Development and initial validation of the comprehensive early childhood parenting questionnaire (CECPAQ) for parents of 1–4 year-olds

Parenting is a multifaceted task and the way in which parents fulfill this task plays an important role in children’s growth and development, especially in early childhood. Conceptualization and assessment of parenting behavior is elementary for research on child and family development and would fill a gap in clinical work, as there is a lack of questionnaires simultaneously assessing multiple parenting behaviors specific for early childhood. Therefore the Comprehensive Early Childhood Parenting Questionnaire (CECPAQ) was designed; a parent report measure of commonly occurring behaviors in five domains of parenting (i.e., support, stimulation, structure, harsh discipline, and positive discipline) central to early childhood. Data were collected from 1139 mothers and 526 fathers of 1–4 year-old children. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed a five-factor structure (composed of 54 items). The five parenting domains were found to have good internal consistency and temporal stability. Preliminary evidence of validity of the CECPAQ was demonstrated by moderate relationships with measures of parental stress and child problem behavior. It is concluded that the CECPAQ is a promising measure of self-perceived parenting behavior for parents of 1–4 year-old children.     

Using psychoanalytic concepts to inform interpretations and direct interventions with a baby in working with infants and parents

Abstract

How can some classical Freudian concepts such as defense, transference, infantile sexuality, and the role of the body ego and superego in the first year of life be applied to help the analyst working with parent–infant dyads? The case of a newborn that could not look at her mother, who did not feel empathy towards this child conceived as a result of an egg donation, was understood using Winnicott’s notion of early superego and the lack of libidinal pleasure. The notion of defenses towards primitive anxiety and the role of unconscious maternal functioning were helpful in helping the child as well as the parents to regulate their interactions.     

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Early Psychosis: A Case Series

Persons with psychosis often report high levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, which render them more vulnerable to relapse, symptom exacerbation, and reduced well-being. However, less is known about how to adequately accommodate the needs of persons recovering from a first episode of psychosis, presenting with PTSD. Further, the existing evidence-based interventions for PTSD seem less equipped to deal with serious mental disorder and comorbid conditions. This study aimed to assess the efficacy, acceptability, and safety of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for persons suffering from PTSD with comorbid trauma and psychosis. Three consecutively referred participants meeting ICD-10 criteria for PTSD and a first-episode nonaffective psychotic disorder were treated in an outpatient service within a case-series analysis. A manual-guided ACT intervention of 12 sessions showed clinically relevant improvement on self-report measures of PTSD symptoms and emotional distress. These initial findings are promising and appear to justify a more controlled evaluation of this brief intervention.     

Spirituality and humour: making connections for early childhood education

In looking at the relations between children’s spirituality and children’s expressions of humour, this paper explores the connections between the findings and theoretical implications and contributions of two separate empirical studies carried out with children between the ages of 5 and 6, in Cyprus and the US. Findings from the phenomenological study in the US point to joy (joyfulness and delight), concern for others (kindness, compassion and caring), relationships (importance and value of friends and family) and imagination (use and exploration in play), as observed expressions of children’s spirituality. Initial links between these findings and findings from the study completed in Cyprus, using the theoretical framework of The Theory of the Absurd and the Empowerment Theory, point at the importance of children’s story productions and the use of their imagination, as an expression of both their spiritual and humourous selves. Educational implications point to teachers allowing for kindergarteners to participate in story telling including incongruity, humourous symbols, violation of rules and violence, to convey humour, mixing these elements with expressions of imagination, joy and concern, through nurturing relationships with others, to express aspects of their spirituality. Other connections between the findings in these studies point at the potential importance of engaging children in story telling to create spiritual meaning and understanding, and overall nurture children’s spirituality.     

Enacted Identities of Immigrant-Origin Emerging Adult Women in Online Contexts: Capturing Multiple and Intersecting Identities Using Qualitative Strategies

Using a multiple intersecting identities enactment framework, and a qualitative methodology, this article examined the multiple and intersecting identities immigrant-origin emerging adult women enacted online and explored the meanings they ascribed to these identities (N = 14, M age ≈ 20; 57% = second-generation immigrant). Thematic analyses of 84 narratives revealed that the immigrant-origin emerging adult women enacted a range of identities online including: personal/individual, relational/social, gender, ethnic, civic, student, occupational, and athletic. Personal/individual and relational/social identities were enacted most frequently, and intersected most often. First-generation and second-generation immigrant women were somewhat similar in the rate with which they enacted their identities online. Results showed that second-generation immigrant women enacted their personal/individual, ethnic, and civic identities as well as their intersecting identities online most often. Findings have implications for theory and research about online enactment of multiple and intersecting identities among immigrant-origin youth.     

