International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, Jun 21, 2021
Anxiety and uncertainty are common during pandemics. The present study extended previous pandemic... more Anxiety and uncertainty are common during pandemics. The present study extended previous pandemic research by investigating the role of two transdiagnostic risk factors anxiety sensitivity (AS: fear of physiological anxiety or "fear of fear"; and intolerance of uncertainty (IU; in explaining relations between mental distress symptoms and behavioural responding during the COVID-19 pandemic. Student and community-based participants (N=457; 87.6% female) were recruited between May and July 2020 to complete measures of anxiety (health, panic, general), depression, and stress. Anxiety and related symptoms were found to be higher than in previous studies. Parallel mediation analyses showed that clinically meaningful levels of mental distress symptoms directly influenced safety behaviours and medical care utilization but also indirectly influenced the latter (vs. former) through AS-physical concerns (vs. IU). CBT interventions, targeting ASphysical concerns, may reduce mental distress symptoms during pandemic and prevent overuse of healthcare.
The present study examined relations among attachment, aggression, and anxiety sensitivity (AS) i... more The present study examined relations among attachment, aggression, and anxiety sensitivity (AS) in a sample of male and female undergraduates. Given that some individuals may use aggression to modulate negative emotional states, it was predicted that AS dimensions would mediate relations between attachment anxiety (vs. attachment avoidance) and certain forms of aggression, particularly impulsive aggression. Moreover, it was hypothesized that the relations among attachment, aggression, and AS would be moderated by gender. Participants (N = 1,042) completed measures of attachment (Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised [ECR-R]), aggression (Aggression Questionnaire [AQ]; Impulsive/Premeditated Aggression Scales [IPAS]), and AS (AS Index-3 [ASI-3]). Results indicated that AS mediated relations between attachment dimensions (both anxiety and avoidance) and most forms of aggression, with each of the AS dimensions playing a unique role differentially by gender. Cognitive concerns emerged as a significant mediator, particularly for men; physical and social concerns played more
The study investigated the longitudinal relation between mother-infant skin-to-skin contact (SSC)... more The study investigated the longitudinal relation between mother-infant skin-to-skin contact (SSC) and mother-child interactions in middle childhood. Mothers and their nine-year-old children (born full term), who participated in a SSC study in the children's infancy, engaged in conversations about remembered emotional events in the children's lives that were assessed on the Autobiographical Emotional Events Dialogue. Mothers and children who had been in the SSC group showed more engagement and reciprocity in the dialogues than mothers and children who had been in the control group. Mothers' sensitive guidance of the dialogues mediated the effect of SSC grouping on the children's cooperation and involvement in the conversations. A higher proportion of dyads from the SSC group, than the control group, were classified as emotionally matched. Mother-infant SSC set the mother-infant relationship on a positive developmental trajectory that was related to mother-child emotional engagement in middle childhood.
Mindfulness (tendency to attend to present experience without expectation or judgment) is general... more Mindfulness (tendency to attend to present experience without expectation or judgment) is generally considered to be an adaptive way of responding to emotional experience. Anxiety sensitivity can be conceptualized as a maladaptive response (fear) to arousal-related somatic sensations commonly associated with anxiety. Emotion regulation strategies are learned in the context of early attachment relationships, and adult attachment styles have been linked to both mindfulness and anxiety sensitivity. This study examined whether mindfulness facets (observe, describe, act with awareness, accept without judgment) would mediate associations between attachment and the dimensions of anxiety sensitivity (physical, social, cognitive concerns). Multiple mediation analyses showed that observe mediated the relation between attachment anxiety and physical concerns, and accept mediated the relation between attachment anxiety and social concerns. Accept, aware, and observe each mediated the relation between attachment anxiety and cognitive concerns. Only accept mediated the association between attachment avoidance and the three anxiety sensitivity dimensions. Findings suggest the importance of measuring mindfulness as a multidimensional construct, and the value of assessing attachment style and incorporating mindfulness elements in interventions designed to reduce anxiety sensitivity.
