Does knowing translate to doing? Practitioners’ experiences of Circle of Security-Parenting (COS-P) training and implementation

This study sought to understand how practitioners perceive and experience the Circle of Security-Parenting (COS-P) training, and further, how they integrate and implement it into practice, and how these experiences influence their use and understanding of the program and its underlying model. A thematic analysis of semistructured interviews at two time points (shortly after training and 3–6 months after training) was used to explore 12 practitioners’ experiences of COS-P training and subsequent implementation. Three main themes were identified; clinical salience, personal salience, and partial use of the program. The findings reflected participants’ common perception that the model is relevant and generalizable to a wide variety of contexts. It also highlighted potential barriers to implementation, particularly practitioners’ experiences using only components of the COS-P program in isolation. The results suggest practitioners’ assumptions about client complexities, vulnerabilities, and/or incapacities, can prompt practitioners to withhold the use of COS-P (in part or whole), thereby potentially neglecting key components required for client change. The only participants who implemented the COS-P training in full had additional training in Circle of Security.     

Revisiting the roots of attachment: A review of the biological and psychological effects of maternal skin-to-skin contact and carrying of full-term infants

During the early period of hypothesis building and empirical testing of attachment theory, a major emphasis was placed on mother-infant physical contact. In spite of this, mother-infant contact has received scant attention amongst attachment and child development researchers in the past decades. Here, a brief theoretical framework for mother-infant contact is presented, drawing on animal studies as well as human studies of preterm infants and neonates. Salient mechanisms may include an extended sensitive period during early infancy, requiring specific somatosensory stimuli for bio-behavioral homeorhesis; oxytocinergic and epigenetic pathways; kinesthetic stimuli and face-to-face proximity allowing for increased social interaction. Studies of extended human mother-full-term infant physical contact have demonstrated positive effects in multiple domains. For infants, these include sleep organization, temperature and heart rate regulation, behavioral response, crying/colic, socio-emotional development, attachment quality, speech development opportunities and mother-child interactions. For mothers, studies demonstrate improved depressive symptomatology, physiological stress regulation, contingent responsivity, breastfeeding and mother-child interactions. Parent-infant attachment quality has gained prominence as a trauma-resilience factor as well as a predictor of adult physical health. The potential role of mother-infant contact as an attachment promoting intervention as well as future research subjects are discussed. Current evidence supports the original attachment research that early maternal touch provision may influence infant socio-emotional development and attachment quality, with positive implications for mother-child relationship functioning.     

Social competence group intervention (SOCO) for children with autism spectrum disorder: A pilot study

This study aimed to describe concept of social competence as a theoretical background for social skills group intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A model of social competence comprised of three components: social skills, social performance, and social adjustment. We also examined the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of the manualized Social Competence group intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder (SOCO) using a variety of outcome measures. The nine-month intervention included children groups, parental support groups and co-operation with teachers. A pilot study involved 23 children aged 7 to 12 years (n = 16 intervention, n = 7 control) and intervention outcomes were measured with questionnaires for parents and teachers, neuropsychological tests, and observations. The parents of the intervention group reported improvements in social skills and social adjustment, whereas the teachers reported increases in social performance. Findings also indicated that affect recognition skills, social overtures, and reactions to peers were improved in the intervention group. Although the evidence of the pilot study should be considered as preliminary, it gives some indication of the feasibility of the SOCO group intervention and supports the usability of the theoretical background and approach for multiple outcome measures.     

Attitudes of learner drivers toward safety at level crossings: Do they change after a 360° video-based educational intervention?

In light of the growing number of level crossing accidents and the limited prevention programmes, this study examined relationships among attitudes toward traffic rules, impulsiveness, and behavioural intentions at level crossings. It explored the behavioural effects of an educational programme newly developed within the framework of the Croatian national safety project “Implementation of measures to improve the safety of the most vulnerable traffic participants at level crossings“. The programme aimed to change risky attitudes and behavioural intentions of learner drivers at level crossings. It consists of a safety lecture accompanied by pictures, videos and the exposition to a 3D virtual reality film shot at a real level crossing, which allows the participant to experience, from the driver’s perspective, safe and risky crossings. The programme was implemented in 11 driving schools. First, 285 participants (62.8% men) answered a questionnaire measuring safety attitudes toward traffic and impulsiveness, then they attended a lecture and participated in the virtual reality experience. Finally, they answered a questionnaire measuring planned future behaviour at level crossings. The results showed that attitudes toward level crossing risk significantly predicted intended driving behaviour at level crossings. Furthermore, the 360° video-based educational intervention altered the relationships connecting attitudes toward level crossings and risky driving behaviour at level crossings. The practical implications of these results are discussed.     

