This study examines the relationship between maternal emotional attachment to the fetus, beliefs about fetal health locus of control, and use of prenatal testing (i.e., amniocentesis and maternal serum screening). To date, no research has directly addressed the link between these psychosocial variables and prenatal testing uptake. Ninety-one pregnant women at risk for fetal abnormalities (i.e., 35 years of age or older) participated in the study, of whom 35 had no testing, 27 had serum screening, and 29 had amniocentesis in their current pregnancy. Results of a hierarchical multiple regression partially supported the hypothesis that internal and powerful others Fetal Health Locus of Control (Labs & Wurtele, 1986) and prenatal testing status would be predictive of attachment (Prenatal Attachment Inventory; Muller, 1993) over and above the effects of gestational age, maternal age and attitude toward abortion. Fetal Health Locus of Control beliefs regarding ones own role (FHLC-I) in determining the health of ones fetus were found to be predictive of prenatal attachment. Results failed to support the hypothesis that the role of health professionals (FHLC-P) would be predictive of prenatal attachment. As predicted, women who had not used prenatal testing or who underwent amniocentesis tended to have stronger prenatal attachment than those who underwent serum screening only. Results supported the hypotheses that stronger attachment to the fetus would be positively correlated with both FHLC-I and FHLC-P scores. Women who had no testing were found to hold less favourable attitudes toward abortion and rate their religious as stronger than those who had amniocentesis. Emotional attachment to the fetus was stronger among women who had previous miscarriages than those who had not, but did not differ between women who had a previous abortion and those who had not.

This study examines the relationship between maternal emotional attachment to the fetus, beliefs about fetal health locus of control, and use of prenatal testing (i.e., amniocentesis and maternal serum screening). To date, no research has directly addressed the link between these psychosocial variables and prenatal testing uptake. Ninety-one pregnant women at risk for fetal abnormalities (i.e., 35 years of age or older) participated in the study, of whom 35 had no testing, 27 had serum screening, and 29 had amniocentesis in their current pregnancy. Results of a hierarchical multiple regression partially supported the hypothesis that internal and powerful others Fetal Health Locus of Control (Labs & Wurtele, 1986) and prenatal testing status would be predictive of attachment (Prenatal Attachment Inventory; Muller, 1993) over and above the effects of gestational age, maternal age and attitude toward abortion. Fetal Health Locus of Control beliefs regarding ones own role (FHLC-I) in determining the health of ones fetus were found to be predictive of prenatal attachment. Results failed to support the hypothesis that the role of health professionals (FHLC-P) would be predictive of prenatal attachment. As predicted, women who had not used prenatal testing or who underwent amniocentesis tended to have stronger prenatal attachment than those who underwent serum screening only. Results supported the hypotheses that stronger attachment to the fetus would be positively correlated with both FHLC-I and FHLC-P scores. Women who had no testing were found to hold less favourable attitudes toward abortion and rate their religious as stronger than those who had amniocentesis. Emotional attachment to the fetus was stronger among women who had previous miscarriages than those who had not, but did not differ between women who had a previous abortion and those who had not.

Traditionally, it was believed that young children did not experience long-term negative effects resulting from a traumatic experience. Many professionals continue to assume that the effects of trauma on infants (0-3 years) are transient and that intervention is unnecessary. However, research has shown that infants and young children can develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Scheeringa, Peebles, Cook, & Zeanah, 2001). Symptoms consistent with older children and adults (i.e., re-experiencing, avoidance/emotional numbing, and hyperarousal) have been found with infants and young children exposed to trauma. The purpose of this dissertation was to better understand the nature of trauma in early childhood using a multidimensional approach. Three studies were conducted to determine the effects of trauma and PTSD on young children. Study 1 considered the effectiveness of using the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL), a popular measure of childrens adjustment, to screen for PTSD symptoms in a sample of young children. Results suggested that the PTSD subscale of the CBCL correctly identified 71% of children with PTSD. Study 2 examined the role that potentially traumatic events, as well as family and child characteristics, play in the development of symptoms of PTSD by surveying a community sample. Results suggested that certain events were more likely to be associated with symptoms of PTSD and that children with younger mothers and higher rates of internalizing problems were more likely to experience symptoms of PTSD. Study 3 explored the effects of trauma on young childrens emotional, physiological and relational functioning, and was conducted in two phases: Phase I considered PTSD symptom expression, physiological stress-response (i.e., salivary cortisol) and quality of attachment in children recruited from a community sample; and Phase II considered PTSD symptoms, quality of attachment and maternal psychological distress in the development of PTSD in a clinical sample of young children. Results found that in Phase I PTSD symptoms were not associated with either cortisol level or quality of attachment, although effect sizes were moderate. Phase II results found a direct and significant association between quality of attachment and PTSD symptoms. A non-significant but moderate effect size was found for the link between maternal psychological distress and PTSD symptoms. Findings are discussed with regards to their implications for future research and clinical practice.

