Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Lancaster Bible College, 2007. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-100).

The purpose of our study is to highlight the knowledge of the small child's introduction to the new world of preschool. Five teachers and one child care provider has been interviewed about their experiences regarding the infants introduction seen as a phenomenon. Our thesis approach is inspired by phenomenology but with focus on two central concepts, lifeworld and essence. Our research questions focus on the following aspects: educator´s experiences of the introduction to preschool, what do the educators believe is significant for the introduction and how do the educators reflect on their role of profession? The surveys data is collected with the method of qualitative interviews followed with an analysis based on the phenomenological approach. From our analysis we have been able to determine the essence which is presented as three categories; relation between educator and child, the meaningful context and the educators own role of profession. In our findings we could see that children are being introduced to preschool accompanied by other children, they are being introduced as a group. The educators works with two different models concerning the introduction to preschool. One model where the parent´s role during the introduction is to be active and to participate in the daily activities along with their children. As opposed to the other model where the parent´s task during the introduction is to keep a secluded role. Five educators out of six are satisfied with their way of working regarding the introduction, however some of the educators express a frustration regarding insufficient guidelines concerning introduction of the little child into the world of preschool from the Swedish authority Skolverket. One conception that is recurring in different contexts is safety and the children’s capability to attachment. All educator´s believe that the relation between educator and child is of great importance for both children and parents when it comes to the introduction to preschool. Children and parents need to feel confident in this new meaningful context that they are being introduced in. The educators express the importance of a confidence-inspiring educator.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:28:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-03-30Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:16:57Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 gomes_aa_me_bauru.pdf: 1351547 bytes, checksum: cec8e0d89dc0cc29f7588e1ad48f7887 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / A teoria do apego, elaborada por John Bowlby, baseia-se na premissa de que os seres humanos, assim como outros animais, apresentam uma inclinação natural para construir e para manter vínculos com os outros que, ao longo do tempo, podem tornar-se insubistituíveis. Em suas pesquisas, desenvolvidas principalmente no período marcado pela Segunda Guerra Mundial, Bowlby descreveu os efeitos da separação de pessoas significativas na tenra infância, procurando especificar quais experiências afetivas seriam essenciais para a criança desenvolver habilidades para lidar com os desafios que a vida coloca a cada ser humano. No decorrer de praticamente meio século, a Teoria do Apego tornou-se um importante modelo psicológico que, na atualidade, possibilita elucidar tanto o desenvolvimento normal quanto condições psicopatológicas. Nesse contexto de transformações paulatinas, a dimensão emocional presente nos vínculos de apego constitui hoje, um componente fundamental de um quadro teórico bem mais extenso e diversificado. Em vista disso, o presente trabalho objetivou identificar os avanços da Teoria do Apego na Psicologia contemporânea, por meio de análise de material bibliográfico publicado no período de 2005 a 2010, na modalidade de resumos de artigos científicos e no formato de textos completos indexados nas bases de dados PsycInfo, Eric, Lilacs e Scielo. Foram encontrados 194 trabalhos, com maior volume de produção no ano de 2007. Nesse contexto, a pesquisadora chilena Maria Pía Santelices destacou-se como a autora com maior frequencia de publicações na atualidade. O inglês foi o idioma mais utilizado nos artigos encontrados, sendo que os Estados Unidos constituiu no país com maior volume de publicações. Observou-se um predomínio de estudos teóricos e, no caso dos estudos empíricos... / The attachment theory, developed by John Bowlby, is based on the premise that humans, like other animals, have a natural inclination to build and maintain links with others who, over time, may become irreplaceable. In this research, developed mainly in the period market by World War II. Bowlby described the effects of separation from significant others in early childhood, seeking to specify which affective experiences would be essential for the child develop skills to cope the challenges that life poses to every human being. During nearly half a century, the Attachment. Theory has become an important psychological model that currently enables elucidate both normal development and psychopathological conditions. In this context of gradual changes, the emotional dimension of attachment bonds is now a key component of a theoretical framework much more extensive and diversified. Taking this into account, the present study aimed to identify the progress of the Attachment Theory in the Contemporary Psychology, through analysis of papers published in the period 2005 to 2010, in the form of abstracts of scientific articles and in full text format indexed in databases PsyInfo, Eric, Lilacs and Scielo. The research found 194 studies and revealed a higher volume of production in 2007. In this context, the Chilean researcher Maria Pia Santelices stood out a the author of publications more frequently nowadays. Enghish was the language most used in the articles found, and the United States was the country with the greatest volume of publications. There was predominate of theoretical works and, in the case of empirical research, a greater number of studies investigating attachment in adulthood was detected. Studies on human development prevailed. Psychology was the field of knowledge that received the most... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Obesity is one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21^st century, associated with a range of adverse physical, psychological, social and economic consequences. The aetiology of obesity is complex; however, the psychological factors associated with overweight and obesity remain poorly understood. The first paper critically appraises evidence for three of the most developed psychological theories of obesity. Based on these findings, literature from the fields of emotion regulation and attachment are reviewed, and a novel developmental theory of obesity based on an integration of these theoretical constructs is proposed. Recommendations for future research based on a theoretical framework of emotion regulation are made, and implications for clinical practice including a focus on enhancing caregiver sensitivity are highlighted. The second paper explores the applicability of an established cognitive model of Bulimia Nervosa (BN) and binge eating to an overweight and obese sample. Findings support the relevance of cognitive aspects of the model in an overweight and obese sample, and highlight the potential role of early attachment relationships in the formation of cognitions that make an individual vulnerable to overweight and obesity in later life. Theoretical and clinical implications based on the established cognitive model are considered. Limitations include reliance on self-report and the correlational nature of analyses used. Recommendations for future research with larger, more representative samples to address these limitations are made. Overall, this dissertation makes a unique contribution to the psychological understanding of overweight and obesity, which has the potential to enhance treatment outcomes and suggests useful avenues for further research.

