The relationship between romantic and prenatal maternal attachment: The moderating role of social support

The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between three types of maternal attachment bonds: anxious romantic, avoidant romantic and prenatal. The moderating role of perceived social support is also analysed. Ninety-one pregnant women in or near their thirtieth week of gestation (M = 29.59; SD = 4.57) were recruited, all of whom completed a series of questionnaires to assess the quality of their romantic and prenatal attachment bonds and their levels of perceived social support. The results reveal that both anxious and avoidant romantic attachments were significantly associated with low levels of maternal prenatal attachment. Moreover, the level of social support perceived during pregnancy moderated the relationship between anxious and prenatal attachments but had no effect on avoidant romantic and prenatal attachments. Our discussion of these findings considers the emotional and behavioural characteristics of various forms of insecure romantic attachments. Overall, the data highlight the relevance of the quality of intimate close relationships on maternity experiences and women's caregiving abilities.     

Identification Reduces Stigma of Mental Ill‐Health: A Community‐Based Study

The stigma surrounding mental ill‐health is an important issue that affects likelihood of diagnosis and uptake of services, as those affected may work to avoid exposure, judgment, or any perceived loss in status associated with their mental ill‐health. In this study, we drew upon social identity theory to examine how social group membership might influence the stigma surrounding mental ill‐health. Participants from two urban centers in Ireland (N = 626) completed a survey measuring stigma of mental health, perceived social support as well as identification with two different social groups (community and religion). Mediation analysis showed that subjective identification with religious and community groups led to greater perceived social support and consequently lower perceived stigma of mental ill‐health. Furthermore, findings indicated that high identification with more than one social group can lead to enhanced social resources, and that identification with a religious group was associated with greater community identification. This study thus extends the evidence base of group identification by demonstrating its relationship with stigma of mental ill‐health, while also reinforcing how multiple identities can interact to enhance social resources crucial for well‐being.     

Babbling development as seen in canonical babbling ratios: A naturalistic evaluation of all-day recordings

Canonical babbling (CB) is critical in forming foundations for speech. Research has shown that the emergence of CB precedes first words, predicts language outcomes, and is delayed in infants with several communicative disorders. We seek a naturalistic portrayal of CB development, using all-day home recordings to evaluate the influences of age, language, and social circumstances on infant CB production. Thus we address the nature of very early language foundations and how they can be modulated. This is the first study to evaluate possible interactions of language and social circumstance in the development of babbling. We examined the effects of age (6 and 11 months), language/culture (English and Chinese), and social circumstances (during infant-directed speech [IDS], during infant overhearing of adult-directed speech [ADS], or when infants were alone) on canonical babbling ratios (CBR = canonical syllables/total syllables). The results showed a three-way interaction of infant age by infant language/culture by social circumstance. The complexity of the results forces us to recognize that a variety of factors can interact in the development of foundations for language, and that both the infant vocal response to the language/culture environment and the language/culture environment of the infant may change across age.     

The Power of a “Maverick” in Collaborative Problem Solving: An Experimental Investigation of Individual Perspective‐Taking Within a Group

Integrating different perspectives is a sophisticated strategy for developing constructive interactions in collaborative problem solving. However, cognitive aspects such as individuals’ knowledge and bias often obscure group consensus and produce conflict. This study investigated collaborative problem solving, focusing on a group member interacting with another member having a different perspective (a “maverick”). It was predicted that mavericks might mitigate disadvantages and facilitate perspective taking during problem solving. Thus, 344 university students participated in two laboratory‐based experiments by engaging in a simple rule‐discovery task that raised conflicts among perspectives. They interacted with virtual partners whose conversations were controlled by multiple conversational agents. Results show that when participants interacted with a maverick during the task, they were able to take others’ perspectives and integrate different perspectives to solve the problem. Moreover, when participants interacted in groups with a positive mood, groups with a maverick outperformed groups having several perspectives.     

Parental Perceived Control and Social Support: Linkages to Change in Parenting Behaviors During Early Adolescence

Prior studies have found that parents’ perceptions of control over their lives and their social support may both be important for parenting behaviors. Yet, few studies have examined their unique and interacting influence on parenting behaviors during early adolescence. This longitudinal study of rural parents in two‐parent families (N = 636) investigated (a) whether perceived control and social support when their youth were in sixth grade were independently or interactively associated with changes in parenting behaviors (discipline, standard setting) and parent–child warmth and hostility 6 months later and (b) if these linkages differed by parent gender. We also investigated the interactive links between perceived control, social support, and parenting. Specifically, we tested if parents’ perceived control moderated the linkages between social support and parenting and if these linkages differed by parent gender. Greater perceived control predicted more increases in parents’ consistent discipline and standard setting, whereas greater social support predicted increases in parent–child warmth and decreases in parent–child hostility. Parental perceived control moderated the effect of social support on parental warmth: For mothers only, social support was significantly linked to parent–child warmth only when mothers had low (but not high) perceived self‐control. The discussion focuses on reasons why perceived control and social support may have associations with different aspects of parenting and why these might differ for mothers and fathers.     

