores the notion of a GP practice as a ‘secure base’, suggesting that greater attention could usefully be paid to the importance of attachment relationships in primary care. If professionals feel secure and respected within ‘the practice’ then ‘the practice’ itself is more likely to be able to function as a ‘secure base’ for its patients. It is suggested that this concept could be developed further to provide a conceptual framework for practices to examine their function as therapeutic organizations. A short resumé of John Bowlby's attachment theory is outlined. Illustrations are given of how different attachment styles – secure, avoidant, ambivalent or disorganized – might affect patient care. A case of a mother (with postnatal depression) and her infant is considered in detail to illustrate the value of early intervention in a mother-infant relationship. Professionals are also attached to the practices where they work and the author reflects on his own retirement from being a GP (after 35 years). Finally, the paper describes another case – of a patient who was able to relive, and possibly repair, some of her earlier traumatic childhood separations through her relationship and parting from her GP as retirement approached.     

Early Temperament and Attachment Security with Mothers and Fathers as Predictors of Toddler Compliance and Noncompliance

This longitudinal study (n = 106) examined associations between temperament, attachment, and styles of compliance and noncompliance. Infant negative temperamental reactivity was reported by mothers at 3, 5 and 7 months. Infant attachment was assessed (Strange Situation) at 12 (mothers) and 14 months (fathers). Toddlers' styles of compliance/noncompliance were measured using two laboratory contexts (clean‐up/delay) at 20 months. Results indicated that temperament and attachment predicted toddler behaviour. Toddlers who were secure with mothers and low in temperamental negative reactivity showed more committed compliance than those who were insecure and low in negative reactivity or secure and high in negative reactivity. In addition, interactions revealed that relations between infant–mother attachment and defiance depended on infant–father attachment security, temperament and context. Findings highlight the differential and complex roles of temperament and attachment as potential precursors of later social competence. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Exploration of Parenting Behaviours and Attitudes During Early Infancy: Association with Maternal and Infant Characteristics

The importance of warm and democratic parenting styles for optimal social, emotional and cognitive outcomes in children over the age of five is well established. However, there is a dearth of literature exploring variations in parenting styles during infancy, despite many popular parenting books aimed at this period. The primary aim of this study was to explore parenting styles in infancy and their association with infant and maternal characteristics. Five hundred and eight mothers of infants under 12 months of age completed a 36‐item questionnaire examining cognitive and behavioural aspects of early parenting (Infancy Parenting Styles Questionnaire). Items for the questionnaire were generated from popular culture early parenting books, and those raised in discussion with mothers. The underlying factor structure of the Infancy Parenting Styles Questionnaire revealed five independent factors: discipline, routine, anxiety, nurturance and involvement, which mapped onto existing concepts of warmth/nurturance and control for parenting older children, with additional constructs pertaining to the challenge of caring for young infants. Early parenting style was associated with maternal age and education, and infant birth weight, gender and age. The findings are discussed in relation to the parenting styles literature for older children and the attachment literature. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.