Social Processes Research Articles

Whole-head high-density diffuse optical tomography to map infant audio-visual responses to social and non-social stimuli

Abstract Infancy is a time of rapid brain development. High-density diffuse optical tomography (HD-DOT) is an optical neuroimaging method that maps changes in cortical haemoglobin concentration, a marker of functional brain activation. Recent years have seen a huge advance in wearable hardware for HD-DOT, however previous headgear has only been capable of sampling specific areas of the cortex. In this work, we aimed to develop headgear capable of sampling across the whole infant scalp surface and to conduct a proof-of-concept demonstration of whole-head HD-DOT in infants aged 5- to 7-months. We developed a whole-head infant implementation of the high-density LUMO design developed by Gowerlabs Ltd. (UK). HD-DOT data were collected from a cohort of infants (N=16) during the presentation of a screen-based paradigm assessing social processing. Using whole-head HD-DOT, we mapped activity across the entirety of the optically-accessible cortex which far exceeds coverage achieved by previous infant optical neuroimaging methods. We found activity in temporal regions which corroborates previous research. Further, we mapped activity in regions outside those typically sampled in infant research using social processing paradigms, finding activation in regions across the occipital, parietal and frontal cortices as well as an apparent inverted response in sensorimotor regions. Following this proof-of-concept, we envisage that whole-head HD-DOT will be applied to map the interaction between different regions of the brain, opening new avenues to map activity in the awake infant brain to better understand the trajectory of typical and atypical neurodevelopment.

Religious Beliefs and Socialization: An Empirical Study on the Transformation of Religiosity in Spain from 1998 to 2018

This empirical study investigates the transformation of religiosity in Spain over the two decades from 1998 to 2018, with a focus on social changes in belief, religiosity, and religious controversies, as well as the evolution of religious socialization. By incorporating the concepts of religious socialization and religious controversy into the theoretical framework, the study analyzes data from three waves of surveys on religious topics conducted in Spain during this period. The descriptive findings reveal a clear trend towards a decline in religious belief, religiosity, and practice, coupled with a significant rise in atheistic and non-religious attitudes. Moreover, the explanatory analysis indicates a reduction in the impact of primary religious socialization during childhood, while sociodemographic variables such as age and ideology have either maintained or increased their influence in shaping religious or non-religious positions. The study identifies religious polarization, driven by a marked increase in atheism and non-religion, and suggests that intergenerational and ideological shifts are more critical in explaining changes in religious beliefs than traditional religious socialization processes.

Attachment and inter-individual differences in empathy, compassion, and theory of mind abilities

ABSTRACT Social processing, namely the ability to understand others’ cognitive and affective states, is crucial for successful social interaction. It encompasses socio-affective abilities such as empathy and compassion, as well as socio-cognitive abilities such as theory of mind (ToM). This study examined the link between social processing and attachment. Our study goes beyond previous research in that social processing abilities were assessed in a single, state-of-the-art behavioral paradigm using video narratives, the EmpaToM. Attachment was captured with the Adult Attachment Interview (N = 85; 50.60% women, M age = 25.87 ± 4.50 years) measuring participants’ present-day capacity to think about and communicate attachment-relevant information about the past. Additionally, a self-report attachment questionnaire was employed (N = 158). We found that AAI-based attachment security (vs. insecurity) was associated with higher behavioral ToM abilities. Furthermore, self-reported attachment avoidance was negatively correlated with behavioral compassion abilities. Our findings provide further evidence that interview-based and self-reported attachment measures do not converge, but may rather be understood as capturing different facets of attachment that relate to different components of social processing. We conclude that individuals with secure, non-avoidant attachment show social abilities that allow them to better understand others’ thoughts and generate positive, caring emotions in face of others’ distress.

Transition from homelessness to becoming housed: A qualitative study.

