Although 2023 U.S.-Mexico border encounters reached record levels, many involving Latinx immigrant youth vulnerable to trauma and mental health difficulties, little is known about linguistic features in these youths' attachment narratives. This study analyzed Child Attachment Interview (CAI) transcripts from 109 recently immigrated Central American high school students. Transcripts were processed with Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software to capture linguistic markers of attachment and were also coded using established CAI procedures for comparison across modalities. With no prior research using CAI and LIWC in Spanish, analyses were exploratory. Findings aligned with earlier work: LIWC markers of security included greater use of cognitive, achievement, and anxiety words, reflecting coherence and openness. Dismissing narratives showed more negations, motion words, and adverbs, while preoccupied narratives featured more hearing words and fewer work terms. LIWC reliably distinguished attachment patterns in immigrant youth, underscoring the need for attachment-focused research and interventions.

ABSTRACT One pathway to children’s antisocial orientations implicates a longitudinal sequence from parents’ attachment insecurity to their hostile representations of the child (Internal Working Models, IWMs) to negative parenting. The relevant research, however, is subject to limitations. One, although parts of that path have been robustly supported, few studies have formally examined the entire longitudinal cascade. Two, the pertinent studies have rarely considered child temperament. In a study of 200 families (mothers, fathers, and children), we examined whether the path from parental insecurity in infancy, to parental hostile IWMs of the child, to negative parenting, both at toddler age, to children’s antisocial orientation at preschool age was moderated by children’s toddler-age temperament. For mothers and children, the path was found only for children with highly difficult temperaments. Research bridging frameworks informed by attachment theory, social cognitive representations, parenting, and temperament can enhance our understanding of early origins of antisocial outcomes.

ABSTRACT Dyadic synchrony, the temporal alignment of behaviors and affect between mother and child, is central to successful interactions. The role of maternal ADHD symptoms in this process is underexplored. Thirty mother–child dyads engaged in a free-play task. Maternal ADHD symptoms were assessed, dyadic synchrony was measured with human-coded ratings (Coding Interactive Behavior, CIB) and automated analysis (Motion Energy Analysis, MEA), and maternal affect was assessed before and after the interaction. Higher maternal ADHD symptoms were linked to lower CIB-rated synchrony, but not maternal affect. MEA showed complementary patterns, correlating with specific CIB dimensions. Findings highlight maternal ADHD symptomology as a risk factor for reduced dyadic synchrony and suggest additive value in combining human-coded and automated assessments.

ABSTRACT The Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) has long been central to attachment research but has rarely been applied to diverse family forms, such as same-sex parent families and families formed through assisted reproductive technologies (ART). This study was the first to use the SSP to compare attachment classifications across same-sex male parent families, same-sex female parent families, and different-sex parent families formed through ART. Data came from the New Parents Study, including 229 parent-child dyads (115 families, including 16 twin families) from the Netherlands, France, and the United Kingdom, with children assessed around 12 months of age. Multinominal regression analyses showed no associaton between family type and attachment classification. However, children from the Netherlands were more likely to be classified as securely attached. These findings suggest that infant-parent attachment secruity does not differ by family type, expanding the understanding of attachment beyond the traditional mother-father paradigm.

ABSTRACT Infants’ mental representations of attachment are thought to develop across the first year. Due to methodological challenges, empirical attempts to assess these representations are scarce. The study presents a preliminary attempt to validate a measure of infants’ attachment representations. Seventy-two mother-infant dyads (34 girls) were assessed. At 4-months, 60 dyads were observed during free-play interactions. At 10-months, 72 infants viewed a puppet-show depicting a responsive vs. an unresponsive parent-puppet. Looking-time patterns indexed infants’ expectations, and puppet choice indexed infants’ preference for parent-puppets’ responsiveness. Infants generally expected (d = 0.42) and preferred (66%) parent-puppet-responsiveness. Moreover, maternal “responsive secure-base” behavior at 4-months was associated with infants’ expectations (r = .29, p = .025) and preference (d = 0.6) for responsiveness at 10-months. Findings support theoretical concepts, providing preliminary evidence for infants’ preverbal attachment representations and their roots in early social experience with their attachment figures. Future research using larger samples and standard attachment assessments is needed to validate this measure.

