Human attachment theory outlines three organized types: secure, insecure avoidant and insecure resistant, all considered adaptive responses to maternal care for offspring survival. In contrast, disorganized attachment is hypothesized to be maladaptive and therefore uncommon in wild mammals, though this remains untested. We assessed attachment types in 50 wild chimpanzees (ages 0-10 years) in Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire. Using 3,795 h of mother and offspring focal observations, we found no behaviours indicative of disorganized attachment. To explore organized attachment, we analysed a subset of 18 immature chimpanzees and their behavioural responses to 309 natural threatening events. Their responses showed organized attachment patterns: some sought maternal closeness (secure-like), while others displayed independence (insecure avoidant-like). Our study supports the hypothesis that organized attachment types are adaptive and have a long evolutionary history.

Suffering adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) increases the probability of developing adult mental illness, addictions, and insecure attachment. This study determined how ACEs and insecure attachment are associated with each other, and how they may predict treatment engagement in an integrated dual diagnosis treatment clinic.

A sample of n = 264 patients entering a university-affiliated addiction psychiatry clinic underwent diagnostic intakes supplemented by assessments of attachment styles (Anxious/Avoidant, using the 36-item Experiences in Close Relationships-Relationship Structures (ECR-RS) scale) and childhood adversity (10-item Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (ACE-Q) scale). Compliance with psychotherapy versus medication appointments was tracked for 6 months post intake.

ACE-Q scores (median of 4) were significantly associated with higher anxious and avoidant attachment scores and the number of mental health diagnoses. Only one in five patients obtained 75% or higher compliance rates with psychotherapy; two in five achieved 75% or higher compliance with medication appointments. Greater anxious attachment predicted lower show rates for both psychotherapy and medication appointments, whereas greater avoidant attachment predicted lower compliance for psychotherapy only.

This study confirms the linkage of ACEs and insecure attachment patterns in dual-diagnosis patients seeking integrated addiction psychiatry care. Insecure attachment patterns differentially predicted lower appointment compliance, particularly for psychotherapies.

Childhood trauma and associated adult attachment dysfunction warrant further investigation not only as causes and correlates of mental illness and addiction but also for improving treatment engagement, therapeutic attachments, and recovery outcomes.

Background/Objectives: Mothers' depressive symptoms are associated with their children's internalizing and externalizing behavioural problems. Because mothers' depressive symptoms can vary across the prenatal and postnatal periods, considering their trajectories is important when predicting children's behavioural problems. The purposes of this study were to: (1) identify profiles of mothers characterized by their prenatal and postnatal (up to 3 years postpartum) depressive symptom trajectories and (2) examine the associations between maternal depressive symptom profile trajectories and preschool children's internalizing and externalizing behavioural problems at 5 years of age. Methods: This study used data derived from the APrON Study. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale measured mothers' depressive symptoms in early (<27 weeks) and late (≥27 weeks) pregnancy and at 3, 6, 12, 24, and 36 months postpartum. The Behavioural Assessment Scales for Children, 2nd Edition, quantified children's internalizing and externalizing problems at approximately 60 months of age. Non-growth latent profile analysis determined the most suitable and parsimonious number of maternal depressive symptom profiles, and linear regression analysis quantified their associations with their 5-year-old-children's behavioural problems. Results: A three-profile structure characterized maternal depressive symptom trajectories: minimal, subclinical, and high. Unadjusted (n = 704) and adjusted (n = 621) analyses showed that: 1) mothers' subclinical and high depressive symptom profiles (p < 0.01) predicted children's internalizing problems and 2) mothers' subclinical depressive symptom profiles (p < 0.01) predicted externalizing problems. Conclusions: Maternal subclinical depressive symptoms were equally, if not more, important compared to high depressive symptoms in predicting children's behavioural problems. Overlooking mothers with subclinical depressive symptoms could have implications for their children's behavioural/mental health.

I describe the development, with Ruth Goldwyn, Charlie Stanley and others, of the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task (MCAST); particularly highlighting the pivotal role that Mary Main played in its evolution, and its approach to attachment Disorganization. MCAST is a doll play vignette-completion technique characterizing attachment representations in young school-aged children (4.5-8.5 years). It uses a specific dyadic focus and adapts both Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) and Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) methods within its coding procedure, thus allowing a full detailed attachment classification including Disorganisation. I detail how Mary's prior work, insight and continuing support, along with Erik Hesse, in applying these coding systems to play narratives, was crucial to the successful development of the instrument. With selected research data, I then review some of the developmental and clinical issues that MCAST has subsequently addressed, reflected in a 2018 meta-analytic review of 25 studies investigating MCAST Disorganisation.

As attachment-based interventions can improve caregiver-infant relationships and their subsequent psychological outcomes, the identification of relevant and effective interventions can facilitate their implementation into clinical practice. This systematic review aimed to a) provide an overview of manualised attachment-based interventions, without video-feedback as the main component, for caregivers and infants from conception to two years, and b) determine which of these interventions were effective in demonstrating improvements in caregiver-infant relational outcomes. To identify eligible interventions and their empirical evidence base, two search stages were conducted for 1) relevant interventions and 2) studies of interventions identified in the first stage that focussed on caregiver-infant relational outcomes. All studies included in Stage 2 were quality assessed and findings analysed. Twenty-six interventions were eligible for inclusion at Stage 1 but studies reporting on relational outcomes were identified for 16 interventions only. Forty studies reporting on those 16 interventions met inclusion criteria and were synthesised at Stage 2. Most studies were of good quality. Observer-rated measures were used in 90% of studies. There was evidence for these interventions in relation to improving caregiver-infant relational outcomes: 80% of studies reported a statistically significant positive change in a relational outcome for the intervention compared to pre-intervention or control group. The most promising evidence was identified for Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up (ABC), Minding the Baby (MTB) and Circle of Security (COS). This systematic review offers guidance to healthcare professionals, commissioners and policymakers within perinatal sectors in relation to the training, delivery and implementation of evidenced manualised attachment-based interventions.

The motivation to interact with humans is central to dogs' domestication process. This review aims to provide a curated overview of the current knowledge about dogs' human-directed sociability using Tinbergen's four questions as a guiding framework. Firstly, we explore its evolutionary history, discussing wolf-dog differences in the socialization period, fear response, sociability, and attachment to elucidate the effect of domestication. Secondly, we address its ontogeny, highlighting the importance of early life experiences, examining findings on different dog populations to discern the effect of adult life experiences, and reporting changes across the lifespan. Thirdly, we analyse the adaptive value of the dog-human relationship, considering the effects of human association on different dog populations. Fourthly, we elaborate on the mechanisms involved in the dog-human relationship, discussing underlying cognitive and genetic processes and findings on the neurophysiological effects of interacting with humans. Finally, we identify issues and remaining questions that deserve more scrutiny and suggest innovative approaches that could be explored to improve our understanding of dogs' human-directed sociability.

