Love withdrawal predicts electrocortical responses to emotional faces with performance feedback: a follow-up and extension

BACKGROUND: Parental use of love withdrawal is thought to affect children’s later psychological functioning because it creates a link between children’s performance and relational consequences. In addition, recent studies have begun to show that experiences of love withdrawal also relate to the neural processing of socio-emotional information relevant to a performance-relational consequence link, and can moderate effects of oxytocin on social information processing and behavior. The current study follows-up on our previous results by attempting to confirm and extend previous findings indicating that experiences of maternal love withdrawal are related to electrocortical responses to emotional faces presented with performance feedback. RESULTS: More maternal love withdrawal was related to enhanced early processing of facial feedback stimuli (reflected in more positive VPP amplitudes, and confirming previous findings). However, attentional engagement with and processing of the stimuli at a later stage were diminished in those reporting higher maternal love withdrawal (reflected in less positive LPP amplitudes, and diverging from previous findings). CONCLUSIONS: Maternal love withdrawal affects the processing of emotional faces presented with performance feedback differently in different stages of neural processing

Child and Family Factors Associated With Child Maltreatment in Vietnam

This study aims to explore possible risk factors for child maltreatment in Vietnam by investigating the association of child and family factors with different types of child maltreatment (i.e., sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, witnessing parental conflict, and neglect) and the occurrence of multiple types of child maltreatment. Cross-sectional data of 1,851 secondary and high school students aged 12 to 17 years (47.3% boys) in four provinces of Northern Vietnam were obtained using self-report questionnaires. Results indicated that the likelihood of emotional abuse, witnessing parental conflict, and experiencing multiple types of child maltreatment during lifetime increased with age. Boys had a higher risk than girls on lifetime sexual abuse, and past year and lifetime physical abuse. Living in a single parent family was the risk factor related to most types of child maltreatment including lifetime sexual abuse, neglect, and multiple types of child maltreatment, and both past year and lifetime witnessing parental conflict. Interestingly, low socioeconomic status (SES) and parental unemployment were associated with a decreased risk on experiencing emotional abuse in the past year and during lifetime, respectively. “Tiger parenting,” a parenting style observed frequently in East Asian parents, may be more common in families with high SES and might explain this finding. This study highlights the importance of prioritizing single parent families in parenting programs and implementing child maltreatment interventions early because of the risk on child maltreatment increased with age. More research on emotional abuse and “Tiger parenting” in Vietnam could clarify the association of emotional abuse with high SES and parental employment. Finally, the underlying mechanisms of the risk factors in Vietnam should be studied more to inform interventions

The impact of oxytocin administration on charitable donating is moderated by experiences of parental love-withdrawal

Oxytocin has been implicated in a variety of prosocial processes but most of this work has used laboratory tasks (such as the ultimatum game or the dictator game) to evaluate oxytocin's prosocial effects. In a double blind randomized trial we examined the influence of intranasal administration of oxytocin on real, high-cost donating money to a charity with-out any expectation for reciprocation. Participants in the current study were 57 female undergraduate students, aged 18-30 years, who received a nasal spray containing either 24 IU of oxytocin or a placebo, and were then given the opportunity to make a charita-ble donation. The participants reported how often their parents used love-withdrawal as a disciplinary strategy involving withholding love and affection after a failure or misbehavior. Oxytocin appeared to increase the participants' willingness to donate money to a charity but only in participants who experienced low levels of parental love-withdrawal. In contrast, oxytocin administration was ineffective in enhancing donating behavior in individuals who experienced high levels of parental love-withdrawal. We conclude that the positive effect of oxytocin administration on prosocial behavior may be limited to individuals with supportive backgrounds

Measuring and monitoring national prevalence of child maltreatment: A practical handbook

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Baseline Functioning and Stress Reactivity in Maltreating Parents and At-Risk Adults: Review and Meta-Analyses of Autonomic Nervous System Studies.