Modern society is structured around consumption. The climate of the current consumer culture is one of intense competition. In order to differentiate their brands and products, companies are beginning to focus on differentiating their brands on the basis of distinctive emotional, rather than functional, characteristics. Emotional brand attachment is defined as the bond that connects a consumer with a specific brand by involving feelings of affection, passion, and connection. When established, emotional brand attachment is a powerful tool for building brand equity and influencing the purchasing decisions of consumers. This paper explores the marketing tactics utilized by Dove brand and Nike, Inc. Although the means were different, both companies successfully generated emotional brand attachment between their products and modern consumers.

Traditionally, it was believed that young children did not experience long-term negative effects resulting from a traumatic experience. Many professionals continue to assume that the effects of trauma on infants (0-3 years) are transient and that intervention is unnecessary. However, research has shown that infants and young children can develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Scheeringa, Peebles, Cook, & Zeanah, 2001). Symptoms consistent with older children and adults (i.e., re-experiencing, avoidance/emotional numbing, and hyperarousal) have been found with infants and young children exposed to trauma. The purpose of this dissertation was to better understand the nature of trauma in early childhood using a multidimensional approach. Three studies were conducted to determine the effects of trauma and PTSD on young children. Study 1 considered the effectiveness of using the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL), a popular measure of childrens adjustment, to screen for PTSD symptoms in a sample of young children. Results suggested that the PTSD subscale of the CBCL correctly identified 71% of children with PTSD. Study 2 examined the role that potentially traumatic events, as well as family and child characteristics, play in the development of symptoms of PTSD by surveying a community sample. Results suggested that certain events were more likely to be associated with symptoms of PTSD and that children with younger mothers and higher rates of internalizing problems were more likely to experience symptoms of PTSD. Study 3 explored the effects of trauma on young childrens emotional, physiological and relational functioning, and was conducted in two phases: Phase I considered PTSD symptom expression, physiological stress-response (i.e., salivary cortisol) and quality of attachment in children recruited from a community sample; and Phase II considered PTSD symptoms, quality of attachment and maternal psychological distress in the development of PTSD in a clinical sample of young children. Results found that in Phase I PTSD symptoms were not associated with either cortisol level or quality of attachment, although effect sizes were moderate. Phase II results found a direct and significant association between quality of attachment and PTSD symptoms. A non-significant but moderate effect size was found for the link between maternal psychological distress and PTSD symptoms. Findings are discussed with regards to their implications for future research and clinical practice.

A study by Gulistan Kavak has been done about the therapy school, Liljanschool. The school handles children between the ages seven and twelve who suffer from psychosocial problems. These psychosocial problems may be the children’s’ experiences of psychological trauma, attachment-difficulties and anxiety. Therapists, teachers, educators and medical professionals work at Liljanschool.  The purpose of this thesis is to see how parents see their children’s’ development at the school from there very first day until there last. Three questions have been formulated: How do parents of the children understand the development of the therapy that Liljanschool contributes with? How do the parents think that the school situation has been for their children? Do the school staff´s views and the parent´s views differ regarding cooperation between staff, parents and children? I have done a qualitative study.  In-depth interviews were conducted with the staff of the school and the children’s parents. The results show that the majority of respondents were positive about the school. The analysis shows that through the extension-theory, the children and parents have developed together. The children’s’ behaviour has changed in a positive way.

The aim of this study is to widen our knowledge about the basic idea about having an open preschool for adopted children as understood by parents of adopted children and a preschool teacher. Sweden has a large number of international adoptions, in an international comparison among the highest numbers of adoptions per capita. Interviews were carried out with seven adoptive parents and one preschool teacher teaching at a special preschool for adopted children. It was found that adoptive parents had no particular problems with placing their children in an "ordinary" preschool. However, they choose to place the children in an open preschool solely for adopted children because of the possibility of sharing similar experiences as parents and children as well. Activities at "Drippen" preschool were found mostly to be supportive of the adoptive parents. The interviewed preschool teacher was of the opinion that caring bodies such as Children's Health Centers and other similar institutions needed to develop a better understanding of both adoptive parents and their adopted children concerning developmental processes on their arrival in Sweden. Furthermore, the preschool teacher regarded Preschool "Drippen" as being like any other school except for the fact that children who attend there arrive with the experience of a significant separation, and thus ought be treated as infants regardless of their age on arrival. Because of this, the open preschool for adopted children tends to focus a great deal on establishing emotional connections with the adopted children and working with their language and physical development. Key words: adoption, attachment, identity, discrepancy, solidarity, foreign adoptions.