ABSTRACT To better understand perceptions and self-evaluations of sensitive caregiving in Singapore we examined observed (n=301) and self-reported (n=85) maternal behavior, as well as local early educators’ (n = 57) opinions concerning ideal maternal behavior, which we then used to create a local MBQS ideal criterion. The association between local educators’ MBQS sorting and the standard MBQS ideal criterion was r = 0.67, indicating alignment. Maternal observed and self-reported scores were not significantly associated (MBQS sensitivity criterion: r = −0.13, p = .317; Local criterion: r = −0.10, p = .441). Observed scores (Sensitivity: M = 0.21, Local criterion: M = 0.27) were lower than self-reported scores (Sensitivity: M = 0.62, t(63) = −8.05, p < .001; Local criterion: M = 0.59, t(57) = −7.77, p < .001). The findings reinforce those of past research concerning cross-cultural similarities and limitations in self-reports. Regarding interventional efforts, these point to the need to counter parental resistance to intervention as “unnecessary” with a better understanding of the limits of self-evaluation. Concerning interventional efficacy, the need for observational assessment of change is reinforced.

ABSTRACT The ability to openly consider the mental states of others has been termed mentalizing and is crucial to maintaining interpersonal relationships. Theory and previous research findings suggest that emotional arousal may impact mentalization. This study examined whether the arousal associated with a relational rupture impacted young adults’ ability to mentalize about their family member with whom they were in conflict. Fifty-four young adults were interviewed about an ongoing conflict with a significant family member. Average heart rate, skin conductance, and level of mentalization were measured at the speech-turn level. Results showed a curvilinear association between mean heart rate and reflective functioning (RF). No effects were found for skin conductance. Logistic regression showed RF scores predicted participants’ readiness to engage in information gathering. Moderate emotional arousal was associated with higher RF, and those with higher RF were nearly twice as likely to be ready to gather new information from the other.

ABSTRACT Teachers’ mentalization may be particularly important for fostering positive classroom environments that support children’s cognitive and social-emotional development. To date, no studies have directly examined whether enhancing teachers’ mentalizing abilities leads to improvements in classroom climate. This study evaluated the impact of DUET, a mentalization-based group intervention for early childhood teachers and examined whether improvements in teachers’ mentalizing abilities were related to enhanced classroom Emotional Support, a key component of classroom climate. Eighty-six early childhood teachers participated in the intervention. Teachers’ mentalizing abilities and classroom Emotional Support were evaluated pre- and post-intervention. Following the intervention, significant improvements were observed in both teachers’ mentalizing abilities and classroom climate. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that changes in teachers’ mentalizing abilities significantly predicted improvements in classroom climate. These findings suggest that targeting teachers’ mentalization capacities may be a promising approach for creating more supportive early childhood learning environments.

ABSTRACT Crime is among the most important issues to U.S. voters, often determining the outcome of major elections, with consequences for public policy. In two studies, we examine the role of attachment in predicting responses to crime. In Study 1 (N = 561), attachment avoidance was associated with reduced support for restorative justice. Attachment anxiety was indirectly linked to support for retributive justice, via heightened beliefs in a dangerous world and mindsets that people cannot change. Study 2 (N = 327) replicated results from Study 1 and demonstrated that a brief experimental intervention to boost individuals’ felt security reduced negative attributions about a crime suspect’s motives. Among participants high in attachment avoidance at baseline, boosting security mitigated punitive responses toward the suspect – reducing recommended jail time, pessimistic beliefs about rehabilitation, negative attributions, and negative emotions. Findings have implications for understanding and shifting public attitudes and policy regarding criminal justice.