Sex Differences in Neonatal Stress Reactivity

The question of whether a sexually dimorphic stress reaction exists prior to extensive socialization was addressed by examining sex differences in physiological and behavioral stress reactivity, in healthy, term neonates, after a mildly stressful behavioral assessment procedure. The Neonatal Behavior Assessment Scale (NBAS; Brazelton, 1973) was administered to 18 male and 18 female neonates. Heart rate (HR), salivary cortisol, and behavioral states were assessed before and after the exam. Sex differences included higher cortisol response in males and a greater change in HR and higher NBAS motor performance cluster score in females. Salivary cortisol, HR change, NBAS cluster scores, and behavioral states after NBAS provided 100% discrimination between male and female infants. These findings suggest that there are neonatal sex differences in behavioral and physiological stress reactivity prior to socialization.     

Neonatal Temperament in Monozygotic and Dizygotic Twin Pairs

To determine if neonatal temperament was influenced by genetic factors, temperament was assessed in 316 newborn twins from 47 pairs of monozygotic (MZ) twins, 39 pairs of same-sex dizygotic (DZ) twins, and 72 pairs of opposite-sex dizygotic twins. The neonatal assessment focused on irritability, resistance to soothing, activity level, reactivity, and reinforcement value. Examination of intraclass correlations for MZ and DZ twins and the results of model-fitting analyses indicated that heritability estimates for neonatal temperament were not significantly different from zero, and that there was substantial environmental influence on neonatal temperament. Specific perinatal indicators of risk were found to account for some of the intrapair differences observed for the behavioral variables. It was concluded that there is no clear pattern of genetic influence on temperament in the neonatal period.     

论李煜后期词作的感情内涵

李煜是唐五代词人中成就最高的一个,特别是后期的词,更是代表了他的创作成就,对李煜后期词的感情内涵,过高的评价是不恰当的,毕竟他所思怨的绝大部分是对失去的江山皇位的痛惜,但他词中也是有爱国成分的,而且他对失去美好事物的痛惜之情的抒写,是人所共有的感情,极富感染力。     

Stress Reactivity and Self-Recognition

This study examined longitudinally whether early differences in reactivity to stress are related to self-recognition at 18 months of age. Adrenocortical and behavioral to Stress responses to routine inoculation at 2, and 4 months and at 6 and 18 months were obtained. Previous finding indicated a development shift in adrenocortical functioning by 6 months of age that included the emergence of stable individual differences in cortisol response from this point in development. Self-recognition was related to greater cortisol response and less rapid quieting at 6 to 18 months, whereas 2- to 4-month cortisol and quieting response did not differentiate self-recognizers and non-self-recognizators. These findings indicate a role for temperament differences in facilitating the emergence of self-recognition.     

Preschoolers' Emotional Control in the Disappointment Paradigm and Its Relation to Temperament, Emotional Knowledge, and Family Expressiveness

The present research evaluated a conceptual model that links temperament, emotional knowledge, and family expressiveness to preschoolers' emotion regulation ability. The emotional understanding of 82 preschoolers was assessed with 2 separate tasks. After the second emotional knowledge task, the children were presented a "disappointing" prize, and their facial displays of positive and negative affect were recorded. The children and their mothers also participated in a game designed to elicit maternal expressive behavior. Mothers provided information about the preschoolers' temperament and about the frequency of positive and negative affect expressed within their families Results indicated that children's positive displays when presented the "disappointing" prize were inversely related to the temperamental dimension of emotional intensity and positively associated with children's understanding of emotion. Maternal reports of sadness within the family were inversely related to children's positive affective displays. Children's negative emotional displays in the disappointment situation were inversely related to observed maternal positive emotion. The findings from this study give greater specification to the unique and joint contributions of temperament, emotional knowledge, and family expressiveness in predicting preschoolers' expressive control of emotion.     

