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Background: Parental mentalising difficulties are robustly linked to caregiving problems. Mothers with intellectual disability are at risk for caregiving problems, but knowledge on their parental mentalising abilities is lacking. The present study aimed to fill this gap. Method: Thirty mothers with mild intellectual disability, and 61 comparison mothers with ADHD, were assessed for parental mentalising using the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire. Contributions of intellectual disability, maternal exposure to childhood abuse/neglect and psychosocial risk to parental mentalising were examined through hierarchical regression analysis. Results: Mothers with intellectual disability had a heightened risk for parental mentalising difficulties, in the form of elevated prementalising. Intellectual disability and cumulative childhood abuse/neglect uniquely predicted prementalising among the mothers, whereas cumulative psychosocial risk added to the risk for prementalising specifically among mothers with intellectual disability. Conclusions: Our findings support contextual models of caregiving, and suggest a need for mentalisation-based support for parents with mild intellectual disability.

Attachment theory, research, and assessments have become increasingly applied to settle child custody cases. We discuss such applications in relation to admissibility criteria for scientific evidence and testimony proposed by Faigman et al. (2014). We argue that attachment theory and research can provide valid "framework evidence"; group-based attachment research has yielded general principles suitable as a frame of reference for pertinent court decisions. In particular, child custody decision-making should generally be guided by research indicating that children benefit from attachment networks. In contrast, assessments of attachment quality fall short of providing valid "diagnostic evidence"; information that a specific individual/dyad is a "true" instance of a general group-level principle. In particular, such assessments do not yield valid information about whether a particular caregiver has better caregiving skills than another caregiver and will better support child development. We conclude that attachment theory and research should be admissible for framework but not for diagnostic testimony.

Prior research indicates links between parents' experiences of interpersonal trauma and emotion-interpretation difficulties, and between such difficulties and child attachment insecurity and disorganization. Although mothers with mild levels of intellectual disability (ID) are at heightened risk for trauma and emotion-interpretation difficulties, and their children for attachment insecurity, corresponding links in this population have not been examined. We therefore investigated emotional interpretations among mothers with mild levels of ID (n = 23) and matched comparison mothers without ID (n = 25), in relation to mothers' experiences of trauma and their children's attachment representations. Mothers with mild levels of ID were not less accurate than comparison mothers with regard to general positive and negative emotion-interpretation accuracy, but they were significantly more likely to misinterpret shame and anger. Among mothers with mild levels of ID, misinterpretations of shame were positively related to maternal experiences of trauma, and to child attachment insecurity and disorganization.

Background: Scientific knowledge on the quality of caregiving/maternal sensitivity among mothers with mild intellectual disabilities (ID) is limited and subject to many methodological shortcomings, but seems to suggest that these mothers are less sensitive than mothers without intellectual disabilities. Methods: In this matched-comparison study (N = 48), the present authors observed maternal sensitivity for 20 min in four different laboratory play situations. The study also included semi-structured interviews to assess maternal experiences of maltreatment and child attachment. Results: The present authors found significantly lower sensitivity among mothers with intellectual disabilities than among a comparison group of mothers without intellectual disabilities. Among mothers with intellectual disabilities, low sensitivity was related to maternal experiences of maltreatment and predictive of disorganized child attachment. In the comparison group, high maternal sensitivity was related to partner presence and social support, and predictive of child intelligence. Conclusions: The present authors highlight the importance of attending to intellectual disabilities mothers' history of "receiving" care to understand their capacity for "giving" adequate care.

