Effects of Attachment Style on Preferences for and Satisfaction with Different Employment Contracts: An Exploratory Study

Based on the characteristics of three attachment styles—secure, anxious/ambivalent, and avoidance—hypotheses were derived for differences between them with regard to preferences for three employment relationships differing in whether employees are internal—hired and paid by an organization or external—employed through software houses. In addition, hypotheses were also drawn for differences in overall and facet work satisfaction. The sample consisted of computer science students of whom a large proportion have also been working in that field, and individuals employed as software engineers. Anxious/ambivalents were relatively higher in preference for the external contract and lower in preference for the internal contract, as compared to the two other styles. Contrary to the hypotheses, the avoidants did not differ from the secure style in expressing the highest preference to the internal permanent contract and the lowest to the external contract. Work satisfaction was highest among the secure style but contrary to hypotheses, the anxious/ambivalent group did not differ significantly from that group concerning overall, intrinsic, and extrinsic satisfaction. The avoidants were lowest on those measures. Findings are discussed in light of the different attachment styles and the unique features of the high-tech industry.     

初中生抑郁与依恋、自我效能感的关系研究

对929个初中生施测抑郁自评量表,父母和同伴依恋问卷,一般自我效能感量表,以探讨父、母、同伴依恋和一般自我效能感对抑郁的影响模式.结果:(1)父(母)亲依恋、同伴依恋、一般自我效能感均与抑郁呈显著负相关;同伴依恋与父(母)亲依恋呈显著正相关.(2)结构方程模型分析发现:父(母)亲依恋直接影响同伴依恋,父(母)亲依恋和同伴依恋通过一般自我效能感间接影响抑郁,同时父(母)亲依恋和同伴依恋直接作用于抑郁.     

Relationships between attachment behavior in the laboratory and the caretaking environment

How useful are observations of patterns of attachment behavior in a structured laboratory setting for making inferences about the quality of caretaking received by an infant in the home environment? To address this question a sample of 107 12-month-old infants who had participated in a longitudinal intervention project beginning before birth through 14 months of age were observed in a structured laboratory setting. Patterns of attachment behavior were compared to maternal caretaking variables observed in the home environment as well as to ratings of the quality of the infants' play. The results indicated that attachment behavior in the laboratory can be used to make inferences about the quality of caretaking in the home environment with confidence when a consistent and unambiguous pattern of either optimal or problematical attachment behavior is present, but not when the attachment behavior pattern is inconsistent or ambiguous.     

苔花盛开如牡丹？农村留守儿童负性生活事件与心理健康的关系

以1368名农村留守儿童为被试,通过问卷调查探讨农村留守儿童的负性生活事件与心理健康的关系,并检验心理韧性、同伴依恋的链式中介作用。结果发现：（1）农村留守儿童负性生活事件与其心理健康呈负相关关系,心理健康在性别、民族、年级和父母外出状况上差异显著;（2）农村留守儿童负性生活事件不仅能直接预测其心理健康,而且还通过同伴依恋、心理韧性发挥链式中介作用。     

An attentional analysis of children's sensitivity to artistic style in paintings

This study investigated the claim that children are not able to judge artistic style when it conflicts with subject matter cues in paintings, using stimulus and methodological controls not employed previously. 6 and 9 year old children and adults were asked to judge which member of a pair of paintings looked like it was painted by the same painter as the target in a matching to sample task. Style choices were always possible and subject matter matches were either not possible because that dimension was controlled in the stimulus set (control), or possible but in conflict with style choices (experimental). The levels of discriminability of style and subject matter differences were varied. For control conditions, we found that performance was poor for all ages when style differences were low in discriminability and subject matter varied across the three stimuli; otherwise it was high. For experimental conditions, we found that irrelevant variation of subject matter was more detrimental if differences on that dimension were highly discriminable. Even the youngest children could make style matches and could do so even when a subject matter match was also possible, suggesting that they are sensitive to artistic style and can focus on that dimension in the face of irrelevant variation on other dimensions. The results are discussed as they relate to earlier claims that children are not able to judge artistic style and to the implications for training that follow from those claims.     

