Attachment theory states that emotion regulation is one of the central features of attachment system. The current study adopted an attachment perspective to investigate how mother-child attachment at 36 months and teacher-child relationships at 54 months influence children’s emotion regulation in 3rd grade, and whether teacher-child relationships moderate the associations between mother-child attachment and children’s emotion regulation. Longitudinal data from the first three phases of the National Institute of Child Health and Human development Early Child Care Research Network of Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (NICHD SECCYD) were used in the study. The results showed that the association of teacher-child conflict and child’s negative engagement with peers was statistically significant. Additionally, teacher-child relationships significantly moderated the impacts of mother-child attachment on children’s emotion regulation. Specifically, the relationship between teacher-child conflict and negative engagement with peers for children with secure attachment and for those with disorganized attachment were in opposite directions. The relationship between teacher-child closeness and negative engagement with peers was significant for children with disorganized attachment, but not for children with secure attachment. And, the results showed that the levels of conflict in teacher-child relationships for children with ambivalent and with disorganized attachment were statistically different from those for children with secure attachment. The present study fills in the research gap with regard to the effects of teacher-child relationships on children’s emotion regulation. It also suggests that children’s experiences of positive teacher-child relationships may compensate for the negative impacts of insecure early mother-child attachment patterns on emotion regulation development.

Attachment refers to a strong emotional bond with special people in a person?s life, in whose presence the person experiences pleasure, joy and comfort in times of stress. The first attachment in life is commonly formed between an infant and primary caregiver, which is usually the mother. The caregiving provided by the mother or caregiver will determine whether a secure or insecure attachment pattern is formed. Attachment theory indicates that this first attachment forms the basis for a cognitive representation, the so-called internal working model, which becomes part of the person?s personality and forms the foundation of the person?s perception of the self and the world as well as of all future interpersonal relationships. As infancy is a sensitive period for the development of attachment, the prenatal period could be an appropriate time to educate expecting mothers about the importance of secure attachment and their role in the development thereof. The researcher therefore wished to explore whether antenatal programmes could be used as a platform for teaching expecting mothers about attachment. As a starting point, the goal of this study was to explore the perceptions of antenatal programme presenters on including training on attachment into antenatal programmes. The study was based on a qualitative research approach, and applied research as the type of research. A collective case study research design was adopted and data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews that were conducted with a sample of ten presenters of antenatal programmes in the Tshwane district. The participants were selected by means of purposive sampling. Data was analysed according to methods for qualitative data analysis, and relevant ethical considerations were followed during the study. The research findings indicate that the participants were aware of the importance and benefits of secure attachment and that they had a positive attitude towards the inclusion of training on attachment into antenatal programmes. They were eager to receive training on attachment and to adapt their programmes to include training on attachment. The researcher concludes that it would be feasible and beneficial to include training on attachment into antenatal programmes, and to train antenatal programme presenters for this purpose. The provision of training on attachment to nurses and raising awareness of attachment in the private and public health care sectors could facilitate greater knowledge of attachment for expecting mothers. Further research in diverse settings, such as in private and public clinics and hospitals in different geographical areas, is recommended. / Mini Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Social Work and Criminology / MA / Unrestricted

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a well-recognized public health issue with significant consequences for victims, families, communities, and society at large. Although IPV was once thought to be an almost exclusively male-to-female problem, in recent years it has become more widely understood that IPV also occurs in the context of women’s LGBTQ+ relationships. LGBTQ+ individuals experience ongoing stress because they live in a heterosexist society, termed minority stress, which has been associated with many negative sequelae including attachment insecurity and IPV. Thus, it is pertinent to examine how one’s context, specifically minority stress caused by oppression, may uniquely influence IPV in women LGBTQ+ couples. A sample of 64 LGBTQ+ identified women currently in same-gender relationships filled out self-report questionnaires on minority stress, attachment style, and IPV. Contrary to expectations, it was determined that two types of minority stress, internalized homophobia and experiences of discrimination and heterosexism, were not associated with physical or psychological IPV. However, internalized homophobia was significantly associated with attachment avoidance, but not attachment anxiety. Both attachment anxiety and avoidance were significantly associated with psychological, but not physical, IPV. Mediation analysis revealed an inconsistent significant mediation for the effect of internalized homophobia on psychological IPV; this occurs when the mediator acts as a suppressor variable or a variable that masks any direct effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable. In the current study, the overall indirect effect of internalized homophobia on psychological IPV through attachment avoidance and anxiety was significant. The direct effect of internalized homophobia on psychological IPV was significant but the association was negative, such that once attachment (the suppressor variable) was included in the model, lower internalized homophobia was associated with greater psychological IPV. Overall, internalized homophobia uniquely contributed to attachment insecurity, particularly attachment avoidance, which is a significant risk factor for IPV in women’s same-gender relationships The global COVID-19 pandemic onset occurred before data collection commenced, thus questions were added to measure related changes in psychological symptoms, relationship stress, and IPV related to the pandemic. Psychological symptoms including sadness, loneliness, anxiety, and grief increased in the current sample since the pandemic onset. Similarly, self-reported relationship stress due to work, childcare, and health increased since pandemic onset. An increase in relationship stress was significantly positively correlated with an increase in psychological IPV since the pandemic onset. Thus, there was already an impact on participant’s mental health and stress even within the first six months of the pandemic, although most participants did not report an increase in IPV at that time. Overall, the current study highlights the importance of attachment avoidance as a risk factor for IPV in women’s same gender relationships. Additionally, the startlingly high prevalence rates of IPV and discrimination among LGBTQ+ women speaks to the urgent need to continue fighting against oppression and heterosexism to reduce minority stress and to develop IPV resources that better serve the LGBTQ+ population. / Graduate