To explore the transitional experiences of becoming housed from homelessness. A qualitative descriptive study. Data were collected during 2017 and 2018 using a semi-structured interview method with 10 former homeless people who became housed at the time of the study. The grounded theory method was used to analyse qualitative data. 'Desire to keep a place to stretch out and lie down' was the basic social problem participants suffered during the transition from homeless to becoming housed. In addition, 'returning to the social world as a person living an ordinary life' was the basic social process that emerged as a core category. The process was divided into four phases: (1) being discarded from everyday life in the social world, (2) struggling to reconnect with society and (3) returning to the social world as a person living an ordinary life. The transition from homelessness to becoming housed is a significant experience for individuals that involves holistic changes. Community health nurses should consider their practical needs based on client views. What problem did the study address? This study explored the experiences of transitioning from homelessness to becoming housed among post-homeless individuals. What were the main findings? While moving from homelessness to becoming housed, homeless people experienced returning to the social world as a person living an ordinary life. They were also shown to go through the process of four stages. Where and on whom will the research have an impact? This study will contribute to suggesting a direction for self-reliance-based interventions among people who are homeless. Additionally, the findings will provide primary data to develop a program for social integration. No patient or public contribution.

Mice integrate conspecific and contextual information in forming social episodic-like memories under spontaneous recognition task conditions

The ability to remember unique past events (episodic memory) may be an evolutionarily conserved function, with accumulating evidence of episodic-(like) memory processing in rodents. In humans, it likely contributes to successful complex social networking. Rodents, arguably the most used laboratory models, are also rather social animals. However, many behavioural paradigms are devoid of sociality, and commonly-used social spontaneous recognition tasks (SRTs) are open to non-episodic strategies based upon familiarity. We address this gap by developing new SRT variants. Here, in object-in-context SRTs, we asked if context could be specified by the presence/absence of either a conspecific (experiment 1) or an additional local object (experiment 2). We show that mice readily used the conspecific as contextual information to distinguish unique episodes in memory. In contrast, no coherent behavioural response emerged when an additional object was used as a potential context specifier. Further, in a new social conspecific-in-context SRT (experiment 3) where environment-based change was the context specifier, mice preferably explored a more recently-seen familiar conspecific associated with contextual mismatch, over a less recently-seen familiar conspecific presented in the same context. The results argue that, in incidental SRT conditions, mice readily incorporate conspecific cue information into episodic-like memory. Thus, the tasks offer different ways to assess and further understand the mechanisms at work in social episodic-like memory processing.

Coupled natural-social water system in a subwatershed of the Tennessee River Basin

Regional water cycle systems are increasingly characterized by the dual effect of natural and social processes, which have profound impacts on global water security. However, accurately interpreting the changes in the coupled natural-social water system and identifying the driving factors pose significant challenges. Here, we attempted to model a coupled natural-social water system in the East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC) watershed of the Tennessee River, United States. The study area features two social water cycle components: a local water transfer project and the Oak Ridge Wastewater Treatment Facility (ORWTF). We conducted the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) modeling in the open-source light-weight QGIS software, with the synthesis of various climate and land use change scenarios in both historical periods (1980–2016) and future periods (2017–2050). We achieved more accurate and realistic model simulations when considering the social water cycle components, indicating that the social water cycle accounted for 13–18 % of the observed streamflow. Climate variation/change dominates natural runoff changes. Though land use and cover change (LUCC) had minimal effect on natural runoff, it already had a profound impact on the process of runoff generation: LUCC has a notable impact on its components, i.e., surface runoff (RS) and subsurface runoff (RSS). Specifically, LUCC would be responsible for 152 % and 45 % of the changes in RS and RSS, respectively, in future periods. This study highlights the significance of artificial water discharge and withdrawal impacts on the water cycle and emphasizes the need for water resources management measures that fully consider natural-social hydrological processes.