Attachment as an Integrating Concept in Couple and Family Therapy: Some Considerations with Special Reference to South Africa

Couples, marital, and family therapy in South Africa and throughout the world have undergone radical changes in theory and practice in the last three to four decades. These developments are seen in the emergence of different approaches which may be regarded as modern or post-modern, intrapsychic or systemic. While these different approaches are often seen as theoretically and clinically incompatible, it is the aim in this paper to suggest that the time has come to seek points of integration of these different approaches, and the construct of attachment is proposed as an ideal integrating concept. Two case illustrations are used to demonstrate attachment as an integrating concept. It is suggested that the concept of attachment may also be applied to family therapists and associations, including and especially in South Africa.     

Evolutionary roots of intuitive parenting: Maternal competence in chimpanzees

Intuitive parenting behaviours have been shown to be universal in humans and appear to be based on psychobiological preadaptedness. This study is an exploration of the evolutionary roots of intuitive parenting through naturalistic observation of mother chimpanzees' interaction with their very young infants. Maternal competence is demonstrated initially through the behaviours of carrying the newborn infant and allowing the infant to nurse. Very early mother–infant interactions include play, ‘exercise’, cradling and grooming. Chimpanzee mothers also assess their offspring's behavioural state and muscle tone through visual inspections and movement of legs, arms, fingers and toes. Chimpanzee mothers and infants, as early as 2 weeks of age, spend some time in mutual gaze. Neonatal chimpanzees are capable of sustained face-to-face interactions, as these were observed in nursery-reared chimpanzee interactions with human adults; however, it appears that chimpanzee mothers encourage mutual gaze with their infants for only brief durations. Chimpanzees with good maternal competence exhibit sensitive responsivity to infants' communicatory signals. Thus the results of this study support the claim that there are evolutionary and comparative foundations of intuitive parenting evident in the maternal behaviour and maternal competence of chimpanzees.     

Parental grief following the death of an infant—a follow-up over one year

The course of parental bereavement during the first year following an infant's death was investigated. Also, the differences in mothers' and fathers' reactions, the differences according to the mothers' occupational role, and the similarities in couples' reactions were studied. From a total sample of 59 families, 13 families answered their questionnaires at all three time points (1, 6 and 13 months), 22 families responded at two time points, and 37 families responded at some point following the loss. Measures relating to anxiety, depression, bodily discomfort, general well being and impact of event were used at the three time points. The results showed that grief, as measured by the different inventories, decreased over time. The decrease was most evident from 6 to 13 months, and most prominent in women. A considerable number of the parents were still actively dealing with the loss all through the first year of bereavement. In most couples the mother reported most distress. Mothers were significantly more depressed than fathers at all time points, and mothers also had significantly higher anxiety and lower general health at 1 and 13 months, and intrusive scores of 1 and 6 months. Women at home evidenced more grief at all three time points than women employed outside the home. A high or low score in one spouse was more strongly correlated with a similar score in the other at 1 and 13 months, than at 6 months. The implications for counselling of parents, with special emphasis on the employment situation of the mother, is emphasized.     

The impact of the “Attachment and Biobehavioural Catch-Up” program on attachment related parent behavior—A systematic review

“Attachment and Biobehavioural Catch-Up” (ABC) is a 10 session home visiting program, grounded in attachment theory. It aims to improve child emotion regulation, attachment and behavioral outcomes through changing caregivers’ attachment related behaviors. There is increasing evidence with respect to the effectiveness of ABC in producing positive child outcomes, but the intervention's direct effect on parent outcomes remains unclear. This review examined the association of ABC with attachment related parent outcomes. The PubMed, EMBASE, PyschINFO and SCOPUS databases were searched for relevant studies in August 2021, and again in April 2022. The eligibility criteria for included studies were (1) infants aged 0–27 months at time of the ABC intervention, (2) “at risk” parents, (3) controlled trials published in peer-reviewed journals and (4) utilized a measure of attachment related parent outcomes. Eleven eligible studies were included. The findings showed ABC had a significant small to medium effect on a variety of attachment related parent outcomes among parents presenting with multiple psychosocial risk factors. “Sensitivity” was measured most frequently, with small to medium main effect sizes recorded at follow-up, compared to controls. Implications for the clinical effectiveness of the ABC program in community settings are discussed. Future research should clarify who ABC is most effective for and how it compares to similar interventions.