Mothers’ mental state language in conversation with their preschool children, and children's ... more Mothers’ mental state language in conversation with their preschool children, and children's preschool attachment security were examined for their effects on children's mental state language and expressions of emotional understanding in their conversation. Children discussed an emotionally salient event with their mothers and then relayed the event to a stranger. Compared to mothers of insecurely attached children, mothers of securely attached children used more mental state language and had children who used more mental state language with both mother and stranger, and who expressed more emotional understanding in the mother–child conversation. Maternal mental state language and attachment security made shared contributions to children's mental state language with their mothers. Maternal mental state language accounted for the effects of attachment security on children's expressions of emotional understanding in the mother–child conversation. Mothers’ mental state l...
International Journal of Behavioral Development, 1997
Behaviour problems in Romanian orphans adopted to Canada were examined through parents’ interview... more Behaviour problems in Romanian orphans adopted to Canada were examined through parents’ interview reports of specific problems, and children’s scores on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) (Achenbach, Edelbrock, & Howell, 1987) completed by their parents. Three groups of children were studied. Romanian orphanage (RO) children had spent at least 8 months in a Romanian orphanage. Parents’ reports of RO children’s problems were compared to parent reports from 2 comparison groups: (1) Canadian-born children (CB) who were not adopted and never institutionalised; and (2) children who would have gone to a Romanian orphanage had they not been adopted before 4 months of age (Romanian Comparison: RC). RO children scored higher than CB and RC children for Total problems and Internalizing problems on the CBCL. No significant differences were found for any group comparison on Externalizing problems. CBCL scores were positively correlated with RO children’s total time in orphanage. According to p...
Six and a half years after adoption, 6-to 12-year-old children reared in Romanian orphanages for ... more Six and a half years after adoption, 6-to 12-year-old children reared in Romanian orphanages for more than 8 months in their first years of life (RO, n = 18) had higher cortisol levels over the daytime hours than did early adopted (EA, ≤ 4 months of age, n = 15) and Canadian born (CB, n = 27) children. The effect was marked, with 22% of the RO children exhibiting cortisol levels averaged over the day that exceeded the mean plus 2 SD of the EA and CB levels. Furthermore, the longer beyond 8 months that the RO children remained institutionalized the higher their cortisol levels. Cortisol levels for EA children did not differ in any respect from those of CB comparison children. This latter finding reduces but does not eliminate concerns that the results could be due to prenatal effects or birth family characteristics associated with orphanage placement. Neither age at cortisol sampling nor low IQ measured earlier appeared to explain the findings. Because the conditions in Romanian orphanages at the time these children were adopted were characterized by multiple risk factors, including gross privation of basic needs and exposure to infectious agents, the factor(s) that produced the increase in cortisol production cannot be determined. Nor could we determine whether these results reflected effects on the limbic-hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal axis directly or were mediated by differences in parent-child interactions or family stress occasion by behavioral problems associated with prolonged orphanage care in this sample.
Merrill-Palmer quarterly (Wayne State University. Press)
... delays in all areas of development when their parents first met Table 5. Rate of Progress of ... more ... delays in all areas of development when their parents first met Table 5. Rate of Progress of ¡DP-Enro!led RO Children Retested on the Gesell Developmental Schedule: DQ Points per Month Area of Development Fine motor Adaptive Personal-social Gross motor Language M ...
The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between two theoretically distinct aspec... more The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between two theoretically distinct aspects of children's emotional responses (Lewis & Michalson, 1983), their emotional experience (via verbal report) and emotional state (via nonverbal expression), in response to emotion-evoking stimuli. A related objective was to assess the concordance of these two verbal and nonverbal measures as indices of empathy, i.e., affective responses consistent with those of stimulus persons. Facial expressions of 60 10-year-old girls were unobtrusively videotaped while they individually viewed six stimulus vignettes. Half of these children pressed a button to indicate awareness of emotional arousal while viewing stimuli; half served as controls. Results indicated that emotional and empathic responses were not affected by the button press procedure, or by a social desirability response set. Expressive responses at button presses were microanalytically analyzed using AFFEX. Postviewing interviews assessed children's reported emotions and the affect match (empathy) between children's reported emotion for themselves and stimulus characters. Results indicated modest associations between the emotions children reported and those facially displayed and similar associations between children's verbal and facial empathy scores. Results address the concurrent validity of different measures of children's emotions, and contribute to the small number of extant multimethod studies on children's emotional responses and empathy.