Research has suggested highly elevated levels of interpersonal trauma (IPT) among parents with intellectual disabilities (ID), and that such experiences may contribute to the caregiving and child developmental problems often seen in this population. Conflicting results have however been reported, and there is no systematic review on this matter. This study therefore systematically reviewed the empirical evidence concerning (a) prevalence of IPT among parents with ID, and links with (b) caregiving-relevant and (c) child developmental outcomes, in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Searches were conducted in MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and PTSDpubs. Peer-reviewed empirical articles reporting exposure to any form of systematically assessed IPT (unspecified IPT, physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, neglect, prolonged childhood separations from caregivers, witnessing abuse in the family) among parents with ID were included, yielding a final selection of 20 studies. Findings consistently indicated markedly elevated levels of IPT among parents with ID, with a majority (>50%) having experienced some form of IPT. Estimates for both unspecified and specific forms were typically higher than corresponding estimates in other groups at elevated risk, and than meta-analytical general population estimates in comparable countries. Findings regarding caregiving-relevant outcomes were mixed but indicated links with adverse outcomes, particularly regarding parental mental health. Reports pertaining to child developmental outcomes were scant and inconsistent. We highlight important limitations in the extant literature and provide directions for future research and clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we set an agenda for a psychedelic science of spirituality and religion based on attachment theory. Attachment theory proposes that people develop internal working models (IWMs) of interactions with others from their relational experiences with caregivers. Such IWMs then function as high-level priors or predictive models, enabling people, for better and for worse, to predict and organize their interpersonal and religious/spiritual relationships. One mechanism by which efficacious psychedelic interventions may work is by relaxing the grip of rigid, defensive priors (e.g. insecure IWMs with regard to others and God), further amplified by corrective relational experiences with the therapist, God, or others. We outline three key proposals to steer future research. First, individual differences in attachment security predict the phenomenology and integration of psychedelic experiences. Second, efficacious psychedelic therapy facilitates increased attachment security as a clinically relevant outcome. Third, attachment-related dynamics (e.g. a sense of connection to others/God/the universe, alleviation of attachment-related worries and defenses) are process-level mechanisms involved in the clinical utility of psychedelic treatment. Finally, we discuss the role of religion and spirituality in psychedelic experiences from an attachment perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the idea that believers' perceived relationships with God develop from their attachment-related experiences with primary caregivers, the authors explored the quality of such experiences and their representations among individuals who differed in likelihood of experiencing a principal attachment to God. Using the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), they compared attachment-related experiences and representations in a group of 30 Catholic priests and religious with a matched group of lay Catholics and with the worldwide normal distribution of AAI classifications. They found an overrepresentation of secure-autonomous states regarding attachment among those more likely to experience a principal attachment to God (i.e., the priests and religious) compared with the other groups and an underrepresentation of unresolved-disorganized states in the two groups of Catholics compared with the worldwide normal distribution. Key findings also included links between secure-autonomous states regarding attachment and estimated experiences with loving or nonrejecting parents on the one hand and loving God imagery on the other. These results extend the literature on religion from an attachment perspective and support the idea that generalized working models derived from attachment experiences with parents are reflected in believers' perceptions of God.

This study was the first to examine relations between attachment and religion-spirituality in adults using a developmentally validated attachment assessment, the Adult Attachment Interview. Security of attachment was expected to be linked to a religiosity-spirituality that is socially based on the parental relationships and reflects extrapolation of attachment experiences with sensitive parents to perceived relationships with a loving God. Insecurity of attachment was expected to be related to religiosity-spirituality via emotional compensation for states of insecurity. Participants (N = 84; 40% men; mean age = 29 years) were drawn from religious-spiritual groups. Religiousness-spirituality was assessed with questionnaires. Results generally supported the hypotheses ( ps = 0.05). Estimates of parental loving were linked to socially based religiosity, loving God images, and gradual religious changes occurring at early ages and in life contexts indicating a positive influence of close relationships. Estimates of parental rejection and role reversal were related to New Age spirituality and sudden-intense religious changes occurring in life contexts of turmoil. Current attachment state of mind was generally unrelated to traditional religiosity, but current preoccupation, unresolved- disorganized, and cannot classify states were associated with New Age spirituality.