Rethinking climate change vulnerabilities after COVID‐19: Recommendations for social science‐based interventions drawn from research on Conspiracy Theories and Diversity Science

AbstractScholars have noted several connections between the COVID‐19 pandemic and the climate crisis, ranging from the material influence of the pandemic on climate change processes (e.g., how lockdowns temporarily lowered climate emissions) to the similar ways the crises have been managed. Both crises are also global in scope, have exerted a significant toll on human lives and require major changes in our lifestyles. However, while collective responses to COVID‐19 were rapid and concerted, efforts to address climate change continue to be met with resistance. In this article, we investigate the social vulnerabilities common to both crises and the lessons that policymakers in the climate field can take away from the pandemic. After outlining the theoretical and empirical similarities between the two crises, we present a general framework and recommendations for the use of social science‐based interventions. We focus on two broad topics of contemporary interest that lay bare social vulnerabilities of the coronavirus pandemic—conspiracy theories and racial and ethnic inequities—to highlight the ways that understanding social and psychological processes associated with the pandemic can help inform more efficient climate policies.Public Significance StatementThis paper shows how the COVID‐19 pandemic's social and psychological lessons can guide climate change policies. By leveraging social science insights, we propose strategies and illustrations to combat misinformation and address social inequities, ultimately fostering more effective and inclusive climate actions and benefiting policymakers and society at large.

Cultivating green creativity through training and development in hospitality organizations

ABSTRACT Green training and development (T&D) has emerged as an important topic within HRM, with research focusing on its impact on various employee outcomes. However, only a few studies have focused on understanding its impacts on green organizational outcomes, such as green creativity. We utilize social information processing theory to theorize whether, when, and how green T&D impacts green creativity. This study collected lagged and multisource field data (246 supervisor-employee dyads) from various hospitality organizations. Our findings based on time-lagged data and analyzed using Smart PLS reveal that green T&D enhances individual green values, which, in turn, enhance green creativity. We found that responsible leadership amplifies the positive relationship between green T&D and individual green values. We also found support for the moderating effect of responsible leadership on the indirect model via individual green values. The study underscores the importance of integrating green training and development programs in hospitality organizations to enhance individual green values and creativity. Practical implications include promoting responsible leadership, aligning organizational values with environmental goals, and fostering a culture that supports green initiatives and creativity.

"I Finally Feel Like I Have Help. Before, I Was Completely Alone": A Grounded Theory of Community-Based Hospice Transitions.

Little is known about community-based transitions to home hospice care. We used a Straussian grounded theory approach to understand the basic social process of care transitions that patients and their caregivers use when electing hospice care. Participants were recruited from hospice agencies serving 3 counties in New York State. Data were collected through 7 interviews of patients, patient-and-caregiver dyads, and a hospice nurse (n = 10). Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Our results generated an emerging grounded theory of the hospice care transition processes rooted in maintaining personhood and autonomy. There were 5 contemporaneous steps: (1) recognizing futility and pursuing comfort; (2) seeking help and input as health declines; (3) shopping for the right services, overcoming obstacles, and self-referring to hospice care; (4) attending to the business of dying while living; and (5) processing and expressing emotions. Although not central to the care transition process, an additional step was identified that occurred after the transition to hospice care: planning for an uncertain future. The hospice care transition process identified in the study reveals important mechanistic targets for the development of interventions that promote patient-centered hospice care transitions in the home setting.

Applying Kumpfer’s resilience framework to understand the social adaptation process of the trailing parents in China

