Taking care with attachment disorders and autistic-like traits: the potential significance of cognitive markers

The behaviours associated with the attachment disorders (ADs) appear to overlap substantially with those linked to the autism spectrum (AS). Given the similarities between the two conditions this article urges caution when drawing conclusions concerning the likely aetiology of presenting difficulties in any particular case. Attention is drawn to recent research findings which may prove helpful in alerting psychologists to the presence of additional autistic-like vulnerabilities in children known to have experienced significant attachment-related trauma. The potential implications for practice are discussed.     

Childhood emotional maltreatment,anxiety, attachment,and mindfulness: Associations with facial emotion recognition

The current study investigated factors thought to contribute to facial emotion processing. Female university students (N = 126) completed self-report measures of childhood emotional maltreatment, anxiety symptoms, attachment anxiety and avoidance, and trait mindfulness before completing a facial emotion recognition task, where they viewed sequences of faces that incorporated progressively more emotional content until they were able to correctly identify the emotion. They completed the task under low and high cognitive load conditions to distinguish between relatively effortful versus automatic processing abilities. Regression analyses revealed that under low cognitive load, attachment avoidance and mindfulness predicted quicker identification of fear (i.e., with less perceptual information), whereas anxiety predicted slower identification of fear (i.e., with more perceptual information). In the high cognitive load condition, emotional maltreatment and mindfulness predicted quicker identification of fear, and anxiety and mindfulness predicted faster identification of emotions overall. Although current findings are correlational, most of these effects were specific to fearful faces, suggesting that experiences of childhood emotional maltreatment and associated socio-emotional sequelae are related to heightened processing of threat-related information.     

罗隐寓居池州诸事考述

至目前为止,尚未见学术界对罗隐这位唐才子寓居池州六七年的史实,进行系统而具体地追踪和研究。近年来,笔者在广觅文献和实地调查基础上,对罗隐寓居池州的起止年份、寓居的因缘和机遇、罗隐对池州人和池州山水的深情恋眷,以及他在池州对人生道路的重大转折等等,一一进行钩沉、考证和论述。     

Schools and emotional and behavioral problems: A comparison of school-going and homeschooled children

Much attention has been focused recently on the deepening crisis in the education system. Researchers have attributed these problems to the school environment. One method for examining this claim is to compare specific emotional and behavior problems among children who attend schools and children who do not. This study examined three aspects of children's emotional world—emotional and behavioral problems, depression, and attachment security—in a group of children attending school and a group of homeschooled children, matched for socioeconomic background and research procedure. The findings indicated a lower level of depression among the homeschooled children; no difference was found between the groups in attachment security. With respect to emotional and behavioral problems, no difference was found in internalizing problems, but more externalizing problems were found among the school-going than the homeschooled children, in 9–10-year-olds and 11–12-year-olds, but not in 6–8-year-olds.     

Attachment in institutionalized children: A review and meta-analysis

In this article we review the literature on attachment patterns in institutionalized children and then perform a meta-analysis on data from 10 attachment studies involving 399 children in institutional settings. We computed the overall attachment distribution of secure, insecure, and disorganized rates and explored the effect of a set of moderating variables (i.e., country of institutionalization, attachment assessment procedure, age at entry, and age at assessment). To overcome bias related to the small number of studies, we conducted both classical and Bayesian meta-analysis and obtained comparable results. Distribution of children's attachment patterns was: 18% secure, 28% insecure, and 54% disorganized/cannot classify. Compared to their family-reared peers, children living in an institution were found to be at greater risk for insecure and disorganized attachment, with a similar medium effect size for both distributions (d = 0.77 and d = 0.76, respectively). The following moderating variables were associated with insecure attachment: representational assessment procedures (d = 0.63) and Eastern European countries of origin (d = 1.13). Moderators for disorganized attachment were: Eastern European countries of origin (d = 1.12), age at institution entry before the first birthday (d = 0.93), and age at assessment under three years of age (d = 0.91). Implications for child development and policies are discussed.     

Using Attachment Theory to Study Communication Motives in Father–Daughter Relationships

The objective of this study was to investigate communication motives using attachment theory in father–daughter relationships. Two hundred and seven father–daughter dyads participated in the study. Results revealed that attachment styles were similar for all communication motives, except for the motive of escape. Dyads with secure attachment styles were more likely than anxious/ambivalent attachment styles to communicate for escape. Results also indicated that attachment styles did not influence fathers' communication motives. In other words, fathers communicated with their daughters regardless of how daughters' attach themselves to their fathers. These findings contribute to the understanding of the relationship between attachment styles and communication motives in father–daughter interpersonal relationships.     

书刊附盘的管理

阐述了书刊附盘的概念与类型,探讨了书刊附盘的加工与揭示方法,提出了书刊附盘的管理原则与管理模式。     

Supplementation of urban home visitation with a series of group meetings for parents and infants: results of a “real-world” randomized, controlled trial

Objective: Home visitation has been shown to be effective in reducing rates of child maltreatment and in enhancing psychosocial outcomes in children and their parents. Even when available, however, it is underutilized by parents in some urban settings. We tested a supplemental 10-session group intervention for its ability to increase active participation in home visitation, enhance the quality of caregiving behavior of parents, and improve social developmental outcome in children.Method: A randomized controlled design was utilized, involving two separate cohorts of parents of 3- to 18-month old infants, totaling 148 parent-child dyads. The intervention focused on practical experience in promoting parent-infant attachment relationships.Results: At 6 months follow-up, there was a substantial increase in the proportion of intervention group parents participating in home visitation, compared to parents in the control group (Fisher’s exact p = .008). Parents in the intervention group exhibited a trend for improvement in their capacity to appropriately interpret infants’ emotional cues (p = .08), independent of the effects of home visitation itself. Attrition in both the treatment and control groups was inversely associated with income and level of education.Conclusions: Group meetings may constitute an effective means of engaging stressed urban families in home visitation.     

论思想道德修养课的"情感"教学法

思想首先修养课的目的是帮助大学生树立正确的人生观,价值观和健全的人格,其内容有很强的理论性,现实性和针对性,传统的“照本宣科,说教灌输”的老方法已远远不能适应新的形势下对思想道德修养课的要求。在总结多年教学实践的基础上,本文提出并阐述了“情感”教学法,旨在提高思想道德修养课的有效性。     

An Integrative Review of Parenting Stress in Mothers of Children with Autism in Japan

Abstract

Parents of children with autism experience elevated stress that may be influenced by specific characteristics of the child and parent, including cultural norms and beliefs about parenting. However, there is little research on families of children with autism from cultural perspectives. The purpose of this integrative review is to identify factors influencing parenting stress in mothers of children with autism in Japan. A final sample of 15 primary research articles (2000–2015) on parenting stress in mothers of Japanese children with autism was selected using several databases. The findings suggested that these mothers experience much greater parenting stress than mothers of typically developing children and children with other disabilities. Japanese mothers also demonstrate stress related to attachment difficulties, low parenting efficacy and lack of support, reflecting Japanese parenting styles and gender ideology. Parent-directed and culturally calibrated interventions are needed to support parents of children with autism, especially cultural minority parents.