Stern, Bailey, Costello, Hellwig, Mitchell & Allen (2024) published “Empathy across Three Generations: From maternal and peer support in adolescence to adult parenting and child outcomes” in Child Development. Here are some edited excerpts:

This study examined the development of empathic care across three generations in a sample of 184 adolescents in the United States (99 female, 85 male; 58% White, 29% African American, 8% mixed race/ethnicity, 5% other groups), followed from their family of origin at age 13 into their parenting years (through their mid-30s).

Today, I present two studies that use clever methodologies to present alternatives to traditional notions. First, Ringwald, Shields, Kushner, Herzhoff & Tackett (2024) published “Cross-Situational Variability in Childhood Personality States” in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.  Here’s the edited abstract:

Personality variability is an important individual difference construct that is the focus of major psychological theories and relates to socioemotional functioning. Although cross-situational personality variability has been studied extensively in adult populations, little is known about variability in children’s personality.

Today I present a single study, one I found very helpful. Muris, Bakker, Peulen, van Mulekom & Meesters (2023) published The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly: A comprehensive study of temperament and personality correlates of self-reported disruptive behavior problems in male and female adolescents” in Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.  Here are some highly edited excerpts:

The aim of the present study was to provide a comprehensive picture of temperament and personality traits as correlates of self-reported disruptive behavior problems in male and female adolescents.

I thought I’d post a short blog today, looking at a single article that I found interesting. Zhang, Wetzel, Yoon & Roberts (2024) published “Perseverance, a Measure of Conscientiousness, is a Valid Predictor of Achievement and Truancy across the Globe” in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.  Here’s the edited abstract:

All three articles today address interventions to assist parents. First, Sanchez, Javadi & Comer (2024) published “Family Engagement in a Behavioral Parenting Intervention: A randomized comparison of telehealth versus office-based treatment formats” in Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Here’s the edited abstract and impact statements:

Today, we look at three studies of psychotherapy for depression. First, Snippe, Elmer, Ceulemans, Smit, Lutz & Helmich (2024) published “The Temporal Order of Emotional, Cognitive, and Behavioral Gains in Daily Life during Treatment of Depression” in Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.  Here’s the edited abstract:

Despite the importance for understanding mechanisms of change, little is known about the order of change in daily life emotions, cognitions, and behaviors during treatment of depression.

All three studies today deal with youth experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity, increasingly common phenomena across the US. First, Bird, Jenzer & Read (2023) published “Youth Experiencing, and Youth at Risk of, Homelessness: Associations between trauma type, posttraumatic negative cognitions, and posttraumatic stress disorder” in Traumatology. Here’s the edited abstract

Experiencing homelessness as an adolescent or young adult confers risk for trauma experiences and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Today, I selected two articles that pertain to successful psychotherapy. First, Iovoli et al. (2024) published “The Relationship between Interpersonal Problems and Therapeutic Alliance in Psychotherapy: A three-level mixed-effects meta-analysis” in Psychotherapy. Here are the edited abstract and impact statements:

Today, I present an article that I found helpful regarding gender and sexual diversity. Hammack & Manago (2024) published “The Psychology of Sexual and Gender Diversity in the 21st century: Social technologies and stories of authenticity” in American Psychologist. Here are extracts from the article:

Today, I present an article that I found helpful regarding gender and sexual diversity. Hammack & Manago (2024) published “The Psychology of Sexual and Gender Diversity in the 21st century: Social technologies and stories of authenticity” in American Psychologist. Here are extracts from the article:

The 21st century has seen shifts in social and scientific understandings of gender and sexuality in the United States. From the legitimization of same-sex marriage to the heightened visibility of transgender identities, nonbinary gender, and forms of intimate diversity such as asexuality, kink, and polyamory, core cultural and scientific assumptions about gender and sexuality have been challenged.

