Clamped Corticosterone (B) Reveals the Effect of Endogenous B on Both Facilitated Responsivity to Acute Restraint and Metabolic Responses to Chronic Stress

To determine the effects of both corticosterone (B) and chronic stressors on acute ACTH responses to restraint, young male rats were exposed to streptozotocin-induced diabetes, cold (5-7 degreesC) or intracerebroventricular (icv) neuropeptide Y (NPY) for 5 d and then exposed to restraint within 2 h after lights on. Two groups of rats were studied: intact and adrenalectomized replaced with B pellets that maintained plasma B in the normal mean 24-h range of intact rats. In addition to ACTH and B responses to restraint on d 5, body weight, food intake, fat depots, glucose and other hormones were measured to determine the role of stress-induced elevations in B on energy balance. ACTH responses to restraint were normal in intact rats subjected to diabetes or cold. By contrast, there was no ACTH or B response to restraint in NPY-infused intact rats. All 3 groups of chronically stimulated adrenalectomized rats with clamped B had facilitated ACTH responses to restraint compared to their treatment controls. Overall food intake increased in all groups of stressed rats; however, augmented intake occurred only during the light in intact rats and equally in the light and dark in B-clamped rats. White adipose depot weights were decreased by both diabetes and cold and increased by NPY in intact rats; the decreases with cold and increases with NPY were both blunted and changes in fat stores were not significant in adrenalectomized, B-clamped rats. We conclude that: 1. diabetes- and cold-induced facilitation of restraint-induced afferent input to hypothalamic control of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is opposed in intact rats by the elevated feedback signal of B secretion; 2. NPY does not induce facilitation of afferent stress pathways; 3. chronic stimulation of the HPA axis induces acute hyperresponsiveness of hypothalamic neurons to restraint provided that the afferent input of this acute stimulus is not prevented by B feedback; 4. stimulus-induced elevations in B secretion result in day-time feeding; 5. insensitivity of both caloric efficiency and white fat stores to chronic stress in adrenalectomized, B-clamped rats results from loss of normally variable B levels.     

Sad and happy emotion discrimination in music by children with cochlear implants

Children using cochlear implants (CIs) develop speech perception but have difficulty perceiving complex acoustic signals. Mode and tempo are the two components used to recognize emotion in music. Based on CI limitations, we hypothesized children using CIs would have impaired perception of mode cues relative to their normal hearing peers and would rely more heavily on tempo cues to distinguish happy from sad music. Study participants were children with 13 right CIs and 3 left CIs (M = 12.7, SD = 2.6 years) and 16 normal hearing peers. Participants judged 96 brief piano excerpts from the classical genre as happy or sad in a forced-choice task. Music was randomly presented with alterations of transposed mode, tempo, or both. When music was presented in original form, children using CIs discriminated between happy and sad music with accuracy well above chance levels (87.5%) but significantly below those with normal hearing (98%). The CI group primarily used tempo cues, whereas normal hearing children relied more on mode cues. Transposing both mode and tempo cues in the same musical excerpt obliterated cues to emotion for both groups. Children using CIs showed significantly slower response times across all conditions. Children using CIs use tempo cues to discriminate happy versus sad music reflecting a very different hearing strategy than their normal hearing peers. Slower reaction times by children using CIs indicate that they found the task more difficult and support the possibility that they require different strategies to process emotion in music than normal.     

阅读预期对快速阅读理解的影响的实验研究

探讨阅读预期对快速阅读的理解水平与进程的影响。实验１探讨阅读预期对快速阅读理解水平的影响。阅读文章前分别给予被试正确、中性与误导的标题提示,结果表明,不同类型的标题提示对快速阅读的理解成绩有显著的影响,而对正常速度阅读的理解成绩影响效果不显著。实验２探讨阅读预期对快速阅读过程的词句加工程度的影响。结果表明,对优生来说,正确标题提示组发现文章中锗字的成绩显著低于误导标题提示组,差生的不同标题提示组发现错字的成绩差异不显著。两个实验的结果初步表明,快速阅读文章过程会更多地利用概念推动,较少地需要材料信息。     

FAMILY CONFLICT MODERATES EARLY PARENT–CHILD BEHAVIORAL TRANSACTIONS

The reciprocal transactions that shape early parent–child relationships are influenced by contextual stress, such as family conflict. Although family conflict is a salient stressor to the family system, few studies have considered how parent–child transactions vary according to exposure to family conflict. The present study examined how family conflict alters early parent–child behavioral transactions. We utilized three waves of data from a multisite longitudinal study of low‐income families (N = 2, 876), child age 14 months, 24 months, and 36 months, to identify behavioral transactions of positive and negative maternal (supportiveness, negative regard) and child (engagement, negativity) behaviors. Results indicated that family conflict at 14 months diminished the positive association between maternal supportiveness and child engagement, and amplified the inverse association between maternal negativity and child engagement. Family conflict at 14 months also was associated with increased stability of child negativity and subsequent increased maternal negative regard at 36 months, in part via increases in 24‐month child negativity. In sum, family conflict occurring early in childhood predicted and moderated behavioral transactions between young children and their mothers.     

