Testing an Attachment-Based Parenting Intervention-VIPP-FC/A in Adoptive Families with Post-institutionalized Children: Do Maternal Sensitivity and Genetic Markers Count?

This study investigated the effectiveness of a newly integrated version of an intervention targeting adoptive mothers' positive parenting for promoting children's emotional availability, by testing the moderating role of both two maternal genetic polymorphisms (i.e., 5HTTLPR and DRD4-VNTR) and emotional availability-EA on intervention outcomes. Mothers with their children (N = 80; Mage = 42.73 years, SD = 3.79; Mage = 33.18 months, SD = 16.83 months) participated in a RCT testing the Video-Feedback Intervention to Promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline-VIPP-FC/A effectiveness. Mixed effects regression models showed a significant improvement in mother-child EA for the VIPP-intervention vs. the dummy intervention condition, with a moderating role of maternal EA on children's outcomes. No significant moderating effect was found for the two genetic polymorphisms inquired. Children's and mother's outcomes obtained are discussed

Testing an Attachment-Based Parenting Intervention-VIPP-FC/A in Adoptive Families with Post-institutionalized Children: Do Maternal Sensitivity and Genetic Markers Count?

This study investigated the effectiveness of a newly integrated version of an intervention targeting adoptive mothers' positive parenting for promoting children's emotional availability, by testing the moderating role of both two maternal genetic polymorphisms (i.e., 5HTTLPR and DRD4-VNTR) and emotional availability-EA on intervention outcomes. Mothers with their children (N = 80; Mage = 42.73 years, SD = 3.79; Mage = 33.18 months, SD = 16.83 months) participated in a RCT testing the Video-Feedback Intervention to Promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline-VIPP-FC/A effectiveness. Mixed effects regression models showed a significant improvement in mother-child EA for the VIPP-intervention vs. the dummy intervention condition, with a moderating role of maternal EA on children's outcomes. No significant moderating effect was found for the two genetic polymorphisms inquired. Children's and mother's outcomes obtained are discussed

Attachment histories and futures: reply to Vicedo's 'Putting attachment in its place'.

For Vicedo, 'putting attachment in its place' seems to entail two aspects. The first is working to understand the rise of attachment theory and its place within the history of knowledge practices. The second is to criticize the validity of attachment theory. In this reply, we appraise three criticisms made by Vicedo of attachment theory, chosen as points for sustaining a dialogue. Our main point in this reply is that, in excluding the work of attachment researchers after Ainsworth from consideration, Vicedo's work is not yet able to properly 'put attachment in its place', in either sense of the phrase. At most, she puts Bowlby in the 1950s-1960s in his place, but without speaking effectively to subsequent attachment research. In our view, not just the validity, but the very meaning of attachment as a scientific research programme cannot be understood outside of its temporal context, and the relationship this entails between theory and research, past and future

Sensory processing sensitivity in adolescents reporting chronic pain: an exploratory study

Pediatric: Research Paper Sensory processing sensitivity in adolescents reporting chronic pain: an exploratory study Koechlin, Helena,b,*; Donado, Carolinab; Locher, Cosimac,d; Kossowsky, Joeb; Lionetti, Francescae,f; Pluess, Michaelf Introduction: Sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) describes a genetically influenced trait characterized by greater depth of information processing, lower sensory threshold, and ease of overstimulation. It is hypothesized that SPS plays a crucial role in the context of chronic pain. Objectives: This exploratory study examined SPS as a correlate of pain intensity and pain-related disability in a sample of adolescents reporting chronic pain. Methods: Adolescents reporting chronic pain were contacted through social media and through specialized pain clinics. Participants completed online questionnaires on their levels of SPS, pain features, emotion regulation, and quality of life. A series of analysis of variances (ANOVAs) were calculated to detect differences between 3 SPS groups (ie, high, medium, and low sensitivity) regarding emotion regulation, quality of life, and pain features. Multiple linear regressions were conducted to predict pain intensity, pain-related disability, and quality of life. Results: In total, 103 participants completed the survey (68.9% female, Mage 17.9). Back pain was the most frequently reported pain location. Proportion of highly sensitive individuals was large (45.68%). The ANOVA revealed significant differences between sensitivity groups related to quality-of-life subscales, namely, for physical (F(2, 100) = 7.42, P < 0.001), emotional (F(2, 100) = 6.11, P < 0.001), and school functioning (F(2, 100) = 3.75, P = 0.03). High sensitivity was not predictive of pain but of health-related quality of life. Conclusions: Our results indicate that SPS is an important and prevalent characteristic to consider in the context of chronic pain in adolescents, specifically regarding the quality of life

Environmental sensitivity in children: development of the highly sensitive child scale and identification of sensitivity groups

A large number of studies document that children differ in the degree they are shaped by their developmental context with some being more sensitive to environmental influences than others. Multiple theories suggest that Environmental Sensitivity is a common trait predicting the response to negative as well as positive exposures. However, most research to date relied on more or less proximal markers of Environmental Sensitivity. In this paper we introduce a new questionnaire—the Highly Sensitive Child (HSC) scale—as a promising self-report measure of Environmental Sensitivity. After describing the development of the short 12-item HSC scale for children and adolescents, we report on the psychometric properties of the scale, including confirmatory factor analysis and test-retest reliability. After considering bivariate and multivariate associations with well-established temperament and personality traits, we apply Latent Class Analysis to test for the existence of hypothesised sensitivity groups. Analyses are conducted across five studies featuring four different UK-based samples ranging in age from 8-19 years and with a total sample size of N = 3,581. Results suggest the 12-item HSC scale is a psychometrically robust measure that performs well in both children and adolescents. Besides being relatively independent from other common traits, the Latent Class Analysis suggests that there are three distinct groups with different levels of Environmental Sensitivity—low (approx. 25-35%), medium (approx. 41-47%), and high (20-35%). Finally, we provide exploratory cut-off scores for the categorisation of children into these different groups which may be useful for both researchers and practitioners

