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Background Children with a social anxiety disorder have worse treatment outcomes after Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) than children with other anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders and mood disorders are strongly related and especially social anxiety is related to high comorbidity rates with mood disorders. The aim of the study was to investigate how comorbid mood disorders are related to treatment outcomes after CBT and whether this can explain the worse outcomes for childhood social anxiety. Methods Participants were 152 referred clinically children (7–18 years) with either a social anxiety disorder (n = 52) or another anxiety disorder (n = 100) of whom 24.3% (n = 37) had a comorbid mood disorder. Child anxiety, internalizing symptoms, and quality of life were measured pre-treatment, post-treatment, 3 months and 1 year after treatment, using child and both parents’ report. Results Children with a primary social anxiety disorder more often had a comorbid mood disorder than children with another primary anxiety disorder. Children with a mood disorder had more severe anxiety problems before treatment. Comorbid mood disorders were related to greater anxiety reductions after treatment. The worse outcomes for children with a primary social anxiety disorder remained after controlling for comorbid mood disorders. Conclusions Findings stress the importance of future studies examining why the presence of a comorbid mood disorder is associated with greater anxiety reductions, and other factors that explain the worse treatment outcomes found for childhood social anxiety disorder.

Mind-mindedness (MM) refers to caregivers’ proclivity to treat a child as having an active and autonomous mental life. It has been shown to be a powerful predictor of many developmental outcomes and to mitigate the impact of risk conditions. However, longitudinal studies of MM reporting changes overtime and individual differences among mothers have been scant and quite inconclusive, mainly due to the investigation of changes between only two time points. The current study analyzes MM’s developmental trajectories across four time points (3, 6, 9, and 12 months of infants’ age) along with the moderatingeffects of four variables (maternal sensitivity, age, education, and family income). The sample included healthy mother–infant dyads (N = 93, 46 female infants), belonging to monolingual Italian predominantly middle-class families, with 15% (n = 14) classified as low income (below the relative poverty threshold). The dyads were videotaped during semistructured play interactions and transcripts were coded for appropriate mind-related comments (AMRCs) and nonattuned mind-related comments (NAMRCs). Mothers’ AMRCs, compared to NAMRCs, showed more temporal stability. Both AMRCs and NAMRCs showed a linear decrease with individual differences across dyads decreasing over time,and dyads becoming increasingly similar one with the other. Low income moderated the normative trend of appropriate mind-related comments. These findings suggest that MM, while depending largely on an individual trait at earlier ages, when infants’ mental states are less intelligible, adapts to the increase of infants’ sociocommunicative repertoire over time. They also highlight the importance of ecological constraints on the quality of caregiving.

Affective states are expressed in an individual's physical appearance, ranging from facial expressions and body postures, to indicators of physiological arousal (e.g., a blush). Confirming the claimed communicative function of these markers, humans are capable of distinguishing between a variety of discrete emotion displays. In an attempt to explain the underlying mechanism, characteristic bodily changes within the observer, including physiological arousal and mimicry, have been suggested to facilitate the interpretation of an expression. The current study aims to create a holistic picture of emotion perception by (1) using three different sources of emotional information (prototypical facial expressions, bodily expressions, and subtle facial cues) and (2) measuring changes in multiple physiological signals (facial electromyography, skin conductance level, skin temperature, and pupil size). While participants clearly discriminated between perceived emotional expressions, there was no overall 1-1 correspondence with their physiological responses. Some specific but robust effects were observed. Angry facial expressions were consistently responded to with a peak in skin conductance level. Furthermore, sad body expressions were associated with a drop in skin temperature. In addition to being the best recognized expression, viewing happy faces elicited congruent facial muscle responses, which supports the potential role of embodied simulation in emotion recognition. Lastly, tears were not only rated as highly emotional intense but also evoked a peak in skin conductance level in the observer. The absence of distinct physiological responses to other expressions could be explained by the lacking functionality of affect sharing in a non-interactive experimental context. Consequentially, emotional alignment in body and mind might especially take place in real social situations, which should be considered in future research.The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42761-021-00083-5.

Interaction with unfamiliar partners is a component of social life from infancy onward. Yet little is known about preverbal communication with strangers. This study compared the development of infant communication with strangers to communication with mothers and fathers and examined the contribution of temperament to partner-specific communication patterns. A sample of 58 infants was observed at four and eight months during separate home-based face-to-face interactions with three partners (mother, father, and stranger). Infant visual, facial, and vocal communication behaviors were coded microanalytically. Each parent reported on infant temperament at both ages. Multilevel regression analyses indicated that infants gazed longer at strangers than at fathers, exhibited less smiling to strangers than to mothers, and produced fewer vocalizations with strangers than with either parent. Both age and temperament moderated these differences. Vocal communication with fathers became more frequent at eight months; smiling to mothers was accentuated among infants with higher levels of temperamental surgency. Importantly, levels of communication behaviors with strangers were concurrently and longitudinally associated with those with mothers and fathers. Overall, findings suggest that infant emotional communication patterns are modulated by individual temperamental differences and are reproduced in and over time, though at different levels, when interacting with novel partners.

While youth with higher levels of depressive symptoms appear to have lower quality romantic relationships, little is known about longitudinal associations for both men and women. Therefore, this study used longitudinal dyadic design to examine both concurrent and longitudinal associations between depressive symptoms and positive as well as negative aspects of romantic relationship quality across two waves one- or two-years apart. The sample consisted of 149 Dutch stable heterosexual couples (149 females and 142 males participated at T1) in a stable romantic relationship in late adolescence with a mean age of 20.43 years old at the first wave. Actor-Partner Interdependence models were used to examine potential bidirectional associations over time between depressive symptoms and romantic relationship quality, above and beyond potential concurrent associations and stability of the constructs over time, from the perspective of both romantic partners. Results consistently indicated that men and women who reported higher levels of depressive symptoms perceived less positive aspects (intimacy and support) and more negative aspects (conflict) in their romantic relationship over time. In addition, unexpectedly, when men and women perceived more positive relationship aspects, their partners reported higher levels of depressive symptoms over time. These findings stress that depressive symptoms can interfere with the formation of high-quality romantic relationships.

Objective: To investigate whether mindfulness-based childbirth and parenting (MBCP) or enhanced care as usual (ECAU) for expectant couples decreases fear of childbirth (FOC) and nonurgent obstetric interventions during labor and improves newborn outcomes. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Setting: Midwifery settings, the Netherlands, April 2014-July 2017. Population: Pregnant women with high FOC (n = 141) and partners. Methods: Allocation to MBCP or ECAU. Hierarchical multilevel and intention-to-treat (ITT) and per-protocol (PP) analyses. Main outcome measures: Primary: pre-/postintervention FOC, labor anxiety disorder, labor pain (catastrophizing and acceptance), and preferences for nonurgent obstetric interventions. Secondary: rates of epidural analgesia (EA), self-requested cesarean birth (sCB), unmedicated childbirth, and 1- and 5-minute newborn's Apgar scores. Results: MBCP was significantly superior to ECAU in decreasing FOC, catastrophizing of labor pain, preference for nonurgent obstetric interventions, and increasing acceptance of labor pain. MBCP participants were 36% less likely to undergo EA (RR 0.64, 95% CI [0.43-0.96]), 51% less likely to undergo sCB (RR 0.49, 95% CI [0.36-0.67]), and twice as likely to have unmedicated childbirth relative to ECAU (RR 2.00, 95% CI [1.23-3.20]). Newborn's 1-minute Apgar scores were higher in MBCP (DM −0.39, 95% CI [−0.74 to −0.03]). After correction for multiple testing, results remained significant in ITT and PP analyses, except EA in ITT analyses and 1-minute Apgar. Conclusions: MBCP for pregnant couples reduces mothers’ fear of childbirth, nonurgent obstetric interventions during childbirth and may improve childbirth outcomes. MBCP adapted for pregnant women with high FOC and their partners appears an acceptable and effective intervention for midwifery care.

Interventions for children's aggression typically target assumed underlying mechanisms, such as anger regulation and hostile intent attribution. The expectation here is that targeting these mechanisms will result in within-person changes in aggression. However, evidence for these mechanisms is mostly based on between-person analyses. We, therefore, examined whether within-person changes in adaptive anger regulation and hostile intent attribution covaried with within-person changes in children's aggression. Children (N = 223; age 7–12; 46% boys) filled out four weekly report measures to assess adaptive anger regulation, hostile intent attribution, and aggression. The psychometric properties of these novel measures were adequate. Results of multi-level analyses revealed within-person effects: weekly changes in adaptive anger regulation and hostile intent attribution covaried with changes in children's aggression. This corresponded with between-person findings on the same data: children with lower levels of adaptive anger regulation and higher levels of hostile intent attribution reported more aggression than other children. These findings support the idea that targeting anger regulation and hostile intent attribution in interventions may lead to changes in individual children's aggression.