Promoting positive development among youth from refugee and migrant backgrounds: The case of Kicking Goals Together

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to explore the case of Kicking Goals Together (KGT), a programme that combines a football competition with a life skills education intervention to elicit Positive Youth Development (PYD) outcomes for youth from refugee and migrant backgrounds. The Holt et al. (2017) model of PYD through sport provided the framework for the analysis of the case.MethodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with ten participants comprising six of the programme’s participants and four stakeholders. A deductive-inductive content analysis was used to explore the individuals’ perceptions and experiences, the PYD outcomes, and the climate and implicit and explicit processes that related to these outcomes.FindingsThe KGT climate supported the making of new friends and meeting new people; provided supportive relationships with adults; while participants described parents as being proud, supportive, but distanced. Personal outcomes related to PYD included increased confidence, improved networking skills, and enhanced employment opportunities. The social outcomes included improved communication, development of intercultural understanding and acceptance, improved teamwork and leadership, and a greater sense of belonging to a wider and more inclusive community.ConclusionAnalysis of the findings provided support for the analytical generalisation (Smith, 2018) and value of the Holt et al. (2017) model. Specifically, in highlighting how the structure and climate of the KGT initiative supported PYD outcomes. An environment that celebrated cultural diversity, and where youth had access to adults who were “functional advocates” (Whitley, Massey, & Wilkinson, 2018, p. 121) was identified as key to the achievement of these outcomes.     

Does students’ self-determined motivation toward Physical Education influence the effectiveness of a fitness teaching unit? A cluster-randomized controlled trial and cluster analysis

ObjectiveThe aim was to compare the effect of a Physical Education (PE)-based fitness teaching unit to improve cardiorespiratory fitness levels between students’ motivational profiles toward PE in high-school students using cluster analysis.MethodOne hundred and eighty-one high school students (final sample 165, 52.1% females; M_age = 12.9 ± 0.9) from nine pre-established classes were cluster-randomly assigned into an experimental group (n = 120) and control group (n = 61). The experimental group performed a fitness teaching unit twice a week for nine weeks. Students’ baseline of self-determined motivation toward PE was measured by the Spanish version of the Perceived Locus of Causality-II Scale. Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured before and after the intervention through the 20-m shuttle run test.ResultsBased on a two-stage cluster analysis approach, four clusters were identified in both groups. Results showed that the experimental group students within the high self-determined motivational profiles toward PE (i.e., clusters 2 and 4) statistically significantly improved their cardiorespiratory fitness levels compared with the control group students in cluster 2 (i.e., those with moderate self-determined motivational profile toward PE) (p < 0.05; d = 0.37–0.48). However, statistically significant differences between the students with a moderate autonomous motivation profile toward PE (i.e., cluster 3 of the experimental group) and the control group students in clusters 2 and 3 were not found (p > 0.05). Conclusions: With the objective of increasing all students’ cardiorespiratory fitness levels, PE teachers should encourage students’ motivation toward PE applying specific motivational strategies during PE lessons.     

正念对亲密关系的影响

亲密关系中的正念, 是指个体有意识地关注可能影响关系的感觉或想法。由于其有助于提高关系满意度并缓解关系冲突, 因而逐渐在理论和应用上受到关注。二元互动过程理论有助于在二元框架下理解正念影响亲密关系的过程和结果, 研究者通常采用测量法、实验诱导法和正念干预探究正念对亲密关系的影响。鉴于正念干预对亲密关系具有防护和补救功能,因此被应用于相对幸福、面临挑战和陷入危机等不同关系状态。未来的研究可根据关系的阶段特征和可能的反向作用建构理论; 根据亲密关系的二元互动和阶段特点, 从多维、动态发展的视角界定概念, 通过互评法和观察编码法进行测量; 采用更严谨的设计明确干预效果; 并且关注潜在的消极影响。     

儿童类比推理的影响因素及干预促进

类比推理这一重要认知能力能够帮助儿童在未经历过的复杂情况下进行推断和学习。近年来研究者主要从行为研究、计算机模型和眼动技术的角度探究了儿童抑制控制和工作记忆在类比推理中的交互作用模式及类比推理策略对类比推理的影响。在此基础上,研究者围绕语言标签和物理表征两方面对儿童类比推理进行了干预研究。儿童类比推理的未来研究应着眼于改进研究方法、关注类比推理各加工阶段影响因素及加强儿童类比推理策略的干预应用研究。