In this conceptual paper, we suggest that attachment theory is a viable framework for understanding key aspects of embodied religious and spiritual cognition, as seen in religious and spiritual metaphors, rituals, anthropomorphisms, and more. We also discuss embodied cognition as part of mystical experiences and other altered states of consciousness that may occur both within and outside of religious contexts. Therefore, religiospiritual cognition is introduced as an alternative term to religious cognition. We review the basic tenets of attachment theory and conceptually link embodied religiospiritual cognition to attachment-related processes. Finally, we conclude with directions for future research on embodied religiospiritual cognition from an attachment viewpoint. The field of psychedelic science may be especially promising for examining links between attachment and embodied religiospiritual cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholarly discussion suggests prevalent, overconfident use of attachment classifications in child protection (CP) investigations but no systematic research has examined actual prevalence, the methods used to derive such classifications, or their interpretations. We aimed to cover this gap using survey data from a nationally representative sample of Swedish CP workers (N = 191). Three key findings emerged. First, the vast majority formed an opinion about young children's attachment quality in all or most investigations. Second, most did not employ systematic assessments, and none employed well-validated attachment methods. Third, there was overconfidence in the perceived implications of attachment classifications. For example, many believed that insecure attachment is a valid indicator of insufficient care. Our findings illustrate a wide researcher-practitioner gap. This gap is presumably due to inherent difficulties translating group-based research to the level of the individual, poor dissemination of attachment theory and research, and infrastructural pressures adversely influencing the quality of CP investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children of parents with intellectual disability (ID) are at risk of behavior problems, but few studies have systematically examined contributions from caregiving behavior and contextual factors. This cross-sectional matched comparison study examined whether the children display elevated behavior problems, and analyzed contributions from maternal sensitivity and maternal experiences of abuse, trauma and maltreatment (ATM). The roles of maternal and child intelligence were also examined. Participants were 26 mothers with mild ID and their children (mean age = 79 months; 58% boys), and 26 socioeconomically matched comparison dyads. Child behavior problems were assessed with maternal ratings, maternal sensitivity with structured observations, and maternal experiences of ATM with semi-structured interviews. Maternal intelligence was measured with a subtest from Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales (WAIS-III), and child intelligence with the IQ-screen in Leiter-R. Children of mothers with ID had higher ratings on psychosomatic, anger, hyperactivity, and total problems, but not on anxiety. Sensitivity was negatively associated with anger, hyperactivity, and total child behavior problems. Maternal ATM was positively linked to child anger problems. Maternal intelligence was unrelated to child behavior problems, but low child intelligence marginally predicted behavior problems. Inclusion and equity for parents with ID and their children require that clinical practice boost sensitivity, especially among parents who have experienced ATM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has linked people's relational attachment orientations to emotional reactions and coping during crises, and to social trust and trust in societal institutions. The COVID-19 pandemic is a global crisis for which collective efforts, such as social distancing, are necessary to stop the spread of the virus. During previous pandemics, people high in trust have typically adhered to such efforts. In the present study, we investigated whether attachment orientations were related to people's adherence to authorities' guidelines to stop the spread of COVID-19. We also tested whether previous mediational findings—linking attachment-related avoidance to welfare state trust via social trust—would replicate. We used a web-based survey of 620 participants. Our findings showed that attachment-related anxiety was linked to low adherence to social distancing regulations. This finding was especially noteworthy because high attachment-anxious participants also experienced more negative emotions, yet negative emotions were generally linked to high adherence. Thus, people higher in attachment anxiety seem to have more difficulties in avoiding social situations despite heightened risk of catching and spreading the virus. In addition, attachment-related avoidance was negatively related to adherence and to welfare state trust, and its effects on welfare state trust were statistically mediated by low social trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attachment theoretical studies have increased our understanding of the socioemotional foundations for religious development. However, because these studies have been correlational and based on self-reports, they are vulnerable to concerns of self-presentation bias and lack of basis for causal inference. Three subliminal stimulation experiments were therefore performed, where activation of the attachment system was attempted by way of unconsciously administered separation stimuli. In Experiments 1 and 3 (N = 29 and 89), the separation stimulus alluded to God, and in Experiment 2 (N = 47), it alluded to mother. Responses were moderated by perceived attachment history with parents in all experiments. Participants with secure histories increased in religious attachment behaviors, whereas those with insecure histories decreased following attachment system activation compared with control stimulation. There also were suggestions of experimental group increase in proximity seeking in relation to God. The main conclusion supports correspondence between internal working models of parents and God. Keywords: attachment; religiosity; normative aspects; individual differences

