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40 papers

"Desperate not to make the same mistakes": Couple adjustment to parenthood in the context of childhood maltreatment.

Martin LN et al. · Jul 1, 2026

This study explored how a history of childhood maltreatment shapes the transition to parenthood, with a focus on how partners jointly negotiate this adjustment within the couple relationship. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 heterosexual couples (22 individuals) living in the United States, in which at least one partner reported a history of childhood maltreatment. Interviews were analyzed for emergent themes related to adjustment to parenthood, relational functioning, and dyadic support processes. Four overarching dyadic themes emerged: (1) relational meaning-making of childhood maltreatment, (2) relational challenges activated by maltreatment history, (3) dyadic support as co-regulation for maltreatment-related vulnerability, and (4) couples' resilient and intentional orientation toward family life. Findings suggest that supportive romantic partnerships may function as a relational context through which parenting-related self-doubt is negotiated, emotional safety is fostered, and caregiving approaches distinct from participants' own childhood experiences are collaboratively constructed. These insights have implications for dyadic interventions during the transition to parenthood that aim to support reflective parenting and relational resilience.

Psychology

Parental Perspectives and Experiences of Working With Speech and Language Therapists to Support Home Practice for Their Child With a Speech Sound Disorder: A Qualitative Study.

Pritchard K et al. · Jul 1, 2026

Background Speech sound disorder (SSD) is broadly defined as difficulty producing speech sounds in childhood. It can have a lasting impact on academic outcomes and well-being, making effective early intervention vital. Speech and language therapists (SLTs) consider parental involvement-particularly supporting their child with home practice-as essential to a child's progress. Relationships between SLTs and parents are known to facilitate this engagement. However, there is a significant gap in the literature regarding parents' perspectives, and little is known about what parents perceive to be most effective in supporting home practice. Understanding these perspectives is crucial for designing interventions that are both feasible and meaningful for families. Aim To explore the perspectives of parents of children with SSD aged ≤5;11, about their experiences with speech and language therapy intervention sessions and home practice. Methods and procedures This study used qualitative methodology. Nine parents, recruited via social media, professional networks and a university clinic, participated in focus groups or 1:1 interviews. A group of children, aged 4-6, who had lived experience of SSD, speech and language therapy and home practice were consulted to design the topic guide and inform data analysis. Discussions were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis. Outcomes and results Four main themes were constructed as follows: (1) Building positive therapeutic relationships is fundamental to families' experiences and creates the foundation for successful home practice. (2) SLTs need to employ a wide range of skills and knowledge, including a multi-modal approach to empower parents and develop their capability. (3) Clear communication is key for shared power, understanding of roles, active involvement and effective home practice. (4) Factors outside an individual's control can impact parents' attitudes towards, and engagement with, home practice. Conclusions and implications We conclude that relationships between SLTs and parents, and the skills required to build these, underpin parental motivation to engage in home practice. To maximise parental capability, SLTs ensure that parents understand not only what to do but why they are doing it, utilising a variety of methods. Whilst some barriers for home practice are out of the SLT's control, using all opportunities to develop the motivation and capability of the parents is required. To achieve this, service delivery models may need to be reconsidered. What this paper adds What is already known on this subject SSD that persists into school years can have lasting implications for a child's academic outcomes and well-being. Effective and efficient early intervention is essential. SLTs and parents agree that working together, including parental delivery of home practice, is important for a child's progress. Little is known about how parents experience and perceive what SLTs do within intervention sessions to ensure parents feel confident and capable of delivering effective home practice. What this paper adds to existing knowledge This is the first study to explore parents' perceptions and experiences of what SLTs do within direct intervention sessions for young children with SSD and how this supports parents to become implementors of intervention for their child at home. Findings suggest that parents benefit from SLTs using a range of teaching and coaching approaches, including clear instructions and active involvement, to ensure parents feel confident and capable at home. Relationships between the parent, SLT and the child are highly valued by parents, and are fundamental for parental engagement with home practice. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? SLTs prioritising building effective relationships with parents and children can support parental motivation for home practice. SLTs can work with parents to increase opportunities for home practice by building it into their daily lives, including working with other family members. To maximise parental capability, it is important to ensure that parents understand not only what to do but why they are doing it, utilising a variety of methods. To achieve this, service delivery models may need to be reconsidered.

Psychology

Mothers' responses to relational savoring as a function of attachment: A qualitative study.