I like attachment research, especially that which includes both moms and dads. Today, I present three studies of early experiences with parenting. First, Zhang, Tian, Maclaine, Hazen & Jacobvitz (2024) published “Trust Over the Transition to Parenthood: Links to attachment, perception of partner’s caregiving, and parenting” in Journal of Family Psychology. Here’s the edited abstract:

Today, I present a study of narcissism and therapy. Ge, Hewitt, Mikail, Flett & Kealy (2024) published “Pathological Narcissism’s Impact on Psychodynamic Group Therapy for Perfectionism” in Psychotherapy. Here are the edited abstract and impact statements:

Several decades of theory suggest that pathological narcissism (PN) may limit psychotherapy success, but empirical evidence for such theories is limited and mixed. In addition, it has been proposed that individuals with high levels of PN may benefit more from supportive compared to interpretive psychodynamic therapies, but no studies thus far have investigated this question empirically.

Today, I present two studies that indicate that how people feel about their circumstances matter. First, Gómez, Vázquez, Alba, Blanco, Chinchilla, Chiclana & Swann (2024) published “Feeling Understood Fosters Identity Fusion” in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.  Here’s the edited abstract:

If the consequences of identity fusion are well established, its psychological antecedents are not.

Three studies today examine borderline personality disorder (BPD). First, Di Bartolomeo, Siegel, Fulham & Fitzpatrick (2024) published “Borderline Personality Disorder and Social Connectedness: A systematic review” in Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment.  Here’s the edited abstract:

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a debilitating disorder characterized by deficits in social connectedness, which is a multifaceted construct with structural (i.e., the number, diversity, or frequency of social relationships), functional (i.e., the actual or perceived resources relationships provide), and quality (i.e., the positive and negative aspects of social relationships) elements (Holt-Lunstad, 2018).

Both articles today deal with families of sexual and gender minority youth. First, Bitran et al. (2024) published “The Effects of Family Support and Smartphone-Derived Homestay on Daily Mood and Depression Among sexual and gender minority adolescents. Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science. Here are the edited abstract and impact statements

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) adolescents are at elevated risk for depression. This risk is especially pronounced among adolescents whose home environment is unsupportive or nonaffirming, as these adolescents may face familial rejection due to their identity.

This is another long post but relates to work with high SES. Laurin, Engstrom, Alic & Tracy (2024) published “Is Being Elite the Same as Living an Easy Life? Two distinct ways of experiencing subjective socioeconomic status” in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Here are some highly edited portions of the article:

Socioeconomic status (SES) predicts a large number of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors; here, we build on these findings to try to paint a comprehensive picture of what people who occupy different SES ranks are like.

Sometimes, I am simply intrigued by an article. Here’s one that immediately captured my attention. Chang, Silver & Holman (2024) published “Betrayal Trauma and Somatic Symptoms among Patients in a Medically Underserved Primary Care Clinic” in Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.  Here are the edited abstract and impact statements:

Betrayal Trauma Theory posits that victims of trauma are more prone to developing psychological and physical problems if the traumatic event includes the element of betrayal.

Today, I present a long summary of an interesting article. Duncan, Zhang, Futris & Sims (2024) published “Examining Predictors of Relationship Dissolution among Unmarried Parents: Applying the vulnerability–stress–adaptation framework” in Journal of Family Psychology. Here’s some highly edited information from the article:

Prior research has established that parents who are in a relationship, yet unmarried at the time of their child’s birth, are at an increased risk of relationship instability. However, the processes that may lead to the dissolution of these unmarried parents’ couple relationships are less clear. Guided by the vulnerability–stress–adaptation model, the present study examined data from a sample of 1,575 mother and father dyads who participated in the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study over a 9-year period. A

Today, I present three studies of treatment for depression. First, Cuijpers, Harrer, Miguel, Ciharova & Karyotaki (2023) published “Five Decades of Research on Psychological Treatments of Depression: A historical and meta-analytic overview” in American Psychologist. Here are the edited abstract and impact statements:

Since the 1970s, hundreds of randomized trials have examined the effects of psychotherapies for depression, and this number is increasing every year. In this study, we report outcomes from a living systematic review of these studies.

I like to present studies that utilize technology not available to the average clinician. Su et al. (2024) published “Atypical Child–Parent Neural Synchrony is Linked to Negative Family Emotional Climate and Children’s Psychopathological Symptoms” in American Psychologist. Here are the edited abstract and impact statements:

Family emotional climate is fundamental to children’s well-being and mental health. Family environments filled with negative emotions may lead to increased psychopathological symptoms in the child through dysfunctional child–parent interactions.