Abstract: The aim of this prospective study was to examine temporal pathways from mothers’ reflective functioning (RF) through parenting to infant attachment measured more than 16 months later. Participants were 88 mother–infant dyads from demographically diverse backgrounds and included a group of mothers with histories of childhood maltreatment. RF was assessed using the RF rating of the Adult Attachment Interview before the birth of the baby. Parenting was assessed when the infants were 6 months old using the Maternal Sensitivity scale, as well as when they were 16 months using the Disconnected and Extremely Insensitive Parenting scale. Infant attachment was assessed when the infants were 16 months old using the Strange Situation. As hypothesised, the study findings showed that mothers’ mentalization regarding their own early attachment relationships was associated with later parenting and infant attachment. Negative parenting behaviours explained the link between mothers’ RF about their own attachment relationships and infant attachment disorganization. The findings suggest that mothers’ mentalization about their early attachment relationships has important implications in the transition to becoming parents themselves. Mentalization appears to be particularly important in helping mothers screen and inhibit negative parenting behaviours that would otherwise undermine infant attachment security and organization.

Abstract: Positive cross-group contact can undermine disadvantaged group members' collective action engagement. However, we hypothesised that positive cross-group contact in which an advantaged group member explicitly communicates opposition to inequality between groups ("supportive contact") would not undermine collective action and would be empowering for disadvantaged group members. Study 1 focused on cross-group contact between international students and domestic students at an Australian university. Study 2 focused on immigrants to Canada, and provided an opportunity for a cross-group contact with a Canadian-born individual. The results revealed that supportive contact heightened collective action engagement relative to a number of comparison conditions involving other forms of positive cross-group contact. Increased perceptions of injustice emerged as the key mediator of the relationship between supportive contact and increased collective action engagement.

Abstract: An emerging literature suggests that variation in Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; George, Kaplan, & Main, 1985) states of mind about childhood experiences with primary caregivers is reflected in specific linguistic features captured by the Linguistic Inquiry Word Count automated text analysis program (LIWC; Pennebaker, Booth, & Francis, 2007). The current report addressed limitations of prior studies in this literature by using two large AAI corpora (Ns = 826 and 857) and a broader range of linguistic variables, as well as examining associations of LIWC-derived AAI dimensions with key developmental antecedents. First, regression analyses revealed that dismissing states of mind were associated with transcripts that were more truncated and deemphasized discussion of the attachment relationship whereas preoccupied states of mind were associated with longer, more conflicted, and angry narratives. Second, in aggregate, LIWC variables accounted for over a third of the variation in AAI dismissing and preoccupied states of mind, with regression weights cross-validating across samples. Third, LIWC-derived dismissing and preoccupied state of mind dimensions were associated with direct observations of maternal and paternal sensitivity as well as infant attachment security in childhood, replicating the pattern of results reported in Haydon, Roisman, Owen, Booth-LaForce, and Cox (2014) using coder-derived dismissing and preoccupation scores in the same sample.

Abstract: Theoretical considerations and empirical results suggest that attachment quality is relevant to obesity. This study used meta-analytic methods to systematically examine the empirical, peer-reviewed evidence regarding the relationship between attachment quality and body mass index (BMI) in separate meta-analyses for children and adults. Relevant peer-reviewed literature published between 1990 and 2013 was obtained from PubMed, PsycINFO, and reference lists of included articles. Results of the meta-analysis for studies with adults indicated a small but statistically significant association between attachment quality and BMI (absolute value of weighted average r = .05, p = .03; 95% confidence interval, CI [. 004 to .09]; number of independent studies [k] = 7; N = 2,135). Specifically, BMI was negatively associated with attachment security. Publication bias analyses did not demonstrate cause for concern about the results. Results of the meta-analysis for studies with children indicated a small association between attachment quality and BMI that fell just short of statistical significance (absolute value of weighted average r = .08, p = .06; 95% CI [= .004 to .16]; k = 5; N = 8,602). Several moderator variables were examined using the aggregated sample including both adults and children, but none of the analyses yielded statistically significant results. Possible explanations for an impact of attachment quality on obesity might involve the underdevelopment of emotion-regulation and heightened psychophysiological responsiveness, which point to avenues for future research.

Abstract: The classical Brown-Peterson task is generally supp osed to assess working memory capacities. To date, however, the construct validity of the tas k remains mostly unexamined. In this context, the aim of the present study was to demonstrate the convergent and the divergent validity as well as the clinical and the developmental sensitivity o f a computerized version of the Brown-Peterson test. A group of 726 French-speaking participants a ged from 18 to 86 years and 47 patients who had sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) were a dministered the Brown-Peterson task and various other cognitive tasks assessing executive f unctioning, verbal and visual memory, or processing speed. The correlation analyses revealed the good convergent of the task, which was shown to be able to distinguish between participant s with TBI and control participants. We found an effect of age and education level on the differe nt scores recorded for the Brown-Peterson test. Normative data taking into account the influence of the latter variables were thus provided. On the whole, these findings seem to confirm the valid ity of the Brown-Peterson task as a tool to assess working memory abilities.

