Self-Improvement as a Response to Interpersonal Regulation in Close Relationships: The Role of Attachment Styles

ABSTRACT

This study was designed to examine how the two dimensions of adult attachment styles, attachment anxiety and avoidance, would affect young adults' intentions of self-improvement in response to various regulatory strategies used by a close other (i.e., a romantic partner or best friend). One hundred and eighteen undergraduate students were involved in this study. Major findings include (a) the more avoidant an individual was, the less likely he/she would improve on those attributes that were desired to change by their close other; (b) a close other's use of the strategy “voice” was positively associated with individuals' intentions to self-improve, while the use of the strategy “exit” was negatively associated with individuals' intentions to self-improve; (c) a close other's use of “loyalty” was associated with a lower level of intentions to self-improve, except for participants scored high on attachment avoidance. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings were discussed.     

Escalation from Fetish Burglaries to Sexual Violence: A Retrospective Case Study of Former Col., D. Russell Williams

Criminal history narrative studies reveal an escalation in sexual offender behaviour from non‐contact to contact offending, with an ever‐increasing likelihood of sexual violence and homicide. In particular, researchers have found that sexual offenders often have a history of committing burglaries prior to contact offences. Accordingly, researchers have suggested that burglaries may be associated with an increased likelihood of future sexual offending, particularly when they have a sexual element to them. However, to date, there has been little quantitative research focusing on the mechanisms of escalation in sexual offences. This paper seeks to study factors associated with sexual offence escalation in terms of changes in offence seriousness and frequency. Specifically, case evidence was gleaned from a series of fetish burglaries and subsequent sexual assaults and murders committed by the former Canadian Colonel David Russell Williams (RW). Cluster analysis, chi‐square, ANOVA, and regression analyses were conducted on the crime scene information of RW's 82 cases of fetish burglary. Analyses revealed a significant escalation in the frequency and seriousness of RW's fetish burglary offences prior to committing acts of sexual violence and ultimately sexual homicide. Recommendations for future research predicting escalation of sexual offending by frequency and seriousness of offending behaviour are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

David Liberman's legacy

This article presents, in the author's own vision, his attempt to consider (and update) the work of an original thinker of contemporary psychoanalysis (in the present). Following a short overview of his biographical data and distinctive traits as maestro and man, it then tries to capture the implications and panoramic vision of Liberman's work, the prevailing questions and problems of psychoanalysis to which it responds. In the author's opinion this involves a serious attempt to systematize clinical psychoanalysis on the basis of singularity and of tolerance to human diversity, with the greatest precision and scientific rigour admitted by the psychoanalytic discipline – avoiding cliché on the one hand and what we might call the mystification of the Oracle on the other. The successive stages of Liberman's production are indicated in terms of the auxiliary disciplines (communication theory, semiotics and linguistics) which he used for his ever more precise systematization of clinical psychoanalysis finally leading to his proposals on ‘style’ and his vision of the psychopathology of over‐adaptation and psychosomatic instances. Other concepts which this paper highlights are: Liberman's conception of analytic dialogue as framed by human interaction; his theorization which stems from this particular empirical base making use of ‘operational definitions’ and ‘intermediary formulations’; his operational definition of transference; and the inclusion of setting inside the ‘analytic situation’.     

Motherhood in adolescent mothers: Maternal attachment,mother–infant styles of interaction and emotion regulation at three months

Early motherhood is considered a risk factor for an adequate relationship between mother and infant and for the subsequent development of the infant. The principal aim of the study is to analyze micro-analytically the effect of motherhood in adolescence on the quality of mother–infant interaction and emotion regulation at three months, considering at the same time the effect of maternal attachment on these variables. Participants were 30 adolescent mother–infant dyads compared to 30 adult mother–infant dyads. At infant 3 months, mother–infant interaction was video-recorded and coded with a modified version of the Infant Caregiver Engagement Phases and the Adult Attachment Interview was administered to the mother. Analysis showed that adolescent mothers (vs. adult mothers) spent more time in negative engagement and their infants spent less time in positive engagement and more time in negative engagement. Adolescent mothers are also less involved in play with their infants than adult mothers. Adolescent mother–infant dyads (vs. adult mother–infant dyads) showed a greater duration of negative matches and spent less time in positive matches. Insecure adolescent mother–infant dyads (vs. insecure adult mother–infant dyads) demonstrated less involvement in play with objects and spent less time in positive matches. To sum up adolescent mother–infant dyads adopt styles of emotion regulation and interaction with objects which are less adequate than those of dyads with adult mothers. Insecure maternal attachment in dyads with adolescent mothers (vs. adult mother infant dyads) is more influential as risk factor.     