In rural destinations, community festivals and events displaying agricultural and livestock exhibits with a combination of entertainment activities are one of the heritage attractions that draw large numbers of visitors. They have not only provided an economic stimulus along with social and cultural benefits to these small communities, but also played a role in increasing the tourism appeal to nonlocal visitors. Considering the significance of a rural community festival to its hosting local residents and out-of-town visitors, attracting and keeping a flow of visitors has been of great importance for both the festival organizers and destination marketing organizations. In this respect, identification with and retention of loyal visitors who are psychologically committed to the festival are a practical means for ensuring a consistent number of visitors to that festival and its hosting community. The present study examined how festival visitors' develop loyalty to festivals and hosting communities through the affective and psychological processes within the Mehrabian-Russell (M-R) model. Specifically, this study explored how emotions engendered through tourism product consumption influence visitors' psychological attachment, evaluations of their festival and place experiences, and loyalty in a festival context. The study further examined if festival visitors' positive experiences could have an influence on their preference of festival communities. Through an onsite and follow-up mixed-mode survey, data were collected during Spring/Summer 2008 from visitors to three community festivals in Texas. Data analysis was performed using structural question modeling (SEM). The study findings provided empirical evidence in support of the M-R model within the festival contexts. The study results revealed that festival atmospherics had a positive indirect effect on festival loyalty via positive emotions, festival commitment, and festival satisfaction, which in turn positively influenced place loyalty. Additionally, the findings in this study provided empirical support for the applicability of product consumption emotions to visitors' emotions generated from tourism product consumption situation specific to the festival contexts. The findings of the study have theoretical and practical implications. For theory, these findings offer support for the M-R model within festival context. The model's focus on emotional response to environmental stimuli is an important addition to established cognitive-based models of loyalty development processes. For practice, the study offers some guidance for festival organizers and destination marketing managers for developing effective marketing strategies that focus on the festival atmospherics that ultimately retain and attract new festival goers.

The current study focused on the challenging task of providing treatment to male batterers and the various factors that may positively affect the outcome of treatment. Group treatment has been shown to be a successful modality to working with partner abusers, due to the unique environment that is created where males interact with and establish relationships with other males. This male-male socialization may have potential positive effects on the course and outcome of therapy. This study sought to provide support for Jennings and Murphy’s theory of domestic violence that malefemale disrupted relationships have roots in disrupted male-male relationships and male identity issues and rigid gender role ideals. This study predicted that over the course of a 15-week court mandated domestic violence group, improving male-male relationships would be correlated with improvements in male identity issues and rigid sex role attitudes and improvements in male-female relationship issues. These expectations were supported by the research data. Additionally, it was expected that an improvement in same sex relationships would be related to an overall dimensional change in their attachment system. This hypothesis was not supported by the data. Moreover, process variables such as group climate and working alliance were also examined throughout the course of the group to shed light on any changes that were found. The results showed steadily increasing reports of positive working alliance ratings by counselors and clients, and increasing levels of group cohesion among the group members. The discussion and conclusions focus on the clinical significance of the study’s findings and include specific examples from the groups in this study. Implications for treatment with this population, limitations of the study, and suggestions for future research are also addressed.

Two studies were conducted to test the central hypothesis that internal working models of attachment will influence false memory in a model-congruent pattern. Participants in both studies were first primed with a relationship-specific attachment model by writing about a person with whom they shared a secure, anxious, or avoidant relationship. Next participants viewed attachment-relevant and non-relevant stimuli presented in either a word list or vignette format. Afterwards they completed a brief distracter task followed by a category cued-recall memory test. Study 2 participants also reported confidence ratings for each word recalled. Results from both studies demonstrated interactive effects between chronic attachment and relationshipspecific models in predicting false memories. Effects were found primarily for attachment stimuli relevant to social isolation and hate/rejection themes. Both model-congruent and modelincongruent effects emerged depending on stimuli set and chronic attachment style. Notably, no attachment-based differences in false memories occurred for non-attachment stimuli. Finally, a consistent association was found between confidence in false recall and congruence between participants' chronic and relationship-specific working models; specifically, greater confidence was associated with congruency, and lower confidence with incongruence. This pattern occurred for both attachment-relevant and non-relevant stimuli. The results of this research provide further support for a key proposition of attachment theory; namely, that relationship working models influence how individuals process relationship-relevant information in general. In addition, this research contributes new knowledge regarding the generation of false memories in particular.