BackgroundTrailing parents, a distinct group emerging from China’s rapid social change and urbanization, are experiencing migration in old age, posing challenges for their social adaptation. Existing research has mainly focused on the hardships faced by this group, but few studies have focused on how they cope with change and achieve some degree of successful social adaptation. This study aimed to understand the coping and social adaptation process of trailing parents in China.MethodsThis study used a qualitative research approach. A total of 24 trailing parents were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview and share their experiences and efforts to cope with the many challenges. Kumpfer’s resilience framework was used as the theoretical framework for the study design, data collection, and data analysis.ResultsThis study identified several intra-family and community stressors that trailing parents may face when moving to a new environment and uncovered five key resilience characteristics that may be triggered or fostered in the presence of these stressors, including physical fitness, psychological stability, open-mindedness, learning ability, and nurturing hobbies. Individuals with resilience traits have been observed to engage in positive cognitive processing and transform the new environment. Consistent with Kumpfer’s resilience framework, this study revealed the dynamics of the stressors faced by trailing parents in the new environments, the role of resilience characteristics, and the critical influence of social support in shaping the interplay between the individual and the environment that enabled them to adapt positively.ConclusionsThis study highlights the importance of fostering resilience traits and leveraging positive coping mechanisms to facilitate a smoother adaptation process for trailing parents. Meanwhile, there is an urgent need to focus on creating opportunities that strengthen their social support networks.

Anthropomorphism of service-oriented AI and customers’ propensity for value co-creation

PurposeArtificial intelligence (AI) used in service has sparked fundamental changes in how enterprises engage their customers. AI specifically designed for customer service is denoted as service-oriented AI. Through the lens of social information processing theory and the pleasure-arousal-dominance (PAD) emotional state model, this study aims to examine the underlying mechanisms for service-oriented AI anthropomorphism to influence customers' propensity for value co-creation.Design/methodology/approachOur data were collected from hotel customers who had experienced interactions with service-oriented AI. Through purposive sampling, 350 survey responses were collected. We analyzed the survey data using covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM).FindingsThis study has two key findings. Firstly, customers' propensity for value co-creation is favorably facilitated by the anthropomorphism of service-oriented AI. Secondly, the anthropomorphism of service-oriented AI can strengthen customers' perceptions of cuteness and service capacity, elicit a sense of novelty, and enhance customers' propensity to collaborate with service-oriented AI to create value. These findings address the research gaps by focusing on customer engagement through service-oriented AI and provide a theoretical basis for subsequent practical endeavors in the field.Originality/valueIntegrating the PAD emotional state model with the social information processing theory, this study explores the effects of service-oriented AI's anthropomorphism on customers' propensity for value co-creation.

Examination of self patterns: framing an alternative phenomenological interview for use in mental health research and clinical practice

Mental disorders are increasingly understood as involving complex alterations of self that emerge from dynamical interactions of constituent elements, including cognitive, bodily, affective, social, narrative, cultural and normative aspects and processes. An account of self that supports this view is the pattern theory of self (PTS). The PTS is a non-reductive account of the self, consistent with both embodied-enactive cognition and phenomenological psychopathology; it foregrounds the multi-dimensionality of subjects, stressing situated embodiment and intersubjective processes in the formation of the self-pattern. Indications in the literature already demonstrate the viability of the PTS for formulating an alternative methodology to better understand the lived experience of those suffering mental disorders and to guide mental health research more generally. This article develops a flexible methodological framework that front-loads the self-pattern into a minimally structured phenomenological interview. We call this framework ‘Examination of Self Patterns’ (ESP). The ESP is unconstrained by internalist or externalist assumptions about mind and is flexibly guided by person-specific interpretations rather than pre-determined diagnostic categories. We suggest this approach is advantageous for tackling the inherent complexity of mental health, the clinical protocols and the requirements of research.

Variation in gaze following across the life span: A process-level perspective.

