This study addresses young children's involvement with comfort objects, including why children have them, how they are used, when attachments to such objects are cause for concern and how teachers and parents can respond to promote the young child's development. The child's becoming and development is examined in this study. The researcher also reviews major transitional object theories in terms of origin, development and psychological meaning. This study aims to explore this phenomenon from a psychological - educational perspective and to formulate a set of guidelines for parents and professionals whose children use comfort behaviour. Information was collated from case studies, a questionnaire and a detailed study of literature. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

This purpose of this study was to combine two bodies of literature on relationships, attachment and violence. Given the impact of men's physical aggression and emotional abuse on women, it is likely that these behaviors would also affect attachment. A model proposing that women's attachment style mediated and moderated the relationship between partners' physical and emotional abuse and the stability of women's relationships was tested. Archival data were used from two waves of interviews with a sample of lowincome, ethnically diverse community women. Most (89%) of the initial 835 participants of Project HOW: Health Outcomes of Women completed at least one additional interview providing information on the status of their initial relationships. Of these women, 39% were African American, 30% were Euro-American, and 31% were Mexican American. The effects of men's psychological abuse and physical violence on women's attachment style were tested with regression analyses. The interrelationships between partners' abuse, attachment and relational stability were tested with SEM. Attachment style was expected to moderate the associations among variables and mediate the impact of partners' negative behavior on relational stability. In regression analyses, partners' psychological abuse predicted avoidant and anxious, but not secure attachment ratings. Violence, although significant, explained less variance than psychological abuse for insecure attachment ratings. SEM indicated Physical Aggression was not a significant predictor of Attachment Rating in any group. Moderation was not found. There were no differences between attachment groups. Therefore, attachment was tested in the sample as a mediator. As in analyses for each group, the path from Physical Aggression to Attachment Rating was not significant. In the final model, Emotional Abuse predicted Physical Aggression and Attachment Rating mediated the effect of Emotional Abuse on Relational Stability. Specifically, Emotional Abuse increased (insecure) Attachment Rating, which decreased Relational Stability. Overall, previous research in the violence literature was extended by showing that emotional abuse affected attachment, rather than the reverse.

The objectives of this study were to mathematically model the quality of college life (QCL) concept and to study the associations between attachment style, emotion regulation abilities, psychological needs fulfillment and QCL via structural equation modeling. Data was collected from 507 undergraduate students (men = 178, women = 329; age M = 21.78 years, SD = 4.37). This data was used to provide evidence for the validity of the College Adjustment Scales (CAS) as a measure of quality of college life. The CAS demonstrated good convergent validity with the World Health Organization Quality of Life measure (WHOQOL), Subjective Well-being and Psychological Well-being Scales. Results: Students who were insecurely attached were as likely to feel adequate in their academic and professional endeavors as securely attached students. However, insecurely attached students had lower QCL levels, lower fulfillment of psychological needs and more emotion regulation difficulties than securely attached students. The results also indicated that Anxious Attachment and Avoidant Attachment were positively and strongly associated. Nonetheless, Anxious Attachment and Avoidant Attachment affected QCL through different mechanism. Emotion regulation mediated the path between Anxious Attachment and QCL while the fulfillment of psychological needs mediated the path between Avoidant Attachment and QCL. The fulfillment of psychological needs also mediated the path between emotion regulation and QCL. The described pattern of results was found for three separate models representing 1) the student’s attachment with their romantic partner, 2) best friend and 3) mother. Additionally, the study’s findings suggest a change in primary attachment figure during the college years. Emotion regulation, the fulfillment of psychological needs and QCL were all affected more strongly by the student’s attachment style with their romantic partner and best friend compared to their attachment style with their parents.