Abstract: The aim of this study was to test the relation between sensitivity beliefs and sensitive behaviors in Dutch ethnic majority and Turkish ethnic minority mothers. Sixty mothers, 30 in the Dutch and 30 in the Turkish group, with a child between the ages of 2 and 5 years participated. Sensitivity belief scores were derived by correlating the Maternal Behaviour Q-Sort (Pederson, Moran, & Bento, 1999), the expertderived profile of the highly sensitive mother, with mothers' beliefs about the ideal mother. For observed sensitive behaviors, mothers and children were observed in a free play situation with the Emotional Availability Scales (Biringen, 2008). Dutch mothers scored higher on sensitivity beliefs and sensitive behaviors than Turkish mothers, and this relation between ethnicity and sensitivity (beliefs and behaviors) was not mediated by socioeconomic status (SES). Sensitivity beliefs were not related to sensitive behaviors in either group, and ethnicity and SES did not moderate this association. Further investigation of the relation between sensitivity beliefs and sensitive behaviors could inform interventions on how to translate improved parenting beliefs into improvements in parenting practices.

Abstract: Centre for Strategic Leadership, School of Business and Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University

Abstract: Essai doctoral presente a la Faculte des etudes superieures en vue de l’obtention du grade de Docteur en psychologie (D.Psy.), option clinique

Abstract: Le but de la presente etude etait de verifier si l’attachement insecurise, en combinaison avec une mauvaise allocation de l’attention envers son partenaire, influencerait la confiance portee a ce dernier. Pour ce faire, un echantillon de 45 couples a ete recrute lors de leur visite dans un salon de mariage. L’etude s’est deroulee en deux temps de mesure. Lors du Temps 1, les participants ont repondu a un questionnaire sociodemographique, a des mesures d’attachement specifique et de confiance dyadique, et ont effectue une tâche mesurant leur biais attentionnel envers les expressions emotionnelles de leur partenaire et d’etrangers. Cinq mois plus tard, les participants ont de nouveau rempli le questionnaire sociodemographique ainsi que la mesure de confiance dyadique. Le modele d’interdependance acteur-partenaire (APIM) de Kenny, Kashy et Cook (2006) a ete utilise avec une approche en multiniveaux (Campbell & Kashy, 2002) afin d’examiner le role moderateur du biais attentionnel sur l’association entre l’attachement du participant et la confiance qu’il porte a son partenaire. Les resultats revelent que la combinaison de l’attachement evitant et de l’inhibition attentionnelle envers les signaux emotionnels de son partenaire contribue a une plus faible confiance envers son partenaire amoureux cinq mois plus tard. Les differentes implications de ce resultat sont discutees. The goal of this study was to test whether insecure attachment, in combination with a misallocated attention toward one’s partner, would influence trust in one’s partner. Forty-five couples were recruited during their visit to a bridal salon. The 2-stage study first consisted of participants completing a demographic questionnaire, measures of relationship-specific attachment and dyadic trust, and a Dot Probe task measuring their attentional bias toward their partner’s and strangers’ emotional expressions. Five months later, participants again completed the demographic questionnaire and the dyadic trust scale. The Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (Kenny, Kashy & Cook, 2006) was used with a multilevel approach (Campbell & Kashy, 2002) to examine the moderating role of attentional bias on the association between participant’s attachment and trust toward his or her partner. Results revealed that avoidant attachment in combination with an attentional inhibition of emotional information related to one’s partner predicts lower trust in their romantic partner 5 months later. The implications of this finding are discussed.

Abstract: La mobilite professionnelle volontaire etant selon les cas recherchee ou evitee, il estimportant d'identifier les antecedents de l'intention de realiser un tel changement. Cetterecherche vise a determiner dans quelle mesure le sentiment d'efficacite personnelle,la perception de l'incertitude et l'experience de mobilite favorisent l'intention de realiserun changement d'employeur (mobilite externe ou inter-organisationnelle) et celle derealiser un changement d'affectation au sein de l'organisation (mobilite interne ou intra-organisationnelle).L'etude met en evidence que l'intention de realiser une mobiliteexterne est determinee par l'education, le fait d'avoir dernierement initie une mobiliteexterne, et de considerer celle-ci comme peu epanouissante et utile. Quant a l'intentionde realiser une mobilite interne, elle s'avere etre determinee par le genre, l'âge, laperception constructive de l'incertitude et le fait d'avoir dernierement initie une mobilitesimilaire. Les deux types de mobilite semblent donc operer differemment.