Each year, millions of animals enter animal shelters across the United States and are met with a variety of potential stressors that can negatively impact their experience, including noise, confinement, and social isolation. Foster care, a unique form of human-animal interaction, is increasingly understood to be an effective tool for improving welfare by allowing animals to escape the stressors of the shelter, providing an environment that allows for greater social interaction, and offering opportunities for improved health and behavior. This review includes 42 published articles, reports, master's theses, and doctoral dissertations that have previously evaluated companion animal foster care programs. While scientific literature in this area has increased over the last decade, no review of the research exploring companion animal fostering has been published. Here, we examine foster care programs and their effects on human and animal welfare, evaluate the successes and challenges of supporting shelter foster care programs, recommend best practices for programmatic success, illuminate discrepancies in equity and diversity of caregiver engagement, and offer directions for future research in animal foster caregiving. The examinations in this review conclude that fostering provides both proximate (i.e., physiological and behavioral) and distal (i.e., length of stay and adoption outcomes) welfare benefits for shelter animals as well as their caregivers. Companion animal foster care programs may be further improved by providing greater caregiver support and increasing the diversity and extent of community engagement. Meanwhile, scientific investigations should explore lesser-researched components of foster care programs that are not yet well understood.

Witnessing violence between parents during childhood has an impact on individuals' attachment and romantic relationship behaviors. As a result, individuals have expectations according to the attitudes, beliefs, and values that constitute a healthy and unhealthy relationship, which they developed both their early and childhood experiences, and they can act accordingly. Therefore, this study aimed to qualitatively explore the way in which adult women who witnessing inter-parental intimate partner violence (IPV) in childhood, qualities characterize a romantic relationship in terms of being healthy and unhealthy, and their self-reflective statements about their relationships. The research was carried out according to a descriptive phenomenological design. The participants of the study consisted of 16 females aged between 23-58 (M = 40.62, SD = 11.67), 12 of whom were married and 4 of whom have a romantic relationship. According to the results of the analysis, the participants were able to reveal the characteristics that make up healthy and unhealthy relationships, but they stated problems with verbal and psychological violence in their relationships, open communication, and investment in the relationship. In addition, the participants expressed the conflict behaviors that they and their partners use. The findings are discussed with the literature studies and suggestions for future research are offered.

Learning safe versus dangerous cues is crucial for survival. During development, parents can influence fear learning by buffering their children's stress response and increasing exploration of potentially aversive stimuli. Rodent findings suggest that these behavioral effects are mediated through parental presence modulation of the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Here, we investigated whether similar parental modulation of amygdala and mPFC during fear learning occurs in humans. Using a within-subjects design, behavioral (final N = 48, 6-17 years, mean = 11.61, SD = 2.84, 60% females/40% males) and neuroimaging data (final N = 39, 6-17 years, mean = 12.03, SD = 2.98, 59% females/41% males) were acquired during a classical fear conditioning task, which included a CS+ followed by an aversive noise (US; 75% reinforcement rate) and a CS-. Conditioning occurred once in physical contact with the participant's parent and once alone (order counterbalanced). Region of interest analyses examined the unconditioned stress response by BOLD activation to the US (vs. implicit baseline) and learning by activation to the CS+ (vs. CS-). Results showed that during US presentation, parental presence reduced the centromedial amygdala activity, suggesting buffering of the unconditioned stress response. In response to learned stimuli, parental presence reduced mPFC activity to the CS+ (relative to the CS-), although this result did not survive multiple comparisons' correction. These preliminary findings indicate that parents modulate amygdala and mPFC activity during exposure to unconditioned and conditioned fear stimuli, potentially providing insight into the neural mechanisms by which parents act as a social buffer during fear learning. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: This study used a within-participant experimental design to investigate how parental presence (vs. absence) affects youth's neural responses in a classical fear conditioning task. Parental presence reduced the youth's centromedial amygdala activation to the unconditioned stimulus (US), suggesting parental buffering of the neural unconditioned response (UR). Parental presence reduced the youth's mPFC activation to a conditioned threat cue (CS+) compared to a safety cue (CS-), suggesting possible parental modulation of fear learning.

Often overlooked by caregivers because of their ability to adapt to a challenging home life by making few demands themselves, the siblings of special needs children have unacknowledged needs of their own. They often are reluctant to participate in therapy because of their self-concept of having to be the "normal" or "perfect" child. Therapy with these children requires non-pathologizing and attuned rapport building focused on creative self-exploration without requests for change. Two composite case vignettes illustrate the power and versatility of clinical hypnosis to facilitate new learning about becoming visible in the therapeutic relationship and beyond.

Prior research suggests that secure base script knowledge is categorically distributed in middle childhood but becomes dimensionally distributed from late adolescence onward, potentially indicating a developmental shift in the nature of secure base script knowledge. Secure base script knowledge may initially be sparse, giving rise to categorical individual differences, while increased relational experiences later in development might contribute to more elaborated secure base script knowledge and dimensional individual differences. However, the cross-sectional nature of prior research limits inferences about developmental changes. To address this, we conducted a three-year, three-wave longitudinal study with a Western European sample transitioning from middle childhood to adolescence. At Wave 1 (n = 599, Mage = 10.30), secure base script knowledge was categorically distributed. By Wave 2 (n = 435, Mage = 11.30), distribution was ambiguous, and by Wave 3 (n = 370, Mage = 12.09), individual differences were dimensional. These results suggest a developmental shift in secure base script knowledge during the transition into adolescence.

Classic attachment theory emphasizes the sensitivity of the parent to perceive and appropriately respond to the infant's cues. However, parent-child attachment is a dyadic interaction that is also dependent upon the sensitivity of the child to the early caregiving environment. Individual differences in infant sensitivity to parental cues is likely shaped by both the early caregiving environment as well as the infant's neurobiology, such as perceptual sensitivity to social stimuli. Here, we investigated associations between maternal postpartum depression and infant neurological sensitivity to affective touch using brain signal entropy - a metric of the brain's moment-to-moment variability related to signal processing. We recruited two independent samples of infants aged 0-5 months. In Sample 1 (n = 79), we found increased levels of maternal postpartum depression were associated with diminished perceptual sensitivity - i.e. lower entropy - to affective tactile stimulation specifically within the primary somatosensory cortex. In Sample 2 (n = 36), we replicated this finding and showed that this effect was not related to characteristics of the touch administered during the experiment. These results suggest that decreased affective touch early in life - a common consequence of postpartum depression - likely impacts the infant's perceptual sensitivity to affective touch and ultimately the formation of experience-dependent neural networks that support the successful formation of attachment relationships.