Introduction: A systematic review was undertaken to identify any psychological predictors of treatment dropout for individuals diagnosed with an eating disorder, to help inform psychological therapy and reduce attrition. An empirical study was conducted to understand developmental psychological mechanisms at play in the aetiology and maintenance of eating disordered symptomology by assessing reflective functioning and attachment from a trans-diagnostic perspective. Methods: Twenty-one papers were identified through a systematic search of databases using predefined extraction criteria, identifying psychological predictors of treatment dropout in eating disorders. Fourteen female adolescents with a diagnosis of an eating disorder were recruited to the empirical study from CAMHS inpatient and outpatient departments in NHS Scotland, as well as eighteen same age controls from local secondary schools. Participants completed questionnaires regarding eating behaviour, difficulties in emotion regulation, reflective functioning and were interviewed using the Adult Attachment Projective. Results: The systematic review revealed varied psychological predictors of dropout falling onto a continuum ranging from maturity fears to interpersonal difficulties. Results did not significantly differ for inpatient or outpatient treatment or diagnosis. The empirical study found adolescents with an eating disorder to have significantly more difficulties with their emotion regulation and reflective functioning as well as a more insecure attachment style when compared to controls, none of which were weight dependent. Conclusion: Further research is required to operationalise a definition of dropout. Although eating disorders can be seen as a defence mechanism to control and avoid emotional distress, this actually exacerbates them and causes disengagement from treatment. Clinical interventions need to focus on therapeutic rapport from the outset of treatment in order to reduce interpersonal difficulties leading to attrition. The results of the empirical study support the use of early intervention and person centred therapies for adolescents with an eating disorder, even when acutely starved. Specifically therapies that target reflective functioning and take insecure attachment styles into account may improve psychological efficacy and engagement.

The aim of this thesis was to explore the relationship between anger and aggression, insecure attachment, paranoia and social cognition in psychosis. It is presented as three separate papers: 1) a systematic review examining the relationship between paranoia and aggression in schizophrenia spectrum disorders, 2) an empirical study investigating predictors and mediators of trait anger across the psychosis continuum: the role of insecure attachment, paranoia and social cognition and 3) a critical reflection of the research process. Paper one provides a systematic review of the relationship between paranoia and aggression in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. A comprehensive search of the published literature identified fifteen eligible studies. The quality of the included articles is critically appraised during the synthesis of the findings. Methodological limitations, clinical implications and recommendations for future research are considered. Paper two provides an examination of predictors and mediators of trait anger across the psychosis continuum, considering the role of insecure attachment, paranoia and social cognition. Tests of theory of mind and measures of attachment, hostile attribution bias, paranoia and anger were administered to 174 participants (14 ultra-high risk of psychosis, 20 first-episode psychosis, 20 established psychosis and 120 non-clinical). Multiple regression analysis found attachment avoidance, paranoia and hostile attribution bias were significantly related to trait anger. Mediation analysis revealed paranoia mediated the relationship between attachment avoidance and trait anger. The results are discussed with consideration to previous research and limitations of the study. Clinical implications and recommendations for future research are also offered. Paper three provides a critical reflection of papers one and two, with reference to their design, implementation and interpretation. Personal reflections of the research process as a whole are also provided.

