Disenfranchised Grief Following a Traumatic Birth

Following a “failed” birth plan, some women experience trauma. Because most of these women do end up with a healthy baby, their support system does not necessarily support the sadness felt at the loss of the dream birth experience, leading to disenfranchised grief. Comments on a Facebook post linked to an essay from the Scary Mommy website were examined. Thematic analysis revealed three overarching categories of comments: (a) grief is disenfranchised by others through nonlosses and one-upping; (b) other posters expressed camaraderie for the loss of a dream birth, expressing empathy; and, (c) conditional support.     

Linking Birth Order to Political Leadership: The Impact of Parents or Sibling Interaction?

Despite mounting evidence that first-born children are overrepresented among incumbents in political office, there is no consensus about the cause of this overrepresentation. Some stress the impact of differential parenting, arguing that the first-born receive a larger share of parental resources and have a greater need to live up to parental expectations. Others emphasize the interaction among siblings, arguing that first-born children are better prepared for power struggles, having experience both as followers and as leaders within the family. This study, using birth-order data for nearly 1,200 incumbents in various offices in local and national politics in the Netherlands, found more support for the parental impact perspective. Singletons were also overrepresented among incumbents, whereas middle-born children were underrepresented. The data suggest that this birth-order effect is weaker among younger generations and is more pronounced among women.     

Religion,Spirituality, and Alternative Health Practices: The Baby Boomer and Cold War Cohorts

Research in religion and health has suggested positive relationships, and most recently has concentrated on the experience of religion, or spirituality. Currently, cohort studies have shown that the baby boomers differ significantly from their elders in their approach to religion, preferring to explore spirituality rather than the religious doctrine of their elders. They also differ in their approaches to health, including greater acceptance and use of alternative health practices. This study isolates the baby boomer and cold war cohorts in order to explore differences in religion, spirituality and alternative health practices. Findings indicate that, for boomers, increased spirituality is significantly related to increased positive health perceptions, while their elders' health perceptions are related to increased religiosity. Alternative health practices and spirituality, however, are not related for either cohort. However, this study does identify important distinctions between the two cohorts. Future studies must recognize differing cohort constructions of reality concerning the meanings of health, spirituality and religion.     

Birth Order Effects and Rebelliousness: Political Activism and Involvement with Marijuana

Frank Sulloway (1996) has claimed that later-borns are more likely to rebel against the status quo than are firstborns. The two studies reported here attempt to examine more fully Sulloway's claims about rebelliousness. The studies draw on archival data from studies of high school and college students in a midwestern state between 1969 and 1982. The current studies compare the effects of birth order, gender, family size, and father's education on two self-report measures: participation in protests and demonstrations, and involvement with marijuana. The data on involvement with marijuana provided support for Sulloway's thesis that later-borns are more rebellious than firstborns, but the data on participation in protests and demonstrations did not. These mixed findings, which contribute to the ongoing debate about Sulloway's theory, are discussed.     

早期经验对儿童心理发展的影响

儿童早期经验包括产前环境、出生时身体状况、出生后家庭养育和学前教育经历等,这些方面对儿童心理能力发展有重要而长期的影响。该文基于国外新近开展的大型纵向研究,对胎儿期母亲的情绪行为特征,出生状况,出生后母亲工作状况,父亲教养行为,学前教育状况等对儿童认知能力、学业成就、社会行为等的预测作用,以及种族、性别、家庭经济地位等背景因素在两者之间的调节作用进行了介绍,最后对我国设计和开展相关研究提出了建议。     

Brief reaching training with “sticky mittens” in preterm infants: Randomized controlled trial

ObjectiveTo examine whether a brief reaching training with sticky mittens was effective to improve reaching behavior in newly reaching preterm infants.MethodsIn this randomized controlled trial, twenty four 5-month-old (±16-week-old corrected age) preterm infants were randomly allocated into experimental or control groups. Infants were assessed three times in a single session: pretraining (immediately before training), posttraining (immediately after training), and retention (4 min after the posttraining). During training, infants in the experimental group wore open fingers Velcro covered mittens. Training consisted of one 4-minute session of stimulated reaching using Velcro covered toys. Controls did not receive the training. During assessments, infants were placed in a baby chair and toys without Velcro were offered at their midline for 2 min. Number of total reaches, proximal adjustments and distal adjustments of reaching were primary outcomes. Grasping was a secondary outcome.ResultsGroups were similar in the pretraining. In the posttraining, trained infants performed greater amount of total reaches and bimanual reaches than untrained infants. Greater amount of bimanual reaches in trained infants was maintained in the retention test. Distal adjustments and grasping outcome were not influenced by the training.ConclusionsA brief-term training with open fingers sticky mittens benefited reaching behavior and favored retention of increased bimanual reaches in newly reaching late preterm infants. However, it was not sufficient to influence hand openness and early grasping.     

Individual differences in ERP measures of executive function in early childhood: Relation to low-risk preterm birth and parent-reported behavior

Although behavioral studies have demonstrated that executive function (EF) develops rapidly during early childhood, few studies have investigated neural systems supporting EF during the preschool years. These systems are sensitive to variations in children’s early life experiences, including preterm birth. The current study collected behavioral and event related potential (ERP) data during an EF task (directional Stroop) in a sample of 150 full-term and low-risk preterm children aged 4-years. Children’s IQ and processing speed (WPPSI-III), and parent report of EF (BRIEF-P), were also measured. Forty-nine children born full-term and 43 low-risk preterm children provided useable ERP data. Similar to prior studies with adults and older children, preschool-aged children showed modulation of ERP components (N2, P3) by cognitive conflict. Effects of trial type were also present for early attentional components (N1 and P2). Exploratory analyses demonstrated that ERP measures of EF were correlated with individual differences in cognitive and behavioral functioning in both full-term and low-risk preterm populations. Future research investigating the neural correlates of early measures of EF in low-risk preterm children and other at-risk groups is warranted to better understand how trajectories of EF development are altered in the first years of life.     

产前诊断中的伦理学问题

探讨我国产前诊断技术开展的现状,阐述产前诊断面临的伦理道德问题及其相应的伦理学处理原则,建议开创一个伦理学评价体系,使产前诊断向着合理、完善的方向发展,从而达到提高人口出生质量、确保母婴健康的社会共同目标。     

What can make the difference? Premature birth and maternal sensitivity at 3 months of age: the role of attachment organization, traumatic reaction and baby's medical risk

The influence of prematurity and maternal attachment organization on sensitivity was investigated in 40 mother–infant dyads. Results show a main effect of attachment and an interaction between attachment and prematurity. Sensitivity was differently associated with medical risk and mothers’ traumatic reaction, depending on the quality of attachment.