Infants of Depressed Mothers Show Reduced Gaze Activity During Mother–Infant Interaction at 4 Months

Gaze is one of the main means of communication in young infants, and it has been shown to be important for subsequent socio‐emotional and cognitive development. Maternal depression is a well‐known risk factor for disrupting mother–infant interactions, but findings regarding gaze behavior in infants of depressed versus nondepressed mothers have been ambiguous. In this study, we examined gaze duration and activity in a sample of 27 infants of mothers with postpartum depression (PPD) and 49 infants of nondepressed mothers. Maternal depressive symptoms were assessed with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, and diagnoses were confirmed in clinical interview. Infant gaze was assessed during 4‐month face‐to‐face interactions using continuous timed‐event coding with high temporal resolution. Although we found no differences in gaze duration, infants of PPD mothers had both significantly less Gaze On and also less Gaze Off events. Findings suggest that PPD is related to reduced gaze activity during mother–infant interaction in 4‐month‐olds. This reduced activity may have long‐term negative consequences for child development.     

Establishing a Parenting Program for Fathers in Substance Abuse Treatment

This paper describes a systemic, trauma and attachment model for a parenting program for fathers in residential substance abuse treatment. It emphasises the complex nature of delivering parenting programs in this context and the importance of going beyond simple linear principles of reward and punishment, upon which many other parenting programs are predicated.     

Services to prevent child placing-out for cocaine-affected and non-affected families

This study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of the'In-Home Family Care' programme of Children's Home Society of California in Alameda County, particularly regarding the emphasis and impact of services for cocaine-affected families. The family characteristics, problems addressed and service provision in cases served over a 3-year period were assessed in terms of their relation to placement outcome for cocaine-affected and non-affected families. This evaluation found that, despite serious and often chronic problems among cocaine-affected families, their child removal rate was no higher than that for non-affected families. Implications for risk assessment and placement decisions are discussed.     

Validation of the 12 Item Short form Health Survey in a Sample from Region Central Jutland

In 2010 the Danish regions started a new program of public health surveillance in collaboration with the national and local health authorities using the short form health survey (SF-12) for measuring and reporting on health related quality of life among the Danish adult population. The instrument has not, however, been validated in a Danish setting. The aim of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of the physical component summary (PCS) and the mental component summary (MCS) score of the 12-item short form health survey (SF-12) in a sample from Central Denmark Region. A total of 26,397 persons above the age of 25 were included in the analyses. Reliability was assessed by Cronbach’s α. The validity was assessed using known-groups comparisons and convergent validity. The factor structure was investigated through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The Cronbach’s α showed high reliability with a score of 0.90 and 0.85 for PCS and MCS respectively. The SF-12 discriminated well with respect to gender, age, educational status and long term illness. Individual items correlated higher with own hypothesized scales than with other scales and summary measures corroborating the convergent validity. The EFA gave a two-factor structure. Irrespective of the chosen rotation method (varimax and oblimin) the items related to PCS loaded on one factor and the items related to MCS loaded on another factor. The factor structure was validated with acceptable model-fit values in CFA. The SF-12 instrument is a reliable and valid measure of health related quality of life among the population of Central Denmark Region.     

Presence Through Absence: Phylloxera and the Viticultural Imagination in McLaren Vale,South Australia

Grape phylloxera is an insect pest that has destroyed vineyards and brought ruin to winegrowing regions worldwide. In South Australia, however, strong biosecurity regulations have ensured it has remained absent. In this absence phylloxera takes on powerful symbolic value, and regional viticultural identities may be imagined in relation to the presence of phylloxera elsewhere. This paper draws from ethnographic research with grape growers and wine producers in McLaren Vale, a region whose vineyards are understood through this ‘phylloxera-free’ paradigm. The article specifically explores controversies around modification of South Australian biosecurity regulations in a way that favoured large winegrowing corporations’ need to more easily move material between regions, to the perceived detriment of vineyard security. The phylloxera risk has economic, social and symbolic dimensions in McLaren Vale, where the insect has become symbolically aligned with the most impersonal, pervasive and destructive aspects of globalised wine capitalism.     

Changing Spousal Roles and Their Effect on Recovery in Gamblers Anonymous: GamAnon,Social Support,Wives and Husbands

This paper examines changing spousal roles and their effects upon recovery in Gamblers Anonymous (GA). It is based upon a qualitative study designed to gage uniformity as well as variations in approaches to recovery in GA. Interviews were conducted with 39 GA members (26 men, 13 women; mean age 56.5 years). Though the study was based in the Toronto area, only 13 interviews involved participants from that region. Phone interviews were conducted with GA members from various regions of both Canada and the US. GamAnon, GA’s sister fellowship, has been designed for anyone affected seriously by someone’s gambling problem. In practice, GamAnon comprises mostly women––spouses of male GA members––who traditionally have taken a keen interest in the ways in which their husbands achieve and maintain abstinence from gambling. Changing spousal roles have led to fewer women joining GamAnon, as many opt instead to part with troubled spouses. As well, more women are attending GA than in the past, typically with husbands who are disinclined to join GamAnon. All of this has drastically altered how GA members pursue recovery. These changes and their implications are discussed.     

Change in intergenerational economic mobility in Norway: conventional versus joint classifications of economic origin

Studies of mobility within both sociology and economics most commonly use a conventional classification of social or economic origin, based on the position of the father only. The questions raised in the paper is whether there has been a trend towards more economic mobility, and whether conclusions about change based on a joint classification of both mother and father differ from those based on conventional classifications. These questions are addressed on the basis of register data on the earnings of the total Norwegian population of mothers, fathers and children from 1967 and onwards. The analyses focus on the earnings of the cohorts born between 1955 and 1970, and their earnings at the age of 34–35. The results do not support the argument in previous research that intergenerational economic mobility has increased in Norway. Moreover, the results based on a conventional approach differ from those based on a joint classification including the earnings of both mother and father. Using the latter approach there is no indication of a trend towards greater openness.     

Differential Developmental Profiles of Adolescents Using Sexually Explicit Internet Material

This study used a person-centered approach to examine whether different developmental trajectories of boys’ and girls’ use of sexually explicit Internet material (SEIM) exist, which factors predict these trajectories, and whether sexual behavior develops differently for adolescents in these trajectories. A combination of latent class growth analysis on SEIM use and latent growth curve analysis on sexual behavior was used on four-wave longitudinal data of 787 eighth through tenth grade Dutch adolescents. Among boys, four SEIM use trajectories were identified, which were labeled Nonuse/Infrequent Use, Strongly Increasing Use, Occasional Use, and Decreasing Use. Among girls, a large Stable Nonuse/Infrequent Use and smaller Strongly Increasing Use and Stable Occasional Use trajectories were distinguished. Higher initial levels and/or stronger increases in SEIM use were predicted by demographic, social contextual, personal, and media use characteristics, including a stronger sexual interest, a higher degree of perceived realism regarding sexualized Internet content, and more permissive sexual attitudes. Moreover, initial levels of and, to some extent, developmental changes in sexual behavior varied for boys and girls in the different SEIM use trajectories. Whereas some adolescents showed concurrent low levels, or parallel strong increases in SEIM use and sexual behavior, a subgroup of boys decreased their SEIM use while increasing their sexual behavior.