The purpose of this study is to conduct a psychometric investigation of the Attachment to God Inventory (AGI; Beck & McDonald, 2004) using a national sample of socioeconomically and religiously diverse young adults commonly referred to as millennials (i.e., persons born between 1980 and 1996; Pew Research Center, 2018). Confirmatory factor analytic (CFA) results failed to yield satisfactory fit for the AGI model using the entire sample and a Christian-only subsample. Alternative model specifications that accounted for method factors, higher-order factors, and bi-factors also failed. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) suggested alternative factor solutions that were cross-validated using CFA. Support for an orthogonal, 2-factor, 8-item model possessed excellent model fit (χ²(20) = 172.186; RMSEA = .051 [.044–.058]; CFI/TLI = .955/.993). Configural, metric, and scale measurement invariance were supported based on gender- and ethnic-identity considerations; however, invariance was not supported based upon religious affiliation. The resulting model consisted of two constructs that were labeled divine rejection (McDonald’s ω = .838 [95% CI: .827–.849]) and divine dependence (McDonald’s ω = .862 [95% CI: .852–.872]) and were found to be invariant only for individuals who identified as Christian. Latent profile analysis (LPA) of the standardized scores of the two factors yielded a five-class solution whose classes were labeled intrinsic, independent, everyday, strained, and detached believers. Class membership was found to be most associated with divine rejection. Rather than considering the resulting model to be an improved model based on attachment to God theory, this study concludes that the resulting model is most consistent with social comparison theory. Several hypotheses and recommendations for future research are made.

Attachment theory is a core theory of child development. The theory proposes a framework to understand how children’s early relationships to their caregiver shape children’s lifelong development. Most attachment research, however, is limited to categorical assessments of infant-mother attachment. This results in a reductionist understanding of children’s development, one that rests on a number of questionable assumptions. From an assessment perspective, categorical measures of attachment assume that all children fit neatly into a fixed number of categories, and that all children within a category present similar attachment behaviors. From a developmental perspective, a focus on infant attachment assumes little change in children’s caregiving environments, and this, despite evidence showing that changes may occur between infancy and the preschool years. Such changes influence child-caregiver attachment relationships. From a caregiver perspective, children’s relationships with their mothers are influential, but they do not span the gamut of children’s early relationships. Fathers, for example, are increasingly involved in child rearing and are influential in children’s development. This dissertation sought to overcome these limitations through the use of the Preschool Attachment Rating Scales (PARS), a novel, continuous measure of child-caregiver preschool attachment. The first study demonstrated the reliability and validity of the PARS as a measure of child-mother and child-father preschool attachment. This study examined the inter-rater reliability, the convergent validity, the construct validity, the predictive validity, and the incremental validity of the PARS. The second study used a longitudinal design to examine the independent and interactive influence of child-mother and child-father attachment in the preschool years on boys’ and girls’ externalizing behaviors in middle childhood. This latter study showed that the prediction of externalizing behavior varied as a function of children’s and parents’ genders, as well as the attachment pattern (e.g., security, avoidance). Taken together, this dissertation shows that a continuous measure of attachment can help uncover the complexity of different attachment patterns, and in turn, provide a more nuanced understanding on how such patterns affect children’s social, emotional, and psychopathological development.

