Attachment insecurity and the distinction between unhappy spouses who do and do not divorce.

The hypothesis that attachment insecurity would be associated with remaining in an unhappy marriage was tested. One hundred seventy-two newly married couples participated in a 4-year longitudinal study with multiple assessment points. Hierarchical linear models revealed that compared with spouses in happy marriages and divorced spouses, spouses who were in stable but unhappy marriages showed the highest levels of insecurity initially and over time. Spouses in stable, unhappy marriages also had lower levels of marital satisfaction than divorced spouses and showed relatively high levels of depressive symptoms initially and over time. Results suggest that spouses at risk for stable, unhappy marriages can be identified early and may benefit from interventions that increase the security of spouses' attachment to each other. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Care of the family who has lost a newborn

The article describes the veins of the head, body and tail of the pancreas and the blood from them. Two ways of the blood outflow are found: 1.along the splenic and mesenteric veins and 2. along the splenic vein. The greatest amount of anastomoses is found in the area of transition from the head to the body. Three forms of the pancreatic venous bed are established: segmentary, reticular and mixed forms.     

Childhood physical abuse, attachment, and adult social support: Test of a mediational model.

This study examined the mediating role of attachment on the relationship between childhood physical abuse and perceived social support in adulthood. The 2 underlying dimensions of attachment, view of self and view of other, were both hypothesized to be potential mediators. Young adults, with and without a history of childhood physical abuse, completed a series of questionnaires inquiring about past abuse experiences and current levels of attachment and social support. Results indicated a robust mediational effect. Namely, both attachment variables were significant mediators in the relationship between childhood physical abuse and social support. In addition, the mediation occurred across all sources of social support, that is, social support from family/close friends, peers, and authority figures. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Borderline personality characteristics: A betrayal trauma approach.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) has been associated with both trauma and insecure attachment styles. Betrayal Trauma Theory proposes survivors of interpersonal trauma may remain unaware of betrayal in order to maintain a necessary attachment. This preliminary study reports on the relations between self-reports of betrayal trauma experiences and borderline personality characteristics in a college sample. Using multiple regression, betrayal was significantly associated with BPD characteristics. High-betrayal trauma was the largest contributor to borderline traits and medium-betrayal trauma was also a significant predictor. However, traumas of low betrayal were not associated with BPD features. These results stand even after controlling for gender. These findings suggest betrayal may be a key, and yet heretofore unaddressed, feature of borderline personality disorder. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sibling loss and attachment style: An exploratory study.

Current conceptualizations do not adequately explain the particular relational difficulties experienced by young adults who have been faced with the death of a sibling. In this study, the authors explore interrelationships between attachment style, coping style, repressive defensiveness, and the loss of a sibling in childhood. The findings suggest that this type of stressor may result in different coping reactions than other stressors. In particular, sibling loss seems to stimulate greater support seeking than withdrawal, regardless of attachment style. Sibling loss can pose particular relational challenges for the developing child because of the traumatic impact on the primary caregivers. This fact makes it important for therapists to have an understanding of some of the potential consequences of this particular traumatic event. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment as a transformative process in AEDP: Operationalizing the intersection of attachment theory and affective neuroscience.

While many models of individual psychotherapy acknowledge the significance of attachment theory for clinical work, Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) seeks to operationalize the intersection of attachment and affective neuroscience to introduce innovations in its clinical practice. AEDP's stance and techniques aim to (a) foster attachment security through the clinical process, and (b) harness the transformative resilience of secure attachment to potentiate deep and lasting psychological change. Viewing secure attachment as a transformative experience, case vignettes offer examples of AEDP attachment-based work: moment-to-moment experiential work processing attachment security as a powerful new experience; and then, its metatherapeutic processing. Integrating a new, positive relational experience in the here-and-now organically evokes the painful experiences of the original relational trauma. Thus, traumatic memories are also worked through in the service of positive psychological transformation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reducing violence and prejudice in a Jamaican all age school using attachment and mentalization theory.

