Physiological contagion in parent–child dyads during an emotional challenge

Parents and children mutually influence each other’s behavior, but little work has examined how parent–child dyads influence one another’s physiological responding under conditions of emotional challenge. This is important to examine because physiological substrates underlie the development of self‐regulation. We examined this in 97 parent–child dyads who participated in a frustrating laboratory challenge that first perturbed the affective state of the dyad and then allowed recalibration. Children were between 3 and 7 years of age (M = 5.80 years, SD = 1.25 years; 41 boys). Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and pre‐ejection period (PEP) were assessed continuously as measures of parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system activity, respectively. Actor–partner interdependence models were used to quantify the extent of physiological contagion between partners. The expected actor effects were found for RSA and PEP, and a partner effect was found for RSA only. Specifically, parents’ RSA reactivity to perturbation influenced children’s RSA reactivity during recalibration. This provides additional evidence for parent–child coregulation, during which parents support their children’s regulatory efforts. We found no partner effects for PEP. Taken together, our results suggest that the two ANS branches may serve different regulatory functions, with parasympathetic functioning relating more strongly to social interactions and dyadic challenges like those in the current study. This study provides the first evidence of physiological contagion in an emotionally challenging context between parents and children.     

Moderators of the Relation between Shyness and Behavior with Peers: Cortisol Dysregulation and Maternal Emotion Socialization

This study investigated the relations among shyness, physiological dysregulation, and maternal emotion socialization in predicting children's social behavior with peers during the kindergarten year (N = 66; 29 girls). For shy children, interactions with peers represent potential stressors that can elicit negative emotion and physiological reactions. Behavior during these contexts can be viewed as adaptive (e.g., playing alone) or maladaptive (e.g., watching other children play without joining in) attempts to regulate the ensuing distress. Whether shy children employ adaptive or maladaptive regulatory behaviors was expected to depend on two aspects of emotion regulatory skill: (1) children's physiological regulation, and (2) maternal emotion socialization. Findings supported the hypotheses. Specifically, shy children with poorer cortisol regulation or have mothers who endorsed a higher level of non‐supportive emotion reactions engaged in more maladaptive play behaviors whereas shy children with better cortisol regulation or a high level of supportive maternal emotion reactions engaged in more adaptive play behaviors.     

Hispanic Immigration and Black Violence at the Macro‐Level: Examining the Conditioning Effect of Victim Race/Ethnicity

Much attention has been devoted to the relationship between Hispanic immigration and violent offending at the macro‐level, including how it varies across racial and ethnic groups. Unfortunately, little attention has been paid to the conditioning effect of the race/ethnicity of the victim, or how Hispanic immigration is associated with crime by one racial/ethnic group against members of the same or different groups. Using National Incident‐Based Reporting System offending estimates and American Community Survey data, we examine the association between Hispanic immigration and black intra‐ and intergroup (black‐on‐white and black‐on‐Hispanic) homicide, robbery, and serious index violence in over 350 U.S. communities. We employ advanced imputation methods to address missing data that have constrained much prior research, as well as utilize crime measures adjusted for the likelihood of random contact between groups. Findings suggest that (1) Hispanic immigration has a positive association with black violence on the whole, but that (2) this association is conditioned by the race/ethnicity of the victim. Our results reinforce the importance of distinguishing across offender–victim dyads in research on the immigration–crime nexus, particularly in light of competing theoretical expectations. Directions for future research and policy are discussed.     

Way of being and the therapeutic pyramid: Expanding the application of a common factors meta‐model

Common factors proponents have suggested the need for principle‐based meta‐models to explain how various factors interact with each other to produce change. The therapeutic pyramid is a common factors meta‐model that outlines how therapeutic skills and techniques, the therapeutic alliance, and a therapist's way of being interactive to produce therapeutic change. Skills and techniques occupy the smallest top portion of the pyramid, with the therapeutic alliance in the middle and a therapist's way of being forming the foundation of the pyramid. The success of any layer rests on the quality of the immediately underlying layer. This study illustrates the broad applicability of common factors meta‐models by applying the therapeutic pyramid to couples therapy, family therapy, training and supervision, and professional ethics.     