Denna studie har för avsikt att undersöka begreppet platsidentitet i relation till vad personer boende i Fellingsbro förknippar med sina liv. Syftet med studien är att undersöka vad personer i Fellingsbro förknippar med sina liv ur ett nutida och historiskt perspektiv samt om, och i så fall hur, personernas platsidentiteter har förändrats mellan 1970-talet till idag 2021.Begreppet platsidentitet har många olika definitioner. Platsidentitet kan förstås som dels baserad på platsens identitet, dels baserad på personernas identitet kopplat till platsen. Den här studien utgår från personers identitet kopplat till platsen men definitionen har även fått en egen prägel för att passa just den här studien. Det är vad personer förknippar och har förknippat med sitt liv, och därmed deras identitet i Fellingsbro, som är fokus i den här studien.Studiens empiriska undersökning är baserad på en flermetodsforskning där kvantitativa enkäter och kvalitativa intervjuer har kompletterat varandra. Enkätundersökningen låg till grund för avgränsningar i studien och intervjuerna gav fördjupad information om de olika teman som uppstod genom enkäten.Vidare är studiens slutsatser att de respondenter som har deltagit i denna studie har annorlunda platsidentiteter idag i jämförelse med vad de hade under 1970-talet. Respondenternas förändrade identiteter kan förstås genom ortens fysiska förändring, rörelsemönster och känsla för platsen. Dessa förändringar mynnar ut i att en majoritet av respondenterna idag ser andra orter som mer viktiga i sina liv än vad de var på 1970-talet. Samtidigt som respondenterna idag associerar sammanhållningen i Fellingsbro med de närmsta grannarna snarare än med Fellingsbro i stort som de i högre grad gjorde under 1970-talet.

Ce projet doctoral a pour finalité d’investiguer la place de la spécificité d’un contexte sportif, dans le processus d’adaptation de l’échelle de mesure Points of Attachment Index à un terrain d’étude particulier. Cette échelle se propose de mesurer l’attachement des spectateurs à l’égard des composantes des événements sportifs. Les concepts d’attachement, voire d’attachement émotionnel sont mobilisés dans les recherches sur la relation spectateurs - événements sportifs. Considéré comme animal, athlète et coproducteur de la pratique en tant que spécificité du milieu sportif, le cheval est étudié dans le contexte français et équestre. La question de recherche tend ainsi à s’intéresser à la prise en compte de cette spécificité dans l’utilisation d’une échelle de mesure dédiée à l’attachement des spectateurs aux composantes des événements sportifs liés au contexte sportif examiné. Pour cela, différentes étapes articulées sous forme d’études ont été menées. Après avoir identifié et observé les parties prenantes des concours équestres visibles par les spectateurs, une étude qualitative menée auprès 42 spectateurs nous a permis de mieux appréhender la relation affective vis-à-vis des composantes des concours équestres, et d’ainsi faire émerger des items propres à la composante « spécificité ». Par la suite, une étude quantitative (n=463) nous a donné l’opportunité d’analyser la place de cette spécificité dans l’échelle de mesure adaptée, ainsi que sa place dans l’attachement des spectateurs aux composantes des concours équestres. En conclusion, ces résultats se proposent de présenter de nouvelles connaissances quant à la relation spectateur-événement sportif, ainsi que, de suggérer l’éventualité d’adapter les instruments de mesure mobilisée au contexte étudiée (et implicitement étudier ses spécificités) dans la finalité d’être au plus près de la réalité du terrain. / This thesis aims at investigating the position of the specificity of sport context, in the adapted Points of Attachment Index scale to a particular filed. This scale measures the spectators' attachment to sporting event and their dimensions. Attachment and emotional attachment concepts are used for spectator-sporting event relationships researches. As a specificity of sport, we study horse in French and equestrian context. This research tends to examine the consideration of this specificity of scale. Several steps of this thesis are associated with studies. Firstly, we identify the stakeholders of equestrian competitions, with spectator’s equestrian sporting event. The main goal of this study is to emerge “specificity-horse” items. Then, a quantitative study is conducted (n=463). On the one hand, it gives us the opportunity to analyze the consideration of specificity dimension to adapted scale. On the other hand, we examine spectators’ attachment to horse and other dimensions of sporting events. These results provide a better understanding of spectator-sporting event relationships. For it, this research suggests to examine sport and cultural context and to adapt scale, in order to make the results representing the field reality at its best