A study is reported of a psychoanalytic intervention in a very violent and prejudiced Jamaican school with disenfranchised children 7–9 grades who had failed academic streaming examinations. Over the period of 3 years of the intervention using mentalization and power issues approaches grounded in attachment theory, children were assisted to feel connected and valued by their school. There were striking improvements in academic performance, decreased victimization, and increased helpfulness especially in boys including significant trickle down effects to grades 1–6. Overall, the school became a place teachers wanted to join and the Jamaican government recognized their success and built a new school for them in a better location. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prospective effects of interparental conflict on child attachment security and the moderating role of parents' romantic attachment.

This study investigated the impact of parents' observed conflict behavior on subsequent child attachment security, both as a main effect and as moderated by parents' romantic attachment. Participants were 80 heterosexual couples involving men from the Oregon Youth Study and their first-born children. The authors used hierarchical linear modeling to predict child security with each parent. Interparental psychological aggression predicted lower child security with father, regardless of romantic attachment. If the father was insecure, interparental positive engagement predicted lower child security with him. If either the mother or father was avoidant, interparental withdrawal did not predict lower child security, though it did for more secure parents. Results are discussed in terms of implications of attachment-(in)congruent behavior for parents' emotional availability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A view from the family: years after a loved one has died of ovarian cancer

BACKGROUND: Macrosclerotherapy in combination with compression has proven to be safe and effective in the treatment of varicose veins. Local compression is increased by pads, according to Laplace law. Firm rolls of cotton wool are fixed over the course of the entire vein to increase local compression and to reduce complications. Additional compression is given by a combination of a class I (daytime and nighttime) and class II (daytime only) medical compression hosiery. PURPOSE: To evaluate the effectiveness and side effects of sclerocompression therapy with cotton wool rolls in combination with medical compression hosiery. METHOD: Prospective study with 100 patients (120 legs) with primary varicose veins, which are treated with polidocanol as sclerosant with the empty vein technique. Immediately after the injection, a long cotton wool roll is placed over the entire vein and fixed. Additional compression is obtained with class I and class II medical compression hosiery. The interface pressure on the skin, just under the cotton wool roll, is measured on 12 legs with the aid of an interface pressure measuring instrument (Oxford Pressure Monitor). RESULTS: Good sclerosing results are obtained in all patients. Side effects are classified as early and late. In 16 patients, minor side effects which needed no treatment are observed. In only 3 cases (2.5%), intravascular blood clots (2) and phlebitis (1) needed incision and expression. The mean interface pressure of all measuring sensors under the cotton wool roll is 84 mm/Hg (68 to 122 mm/Hg). CONCLUSION: This study proves the high effectiveness of a cotton wool roll compression right at the place of treatment. By using these long cotton wool compression rolls, the compression part of sclerocompression therapy becomes more effective and much easier to perform.     

Helping men with the trauma of miscarriage.

Although much has been written about women and miscarriage, little has been researched or written about the partners of these women and their reactions to the pregnancy loss. The purpose of this paper is to review what is known about the subject and to suggest an approach to psychotherapy that is sensitive to the needs of these men and helps them make sense of their loss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ending child psychotherapy: Continuing the cycle of life.

Focuses on the termination of psychoanalytic treatment with young children, taking into account the relationship to the parents and its impact on the conduct of treatment, especially at the sensitive ending phase. The author reflects on D. W. Winnicott's (1977) case, "The Piggle," from this perspective. The verbatim notes and comments offer a classic, detailed example of the complex factors impinging upon the conclusion of treating a young child and the wisdom of an outstanding therapist. A 2nd case of a 7-yr-old girl who came to treatment because of a reaction of delayed mourning is also reviewed. The case illustrates the issues involved in the early traumatic loss of a parent, how this loss is reflected within the transference relationship, and the subsequent unfolding of treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trauma, Dissociation, and Disorganized Attachment: Three Strands of a Single Braid.