Although there are studies in the literature investigating the effect of social media marketing activities (SMMAs) on brand equity and purchase intentions, scant information is available regarding consumers' attachment to social media (ASM) and usage frequency considering the abovementioned variables. Accordingly, one of the main purposes of this study is to investigate the effect of consumers' ASM on their perceptions of SMMAs. The second main purpose of this study is to test whether social media usage frequency has a moderating effect regarding the impact of perceived SMMAs on brand equity and purchase intentions. Questionnaires were collected face-to-face and a data set of 907 Turkish youth consumers were evaluated. Two major international technology brands were selected for the purposes of this study. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling and the bootstrapping method for mediation analysis. The results showed that ASM and social media usage frequency are distinctive factors in the context of perceived SMMAs. Consumers' ASM creates a psychological difference that positively affects their perceptions of brands' SMMAs. Moreover, social media usage frequency negatively moderates the effect of perceived SMMAs on brand equity and purchase intentions. Another important finding is that brand equity partially mediates the impact of perceived SMMAs on purchase intentions. The present article describes the first study to test the effect of consumers' ASM on perceived SMMAs and to investigate the moderating effect of social media usage frequency regarding the effect of perceived SMMAs on brand equity and purchase intentions. The conceptual framework contains both a mediator and moderator that generated additional insights into the literature regarding the context of this study.

The mother-child attachment relationship is a cornerstone of human development, with profound implications for the well-being of both the mother and child [...].

Social processing, namely the ability to understand others' cognitive and affective states, is crucial for successful social interaction. It encompasses socio-affective abilities such as empathy and compassion, as well as socio-cognitive abilities such as theory of mind (ToM). This study examined the link between social processing and attachment. Our study goes beyond previous research in that social processing abilities were assessed in a single, state-of-the-art behavioral paradigm using video narratives, the EmpaToM. Attachment was captured with the Adult Attachment Interview (N = 85; 50.60% women, Mage = 25.87 ± 4.50 years) measuring participants' present-day capacity to think about and communicate attachment-relevant information about the past. Additionally, a self-report attachment questionnaire was employed (N = 158). We found that AAI-based attachment security (vs. insecurity) was associated with higher behavioral ToM abilities. Furthermore, self-reported attachment avoidance was negatively correlated with behavioral compassion abilities. Our findings provide further evidence that interview-based and self-reported attachment measures do not converge, but may rather be understood as capturing different facets of attachment that relate to different components of social processing. We conclude that individuals with secure, non-avoidant attachment show social abilities that allow them to better understand others' thoughts and generate positive, caring emotions in face of others' distress.

Olfactory information plays an important role in the attachment and bonding processes for both humans and non-human animals. Odor cues obtained via individual body odor facilitate attachment and bonding processes across species with regard to both mate selection and mother-infant bonding. The purpose of the present paper is to summarize the role of odor as it pertains to bond formation and maintenance in the mother-infant bond for human infants and non-human animal infants, and for mate selection among human adults and non-human animals. We then synthesize this summary with literature on attachment and existing evidence for the relationships between olfaction and attachment processes. Finally, we suggest avenues for areas of future research.

Research into cognition in cats and the impact of nutrition on cat cognitive health lags behind that in dogs but is receiving increased attention. In this review, we discuss the evolutionary history of the domesticated cat, describe possible drivers of domestication, and explore the interrelationships between nutrition and cat cognition. While most cat species are solitary, domesticated cats can live in social groups, engage in complex social encounters, and form strong attachments to humans. Researchers have recently started to study cat cognition using similar methods as those developed for dogs, with an initial primary focus on perception and social cognition. Similar to dogs, cats also show cognitive and behavioral changes associated with stress and aging, but these signs are often gradual and often considered a consequence of natural aging. Despite the fundamental role of nutrition in cognitive development, function, and maintenance, research into the association between nutrition and cognition in cats is only preliminary. Ultimately, additional research is needed to gain a full understanding of cat cognition and to explore the role of nutrition in the cognitive health of cats to help improve their welfare.

It has been proposed that children and young people living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are not only exposed more frequently to trauma but also have a higher likelihood of encountering traumas of greater severity than those living in high-income countries (HICs). This may lead to higher rates of post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). However, developmental pathways to risk or resilience after trauma exposure in LMICs are underresearched.

We examined early parenting and attachment as potentially important formative factors for later stress reactivity in a longitudinal cohort of South African children (N = 449). Parenting and attachment were assessed at child age 18 months, and interpersonal trauma exposure, PTSS and parenting stress were measured at 13 years (N = 333; core sample with data on all measures: N = 213). Following a vulnerability-stress approach, separate regression models were run to investigate whether parent-child attachment at 18 months, parental sensitivity and intrusiveness during play at 12 months, and current parenting stress at 13 years, interacted with adolescents' extent of interpersonal trauma exposure to predict their PTSS levels at 13 years.

We found no predictive effects of either early attachment or current parenting stress in relation to child PTSS. There was some evidence for predictive influences of parental early intrusiveness and sensitivity on adolescent outcomes, though associations were unexpectedly positive for the latter. No interaction effects supporting a vulnerability-stress model were found.

Overall, we found limited evidence that elements of the early parent-child environment predict child risk/resilience to trauma in LMIC children. Future studies should include more frequent assessments of relevant constructs to capture changes over time and consider further what comprises adaptive parenting in high-risk contexts.

The human need to find meaning in life and the human need for connection may be two sides of the same coin, a coin forged in the developmental crucible of attachment. Our need for meaningfulness can be traced to our developmental need for connection in the attachment relationship. The free energy principle dictates that in order to resist a natural tendency towards disorder self-organizing systems must generate models that predict the hidden causes of phenomenal experience. In other words, they must make sense of things. In both an evolutionary and ontogenetic sense, the narrative self develops as a model that makes sense of experience. However, the self-model skews the interpretation of experience towards that which is predictable, or already "known." One may say it causes us to "take things personally." Meaning is felt more acutely when defenses are compromised, when the narrative self is offline. This enables meaning-making that is less egocentrically motivated. Dreams, psychosis, and psychedelic states offer glimpses of how we make sense of things absent a coherent narrative self. This has implications for the way we understand such states, and lays bare the powerful reach of attachment in shaping what we experience as meaningful.