We used data from a sample of ethnically diverse first-time parents (N = 186) in the United States to examine differences between mothers’ and fathers’ challenging parenting behavior (CPB) when infants were 9 months old as well as covariates of CPB. We also examined associations between CPB and infants’ social competence and behavior problems when they were 12 months old. Results showed no differences between mothers and fathers in the level of CPB with their infants. Mothers with more depressive symptoms engaged in more CPB. Over and above the contributions of infants’ gender and temperament and parents’ education, mothers’ and fathers’ CPB was not associated with infants’ social competence and behavior problems. This study expands our understanding of the universality of CPB and whether it is associated with social competence in ethnically diverse families.

Contains fulltext : 247711.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) This study aimed to shed light on the prevalence of chronic peer victimisation among Dutch elementary school children and factors associated with (non-)disclosure of such experiences by victims. 5,961 students from 73 schools participated (51.5% male; Mage = 9.96; 77.7% native Dutch). Results showed that 12.3% of all children were victimised chronically, of which 29.4% did not disclose. Multilevel logistic regressions indicated that girls, older and native Dutch children were more likely to disclose. Moreover, experiencing depressive symptoms prompts disclosing victimisation. Anxiety, high emotion regulation skills, and perceptions of cohesion in the classroom were negatively associated with disclosure. The disclosure was not related to frequency or duration of victimisation, self-perceived social acceptance, self-worth, impulse control, or perceived classroom climate. Our study reveals information on the prevalence of peer victimisation and its disclosure, based on a nationwide study conducted in 2016-2017. It gives important insights into factors associated with disclosing victimisation experiences. 18 p.

Background: Exploring possible protective factors against antenatal depression is important since antenatal depression is common and affects both mother and child. The person characteristic trait mindfulness may be such a protective factor. Because of the high variability in depressive symptoms over time, we aimed to assess the association between trait mindfulness and trajectories of depressive symptoms during pregnancy.Methods: A subsample of 762 women participating in the HAPPY study completed the Three Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire-Short Form at 22 weeks of pregnancy. Possible different trajectories of Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) scores, assessed at each pregnancy trimester, were explored with growth mixture modeling.Results: Three EPDS trajectories (classes) were identified: low stable symptom scores (N = 607, 79.7%), decreasing symptom scores (N = 74, 9.7%) and increasing symptom scores (N = 81, 10.6%). Compared to belonging to the low stable class (reference), women with higher scores on the trait mindfulness facets 'acting with awareness' and 'non-judging' were less likely to belong to the decreasing class (OR = 0.81, 95% CI [0.73, 0.90] and OR = 0.77, 95% CI [0.70, 0.84]) and increasing class (OR = 0.88, 95% CI [0.80, 0.97] and OR = 0.72, 95% CI [0.65, 0.79]). Women with higher scores on 'non-reacting' were less likely to belong to the increasing class (OR = 0.89, 95% CI [0.82, 0.97]), but not the decreasing class (OR = 0.96, 95% CI [0.87, 1.04]). All analyses were adjusted for confounders.Conclusions: Characteristics of trait mindfulness predicted low stable levels of depressive symptoms throughout pregnancy. Mindfulness-based programs may be beneficial for pregnant women as a strategy to alleviate depression risks.Keywords: Acting with awareness; Antenatal depressive symptoms; Growth mixture modeling; Non-judging; Non-reacting; Trait mindfulness

Children differ considerably in the social-information-processing (SIP) patterns underlying their aggressive behavior. To clarify these individual differences, we propose a dual-mode SIP model that predicts which processing steps children will take, which children will take them, and under which circumstances, and how this may lead to aggression. This dual-mode SIP model distinguishes between an automatic and reflective processing mode. The automatic mode is characterized by fast automatic processing and impulsive behavioral responses, whereas the reflective mode is characterized by deliberate processing and controlled behavioral responses. Whether children use the automatic or reflective processing mode is moderated by their level of arousal, which depends on an interplay between child-specific factors (i.e., emotional dispositions, motivational dispositions, and executive functioning) and dynamic factors (i.e., internal state and type of situation). The dual-mode SIP model provides new insights into children’s unique SIP styles and provides possibilities to tailor treatment to children’s individual needs.

Fear of childbirth (FOC) causes suffering in pregnant women and disabling their adaptation to the childbirth process. However, FOC remains undetected and untreated in the Dutch midwifery care. The aims of this thesis were to examine how to improve assessment and treatment of FOC under the care of midwives. First, we found in an observational study that catastrophizing labour pain and not the labour pain intensity was the strongest and independent predictor for requesting and undergoing epidural anaesthesia during labour. In another observational study we found that the new one-item Fear of Childbirth-Postpartum-Visual Analogue Scale (FOCP-VAS) was a useful tool in predicting pregnant women-requested and received non-urgent obstetric interventions during childbirth. In a randomized controlled trail, which was announced with a publication of the study protocol, we found that nine weeks of Mindfulness Based Childbirth and Parenting (MBCP) was significantly superior to enhanced care as usual (ECAU; fear consultation and writing a childbirth plan) in decreasing FOC, catastrophizing of labour pain, preference for non-urgent obstetric interventions, and increasing acceptance of labour pain and unmedicated childbirths. MBCP participants were: less likely to undergo epidural anaesthesia (33%); less likely to undergo self-requested caesarean section (50%); and twice as likely to have unmedicated childbirth relative to ECAU. Besides, we found that MBCP had more effects and lower costs with the high probability of MBCP to be cost-effective (at a willingness to pay of zero). Finally, we found that greater mindful awareness was the only significant mechanism of change leading to unmedicated, thus, natural childbirths.

Objectives: Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting (MBCP) reduces mothers’ anticipated fear of childbirth (FOC), nonurgent obstetric interventions during childbirth and may improve childbirth outcomes in women with high FOC (Veringa-Skiba et al, 2022). The aim of this study was to examine the short- and longer-term outcomes of MBCP on psychological well-being, pregnancy and birth experience, as compared to enhanced care-as-usual (ECAU), in pregnant women with high FOC and their partners. Design: Participants were randomly assigned to MBCP or ECAU and completed questionnaires preintervention (T1), immediately after intervention (T2), two to four weeks after childbirth (T3) and 16-20 weeks after childbirth (T4). Both intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses were conducted. Setting: The courses were provided by trained midwives. Participants: Participants included 141 pregnant women and 120 partners. Intervention: MBCP comprised a nine-weekly three-hour session mindfulness group course for pregnant couples; ECAU consisted of two 90-minute individual couple consultation sessions. Measurements: Measures of psychological well-being included measures like stress, depression, anxiety and fatigue. Measures of pregnancy and birth experience concerned experiencing uplifts during pregnancy, experienced fear of childbirth, labour pain and satisfaction with childbirth. Findings: No differences between MBCP and ECAU in the total group of birthing women were found. However, women with (at least an onset of) labour that participated in MBCP reported a better birth experience compared to ECAU at T3. Concerning the total partner group only one difference between MBCP and ECAU was found at T4; MBCP partners reported an increase in fatigue. However, in the partner risk group (i.e., partners with lower psychological well-being before intervention) partners experienced better psychological well-being at T2 and T3 after MBCP than ECAU. Key conclusions: MBCP and ECAU demonstrate similar effects on psychological well-being, birth and pregnancy experience. However, MBCP appears superior to ECAU for labouring women in having a better childbirth experience and for partners at risk for psychological complaints in increasing their psychological well-being. Implications for practice: MBCP only positively affects the childbirth experience of those who experience (onset of) natural birth. It might be advisable to include partners at risk for psychological complaints in the MBCP.

Background Parents’ fear of negative evaluation (FNE) has been proposed to play a role in the intergenerational transmission of social anxiety. We investigated whether (1) parents’ own FNE, a core belief of social anxiety, extends to their child’s environment resulting in fear of negative child evaluation (FNCE); and (2) parents’ FNCE mediates the association between parents’ social anxiety, parenting behavior and children’s social anxiety. Methods In this cross-sectional study, fathers (n = 84) and mothers (n = 92) from 99 Caucasian families completed questionnaires on social anxiety, FNE, FNCE, and parenting (intrusiveness, negative parenting and encouragement of social daring) when their child was 7.5 years old. Child social anxiety was measured by questionnaires (child and parent report). Results For both parents, FNE mediated the association between their social anxiety and FNCE. Furthermore, FNCE mediated the relation between both parents’ social anxiety and intrusiveness and the relation between mothers’ social anxiety and negative parenting. In addition, FNCE mediated the relation between fathers’ social anxiety and children’s social anxiety (parents’ report only) directly and through intrusive parenting. Conclusions Our study suggests that parents’ FNE extends to their children’s environment and provides support for the role of FNCE in various pathways of intergenerational transmission of social anxiety during middle childhood.