Following eye gaze is fundamental for many social-cognitive abilities, for example, when judging what another agent can or cannot know. While the emergence of gaze following has been thoroughly studied on a group level, we know little about (a) the developmental trajectory beyond infancy and (b) the sources of individual differences. In Study 1, we examined gaze following across the lifespan (N=478 3- to 19-year-olds from Leipzig, Germany; and N=240 20- to 80-year-old international, remotely tested adults). We found a steep performance improvement during preschool years, in which children became more precise in locating the attentional focus of an agent. Precision levels then stayed comparably stable throughout adulthood with a minor decline toward old age. In Study 2, we formalized the process of gaze following in a computational cognitive model that allowed us to conceptualize individual differences in a psychologically meaningful way (N=60 3- to 5-year-olds, 50 adults). According to our model, participants estimate pupil angles with varying levels of precision based on observing the pupil location within the agent's eyes. In Study 3, we empirically tested how gaze following relates to vector following in non-social settings and perspective-taking abilities (N=102 4- to 5-year-olds). We found that gaze following is associated with both of these abilities but less so with other Theory of Mind tasks. This work illustrates how the combination of reliable measurement instruments and formal theoretical models allows us to explore the in(ter)dependence of core social-cognitive processes in greater detail. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Gaze following develops beyond infancy. The highest precision levels in localizing attentional foci are reached in young adulthood with a slight decrease towards old age. We present a computational model that describes gaze following as a process of estimating pupil angles and the corresponding gaze vectors. The model explains individual differences and recovers signature patterns in the data. To estimate the relation between gaze- and vector following, we designed a non-social vector following task. We found substantial correlations between gaze following and vector following, as well as Level 2 perspective-taking. Other Theory of Mind tasks did not correlate.

In-Between Categories: Documenting Greek Children’s Legal Belonging in the Suez Canal Region

This paper looks at the complex manner in which children were documented in Ottoman Egypt and their access to citizenship later in postcolonial Egypt. It discusses the making of social and political categories, like citizenship and statelessness, and how Greeks moved through those categories. This paper also analyzes how these categories were imposed, first by the Ottoman Empire and then by the Egyptian nation-state. The end of the Ottoman Empire in 1922, and the declaration of the Egyptian Republic in 1953, the Suez Crisis in 1956, the Arab-Israeli Wars in 1967 and 1973, and the new labor laws of the 1950s and 1960s, among other events, impacted Greeks and others who lived in Egypt at that time. The impact among Greeks in Suez Canal cities was particularly evident in the community’s cohesion, as most evacuated the cities in 1967 with almost everyone else following in 1973. These economic and political factors, and the social processes the community underwent, defined Greek children’s relation with the Egyptian postcolonial state.

On the issue of rethinking the conceptual foundations of management as a social phenomenon

Social and digital technologies are exposing the impact of governance on society. It acts as a factor that simultaneously solves problems and poses threats to all of humanity as a result of mistakes, personal interests, and unforeseen consequences. With the growing influence of management on social processes, questions arise not only about how management is structured, but also what place it occupies in society. There is a need to rethink the phenomenon of management. Despite the prevalence of the term “management,” its understanding is far from ambiguous. An additional complexity is associated with the absence in foreign scientific literature of a term identical to the Russian word “management”. The article proposes that management is understood as a social phenomenon manifested in the activities of individual and group subjects, which is aimed at interfering in the natural course of events to bring them into line with subjective ideas. In this interpretation, management serves as the basis for the emergence of an artificial component. To understand the place given to management in sociology, the article analyzes the main sociological paradigms based on the typologies of K.Dubar, R.Collins, J.Ritzer. In the usual dualism, objectivism-subjectivism, structure-agent, society-personality, macrosociology-microsociology and the desire to overcome them, management is given a secondary, auxiliary role, and disciplines studying management (sociology of management, sociology of organizations) are given the place of industrial sciences. Each of the sociological paradigms is a response to the challenges of its time. The modern world is characterized by the growth of man-made artificial reality with a simultaneous increase in uncertainty. This actualizes new challenges, the answers to which the author proposes to look for in the problem field of management, expanding it to a general sociological theory. For this purpose, the social space is described as the intersection of the “natural-artificial” and “determined-uncertain” axes. The author sees an important difference between the sociology of management and other disciplines in the study of not only what one should “know in order to foresee, and foresee in order to be able,” but also how this “can” can be realized. The study of management covers the theory and practice of social and, rising to abstract levels, it does not lose pragmatism (it takes into account how knowledge is applied by social individuals in practice to solve real social problems).