The purpose of this study was to better understand sexual development during the transition to adulthood. Previous research was extended by testing models that examined direct effects of romantic attachment and social support on emerging adults’ sexual outcomes, as well as models that examined the mediating role of sexual motivations in those associations. Undergraduate students (n = 290, 66% female) completed questionnaires that assessed romantic attachment, social support, sexual motives, risky sexual behaviors, and health-promoting sexual beliefs. Results indicated romantic attachment strongly predicted sexual functioning, such that higher levels of attachment insecurity were associated with fewer health-promoting sexual beliefs and more risky sexual behaviors. Attachment anxiety was most closely associated with sexual outcomes for females, while attachment avoidance was a stronger predictor of sexual outcomes for males. Furthermore, coping but not intimacy motivations were found to partially mediate the link between attachment anxiety and health-promoting sexual beliefs for females. Although overall relationships between social support and sexual outcomes were not significant as hypothesized, links between specific support sources and sexual outcomes emerged during further analysis. Conclusions underscore the usefulness of attachment theory as a framework for understanding sexual behavior and provide further support for the importance of considering gender differences when examining the interplay between the attachment and sexual systems. Practical implications for sexual health prevention and intervention efforts are discussed.

Infant mental health in South Africa has been receiving more attention in recent years. Mothers appear to be the main caregivers of infants but they face many psychosocial, economic and cultural challenges. There exists very little evidence suggesting that mothers living in shelters or institutions have access to the necessary support and education to help them to understand their circumstances and how this may impact on the attachment with their infant. The New Beginnings Programme, as an early intervention model, is aimed at improving attachment between mother and infant so as to reduce the potential risk of mental health problems later in life for the infants, the mothers and future generations. This evidence based intervention focuses on the mother and her capacity for mentalisation, which refers to the mother’s capacity to hold her infant in mind and recognise and respond to the inner states of the infant. The pilot study of the New Beginnings Programme within a South African context took place in two shelters in the Greater Johannesburg area. This particular study formed part of this bigger research effort. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of the mothers who attended the New Beginnings programme. A secondary aim was to explore these mothers’ experiences of the programme within the context of living in a shelter. The adaptation of this programme to a South African context could contribute significantly to bridging the gap in mother-infant attachment which could influence the future mental health of the infant and their ability to foster ongoing healthy attachments later in life. This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews and a narrative analysis from the theoretical perspective of psychoanalytic attachment theory. Thirteen mothers from two shelters participated in this research study.

A orientação sócio-sexual restrita é caracterizada pela exigência de envolvimento afetivo prévio à relação sexual e a irrestrita por maior permissividade quanto ao sexo casual. Avaliamos a variação individual na sócio-sexualidade em função de 1 - indicadores cognitivos de masculinização (predomínio da capacidade de sistematização) ou de feminilização (predomínio da empatia) associados a características do ambiente embrionário, 2- indicadores do ambiente ontogenético (estilo de apego) e 3- indicadores do ambiente contextual (escores de conquista amorosa). Os 112 homens e 109 mulheres graduandos nas áreas de Exatas, Humanas e Biológicas (21 anos, em média) responderam voluntária e anonimamente ao Inventário de Orientação Sócio-Sexual, aos Quocientes de Empatia e Sistematização, ao Questionário de Relacionamento, à Escala de Sucesso na Conquista Amorosa e a questões sobre composição familiar, situação amorosa, uso de álcool e cigarro e ciclo menstrual. As diferenças entre os sexos previstas pela Psicologia Evolucionista foram amplamente confirmadas: os homens são mais irrestritos, têm a primeira relação sexual mais precocemente e consomem mais doses de álcool em festas, enquanto as mulheres são mais restritas e estão mais compromissadas (namorando e apaixonadas). Descobrimos também que os homens são mais sistematizadores, têm mais apego seguro e mais irmãos homens e que as mulheres são mais empáticas, têm maior sucesso na conquista amorosa e mais irmãs. A análise da variação da orientação sócio-sexual em cada sexo mostrou coerência com a diferença entre os sexos: homens irrestritos têm a primeira relação sexual mais cedo, não estão apaixonados nem namorando, têm mais irmãos homens mais novos, têm o hábito de fumar e beber e bebem mais doses de álcool em festas. As mulheres mais irrestritas têm a primeira relação sexual mais cedo, menor empatia, apego rejeitador, modelo interno