This study examines the extent to which secure residential youth care in the Netherlands complies with children’s rights as laid down in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (uncrc) and the Dutch Youth Act. Residential group climate was measured with the Prison Group Climate Instrument (pgci), which assesses quality of group care from the perspective of the three basic needs for human self-determination: contact, autonomy and competence. Results indicate that children’s rights are a subsidiary issue in secure residential youth care in The Netherlands, because groups workers and staff have insufficient understanding of children’s rights and Dutch legislation on youth care. Dutch law allows secure facilities to make their own policy on youth care delivery, but it seems that policies are insufficiently explicit about children’s rights. Results of this study can be used to work on the fulfilment of children’s rights in secure residential youth care.

The current study investigated the role of social skills and its interaction with social anxiety as predictors of treatment outcome in children with an anxiety disorder either with or without a social anxiety disorder (SoAD). In total, 133 children (aged 8 to 13) with an anxiety disorder received a 10-session cognitive behavioral treatment (FRIENDS program). Pre- to post treatment Reliable Change (RC) and Treatment-Recovery (TR) were assessed from a multi-informant perspective, by including diagnostic information (ADIS C/P), child-reported anxiety symptoms (MASC) and parent-reported internalizing symptoms (CBCL-Int). Social skills were assessed with the parent-rated Social Skills Rating System (assertion, self-control, responsibility). Results showed that 1) parents of children with a SoAD reported significantly less favorable use of assertive and responsible social behavior in their children pre-treatment than parents of children without SoAD, 2) children with higher social skills had a better treatment recovery, and 3) children with anxiety and higher responsible behavior pre-treatment and without a SoAD had a better treatment recovery, but this effect did not show for children with SoAD. In conclusion, better use of social behavior increased the likelihood of treatment recovery but not of reliable change. Further studies on the role of social skills in the treatment of childhood (social) anxiety are needed to investigate the mechanisms by which social skills impact treatment outcome.

Objectives We evaluated the effects of the family mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) “MYmind” for children with ADHD and their parents, and examined child and parent predictors of child outcome. Methods Using a pragmatic quasi-experimental waitlist design, children aged 7–19 years (n = 167), clinically referred with a DSM-IV ADHD diagnosis, and both their parents completed waitlist (average waiting time was 8 weeks), pre-test, post-test, 8-week, and 1-year follow-up measurements. MYmind consisted of eight weekly 1.5-h mindfulness-based group sessions for children and parallel for parents, and a follow-up session. We assessed children’s and both parents’ ADHD symptoms and other psychopathology, child executive function, parental stress, parental overreactivity, and mindful parenting. Results Multilevel analyses revealed medium-to-large effect-sized reduced child ADHD symptoms between pre- and post-test, becoming stronger at follow-ups, while no waitlist effects occurred. Parents above the ADHD threshold improved on adult ADHD symptoms with similar sized effects. Children’s and parents’ other psychopathology, child executive function, parental overreactivity, and mindful parenting improved, whereas parental stress only improved at 1-year follow-up. Child age, child gender, ADHD medication, parental ADHD, and parent participation did not predict child outcome. Parent gender however interacted with parental ADHD to predict child outcome; children of fathers (but not mothers) above the ADHD threshold improved more than children of fathers below the ADHD threshold at post-test and at 8-week follow-up. Reduced paternal ADHD from pre- to post-test mediated this effect. Conclusions Family MBI (MYmind) may reduce childhood ADHD and improve parental functioning. Fathers with ADHD symptoms appear important in helping offspring with ADHD.

Objectives Adolescents with autism often experience comorbid internalizing disorders such as anxiety disorders or depression but the available evidence-based treatments to support the mental health of adolescents with autism are limited. The aim of this study was to investigate if and how MYmind, a mindfulness-based program (MBP) for youth with autism, could benefit adolescents with comorbid internalizing disorder(s). Methods A person-centered approach with a multiple baseline design was used to investigate the effects of MYmind. Five adolescents with autism and an internalizing disorder took part in the 9-week MYmind program. The adolescents and their parents completed a daily questionnaire on their personal goals during a baseline phase, the intervention, a 2-month follow-up phase, and a 1-year follow-up phase. We analyzed the effects on their personal goals using visual inspection and statistical analysis for single-case designs. Also, we investigated potential processes of change by analyzing how changes were related over time. Results Findings indicated that most, but not all, adolescents benefitted from the MBP. Four out of five adolescents showed medium-sized improvement in some of their personal goals. However, one adolescent reported a deterioration during the intervention and 2-month follow-up phase. Decreased worry preceded behavioral improvements in two adolescents, whereas other potential mechanisms of change showed inconclusive results. Conclusion The findings indicated that most of the adolescents with autism and a comorbid internalizing disorder partially benefitted from the MBP.

Many children referred to mental health services have neurodevelopmental problems, which are not always recognized because the resulting emotional and behavioral problems dominate diagnosis and treatment. BOAM (Basic needs, Order, Autonomy and Meaning) is a new diagnostic system consisting of imaginative models that explain the complexity of symptoms and underlying neuropsychological problems in a simple way. It is designed to be used in a transparent, collaborative process with families, so that family members can better understand the nature of mental health problems, thus increasing self-knowledge and mutual understanding. In this study, the feasibility of the BOAM diagnostic trajectory and subsequent treatment informed by this trajectory are evaluated clinically in 34 children who have not responded to or relapsed after treatment as usual (TAU). Parents completed questionnaires pre-test, post-test and at a 3-month follow-up. The treatment drop-out rate was 2.9%. Post-test, parents rated the BOAM trajectory positively. The questionnaires (measuring child psychopathology, attention, executive functioning, family functioning, partner relationships and parenting stress) demonstrated sensitivity to change, and therefore, seems appropriate for a future effectiveness study. A limitation was the high percentage of missing measurements both post-test (41%) and at the follow-up (41%). The BOAM diagnostic trajectory and subsequent treatment may be a feasible alternative for children who do not respond to or relapse after TAU.

Prenatal expectations about what children will be like after birth may provide a context for how parents perceive their infant's actual temperament. We examined how these expectations and perceptions are associated and together predict early parenting behavior, with parenting behavior in turn predicting changes in temperament. Reports of 125 families (N = 122 fathers; N = 123 mothers; sample 1) about their expectations of their unborn child's temperament (negative affectivity, surgency, regulation, T1), their infant's temperament at 4 and 12 months post-partum (T2 and T3), and their hostile, responsive, warm, and overprotective parenting (T2) were included. We also included data from an independent sample of 168 mothers (sample 2), with the same measures, except that mothers reported on Big Five personality traits at T1. Results indicated that in both samples, parents' expectations were positively associated with perceptions of infant temperament. Prenatal expectations and newborn temperament independently predicted parenting behavior, and maternal and paternal parenting in turn predicted infant temperament at T3, controlling for infant temperament at T2. Although overall findings indicated associations between (expectations of) a more difficult temperament and more negative/less positive parenting, significant combinations of specific traits and parenting behaviors were sample-specific—indicating that more research is necessary to draw a conclusion about specific links. Both maternal and paternal expectations about their unborn child's temperament appear to carry over into the postpartum reality and provide a context for shaping early interactions between caregivers and their children, which may further shape the developing temperament of the child.

Background and objectives: Interpretation bias plays a crucial role in anxiety. To test the causal role and potential clinical benefits, training procedures were developed to experimentally change interpretation bias. However, these procedures are monotonous and plain, which could negatively affect motivation and adherence. The aim of this study was to make the interpretation training more engaging and enjoyable, without compromising its effectiveness, through gamification. Methods: The training was gamified by including extrinsically and intrinsically motivating elements such as points, scores, time-pressure, fun and adaptive elements (training at an individually challenging level). A 2 (Type: Gamified vs. Standard) x 2 (Training Valence: Positive vs. Placebo) between-subjects design was used with random allocation of 79 above-average anxious individuals. Post-training, we assessed the liking and recommendation of the training task, interpretation bias (Recognition task and the Scrambled Sentence Task) and anxiety. Results: Participants experienced the gamified training tasks as more engaging and enjoyable than the standard tasks, although it was not recommend more to fellow-students. Both positive training conditions (gamified and standard) were successful in eliciting a positive interpretation bias when assessed with the Recognition task, while only the standard positive training impacted on interpretations when assessed with the Scrambled Sentence Task. No differential effects were observed on anxiety. Limitations: The study involved only a single-session training and participants were selected for high trait (and not social) anxiety. Conclusions: The gamified training was evaluated more positively by the participants, while maintaining the effectiveness of eliciting positive interpretations when assessed with the Recognition task. This suggests that gamification might be a promising new approach.