Social and political trust are crucial for societal well-being and are linked to lower levels of corruption as well as to the size of the welfare state. Interpersonal trust is shaped through attachment-related experiences in close interpersonal relationships. However, previous research has not linked these two strands of research, yielding an important knowledge gap about the potential implications of attachment for social and political trust. Therefore, we investigated whether attachment orientations are related to both social trust and trust in the welfare state. Data were collected in two countries with different organization and size of the welfare state, the United States (n = 284) and Sweden (n = 280). In both countries, attachment-related avoidance (but not anxiety) was negatively related both to social trust and trust in the welfare state, even after controlling for pertinent confounds. Our findings also suggested that social trust may mediate the link between avoidance and trust in the welfare state. These results cohere with an assumption that people’s attachment-related working models may extend to their models of the world at large. We conclude that interpersonal parameters should be considered to fully understand the development of trust in political institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attachment theory and research are drawn upon in many applied settings, including family courts, but misunderstandings are widespread and sometimes result in misapplications. The aim of this consensus statement is, therefore, to enhance understanding, counter misinformation, and steer family-court utilisation of attachment theory in a supportive, evidence-based direction, especially with regard to child protection and child custody decision-making. The article is divided into two parts. In the first, we address problems related to the use of attachment theory and research in family courts, and discuss reasons for these problems. To this end, we examine family court applications of attachment theory in the current context of the best-interest-of-the-child standard, discuss misunderstandings regarding attachment theory, and identify factors that have hindered accurate implementation. In the second part, we provide recommendations for the application of attachment theory and research. To this end, we set out three attachment principles: the child's need for familiar, non-abusive caregivers; the value of continuity of good-enough care; and the benefits of networks of attachment relationships. We also discuss the suitability of assessments of attachment quality and caregiving behaviour to inform family court decision-making. We conclude that assessments of caregiver behaviour should take center stage. Although there is dissensus among us regarding the use of assessments of attachment quality to inform child custody and child-protection decisions, such assessments are currently most suitable for targeting and directing supportive interventions. Finally, we provide directions to guide future interdisciplinary research collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns have been raised regarding misconceptions about attachment theory in child protection settings, but the application of attachment concepts in judicial child protection decisions has not been systematically explored. This study therefore examined the perception and application of attachment concepts in Swedish judicial decision protocols concerning involuntary removals of children (aged 0–2 years) where emotional neglect was a notable concern (n=28). Attachment concepts were frequently misunderstood, and imprecisely articulated. Unsystematic observations of child behavior were used to infer attachment insecurity and, by extrapolation, caregiving deficiencies. Attachment concepts were primarily used to support child removal, and insecure attachment seemed to be viewed as meeting the legally required level of risk to warrant involuntary child out–of–home placement. Our results indicate that misconceptions about attachment theory may be prevalent in judicial decision protocols. We emphasize the need to elaborate on risks in legally relevant ways without incorrect appeals to attachment theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to Cornerstones of attachment research and the target articles, I reflect on three questions. First, what is "attachment"? Although a natural kind, I argue against an essentialist understanding (i.e. in terms of necessary/sufficient conditions for class membership). Instead, the attachment concept must be allowed to have fuzzy boundaries, partly because of how attachments transform in both phylogeny and ontogeny. Second, how to think about the normative (species-typical) features of the theory vis-à-vis dyadic/individual differences in attachment? Whereas the former are foundational, I argue that the latter largely reflect surface variation. Despite this, the lion's share of attachment research has horned in on variation and its measurement, to some detriment to the