Marvin MJ et al. · Jul 1, 2026

A person's state of mind with respect to attachment, measured by the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), represents how the individual perceives, accesses, and processes attachment-related content. One's state of mind with respect to attachment is thought to guide behavior in relationships, including caregiving relationships, and thus may have important implications for parents' engagement in parenting interventions. Relational savoring (RS) is a brief attachment-based intervention that has been shown to increase mothers' parenting sensitivity, feelings of closeness to their child, and positive emotion. However, it remains unknown how mothers with different attachment profiles respond to this intervention. In the current illustrative multiple case study, we examine how three mothers (M age = 31.0 years, SD age = 1.0) of young children in the United States classified with different states of mind with respect to attachment respond to RS. First, we provide samples of mothers' AAI discourse to illustrate their states of mind with respect to attachment. Next, we analyze their responses during RS sessions using a qualitative approach. Results demonstrate differences in mothers' attachment-related discourse, capacity for reflection, and change processes during the intervention that varied by attachment profile. We discuss the implications of these findings for RS and other parenting interventions.

Psychology

Infants and Mobiles: Developing an Understanding of Cause and Effect.

Xu X et al. · Jul 1, 2026

In the mobile conjugate reinforcement paradigm, an infant's leg is connected to a mobile via a string, allowing the infant to move the mobile via moving their leg. Over a few minutes, infants exhibit an increase in the frequency of movement of the connected leg. This behavior is sometimes interpreted as an indication that infants experience the efficacy of causal control. However, some researchers have argued that an underlying causal model is not necessary and that a simple reinforcement model that favors mobile movements can explain this behavioral pattern. Interestingly, after the mobile is disconnected from the leg, some infants transiently show an even higher frequency of movement, a phenomenon known as the extinction burst, that is hard to reconcile with a simple reinforcement learning model alone. In this study, we propose different computational models and study to what extent they are capable of capturing infants' behavior. In particular, we construct an active-learning causal model that is capable of discovering the underlying cause-effect relationship on the fly without the need to specify either the cause or the effect in advance. We also propose an active-learning mechanism based on expectation violation, that can be combined with the proposed causal model and a number of alternative models, including a naïve reinforcement model, to give rise to an extinction burst. Overall, our work sheds light on possible learning mechanisms giving rise to infant's developing understanding of cause and effect relationships. SUMMARY: A causality-driven model is proposed that successfully simulates infant behavior in the mobile paradigm. The causal model actively discovers the underlying causal mechanism, while alternative models fail under specific simulated conditions. An active-learning mechanism based on expectation violation is introduced that unifies causal learning and hypothesis-testing within a single, coherent framework. We show that this mechanism successfully models the extinction burst and demonstrates robustness across different experimental settings.

Psychology

On being better than average in values.

Elster A et al. · Jul 1, 2026

Do people feel that their personal values are better than others, even though they are happier if their values are similar to those around them? We examined the Better Than Average (BTA) effect in values in four cultures (Study 1: USA, China and Malaysia; Study 2: USA, using diverse online panel samples) and relative to either a more abstract (university) or a more concrete (department) reference group (Study 3, conducted with students in Israel). Across all samples and cultures, we found that people perceived their personally desired values as more important to the self than to others, and they perceived their less personally desired values as more important to others than to the self. Self-other comparisons favouring the self were even stronger for values that are normatively desired in society, and self-other comparisons favouring others were even stronger for values that are less normatively desired in society. We also found a relatively greater BTA effect towards a more abstract group and its positive consequences to self-esteem. This research contributes to the theoretical understanding of value perception as prone to biases, generalizability and robustness of the BTA effect, and cross-cultural psychology. We discuss important societal implications of this effect.

Psychology

The Independent and Combined Roles of Attentional and Interpretative Biases in Antisocial Behavior, Trait Aggression and Aggressive Responses Under Provocation.

Puzzo I et al. · Jul 1, 2026

Aggressive behavior has been linked to biases in social information processing, including heightened attention to threat and hostile interpretations of ambiguous social cues. The extent to which attention and interpretational biases uniquely or jointly contribute to aggression under provocation remains unclear. The present study investigated the effects of attentional bias toward angry faces and hostile interpretation bias on aggression using both self-report and behavioral measures in a non-clinical sample. Participants (n = 67) completed an emotional attentional blink task and a hostile interpretation bias measure, alongside self-report indices of aggression and antisocial behavior, and an experimental measure of provoked aggression. Hostile interpretation bias was positively associated with self-reported aggression and antisocial tendencies, whereas attentional bias toward angry faces was selectively associated with behavioral aggression. Critically, these cognitive biases were examined as potentially independent, overlapping, or interactive contributors to aggression under provocation, and attentional and interpretation biases interacted to predict aggressive behavior under conditions of high provocation, such that individuals high in both biases displayed the greatest levels of aggression. No interaction effects were observed for self-reported outcomes. These findings support social information-processing models proposing that multiple cognitive biases jointly contribute to aggression and highlight the importance of considering situational provocation and outcome modality when examining cognitive risk factors for aggressive behavior and preventive cognitive interventions in at risk populations.

Psychology

The Reciprocal Insecurity Paradox: A Phenomenological Analysis of the Crisis Encounter Between the Mental Health Nurse and Service User With Complex Emotional Needs.