Environmental sensitivity in children: development of the highly sensitive child scale and identification of sensitivity groups

A large number of studies document that children differ in the degree they are shaped by their developmental context with some being more sensitive to environmental influences than others. Multiple theories suggest that Environmental Sensitivity is a common trait predicting the response to negative as well as positive exposures. However, most research to date relied on more or less proximal markers of Environmental Sensitivity. In this paper we introduce a new questionnaire—the Highly Sensitive Child (HSC) scale—as a promising self-report measure of Environmental Sensitivity. After describing the development of the short 12-item HSC scale for children and adolescents, we report on the psychometric properties of the scale, including confirmatory factor analysis and test-retest reliability. After considering bivariate and multivariate associations with well-established temperament and personality traits, we apply Latent Class Analysis to test for the existence of hypothesised sensitivity groups. Analyses are conducted across five studies featuring four different UK-based samples ranging in age from 8-19 years and with a total sample size of N = 3,581. Results suggest the 12-item HSC scale is a psychometrically robust measure that performs well in both children and adolescents. Besides being relatively independent from other common traits, the Latent Class Analysis suggests that there are three distinct groups with different levels of Environmental Sensitivity—low (approx. 25-35%), medium (approx. 41-47%), and high (20-35%). Finally, we provide exploratory cut-off scores for the categorisation of children into these different groups which may be useful for both researchers and practitioners

Plasma wind tunnel testing of UHTC coated components for hypersonic applications

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Individual Differences in Adolescents’ Civic Engagement: The Role of Civic Discussions with Parents and Environmental Sensitivity

The main goal of the current study was to examine the direct and moderating effects of civic dis-cussions with parents and environmental sensitivity using both the total score and its specific di-mensions (i.e., Aesthetic Sensitivity, AES; Ease of Excitation, EOE; Low Sensitivity Threshold, LST) on youth civic engagement (attitudes and behaviours). The empirical analysis relied on a ques-tionnaire-based survey conducted on a sample of 438 adolescents (30% males), aged between 14 and 18 years (M = 16.50, SD = 1.36). We used a structural equation model (SEM) with latent vari-ables and the latent moderated structural equation (LMS) method to test our hypotheses. Our re-sults showed that civic discussions with parents were positively and significantly associated with general environmental sensitivity and with AES and predicted both civic attitudes and civic be-haviours; EOE was negatively and significantly related to civic behaviours; AES was positively and significantly related to civic attitudes; and LST was not significantly related to either civic attitudes or behaviours. Contrary to our expectations, environmental sensitivity did not moderate the rela-tionship between civic discussions with parents and civic engagement. Our study further high-lights the relevance that parents have in shaping their children’s civic engagement and makes a novel contribution regarding how differences in perceiving and processing environmental stimuli can affect beliefs and behaviours toward community issues among young individual

Hyaluronan Esters Drive Smad Gene Expression and Signaling Enhancing Cardiogenesis in Mouse Embryonic and Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells

BACKGROUND: Development of molecules chemically modifying the expression of crucial orchestrator(s) of stem cell commitment may have significant biomedical impact. We have recently developed hyaluronan mixed esters of butyric and retinoic acids (HBR), turning cardiovascular stem cell fate into a high-yield process. The HBR mechanism(s) remain still largely undefined. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We show that in both mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells and human mesenchymal stem cells from fetal membranes of term placenta (FMhMSCs), HBR differentially affected the patterning of Smad proteins, one of the major conductors of stem cell cardiogenesis. Real-time RT-PCR and Western blot analyses revealed that in both cell types HBR enhanced gene and protein expression of Smad1,3, and 4, while down-regulating Smad7. HBR acted at the transcriptional level, as shown by nuclear run-off experiments in isolated nuclei. Immunofluorescence analysis indicated that HBR increased the fluorescent staining for Smad1,3, and 4, confirming that the transcriptional action of HBR encompassed the upregulation of the encoded Smad proteins. Chromatin immune precipitation and transcriptional analyses showed that HBR increased the transcription of the cardiogenic gene Nkx-2.5 through Smad4 binding to its own consensus Smad site. Treatment of mouse ES cells and FMhMSCs with HBR led to the concomitant overexpression of both Smad4 and α-sarcomeric actinin. Smad4 silencing by the aid of lentiviral-mediated Smad4 shRNA confirmed a dominant role of Smad4 in HBR-induced cardiogenesis. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The use of HBR may pave the way to novel combinatorial strategies of molecular and stem cell therapy based on fine tuning of targeted Smad transciption and signaling leading to a high-throughput of cardiogenesis without the needs of gene transfer technologies

Autism Spectrum Disorder and screen time during lockdown: an Italian study.

Background: Lockdown due to Covid-19 pandemic brought deep changes to the daily lives of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), greatly increasing their amount of time spent at home. Methods: A cohort of 243 parents of children with ASD (2-15 years old) completed an original online survey regarding the child's screen time and the modification of the ASD symptomatology during lockdown to investigate the relationship between them. Results: The data show that high solitary screen time is related with the worsening of ASD core symptoms. Conclusions: This study may help to increase awareness in the excessive use of screen in children with ASD during the lockdown, both during the pandemic as well as after it ends