de si positivo, ciclo menstrual irregular, têm o hábito de fumar e de beber, bebem mais freqüentemente e bebem mais doses de álcool em festas. As influências dos irmãos masculinos, empatia, namoro e paixão, ciclo menstrual irregular, e consumo de álcool e cigarro ainda não tinham sido exploradas nas pesquisas prévias. A variação individual na sócio-sexualidade pode ser entendida como diferentes soluções para o dilema de alocação de investimento na busca de parceiros ou no investimento parental, mediante os diferentes desafios do ambiente de desenvolvimento individual. O órgão mental responsável por este ajuste é o mesmo responsável por todo o ajuste de alocação de investimentos da esfera reprodutiva. Este órgão mental parece ser primeiramente calibrado no ambiente pré-natal pelo nível de andrógenos, indicado pelo nível de empatia, e posteriormente é sensível ao ambiente ontogenético, indicado pelo modelo interno de si (apego) e pela influência dos irmãos, e é afetado contextualmente pela presença de paixão e namoro. Para os homens, o melhor preditor da variação individual quanto à orientação restrita foi o apaixonamento e o melhor preditor de irrestrição foi a idade precoce da primeira relação. Para as mulheres, os maiores preditores de irrestrição foram o consumo de álcool e o estilo de apego rejeitador. As especificidades da variação individual em cada sexo contribuíram para o entendimento dos mecanismos subjacentes em termos de hipóteses de desenvolvimento e de função adaptativa e permitiram uma avaliação das teorias evolucionistas, como a de ciclo de vida e do pluralismo estratégico, compatíveis com os resultados. / The restricted sociosexual orientation is characterized by the requirement of previous affective involvement to the sexual relation and the unrestricted sociosexual orientation by permissiveness toward the casual sex. We evaluate the individual variation in the sociosexual orientation in function of 1 - measures of cognitive masculinization (predominance of the systemizing capacity) and cognitive feminilization (predominance of the empathizing) related to characteristics of the embryonic environment, 2 - measures of attachment style related to the ontogenetic environment and 3 - measures of mating success related to the contextual environment. The 112 undergraduate men and 109 women studying in different areas of Knowledge (21 years, on average) had volunteer and anonymously answered to the Inventory of Sociosexual Orientation, the Quotients of Empathising and Systematising, to the Relationship Questionnaire, Self-Perceived Mating success Scale and questions about familiar composition, romantic relationship situation, use of alcohol and cigarette and menstrual cycle. The sex differences foreseen from Evolutionary Psychology widely had been confirmed: the men are unrestricted, have the first sexual relation more precociously and consume more units of alcohol in parties, while the women are more restricted and more involved in romantic feelings (passionate) and relationship. We also found that men are more systemising, have more secure attachment style and more brothers while women are more empathising, have greater mating success and more sisters. The analysis of the sociosexual variation in each sex showed coherence with the sex differences: unrestricted men have the first sexual relation earlier, are not in lave nor have girlfriend, have younger brothers, have smoke and drink habits and drink more units of alcohol in parties. The unrestricted women have the first sexual relation earlier, lower empathy, dismissing attachment style, positive internal modelof self, irregular menstrual cycle, have smoke and drink habits, drink more frequently and drink more unitsof alcohol inparties. Theinfluences of the brothers, empathising, romantic relationship and passion, irregular menstrual cycle, and alcohol and cigaretteconsumption had been not yet exploredin the previous research. The individual variation in the sociosexualitycanbe understood as different solutions for the allocation of investmenttrade-off between the search of partners or parental investment, bymeans of the different challenges of the environment of individual development. The responsible mental organ for this adjustment is the same responsible for allthe allocation of investments adjustment of the reproductivesphere. This mental organ first seems to becalibrated, in the prenatal environment, bythe level of androgens, indicated by the empathy level, and later it issensible to the ontogenetic environment, indicated by the internal model of self(attachment) andby the influence of the brothers, andisaffected contextually by the presence of passion and romantic relationship. The best predictorof the individual sociosexual variation, for the men,in respect to the restricted orientation was passionand the bestpredictor in respect to the unrestricted orientation was the precocious age of thefirst sexual relation. The best preditorof the individual sociosexual variation, for the women, was the alcohol consumptionand the dismissing attachment style. The individual sociosexual variation specificities in each sexhadcontributed for the understandingof the underlying mechanisms in terms of hypothesesof developmentand adaptive function and had allowed anevaluation of the evolutionary theories, as the Life History and Strategical Pluralism, compatible with the results.