An emerging body of research attends to grasp the concept of authenticity. Nonetheless, a view on the developmental part with its underlying facets of Inner Work processes, is rare. In this paper, we aim to take a deeper look into the dynamics of inner work processes, that define certain authenticity developmental stages. Building upon our recently proposed "4C-view" of authenticity, we approach this developmental perspective from two different angles: from a process characteristic angle and a developmental level angle. Using vignettes of authentic client personality coaching processes, we propose that the interwoven dynamic between those two aspects yields several combinations of maturity levels within the individual. Continuity as an overarching concept thus contains various developmental authenticity stages that could be identified through different markers and vary in particular contexts.

An attentional bias toward infant versus adult faces has been detected in parents and positively associated with sensitive caregiving behaviors. In previous research, the attentional bias has been measured as the difference in attention, in terms of reaction times, captured by infant versus adult faces; the larger the difference, the greater the cognitive engagement that adults deployed to infant faces. However, research so far has been mostly confined to samples of mothers, who have been more represented than fathers. Moreover, new family forms, especially same-sex families of men, have been left out of research. To clarify potential sex differences and extend previous findings to diverse family forms, we implemented a modified Go/no-Go attentional task measuring attentional bias to infant faces in parents with children aged from 2 to 36 months. The sample (N = 86) was matched and included 22 fathers and 22 mothers from different-sex families and 20 fathers and 22 mothers from same-sex families. Overall, the results confirmed that infant faces induced a greater attentional bias compared to adult faces. Moreover, we found that neither the type of family nor parents' sex modulated the attentional bias toward infant faces. The findings are discussed in relation to the importance of understanding the correlates of parental response to infant cues going beyond a heteronormative perspective on parenting.

This study focused on attachment representations and theory of mind as potential developmental origins of individual differences in preschoolers' peer- and adult-directed empathic concern and prosocial behavior. In two experiments, 3- to 6-year-olds were exposed to either a high-distressed or low-distressed adult or child using a laboratory setting (Experiment 1; N = 263) or hypothetical vignettes (Experiment 2; N = 202). Self-reported and coded expressions of empathic concern and prosocial behaviors were used as early indicators of compassion. The findings indicated that children expressed more empathic concern and engaged in more prosocial behavior in the high-distress condition than in the low-distress condition. Children's empathic concern and prosocial behavior increased with age. Secure attachment and theory of mind abilities played significant moderating roles in the association between distress conditions and empathic concern. Children with more advanced theory of mind abilities and secure attachment were better at recognizing the concerns of distressed peers or adults and showed significantly more empathic concern. Resistant and disorganized children exhibited more self-distress in response to others' distress. The implications for early interventions directed at increasing empathic concern and prosocial behavior are discussed.

Infant behaviors-walking, vocalizing, playing, interacting with others, and so on-offer an unparalleled window into learning and development. The study of infants requires strategic choices about what to observe, where, when, and how. We argue that loosening study constraints-by allowing infants and caregivers to do whatever they choose, wherever they choose, and with whatever materials they choose-promises to reveal a deep understanding of the everyday data on which learning builds. We show that observations of infants' natural behavior yield unique insights into the nature of visual exploration, object play, posture and locomotion, proximity to caregiver, and communication. Furthermore, we show that by situating the study of behavior in ecologically-valid settings, researchers can gain purchase on the contextual regularities that frame learning. We close by underscoring the value of studies at every point on the research continuum-from cleverly controlled lab-based tasks to fully natural observations in everyday environments. Acceleration in the science of behavior rests on leveraging expertise across disciplines, theoretical positions, and methodological approaches.

Children are no strangers to war and conflict, and for as long as history has been documented, so too has the negative impact of war on children. Attachment theory, which has shone a light upon the ways in which early life experiences can impact individuals across the lifespan, is a helpful lens through which we can view the consequences of war. Similar to the aftermath of war leading to lifelong and transgenerational suffering due to deaths and physical health issues, attachment difficulties created during war further compound long-term damage. Yet, despite our theoretical understanding of the detrimental impact of war on children and on humankind, humanity has failed to find ways to avert, or at least minimise, this unfortunate risk. Instead in this century, we see a growing number of conflicts globally with increasing asylum seekers. In this editorial, we argue that the large-scale disruption to attachment relationships caused by conflict and war is an important consideration for global policy, and that the healthcare community must show leadership in highlighting this serious impact of war.

Breastfeeding patterns in 12-month-old children play a central role in the mother-infant dyad, but studies describing the patterns are scarce.

To investigate breastfeeding patterns in 12-month-old infants before and after a breastfeeding support programme.

A baseline/intervention design as part of a larger implementation project aiming to revive the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding programme.

During a 24-h period, 28 mothers from a baseline group and 24 mothers from an intervention group recorded all breastfeeding sessions on a pen and paper form.

The median (range) frequency of breastfeeding sessions was 6 (1-22) in the baseline group and 7 (1-20) times per 24 h in the intervention group. No significant difference was observed in frequencies between the two groups. The majority of children (57 % in the baseline group and 62 % in the intervention group) exhibited a pattern classified as partial breastfeeding, engaging in breastfeeding 6 or more times per 24 h throughout a substantial part of the day. A second pattern was classified as token breastfeeding, with few breastfeeding sessions, suggesting that breastfeeding occurred primarily for comfort.

This study illuminates the breastfeeding behaviours of 12-month-old children and can serve to normalise frequent breastfeeding patterns, potentially aiding mothers who wish to continue breastfeeding beyond infancy. The findings indicate no difference between the groups, suggesting that the implemented intervention did not influence maternal breastfeeding practices at one year of age. This underscores the potential necessity for prolonged support for parents throughout the breastfeeding period. ISRCTN registry: doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN91972905.