Attachment Theory posits that the caregiver has primary responsibility in fostering attachment security; however, children play increasingly active roles in shaping the quality of interactions as they grow beyond infancy (Bowlby, 1969). There has been limited research on transactional relationships between caregivers and children and their associations with attachment. While Interpersonal Theory has historically been utilized to understand adult interpersonal interactions and their associations with relationship quality, it may provide an avenue to explore parent-child transactional processes. Within Interpersonal Theory, interactions can be categorized as complementary and non-complementary. Yet, these unidimensional constructs make it impossible to determine the relative effects of when complementarity and non-complementarity have positive or negative valences. As such, this study investigated 143 mother–preschooler dyads (64 Child Maltreatment [CM] dyads and 79 non-CM dyads) to examine the associations between variations in two novel types complementarity and non-complementarity and attachment security. Positive complementarity included interactions that were warm and affiliative that elicited the same responses in return. Negative complementarity included interactions that were hostile and aversive that elicited those same responses in return. Positive non-complementarity was characterized by warm and affiliative parent behaviors and child hostile and rejecting behaviors. Negative non-complementarity was characterized by disaffiliative and hostile parent behaviors and warm and affiliative child behaviors. Separate logistic regression analyses revealed that positive complementarity and positive non-complementarity were significantly associated with an increased likelihood of secure attachment. Negative complementarity and negative non-complementarity were not significantly associated with an increased likelihood of insecure attachment. Results suggest that the positive valences of complementarity and non-complementarity are associated with attachment security, such that children in dyads where mothers maintained warm and affiliative behaviors with their child, whether the child was connecting and trusting the mother or withdrawing and sulking, were more likely to be securely attached. Thus, a mother’s ability to display positive and sensitive behaviors during moment-to-moment interactions with their child regardless of child’s response is important to a child’s attachment security.

Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses. / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-02

Background: The role of foster carer is a complex and emotionally demanding one. This is particularly true in the presence of difficult behaviour which can, at times, leave the foster carer feeling overwhelmed and increases the risk of placement breaking down. It is therefore important to find ways to support foster carers. The present study sought to explore the lived experience of foster carers caring for children who presented with difficult to manage behaviour, with consideration given to their attachment characteristics. Aim: The primary aim of this study was to generate a grounded theory of foster carers’ experience of caring for a child who presents with difficult to manage behaviour, in order to inform supports. Method: The study adopted a qualitatively driven mixed methods design (QUAL+quan). Grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) was used as the primary component. Eight female foster carers, with either past or present experience of caring for a child who they felt presented them with difficult to manage behaviour, were interviewed. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Adult attachment data was gathered to elaborate and enhance the interpretation of the foster carers’ narratives. Foster carer’s attachment characteristics were measured using The Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ: Griffin & Bartholomew, 1994), and the presence of behavioural difficulties were confirmed using the Assessment Checklist for Children (ACC: Tarren-Sweeney, 2007). Results: A core category emerged from the grounded theory analysis (‘Making Sense’) in addition to five main categories (‘Personal Impact’, ‘What Helps’, ‘What Makes it Difficult’, ‘Responding’ and ‘The Relationship’). The overarching theme to emerge from the research was the influence foster carer’s level of reflection and understanding of the behaviour (their mentalizing capacity) had on their experience of the child’s difficult behaviour, which appeared to relate to their attachment characteristics in addition to a number of internal and external factors. Consideration is given to the psychological process that emerged from the categories generated from the foster carers’ narratives, and the consequent proposed ground theory. Conclusions: The findings confirm the complexity of the foster caring role, and suggest the positive impact foster carer’s reflective stance can have on their experience of difficult behaviour in the child they care for. Research strengths and limitations are discussed, in addition to clinical practice and research implications.