On the issue of rethinking the conceptual foundations of management as a social phenomenon

Social and digital technologies are exposing the impact of governance on society. It acts as a factor that simultaneously solves problems and poses threats to all of humanity as a result of mistakes, personal interests, and unforeseen consequences. With the growing influence of management on social processes, questions arise not only about how management is structured, but also what place it occupies in society. There is a need to rethink the phenomenon of management. Despite the prevalence of the term “management,” its understanding is far from ambiguous. An additional complexity is associated with the absence in foreign scientific literature of a term identical to the Russian word “management”. The article proposes that management is understood as a social phenomenon manifested in the activities of individual and group subjects, which is aimed at interfering in the natural course of events to bring them into line with subjective ideas. In this interpretation, management serves as the basis for the emergence of an artificial component. To understand the place given to management in sociology, the article analyzes the main sociological paradigms based on the typologies of K.Dubar, R.Collins, J.Ritzer. In the usual dualism, objectivism-subjectivism, structure-agent, society-personality, macrosociology-microsociology and the desire to overcome them, management is given a secondary, auxiliary role, and disciplines studying management (sociology of management, sociology of organizations) are given the place of industrial sciences. Each of the sociological paradigms is a response to the challenges of its time. The modern world is characterized by the growth of man-made artificial reality with a simultaneous increase in uncertainty. This actualizes new challenges, the answers to which the author proposes to look for in the problem field of management, expanding it to a general sociological theory. For this purpose, the social space is described as the intersection of the “natural-artificial” and “determined-uncertain” axes. The author sees an important difference between the sociology of management and other disciplines in the study of not only what one should “know in order to foresee, and foresee in order to be able,” but also how this “can” can be realized. The study of management covers the theory and practice of social and, rising to abstract levels, it does not lose pragmatism (it takes into account how knowledge is applied by social individuals in practice to solve real social problems).

Enhancing doctoral learning through virtual communities of practice: an autoethnographic perspective

This article explores the role of virtual communities of practice in enhancing the doctoral experience, particularly in the contemporary digital era. The author emphasizes the multifaceted benefits, including elevating academic networking, optimizing knowledge management, and supporting the mental well-being of remote learners. The establishment of clear shared objectives, dynamic leadership, and a conducive environment for collaborative innovation are identified as key prerequisites for building successful virtual communities of practice. As remote doctoral education becomes more prevalent, virtual communities of practice not only facilitate academic engagement but also foster mutual support and advocacy among doctoral students. The researcher, as a final year PhD student employed autoethnography as a research method to offer an intimate and reflective exploration of her personal experiences within virtual communities of practice. This unique insider perspective adds depth to the discussion on elevating academic networking, optimizing knowledge management, and supporting the mental well-being of remote learners. Furthermore, her ongoing doctoral research focuses on the socialization process and the development of a sense of belonging among doctoral students. Motivated by her research topics, she commenced her doctoral studies during the epidemic and cultivated the practice of consistently maintaining a researcher’s reflection diary. This perspective article examines her diary, elucidating her experiences, opinions, and feelings. The researcher utilized a thematic approach to thoroughly analyze the author’s research diaries covering the period from December 2020 to August 2023. The article concludes by calling for further research into the professional identity development of doctoral students within virtual learning communities, exploring potential challenges and effective coping mechanisms to achieve inclusive practices in the complex and diverse digital era of academia.