Fear of doctors is a common source of distress among infants; however, the underlying sources of this distress are unknown. To investigate the doctor-infant relationship, the behaviors of 61 healthy infants (176-617 days old) were observed in a simulated examination room. Their behaviors and electrocardiograms were recorded. Two groups of infants were analyzed: those who cried and those who did not. When an experimenter dressed in the doctor's attire entered the room, all 9 infants who were crying (14.8% of all infants) stopped crying, all infants gazed at the experimenter, and their mean heart rate (HR) decreased. After the auscultation started, 29.5% of all infants cried, and the HRs of infants who cried were higher than those of infants who did not cry. During the auscultation, 80.0% of infants who cried averted from the experimenter, while 34.4% of infants who did not cry. Within 5 s of gazing at the stethoscope, the number of infants who cried increased from 3 to 12, and their mean HR also increased. Our findings suggest that the fear of doctors is not due to the appearance of doctors but rather to specific actions performed by doctors, such as auscultation. Infants may regard a doctor's appearance as a source of interest. Furthermore, a stethoscope is a possible trigger for infants' crying. These behavioral observations suggest the potential for patient-centered care for infants.

Recent research identified that cancer bereavement can lead to post-traumatic growth (PTG). Although PTG and its correlates are well explored in cancer patients and survivors, persons bereaved from cancer have received scant attention. Therefore, the present review attempts to identify the correlates of PTG among persons bereaved from cancer.

A systematic search in PubMed, Web of Science, APA PsycNet, Science Direct, Scopus, and Wiley was conducted to identify quantitative studies published in English, resulting in 12 eligible reports being included in the final analysis. JBI critical checklists were employed to appraise the risk of bias.

The review identified 17 correlates, which were classified into four categories: demographic factors (age, gender, religious status, level of education), loss-related factors (time since death, quality of death, prolonged grief symptoms), interpersonal factors (relationship to the deceased, social support, attachment style, bereavement behaviours) and intrapersonal factors (resilience, coping, rumination, benevolence, meaningfulness, self-worth). Random effects meta-analyses on six correlates revealed correlation coefficients of age = -0.02 (95% CI: -0.35-0.31), gender = 0.27 (95% CI: 0.08-0.45), time since death = 0.09 (95% CI: -0.02-0.20), quality of death = 0.29 (95% CI: -0.01-0.54), prolonged grief symptoms = 0.22 (95% CI: 0.08-0.35) and relationship to the deceased = 0.13 (95% CI: -0.03-0.29). Fixed effects meta-analysis was performed for social support (r = 0.13, 95% CI: 0.04-0.21). However, PTG was found to be significantly associated with gender, prolonged grief symptoms, and social support.

Very few studies examined PTG among persons bereaved from cancer, highlighting the need for increased attention, understanding, and conceptualisation of PTG in the population.

Many Swedish parents experience that their infant has sleeping problems. Parents' self-efficacy regarding their infants' sleep may play an important role in how they perceive these problems. This pilot study aimed to develop an instrument measuring parents' self-efficacy regarding their infant's sleep and to examine if parents' self-efficacy was affected by an intervention focusing on parental education.

Mothers and fathers, at a maternity unit in Sweden, were drawn into either an intervention (n = 46) or a control (n = 42) group. The intervention group received a home visit from a nurse who provided information about infant sleep; the importance of attachment; and advice regarding sleep, breastfeeding and bed sharing, including guidelines for safe bed sharing. Three months later, the participants answered questions on background data, breastfeeding, sleep and self-efficacy.

The 11-item two-factor Uppsala Parental Self-Efficacy about Infant Sleep Instrument (UPPSEISI) was constructed to measure parents' perceived self-efficacy. In adjusted analyses, being in the intervention group was associated with a higher self-efficacy (P = 0.035), as were being a mother (P = 0.003) and being satisfied with one's own sleep (P = 0.007), while parents' own sleeping problems were associated with a lower self-efficacy (P = 0.015).

Importantly, parental education may increase parents' self-efficacy regarding their infant's sleep.

This study examines the association between attachment story-completions, as evaluated by a representational attachment measure, and theory of mind (ToM) among 204 socioeconomically disadvantaged children aged four to six years living in three distinct Turkish contexts: Seasonal migrant agricultural worker (SMAW) communities, residential group homes (RGHs), and rural villages. Attachment story-completions and ToM were found to be related to the distinct contexts children were living in. In the SMAW communities, higher number of children showed insecure dominant attachment, with only one in four having secure dominant attachment. About half of the children in the RGHs had insecure dominant attachment. However, the majority of village children exhibited secure dominant attachment. Furthermore, irrespective of the context, secure dominant attachment was found to have a substantial positive influence on children's ToM. Findings suggest that early intervention programs tailored to address emotional needs and support cognitive skills may be the most effective in helping children in these contexts.

This psychobiography of Frida Kahlo explores the psychology of the famous Mexican artist. Drawing upon Kahlo's paintings and diary entries, a rich psychological analysis of the feminist icon is juxtaposed with the zeitgeist of 20th century Mexico. Framed through the theoretical model of feminist psychology, Kahlo's role in promoting gender equality and dismantling patriarchal society is discussed. Physical pain resulting from illness and impalement by a metal pole in a trolley accident was matched, if not exceeded, by the psychological pain the artist felt due to resulting issues with fertility and the long-sought but never-realized role of motherhood, infidelity within her marriage, and the eventual loss of her ability to paint. Nevertheless, Kahlo's perseverance and strength led to worldwide recognition of her bold and vibrant paintings, vulnerably depicting her rich inner world. The present study utilises perspectives from art therapy and attachment theory to elucidate the factors contributing to Frida Kahlo's resilience in the face of lifelong trauma and chronic pain. Ultimately, Kahlo's life and work offer valuable insight into the psychological experiences of women in patriarchal societies, emphasising the importance of feminist perspectives in psychological research and highlighting the healing and resilience-promoting role of art.

The World Health Organization states that women and their families need breastfeeding support from the healthcare system. However, knowledge about the most effective way to involve the partner in breastfeeding is lacking. A qualitative evaluation can provide insight and knowledge about the partner's experiences towards a breastfeeding support intervention and thus contribute to how forthcoming breastfeeding support policies are designed. The aim of this study was to explore partners' experiences regarding breastfeeding while participating in The Breastfeeding Study.

An exploratory, longitudinal and qualitative design was used. This study was part of The Breastfeeding Study, which took place in Sweden. The intervention was performed in line with the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. Partners in the in the intervention group (IG) were part of a structured breastfeeding support programme. An individual breastfeeding plan was established in cooperation with the parents-to-be during pregnancy, and the plan was followed up at the child healthcare centre. A purposive sample was recruited from March to December 2021. Interviews and diary entries from IG (n = 8) and control group (CG) (n = 8) during pregnancy and 2 months after birth were analysed by content analysis, in accordance with the COREQ guidelines.