During the past decade, research findings, theoretical reflections, and clinical experiences have woven together the themes of attachment disorganization, dissociative processes, and vulnerability to trauma-related emotional disorders. The resulting unitary perspective is captured in this article by an overview of inquiries on unresolved traumatic memories based on the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and of studies on the sequelae of early disorganized attachments. To illustrate the intriguing clinical implications of this unitary perspective, the author considers such topics as vulnerability to complex trauma-related disorders, delayed dissociative responses to past traumatic memories, and the definition of psychological trauma. Some psychotherapeutic implications of the interplay between trauma-related disorders and attachment disorganization are briefly addressed in the concluding section. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental context effects on bicultural posttrauma self repair in chimpanzees.

Longitudinal studies have shown how early developmental contexts contribute significantly to self-development; their influence extends through adulthood, informs sociality, and affects resilience under severe stress. While the importance of sociality in trauma recovery is recognized, the relationship between developmental and posttrauma contexts and recovery effects is less appreciated, particularly in cases in which recovery contexts differ widely from the culture of origin. Using an attachment-based model of bicultural (competence in two cultures) development, the authors examined the role of self in posttrauma repair of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) who had been differentially reared by humans during neuroethologically formative periods and subsequently used as biomedical subjects. Results show that variations in posttrauma schema correlate with early socialization patterns. Self-resilience supports, but also may constrain, recovery depending on the compatibility of internal self models with recovery resources. Trauma severity notwithstanding, the cultural context of origin emerges as a critical factor in designing effective therapeutic intervention and assessments in primates, humans inclusive. Finally, the results underscore the ethical implications for the practices of cross-fostering nonhuman primates and their use in research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Secondary traumatic stress and the child welfare professional.

Reviews the book, Secondary traumatic stress and the child welfare professional by Josephine G. Pryce, Kimberly K. Shackelford, and David H. Pryce (see record 2007-05981-000). This book offers a complete examination of an important and often overlooked issue in the field of trauma work—secondary traumatic stress (STS). The authors appear to have written this book in response to a relative dearth of literature in this area as it affects child welfare workers. The research summarized and cited in this book is current, making the book timely and well developed. The easy-to-comprehend writing style of the authors flows and allows readers to be easily drawn into the case scenarios provided. Any professional working in child welfare as a caseworker, investigator, or supervisor, will benefit from reading this book. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parenting the traumatized child: Attending to the needs of nonoffending caregivers of traumatized children.

While there is a growing literature on the impact of trauma on children, there has been relatively little attention to the needs of their caregivers, who are themselves at risk for elevated levels of stress. The current article draws from the broader literature on parenting under stress and the literature on interventions with parents of sexually abused children to outline the need for interventions for caregivers of multiply traumatized children. It reviews components of an intervention model derived from the literature on general parenting interventions as well as the growing literature on trauma treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physical status as a moderator of depressive symptoms among older adults with dual sensory loss.

Objective: This study evaluated the ability of three measures of physical status—physical activity, physical condition, and body mass index (BMI)—to moderate the relationship between dual sensory loss (DSL) and depressive symptoms in older adults. Method: Nationally representative longitudinal data were used to develop multilevel models predicting depressive symptoms among two groups of older adults, 1380 who developed DSL during the study and 1308 without sensory loss. Results: All three measures were associated with depressive symptoms for persons who had or would develop a DSL: participation in physical activity and being in better physical condition were associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms, while lower BMI levels were associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. All moderator variables had a larger effect for persons with DSL as compared to persons without sensory loss. Implications: The implication of these findings is that participation in a regular program of physical activity may provide multiple benefits to older persons with DSL. Families and health care providers can offer support for being physically active by ensuring the person has the best possible correction for the sensory losses, providing encouragement, and/or providing physical assistance with exercise. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)