A Clinical Trial of In-Home CBT for Depressed Mothers in Home Visitation

Despite negative outcomes for depressed mothers and their children, no treatment specifically designed to address maternal depression in the context of home visitation has emerged. In-Home Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (IH-CBT) is an adapted treatment that is delivered in the home, focuses on the needs of new mothers, and leverages ongoing home visiting to optimize engagement and outcomes. This study examined the efficacy of IH-CBT using a randomized clinical trial. Subjects were 93 new mothers in a home visiting program. Mothers with major depressive disorder identified at 3 months postpartum were randomized into IH-CBT and ongoing home visitation (n = 47) or standard home visitation (SHV; n = 46) in which they received home visitation alone and could obtain treatment in the community. Depression was measured at pre- and posttreatment, and 3-month follow-up using interviews, clinician ratings, and self-report. Mothers receiving IH-CBT showed improvements in all indicators of depression relative to the SHV condition and these gains were maintained at follow-up. For example, 70.7% of mothers receiving IH-CBT were no longer depressed at posttreatment in terms of meeting criteria for major depressive disorder compared to 30.2% in the SHV group. These findings suggest that IH-CBT is an efficacious treatment for depressed mothers in home visitation programs.     

Psychobiological Aspects of Infant Crying

This study addresses the relationship between the amount of infant crying and maternal responsiveness to the infant's facial communicative cues during distress and non-distress situations. From an evolutionary perspective, the interpretation of infant crying as a communicative signal is preferred over its distance-regulating function. This view implies a relation between the amount of infant crying and parameters describing interactional regulation. Maternal responsiveness is operationalized by (a) the contingent reactions in a latency time span which define the intuitive character of parental behaviours (200–800 ms) and by (b) an event-based coding system of maternal inappropriate behaviour. Infant states (crying, fussing, sleeping and waking hours) were assessed by means of diaries kept by the mothers. In two samples (N=10, N=13, respectively), married, middle-class mothers were videotaped in free play situations with their healthy, firstborn children in their family homes. Results show that there is a strong intersituational consistency of maternal behaviour, but context-sensitive components of maternal behaviour could also be found. The contingency of maternal reactions during the free play situation can be regarded as a predictor of the duration of the infant's crying measured by a maternal diary. The whole pattern of the results confirms the regulatory function of infant crying in the context of early caregiver–child interactions.     

A comparison of parental attention and preferred items during tummy time: A consecutive controlled case series evaluation

Tummy time is an activity for infants to practice their early motor skills. Although most pediatricians recommend tummy time, parents may avoid the procedures due to indices of infant discomfort during this period. This consecutive controlled case series evaluation compared the effects of preferred items selected from a preference assessment with those of parental attention on head evaluation and negative vocalizations during tummy time. In addition, we directly evaluated parental choice by inviting parents to select which tummy time treatment they wanted to implement. We found that both preferred items and parental attention effectively increased head elevation and decreased negative vocalizations during tummy time; however, parents tended to prefer the treatment that included the preferred item.     

Temperamental precursors of infant attachment with mothers and fathers

The degree to which parent sensitivity and infant temperament distinguish attachment classification was examined. Multilevel modeling was used to assess the effect of parent sensitivity and infant temperament on infant–mother and infant–father attachment. Data were collected from mothers, fathers, and their infants (N = 135) when the infant was 3-, 5-, 7-, 12-, and 14-months old. Temperament was measured using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised ( Gartstein & Rothbart, 2003); parent sensitivity was coded during the Still Face Paradigm ( Tronick, Als, Adamson, Wise, & Brazelton, 1978); attachment was coded using the Strange Situation ( Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978). Results indicate that mothers and fathers were less sensitive with insecure-avoidant infants. Whereas only one difference was found for infant–mother attachment groups and temperament, five significant differences emerged for infant–father attachment groups, with the majority involving insecure-ambivalent attachment. Infants classified as ambivalent with fathers were higher in perceptual sensitivity and cuddliness and these infants also showed a greater increase in low-intensity pleasure over time compared with other infants. Results indicate the importance of both parent sensitivity and infant temperament, though operating in somewhat different ways, in the development of the infant–mother and infant–father attachment relationship.     

气质和教养方式对青少年病理性网络的影响：独特与交互效应检验

考察气质（感觉寻求、意志控制）和教养方式（权威、专制、纵容）对青少年病理性网络使用（PIU）的独特效应,以及气质间对青少年PIU的交互效应和气质与教养方式对青少年PIU的交互效应。采用气质问卷、教养方式问卷和青少年PIU问卷,对1312名青少年进行调查。结果显示：（1）意志控制、感觉寻求、专制教养对青少年PIU有独特效应,权威教养、纵容教养对青少年PIU没有独特效应;（2）气质内部交互影响青少年PIU,意志控制缓冲感觉寻求的风险作用。（3）教养方式调节部分气质与青少年PIU的关系,具体为权威教养缓冲感觉寻求的风险作用,纵容教养增强感觉寻求的风险作用。     

关于气质类型与相对学业不良的相关研究

本研究考察了226名大、中学生的气质类型与学业成就的关系,结果发现：无论哪个学习年限段的学生的气质类型中,与胆汁质、抑郁质有关的气质类型与学业不良有关。并认为其主要以任务坚持性和社会灵活性缺乏为特征影响学业不良学生的学习成就。     

From rat sexual behavior to schizophrenia: a tribute to Professor Emeritus Knut Larsson

In July of 2002 Knut Larsson celebrated his 80th birthday. He could by then have looked back at a long and distingusihed career in the field of biological psychology. His research on sexual behavior had contributed to a basic understanding of many behavioral, endocrine and neural phenomena associated with or underlying sexual activity. Instead of looking back at his past achievements, Knut has preferred to look forward, constantly trying to find ways to stimulate interest in his own field and in biological psychology in general. This issue is a humble contribution to the noble end of enhancing the standing of biological psychology, particularly in Scandinavia. Foremost, however, it is a homage to a man of outstanding vision and intellectual integrity: Knut Larsson.     

The Effect of Secrecy and Social Support on Behavioral Problems in Children of Incarcerated Women

We investigated the effects of secrecy regarding their mothers' incarceration and social support on behavioral problems in a group of 116 children (aged 6–13 years, M = 9.00). Children with low levels of social support had more externalizing and internalizing problems, and children who had experienced more life stressors reported more internalizing problems. Significant interactions indicated that both externalizing and internalizing problem scores were higher for children whose social support was poor and secrecy scores were low. Our findings suggest that for children already suffering from little or no support from key people, having little or no constraints regarding talking about mothers' incarceration places children at risk for developing behavioral problems. We discuss explanations for the findings and implications for caregivers.