Partners' experiences can be summarised under the main category of 'Striving to be part of the family and important that the family's everyday life was well-functioning'. IG partners experienced that both parents were involved and cooperated in the breastfeeding process and that guidance from healthcare professionals (HCPs) helped them to feel secure. CG partners experienced feeling excluded and not receiving support from HCPs.

Both parents need to be targeted in breastfeeding support policies to meet the support needs. Midwives at antenatal care and child healthcare nurses at the child healthcare centre have important roles to play in providing structured breastfeeding support and a breastfeeding plan. Both IG and CG partners strived to become a part of the infant's life and to make family life work. Midwives should involve both parents in a reflective dialogue on how the partner can be involved, apart from just feeding the infant.

Retrospectively registered in ACTRN12623000648628.

In the present research, we examined whether attachment anxiety and avoidance in support recipients were related to the extent to which social support received from a romantic partner matched the actual needs of the recipient. Two-hundred and forty-five first-time mothers, currently involved in romantic relationships, participated in study 1, in which perceptions of support were appraised over the previous month using self-reports. In study 2, we sought to replicate these findings using an experience sampling method to examine the association between attachment and momentary support perceptions in the daily life of mothers with babies (N = 40). Results indicated that high levels of attachment avoidance or anxiety in mothers were associated with negative appraisals of support matching. Receiving support which matched the needs of the mother (i.e., adequate support) was beneficial to mood, but not constructive to relationship satisfaction or perceptions of maternal efficacy.

Attentional bias toward infant faces is associated with parental sensitivity and supports the infant-caregiver attachment relationship, ultimately fostering child health outcomes. However, experience-related determinants of parents' attentional bias to infant faces have been poorly investigated. We examined attentional bias to infant versus adult faces in a sample of same-sex mothers (N = 76), and whether it varied depending on maternal involvement in childcare and the perceived quality of past experiences of care.

A Go/no-Go attentional task was used to compare the effects of infant and adult faces in retaining attention. Maternal involvement in childcare was measured using items addressing nurturing behaviors. Memories of past experiences of care were collected using the short-form version of the Parental Acceptance-Rejection scale.

Results confirmed that infant faces induced greater attentional bias compared to adult faces. More involved mothers were more biased, in terms of attention, to infant versus adult faces. Attentional bias to infant versus adult faces increased as mothers felt more rejected by their own fathers during childhood.

Our findings suggested that attentional bias to infant faces might be associated with past experiences of care and direct commitment in childcare in same-sex mothers. Robust and accurate empirical findings on same-sex parent families are essential to inform social policies supporting these families' well being.

Although controversy exists around labels for postpartum depression (PPD), focusing efforts on terms distracts the research community from better understanding the impact of depression on parent-infant relationships. The purpose of this article is to provide a narrative review of research related to how depression experienced in the postpartum period impacts parent-infant relationships. Our review indicates that PPD is pervasive, symptoms often appear during pregnancy, and it has the potential to negatively impact parent-infant relationships. Based on the recent review of literature, intervention efforts should focus on identification and treatment of PPD as early as possible to mitigate detrimental long-term impacts on parent-child relationships.

Parents play a key role in providing children with health-related information and emotional support. This communication occurs both in their homes and in pediatric healthcare environments, such as hospitals, outpatient clinics, and primary care offices. Often, this occurs within situations entailing heightened stress for both the parent and the child. There is considerable research within the communication literature regarding the nature of both verbal and nonverbal communication, along with the way in which these communication modalities are either similar (i.e., congruent) or dissimilar (i.e., incongruent) to one another. However, less is known about communication congruency/incongruency, specifically in parent-child relationships, or within healthcare environments. In this narrative review, we explore the concept of verbal and nonverbal communication incongruence, specifically within the context of parent-child communication in a pediatric healthcare setting. We present an overview of verbal and nonverbal communication and propose the Communication Incongruence Model to encapsulate how verbal and nonverbal communication streams are used and synthesized by parents and children. We discuss the nature and possible reasons for parental communication incongruence within pediatric settings, along with the consequences of incongruent communication. Finally, we suggest a number of hypotheses derived from the model that can be tested empirically and used to guide future research directions and influence potential clinical applications.

Training in non-violent discipline is important to prevent violence against children and ensure that their caregivers remain a safe base for them. This paper aims to deepen understanding of non-violent discipline by exploring attunement as a mechanism in the effectiveness of non-violent discipline tools. Attunement describes the sensitive responsiveness of caregivers towards their children and has been found to be central to the formation of secure attachment bonds and development of self-regulation. It includes understanding or being "in tune with" the child's needs and signals, matching these with appropriate responses. The objective of this paper is to explore attunement in relation to non-violent discipline. Peer-reviewed systematic reviews previously included in a systematic overview of evidence on non-violent discipline options were screened for information relevant to attunement. All reviews were published in English between 1999 and 2018 and offered evidence on at least one non-violent discipline tool. Although no reviews explicitly addressed attunement, evidence was found suggesting its importance in the use and effectiveness of discipline methods. Research directly investigating attunement in discipline is needed.

Most critically ill neonates require constant monitoring, continuous care, and supervision. However, distance created by admission and prolonged stay in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) may contribute to a delay in parent-infant bonding. This review aimed to determine how family-centered care (FCC) in the NICU affects parental bonding with critically ill infants. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were used to perform a systematic search of the literature within the following four electronic databases: Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. The search was conducted through July/August 2020. Research quality was evaluated using the Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice Grading Scale. Out of 816 articles identified through literature search, 16 of the studies met our inclusion criteria. The majority of the studies (n = 14) found FCC interventions resulted in a significant increase in parental bonding. Results showed evidence practicing FCC in the NICU setting supports early parent-infant bonding. Nurses should consider implementing evidence-based FCC strategies into practice, such as allowing parents unrestricted access to their infants. More rigorous research with larger samples is recommended. More studies are also needed focusing on father-infant dyads and mother-father-infant triads.