The study investigated the role of parental anxiety symptoms in treatment outcomes for children with a primary social anxiety disorder compared to children with other primary anxiety disorders. Participants were 152 children between 7 and 18 years and their parents (146 mothers, 123 fathers). Anxiety was assessed pretreatment, posttreatment, and at three months and one year follow ups. There were no baseline differences in parental anxiety symptoms between the two groups. In both groups parental anxiety symptoms decreased from pretreatment to posttreatment, and only mothers’ anxiety symptoms decreased further from posttreatment to the one year follow up. Parental anxiety symptoms before the treatment were not related to the being free of all anxiety diagnoses in the children at posttreatment. However, some indications were found for greater improvements during treatment when parents had higher anxiety symptoms before treatment. Changes in parental anxiety symptoms were found to be related to changes in child anxiety symptoms. This was not found for the total clinical severity of all inclusion anxiety disorders. This relation was visible independently in fathers or mothers, or in groups of children with a primary social anxiety disorder or with another primary anxiety disorder. In conclusion, we did not find clear indications that parental anxiety symptoms explain the differences in treatment outcomes for children with a primary social anxiety disorder compared to children with other primary anxiety disorders. More research with larger samples is needed to draw stronger conclusions.

Background Over the past years, it has become clear that adapted cognitive behavior therapy can be effective for adolescents with externalizing problems and mild intellectual disabilities or borderline intellectual functioning (MID–BIF). Most adapted treatment protocols consist, however, of a combined cognitive and behavioral approach, even though it is actually unclear which approach is most suitable for these adolescents. This experimental study aimed to examine which treatment approach (cognitive versus behavioral) and which treatment sequence (cognitive–behavioral versus behavioral–cognitive) is most effective. Methods Participating adolescents (N = 42, 50% boys, Mage = 15.52, SD = 1.43) consecutively received a cognitive and behavioral emotion regulation training module, but were randomly assigned to a different module sequence condition. Emotion regulation and externalizing problems were measured before and after the modules, and with continuing weekly assessments. Results Results indicated that the cognitive module, by itself, was more effective than the behavioral module. In addition, the results indicated that it is most effective to include behavioral exercises after (rather than before) cognitive training. Conclusions These findings highlight the importance of cognitive treatment approaches for adolescents with MID–BIF, and show that treatment approaches may have different effects, depending on the order in which they are presented.

Given the at-risk status of children of incarcerated mothers for behavior problems and later delinquency, and the key role of their mothers’ parenting behaviors, the need for parent training in this population seems obvious. Although short-term effects of parent training for this population seem promising, sustained intervention effects are unknown. Therefore, we examined follow-up effects of Incredible Years Parent Training enhanced with home visits, on parenting behavior (positive parenting and inconsistent discipline), parenting stress, and disruptive child behavior, in families with mothers being released from incarceration. Mothers of 133 two- to ten-year-old children (M = 6.4 years; 51.1% girls) were partially randomly assigned to the intervention group—receiving group sessions and individual home visits—or a no-intervention control group. Mothers participated in eight assessments, including a follow-up assessment 8 months after intervention. Intention-to-treat latent growth analyses showed that inconsistent discipline increased and remained higher at follow-up in the control group, whereas inconsistent discipline among intervention mothers did not increase. In addition, the intervention reduced both parenting stress and children’s disruptive behavior, but these effects were not maintained at follow-up. In sum, the intervention had sustained effects on inconsistent discipline, however, direct benefits of the intervention on child behavior were no longer visible at 8-month follow-up. Maintenance of treatment gains seems difficult for previously incarcerated mothers, and therefore ongoing family support is needed for these mothers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

BackgroundShame is considered a maladaptive self-conscious emotion that commonly co-occurs alongside depression and anxiety. Little is known, however, about the aetiology of shame and its associations with depression and anxiety. We estimated, for the first time, genetic and environmental influences on shame and on its associations with depression and anxiety in adolescence.MethodsThe sample was twin and sibling pairs from the Genesis 1219 Study (Time 1, N = 2,685; males 42.8%, Mage = 14.95, SD = 1.67, age range: 12–21; Time 2, N = 1618; males 39.7%, Mage = 16.97, SD = 1.64, age range: 14–23). Participants completed validated questionnaires to measure shame (at Time 1), depression and anxiety (at Times 1 and 2).ResultsShame was moderately to strongly associated with concurrent depression and anxiety. Prospectively, shame was significantly associated with an increase in depression, but not anxiety. Genetic analyses revealed that shame was moderately heritable with substantial nonshared environmental influence. The associations between shame and concurrent depression and anxiety were primarily accounted for by overlapping genetic influences. Prospectively, the association between shame and later depression was primarily accounted for by genetic and nonshared environmental influences shared with earlier depression. The unique association between shame and later depression was mostly explained by common nonshared environmental influences.ConclusionsThe findings offer novel evidence regarding aetiology of shame—although moderately heritable, shame in adolescents may also result from nonshared environmental factors. Genetic and nonshared environmental influences contribute to the co-occurrence of shame with depression and anxiety.

Background: Stability in foster care is paramount, since it enables children with a history of maltreatment to experience secure attachment relationships, and decreases the risk for behavioral and emotional problems when growing up. Objective: We investigated whether foster care interventions play a role in enhancing foster placement stability, in addition to several characteristics of foster children and foster families. Our hypothesis was that foster children of female gender, relatively young at start of the placement, with less previous foster care placements, staying in kinship care, placed with siblings (if they had any) and in a foster family receiving a training to enhance the foster parents’ knowledge on childhood trauma, an attachment-based video-interaction intervention or Treatment Foster Care, would experience significantly less breakdown in foster care. Method: A multilevel analysis was conducted on data from 2000 foster care placements in a 4 year period (2015–2018), concerning 1316 foster families (35.9% kin) and 1542 foster children (49.4% boys, Mage = 7.54 years). Results: The frequency of previous foster care placements (OR = 3.56) increased the risk for breakdown, and receiving the Basic Trust intervention (OR = 0.26) or Treatment Foster Care (OR = 0.11) decreased that risk. Other investigated variables were unrelated to breakdown when checked for the number of foster placements and the applied interventions. Conclusions: Foster care organizations should systematically monitor important risk factors for breakdown, in order to (timely) intervene if necessary to enhance the chances for continuity of foster care placements. Treatment seems to make a difference.

Objective: PROMIS offers computerized adaptive tests (CAT) of patient-reported outcomes, using a single set of US-based IRT item parameters across populations and language-versions. The use of country-specific item parameters has local appeal, but also disadvantages. We illustrate the effects of choosing US or country-specific item parameters on PROMIS CAT T-scores. Study design and setting: Simulations were performed on response data from Dutch chronic pain patients (n = 1110) who completed the PROMIS Pain Behavior item bank. We compared CAT T-scores obtained with (1) US parameters; (2) Dutch item parameters; (3) US item parameters for DIF-free items and Dutch item parameters (rescaled to the US metric) for DIF items; (4) Dutch item parameters for all items (rescaled to the US metric). Results: Without anchoring to a common metric, CAT T-scores cannot be compared. When scores were rescaled to the US metric, mean differences in CAT T-scores based on US vs. Dutch item parameters were negligible. However, 0.9%–4.3% of the T-score differences were larger than 5 points (0.5 SD). Conclusion: The choice of item parameters can be consequential for individual patient scores. We recommend more studies of translated CATs to examine if strategies that allow for country-specific item parameters should be further investigated.

Dual process models posit that combinations of impulsive and reflective processes drive behaviour, and that the capacity to engage in effortful cognitive processing moderates the relation between measures of impulsive or reflective processes and actual behaviour. When cognitive resources are low, impulsive processes are more likely to drive behaviour, while when cognitive resources are high, reflective processes will drive behaviour. In our current study, we directly addressed this hypothesis by comparing the capacity of implicit and explicit measures to predict fear and anxiety, either with or without additional cognitive load. In Experiment 1 (N = 83), only explicit measures of spider fear were predictive of spider avoidance, and manipulating cognitive load did not affect these relations. Experiment 2 (N = 70) confirmed these findings, as the capacity of explicit and implicit measures to predict self-reported and physiological responses to a social stressor was not moderated by cognitive load. In two experiments, we thus found no empirical support for the central dual process model assumption that cognitive control moderates the predictive value of implicit and explicit measures. While implicit measures and dual process accounts may still be valuable, we show that results in this field are not necessarily replicable and inconsistent.