The current study examined the possibility of using cluster analysis to classify attachment styles in middle childhood. Attachment classifications were measured by looking at child coping strategies and perceived maternal behavior. The attachment classification was then tested for construct validity by examining whether it can predict adjustment outcomes in interpretable patterns. The adjustment outcomes examined were a self-reported global self-worth scale and peer-reported internalizing and externalizing behaviors measured using a Peer Nomination Inventory. The current study had 199 third through eight graders and provided evidence for the cluster analysis approach and also showed that the disorganized attachment was associated with the most adverse adjustment outcomes. That is, results showed that disorganized attachment was linked with the lowest levels of global self-worth and the highest rates of internalizing and externalizing behaviors and was significantly different from the securely attached cluster on each measure. The implications and possible underlying causes are discussed. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015 / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Based on the attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969) and the dual filial piety model (Yeh, 1997, 2003), this study aimed at investigating the effects of the attachment relationship and filial piety on career commitment process of Chinese university students. One thousand one hundred and seventy-twelve (N=1172) Chinese university students from three different regional Chinese groups participated in this study. These three regional groups included the Hong Kong local students (called Hong Kong group; n=421), Chinese mainland students studying in Hong Kong (called Hong Kong Mainland group; n=397) and the Chinese mainland students from Beijing (called Beijing group; n=354). The participants completed questionnaires measuring the attachment relationship towards fathers and mothers, filial piety (reciprocal and authoritarian types), and career commitment process (vocational exploration and commitment and tendency to foreclose). / Based on the MANOVA and ANOVA analyses, main effects of gender and regional group on attachment, filial piety and career commitment were found in this study. For gender differences, female scored significantly higher on the mother attachment and the reciprocal filial piety while male scored significantly higher on the tendency to foreclose. For regional group differences, the Hong Kong Mainland group and Beijing group scored significantly higher on the father attachment, mother attachment and the reciprocal filial piety than the Hong Kong group. The Hong Kong group scored significantly higher on tendency to foreclose than the Hong Kong Mainland group. The Beijing group scored significantly higher on tendency to foreclose than the Hong Kong Mainland group. / Three hypothesized models were proposed to explore the relationships among attachment relationship, filial piety and career commitment process. Structural equation modeling was conducted and found that the proposed models met the predetermined overall fit criteria and fit well across the total sample, the gender groups and the three regional subgroups (Hong Kong, Hong Kong-Mainland, and Beijing). Finding from the structural equation modeling analysis showed that only mother attachment marginally predicted the tendency to foreclose. In addition, the current findings showed that only authoritarian filial piety negatively predicted vocational exploration and commitment and positively predicted tendency to foreclose. / The theoretical, research and counseling implications of the findings, as well as future research directions are discussed. / 建基於依戀理論(Bowlby, 1969)及雙孝道模型(Yeh, 1997, 2003)，本研究旨在探討依戀關係及孝道觀念如何影響大學生之職業選擇承諾，一千一百七十二位大學生參與是次研究，包括四百二十一位來自香港的大學生，三百九十七位來自中國而於香港大學就讀的大學生及三百五十四位於北京就讀大學的大學生。學生以問卷方式回答有關探討依戀關係，孝道觀念及職業選擇承諾之量表。研究結果顯示，性別及地區組別於依戀關係，孝道觀念及職業選擇承諾是有顯著分別;母親依戀能預測封閉傾向，權威性孝道能預測承諾傾向及封閉傾向。另外，結構模型分析顯示本文所提出之模型於總組別，性別組別及地區組別能達致預設的滿意擬合結果。最後，對本研究在生涯理論實證研究及輔導實踐的意義進行了闡述，並對未來研究方向作出了展望。 / Hon, Suet. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2014. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 124-140). / Abstracts also in Chinese; appendixes includes Chinese. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on 03, January, 2017). / Detailed summary in vernacular field only.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2017-10-31T11:33:47Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Isabela Garcia Rosa Hispagnol.pdf: 844136 bytes, checksum: 26976ae19f0875a7298a15ef40b8bb85 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-10-31T11:33:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Isabela Garcia Rosa Hispagnol.pdf: 844136 bytes, checksum: 26976ae19f0875a7298a15ef40b8bb85 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-10-16 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / The relationship of care in early childhood is considered one of the most important aspect on the child’s physical and emotional development. The conditions under which this relationship occurs profoundly influence the child's construction of himself and the way he relates to the world around him. Adverse events such as violence, accidents, disasters, when perceived as a threat to life or physical integrity, impact not only the child who has experienced such a situation but also those who take care of her. This paper aims to understand the impact of a potentially traumatic situation on the care relationship, through the experience of the primary caregiver of a child up to twelve years of age who has experienced unintentional injury. The epistemology used was the Theory of Attachment developed by John Bowlby. It is a multiple case study with semi-structured interview to address the caregiver's experience. Three mothers of children between two and ten years of age participated in this qualitative study. From the result of the interviews the following categories of meanings were constructed: construction of the behavior of caring, which contemplated the internalized mother, the idealized mother and the possible mother; reactions and feelings at the moment and soon after the incident with the child; post-traumatic reactions; need to provide protection; balance between the various systems; the child's reactions to the event; new homeostasis among then. The changes regarding the caregiver system were related to certain factors such as: the previous emotional structure of the mother; the characteristics of the event; the perception of danger; and self-perception as a mother. The possible consequences for children's emotional development were also discussed. It was pointed out the necessity of new researches that approach this subject / A relação de cuidados na primeira infância é tida como primordial para o desenvolvimento físico e emocional do ser humano. As condições sob as quais esta relação ocorre influenciam profundamente a construção da criança acerca de si mesmo e o modo como se relaciona com o mundo a sua volta. Eventos adversos como violência, acidentes, desastres, quando percebidos como uma ameaça à vida ou à integridade física, impactam não só a criança que passou por tal situação como também a quem dela cuida. Este trabalho tem como objetivo compreender o impacto de uma situação potencialmente traumática na relação de cuidados, pela experiência do cuidador principal de uma criança de até doze anos que tenha passado por uma situação de ferimentos não intencionais. A epistemologia utilizada foi a Teoria do Apego desenvolvida por John Bowlby. Trata-se de um estudo de casos múltiplos instrumentos, com entrevista semidirigida para abordar a experiência do cuidador. Três mães de crianças entre dois e dez anos participaram deste estudo qualitativo. A partir do resultado das entrevistas foram construídas as seguintes categorias de significados: construção do comportamento de cuidar, que contemplou a mãe internalizada, a mãe idealizada e a mãe possível; as reações e os sentimentos no momento e logo apos o incidente com a criança; as reações póstraumáticas; a necessidade de dar proteção; o equilíbrio entre os diversos sistemas; as reações da criança ao evento; nova homeostase da dupla. As mudanças com relação ao sistema cuidador estavam relacionadas a determinados fatores como: a estrutura emocional prévia da mãe; as características do evento; a percepção de perigo; e a autopercepção como mãe. Foram discutidas as possíveis consequências para o desenvolvimento emocional das crianças, bem como foi apontada a necessidade de novas pesquisas que abordem este tema