Enhancing doctoral learning through virtual communities of practice: an autoethnographic perspective

This article explores the role of virtual communities of practice in enhancing the doctoral experience, particularly in the contemporary digital era. The author emphasizes the multifaceted benefits, including elevating academic networking, optimizing knowledge management, and supporting the mental well-being of remote learners. The establishment of clear shared objectives, dynamic leadership, and a conducive environment for collaborative innovation are identified as key prerequisites for building successful virtual communities of practice. As remote doctoral education becomes more prevalent, virtual communities of practice not only facilitate academic engagement but also foster mutual support and advocacy among doctoral students. The researcher, as a final year PhD student employed autoethnography as a research method to offer an intimate and reflective exploration of her personal experiences within virtual communities of practice. This unique insider perspective adds depth to the discussion on elevating academic networking, optimizing knowledge management, and supporting the mental well-being of remote learners. Furthermore, her ongoing doctoral research focuses on the socialization process and the development of a sense of belonging among doctoral students. Motivated by her research topics, she commenced her doctoral studies during the epidemic and cultivated the practice of consistently maintaining a researcher’s reflection diary. This perspective article examines her diary, elucidating her experiences, opinions, and feelings. The researcher utilized a thematic approach to thoroughly analyze the author’s research diaries covering the period from December 2020 to August 2023. The article concludes by calling for further research into the professional identity development of doctoral students within virtual learning communities, exploring potential challenges and effective coping mechanisms to achieve inclusive practices in the complex and diverse digital era of academia.

Biological and social cascades of prenatal contextual risk and maternal psychological distress to early-childhood adjustment.

In the peripartum, putative mechanisms in the transmission of prenatal contextual risk and maternal psychological distress include biological and social processes. In this study, path analyses were used to test unique, cascading pathways of prenatal contextual risk and pre- and postnatal maternal psychological distress through social mediators (parenting) and biological mediators (infant stress physiology) on infant temperament and toddler adjustment. The sample is comprised of racially and ethnically diverse first-time mothers (N = 200) living in low-income contexts (< 200% poverty) who were followed from pregnancy to 18-36 months postpartum. In pregnancy, mothers reported contextual risk and psychological distress (anxiety, depression). In the postpartum, mothers reported their psychological distress. At 2-4 months postpartum, observed mother-infant interactions were coded for sensitive responsiveness. Infant cortisol baseline and reactivity to a lab stressor were collected when infants were 4-6 months old. Mothers reported on infant's temperament (negative affect, effortful control) at 10-12 months and on child adjustment (internalizing, externalizing symptoms) at 18-36 months. Prenatal contextual risk predicted infant cortisol reactivity. Prenatal psychological distress predicted postnatal distress but, when accounting for postnatal distress, did not predict putative mediators or indicators of child adjustment. In contrast, maternal postnatal depression predicted subsequent maternal sensitive responsiveness, which in turn predicted later infant baseline cortisol and cortisol reactivity. Baseline cortisol predicted infant negative affectivity, which predicted toddler internalizing and externalizing symptoms. There was no evidence of mediated effects of prenatal variables on child adjustment outcomes, whereas contextual risk, postnatal psychological distress, and parenting were more salient predictors of child adjustment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Encountering the health and social environment after a pregnancy loss: A grounded theory study from male perspective

AimTo develop an empirical model that explores and explains the social process of the encounters of men who suffered pregnancy loss with health and social environments. MethodsA constructivist grounded theory method was performed, whereby 23 couples were interviewed using a semi-structured interview. Men that suffered pregnancy loss were analysed iteratively, with line-by-line and incident-to-incident coding, focused coding and axial coding, until data saturation and the emergence of theory. ResultsThe theory Behind bars that hide and mask them illustrates the social process of the encounters of men who suffered pregnancy loss with the health and social environment. Social taboo and gender stereotypes could repress, marginalize, and hide men's feelings. This transposed into the healthcare setting, which focused on the physical aspects of the woman, and lacked an emotional approach, follow-up, and sensitivity. Men reported a lack of recognition or family and social support. ConclusionMany men report not feeling involved in the care process after pregnancy loss, in addition to the prioritisation of medicalised care, which can be explained by a medical paternalism approach. These results provide a basis to reflect and plan the inclusion of men for the provision of comprehensive and couple-centred care. Implications for practiceCommunication strategies and emotional management, self-reflection of health professionals, theoretical-practical content with a gender perspective in the training of nurses and midwives, involvement of the organisation and leadership, and further research is required.