We reviewed and meta-analyzed 10 studies ( N = 492) that examined the association between (risk for) child maltreatment perpetration and basal autonomic activity, and 10 studies ( N = 471) that examined the association between (risk for) child maltreatment and autonomic stress reactivity. We hypothesized that maltreating parents/at-risk adults would show higher basal levels of heart rate (HR) and skin conductance (SC) and lower levels of HR variability (HRV) and would show greater HR and SC stress reactivity, but blunted HRV reactivity. A narrative review showed that evidence from significance testing within and across studies was mixed. The first set of meta-analyses revealed that (risk for) child maltreatment was associated with higher HR baseline activity ( g = 0.24), a possible indication of allostatic load. The second set of meta-analyses yielded no differences in autonomic stress reactivity between maltreating/at-risk participants and nonmaltreating/low-risk comparison groups. Cumulative meta-analyses showed that positive effects for sympathetic stress reactivity as a risk factor for child maltreatment were found in a few early studies, whereas each subsequently aggregated study reduced the combined effect size to a null effect, an indication of the winner's curse. Most studies were underpowered. Future directions for research are suggested.The study was supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (LRAA: VIDI grant; MHvIJ: NWO SPINOZA prize; MJBK: VICI grant), and the Wellcome Trust (WT103343MA).This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from SAGE Publications via http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1077559516659937

Resting frontal EEG asymmetry in children: Meta-analyses of the effects of psychosocial risk factors and associations with internalizing and externalizing behavior

Asymmetry of frontal cortical electroencephalogram (EEG) activity in children is influenced by the social environment and considered a marker of vulnerability to emotional and behavioral problems. To determine the reliability of these associations, we used meta-analysis to test whether variation in resting frontal EEG asymmetry is consistently associated with (a) having experienced psychosocial risk (e.g., parental depression or maltreatment) and (b) internalizing and externalizing behavior outcomes in children ranging from newborns to adolescents. Three meta-analyses including 38 studies (N = 2,523) and 50 pertinent effect sizes were carried out. The studies included in the analyses reported associations between frontal EEG asymmetry and psychosocial risk (k = 20; predominantly studies with maternal depression as the risk factor) as well as internalizing (k = 20) and externalizing (k = 10) behavior outcomes. Psychosocial risk was significantly associated with greater relative right frontal asymmetry, with an effect size of d = .36 (p < .01), the effects being stronger in girls. A non-significant relation was observed between right frontal asymmetry and internalizing symptoms (d = .19, p = .08), whereas no association between left frontal asymmetry and externalizing symptoms was observed (d = .04, p = .79). Greater relative right frontal asymmetry appears to be a fairly consistent marker of the presence of familial stressors in children but the power of frontal asymmetry to directly predict emotional and behavioral problems is modest

The effectiveness of Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting for Foster Care (VIPP-FC)

Background: Foster children are at higher risk of the development of behavior and emotional problems, which can contribute to the development of insecure attachment bonds with their foster parents and (subsequently) to placement breakdown. Sensitive parenting might minimize the adverse effects of the behavior and emotional problems. Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline in Foster Care (VIPP-FC) is an adaptation of the evidence-based Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP-SD) and aims at increasing sensitive parenting and the use of sensitive discipline strategies of foster parents. The current study is the first to examine the effectiveness of VIPP-FC. Methods: A randomized controlled trial is used with 60 foster parent-child dyads (intervention group n=30, control group n=30). The primary outcomes are parental sensitivity, parental disciplining, and parental attitudes towards parenting. Data about attachment (in)security, behavioral and emotional problems, neurobiological parameters, and possible confounders is additionally collected. Discussion: Examining the effectiveness of VIPP-FC contributes to the knowledge of evidence-based prevention and intervention programs needed in foster care practice

Attachment representations and autonomic regulation in maltreating and nonmaltreating mothers.

