1,721,000 research outputs found
Maternal perception of emotional expressiveness. A cross-cultural comparison
No full textThe parents' perception of children is a crucial aspect involving the relationship between caregiver and children (Stern, 2007) that represents an important area of investigation during the clinical assessment in developmental age. Although maternal perception is conceived as a mixture of objective and subjective judgments (Regan et al., 1974; Taylor e Koivumaki, 1976; Goldberg, 1981), influenced by multiple factors, such as the personal experience with the baby and parents' own personality, little is known about the influence of the cultural context. The present research explored the cultural influence on the parental perspectives by means of a cross-cultural approach. In particular, this study investigated parents' perception of different ethnic groups and compared them with the direct emotional expression of children. Participants were 165 mothers and 165 children, aged between 6 and 18 years, divided in three samples: Italians, African and Latin-American. Parents' perception was measured by means of the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach, 1991), whereas children emotional expression was derived by spontaneous narratives to the Roberts-2 (Roberts e Gruber, 2005). Results showed cultural differences in CBCL profile, related to the ethnic group and to gender, as well as in the emotions expressed in the test Robert-2
Interactive dynamics among therapist interventions, therapeutic alliance and metacognition in the early stages of the psychotherapeutic process †
No full textClinical or Methodological Significance of this article: From a methodological standpoint, the originality of the present study lies in the combination of an interactionist approach, which conceives process factors as interrelated dimensions interacting in non-additive and often nonlinear ways, with analyses at both micro- and macro-analytic levels (i.e., sequential and mediation analyses). From a theoretical standpoint, findings of the present study indicate that specific therapist's interventions are related to specific levels of the therapeutic alliance (i.e., positive, neutral and negative), hence providing crucial insights into the clinical understanding of the psychotherapy process
In-session interactive dynamics of the psychotherapy process between therapeutic alliance, therapist expertise, therapist technical intervention, patient metacognition and functioning
No full textEmpirical research has explored different dimensions of the therapy process and their associations, often showing bidirectional links: for example, metacognition may be favoured by a positive alliance with the clinician; on the other hand, metacognitive difficulties may be an obstacle for the alliance. However, little is still known about the overall relationship between multiple dimensions during the psychotherapy process. The aim of this study is to further explore the in-session interaction of therapeutic process variables, focusing on patient metacognition, therapeutic alliance, technical intervention, therapist expertise, and patient functioning. Participants included 45 patients involved in a psychodynamic weekly treatment in two clinical centres. Therapists were both in-training and experienced clinicians. Four instruments were applied on four psychotherapy sessions (178 verbatim transcripts): Metacognition Assessment Scale-Revised (MAS-R) assessing metacognition, Collaborative Interaction Scale (CIS) assessing therapeutic alliance, Psychodynamic Intervention Rating Scale (PIRS) assessing therapist technical interventions, and Shedler–Westen Assessment Procedure (SWAP)-200 assessing patient functioning. Sequential analyses revealed that specific therapist interventions co-occurred with three different levels of therapeutic alliance: a first one characterized by positive collaboration, the second one by neutral collaboration, and the third one by ruptures. Moreover, and critically, the patient metacognition, patient functioning, and therapist expertise were found to exert different effects in the three alliance levels. These findings suggest the existence of a specific interdependence between the variables involved in the research. These results further indicate that the therapist expertise is a key element in the therapeutic process, as it can drastically affect the in-session interactive dynamic
Mentalization, epistemic trust and externalizing problem in adolescence|MENTALIZZAZIONE, FIDUCIA EPISTEMICA E DISTURBI ESTERNALIZZANTI IN ADOLESCENZA
No full textMentalization is the ability to understand one’s own and others’ behaviors in terms of mental states and has recently been linked to epistemic trust, namely the ability to acquire knowledge from others. Recently, these constructs have been found to protect the adolescent individual from the risk of emotion dysregulation, which is notoriously involved in externalizing problems. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate whether there is an association between epistemic trust and mentalizing abilities, and how this can influence the emergence of externalizing problems. Thus, 132 nonclinical adolescents (Mage = 15.96, SD = 1.70; Female 46%), completed a self-report test battery which included the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire for Youth, the Inventory of Parents and Peer Attachment, and the Youth Self-Report. Results from the regression models show that the ability to mentalize and adequate epistemic trust may play a protective role from the risk of developing externalizing problems. Although these preliminary results significantly contribute to a recent research area that is increasingly getting attention, further studies are needed to deeper understand how these constructs are associated
Distancing the present self from the past and the future: Psychological distance in anxiety and depression
No full textHumans show a systematic tendency to perceive the future as psychologically closer than the past. Based on the clinical hypothesis that anxiety would be associated more with future threat life events, whereas depression with past loss events, here we explored whether people with anxiety- and depression-related personality traits perceive differently the psychological distance of temporal events. Results showed that the common tendency to perceive the future as psychologically closer than the past is exaggerated in individuals with anxiety-related personality traits, whereas this asymmetry drastically shrinks in individuals with depression-related personality traits. Beyond substantiating the hypothesis that the past and the future are differently faced by people with depression- and anxiety-related personality traits, the present findings suggest that temporal orientation of one’s self may be greatly altered in anxiety and depression
Improving Clinical Case Formulation in Developmental Psychopathology: A Case Commentary on Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual (PDM-2) in a Multimethod Assessment Framework
No full textThe Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual–2 challenges the constraints of traditional nosographic frameworks by offering clinicians a comprehensive guide for case formulation. This article aimed to underscore the significance of these features within the sensitive context of developmental psychopathology. The Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual–2’s capacity to not only provide a nuanced clinical perspective that captures an individual’s functioning in a holistic and integrative manner but also to guide the development of personalized treatment plans is particularly emphasized. Through a clinical case study, this article aims to discuss assessment methodologies. Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual–2 compares data derived from psychometric testing with insights from clinical observation while contextualizing these findings within the patient’s specific developmental phase
Training Mentalizing Skills In Virtual Reality: An Experimental Treatment For Children
No full textMentalization is the ability to understand behaviors as underlying mental states such as thoughts, emotions, and motivations. Mentalization development is considered complete between 8 to 12 years old. The possibility to work on this competence may have a substantial role in preventing or intervening in child psychopathology. Mentalizing Skills (MS) are activated in a relational context. This contribution's main objective is to suggest developing a Virtual Reality (VR) tool to assess socio-emotional abilities in children and train mentalization skills (MS) in an immersive environment. More specifically, we aim to test longitudinal variations (before and after intervention) of (1) socio-emotional problems and (2) emotion regulation strategies (expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal). Participants will be assessed with the Roberts-2 test using a VR app to assess MS using a head-tracked Head Mounted Display (HMD). The new app will assess the participants' ability to make inferential thoughts about others' states of mind, and a validated device will record Heart Rate Variability as a measure of emotion regulation. This new protocol will provide a reliable and engaging way to assess and train MS in an ecological environment via an agile technology-based approach, offering clinicians valuable insights into the children's skills/deficiencies, useful for prevention and clinical intervention
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