Applying a knowledge translation model to the uptake of the Baby Friendly Health Initiative in the Australian health care system

BackgroundThe Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative is a global, evidence-based, public health initiative. The evidence underpinning the Initiative supports practices promoting the initiation and maintenance of breastfeeding and encourages women's informed infant feeding decisions. In Australia, where the Initiative is known as the Baby Friendly Health Initiative (BFHI) the translation of evidence into practice has not been uniform, as demonstrated by a varying number of maternity facilities in each State and Territory currently accredited as ‘baby friendly’. This variance has persisted regardless of BFHI implementation in Australia gaining ‘in principle’ support at a national and governmental level as well as inclusion in health policy in several states. There are many stakeholders that exert an influence on policy development and health care practices.AimIdentify a theory and model to examine where and how barriers occur in the gap between evidence and practice in the uptake of the BFHI in Australia.ResultsKnowledge translation theory and the research to practice pipeline model are used to examine the identified barriers to BFHI implementation and accreditation in Australia.ConclusionAustralian and international studies have identified similar issues that have either enabled implementation of the BFHI or acted as a barrier. Knowledge translation theory and the research to practice pipeline model is of practical value to examine barriers. Recommendations in the form of specific targeted strategies to facilitate knowledge transfer and supportive practices into the Australian health care system and current midwifery practice are included.     

Assessing noninferiority: Evaluating efficacy of a new treatment without complete data

The FDA released the final guidance on noninferiority trials in November 2016. In noninferiority trials, validity of the assessment of the efficacy of the test treatment depends on the control treatment's efficacy. Therefore, it is critically important that there be a reliable estimate of the control treatment effect—which is generally obtained from historical trials, and often assumed to hold in the current setting (the assay constancy assumption). Validating the constancy assumption requires clinical data, which are typically lacking. The guidance acknowledges that “lack of constancy can occur for many reasons.” We clarify the objectives of noninferiority trials. We conclude that correction for bias, rather than assay constancy, is critical to conducting valid noninferiority trials. We propose that assay constancy not be assumed and discounting or thresholds be used to address concern about loss of historical efficacy. Examples are provided for illustration.     

Empirical Analysis of the Effects of Cyber Security Incidents

We analyze the time series associated with web traffic for a representative set of online businesses that have suffered widely reported cyber security incidents. Our working hypothesis is that cyber security incidents may prompt (security conscious) online customers to opt out and conduct their business elsewhere or, at the very least, to refrain from accessing online services. For companies relying almost exclusively on online channels, this presents an important business risk. We test for structural changes in these time series that may have been caused by these cyber security incidents. Our results consistently indicate that cyber security incidents do not affect the structure of web traffic for the set of online businesses studied. We discuss various public policy considerations stemming from our analysis.     

Consumption Rituals in the Transition to Motherhood

The acquisition of consumer goods is a significant feature of the transition to motherhood for middle-class women in contemporary US society. The acquisition and arrangement of consumer goods during the transition to motherhood often occurs in ritualized fashion through two prevalent consumption rituals, nesting and gifting. Using data from qualitative, semi-structured interviews with new, first-time mothers, this article explores the symbolic meanings mothers associate with these consumption rituals. Findings indicate that the rituals facilitated a sense of control and feelings of preparedness for the new role and status of mother, played a significant role in gendering the child, and allowed mothers to create a sense of continuity between their own interests and their children’s interests. In all three of these areas, nesting and gifting were conceived as ways of becoming more “prepared,” thereby facilitating the transition to becoming a mother. This study provides insight into how consumption helps perpetuate the gender system, both through gendering the child and reinforcing the culture of motherhood.     

Outsider and Insider Expertise: The Response of Residents of Deprived Neighbourhoods to an Academic Definition of Social Exclusion

The aim of this paper is to compare academic interpretations of the term social exclusion with the understanding of people with direct experience of the phenomenon. A preselected group of residents of deprived neighbourhoods were asked about various aspects of the concept and their responses compared with the definitions of social exclusion used by Burchardt, Le Grand and Piachaud in this Journal in 1999. In general, the residents' understanding of the term corresponded well with the more academic definitions; however, in one or two key areas there were significant differences, suggesting that it might be useful for more academic concepts to be tested against the views of those with experience of the phenomenon which the concept is trying to capture.