Temperament Moderates Associations Between Exposure to Stress and Children's Externalizing Problems

The interaction between a temperament profile (four groups determined by high vs. low resistance to control [unmanageability] and unadaptability [novelty distress]) and family stress in predicting externalizing problems at school in children followed from kindergarten through eighth grade (ages 5–13) was investigated. The sample consisted of 556 families (290 boys). At Time 1 just prior to kindergarten, mothers retrospectively reported on their child's temperament during infancy. Each year, mothers reported stress and teachers reported children's externalizing problems. Temperament profile was tested as a moderator of the stress–externalizing association for various time periods. Results indicated that the combination of high resistance to control and high unadaptability strengthens the stress–externalizing association. Findings are discussed in terms of possible underlying mechanisms.     

Parenting Practices in Preschool Leading to Later Cognitive Competence: A Family Stress Model

Research Findings: This study investigates the effect of the early home environment on self-regulation in preschoolers, and how self-regulation relates to later school achievement, while taking into account family resources. Participants were part of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Our model tested paths from family income and maternal depression through parenting to dyadic and child outcomes, including attachment, self-regulation, and child cognitive outcomes in the 1st grade. Findings indicated that family income and maternal depression had a substantial effect on parenting practices. Children whose parents did not display negative affect toward them during episodes of depression were more likely to maintain healthy attachment styles. Parenting, which was directly affected by family income, was the most important predictor of children's cognitive development. Practice or Policy: Regarding implications for practice, this research indicates that parents who provide a safe and stimulating environment for their children, despite limited financial resources or mental health issues, are more likely to have children who are prepared for school. School counselors, child care administrators, and policymakers should be aware of the importance of parenting to school success and should provide opportunities for parent education and involvement during the first years of life.     

Individual Differences in Emotional Reactivity and Academic Achievement: A Psychophysiological Study

Factors related to grade point average (GPA) are of great importance for students' success. Yet, little is known about the impact of individual differences in emotional reactivity on students' academic performance. We aimed to examine the emotional reactivity–GPA link and to assess whether self‐esteem and psychological distress moderate this relationship. Eighty undergraduate students reported on their GPA, self‐esteem, and psychological distress. Students' pupil radius was monitored during affective picture viewing to assess sympathetic activation in response to emotional stimuli. Cluster analysis on pupil reactivity to pictures identified low, average, and high emotionally reactive students. Regression analyses indicated that profiles of emotional reactivity were associated with GPA. This relationship was moderated by self‐esteem, but not psychological distress. Among students with higher emotional reactivity, those with lower self‐esteem reported poorer GPA. Findings document the importance of differences in students' emotional reactivity and self‐esteem in relation to academic success.     

Fearing Failure: Grandiose Narcissism,Vulnerable Narcissism,and Emotional Reactivity in Children

The distinction between grandiose and vulnerable narcissism is new to the child literature, but initial findings suggest that it may have important implications for understanding adjustment. This study examined how expressions of narcissism in children influence their reactions to a mild egothreats experience. Children (N = 124; aged 8–12 years) completed self-ratings before and after doing a brief but challenging task. Negative emotions, self-conscious emotions, and performance estimates were measured. Regression analyses showed that, even after controlling the effects of self-esteem and temperament, vulnerable narcissism was related to increased hostility, anger, and shame, whereas grandiose narcissism was related to inflated performance estimates following the task. These results demonstrate the unique roles of grandiose and vulnerable narcissism in children.     

Behavioral Inhibition and Stress Reactivity: The Moderating Role of Attachment Security

The role of the mother-toddler attachment relationship in moderating the relations between behavioral inhibition and changes in salivary cortisol levels in response to novel events was examined in 77 18-month-olds. Behavioral inhibition was determined by observing toddler inhibition of approach to several novel events. Attachment security to mother was assessed using the Ainsworth Strange Situation. Changes in salivary cortisol were used to index activity of the stress-sensitive hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system. In addition, toddler coping behaviors and the behaviors used by mothers to help toddlers manage novel events were examined. Elevations in cortisol were found only for inhibited toddlers in insecure attachment relationships. Mothers in these relationships appeared to interfere with their toddlers' coping efforts. These results are discussed in the context of a coping model of the relations between temperament and stress reactivity.     