This study assessed attachment representation and attachment-related autonomic regulation in a sample of 38 maltreating and 35 nonmaltreating mothers. Mothers' state of mind regarding attachment was measured using the Adult Attachment Interview. They further watched an attachment-based comfort paradigm, during which we measured skin conductance and vagal tone. More maltreating mothers (42%) than nonmaltreating mothers (17%) had an unresolved/disoriented attachment classification. Attachment representation was related to physiology during the comfort paradigm: an unresolved state of mind and a nonautonomous classification were associated with a decrease in skin conductance during the comfort paradigm, specifically during the responsive caregiver scenario. However, physiology did not differ between maltreating and nonmaltreating mothers. The decrease in skin conductance of unresolved mothers during the comfort paradigm might be indicative of a deactivating response, which is congruent with the dissociative nature of the unresolved state of mind. The results point to the potential utility of interventions focused on attachment representations for maltreating mothers.The study was supported by Yulius mental health clinic, the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (MHvIJ: NWO SPINOZA prize; MJBK: VICI grant; LRAA: VIDI grant), and the Wellcome Trust (WT103343MA).This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Cambridge University Press via https://doi.org/10.1017/S095457941600103

Positive parenting in foster care: Testing the effectiveness of a video-feedback intervention program on foster parents’ behavior and attitudes

The current randomized controlled trial examined the effectiveness of Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline in Foster Care (VIPP-FC) on parenting behavior and attitudes in foster parents (N = 60, 31–61 years, 83% female). The intervention group (n = 30) received VIPP-FC, consisting of six sessions. During the first four sessions, a specific theme from Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP-SD; e.g., attachment vs. exploration behavior), and an additional foster care theme (e.g., subtle or missing attachment signals) are discussed. Each theme is discussed during the consecutive sessions and the last two sessions are booster sessions during which all themes are discussed. The control group (n = 30) received a dummy intervention consisting of six telephone calls about general child developmental topics. The Ainsworth Scales for sensitivity and non-interference, the Erickson scale for supportive presence, and the Questionnaire Attitudes towards Parenting were used to measure parental sensitivity, sensitive discipline, and attitudes towards parenting, respectively. The intervention and control group did not differ on demographic characteristics or outcome variables at pretest. Multilevel analyses based on the intent-to-treat principle yielded no evidence that VIPP-FC was more effective in improving foster parents’ sensitive parenting behavior or eliciting more positive attitudes compared to the control condition. We suggest that the outcomes in this study may be explained by a possible selection bias, which may have resulted in a ceiling effect. Future research might include foster families that experience more severe challenges (i.e., elevated levels of child behavior problems) or indicate a need for help and support

Not the Root of the Problem-Hair Cortisol and Cortisone Do Not Mediate the Effect of Child Maltreatment on Body Mass Index.

BACKGROUND: Experiencing maltreatment during childhood exerts substantial stress on the child and increases the risk for overweight and obesity later in life. The current study tests whether hair cortisol-a measure of chronic stress-and its metabolite cortisone mediate the relation between abuse and neglect on the one hand, and body mass index (BMI) on the other. METHOD: The sample consisted of 249 participants aged 8 to 87 years (M = 36.13, SD = 19.33). We collected data on child abuse and neglect using questionnaires, measured cortisol and cortisone concentrations in hair, and BMI. In a structural model, the effects of abuse and neglect on hair cortisol, hair cortisone, and BMI were tested, as well as the covariance between hair cortisol and BMI, and hair cortisone and BMI. RESULTS: Within the sample, 23% were overweight but not obese and 14% were obese. Higher levels of experienced abuse were related to higher cortisone concentrations in hair (β = 0.24, p < .001) and higher BMI (β = 0.17, p =.04). Neglect was not related to hair cortisol, hair cortisone, or BMI. Hair cortisol and cortisone did not mediate the association between maltreatment, and BMI. Sensitivity analyses demonstrate the same pattern of results in a subsample of adult participants currently not living with their parents. However, in younger participants who were still living with their parents, the associations between abuse and cortisone (β = 0.14, p =.35) and abuse and BMI (β = 0.02, p =.92) were no longer significant. CONCLUSION: These findings confirm that experiencing abuse is related to higher BMI but suggest that hair cortisol and cortisone are not the mechanism underlying the association between child maltreatment and BMI. This is the first study to show abuse may be associated to elevated concentrations of hair cortisone-evidence of long-term alterations in chronic stress levels. Future research may benefit from exploring the effects of maltreatment on weight gain in longitudinal designs, including measures of other potential mediators such as eating as a coping mechanism, and more direct indicators of metabolic health