Six and a half years after adoption, 6-to 12-year-old children reared in Romanian orphanages for ... more Six and a half years after adoption, 6-to 12-year-old children reared in Romanian orphanages for more than 8 months in their first years of life (RO, n = 18) had higher cortisol levels over the daytime hours than did early adopted (EA, ≤ 4 months of age, n = 15) and Canadian born (CB, n = 27) children. The effect was marked, with 22% of the RO children exhibiting cortisol levels averaged over the day that exceeded the mean plus 2 SD of the EA and CB levels. Furthermore, the longer beyond 8 months that the RO children remained institutionalized the higher their cortisol levels. Cortisol levels for EA children did not differ in any respect from those of CB comparison children. This latter finding reduces but does not eliminate concerns that the results could be due to prenatal effects or birth family characteristics associated with orphanage placement. Neither age at cortisol sampling nor low IQ measured earlier appeared to explain the findings. Because the conditions in Romanian orphanages at the time these children were adopted were characterized by multiple risk factors, including gross privation of basic needs and exposure to infectious agents, the factor(s) that produced the increase in cortisol production cannot be determined. Nor could we determine whether these results reflected effects on the limbic-hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal axis directly or were mediated by differences in parent-child interactions or family stress occasion by behavioral problems associated with prolonged orphanage care in this sample.
During the past 10 years researchers studying children adopted from Romanian orphanages have had ... more During the past 10 years researchers studying children adopted from Romanian orphanages have had the opportunity to revisit developmental questions regarding the impact of early deprivation on child development. In the present paper the effects of deprivation are examined by reviewing both the early and more recent literature on studies of children who spent the first few years of life in institutions. Special attention is given to the Canadian study of Romanian adoptees in which the author has been involved. Findings across time and studies are consistent in showing the negative impact of institutionalization on all aspects of children's development (intellectual, physical, behavioral, and social-emotional). Results of studies show, however, that institutionalization, although a risk factor for less optimal development, does not doom a child to psychopathology. However, the impact of institutionalization is greater when coupled with risk factors in the postinstitutional environment. Methodological and conceptual difficulties in research with institutionalized samples of children are discussed and future directions for research are considered. searchers can also examine the ways in which this manuscript. The author has previously published uninstitutionalized samples are similar to and der the name Kim Chisholm. different from other samples of maltreated Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Kim children. Children from orphanages usually MacLean, Psychology Department, St. Francis Xavier experience maltreatment and neglect on every University,
Relations among different measures of maternal sensitivity were assessed longitudinally by examin... more Relations among different measures of maternal sensitivity were assessed longitudinally by examining maternal behavior when infants were 4 months, 15 months, and 2.5 years. At each time period, two measures of maternal sensitivity were scored (4 months: maternal vocal and smiling contingency in face-to-face interactions; 15 months: maternal scaffolding and following of infants' play within joint attention; 2.5 years: maternal facilitative and collaborative play within joint attention). When infants were 2.5 years, attachment security was assessed. Mothers' scores on each maternal sensitivity measure within each time period were correlated with their maternal sensitivity scores in another time period, suggesting individual measures of maternal sensitivity were tapping similar aspects across the time periods. Maternal vocal contingency at 4 months was the strongest predictor of infants' attachment security over 2 years later.
Year-old infants' play was scored within and outside joint attention with mother and when alone f... more Year-old infants' play was scored within and outside joint attention with mother and when alone for four levels of maturity: stereotypical, inappropriate relational, appropriate relational, functional. Maternal sensitivity within joint attention was rated on two measures: following infants' interests and scaffolding infants' activities. Infants' play was more advanced with mother than when alone. With mother, infants had more functional and appropriate relational play within joint attention and more stereotypical play outside joint attention, indicating more advanced play within joint attention and more immature play outside joint attention. Functional play within joint attention, but not outside joint attention, correlated with functional play when alone. Mothers' ability to scaffold infants' activities within joint attention may be particularly facilitative to infants' advanced play.
Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 2014
Before adoption to Canada, children from Romanian orphanages experienced conditions of global dep... more Before adoption to Canada, children from Romanian orphanages experienced conditions of global deprivation. In this study, we examined the communicative interactions of 4-year-old children adopted from Romania with their adoptive mothers and those of age-matched Canadian-born children. In general, children who had spent more than 8 months in a Romanian orphanage (later adoptees; n ϭ 27) did not differ in the types of communicative intents produced in unstructured interactions from their earlieradopted peers (n ϭ 21). Later adoptees did produce more acknowledgment utterances, fewer praise utterances, and more requests than the Canadian-born children (n ϭ 27). Mothers of later-adopted children adopted from Romanian orphanages used more frequent regulatory language than mothers of earlier-adopted or Canadian-born children. Mothers' increased regulation of their child's activity through language was related to their child's attachment style and attention difficulties, which significantly differed between the child groups. The results demonstrate that children's characteristics can influence caregivers' communicative behaviors. Importantly, results suggest that children from adverse conditions adopted into healthier environments do not show long-term differences in pragmatic or social language usage.
Mindfulness (tendency to attend to present experience without expectation or judgment) is general... more Mindfulness (tendency to attend to present experience without expectation or judgment) is generally considered to be an adaptive way of responding to emotional experience. Anxiety sensitivity can be conceptualized as a maladaptive response (fear) to arousal-related somatic sensations commonly associated with anxiety. Emotion regulation strategies are learned in the context of early attachment relationships, and adult attachment styles have been linked to both mindfulness and anxiety sensitivity. This study examined whether mindfulness facets (observe, describe, act with awareness, accept without judgment) would mediate associations between attachment and the dimensions of anxiety sensitivity (physical, social, cognitive concerns). Multiple mediation analyses showed that observe mediated the relation between attachment anxiety and physical concerns, and accept mediated the relation between attachment anxiety and social concerns. Accept, aware, and observe each mediated the relation between attachment anxiety and cognitive concerns. Only accept mediated the association between attachment avoidance and the three anxiety sensitivity dimensions. Findings suggest the importance of measuring mindfulness as a multidimensional construct, and the value of assessing attachment style and incorporating mindfulness elements in interventions designed to reduce anxiety sensitivity.
International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, Jun 21, 2021
Anxiety and uncertainty are common during pandemics. The present study extended previous pandemic... more Anxiety and uncertainty are common during pandemics. The present study extended previous pandemic research by investigating the role of two transdiagnostic risk factors anxiety sensitivity (AS: fear of physiological anxiety or "fear of fear"; and intolerance of uncertainty (IU; in explaining relations between mental distress symptoms and behavioural responding during the COVID-19 pandemic. Student and community-based participants (N=457; 87.6% female) were recruited between May and July 2020 to complete measures of anxiety (health, panic, general), depression, and stress. Anxiety and related symptoms were found to be higher than in previous studies. Parallel mediation analyses showed that clinically meaningful levels of mental distress symptoms directly influenced safety behaviours and medical care utilization but also indirectly influenced the latter (vs. former) through AS-physical concerns (vs. IU). CBT interventions, targeting ASphysical concerns, may reduce mental distress symptoms during pandemic and prevent overuse of healthcare.
The present study examined relations among attachment, aggression, and anxiety sensitivity (AS) i... more The present study examined relations among attachment, aggression, and anxiety sensitivity (AS) in a sample of male and female undergraduates. Given that some individuals may use aggression to modulate negative emotional states, it was predicted that AS dimensions would mediate relations between attachment anxiety (vs. attachment avoidance) and certain forms of aggression, particularly impulsive aggression. Moreover, it was hypothesized that the relations among attachment, aggression, and AS would be moderated by gender. Participants (N = 1,042) completed measures of attachment (Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised [ECR-R]), aggression (Aggression Questionnaire [AQ]; Impulsive/Premeditated Aggression Scales [IPAS]), and AS (AS Index-3 [ASI-3]). Results indicated that AS mediated relations between attachment dimensions (both anxiety and avoidance) and most forms of aggression, with each of the AS dimensions playing a unique role differentially by gender. Cognitive concerns emerged as a significant mediator, particularly for men; physical and social concerns played more
The study investigated the longitudinal relation between mother-infant skin-to-skin contact (SSC)... more The study investigated the longitudinal relation between mother-infant skin-to-skin contact (SSC) and mother-child interactions in middle childhood. Mothers and their nine-year-old children (born full term), who participated in a SSC study in the children's infancy, engaged in conversations about remembered emotional events in the children's lives that were assessed on the Autobiographical Emotional Events Dialogue. Mothers and children who had been in the SSC group showed more engagement and reciprocity in the dialogues than mothers and children who had been in the control group. Mothers' sensitive guidance of the dialogues mediated the effect of SSC grouping on the children's cooperation and involvement in the conversations. A higher proportion of dyads from the SSC group, than the control group, were classified as emotionally matched. Mother-infant SSC set the mother-infant relationship on a positive developmental trajectory that was related to mother-child emotional engagement in middle childhood.