Infant Attachment Insecurity and Baseline Physiological Activity and Physiological Reactivity to Interpersonal Stress: A Meta-Analytic Review

This meta-analytic review (k = 5–10; N = 258–895) examined links between attachment insecurity and physiological activity at baseline and in response to interpersonal stress elicited by separation–reunion procedures in the early life course (1–5 years). Insecurity was trivially, nonsignificantly associated with baseline physiological activity (heart rate [HR]: g = −.06; respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]: g = −.06; cortisol: g = .01) and nonsignificantly associated with physiological reactivity to separation from parents (HR: g = −.001; RSA: g = .24). However, insecurity was moderately associated with heightened RSA (g = .26) and cortisol (g = .27) reactivity upon reunion with parents. Findings provide insight into the biobehavioral organization of attachment, suggesting that early insecurity is associated with heightened physiological reactivity to interpersonal stress.     

Sleep and Temperament: Maternal Perceptions of Temperament of Sleep-Disturbed Toddlers

Research findings: In order to assess the relations between sleep problems and temperament in infants, temperament ratings of 63 toddlers who presented with night waking problems were compared to those of 35 non-referred toddlers. An objective method to assess sleep patterns was used to validate the distinct sleep patterns of the two groups prior to the comparison of the temperament scales. Measures included: Toddler Temperament Questionnaire (TTQ) and the child's scales of the Parental Stress Index (PSI). On the TTQ, Night Wakers were rated as having lower sensory thresholds compared to the controls. Night Wakers were also rated as less adaptive than the controls. On the PSI, Night Wakers were rated as more distractible; less reinforcing; less adaptive and more demanding. Practice or policy: The results suggest that sleep disturbances in early childhood are closely associated with negative maternal perceptions of child temperament. It is proposed that early detection and treatment of sleep problems during early childhood may prevent some of the associated negative behavioral consequences.     

Sleep and Temperament: Maternal Perceptions of Temperament of Sleep-Disturbed Toddlers

Research findings: In order to assess the relations between sleep problems and temperament in infants, temperament ratings of 63 toddlers who presented with night waking problems were compared to those of 35 non-referred toddlers. An objective method to assess sleep patterns was used to validate the distinct sleep patterns of the two groups prior to the comparison of the temperament scales. Measures included: Toddler Temperament Questionnaire (TTQ) and the child's scales of the Parental Stress Index (PSI). On the TTQ, Night Wakers were rated as having lower sensory thresholds compared to the controls. Night Wakers were also rated as less adaptive than the controls. On the PSI, Night Wakers were rated as more distractible; less reinforcing; less adaptive and more demanding. Practice or policy: The results suggest that sleep disturbances in early childhood are closely associated with negative maternal perceptions of child temperament. It is proposed that early detection and treatment of sleep problems during early childhood may prevent some of the associated negative behavioral consequences.     

谈巴金家庭题材小说前后期创作的情感联系

巴金家庭题材的小说创作经历了一个＂从离家到归家＂的过程。这种观点认为,在巴金前期的这类作品中,＂家庭＂是封建专制的象征,它是青年叛逆者要挣脱的牢笼;而在其后期创作中,则呈现了＂家＂中蕴含的脉脉温情,表达了作家对＂家＂的认同。这种对家庭中美好情感的怀念在巴金的前期代表作《家》中就已现端倪,即使在青年巴金的心底,依然有着对＂家＂的眷顾,这构成了与其后期家庭题材小说的情感联系。     

Temperament and the Reactions to Unfamiliarity

The begavioral reaction to unfamiliar events are basic pheomena in all vertebrates, Four month-old injants who show a low threshold to become distressed and motorically aroused to unfamiliar stimuli are likely than others to become fearful and subdued during early childhood, whereas infants who show a high arousal threshold are more likely to become bold and sociable. After presenting some developmental correlates and thrajectories of these 2 temperamental biases, I consider their implication for psychopathology and the relation between propositions containing psychological and biological concepts.     