ObjectivesThe present study examined parental sleep-supporting practices during toddlerhood in relation to temperament across 14 cultures. We hypothesized that passive sleep-supporting techniques (e.g., talking, cuddling), but not active techniques (e.g., walking, doing an activity together), would be associated with less challenging temperament profiles: higher Surgency (SUR) and Effortful Control (EC) and lower Negative Emotionality (NE), with fine-grained dimensions exhibiting relationships consistent with their overarching factors (e.g., parallel passive sleep-supporting approach effects for dimensions of NE).MethodsCaregivers (N = 841) across 14 cultures (M = 61 families per site) reported toddler (between 17 and 40 months of age; 52% male) temperament and sleep-supporting activities. Utilizing linear multilevel regression models and group-mean centering procedures, we assessed the role of between- and within-cultural variance in sleep-supporting practices in relation to temperament.ResultsBoth within-and between-culture differences in passive sleep-supporting techniques were associated with temperament attributes, (e.g., lower NE at the between-culture level; higher within-culture EC). For active techniques only within-culture effects were significant (e.g., demonstrating a positive association with NE). Adding sleep-supporting behaviors to the regression models accounted for significantly more between-culture temperament variance than child age and gender alone.ConclusionHypotheses were largely supported. Findings suggest parental sleep practices could be potential targets for interventions to mitigate risk posed by challenging temperament profiles (e.g., reducing active techniques that are associated with greater distress proneness and NE).

Caregivers are often encouraged to praise children to reduce externalizing behavior. Although several theoretical perspectives suggest that praise works (e.g., praise reinforces positive behavior), others suggest it may not (e.g., children dismiss praise or experience it as controlling). This longitudinal-observational study examined whether (a) caregivers' praise and children's externalizing behavior were related; (b) an evidence-based parenting program increased caregivers' praise; (c) and increasing praise reduced children's externalizing behavior. Participants (387 caregiver-child dyads) were randomly assigned to a 14-session parenting program (aiming to improve parenting behavior, partly via praise) or a control group. Children (aged 4-8 years, 45% girls) scored at or above the 75th percentile on externalizing behavior problems. Caregivers (91% Caucasian, 85% born in the Netherlands, 50.5% highly educated) were mostly mothers (91%). At baseline, postintervention, and follow-up, we assessed caregivers' labeled and unlabeled praise via in-home observations, and children's externalizing behavior via caregiver-reports and observations. At baseline, caregivers' unlabeled praise was related to more (rather than less) externalizing behavior. The parenting program successfully increased praise and reduced caregiver-reported (but not observed) externalizing behavior; importantly, however, praise did not mediate the program's effect on caregiver-reported externalizing behavior. Although the program did not directly reduce observed externalizing behavior, it did so indirectly via labeled praise. Our results suggest that, although praise and externalizing child behavior are related, praise may not be a key mechanism underlying the effects of the parenting program. If praise has beneficial effects on children's externalizing behavior, these effects are probably limited to labeled praise. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled within-subject study examined the effects of intranasal administration of oxytocin and vasopressin on fathers' sensitive and challenging parenting behaviors. Furthermore, we examined the moderating role of fathers' early childhood experiences. The sample consisted of 70 fathers with their 2- to 12-month-old infants. All fathers were assigned to each of the three experimental sessions (oxytocin, vasopressin, and placebo), on three separate days, with random order and intervening periods of one to two weeks. Sensitive and challenging parenting behaviors (CPB) were observed during a 10-minute free play task. Results showed no effects of vasopressin administration on paternal sensitivity. Fathers in the oxytocin condition were less sensitive than fathers in the placebo condition, and this effect was moderated by fathers' own childhood experiences: Fathers who reported higher levels of experienced parental love withdrawal were less sensitive in the oxytocin condition as compared to the placebo condition, whereas fathers with less experienced parental love withdrawal showed no difference in sensitivity between the oxytocin and placebo condition. No effects were found of oxytocin and vasopressin administration on fathers' CPB. Our results, although partly unexpected, are largely in line with previous literature showing that oxytocin administration can exert negative effects in individuals with adverse childhood experiences. ispartof: Hormones And Behavior vol:142 pages:1-11 ispartof: location:United States status: published

Objectives Although the effectiveness of mindfulness-based intervention for various populations is well-documented, research examining these effects for police officers is limited. This study aimed to increase knowledge on (1) the effects of a mindfulness-based intervention in police officers and (2) potential mechanisms of change by relating changes in facets of mindful awareness to changes in stress. Methods In the present study, we investigated the effects of a 6-session group-based mindfulness-based intervention in police officers (n = 82) on self-report measures, using a quasi-experimental design consisting of a within-group 6-week baseline period; pre-test, 6-week intervention; and post-test, 6-week follow-up. Multilevel analyses were used to test intervention effects. Using structural equation modeling, we analyzed whether changes in facets of mindfulness were associated with changes in various types of stress. Results After the intervention, police officers significantly and substantially improved on stress (primary outcome), facets of mindful awareness (explanatory variables), and related secondary outcomes including somatic complaints, sleep disturbances, positive affect, happiness, and work ability, while in baseline period, outcome measures did not change. Effects remained significant or improved further during the follow-up period. Further, we found that increases in particularly the facets of mindful awareness of acting with awareness and non-judging were associated with reductions in stress. Conclusions Mindfulness-based intervention appears beneficial for police officers. Further, increases in both attention and acceptance skills such as acting with awareness and non-judging seem to be most important in explaining reductions of stress in police officers.

Children's aggressive behaviour is partly determined by how they process social information (e.g., making hostile interpretations or aiming to seek revenge). Such aggressive social information processing (SIP) may be most evident if children are emotionally engaged in actual social interactions. Current methods to assess aggressive SIP, however, often ask children to reflect on hypothetical vignettes. This pilot study therefore examined a new method that actually involves children in emotionally engaging social interactions: interactive virtual reality (VR). We developed a virtual classroom where children could play games with virtual peers. A sample of boys (N = 32; ages 8–13) from regular and special education reported on their SIP in distinct VR contexts (i.e., neutral, instrumental gain and provocation). They also completed a standard vignette‐based assessment of SIP. Results demonstrated good convergent validity of interactive VR assessment of SIP, as indicated by significant moderate to large correlations of VR‐assessed SIP with vignette‐assessed SIP for all SIP variables except anger. Interactive VR showed improved measurement sensitivity (i.e., larger variances in SIP compared to vignettes) for aggressive responding, but not for other SIP variables. Discriminant validity (i.e., distinct SIP patterns across contexts) of interactive VR was supported for provocation contexts, but not for instrumental gain contexts. Last, children were more enthusiastic about the VR assessment compared to the vignette‐based assessment. These findings suggest that interactive VR may be a promising tool, allowing for the assessment of children's aggressive SIP in standardized yet emotionally engaging social interactions.

Conduct problems can develop into behavior disorders and put children at risk for other mental health problems. Parenting interventions have been shown to successfully reduce conduct problems and are often expected to prevent the development of broader mental health problems. Few studies have evaluated the longer-term and broader effects of these interventions. To what extent are parenting intervention effects sustained in the years after the intervention? And do effects pertain to conduct problems specifically, or do they also affect broader aspects of children’s mental health? We used a randomized controlled trial to assess the longer-term (2.5 years) effects of the Incredible Years parenting intervention on children’s conduct problems in an indicated prevention setting (N = 387; 79% retention rate). Using a multi-method (survey and computerized tasks) and multi-informant (parents, teachers, and children) approach, we tested whether initial effects on conduct problems were sustained, and whether Incredible Years had broader effects on children’s peer problems, emotional problems, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, attention and inhibition deficits, and service use. Incredible Years, relative to control (no intervention), led to sustained reductions in parent-reported conduct problems (Cohen’s d = 0.31), but not teacher- and child-reported conduct problems. There were no broader benefits: Incredible Years did not reduce children’s peer problems, emotional problems, ADHD-symptoms, attention and inhibition deficits, or their service use. Improvements in parents’ perceptions of child conduct problems sustained until 2.5 years later. Our findings do not show benefits of Incredible Years as a preventive intervention for children’s broader mental health. Electronic Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11121-020-01176-6.

Aims Medical procedures and hospitalizations can be experienced as traumatic and can lead to post-traumatic stress reactions. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) shows promising results but very few long-term studies have been published. Therefore, our aim was to test the long-term (8 months post-treatment) effectiveness of EMDR in children and adolescents with medically related subthreshold post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Methods and results Seventy-four children (including 39 with congenital or acquired heart disease) aged 4–15 (M = 9.6 years) with subthreshold PTSD after previous hospitalization were included into a parallel group randomized controlled trial. Participants were randomized to EMDR (n = 37) or care-as-usual (CAU) (n = 37; medical care only). The primary outcome was PTSD symptoms of the child. Secondary outcomes were symptoms of depression and blood–injection–injury (BII) phobia, sleep problems, and health-related quality of life (HrQoL) of the child. Assessments of all outcomes were planned at baseline and 8 weeks and 8 months after the start of EMDR/CAU. We hypothesized that the EMDR group would show significantly more improvements on all outcomes over time. Both groups showed improvements over time on child’s symptoms of PTSD (only parent report), depression, BII phobia, sleep problems, and most HrQoL subscales. GEE analyses showed no significant differences between the EMDR group (nT2 = 33, nT3 = 30) and the CAU group (nT2 = 35, nT3 = 32) on the primary outcome. One superior effect of EMDR over time was found for reducing parent-reported BII phobia of the child. Conclusion EMDR did not perform better than CAU in reducing subthreshold PTSD up to 8 months post-treatment in previously hospitalized children. Possible explanations and clinical implications are discussed.

