Intergenerational transmission of attachment. Family interactive dynamics and psychopathology: what kind of relationship in adolescence?

Introduction: this work is an example of empirical research. The aim was to look to the possible transgenerational influence between parents and adolescents attachment bond to their respective parents, infant armonic and/or disarmonic development and functional or dysfunctional family interactions. Methodology: 40 families with adolescents aged from 12 to 18 years (μ = 14.575, σ = 1.716) coming for a psychodiagnostic evaluation were tested with Lausanne Trilogue Play, Parental Bonding Instrument, Child Behaviour Checklist and Youth Self Report. Hypothesis: a) is there an association between the adolescent’s perceived attachment relationship with his parents and his psychopathological symptoms? In this case a non parametric test for k independent groups was performed. b) is there an association between parents-adolescent interactive dynamics and the parents’ perceived attachment relationship with their parents (adolescent’s grand-parents). In this case correlations and non-parametric test for k independent groups were performed. Results: a) we found significant statistical differences (p < .05) between adolescent psychopathology and the quality of perceived relationship with both the mother and the father. b) we found positive correlations between quality of relationship between the mother and her father (adolescent grandfather) and the scores of some LTP scales concerning normative function; moreover we found negative correlations between the father and his mother (adolescent’s grandmother) and the scores of some LTP scales concerning affective function. Conclusion: these results underline a significant association between the internal working model of the mother and her ways to interact and manage the relation with her adolescent son; this is a clinical evidence too. Another relevant result is the association between adolescent’s psychopathology and his internal working model. Clinical applications regarding these findings should be taken in account when psychotherapeutically working with adolescents and their families

Emotional Difficulties in Adolescence: Psychopathology and Family Interactions.

Introduction. Several studies on developmental age have investigated aspects relating to emotional competence, and alexithymia in particular, showing that it is associated with behavioral problems in childhood and adolescence. Some such research has focused on the relationship between emotional difficulties and family interactions assuming a link between the quality of family relationships and a child\u2019s emotional competence. Subjects and Methods. The aims of the present study were: 1) to compare a group of psychiatric adolescents with a group of \u201chealthy\u201d adolescents in terms of any alexithymia and its relationship with the former\u2019s psychopathological issues; 2) to clarify the relationship, if any, between psychopathology, alexithymia and family interaction patterns in our sample of psychiatric adolescents. The experimental group consisted of 41 psychiatric adolescents and the control group of 41 students matched for gender and age. The Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) was used to identify any alexithymic traits, the Youth Self Report (YSR) 11-18 and the CBCL to detect any psycho-behavioral problems, and the Lausanne Trilogue Play (LTP) to analyze family interactions. Results. There was a higher prevalence of alexithymia among the adolescents with mental health problems than in the control group, and a correlation between their scores for internalizing problems and alexithymia. In the experimental group, adolescents with internalizing problems, somatic complaints and attention difficulties belonged to families revealing high levels of parental conflict. As for alexithymia, adolescents\u2019 difficulty identifying emotions correlated significantly with the same trait in their mothers. This feature also seemed to be associated with better family interactions. Conclusion. Our study confirms the importance of family relationships in the development of emotional skills, and highlights how deficiencies in the development of emotional competence are strongly associated with psychopathologies in adolescence. In the light of these findings, it is advisable in clinical practice to provide psychotherapeutic interventions for teens and their parents

The Lausanne Trilogue Play within the outcome evaluation in infant mental health: a preliminary report

This study aims to contribute to the scientific debate about the evaluation of the intervention in infant mental health and presents the main results after one year of intervention based on integrated types of treatments (psychodynamic psychotherapy for the child/adolescent, parental support and observation and assessment of family interactions). Furthermore, the study aims to explore the use of the Lausanne Trilogue Play (LTP) as a new assessment tool for planning the of treatments. The sample consists of 23 children and adolescents, aged between 4 and 17 years old, and their families, attending the Infancy, Adolescence and Family Service, Local Health Unit 16 of Padua due to their psychopathological problems. In order to assess their psychological conditions we used the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) to evaluate psycho-behavioral problems and the LTP to assess family interactions. The CBCL was used at the time of the diagnostic assessment (T0) and after 12 months of treatment (T12). Concerning the application of LTP, the sample was divided randomly in two groups: one where LTP was used in two different time intervals during therapy (T0 and T12) and another one where it was used in three different time intervals during therapy (T0, T6 and T12) with a video-feedback intervention at time T6. Results report a favorable outcome in regards of the gravity of patients’ symptoms, displaying, after one year of treatment, a statistical significant decrease in the clinical level of internalizing symptoms. In terms of family interactions, results show stability within the family patterns except for a statistically significant deterioration in the management of interactive mistakes. Regarding the use of LTP as evaluator of the above intervention, the study shows that the assessment of family’s interactions during long-term psychotherapy helps clinicians focus the intervention on those aspects that remain dysfunctional. These results and the possible interpretations, however, emphasize the need for further studies on this topic