Today's rise of brands makes it increasingly difficult to differentiate on the market. Logos are seen as one of the main tools to express your business and are one of the first things consumers come into contact with. In order to create strong emotional bonds with your consumers, brands need to produce logos with aesthetic characteristics to differentiate and appeal to consumers. The purpose of this study is to contribute to a deeper understanding of which aesthetic characteristics in a logo that creates brand attachment for consumers. Therefore, by examining whether color, shape and font affects brand attachment, brands get guidance for a logo design to best attract consumers to their own brand. The theoretical frame of reference consists of branding, brand attachment and logos with their aesthetic attributes. Based on this, a conceptual framework has been created to describe the connection between the logo and brand attachment from the consumer’s point of view.  Semi-structured interviews from a mixed inductive and deductive approach are conducted using a qualitative method. 22 respondents aged 18-25 were interviewed. Consumers aged 18-25 are described as the age group that finds it difficult to create an emotional bond with a brand and instead relies on digital technology. The results of the study showed that this was not the case. All respondents feel a connection with the brand in one way or another. The important thing was to feel a connection to the brand values and that the logo’s content reflects the brand’s quality. Color, font and symbols were important to take into account when designing the logo. / Framväxten av varumärken idag gör det allt svårare att differentiera sig på marknaden. Logotyper ses som ett av de främsta verktygen att uttrycka sin verksamhet på och är något av det första en konsument kommer i kontakt med. För att skapa starka känslomässiga band med  konsumenter behöver varumärken ta fram logotyper med estetiska egenskaper som differentierar varumärket och samtidigt tilltalar konsumenterna. Syftet med denna studien är att bidra till en mer djupgående förståelse för vilka estetiska egenskaper i en logotyp som skapar brand attachment för konsumenter. Därför genom att undersöka huruvida färg, form och teckensnitt påverkar brand attachment kan varumärken få vägledning inför en logotypdesign för att på bästa sätt locka konsumenter till sitt eget varumärke. Den teoretiska referensramen består av varumärkesprofilering, brand attachment samt logotyper och dess estetiska egenskaper. Utifrån detta har ett konceptuellt ramverk skapats för att beskriva kopplingen mellan logotypen och brand attachment utifrån konsumentens synvinkel. Semi-strukturerade intervjuer ur en blandad induktiv och deduktiv ansats genomfördes med kvalitativ metod. 22 respondenter i åldern 18-25 år intervjuades. Konsumenter i åldern 18-25 år beskrivs som den åldersgrupp som har svårt att skapa ett känslomässigt band till ett varumärke och förlitar sig istället på digital teknik. Resultatet av studien visade däremot att så inte var fallet. Samtliga respondenter upplever samhörighet med varumärken på ett eller annat sätt. Det viktiga ansågs vara att känna en koppling till varumärkets värderingar och att logotypens innehåll speglar varumärkets kvalitet och därmed var färg, typsnitt och symboler viktigt att ta i beaktande vid logotypdesign.

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While there are numerous websites discussing attachment parenting in infancy, there are currently no interactive research-based websites devoted to attachment parenting throughout early childhood. To fill this need the author developed the Foundations of Parenting website (http://www.foundationsofparenting.org). Evaluation, a tool so far under-utilized by parenting education websites, is necessary for both quality control and improving websites. Thus, in addition to development of the website, the author also formatively evaluated the Foundations of Parenting program by using website-utilization tools and visitor feedback through an online survey to analyze utilization and visitor satisfaction. The website was well-used (674 unique visitors and 189 return visitors with a visitor page depth of 6.7 pages over a 23 day period) for a newly-created website, as can be seen by an examination of traffic rankings of small websites at www.alexa.com. The quantitative survey items assessed the usefulness of the website, the attractiveness of the website, ease of use of the website, whether the website met the participants needs, how interesting the content was, whether the website led them to reconsider former attitudes and made them aware of new things, and whether the participant had decided to do things differently due to the website. A MANOVA procedure was used to identify distinctions in these items in association with selected demographic variables, while the open-ended questions invited the survey participants to elaborate on their quantitative answers. The majority of survey participants, 75 percent, agreed or strongly agreed with the above quantitative survey items, and 87.6 percent felt that the website was useful or very useful. Thus, a large majority of users indicated that the website was useful, attractive, easy to use, interesting, helped them reconsider former attitudes, helped them become aware of new things, and influenced them to decide to do something differently. MANOVA analyses revealed website ratings varied only by ethnicity. Reports compiled by SuperStats tracked the amount of website usage as well as visitor pathways through the website, visitor page depth, the amount of time spent on the website, which pages were most popular, as well as the page depth of the most popular pages. These reports revealed that users tended to search for information they were looking for and leave instead of reading through website content from beginning to end. Participants provided helpful suggestions and feedback to improve the website. Implications of this feedback for website improvement and ideas for further research are discussed.