Attachment and approach-avoidance motivations for sexual coercion in romantic relationships

This research resulted in the development of a psychometrically sound assessment of approach and avoidance motives for subtle sexual coercion in romantic relationships. It also identified approach and avoidance motivations to be an important mechanism in understanding the association between individual differences in attachment style and experiences of sexual coercion

An Image-Free Opto-Mechanical System for Creating Virtual Environments and Imaging Neuronal Activity in Freely Moving Caenorhabditis elegans

Non-invasive recording in untethered animals is arguably the ultimate step in the analysis of neuronal function, but such recordings remain elusive. To address this problem, we devised a system that tracks neuron-sized fluorescent targets in real time. The system can be used to create virtual environments by optogenetic activation of sensory neurons, or to image activity in identified neurons at high magnification. By recording activity in neurons of freely moving C. elegans, we tested the long-standing hypothesis that forward and reverse locomotion are generated by distinct neuronal circuits. Surprisingly, we found motor neurons that are active during both types of locomotion, suggesting a new model of locomotion control in C. elegans. These results emphasize the importance of recording neuronal activity in freely moving animals and significantly expand the potential of imaging techniques by providing a mean to stabilize fluorescent targets

Unsupervised data-driven stratification of mentalizing heterogeneity in autism.

Individuals affected by autism spectrum conditions (ASC) are considerably heterogeneous. Novel approaches are needed to parse this heterogeneity to enhance precision in clinical and translational research. Applying a clustering approach taken from genomics and systems biology on two large independent cognitive datasets of adults with and without ASC (n = 694; n = 249), we find replicable evidence for 5 discrete ASC subgroups that are highly differentiated in item-level performance on an explicit mentalizing task tapping ability to read complex emotion and mental states from the eye region of the face (Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test; RMET). Three subgroups comprising 45-62% of ASC adults show evidence for large impairments (Cohen's d = -1.03 to -11.21), while other subgroups are effectively unimpaired. These findings delineate robust natural subdivisions within the ASC population that may allow for more individualized inferences and accelerate research towards precision medicine goals.This study was supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) East of England at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust. This study was also conducted in association with the European Autism Interventions—A Multicentre Study for Developing New Medications (EU-AIMS) consortium; EU-AIMS receives support from the Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking under grant agreement number 115300, resources of which are composed of financial contribution from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013), EFPIA companies, and Autism Speaks. This study was also supported by grants from the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) (G0600977), the Wellcome Trust (091774/Z/10/Z), and the Autism Research Trust (ART). M-CL and AR received support from the William Binks Autism Neuroscience Fellowship at the University of Cambridge. M-CL received support from the O’Brien Scholars Program within the Child and Youth Mental Health Collaborative at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Nature Publishing Group via https://doi.org/10.1038/srep3533

Attachment style and less severe forms of sexual coercion : a systematic review

Few studies have examined how attachment insecurity (i.e., attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance) is associated with the more subtle and less severe forms of sexual coercion, such as verbal threats and partner manipulation. This is despite the fact that past research has indicated some of the relationship behaviors exhibited by insecurely attached individuals represent behaviors indicative of either the perpetration or victimization of less severe forms of sexual coercion. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review on the association between attachment style and less severe forms of sexual coercion. Our search, which included published journal papers, book chapters, and theses published between January 1970 and October 2014, yielded 1091 records. Examination of these records against exclusion criteria yielded 11 studies that focused on the associations between attachment orientation and perpetration of sexual coercion (n = 3), sexual coercion victimization (n = 3), or both perpetration and victimization (n = 5). Findings revealed that attachment anxiety appeared to be more consistently associated with being the victim of sexual coercion than attachment avoidance. In terms of perpetration, attachment avoidance was more consistently associated with sexual coercion. These findings were observed when examining the association between attachment dimensions and motives for sexual coercion. The findings also revealed gender to be a moderator for victimization. This review provides insights into how attachment style may influence the perpetration and victimization of sexual coercion

Carer burden: Associations with attachment, self-efficacy, and care-seeking

Familial caregiving research is yet to examine the factors that underpin the association between attachment insecurity and carer burden. Furthermore, previous research consists largely of data collected at a single point in time. This paper addresses these gaps by reporting on a study involving 57 parent&ndash;child dyads to determine whether adult children&rsquo;s caregiving self-efficacy mediates the association between carer attachment insecurity and carer burden. Furthermore, care-recipient care-seeking style was investigated as a moderator of the association between carer&rsquo;s attachment insecurity and their self-efficacy. Carers completed self-report measures of attachment orientations at baseline, caregiving self-efficacy at 3 months, and carer burden at 6 months. At 3 months, dyads also engaged in a video-recorded caregiving discussion task assessing care-recipient&rsquo;s observed care-seeking style. The mediation effects of carer attachment orientations on burden through caregiving self-efficacy were contingent on care-recipient indirect-constructive care-seeking. Findings highlight the complex interplay between carer attachment orientations, caregiving self-efficacy, and care-recipient care-seeking style in predicting the burden experienced by adult children. </jats:p

Karantzas et al. (2020) COVID-19 Relationship Wellbeing &amp; Loneliness

It has been assumed that the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted parental and family relationships due to issues including economic problems, strains of home confinement and social isolation. Despite these assumptions, there has been little research to date investigating the impact of COVID-19 stressors on parents’ relationship wellbeing and loneliness. Hence, there is an insufficient evidence base with which to guide policy or action in this most critical arena. The current study reports data from a large national representative sample (N=1,829) of Australian parents, surveyed during the early phases of the COVID-19 lockdown. Drawing on widely studied relationship models of vulnerability-stress and stress-buffering, Structural Equation Models (SEM) were derived to test the extent that COVID-19 stressors, personal vulnerabilities (mental health problems, attachment insecurity), relationship adaptation processes (constructive communication, partner support), and the interactions between these variables, predicted relationship quality and loneliness. After controlling for pre-pandemic stressors, relationship adaptations buffered the negative effects of COVID-19 stressors and personal vulnerabilities on relationship quality and loneliness. The findings provide support for a model of stress-buffering over a model of vulnerability-stress. The findings have important implications for the identification of parents at risk of relationship difficulties and social disconnection during the pandemic, and for policy and practice in how best to strengthen relationships and human connection during COVID-19