We are delighted to welcome you to the International Psychological Applications Conference and Trends 2014, taking place in Porto, Portugal, from 4 to 6 of April. Psychology, in our time, offers a large range of scientific fields where it can be applied. The goal of understanding individuals and groups (mental functions and behavioral…

Rich with case material and artwork samples, this volume demonstrates a range of creative approaches for facilitating children's emotional reparation and recovery from trauma. Contributors include experienced practitioners of play, art, music, movement and drama therapies, bibliotherapy, and integrative therapies, who describe step-by-step…

Objectives: This study evaluated substance use and HIV risk profile using a latent model analysis based on ecological theory, inclusive of a risk and protective factor framework, in sexually active minority adults (N=1,056) who participated in a federally funded substance abuse and HIV prevention health initiative from 2002 to 2006. Methods: Data…

A prenatal intervention designed to prevent the onset of major depressive episodes (MDEs) during pregnancy and postpartum was pilot tested at a public sector women's clinic. The "Mamas y Bebes"/Mothers and Babies Course is an intervention developed in Spanish and English that uses a cognitive-behavioral mood management framework, and incorporates…

Breaking the Cycle (BTC), founded in 1995, is an early identification, prevention, and treatment program for pregnant and parenting women who abuse substances. The authors explore the impact of substance abuse on early attachment relationships and on infant regulatory functioning. BTC focuses on building and enhancing the mother's relationships,…

Patricia Thompson, a women's studies educator, has in her previous writing proposed the Hestian/Hermean paradigm to distinguish dual systems of action that operate independently in the private, domestic (Hestian) sphere and the public, civic (Hermean) sphere. Based on her concept, this paper suggests that early childhood education might also be…

This study examined three elements of the mother-child relationship that have been found to influence cognitive development: (1) the child's security of attachment to the mother; (2) the sensitivity of the mother to her child's cues; and (3) maternal work status during the child's first year of life. Considered are the relationship of each of…

This paper investigates the characteristics of attachment and attachment disorders and attempts to specify techniques used by psychologists, teachers, therapists, and parents to enhance the learning environment of unattached children. The paper includes a review of literature resources discovered through the computerized systems of the Education…

This study examined the relationship between maternal stress, changes in stress, specific stressors, and social support and quality of mother-infant attachment. Life stress of 132 mothers was assessed prenatally and when the child was 13 months old. The mothers' social support and the quality of infant-mother attachment were also measured at the…

The conditions of day care quality under which infants direct secure attachment behaviors toward their day care providers were examined. Two groups of 12- to 18-month-old infants, who were experiencing either 1:4 or 1:7 caregiver-to-infant ratios, and their day care providers, were observed while they interacted in their day care centers.…

Data from the longitudinal Berkeley Becoming a Family Project were used to evaluate the possibility that husbands' and wives' working models of attachment are related to the quality of their marital relationship. The main issue investigated was that of whether there are connections between working models of childhood attachment relationships and…

Describes characteristics of the attachment behavior of 10 infants blind from birth. Behaviors studied were smiling, discriminating tactile behaviors, stranger avoidance and distress, and separation and reunion behaviors. (BRT)

An exploratory study examined the premise that pets provide developmental benefits for young children. Four hypotheses were derived from prior research: (1) children who have a bond with a dog or cat show more maturity in their cognitive, moral, and emotional development than children who do not have such pets; (2) children who have a more…

Findings of a study on the relation between 6-year-olds' attachment security and their mental representations of attachment relationships are reported. It was expected that infants whose attachment behavior seemed disorganized would be fearful of their attachment figures and experience themselves as helpless, and that these conditions would be…

This study tested the hypothesis that social competence of mother-infant play reflects both secure mother-infant attachment and more advanced cognitive development. Subjects were 58 toddlers between 16 and 19 months of age and their mothers. Two general methods were used: observation and maternal report. Standardized developmental assessments were…