Despite the consequences of physical and emotional sibling violence, which can last into adulthood, research examining this form of family violence is minimal compared to child abuse, interpartner violence, and elder abuse. One area that has received scarce attention is the connection between physical and emotional sibling violence and attachment in close relationships in adulthood. This research study examines the association between physical and emotional sibling violence and adulthood attachment in a sample of 2,458 individuals who completed a survey on the sub-Reddit platform "/r/SampleSize: Where your opinions actually matter!" Participants completed items on demographics, frequency of physical and emotional behaviors experienced with a sibling in childhood, and adult attachment. Results found physical and emotional sibling violence in childhood to be associated with attachment in close relationships in adulthood. Frequency of physical and emotional sibling violence in childhood was also associated with comfortability with intimacy and closeness, comfortability of depending and relying on others, and concerns of abandonment and rejection by others in adulthood. The findings underscore the need to not only include physical and emotional sibling violence in future research on attachment but also to examine the connection between these phenomena in diverse samples (ethnicity, sexual orientation). Also highlighted is the need for practitioners to assess sibling relationships when working with children, families, and adults experiencing attachment issues throughout the life course.

This study aimed to determine how paternal and maternal parenting before adolescence affects adult attachment to a partner during the perinatal period, using three different models of attachment. We used the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) and the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ) to examine perceived parenting practices and adult attachment styles, respectively. The participants included 4586 Japanese women who were pregnant or who had given birth, up until one month after childbirth. We performed structural equation modeling analysis between PBI and RQ scores with three different category models, including the four-category model (secure, fearful, preoccupied, and dismissive attachment) as Model 1, the two-category model (model of the self and others) as Model 2, and the single-category model (total attachment style) as Model 3. Models 1 and 2 showed a good fit. Both path models showed a significant association between adult attachment style and perceived paternal and maternal parenting before adolescence, where high care and low overprotection from both paternal and maternal parents predicted adult attachment. Our findings indicate that attachment styles are best described using the four-category and two-category models, and suggest that both paternal and maternal overprotection and care influence adult attachment with a partner during the perinatal period.

Attachment theory proposes that attachment security facilitates personal growth. However, attachment security origins in relationship history, and thus, how people treat their experiences may influence the outcomes of attachment security. People differ in the degree in believing that human beings have free will, and belief in free will may influence the relationship between experiences and outcomes. The present cross-sectional study investigated the relationships between attachment security, belief in free will, and personal growth initiative.

We used the cross-sectional data of 346 Chinese college students for data analysis, including correlational analyses, regression, and moderation analyses. The nine-item Chinese version of the Experiences in Close Relationships-Relationship Structures Scale, the sixteen-item Chinese version of the Personal Growth Initiative Scale-II, and the seven-item Free Will subscale of the Chinese version of the Free Will and Determinism Plus Scale were utilized.

Results showed attachment avoidance and belief in free will, not attachment anxiety, was associated with personal growth initiative. Belief in free will moderated the association between attachment avoidance and personal growth initiative. When the centered score of belief in free will was higher than 0.64, attachment avoidance was no longer associated with personal growth initiative. 85.84% of our data were below this Johnson-Neyman significance region, and 14.16% were above. In other words, only those who scored higher than 0.64 on free will beliefs were able to pursue personal growth despite their high attachment avoidance.

These findings suggest that when believing in free will, avoidantly attached people may believe in their ability to pursue personal growth and think their future has more possibilities, not influenced by other factors like social support, which they think they lack.

Emerging adults can experience conflicts with their dating partner, leading to intimate partner violence (IPV). In order to understand the vulnerability factors involved in IPV victimization, the current study explored a serial multiple mediation model to determine the links between parental attachment (to the father and mother), self-esteem, and social problem solving (SPS) on the three forms of IPV (psychological, physical and sexual). Based on an online survey, 756 emerging adults (84.8% women, mean age = 23.52) completed self-report questionnaires related to parental attachment, self-esteem, SPS (avoidance and impulsive/carelessness style), and IPV during the past year. The study design was cross-sectional and data were analyzed through partial least structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique. The findings did not support serial multiple mediation model, as the indirect effects of the two specific mediation models were not significant. However, the total indirect effects were significant, indicating a cascade effect chain of events between the variables; insecure parental attachment was related to lower self-esteem, which was associated with poor SPS skills (especially impulsive/carelessness style), which in turn was associated with both psychological and physical violence victimization. The implications of the findings for promoting the life skills of emerging adults, such as problem solving or self-esteem, to enable them to handle their relationship conflicts are discussed.

Infant survival relies on rapid identification, remembering and behavioral responsiveness to caregivers' sensory cues. While neural circuits supporting infant attachment learning have largely remained elusive in children, use of invasive techniques has uncovered some of its features in rodents. During a 10-day sensitive period from birth, newborn rodents associate maternal odors with maternal pleasant or noxious thermo-tactile stimulation, which gives rise to a preference and approach behavior towards these odors, and blockade of avoidance learning. Here we review the neural circuitry supporting this neonatal odor learning, unique compared to adults, focusing specifically on the early roles of neurotransmitters such as glutamate, GABA (Gamma-AminoButyric Acid), serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine, in the olfactory bulb, the anterior piriform cortex and amygdala. The review highlights the importance of deepening our knowledge of age-specific infant brain neurotransmitters and behavioral functioning that can be translated to improve the well-being of children during typical development and aid in treatment during atypical development in childhood clinical practice, and the care during rearing of domestic animals.

The Fear of Being Single Scale (FOBS) is a widely used measure of the fear of being single, but its applicability to Chinese populations has not been established. This study aimed to translate the FOBS into Chinese and examine its psychometric properties among Chinese college students. The study consisted of three phases with three samples (total n = 1768). In the first phase (Sample 1: n = 571), an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) supported a unidimensional structure with 6 items for the Chinese version of the FOBS (C-FOBS). In the second phase (Sample 2: n = 692), a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) validated the factor structure and indicated good model fit. The C-FOBS also demonstrated good internal consistency, split-half reliability, criterion validity, and cross-gender invariance. In the third phase (Sample 3: n = 505), the C-FOBS showed acceptable test-retest reliability over a two-week interval. The results suggest that the C-FOBS is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing the fear of being single among Chinese college students.

Although owners can act as stress buffers for their dogs, whether dogs with poor early life histories with humans will respond similarly is unknown. We tested 45 dogs, 23 of which were rescued from adverse conditions, in a social paradigm in which a threatening stranger confronted them with either their owner or an unfamiliar human present. Salivary cortisol levels were assessed at three points, and the dogs' behavior and owners' responses to questionnaires were evaluated. Dogs from adverse backgrounds engaged in greater contact and exhibited more relaxed behaviors and social referencing when their owners were present. Dogs from the comparison group explored more when accompanied by their owners. Dogs from adverse backgrounds experienced greater decreases in cortisol levels from the first to third samples relative to dogs in the comparison group. Dogs from adverse backgrounds were also more likely to respond fearfully to a threatening stranger. Their owners rated them as having higher levels of stranger-directed fear, nonsocial fear, separation-related problems, attention seeking, and lower levels of chasing and trainability. These findings from this study suggest that early adverse environments may have lasting effects on dogs' social behavior.