Haslam M et al. · Jul 1, 2026

While research is emerging, there remains an inadequate focus upon the experiences of those delivering and receiving care specifically for service users with complex emotional needs (CEN) within Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment (CRHT) settings. This study therefore utilised hermeneutic phenomenology to examine the lived experience of both those providing and receiving care within CRHT settings. Data were gathered via semi-structured interviews with 14 participants (seven mental health nurses working within CRHT settings and seven service users with CEN who have received CRHT intervention). Transcripts were analysed using van Manen's hermeneutic phenomenological reflective method. A synthesis of participant accounts revealed several areas of convergence across the two groups, thus highlighting those 'core structures' of mental health crisis care as lived by participants in these encounters. Fears arising from structural vulnerabilities were illuminated as the eidos (or the 'essence') of the crisis encounter in CRHT settings, and at the heart of the crisis encounter, a central phenomenon of reciprocal insecurity is illuminated, whereby both parties' attempts to achieve a sense of personal safety inadvertently threatens that of the other. Findings highlight an urgent need for hermeneutic mediators; structures that provide the space and containment necessary for both parties to feel safe.

Psychology

Mental Health Outcome Trends in a Nationally Representative Sample of Canadian Migrant Adolescents From 2014 to 2022.

Ji D et al. · Jul 1, 2026

Background Migrant youth are at disproportionate risk of mental health challenges. Overcoming barriers to accessing services requires large-scale data to inform policies and interventions. This study maps mental health outcome trends of migrant youth over 8 years. Methods Canadian Health Behavior in School-aged Children study data from 2014, 2018, and 2022 were analyzed for mental health outcome trends. Age-adjusted logistic regressions examined health across years stratified by migrant status, separately by sex. Using nonmigrants as the referent group and 2014 as the referent year, contrasts for disparities were examined across migrant status to test widening, narrowing, or stability in differences of outcome prevalences between migrant and nonmigrant youth. Results Health worsened from 2014 to 2022 among migrants, especially migrant girls. Compared to 2014, life satisfaction, health, and self-confidence for migrant youth dropped in 2022. Health complaints and feeling sad/hopeless increased in 2022 among girls. Migrant youth reported fewer health complaints than nonmigrants in 2018 and 2022. Implications Investment in free/affordable, culturally safe/relevant, confidential school-based mental health supports with avenues for community collaboration are recommended. Conclusions Mental health outcomes worsened from 2014 to 2022, especially among migrants and girls; however, migrant youth exhibit resilience to adversity.

Psychology

Toddlers' Active Gaze Behavior Supports Self-Supervised Object Learning.

Yu Z et al. · Jul 1, 2026

Toddlers learn to recognize objects from different viewpoints with almost no supervision. During this learning, they execute frequent eye and head movements that shape their visual experience. It is presently unclear if and how these behaviors contribute to toddlers' emerging object recognition abilities. To answer this question, we here combine head-mounted eye tracking during dyadic play with unsupervised machine learning. We approximate toddlers' central visual field experience by cropping image regions from a head-mounted camera centered on the current gaze location estimated via eye tracking. This visual stream feeds a neural network model, which uses a biologically plausible unsupervised learning objective. Our experiments demonstrate that a few minutes of such first-person experience suffice to learn strong object representations permitting invariant object recognition. Importantly, by simulating alternative gaze behaviors we show that toddlers' eye movement patterns play a crucial role in this. Our analysis also reveals that the limited size of the central visual field where visual acuity is high plays an important role for successful learning. Together, this highlights the benefits of temporally structured visual experience arising from toddlers' natural interactions with objects. SUMMARY: We combine recordings of toddlers' first-person central visual field experience with biologically inspired self-supervised learning algorithms to model toddlers' development of invariant object recognition. Just a few minutes of toddlers' central visual field experience captured with head-mounted eye tracking suffice to learn strong object representations. Simulated alternative gaze behaviors produce weaker representations, demonstrating the importance of toddlers' active gaze strategies for learning. Our results emphasize the importance of toddlers' eye movements for learning object representations.

Psychology

Newborns' Language Discrimination May Not Reflect Sensitivity to Speech Rhythm: Evidence From Computational Modeling.

Famularo RL et al. · Jul 1, 2026

Human newborns are able to discriminate between certain languages but not others. This ability has long been attributed to sensitivity to rhythm-the temporal regularities in speech of different languages. Here, we demonstrate through a series of computational simulations that this discrimination behavior can be achieved using no temporal information at all. Our results raise the possibility that early language discrimination may be independent of speech rhythm, and call for theoretical reconsideration of how infants learn suprasegmental information in the first few months of their lives. SUMMARY: We simulate newborn language discrimination with machine learning models on naturalistic speech stimuli. Models can discriminate between languages just like newborns, even when rhythmic information is removed. This means that infants' behavior could rely on their ability to perceive global properties of speech, rather than rhythm. Our results challenge theories of how newborns perceive speech, and how that shapes later language.

Psychology