A LONGITUDINAL,PERSON‐CENTERED ANALYSIS OF EARLY HEAD START MOTHERS’ PARENTING

This study used a person‐centered approach to examine stability and change in parenting typologies across early childhood. Profiles were associated within and across time with contextual covariates, including demographic characteristics, risk factors, and Early Head Start participation. Participants were drawn from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (N = 2, 876). Parenting profiles were identified based on observed parenting dimensions at 14, 24, and 36 months, and pre‐Kindergarten (pre‐K). Results suggested a four‐profile solution at each time point: Supportive, Lukewarm (14 & 24 months)/Sufficient (36 months and pre‐K), Harsh, and Detached. Supportive was the largest, most stable, and most likely transitioned into profile while Harsh and Detached represented rare profiles with moderate to low membership stability across time. Depression and family conflict emerged as important correlates of unsupportive parenting profiles both within and across time. Findings are discussed in terms of their relevance for both policy and implementation practices for low‐income mothers with young children.     

Maternal perceptions of the infant: Relationship to maternal self‐efficacy during the first six weeks' postpartum

Mothers' perceptions of their infants and their own levels of self‐efficacy contribute to developing maternal‐infant attunement. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the associations between maternal perceptions of their own infants relative to other infants and maternal self‐efficacy in a group of ethnically diverse, low‐income, first‐time mothers during the first six weeks postpartum. By employing a structural equation model approach, we explored relationships between the predictor (maternal neonatal perceptions) and dependent variable (maternal self‐efficacy). Changes in maternal perceptions of their own infants significantly contributed to self‐reported levels of self‐efficacy while controlling for concurrent self‐esteem. Maternal perceptions of her infant as less difficult than the average infant at six weeks postpartum predicted increased levels of maternal self‐reported self‐efficacy. The present study supports further exploration of the first six weeks postpartum as a sensitive period for targeting intervention and support, particularly for mothers and infants at highest risk.     

The Still-Face Paradigm and bidirectionality: Associations with maternal sensitivity,self-esteem and infant emotional reactivity

The Still-Face Paradigm (SFP) is a structured stressful event within which researchers have investigated the influence of maternal psychological and behavioral characteristics on infant behavior. The present investigation contributes to this body of work by examining the joint contributions of maternal and child behavioral and affective characteristics on subsequent behaviors and affectations following the SFP. A sample of non-clinically depressed mothers and their infants (n = 31) engaged in a modified Still-Face Paradigm (SFP), followed by a period of toy play. These interactions were videotaped and behaviorally coded along the following dimensions: maternal sensitivity prior to the SFP and during toy play, infant negative emotional reactivity during the still-face, and infant resistance during the reunion phase. Additionally, mothers reported global self-esteem and this was examined as a predictor of infant behavior. Results revealed significant bidirectional influences such that maternal self-esteem predicted infant emotional reactivity, maternal sensitivity pre-SFP predicted infant resistance during the reunion phase, and infant resistance predicted subsequent levels of maternal sensitivity. Indirect effects were also examined, and provided additional support for bidirectionality in mother–infant interactions. Implications for clinical practice are discussed in light of these findings.     

A META‐ANALYTIC REVIEW OF RELATIONSHIP‐BASED INTERVENTIONS FOR LOW‐INCOME FAMILIES WITH INFANTS AND TODDLERS: FACILITATING SUPPORTIVE PARENT–CHILD INTERACTIONS

Relationship‐based intervention programs are increasingly being implemented as a way to enhance parent‐child interaction quality. In this meta‐analytic review, we examined the effectiveness of 19 recent relationship‐based interventions serving socioeconomically disadvantaged families with infants and toddlers (N = 6,807). This review specifically focused on intervention effectiveness in terms of improving supportive parenting behaviors, as measured by observational assessments of dyadic parent–child interactions. Meta‐analytic results indicated significant, yet modest, effectiveness across all interventions (d = .23). Intervention characteristics such as participant randomization, breadth of intervention services offered, duration, child age at the start of the intervention, professional qualifications of the intervenor, and type of play task used during assessment were tested as possible moderators of effectiveness. Significant differences in effectiveness were found between randomized and nonrandomized interventions. Within the subsample of randomized interventions, programs that were shorter in duration, that provided direct services to the parent–child dyad, used intervenors with professional qualifications, and assessed parent‐child interactions with free‐play tasks were the most effective, highlighting important considerations for designing effective intervention protocol tailored to the needs of this high‐risk population.     

Associations between child physical abuse potential,observed maternal parenting,and young children's emotion regulation: Is participation in Early Head Start protective?

Clinicians working with Early Head Start (EHS) families consider family well-being and positive parent–child relationships as foundational to school readiness. Understanding the links between risk factors and these dimensions of family engagement can inform clinical decision-making, as risk assessments are used to tailoring program services. The current study examined the associations between high risk, or potential, for child physical abuse and both parenting quality and children's emotion regulation (ER) during toddlerhood; EHS participation was examined as a buffer. The sample included EHS-eligible mothers of infants (N = 80) drawn from one site of the EHS Research and Evaluation Project. Associations were tested between mothers’ potential for child physical abuse, measured during infancy, and observed maternal sensitivity, positive regard, harshness, and children's ER skills at child ages 1 and 2 years. Results indicated that high potential for child physical abuse was associated with lower positive regard at age 1 and lower ER skills at age 2. EHS participation operated as a buffer on each of these associations. Implications for screening for child physical abuse potential and the constructs it represents in clinical settings as well as how EHS can promote family engagement are discussed.