Repetitive thinking about the mother during distress moderates the link between children's attentional breadth around the mother and depressive symptoms in middle childhood

It has been suggested that an increased attentional focus on the mother should be maladaptive in middle childhood. However, the effect of a more narrow attentional field around the mother may depend on the mother-child relationship. The current study tested whether a more narrow attentional field around the mother is mainly maladaptive for children who tend to think repetitively about their mother (RTm) during distress. More specifically, it investigates whether RTm during distress provides the context in which an increased attentional focus on the mother is linked to depressive symptoms in middle childhood. RTm was measured using a self-report questionnaire. The breadth of children's attentional field around the mother was measured with the Attentional Breadth Task. This computer task assesses the extent to which children have a more narrow attentional field around the mother compared to unfamiliar women.. Results of the current study (N = 157) support the hypothesis that 9-12 year old children who have a more narrow attentional field around the mother and who at the same time report more RTm during distress, have more depressive symptoms. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Children's attention to mother and adolescent stress moderate the attachment-depressive symptoms link

The breadth of children's attentional field around their mother determines whether securely or insecurely attached children are at risk to develop depressive symptoms when confronted with distress in adolescence. To test this effect longitudinally, we measured children's (M-age = 10.93; N = 109) baseline attentional breadth around their mother, attachment status (combining attachment coherence, secure base script knowledge, and self-reported trust), and self-reported depressive symptoms. One and two years later, we measured self-reported distress and depressive symptoms. We tested three-way interactions between attentional breadth x attachment x distress on changes in depressive symptoms. This three-way interaction was marginally significantly linked with changes in depressive symptoms from baseline to year 1, and significantly with changes in depressive symptoms from baseline to year 2. Results pointed to the protective role of a narrow attentional field around the mother in middle childhood for securely attached children who are confronted with distress later in life

First-principles calculation of the band offset at BaO/BaTiO3_3 and SrO/SrTiO3_3 interfaces

We report first-principles density-functional pseudopotential calculations on the atomic structures, electronic properties, and band offsets of BaO/BaTiO$_3$ and SrO/SrTiO$_3$ nanosized heterojunctions grown on top of a silicon substrate. The density of states at the junction does not reveal any electronic induced interface states. A dominant perovskite character is found at the interface layer. The tunability of the band offset with the strain conditions imposed by the substrate is studied. Using previously reported theoretical data available for Si/SrO, Si/BaO and BaTiO$_{3}$/SrRuO$_{3}$ interfaces we extrapolate a value for the band alignments along the whole gate stacks of technological interest: Si/SrO/SrTiO$_3$ and Si/BaO/BaTiO$_3$/SrRuO$_3$ heterostructures.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Middle childhood attachment and depressive symptoms. The role of an increased focus on mother during distress.

According to attachment theory, children’s experiences with unsupportive caregivers during distress and the resulting insecure attachment influence the development of depression. Although associations between insecure attachment and internalizing symptoms are apparent in infancy and early childhood, recent findings suggest that the influence of moderators on this association increases in the transition to adolescence. However, there is a huge gap in research aimed at unraveling why and when insecure attachment in middle childhood is associated with depressive symptoms. Theoretically, an increased attentional focus on mother has always been considered to be one possible developmental risk factor that can mediate this association, as it is supposed to be a feature of a maladaptive strategy to regulate distress employed by insecurely attached children. However, recent research suggests that moderators determine whether this focus is maladaptive. Therefore, a better understanding of the increased focus on mother and identification of the moderators in the relation between this focus and depressive symptoms is fundamental to improve attachment theory and inform clinical interventions. The current dissertation aimed to gain more insight in the role of an increased focus on mother in middle childhood in the development of depressive symptoms. Three studies were conducted to investigate two indicators of this increased focus on mother in middle childhood, namely repetitive thinking about mother (RTm) and a more narrow attentional field around mother, and how they relate to attachment in middle childhood and concurrent or future depressive symptoms. The first study showed positive associations between attachment anxiety, RTm during distress, and self-reported depressive symptoms and depressive symptoms agreed upon by mother and child. RTm during distress mediated the relationship between attachment anxiety and these depressive symptoms. RTm mediated this relationship even beyond repetitive thinking about negative affect for depressive symptoms agreed upon by mother and child. Thus, a fist indication was provided that RTm during distress is an independent mechanism explaining the association between attachment anxiety and depressive symptoms in middle childhood. The second study demonstrated that children who have a more narrow attentional field around the mother and who at the same time report more RTm during distress, have more depressive symptoms. The third study showed that especially when children are securely attached in middle childhood, the risk for developing depressive symptoms in response to distress two years later depends on the breadth of children’s attentional field around mother. When they have an increased focus on mother in middle childhood, there is no change in depressive symptoms whether or not they experience distress. When they have a less narrow attentional focus on mother, there is an increase in depressive symptoms when they experience more distressing events and a decrease when there are less distressing events. So, these findings highlight the protective role of an increased focus on mother in middle childhood for securely attached children who encounter distressing events in the transition to adolescence.status: publishe

Attentional bias moderates the link between attachment-related expectations and non-suicidal self-injury

© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York. Insecure attachment is a transdiagnostic risk factor for the development of emotional and behavior problems. In the present study, we investigated the association between attachment-related expectations and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in a sample of 42 university students, taking into account the attentional bias around mother as a mechanism to explain this association. All participants completed the Self-Harm Inventory to assess life-time NSSI and the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment and the Attentional Breadth Task. Overall, 28.6 % of the participants engaged in at least one type of life-time NSSI. The results showed that participants who are less able to trust their mother are less likely to communicate with her, which is linked to more life-time NSSI, but only when their attention is more focused on her. Therefore, from a clinical point of view, it is advisable to also focus on the child–parent interaction while preventing or treating NSSI in adolescents and young adults.status: publishe

(In)variability of Attachment in Middle Childhood: Secure Base Script Evidence in Diary Data

© The Author(s) 2014. Secure attachment is characterised by a secure base script regarding the attachment figure as a source for support. Having such a cognitive script should affect the stability of state attachment. Specifically, incongruent attachment-related information should get assimilated to this secure base script, leading to state attachment scores that hardly fluctuate. For children without a script, state attachment should vary depending on the quality of attachment-related interactions. Two diary studies were carried out in 9-to 13-year-old children. Results suggested that with assimilation: (1) securely attached children fluctuated less in their daily attachment-related appraisals; (2) fluctuations were related to conflicts with mother; (3) this relation was stronger for less securely attached children. Consequently, these studies further support the secure base script hypothesis and provide insight into the interplay of trait and state components of attachment-related appraisals.status: publishe