Applying a bifactor model to the functions of relational aggression: Associations with hostile attribution biases and difficulties with emotion regulation

Previous research suggests that reactive and proactive aggression likely have distinct underlying mechanisms that uniquely contribute to the perpetration of each as a result of faulty cognitive and emotional processes. Still, very little work has examined the association of the functions of relational aggression with emotion dysregulation and hostile attribution biases. In addition, it is important to examine relational aggression in its pure and co-occurring functions given that past work finds reactive and proactive aggression to occur both jointly and distinctly. Thus, the current study employed a bifactor model to distinguish between pure reactive, pure proactive, and co-occurring relational aggression in emerging adulthood (N = 647, M_age = 19.92, SD = 2.83), a developmental time period for which relational aggression is particularly prominent. To further address gaps in the relational aggression literature, indirect pathway models revealed that relational hostile attribution biases emerged as a concurrent indirect path in the relationship between emotion dysregulation and pure reactive relational aggression. Furthermore, emotion dysregulation was directly positively associated with both pure functions as well as co-occurring relational aggression, and hostile attribution biases for relational provocations were directly associated with both pure functions of relational aggression, though the association was negative for pure proactive and positive for pure reactive relational aggression. Findings highlight the potential influence of emotion dysregulation and attributing hostile intent to social situations on engaging in the different functions of relational aggression.     

Inhibitory deficits and symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: How are they related to effortful control?

Separate studies with clinical and community-based samples have identified an association between symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and inhibitory control deficits and ADHD and weak effortful control. We tested whether differences in effortful control explained the associations between ADHD symptoms and inhibitory control deficits, controlling for conduct problems. In a community sample, parents rated ADHD symptoms, conduct problems, effortful control, surgency and negative affect in 77 4-7-year-olds (47 girls), who performed an inhibitory control task. ADHD symptoms, deficient inhibitory control and low effortful control were correlated. Controlling for conduct problems, path analysis showed the ADHD symptoms – inhibitory control link was mediated statistically by effortful control. This focuses attention on cognitive-energetic factors associated with ADHD-related executive deficits.     

Nausea During Pregnancy: Relation to Early Childhood Temperament and Behavior Problems at Twelve Years

Associations between maternal nausea during pregnancy and child behavioral outcomes were investigated in a large birth cohort. Generally, 2nd- and 3rd-trimester nausea were more predictive of child outcomes than 1st-trimester nausea. Children whose mothers reported nausea in middle or late pregnancy had lower sensory thresholds and higher levels of activity and emotional intensity in infancy and were reported to be lower in task persistence at age 5. At age 12, these children were viewed by teachers as more careless with their school work and as having more attentional and learning problems.     

Sustained attentional and disattentional abilities and arousability: Factor analysis and relationships to hypnotic susceptibility

The neurophysiologically separate dimensions of deeply focused, sustained attention and arousability are shown to be differentially related to hypnotic susceptibility. University undergraduates, 98 men and 112 women, were administered the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility; the Group Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C (SHSS:C); and questionnaires that assessed attentional abilities (Differential Attentional Processes Inventory (DAPI), Tellegen Absorption Scale (TAS)), Extraversion (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire), strength of the nervous system (Strelau Temperament Scale (STS)), augmenting-reducing (Vando Reducer-Augmenter Scale (RAS)), and emotionality (Affect Intensity Measure (AIM)). Women were significantly higher on TAS, DAPI dual attention physical-cognitive scale, and AIM; men were significantly higher on TAS and STI Strength of Excitation Scale. Separate factor analyses for men and women separately yielded fairly similar four-factor solutions. The first major factor, defined by DAPI Moderately Focused Attention and Dual Attention scales, represented moderately sustained attention in a complex environment with limited interference from competing stimuli. The extremely involved and focused attention factor, defined by the TAS and DAPI Extremely Focused Attention Scale, had hypnotic susceptibility loaded more strongly for men than women. The arousability factor was defined by EPQ Extraversion, STI Mobility of Nervous System (MNS) scale, and RAS. The neo-Pavlovian nervous system processes factor was defined by the STI Strength of Excitation and Strength of Inhibition scales; the STI MNS scale also loaded on this factor for men. Only for women were introverts more hypnotizable than extraverts. Results support H. J. Crawford and J. H. Gruzelier's (1992) in E. Fromm and M. Nash (Eds.) Contemporary Perspectives in Hypnosis Research (pp. 227–266) New York: Guildford Press) neurophysiological model of hypnosis that proposes that highly hypnotizable persons have a more efficient fronto-limbic sustained attentional and disattentional system.     