An integrated approach to child psychotherapy with co-parental support: a longitudinal outcome study

Studies about the effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapy interventions with children and adolescents suggest potential adverse effects of this treatment when not supported by a parallel work with parents: it seems that it could damage family functioning and affect family balances. This research aims to assess psychopathological outcomes after two years of psychodynamic psychotherapy by comparing two groups (G) of children and adolescents, related to a Childhood Adolescence Family Service: G1 – individual therapy for child/adolescent only; G2 - therapy for child/adolescent and a separate session of co-parenting support. 21 families with children aged between 6 and 17 years completed the entire treatment. The research protocol involves: Lausanne Trilogue Play, Children Behavior Check List and Family Empowerment Scale. Results show a positive effect of the treatment on the child/adolescent psychopathological profile with a significant improvement concerning the reduction of both internalizing and externalizing problems. Results show the effectiveness of the integrated intervention in the improvement of parents’ abilities to validate the children emotional state. Our results suggesting that parenting support increase parental sensitivity, helping the parents to become more able to recognize the children’s emotional state and to validate it

Study of the Tissue Distribution of TLQP-21 in Mice Using [18F]JMV5763, a Radiolabeled Analog Prepared via [18F]Aluminum Fluoride Chelation Chemistry

TLQP-21 is a neuropeptide that is involved in the control of several physiological functions, including energy homeostasis. Since TLQP-21 could oppose the early phase of diet-induced obesity, it has raised a huge interest, but very little is known about its mechanisms of action on peripheral tissues. Our aim was to investigate TLQP-21 distribution in brain and peripheral tissues after systemic administration using positron emission tomography. We report here the radiolabeling of NODA-methyl phenylacetic acid (MPAA) functionalized JMV5763, a short analog of TLQP-21, with [18F]aluminum fluoride. Labeling of JMV5763 was initially performed manually, on a small scale, and then optimized and implemented on a fully automated radiosynthesis system. In the first experiment, mice were injected in the tail vein with [18F]JMV5763, and central and peripheral tissues were collected 13, 30, and 60 min after injection. Significant uptake of [18F]JMV5763 was found in stomach, intestine, kidney, liver, and adrenal gland. In the CNS, very low uptake values were measured in all tested areas, suggesting that the tracer does not efficiently cross the blood–brain barrier. Pretreatment with non-radioactive JMV5763 caused a significant reduction of tracer uptake only in stomach and intestine. In the second experiment, PET analysis was performed in vivo 10–120 min after i.v. [18F]JMV5763 administration. Results were consistent with those of the ex vivo determinations. PET images showed a progressive increase of [18F]JMV5763 uptake in intestine and stomach reaching a peak at 30 min, and decreasing at 120 min. Our results demonstrate that 18F-labeling of TLQP-21 analogs is a suitable method to study its distribution in the body

Precursors and correlates of mother-infant attachment in the first year: Behaviors, psychophysiological cues, brain functioning. | Precursori e correlati dell’attaccamento madre-bambino nel primo anno: comportamenti, indicatori psicofisiologici, funzionamento cerebrale.

Nell’ambito della teoria dell’attaccamento negli ultimi anni è emerso un interesse crescente verso la definizione di approcci integrati per l’osservazione e lo studio dei precursori e dei cor- relati comportamentali, psicofisiologici e cerebrali dello sviluppo affettivo-relazionale. Dall’analisi della letteratura dal 1990 al 2010 emerge la presenza di studi che valutano separatamente le precoci competenze interattivo-comportamentali (sguardi, vocalizzi), i correlati cerebrali (EEG, ERP) o gli indicatori psicofisiologici (cortisolo, tono vagale) del bambino in relazione alla qualità del legame di attaccamento. Nel presente lavoro ci si è posti l’obiettivo di proporre una revisione dei risultati e delle procedure sperimentali ad oggi utilizzate in tali ricerche empiriche allo scopo di stimolare una riflessione circa lo sviluppo di un approccio integrato e multidisciplinare nello studio del legame di attaccamento caregiver-bambino

Il ruolo delle interazioni familiari nell\u2019espressione del disagio psichico in adolescenza: uno studio preliminare.