Mindfulness (tendency to attend to present experience without expectation or judgment) is general... more Mindfulness (tendency to attend to present experience without expectation or judgment) is generally considered to be an adaptive way of responding to emotional experience. Anxiety sensitivity can be conceptualized as a maladaptive response (fear) to arousal-related somatic sensations commonly associated with anxiety. Emotion regulation strategies are learned in the context of early attachment relationships, and adult attachment styles have been linked to both mindfulness and anxiety sensitivity. This study examined whether mindfulness facets (observe, describe, act with awareness, accept without judgment) would mediate associations between attachment and the dimensions of anxiety sensitivity (physical, social, cognitive concerns). Multiple mediation analyses showed that observe mediated the relation between attachment anxiety and physical concerns, and accept mediated the relation between attachment anxiety and social concerns. Accept, aware, and observe each mediated the relation between attachment anxiety and cognitive concerns. Only accept mediated the association between attachment avoidance and the three anxiety sensitivity dimensions. Findings suggest the importance of measuring mindfulness as a multidimensional construct, and the value of assessing attachment style and incorporating mindfulness elements in interventions designed to reduce anxiety sensitivity.
Mothers’ mental state language in conversation with their preschool children, and children's ... more Mothers’ mental state language in conversation with their preschool children, and children's preschool attachment security were examined for their effects on children's mental state language and expressions of emotional understanding in their conversation. Children discussed an emotionally salient event with their mothers and then relayed the event to a stranger. Compared to mothers of insecurely attached children, mothers of securely attached children used more mental state language and had children who used more mental state language with both mother and stranger, and who expressed more emotional understanding in the mother–child conversation. Maternal mental state language and attachment security made shared contributions to children's mental state language with their mothers. Maternal mental state language accounted for the effects of attachment security on children's expressions of emotional understanding in the mother–child conversation. Mothers’ mental state l...
International Journal of Behavioral Development, 1997
Behaviour problems in Romanian orphans adopted to Canada were examined through parents’ interview... more Behaviour problems in Romanian orphans adopted to Canada were examined through parents’ interview reports of specific problems, and children’s scores on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) (Achenbach, Edelbrock, & Howell, 1987) completed by their parents. Three groups of children were studied. Romanian orphanage (RO) children had spent at least 8 months in a Romanian orphanage. Parents’ reports of RO children’s problems were compared to parent reports from 2 comparison groups: (1) Canadian-born children (CB) who were not adopted and never institutionalised; and (2) children who would have gone to a Romanian orphanage had they not been adopted before 4 months of age (Romanian Comparison: RC). RO children scored higher than CB and RC children for Total problems and Internalizing problems on the CBCL. No significant differences were found for any group comparison on Externalizing problems. CBCL scores were positively correlated with RO children’s total time in orphanage. According to p...
Six and a half years after adoption, 6-to 12-year-old children reared in Romanian orphanages for ... more Six and a half years after adoption, 6-to 12-year-old children reared in Romanian orphanages for more than 8 months in their first years of life (RO, n = 18) had higher cortisol levels over the daytime hours than did early adopted (EA, ≤ 4 months of age, n = 15) and Canadian born (CB, n = 27) children. The effect was marked, with 22% of the RO children exhibiting cortisol levels averaged over the day that exceeded the mean plus 2 SD of the EA and CB levels. Furthermore, the longer beyond 8 months that the RO children remained institutionalized the higher their cortisol levels. Cortisol levels for EA children did not differ in any respect from those of CB comparison children. This latter finding reduces but does not eliminate concerns that the results could be due to prenatal effects or birth family characteristics associated with orphanage placement. Neither age at cortisol sampling nor low IQ measured earlier appeared to explain the findings. Because the conditions in Romanian orphanages at the time these children were adopted were characterized by multiple risk factors, including gross privation of basic needs and exposure to infectious agents, the factor(s) that produced the increase in cortisol production cannot be determined. Nor could we determine whether these results reflected effects on the limbic-hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal axis directly or were mediated by differences in parent-child interactions or family stress occasion by behavioral problems associated with prolonged orphanage care in this sample.