Échelle de temporalité : validation française d’une version courte de la Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI)

Lewin (1951, p. 75) defined time perspective as the “totality of the individual's view of his psychological future and psychological past existing at a given time”. Indeed, time perspective is considered to guide behaviors and participate in the construction of personal identity. The Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI) was constructed by Zimbardo and Boyd (1999) to measure the five dimensions of time perspective (Past-Negative, Past-Positive, Present-Hedonistic, Present-Fatalistic and Future scales) and contained fifty-six items. The ZTPI was validated in more than twenty countries, as well in France (Apostolidis and Fieulaine, 2004) and a short version (15-25 items) was also studied in numerous cultural settings like in USA, Australia and various European countries. Nevertheless, the short version of the ZTPI has never been validated in French. The aim of this study is to validate a brief French measure of the ZTPI (Zimbardo and Boyd, 1999) in order to apply it to adults of all ages. Based on the long ZTPI (fifty-four items) validated by Apostolidis and Fieulaine (2004), we tested a version containing fifteen items, the ZTPI-15, among 466 adults (18-98 years). The exploratory analysis revealed a factorial structure representing five factors comprising three items for each scale. The model was tested through a confirmatory factorial analysis, showing that the ZTPI-15 fit indices were satisfactory (χ²/dl = 2.58, RMSEA =.066, CFI = .90, AGFI =.90, RMSR = .067). Internal consistency and test-retest reliability was verified. Correlations between mean scores of the five factors showed relationships. Present-Fatalistic was related to Past-Negative (r =.23) and to Future (r = −.20), whereas a correlation between Past-Negative and Future (r = −.22) was demonstrated. Moreover, Future related to Past-Positive (r =.12). Age was associated to all scales of the ZTPI-15 and the strongest correlation was to Present-Hedonistic (r = −.31). The comparison between 253 young adults (M = 22.5 years) and 160 older adults (M = 73.3 years) showed that the older were less oriented to Past-Negative and Present-Hedonistic but more to Past-Positive, Present-Fatalistic and Future. Furthermore, educational level was correlated to Fatalistic-Present (r = −.28). The validity of the ZTPI-15 was also confirmed with the scores of anxiety and depression and with the Self-Esteem Scale: individuals with high score of anxiety were oriented to Past-Negative (r = .34) and those with high score of depression were oriented to past-Negative (r = .27) and Fatalistic-Present (r = .27). Finally, individuals with low self-esteem were strongly oriented to Past-Negative (r = −.45) and Present-Fatalistic (r = −.27), and individuals with high self-esteem to Future (r = .28).     

Problematic donation procedures vs. futuristic research and treatment applications: A dichotomous social representation of stem cells in Italy

IntroductionCurrently, stem cells (SC) are one of the most studied issues of medical research as well as a widespread, complex, socially and ethically relevant issue.ObjectiveThe general aim of the present study is to explore how social representations (SR) of SC is different for people more or less willing to donate SC, also comparing bone marrow SC (BMSC) donation and umbilical cord blood SC (UCBSC) donation.MethodA paper-and-pencil survey was administrated to 78 Italian respondents. A structural analysis of SC-SRs (prototypical and co-occurrence analysis) was conducted comparing people with a high/low intention to donate UCBSC/BMSC.ResultsSimilarly to other bioethically relevant issues, SR of SC seems to be ambivalent and dichotomously organized, with the donation procedure been a barrier.ConclusionThese results are in line with studies finding two sets of dichotomies: on the one hand, a gift-of-life/replacement-of-body-parts dichotomy coexisting within people's SR of organ donation; on the other hand, a help/pain and needle dichotomy within blood donation's SR. Directions for future research are suggested.     

Social exclusion affects aggressive driving behaviour: The mediating effect of prosocial tendencies and driving anger

Social exclusion—being rejected or ignored by individuals or groups—is a common and adverse experience in social life. As a social activity, driving behaviour can be influenced by many factors. Whether social exclusion is one of these factors is an open question. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore the impact of the social exclusion experience on individuals and their driving behaviours and the mediating effect of prosocial tendencies and driving anger. A total of 240 (104 males and 136 females) participants from China completed a questionnaire including the Ostracism Experiences Scale (OES), the prosocial tendencies measure (PTM), the Driving Anger Scale (DAS) and the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ). The hierarchical multiple regression analysis and pathway analysis results showed that social exclusion experience and driving anger positively predicted aberrant driving behaviours (including aggressive violations, ordinary violations, lapses and errors), while prosocial tendencies had a negative impact on aberrant driving behaviour. Moreover, prosocial tendencies and driving anger mediated the relationship between social exclusion and driver behaviour, accounting for 11.18% and 46.71% of the total effect, respectively. The chain-mediated effect of prosocial tendencies and driving anger was also significant, accounting for 5.26% of the total effect of social exclusion on driver behaviour. This study examines the mechanisms underlying social exclusion experiences that positively predict individuals' unsafe driving behaviours, thereby filling a gap in social exclusion research and suggesting new avenues of exploration into the personal and social influences that affect driving behaviours.