Scopo della ricerca \ue8 la valutazione della relazione esistente fra dinamiche interattive familiari, valutate attraverso LTP, ed espressione psicopatologica, con particolare riguardo alla presenza di tratti alessitimici, valutati tramite questionari self report CBCL, YSR 11-18, TAS-20. I soggetti coinvolti sono 41 adolescenti (et\ue0 media 16,05 anni, DS: 1,987) e le loro famiglie afferenti ad un Servizio di Neuropsichiatria dell\u2019ULSS 16 di Padova. I dati, che dimostrano una relazione non lineare tra la qualit\ue0 delle dinamiche interattive e le disfunzioni psico-comportamentali dell\u2019adolescente, confermano l\u2019interdipendenza tra fattori interattivi ed individuali nell\u2019espressione psicopatologica adolescenziale, e la necessit\ue0 di strumenti di valutazione differenziati per permettere un\u2019integrazione di tali diversi assi esplorativ

A picture of infant, parents and family peculiarities in a group of families with premature babies.

Introduction: parent-preterm infant relationship is complex, and some relational patterns forecast greater psychological risk than others. Both temperamental infant peculiarities and quality of caregiving (positive parenting and parental stress) seem to be important predictors for later outcomes in preterm infants ,and may be considered as foci for developmental interventions. Aims of the study: (a) to investigate the quality of family interactive dynamics; (b) to draw a picture of the peculiarities of these families in terms of child temperament, self perception of parenting skills and parental stress. In order to analyze these variables we have performed descriptive and correlational statistics. Method: the target group is recruited at S.C.I.A.F. (Padua, Italy) and is composed by 29 families with premature infants. The correct age mean is 23.50 months (SD 13.5) and the chronological age mean is 26.03 months(SD 13.53). At the beginning the families were involved in a psychodiagnostic assessment which included: Lausanne Trilogue Play(Fivaz-Depeursinge & Corboz-Warnery, 1999), Italian Questionnaire of Temperament (Axia, 2002), Family Empowerment Scale (Koren, De Chillo & Friesen, 1992) and Parent Stress Index- Short Form (Abidin, 2008). Results: families'recruitment is still ongoing, then complete results will be available by 2016. From the preliminary analysis on the initial subgroup (6 families) we have noticed that (a) descriptives statistics indicate an appropriate quality of family interactive dynamics; (b) scores about child temperament and parental stress are in line with those of non clinical population. Conclusions: preliminary results indicate the absence of significant peculiarities both in preterm children and parents in terms of variables investigated.Results are discussed for their implications for preventive interventions in families with premature infants in terms of parental support intervention

The family of premature babies in a rehabilitation program: assessment of triadic family interactions.

Introduction: Health conditions at birth and early relationships are important for psycho-emotional development (Stern, 2004). Premature birth is a diffuse problem, relevant in terms of medical and psycho-emotional complications. These babies' parents may have difficulties in caring relationships (Landsem, 2014). Aims of the study: - Compare triadic interactions in a group of preterm infants (Gpi) participating to neurorehabilitation program, with those in a group of born at term infant (Gti) - Compare Gpi triadic interactions after six months of therapy, with those of Gti - Compare, in Gpi, parental stress, self-perception of parenting skills, child temperament at the beginning of neurorehabilitation program and after six months - Investigate, in Gpi, the link among self-perception of parenting skills, child temperament, parental stress and triadic relationships The total sample consists of 12 families Material and methods - Italian Questionnaire of Temperament (Axia 2002) - Family Empowerment Scale (Koren, De Chillo e Friesen, 1992) - Parent Stress Index- Short Form (Abidin, 2008) - Lausanne Trilogue Play (LTP, Fivaz-Depeursinge e Corboz-Warnery, 1999)Ltp was administered to both groups, other tests were administered to Gpi. Results: Ltp showed better interactions in Gti, even if, less differences were registered between the two groups (13 variables with better scores vs 11 variables) six months later, highling a good triadic interaction's evolution in Gpi. Amongs preterms' families, triadic interactions resulted to be influenced by parenatal stress, babies' temperament and parental skills. Conclusions: Ltp seems to be important to investigate the characteristics of early interactions, especially in those families need to be supported in delicate periods of life (such Gpi could be). These families have, their own functioning and tools able to identify it, can orient effective clinical intervention