ObjectiveThere is increasing evidence that mindfulness-based interventions reduce stress and improve wellbeing in employees. However, less is known about the factors that mediate these effects. The aim of this study was to assess short- and long-term–mediating effects of mindfulness and self-compassion on the effects of the Mindful2Work training.MethodsEmployees with burnout complaints (N = 124) filled in questionnaires concerning perceived stress, chronic fatigue, mindfulness, and self-compassion. Assessments took place before, directly after the training and at 6 weeks follow-up. The intervention consisted of 6 weekly sessions of 2 h, combining mindful physical activity, yoga, and mindful meditation, and a follow-up session 6 weeks later.ResultsMultiple parallel and serial mediation analyses indicated that increases in mindfulness mediated the effects from pre- to post-test on stress and fatigue. Regarding the mindfulness facets; acting with awareness mediated the effects during the training on both stress and fatigue, and non-reactivity on stress. Furthermore, increases in self-compassion mediated the effects from post-test to follow-up on stress and fatigue. Lastly, it was found that during and after the training, increases in mindfulness led to more self-compassion, which in turn led to less stress (and after the training also to less fatigue).ConclusionThis study indicates that part of employees’ stress and fatigue reduction over the course of the Mindful2Work training can be explained by increased mindfulness, and by increased self-compassion, directly and through increases of mindfulness.

Kret et al. (2020) thoroughly reviewed expressions of basic emotions in humans and great apes and concluded that, although there are some species variations, many features of emotional expressions are conserved across humans and non-human great apes (hereafter, great apes). Here, we argue that the comparison between emotional expressions of humans and great apes is incomplete unless the whole range of emotions, including more complex self-conscious emotions is taken into account. Previously, such emotions were thought to be restricted to humans because of the advanced socio-cognitive skills they require (e.g., Parr et al., 2005). However, recent studies suggest that great apes might have these necessary socio-cognitive skills (e.g., Krupenye and Call, 2019; Krachun et al., 2019). To that end, we suggest that comparative studies on emotions should incorporate self-conscious emotions. Here, we discuss the human and great apes literature on self-conscious emotional expressions, namely embarrassment, shyness, shame, guilt, and jealousy 1 .

Mindful parenting (MP) as a group-based training for parents of clinically referred children with psychopathology has shown to effectively reduce child and parent mental health problems. This study investigated the effects of MP as a “preventive” intervention for parents who experienced parental stress or problems in parenting (non-clinical setting) compared to MP as a “curative” intervention (clinical setting). Parents from a non-clinical setting (n = 98, 18% fathers) and a clinical setting (n = 87, 21% fathers) completed questionnaires about themselves, their partner relationship, and their child at waitlist (non-clinical setting only), pre-test, post-test, and 8-week follow-up. Before the intervention, the children of parents in the non-clinical setting, as expected, showed higher well-being and lower behavior problems, but parental stress levels, parental overreactivity, mindful parenting, partner relationship, and parental well-being were no different in the clinical and preventive group pre-intervention. No improvement was observed at waitlist, except for parental well-being, while improvement on parent and child functioning measures did occur after MP. No differences in MP effects in both settings were found in improved parental functioning (parental stress, overreactivity, mindful parenting, partner relationship, and well-being [small to medium effect size improvements]) and child functioning (well-being and behavior problems, small effect size improvements). Improvements in child functioning were associated with improved mindful parenting. Results suggest that MP training may be an effective intervention not only for families of children referred to mental health care because of child mental disorders but also for parents who experience parental stress or parenting problems as it is.

This study investigated the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a concurrent mindfulness program (MYmind) on Chinese adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and their parents in Hong Kong, China using a randomized controlled trial with a waitlist control group. Results showed the study had 80% compliance rate, 0% dropout rate, and 89% response rate. Between-group comparisons showed mindfulness had trend effects on parent’s rumination (g = 1.16), mindful parenting (d = 0.6), parenting style (d = 0.59), and parenting stress (d = 0.5). The study demonstrated the feasibility of the MYmind program in the Chinese context. A larger trial with longer follow-up period is suggested to better examine the effect of mindfulness on adolescents with ASD and their parents.

Early behavioural inhibition, a temperamental characteristic defined by fearful, overly-sensitive, avoidant, or withdrawn reactions to the unknown, is a predictor of later social anxiety. However, not all behaviourally inhibited children develop anxiety problems, and attentional bias to threat has been proposed to moderate the relation between behavioural inhibition and anxiety. The current study aimed to further specify the relation between early behavioural inhibition and later social anxiety by testing this potentially moderating role of childhood attentional bias to threat. Behavioural inhibition was assessed during toddlerhood (age 2.5 years) using laboratory observations of children's behaviours in response to unknown objects and situations. When children were 7.5 years old, attentional bias was measured in 86 children (46 girls) using both a visual probe task and a visual search task with angry and happy faces. Child social anxiety was measured using questionnaires completed by the child and both parents, and clinical interviews conducted with both parents. Our results showed that while early behavioural inhibition was related to later social anxiety, there was no evidence for a moderation of this relation by attentional bias, suggesting that the relation between early fearful temperament and later social anxiety holds across children, independent of their attentional biases.