Cortisol in Neonatal Mother's Milk Predicts Later Infant Social and Cognitive Functioning in Rhesus Monkeys

Milk provides not only the building blocks for somatic development but also the hormonal signals that contribute to the biopsychological organization of the infant. Among mammals, glucocorticoids (GCs) in mother's milk have been associated with infant temperament. This study extended prior work to investigate rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) mother–infant dyads (N = 34) from birth through 8 months postpartum. Regression analysis revealed that cortisol concentrations in milk during the neonatal period predicted impulsivity on a cognitive task, but not global social behaviors, months later. During this time period, sex‐differentiated social behavior emerged. For female infants, milk cortisol concentrations predicted total frequency of play. Collectively, these findings support and extend the “lactational programming” hypothesis on the impact of maternal‐origin hormones ingested via milk.     

Biological Sensitivity to Context: The Interactive Effects of Stress Reactivity and Family Adversity on Socioemotional Behavior and School Readiness

This study examined the direct and interactive effects of stress reactivity and family adversity on socioemotional and cognitive development in three hundred and thirty-eight 5- to 6-year-old children. Neurobiological stress reactivity was measured as respiratory sinus arrhythmia and salivary cortisol responses to social, cognitive, sensory, and emotional challenges. Adaptation was assessed using child, parent, and teacher reports of externalizing symptoms, prosocial behaviors, school engagement, and academic competence. Results revealed significant interactions between reactivity and adversity. High stress reactivity was associated with more maladaptive outcomes in the context of high adversity but with better adaption in the context of low adversity. The findings corroborate a reconceptualization of stress reactivity as biological sensitivity to context by showing that high reactivity can both hinder and promote adaptive functioning.     

Cortisol Reactivity to Social Stress as a Mediator of Early Adversity on Risk and Adaptive Outcomes

Children chronically exposed to stress early in life are at increased risk for maladaptive outcomes, though the physiological mechanisms driving these effects are unknown. Cortisol reactivity was tested as a mediator of the relation between prenatal substance exposure and/or early adversity on adaptive and maladaptive outcomes. Data were drawn from a prospective longitudinal study of prenatal substance exposure (N = 860). Cortisol reactivity was assessed at age 11. Among African Americans, prenatal substance exposure exerted an indirect effect through early adversity and cortisol reactivity to predict externalizing behavior, delinquency, and a positive student–teacher relationship at age 11. Decreased cortisol reactivity was related to maladaptive outcomes, and increased cortisol reactivity predicted better executive functioning and a more positive student–teacher relationship.     

Stress Regulation in Adolescents: Physiological Reactivity During the Adult Attachment Interview and Conflict Interaction

The current study examined whether adolescents’ attachment representations were associated with differences in emotion regulation during the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; C. George, N. Kaplan, & M. Main, 1996 ) and during a mother–adolescent conflict interaction task (Family Interaction Task [FIT]; J. P. Allen et al., 2003 ). Participants were one hundred and fifty‐six 14‐year‐old adolescents. Dismissing adolescents showed less interbeat interval (IBI) reactivity (indicating less stress) during the AAI than secure adolescents. However, during the FIT, dismissing adolescents showed more IBI reactivity. No differences in physiological reactivity were found between individuals with resolved or unresolved loss or trauma during the AAI or FIT. The results indicate that dismissing adolescents may effectively use a defensive strategy during the AAI but less so in direct conflict interaction with their attachment figure.     

消极情绪的危害及精神压力缓解的对策

每个人都会有两种不同的情绪,即积极情绪和消极情绪.消极情绪会使人产生诸如胃部疼痛、结肠疼痛等病症,而积极情绪可能会比任何一种药物的疗效更佳.消极情绪往往来自精神压力,学会缓解精神压力,就会使自己保持积极健康的情绪.