Toward a Transactional Conceptualization of Oppositional Defiant Disorder: Implications for Assessment and Treatment

The conceptualization and treatment of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) has been characterized by surprising homogeneity. In this paper evidence is presented to underscore the heterogeneity within ODD, including research demonstrating (a) the distinction between reactive and proactive forms of aggression; (b) the importance of affective modulation and self-regulation, and associated cognitive skills, in the development of the skill of compliance; and (c) high levels of comorbidity between ODD and other disorders. The disparate pathways that give rise to oppositional behavior suggest that different children with ODD may require different forms of intervention. The necessity of a transactional conceptualization, of achieving a comprehensive understanding of the factors underlying the difficulties of individual children with ODD, and of matching intervention ingredients to the specific needs of different children and families is discussed.Ross W. Greene     

Effects of extended father-infant contact during the newborn period

Studies within the past decade have suggested that extended contact between mothers and newborns may have positive effects on later parent-infant interaction and may impact favorably upon the establishment of the mother-to-infant attachment bond. The present study was designed to determine whether similar extended contact effects occur for fathers. The results indicated that a group of fathers who attended their infants' births and received extended postpartum hospital contact with their infants engaged in greater amounts of en face behavior and vocalization with their infants and were more involved in infant caretaking responsibilities at 6 weeks postpartum and had higher self-esteem scores following the births compared to another group of fathers who attended their infants' births but received traditional amounts of hospital contact. Although there were more behavioral similarities than differences between the two groups of fathers, positive effects were found on behavioral measures, standardized psychometric measures, and on self-report questionnaires. The results indicated that extended contact effects are at least as salient with fathers as with mothers.     

家长对子女人格特点的自由描述──中国儿童样本对“大五”人格结构的验证

运用与荷兰、美国等国的跨文化研究组相同的访谈和编码方法,对我国北京和福州两个城市共４１０位的３至１２岁儿童的家长进行了访谈,目的是从自然语言途径,探讨我国儿童的人格特点,并将结果与国外同样研究进行跨文化比较。结果表明：本样本儿童的人格特点可以运用成人“五因素模型”进行解释。并且,中国家长提供的自由描述完全可以纳入美国和荷兰研究组设计的“１４概念”编码系统。与其他国家的结果相比．中国家长对于“谨慎性”概念的重视程度远高于美国、荷兰和比利时儿童的家长,表现出显著的文化差异。此外,中国家长对于孩子“智力”问题的注意多于西方国家的家长,但对孩子在“宜人性”概念上的描述则最少。     

Personality Disorders and Treatment: A Therapeutic Conundrum

Of challenge to developmental psychologists and mental health practitioners is the importance of temperament, the intractable nature of personality, the complex psychodynamics of personality disorders, the fragile features of the therapeutic alliance, and the selection of appropriate therapy techniques. The intent of this article is to provide specific information pertinent to understanding personality disorders and to offer recommendations for effective treatment strategies.     

Stronger reactivity to social gaze in virtual reality compared to a classical laboratory environment

People show a robust tendency to gaze at other human beings when viewing images or videos, but were also found to relatively avoid gaze at others in several real-world situations. This discrepancy, along with theoretical considerations, spawned doubts about the appropriateness of classical laboratory-based experimental paradigms in social attention research. Several researchers instead suggested the use of immersive virtual scenarios in eliciting and measuring naturalistic attentional patterns, but the field, struggling with methodological challenges, still needs to establish the advantages of this approach. Here, we show using eye-tracking in a complex social scenario displayed in virtual reality that participants show enhanced attention towards the face of an avatar at near distance and demonstrate an increased reactivity towards her social gaze as compared to participants who viewed the same scene on a computer monitor. The present study suggests that reactive virtual agents observed in immersive virtual reality can elicit natural modes of information processing and can help to conduct ecologically more valid experiments while maintaining high experimental control.     

冲突视阈下类别信息与个体信息知觉负载的认知控制效应

个体根据知觉选择、反应偏向以及实时更新的情境信息调节自身状态,以适应性地促进对当前知觉信息的灵活编码,这一过程即为印象形成的认知控制。采用词语判断任务与侧抑制任务的变式将他人信息(类别信息vs.个体信息)分成高、低知觉负载两种水平,考察了冲突视阈下认知控制策略对他人印象形成的调控作用及知觉负载的效应。结果发现:(1)知觉负载影响他人印象形成的认知控制策略。(2)当类别信息与个体信息存在知觉冲突且个体的知觉负载较高时,受到反应性控制的作用,他人印象形成易出现冲突适应偏向; 当个体的知觉负载较低时,他人印象形成易受主动性控制的作用,从而产生冲突抑制偏向。这些结果表明,当个体形成他人印象时,其认知控制策略因受知觉负载影响而呈现分阶段加工特征。