There is a lack of instruments assessing child-caregiver attachment relationships in early childhood to be used in attachment-based practice, in particular from a caregiver's perception, which is an important factor of clinical importance to take into account in parenting interventions targeting young children. Therefore, the 48-item Attachment Relationship Inventory-Caregiver Perception 2-5 years (ARI-CP 2-5) was developed. Survey data of 446 caregivers of 2- to 5-year-old children were collected, and a subsample of 83 caregivers participated in an observation study. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed a four-factor structure of secure, avoidant, ambivalent, and disorganized attachment relationship. Indications of configural, metric, and scalar invariance were found for caregivers' and children's sex, children's age, and population (clinical vs. general population). The four scales showed sufficient internal consistency and significant associations with children's psychopathology, caregivers' general attachment representations, caregivers' mind-mindedness, and population type. Moreover, preliminary evidence for convergent validity with observational attachment measures was found. It is concluded that the ARI-CP 2-5 is a valid instrument that can be used as part of the screening and assessment of insecure attachment relationships.Hacen falta instrumentos que evalúen las relaciones de afectividad niño-cuidador en la temprana niñez para ser usados en la práctica que se basa en la afectividad, en particular desde la perspectiva del cuidador, lo cual es un factor clave de importancia clínica para tomar en cuenta en las intervenciones de crianza que se enfocan en niños pequeños. Por tanto, se desarrolló el Inventario de la Relación Afectiva - Percepción del Cuidador 2-5 años, que consta de 48 aspectos (ARI-CP 2-5). Se recogió información de encuesta de 446 cuidadores de niños de 2 a 5 años de edad, y un subgrupo muestra de 83 cuidadores participó en un estudio de observación. Los análisis de factores confirmatorios corroboraron una estructura de cuatro factores de la relación de afectividad que es segura, la que evita, la ambivalente y la desorganizada. Se encontraron indicaciones de invariabilidad en el aspecto configuracional, métrico y de escala en cuanto al género sexual de los cuidadores y del niño, la edad del niño, y la población (clínica y general). Las cuatro escalas mostraron una suficiente consistencia interna y asociaciones significativas con la sicopatología de los niños, las representaciones generales de afectividad del cuidador, la conciencia mental de los cuidadores, así como el tipo de población. Es más, se encontró una evidencia preliminar para la validez convergente con las medidas de afectividad de observación. Se concluye con que el ARI-CP 2-5 es un instrumento válido que puede usarse como parte de la detección y evaluación de las relaciones de afectividad inseguras.Il y a un manque d'instruments évaluant les relations d'attachement enfant-aidant naturel dans la petite enfance pouvant être utilisés dans une pratique basée sur l'attachement, en particulier sur la perception de l'aidant naturel, qui est un facteur important de l'importance clinique à prendre en compte dans les interventions de parentages ciblant les jeunes enfants. Par conséquent l'Inventaire de 48 articles de la Relation d'Attachement - Perception de l'Aidant Naturel 2-5 ans (abrégé en anglais ARI-CP 2-5) a été développé. Les données de sondage de 446 aidants naturels d'enfants de 2 à 5 ans ont été recueillies et un sous-échantillon de 83 aidants naturels ont participé à une étude d'observation. Une analyse factorielle confirmatoire a confirmé une structure à quatre facteurs de la relation d'attachement sécure, évitant, ambivalent et désorganisé. Des indications d'invariance configurale, métrique et scalaire ont été trouvées pour le sexe des aidants naturels et des enfants, l’âge des enfants, et la population (clinique par rapport à population générale). Les quatre échelles ont démontré une cohérence interne suffisante et des associations importantes avec la psychopathologie des enfants, les représentations de l'attachement générale des aidants naturels, l'esprit-qualité mentale et le type de population. De plus une preuve préliminaire de validité convergente ave les mesures observationnelles d'attachement a été trouvée. Nous concluons que l'ARI-CP 205 est un instrument valide qui peut être utilisé pour le dépistage et l’évaluation de relations d'attachement insécures.Entwicklung und Validierung des Inventars für Bindungsbeziehung - Eltern- bzw. Betreuer_innenperspektive 2-5 Jahre (ARI-CP 2-5): Psychometrische Struktur, externe Validität und Normen Es fehlen Instrumente zur Beurteilung der Bindungsbeziehungen zwischen Kleinkind und Bezugsperson, die in der bindungsbasierten Praxis verwendet werden können. Insbesondere fehlen hierbei Instrumente, die die Wahrnehmung der Bezugspersonen einschließen - ein Faktor von großer klinischer Bedeutung, der bei Elterninterventionen für Kleinkinder berücksichtigt werden sollte. Aus diesem Grund wurde das 48-Punkte-Inventar für Bindungsbeziehung - Eltern- bzw. Betreuer_innenperspektive 2-5 Jahre (ARI-CP 2-5) entwickelt. Von 446 Bezugspersonen 2-5-jähriger Kinder wurden Umfragedaten gesammelt und eine Teilstichprobe von 83 Bezugspersonen nahm an einer Beobachtungsstudie teil. Eine konfirmatorische Faktoranalyse ergab eine Vier-Faktoren-Struktur aus sicheren, vermeidenden, ambivalenten und unorganisierten Bindungsbeziehungen. Hinweise auf konfigurale, metrische und skalare Messinvarianz wurden für Geschlecht und Alter der Bezugspersonen und Kinder sowie für die Stichprobe (klinisch vs. allgemein) gefunden. Die vier Skalen wiesen ausreichende interne Konsistenz und signifikante Assoziationen mit der kindlichen Psychopathologie, den allgemeinen Bindungsrepräsentationen, dem Mind-Mindedness der Bezugspersonen und der Art der Stichprobe auf. Darüber hinaus wurden vorläufige Belege für konvergente Validität mit beobachtenden Bindungsmaßen gefunden. Es wird der Schluss gezogen, dass der ARI-CP 2-5 ein valides Instrument ist, das im Rahmen von Screenings und Beurteilungen unsicherer Bindungsbeziehungen verwendet werden kann.愛着関係調査票-2歳から5歳の養育者の認識 (ARI-CP 2-5)の開発と検証:心理検 査構造、外部の妥当性と規範 幼児期に幼児―養育者の愛着関係を評価する方策が不足しており、幼児を対象と した子育て介入において臨床的に考慮すべき重要な要素である愛着、特に愛着に 対する養育者の認識に基づいた実践に活用できない。そこで、48項目の愛着関係 調査票-2歳から5歳の養育者の認識 (ARI-CP 2-5)が開発された。446人の2歳から 5歳の子どもの養育者の調査データが収集され、二次標本として83人の養育者が 観察研究に参加した。確認的因子分析で安全型、回避型、抵抗/両価型、混乱型 の愛着という4因子の構造を確認した。養育者と子どもの性別、子どもの年齢、 集団 (臨床と一般) のために構成の指標と測定基準、およびスカラー不変性が発 見された。4つのスケールは十分な内的整合性を示し、子どもの精神病理、養育 者の一般的な愛着表現、養育者のマインドマインドネス、母集団のタイプとの間 に有意な関連を示した。さらに観察に基づいた愛着の評価とともに収束性妥当性 のための予備的証拠が見つかった。ARI-CP 2-5は、不安定型愛着関係のスクリー ニングと評価の一部として使用できる有効な手段であると結論付けられる。.摘 要:目前缺乏可用于依恋实践的评估儿童早期看护者依恋关系的工具, 特别是从看护者的感知角度, 这是针对幼儿的养育干预措施中需要考虑的一个重要临床因素。因此, 编制了含括48题的依恋关系 - 2-5岁儿童看护者感知量表 (ARI-CP 2-5)。收集了446名2-5岁儿童看护者的调查数据, 并以83名看护者子样本为被试进行观察研究。验证性因素分析证实了安全、回避、矛盾和无序依恋关系的四因素结构。在看护者和儿童性别、儿童年龄以及人群 (临床和一般人群) 中发现了构型、度量和标量不变性的迹象。四个量表显示出足够的内在一致性, 并与儿童的精神病理学、看护者的一般依恋表征、看护者的心智和人群类型显著相关。此外, 还发现了通过观察依恋措施聚合效度的初步证据。结论:ARI-CP 2-5是一种有效的工具, 可用于不安全型依恋关系的部分筛选和评估。.تطوير وتحقيق مقياس التعلق المرتبط بالعلاقات - تصورات مقدم الرعاية 2-5 سنوات دراسة البنية السيكوميترية والصلاحية الخارجية والمعايير هناك نقص في الأدوات التي تقيِّم العلاقات بين الأطفال ومقدمي الرعاية في مرحلة الطفولة المبكرة لاستخدامها في الممارسة القائمة على التعلق، ولا سيما من منظور مقدم الرعاية، والذي يعتبر عامل مهم من العوامل ذات الأهمية الاكلينيكية التي ينبغي مراعاتها في التدخلات الوالدية التي تستهدف الأطفال الصغار. ولذلك تم تطوير قائمة فحص التعلق من 48 عنصر - منظور مقدم الرعاية 2-5 سنوات (5-CP 2-ARI) وتم جمع بيانات استقصائية عن 446 من مقدمي الرعاية للأطفال الذين تبلغ أعمارهم سنتين إلى خمس سنوات، وشارك في دراسة الملاحظة عينة فرعية من 83 من مقدمي الرعاية. أكد تحليل العامل وجود أربعة عوامل تمثل بنية التعلق الآمن، والمتجنب، والمتناقض، والغير منظم. وأشارت النتائج إلى وجود مؤشرات لثوابت شكلية، وقياسية من حيث جنس مقدمي الرعاية والأطفال، وأعمار الأطفال، والتركيبة السكانية (العينة الإكلينيكية مقابل عامة السكان).وأظهرت المقاييس الأربعة اتساقًا داخليًا كافيًا وارتباطا إحصائياً مع الصحة النفسية للأطفال، والتصورات العامة للتعلق عندمقدمي الرعاية، والتصورات الذهنية لمقدمي الرعاية، ونوع السكان. وعلاوة على ذلك، وُجد دليل أولي على الصلاحية المتقاربة لمقاييس التعلق القائمة على الملاحظة. وتخلص الدراسةإلى أن مقياس (5-CP 2-ARI) يعتبر أداة صالحة يمكن استخدامها كجزء من فحص وتقييم علاقات التعلق غير الآمنة.

Contains fulltext : 228168.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) Many children who are victimized by their peers do not tell their teachers. Subsequently, teacher intervention and support are not likely to take place. To investigate the role teachers can play to promote disclosure by victimized students, we examined (1) the prevalence of disclosure to teachers, and (2) the extent to which teachers' responses towards bullying longitudinally predict victimized students' disclosure to their teacher. Participants were 874 Dutch primary school students (Grades 4-6) who reported being victimized, and their teachers. Of the victimized students, 76.8% reported that they disclosed to someone and 58.3% of them told their teacher. Multilevel binary logistic regression among all victimized students and a subsample of persistently victimized students (n = 316) revealed that neither teacher-reported active intervention nor passive intervention at T1 predicted victimized students' likelihood to disclose to their teacher at T2. Implications for future research and for practice are discussed. 17 p.