The affiliative relationship between humans and dogs is compared to a mother-infant attachment relationship. We hypothesized that dog's attachment behavior in negative emotional state aroused the owner's attention toward the dog, that is, reduced parasympathetic activity. We measured heart rate variability in both dogs and humans during the Strange Situation Test to examine whether the owners' parasympathetic activity was decreased by being gazed at by their dogs. Our results in a short-term of 6 s before and after the moment the dog gazed at the human face indicated that dogs' parasympathetic activity was lower when the dogs were gazing at their owners than when it was gazing at unfamiliar persons. Dog's autonomic activity was also lower when the dogs were living with their owners for a longer period. However, we could not determine whether gaze from the dog affected the autonomic activity in humans as attachment behavior.

Research has shown a relationship between attachment style and psychosocial adjustment in adolescents. Whereas secure attachment is related to fewer internalizing and externalizing symptoms, the opposite is the case for the various insecure attachment styles. The aim of the two studies reported in this paper was to adapt and validate the CaMir-R (a self-report measure of attachment that has shown adequate psychometric properties) for use among Basque adolescents, and to analyse the relationship between attachment and internalizing and externalizing symptoms. In Study 1, the instrument was adapted using the back translation method and applied to a sample of 203 adolescents and young adults. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the theoretical dimensions of the scale, and its psychometric properties were found to be adequate. In Study 2 we obtained additional validity evidence by applying, in a sample of 786 adolescents and young adults, the attachment representations section of the CaMir-R alongside other measures of attachment and clinical symptoms. The results once again supported the dimensional structure of the instrument, and evidence of convergent validity was obtained based on correlations between CaMir-R scores and scores on the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA). In addition, scores on the five dimensions of attachment representations (Security, Family concerns, Parental interference, Self-sufficiency and resentment of parents and Childhood trauma) were correlated with scores on other measures of internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Based on these results, we conclude that the Basque version of the CaMir-R is a valid instrument for assessing the quality of attachment representations among adolescents, and also that internalizing and externalizing problems are related to attachment style. We discuss the importance of attachment in relation to behaviour problems and clinical symptoms.

 The Inventory of Parental Representations (IPR), a self-administered questionnaire, was developed primarily to identify styles of attachment in adolescence. However, it did not present stable psychometric properties in the various American studies carried out. The aim of this study was to adapt the IPR in French and to provide a shorter version with improved psychometric properties and sound content.

The cross-cultural adaptation and content validity were carried out based on qualitative analysis by an Expert Committee and 10 non-clinical adolescents. For the quantitative analyses a cohort of 535 adolescent volunteers was enrolled, corresponding to 1070 responses, and divided into two groups: development and validation. The study of the metric properties of the adapted version of the IPR was realized in the development group, a sample of 275 responses. In case of mediocre results in the Confirmatory Factor Analysis, the development of a new and reduced IPR structure was planned using a mixed method including Classical Test Theory and Rasch Modelling in the development group. Subsequently, the study of the psychometric properties of the short, adapted version was confirmed in an independent sample of 795 responses (validation group).

Out of 62 items translated, 13 needed adaptations. The analysis of their metric properties produced mediocre results. Content and psychometric property analyses generated two Short version of the IPR in the development group: a paternal scale for Fathers (Short IPRF) with 15 items and a maternal scale for Mothers (Short IPRM) with 16 items. The sound content and good psychometric properties were confirmed in the validation group (Short IPRF: Comparative Fit Index = 0.987, Tucker-Lewis Index = 0.982, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = 0.027; Short IPRM: Comparative Fit Index = 0.953, Trucker-Lewis Index = 0.927, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = 0.068). Using Rasch modelling, the attachment was correctly measured overall especially for insecure attachment.

A step-by-step process involving led to the generation of two questionnaires: a paternal scale, the Short IPRF, and a maternal scale with the Short IPRM providing opportunities to use this self-questionnaire to assess attachment among adolescents. Further work will provide a solid rating for this new tool.

Attachment and resilience are crucial in parent-child interaction. In this study, we investigated the effect of a mindful parenting program on the attachment of deaf children and the resilience of their hearing mothers. The present study was a semi-randomized controlled trial design. Thirty mothers with deaf children were randomly selected from Deaf School in Tehran, Iran. They were randomly assigned to intervention (n = 15) and control (n = 15) groups. The intervention group participated in an eight-session mindful parenting program, while the control group did not participate in this program. Both groups completed the Kinship Center Attachment Questionnaire and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale before and after the intervention. The data were analyzed using the repeated measures analysis of variance test. The results showed that the intervention significantly and positively influenced the attachment of deaf children and resilience in their mothers in the post-test, and the persistence of this effect was maintained in the follow-up stage (p < .001). This study suggests that mindful parenting can promote attachment of deaf children and resilience in their mothers. In addition, the mothers attested to the social validity of the program.

Knowledge about the influences of maternal postpartum anxiety disorders (PAD) on infant development is limited. Aim of this present study is to evaluate the influence of PAD on infant attachment.

In a longitudinal study, self-reported anxiety symptoms of N = 70 mothers (N = 28 with PAD diagnosed according to the DSM-IV, N = 42 controls) were examined in the postpartum period and one year later. Infants' attachment was observed in the Strange Situation Test (SST) at the age of 12-24 months.

Results indicate a strong relationship between PAD and infant attachment: infants of mothers with PAD were significantly more likely to be classified as insecure or disorganized than infants of control mothers. Logistic regression analysis led to a significant model with 76.8 % correct classification of infant attachment dependent on the maternal fear of anxiety associated body sensations (OR = 4.848) in the postpartum period. Including maternal sensitivity and interaction behavior, only maternal intrusiveness was additionally associated with infant attachment (ρ = 0.273, p < .05; OR = 45.021, p = .153).

Participants were highly educated. Different anxiety disorders included led to a heterogenous sample. Generalization is diminished. Maternal sensitivity was measured on a global scale, and body tension was self-reported.

PAD plays a crucial role in the development of infant attachment. Interaction-focused interventions, helping mothers to decrease intrusiveness, and body-focused interventions, helping mothers to deal with their fear of anxiety symptoms, might be promising pathways to buffer the influence of PAD on infant attachment.