Psychic phenomena and early emotional states

This paper examines the relationship between severe early trauma and the development of psychic intuition. A case presentation with extensive dream work helps to illustrate this connection by exploring the psychological meaning of one patient's acute receptivity to unconscious communications. The paper includes a historical overview of Freud's attitudes toward occultism, as distinct from later psychoanalytic views, including those of Wilfred Bion. Many of Bion's views have more in common with Jung's perspective than with Freud's, with particular reference made to spiritual and religious differences. Bion clearly states that Freud and psychoanalysts have focused on phenomena, not on noumena, which Bion considers to be the essence of the psychoanalytic point of view.     

“Social Separation” Among Women Under 40 Years of Age Diagnosed with Breast Cancer and Carrying a BRCA1 or BRCA2 Mutation

We conducted an exploratory, qualitative study investigating experiences of women who had developed breast cancer under the age of 40 and who were identified as BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers. These germline mutation carriers face an increased lifetime risk of a second primary breast cancer and an increased risk for a primary ovarian cancer. Thirteen women who fit this criteria participated in three focus groups conducted at a major cancer center in the UK during Spring 2003. We asked broad, open-ended questions that allowed for a wide range of responses about their cancer and genetic testing experiences, physical and psycho-social concerns, family and partner reactions and their need for social support. The women expressed feelings of devastation, loneliness, feeling different and isolation, ambivalence about having to support family members, worries about partner’s anxiety and depression, and anxiety about talking to family members, especially children. These feelings were stronger after the cancer diagnosis and compounded by the genetic test results that occurred at a later time. We also found that, at least temporarily, the women experienced what we call “social separation”—emotional distance from, or dissonance with groups they interact with or are part of, e.g., family and friends, frequently leading to a reduction in communication or a change in previously unstated, but accepted normal interaction. We concentrate on a few characteristics of social separation—feelings of aloneness, isolation and separation, use of silence and verbal discretion, the relationship between estrangement and kinship interaction and norm disruption, and are looking at social patterns of interpersonal relationships that may occur when risk and illness statuses are new and framing and feeling rules have not as yet been clearly developed due to a cultural lag.     

Implications of Timing of Maternal Depressive Symptoms for Early Cognitive and Language Development

: Statistically, women, particularly pregnant women and new mothers, are at heightened risk for depression. The present review describes the current state of the research linking maternal depressed mood and children's cognitive and language development. Exposure to maternal depressive symptoms, whether during the prenatal period, postpartum period, or chronically, has been found to increase children's risk for later cognitive and language difficulties. The present review considers both the timing of maternal depression and the chronicity of mothers' depression on children's risk for cognitive and language delays. Infancy is frequently identified as a sensitive period in which environmental stimulation has the potential to substantially influence children's cognitive and language development. However, children's exposure to chronic maternal depression seems to be associated with more problematic outcomes for children, perhaps because depression interferes with mothers' ability to respond sensitively and consistently over time. Consistent with this expectation, interventions targeting parenting practices of depressed mothers have been found to increase children's cognitive competence during early childhood. The current review provides a synthesis of the current state of the field regarding the association between maternal depression and children's cognitive and language development during early childhood.     

The academic achievement of African American students during early adolescence: an examination of multiple risk,promotive, and protective factors

This study examined the effects of multiple risk, promotive, and protective factors on three achievement-related measures (i.e., grade point average, number of absences, and math achievement test scores) for African American 7th-grade students (n = 837). There were 3 main findings. First, adolescents had lower grade point averages, more absences, and lower achievement test scores as their exposure to risk factors increased. Second, different promotive and protective factors emerged as significant contributors depending on the nature of the achievement-related outcome that was being assessed. Third, protective factors were identified whose effects were magnified in the presence of multiple risks. Results were discussed in light of the developmental tasks facing adolescents and the contexts in which youth exposed to multiple risks and their families live.     

How urban African American young adolescents spend their time: time budgets for locations, activities, and companionship

The time budgets of a population of youth provide important information about their daily experience and socialization. This study reports data on the time budgets of a sample of 253 urban African American poor to working- and middle-class 5th-8th graders in Chicago. These youth were found to spend less time in school than other postindustrial adolescent populations, but spent no less time doing homework than White suburban U.S. young adolescents. They spent large quantities of time at home and with their families--at rates comparable to rates for young adolescents in a society with collectivist values like India. Unlike with other populations, early adolescence was not associated with major age changes in time allocations. Amount of time in schoolwork did not differ by grade, and amount of time with family did not show the decline with age that has been found for European American suburban adolescents.