ObjectivesMindful parenting (MP) interventions show promising results, but they mostly target parents (of children) with mental health problems. This study examined an online MP intervention for mothers with toddlers in a population-based sample. Aims were to assess acceptability and effectiveness of the intervention for mothers with and without parental stress, and examine their predetermined personal goals.MethodsThe study included 157 mothers with toddlers from the general population of whom 73 reported parental stress. The mothers participated in an 8-week online MP training. Questionnaires were completed at waitlist, pretest, posttest, and follow-up.ResultsMothers rated the training positively, although only 23.1% completed the training. Personal goals were analyzed qualitatively, establishing four different themes: attention, well-being, patience, and balance. Significant improvements in personal goals posttest and follow-up were found (large and very large effect size, respectively). We found no significant improvements from waitlist to pretest for all outcome variables, except personal goals (medium effect size). Mixed-linear model analyses showed significant improvements posttest and follow-up as compared to pretest regarding Self-compassion, Parental over-reactivity and Symptoms of anxiety and depression (small to medium effect sizes). There was an effect at posttest for Parenting problems, and for Parental role restriction at follow-up (small effect sizes). Levels of parental stress and theme of personal goal did not influence the effectiveness of the intervention.ConclusionsThe current study provides initial evidence that an online MP training could be an easily accessible, inexpensive, and valuable intervention for parents without an indication for a therapist-assisted intervention.Trial RegistrationDutch Trial Register (NTR7401)

Background: Self-conscious emotional reactivity and its physiological marker—blushing, has been proposed to be an etiological mechanism of social anxiety disorder (SAD), but so far, untested in longitudinal designs. This study tested, for the first time, if self-conscious emotional reactivity (indexed as physiological blushing) contributes to the development of SAD symptoms over and above social behavioral inhibition (BI), which has been identified as the strongest predictor of SAD development in early childhood. Methods: One-hundred-fifteen children (45% boys) and their mothers and fathers participated at ages 2.5, 4.5, and 7.5 years. Social BI was observed at all time points in a Stranger-approach task and physiological blushing (blood volume, blood pulse amplitude, and temperature increases) was measured during a public performance (singing) and watching-back the performance at ages 4.5 and 7.5. Child early social anxiety was reported by both parents at 4.5 years and SAD symptoms were diagnosed by clinicians and reported by both parents at 7.5 years. Results: Higher social BI at 2.5 and 4.5 years predicted greater social anxiety at 4.5 years, which, in turn, predicted SAD symptoms at 7.5 years. Blushing (temperature increase) at 4.5 years predicted SAD symptoms at 7.5 years over and above the influence of social BI and early social anxiety. Conclusions: That blushing uniquely contributes to the development of SAD symptoms over and above social BI suggests two pathways to childhood SAD: one that entails early high social BI and an early onset of social anxiety symptoms, and the other that consists of heightened self-conscious emotional reactivity (i.e., blushing) in early childhood.

Sociale wijkteams zijn verplicht om samen met gezinnen doelen op te stellen en deze te evalueren. Dat blijkt niet zo vanzelfsprekend. Ze maken bovendien weinig systematisch gebruik van kennis over bijvoorbeeld oplossingsgericht werken. In dit artikel concrete aanbevelingen om doelgericht werken in wijkteams te verbeteren.

Background Despite increasing interest in the association between mindfulness and reduced trauma vulnerability, and the use of mindfulness in the latest interventions for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), few studies have examined the mechanisms through which mindfulness may influence post-trauma psychopathology. The present study aimed to determine whether negative interpretation bias, the tendency to interpret ambiguous information as negative or threatening rather than positive or safe, mediates the association between higher levels of trait mindfulness and lower levels of PTSD symptoms. Negative interpretation bias was examined due to prior evidence indicating it is associated with being less mindful and post trauma psychopathology. Methods The study examined 133 undergraduate students who reported exposure to one or more potentially traumatic events in their lifetime. Participants completed self-report measures of trait mindfulness (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire – Short Form; FFMQ-SF) and PTSD symptoms (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist – Civilian version; PCL-C) as well an interpretation bias task that assessed the degree to which participants interpreted a range of everyday hypothetical scenarios to be threatening to their physical and/or psychological wellbeing. Results Results of a mediation analysis indicated a significant negative direct effect of trait mindfulness on PTSD symptomatology (p p = .90) and PTSD symptomatology (p = .37). Conclusions The results of the current study provide further evidence of the link between trait mindfulness and reduced post-trauma psychopathology while providing no support for the role of negative interpretation bias in this relationship.

A common belief is that narcissism is a manifestation of high self-esteem. Here, we argue that self-esteem and narcissism are fundamentally distinct and have unique early physiological indicators. We hypothesized that children predisposed to narcissism would show elevated, whereas children predisposed to high self-esteem would show lowered, physiological arousal in social-evaluative contexts. We tested this in a prospective study including 113 children, who were first assessed at age 4.5, a critical age when children begin evaluating themselves through others' eyes. At age 4.5, children sang a song in front of an audience while being videotaped. Children's physiological arousal (skin conductance, heart rate, and heart rate variability) was assessed while children anticipated, performed, and recovered from the singing task. At age 7.5, children's narcissism and self-esteem levels were assessed. Consistent with our predictions, children predisposed to higher narcissism levels showed elevated skin conductance levels during anticipation. Their skin conductance levels further rose during performance (but less so than for other children) and failed to return to baseline during recovery. By contrast, children predisposed to higher self-esteem levels showed lowered skin conductance levels throughout the procedure. The effects emerged for skin conductance but not heart rate or heart rate variability, suggesting that arousal was sympathetically driven. Effects were larger and more robust for self-esteem than for narcissism. Together, these findings uncover distinct physiological indicators of narcissism and self-esteem: Narcissism is predicted by indicators reflecting early social-evaluative concerns, whereas self-esteem is predicted by indicators reflecting an early sense of comfort in social-evaluative contexts.

Background Because of the far-reaching negative consequences of high levels of (parental) stress for the mother, infant, the mother-infant relationship, and family functioning, psychological support for young mothers is important. Mindful with Your Baby is a mindfulness-based intervention, originally developed and evaluated in a clinical population of mothers with mental health issues and/or babies with regulation problems. The current pilot examines whether Mindful with Your Baby for mothers with symptoms of (parental) stress offered in a non-clinical setting is also effective and acceptable. Methods In this pilot waitlist-controlled trial, 17 mothers with infants (2–15 months) admitted themselves for a Mindful with Your Baby training in a non-clinical setting because of (parental) stress. Mindful with Your Baby was offered in groups of three to six mother-infant dyads and consisted of eight weekly 2-h sessions. Participants completed questionnaires on symptoms of parental stress, general stress, depression, anxiety, mindfulness and self-compassion at 8-week waitlist, pretest, posttest and 8-week follow-up. Results There were no training drop-outs, attendance rate was 92.5%, and the training was evaluated positively: all mothers (100%) felt they got something of lasting importance as a result of taking the training, and reported becoming more conscious as a parent, and 93% reported changing their lifestyle or parenting as a result of the training. Multilevel analyses showed no significant changes between waitlist and pretest. At posttest, a significant improvement occurred in all outcome measures compared to pretest, of moderate to large effect sizes. At follow-up, a significant improvement was seen compared to pretest in all outcomes except anxiety compared to pretest, of small to moderate effect sizes. Conclusions Mindful with Your Baby appears an acceptable and effective intervention for mothers with a baby who experience (parental) stress but who have not been referred to specialized mental health care. A low threshold access to Mindful with Your Baby in non-clinical settings could provide a timely and positive interference in (parental) stress.

Parent−child interaction therapy (PCIT) is a short-term, evidence-based intervention for caregivers with children aged between 2 and 7 who exhibit behavioral problems. PCIT is effective, but has a high attrition rate ranging from 27% to 69%. We hypothesize that a low level of parental mind-mindedness—the parent’s propensity to treat the child as an intentional agent with its own thoughts and emotions—might contribute to premature attrition or cause families to profit less from treatment. To test these hypotheses, we performed a retrospective cohort study in a time-limited, home-based PCIT sample (n = 19) and in a clinic-based PCIT sample (n = 25), to investigate whether parents with a medium-high level of mind-mindedness differ from parents with a medium-low level of mind-mindedness in the outcome measures of PCIT (child’s behavioral problems, parenting skills and stress and mothers’ anxious and depressed symptoms). Furthermore, we examined if mind-mindedness was related to attrition and (for clinic-based PCIT only) number of sessions. Repeated measures ANOVA showed that mothers with a medium-high level of mind-mindedness displayed more improvement in two parenting skills benefiting a positive parent−child interaction. Furthermore, we found a group effect of mind-mindedness in the PCIT-home sample, with mothers with a medium-high level of mind-mindedness showing better results on most outcome measures. Our findings suggest that adding a mind-mindedness improving intervention prior to or during PCIT could benefit mothers with a medium to low level of mind-mindedness.

When children practice a new skill and fail, it is critical for them to explore new strategies to succeed. How can parents encourage children’s exploration? Bridging insights from developmental psychology and the neuroscience of motor control, we examined the effects of parental praise on children’s motor exploration. We theorize that modest praise can spark exploration. Unlike inflated praise, modest praise acknowledges children’s performance, without setting a high standard for future performance. This may be reassuring to children with lower levels of self-esteem, who often doubt their ability. We conducted a novel virtual-reality experiment. Children (N = 202, ages 8–12) reported self-esteem and performed a virtual-reality 3D trajectory-matching task, with success/failure feedback after each trial. Children received modest praise (“You did well!”), inflated praise (“You did incredibly well!”), or no praise from their parent. We measured motor exploration as children’s tendency to vary their movements following failure. Relative to no praise, modest praise—unlike inflated praise—encouraged exploration in children with lower levels of self-esteem. By contrast, modest praise discouraged exploration in children with higher levels of self-esteem. Effects were small yet robust. This experiment demonstrates that modest praise can spark exploration in children with lower levels of self-esteem.