Merrill-Palmer quarterly (Wayne State University. Press)
... delays in all areas of development when their parents first met Table 5. Rate of Progress of ... more ... delays in all areas of development when their parents first met Table 5. Rate of Progress of ¡DP-Enro!led RO Children Retested on the Gesell Developmental Schedule: DQ Points per Month Area of Development Fine motor Adaptive Personal-social Gross motor Language M ...
The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between two theoretically distinct aspec... more The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between two theoretically distinct aspects of children's emotional responses (Lewis & Michalson, 1983), their emotional experience (via verbal report) and emotional state (via nonverbal expression), in response to emotion-evoking stimuli. A related objective was to assess the concordance of these two verbal and nonverbal measures as indices of empathy, i.e., affective responses consistent with those of stimulus persons. Facial expressions of 60 10-year-old girls were unobtrusively videotaped while they individually viewed six stimulus vignettes. Half of these children pressed a button to indicate awareness of emotional arousal while viewing stimuli; half served as controls. Results indicated that emotional and empathic responses were not affected by the button press procedure, or by a social desirability response set. Expressive responses at button presses were microanalytically analyzed using AFFEX. Postviewing interviews assessed children's reported emotions and the affect match (empathy) between children's reported emotion for themselves and stimulus characters. Results indicated modest associations between the emotions children reported and those facially displayed and similar associations between children's verbal and facial empathy scores. Results address the concurrent validity of different measures of children's emotions, and contribute to the small number of extant multimethod studies on children's emotional responses and empathy.
Six and a half years after adoption, 6-to 12-year-old children reared in Romanian orphanages for ... more Six and a half years after adoption, 6-to 12-year-old children reared in Romanian orphanages for more than 8 months in their first years of life (RO, n = 18) had higher cortisol levels over the daytime hours than did early adopted (EA, ≤ 4 months of age, n = 15) and Canadian born (CB, n = 27) children. The effect was marked, with 22% of the RO children exhibiting cortisol levels averaged over the day that exceeded the mean plus 2 SD of the EA and CB levels. Furthermore, the longer beyond 8 months that the RO children remained institutionalized the higher their cortisol levels. Cortisol levels for EA children did not differ in any respect from those of CB comparison children. This latter finding reduces but does not eliminate concerns that the results could be due to prenatal effects or birth family characteristics associated with orphanage placement. Neither age at cortisol sampling nor low IQ measured earlier appeared to explain the findings. Because the conditions in Romanian orphanages at the time these children were adopted were characterized by multiple risk factors, including gross privation of basic needs and exposure to infectious agents, the factor(s) that produced the increase in cortisol production cannot be determined. Nor could we determine whether these results reflected effects on the limbic-hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal axis directly or were mediated by differences in parent-child interactions or family stress occasion by behavioral problems associated with prolonged orphanage care in this sample.
