Domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) do not show signs of secure attachment to their owners

The Ainsworth Strange Situation Test (SST) has been widely used to demonstrate that the bond between both children and dogs to their primary carer typically meets the requirements of a secure attachment (i.e. the carer being perceived as a focus of safety and security in otherwise threatening environments), and has been adapted for cats with a similar claim made. However methodological problems in this latter research make the claim that the cat-owner bond is typically a secure attachment, operationally definable by its behaviour in the SST, questionable. We therefore developed an adapted version of the SST with the necessary methodological controls which include a full counterbalance of the procedure. A cross-over design experiment with 20 cat-owner pairs (10 each undertaking one of the two versions of the SST first) and continuous focal sampling was used to record the duration of a range of behavioural states expressed by the cats that might be useful for assessing secure attachment. Since data were not normally distributed, non-parametric analyses were used on those behaviours shown to be reliable across the two versions of the test (which excluded much cat behaviour). Although cats vocalised more when the owner rather the stranger left the cat with the other individual, there was no other evidence consistent with the interpretation of the bond between a cat and its owner meeting the requirements of a secure attachment. These results are consistent with the view that adult cats are typically quite autonomous, even in their social relationships, and not necessarily dependent on others to provide a sense of security and safety. It is concluded that alternative methods need to be developed to characterise the normal psychological features of the cat-owner bond

Pharmacotherapeutic intervention in impulsive preschool children: The need for a comprehensive therapeutic approach

Impulsive and aggressive behaviour symptoms often are serious problems in children, even already at preschool age. Thus, effective treatment approaches are requested. In this comment pharmacotherapeutic treatment approaches, first of all risperidone, their limitations and alternative psychotherapeutic approaches are outlined

State trust in middle childhood: an experimental manipulation of maternal support

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Attachment to mother and father at transition to middle childhood

The present study investigated concordance between representations of attachment to mother and attachment to father, and convergence between two narrative-based methods addressing these representations in middle childhood: the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task (MCAST) and the Secure Base Script Test (SBST). One hundred and twenty 6-year-old children were assessed by separate administrations of the MCAST for mother and father, respectively, and results showed concordance of representations of attachment to mother and attachment to father at age 6.5 years. 75 children were additionally tested about 12 months later, with the SBST, which assesses scripted knowledge of secure base (and safe haven), not differentiating between mother and father attachment rela- tionships. Concerning attachment to father, dichotomous classifications (MCAST) and a continuous dimension cap- turing scripted secure base knowledge (MCAST) converged with secure base scriptedness (SBST), yet we could not show the same pattern of convergence concerning attach- ment to mother. Results suggest some convergence between the two narrative methods of assessment of secure base script but also highlight complications when using the MCAST for measuring attachment to father in middle childhood

Transforming futures for koorie pre-schoolers in Gippsland through community-educative partnerships

Australians of Indigenous descent within south-eastern New SouthWales and Victoria generally self-identify as Koorie. Gippsland's Indigenous population is concentrated within the main regional centres of the Latrobe Valley and the more remote areas of east Gippsland. Within these demographics, early childhood services have a crucial role to play in supporting young Koorie children and their families in multifaceted ways. These services are tasked with actively promoting the sustained collaboration and participation of the Indigenous community from a Gippsland standpoint. The capacity of Gippsland to meet the outcomes for early childhood education identified in Victoria's Marrung Aboriginal Education Plan 2016-2026 is closely concomitant upon the ability of early childhood services to reflect family and community values and funds of knowledge. With these considerations in mind, this chapter discusses the opportunities, barriers and aspirations of Indigenous families accessing and engaging with early childhood services in Gippsland. The voices of the Gippsland Indigenous community are reflected through researcher interviews with Indigenous educators and leaders linked to the early childhood services. Many progressive examples of strong and affirming partnerships between the Indigenous community and early childhood services are revealed within this chapter. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion on the significance of the research for the Gippsland region, which was undertaken by Federation University Australia (FUGuE) researchers from a regional university in conjunction with colleague Nicholas Johnson, a Gunai, Monero Ngarigo and Gunditjmara man. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019. All rights are reserved