A general response style factor: Evidence from a multi-ethnic study in the Netherlands

In a cross-cultural study we addressed commonalities and differences of acquiescence, extremity, midpoint responding, and socially desirable responding that can be taken to constitute a single underlying response style. Participants were 548 Dutch nationals and 1116 first- and second-generation immigrants of Western and Non-Western origins in the Netherlands. Self-report measures of the four response styles, and personality traits were administered. Conventional, indirect measures of acquiescence, extremity, and midpoint responding were also calculated. A multigroup confirmatory factor analysis showed support for a general response style factor with positive loadings of extremity and socially desirable responding, and negative loadings of acquiescence and midpoint responding. The response style factor was strongly associated with personality (notably the “Big One” factor). Furthermore, acquiescence and impression management were related to agreeableness, extremity and midpoint responding to extraversion, and self-deceptive enhancement to neuroticism. These findings support a view that there is a general response style factor and that, in addition, each response style has some unique meaning. The ethnic groups differed significantly on response style use, with Non-Western immigrants showing higher acquiescence and midpoint responding than the other groups. The general response style factor can be interpreted as a communication filter that moderates self-reports. Implications are discussed.     

Thinking Styles and Academic Achievement Among Filipino Students

The authors' objective in this study was to determine whether the precepts of R. J. Sternberg's (1988, 1997) theory of mental self-government apply to a non-Western culture. They administered R. J. Sternberg and R. K. Wagner's (1992) Thinking Styles Inventory, which is based on the theory of mental self-government, to 429 Filipino university students. The results of item analysis, scale intercorrelations, and factor analysis were consistent with the general provisions of the theory. Correlational analysis between thinking styles and grade point average showed that thinking styles are related to academic achievement. The results are explained with respect to the concepts and practices of Philippine culture and schools and discussed in relation to the developmental assumptions of the theory of mental self-government.     

Influence of Attachment Style on Major Psychological Capacities to Lead

Addressing psychological literature's deficiency in research on the early development of leaders in everyday life (e.g., leaders in the workplace, leaders in social settings, leaders in organizational settings), this study assumed that central psychological capacities required for such leaders can be predicted and explained by J. Bowlby's (1969) Bowlby, J. 1969. Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment New York : Basic Books. [Google Scholar] attachment theory concerning developmental processes in infancy. The authors administered a series of questionnaires to 402 participants. The authors analyzed data by using structural equation modeling. Findings indicate a potential-to-lead construct that forms in infancy. The results fully supported the authors’ main arguments: that secure attachment style influences the potential to lead and that this capacity is essential for leadership as measured by leadership ranking.     

A Jumping Box for Cats

Forty-eight 4- to 6-year-old children were randomly assigned to one of three maternal modeling treatment groups: MC–mother exhibits tactual curiosity with the experimental stimuli; MNC–mother stares ahead and exhibits no tactual curiosity with the stimuli; and C–mother interacts with another adult and exhibits no tactual curiosity with the stimuli. Results revealed that imitative tactual curiosity occurred significantly more frequently among MC children, particularly the boys. Further, nonimitative curiosity (other tactual encounters with the stimuli) occurred significantly less frequently among C children, particularly the girls. Interpretation of these and other findings emphasized the potential problem of familiar models exhibiting atypical behaviors and the assumption that girls would more readily detect such atypicality in their mother's behavior than would boys.     

大学生创业心理特质与创业意向的关系：就业压力应对方式的中介效应

采用创业心理特质问卷、就业压力应对方式问卷和创业意向问卷,以江西省两所高校252名大学生为被试进行调查,考察大学生创业心理特质、就业压力应对方式与创业意向之间的关系.结果表明：（1）创业心理特质各维度与压力应对方式、创业意向都存在显著相关;（2）模糊性容忍和成就需求对创业意向存在着直接的影响作用;（3）在冒险倾向与创业意向、创新与创业意向之间,就业压力应对方式都起着显著的中介效应,即创业心理特征某些维度不仅直接影响创业意向,同时还通过就业压力应对方式间接影响创业意向.