During the past 10 years researchers studying children adopted from Romanian orphanages have had ... more During the past 10 years researchers studying children adopted from Romanian orphanages have had the opportunity to revisit developmental questions regarding the impact of early deprivation on child development. In the present paper the effects of deprivation are examined by reviewing both the early and more recent literature on studies of children who spent the first few years of life in institutions. Special attention is given to the Canadian study of Romanian adoptees in which the author has been involved. Findings across time and studies are consistent in showing the negative impact of institutionalization on all aspects of children's development (intellectual, physical, behavioral, and social-emotional). Results of studies show, however, that institutionalization, although a risk factor for less optimal development, does not doom a child to psychopathology. However, the impact of institutionalization is greater when coupled with risk factors in the postinstitutional environment. Methodological and conceptual difficulties in research with institutionalized samples of children are discussed and future directions for research are considered. searchers can also examine the ways in which this manuscript. The author has previously published uninstitutionalized samples are similar to and der the name Kim Chisholm. different from other samples of maltreated Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Kim children. Children from orphanages usually MacLean, Psychology Department, St. Francis Xavier experience maltreatment and neglect on every University,
Relations among different measures of maternal sensitivity were assessed longitudinally by examin... more Relations among different measures of maternal sensitivity were assessed longitudinally by examining maternal behavior when infants were 4 months, 15 months, and 2.5 years. At each time period, two measures of maternal sensitivity were scored (4 months: maternal vocal and smiling contingency in face-to-face interactions; 15 months: maternal scaffolding and following of infants' play within joint attention; 2.5 years: maternal facilitative and collaborative play within joint attention). When infants were 2.5 years, attachment security was assessed. Mothers' scores on each maternal sensitivity measure within each time period were correlated with their maternal sensitivity scores in another time period, suggesting individual measures of maternal sensitivity were tapping similar aspects across the time periods. Maternal vocal contingency at 4 months was the strongest predictor of infants' attachment security over 2 years later.
Year-old infants' play was scored within and outside joint attention with mother and when alone f... more Year-old infants' play was scored within and outside joint attention with mother and when alone for four levels of maturity: stereotypical, inappropriate relational, appropriate relational, functional. Maternal sensitivity within joint attention was rated on two measures: following infants' interests and scaffolding infants' activities. Infants' play was more advanced with mother than when alone. With mother, infants had more functional and appropriate relational play within joint attention and more stereotypical play outside joint attention, indicating more advanced play within joint attention and more immature play outside joint attention. Functional play within joint attention, but not outside joint attention, correlated with functional play when alone. Mothers' ability to scaffold infants' activities within joint attention may be particularly facilitative to infants' advanced play.
Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 2014
Before adoption to Canada, children from Romanian orphanages experienced conditions of global dep... more Before adoption to Canada, children from Romanian orphanages experienced conditions of global deprivation. In this study, we examined the communicative interactions of 4-year-old children adopted from Romania with their adoptive mothers and those of age-matched Canadian-born children. In general, children who had spent more than 8 months in a Romanian orphanage (later adoptees; n ϭ 27) did not differ in the types of communicative intents produced in unstructured interactions from their earlieradopted peers (n ϭ 21). Later adoptees did produce more acknowledgment utterances, fewer praise utterances, and more requests than the Canadian-born children (n ϭ 27). Mothers of later-adopted children adopted from Romanian orphanages used more frequent regulatory language than mothers of earlier-adopted or Canadian-born children. Mothers' increased regulation of their child's activity through language was related to their child's attachment style and attention difficulties, which significantly differed between the child groups. The results demonstrate that children's characteristics can influence caregivers' communicative behaviors. Importantly, results suggest that children from adverse conditions adopted into healthier environments do not show long-term differences in pragmatic or social language usage.
Mindfulness (tendency to attend to present experience without expectation or judgment) is general... more Mindfulness (tendency to attend to present experience without expectation or judgment) is generally considered to be an adaptive way of responding to emotional experience. Anxiety sensitivity can be conceptualized as a maladaptive response (fear) to arousal-related somatic sensations commonly associated with anxiety. Emotion regulation strategies are learned in the context of early attachment relationships, and adult attachment styles have been linked to both mindfulness and anxiety sensitivity. This study examined whether mindfulness facets (observe, describe, act with awareness, accept without judgment) would mediate associations between attachment and the dimensions of anxiety sensitivity (physical, social, cognitive concerns). Multiple mediation analyses showed that observe mediated the relation between attachment anxiety and physical concerns, and accept mediated the relation between attachment anxiety and social concerns. Accept, aware, and observe each mediated the relation between attachment anxiety and cognitive concerns. Only accept mediated the association between attachment avoidance and the three anxiety sensitivity dimensions. Findings suggest the importance of measuring mindfulness as a multidimensional construct, and the value of assessing attachment style and incorporating mindfulness elements in interventions designed to reduce anxiety sensitivity.
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