theory's potential and applications. Finally, what is encouraging and discouraging about recent developments? While applauding large-scale cooperative endeavors (e.g. individual participant meta-analyses, consensus statements) I caution the field not to lose sight of the value of smaller-scale, creative explorations of uncharted territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I argue that attachment relationships, and particularly secure ones, are important contexts for social learning and cultural transmission. Bowlby originally treated the attachment-behavioral system as serving only one evolutionary function: protection, via physical proximity. Yet the time is ripe to consider learning, especially social learning, as an additional functional consequence of attachment. Updated accordingly, attachment theory has the potential to serve as a much-needed developmental anchor for models of cultural evolution and gene-culture co-evolution. To support my arguments, I review progress in evolutionary science since Bowlby's lifetime, highlighting the growing recognition of ecological flexibility and the cultural embeddedness of animal behavior. I also review research pointing to a facilitating role of secure attachment relationships for social learning from caregivers among humans. For illustrational purposes, I show how one important aspect of human culture – religion – is culturally transmitted within attachment relationships, and of how the generalization of attachment-related working models biases the cultural transmission of religion from parents to offspring. I end the paper with a call for empirical research to test the role of attachment in cultural transmission beyond religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose an integrative framework, advancing attachment as a vital factor in the development and maintenance of meaning throughout life. First, early attachment experiences provide a foundation for recognizing patterns and acquiring a sense of order and coherence. Furthermore, interactions with sensitive attachment figures stimulate mentalization capacities and exploration of the inner and outer environment, enabling the formation of complex representations of self, others, and the world, ultimately also molding how individuals appraise meaning in their lives. Second, attachment security can serve as an enduring and powerful resource for handling threats to meaning. When confronted with disruptions to meaning, secure attachment provides a coherent set of representations to fall back on and maintain or regain a firm sense of order and meaning under challenging circumstances. Moreover, by promoting cognitive openness and tolerance of ambiguity, secure attachment facilitates flexible and realistic adjustment of meaning representations when encountering discrepant information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this longitudinal qualitative study was to develop a grounded theory of religious meaning making and attachment in a disaster context. At 1-month (T1; n = 36) and 6-months postdisaster (T2; n = 29), we conducted in-depth interviews with a highly religious sample of adult survivors of the 2016 Louisiana flood, using a disaster-adapted version of the Religious Attachment Interview. We utilized Corbin and Strauss's grounded-theory approach for data analysis. At both timepoints, results revealed that survivors who were theistic believers engaged in postdisaster religious meaning making in which they drew on benevolent God representations and theodicies to appraise the disaster's cause, purpose, and religious-attachment effects, thereby contributing to positive religious-attachment outcomes (religious meanings made; e.g. renewed beliefs and experiences of God's benevolence and providence). Findings are discussed in terms of theories and research on disasters, meaning making, and religious attachment, including implications for research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract When in a stressful situation, access to adult attachment figures (e.g., romantic partners) is an important means by which adults regulate stress responses. The practice of smelling a partner's worn garment is reported as a self-treatment against stress. Here, we experimentally determined whether exposure to a partner's body odor attenuates adults' subjective discomfort and psychophysiological responses, and whether such effects are qualified by adult attachment security. In a blocked design, participants (N = 34) were presented with their partner's body odor, their own body odor, the odor of a clean t-shirt and rose odor, while exposed to weak electric shocks to induce discomfort and stress responses. Results showed that partner body odor reduces subjective discomfort during a stressful event, as compared with the odor of oneself. Also, highly secure participants had attenuated skin conductance when exposed to partner odor. We conclude that partner odor is a scent of security, especially for attachment-secure adults. Highlights • Partner body odor reduces subjective discomfort during a stressful event. • Attenuated skin conductance during stress when exposed to partner odor. • Attachment style plays a role in stress reducing effects of partners odor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Infant Mental Health Journal is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Infant Mental Health Journal is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Prior research shows that being anxiously and avoidantly attached to God is associated with psychologically problematic outcomes including depressive feelings. However, a clear understanding of how these insecure attachments to God are associated with depressive feelings is still missing. Therefore, a longitudinal study among 329 nursing home residents aged 65–99 was set up to investigate the prospective relation between anxious and avoidant attachment to God and the experience of depressive feelings, as well as whether this relation is moderated by a loss experience. That is, the loss of close relatives can be particularly stressful in late life, challenging existing attachment relationships and placing older adults at risk for depression. Results confirm that insecure attachments to God are distinctly related to depressive feelings, but that this relation is not moderated by a loss experience. Our results also show that depressive feelings predicts attachment to God, instead of the other way around. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intranasal oxytocin (OT) has previously been found to increase spirituality, an effect moderated by OT-related genotypes. This pre-registered study sought to conceptually replicate and extend those findings. Using a single dose of intranasal OT vs placebo (PL), we investigated experimental treatment effects, and moderation by OT-related genotypes on spirituality, mystical experiences, and the sensed presence of a sentient being. A more exploratory aim was to test for interactions between treatment and the personality disposition absorption on these spirituality-related outcomes. A priming plus sensory deprivation procedure that has facilitated spiritual experiences in previous studies was used. The sample (N  = 116) contained both sexes and was drawn from a relatively secular context. Results failed to conceptually replicate both the main effects of treatment and the treatment by genotype interactions on spirituality. Similarly, there were no such effects on mystical experiences or sensed presence. However, the data suggested an interaction between treatment and absorption. Relative to PL, OT seemed to enhance spiritual experiences in participants scoring low in absorption and dampen spirituality in participants scoring high in absorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our response to “the Circle of Place Spirituality" we note that, in revised form, the presented model could make a contribution to the attachment-religion framework. We contend that exploration of places may facilitate a sense of closeness to God. However, we raise conceptual concerns regarding “attachment to place" and we reflect on the fuzzy boundary conditions of attachment relationships. Using late Wittgenstein's idea of “family resemblances" and later prototype models of categorization, we emphasize that there are substantial dissimilarities between people's relationships to physical places on the one hand and their relationships with interpersonal partners and anthropomorphized entities (such as God) on the other. The attachment construct generally applies to the latter, but not the former. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disorganized/Disoriented (D) attachment has seen widespread interest from policy makers, practitioners, and clinicians in recent years. However, some of this interest seems to have been based on some false assumptions that (1) attachment measures can be used as definitive assessments of the individual in forensic/child protection settings and that disorganized attachment (2) reliably indicates child maltreatment, (3) is a strong predictor of pathology, and (4) represents a fixed or static “trait” of the child, impervious to development or help. This paper summarizes the evidence showing that these four assumptions are false and misleading. The paper reviews what is known about disorganized infant attachment and clarifies the implications of the classification for clinical and welfare practice with children. In particular, the difference between disorganized attachment and attachment disorder is examined, and a strong case is made for the value of attachment theory for supportive work with families and for the development and evaluation of evidence-based caregiving interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The development of children's ability to identify facial emotional expressions has long been suggested to be experience dependent, with parental caregiving as an important influencing factor. This study attempts to further this knowledge by examining disorganization of the attachment system as a potential psychological mechanism behind aberrant caregiving experiences and deviations in the ability to identify facial emotional expressions. Typically developing children ( N = 105, 49.5% boys) aged 6-7 years ( M = 6 years 8 months, SD = 1.8 months) completed an attachment representation task and an emotion identification task, and parents rated children's negative emotionality. The results showed a generally diminished ability in disorganized children to identify facial emotional expressions, but no response biases. Disorganized attachment was also related to higher levels of negative emotionality, but discrimination of emotional expressions did not moderate or mediate this relation. Our novel findings relate disorganized attachment to deviations in emotion identification, and therefore suggest that disorganization of the attachment system may constitute a psychological mechanism linking aberrant caregiving experiences to deviations in children's ability to identify facial emotional expressions. Our findings further suggest that deviations in emotion identification in disorganized children, in the absence of maltreatment, may manifest in a generally diminished ability to identify emotional expressions, rather than in specific response biases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]