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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/how-parents-talk-about-uncertainty-may-shape-childrens-intellectual-humility/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">How parents talk about uncertainty may shape children’s intellectual humility</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Aug 14th 2025, 10:00</div>
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<p><p>A study examining the transmission of intellectual humility from parents to children suggests that the relationship may depend on how this psychological trait is measured. Parents who self-reported higher levels of intellectual humility tended to have children who were less intellectually humble. In contrast, parents who expressed lower humility in their behavior also tended to have children who were less humble. The findings were published in the <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xge0001782"><em>Journal of Experimental Psychology: General</em></a>.</p>
<p>Intellectual humility refers to the recognition that one’s knowledge is limited and that one’s beliefs might be incorrect. It involves openness to new evidence, a willingness to revise one’s views, and an acknowledgment of uncertainty. People high in intellectual humility tend to consider opposing viewpoints more carefully rather than rejecting them reflexively.</p>
<p>Importantly, intellectual humility is not the same as low self-confidence. It reflects a combination of confidence, curiosity, and self-awareness. This quality is associated with reduced bias and overconfidence, and it supports better decision-making and more constructive dialogue—especially when dealing with complex or controversial topics. Research also links intellectual humility to greater empathy, tolerance, and openness to learning.</p>
<p>Study author Candice M. Mills and her colleagues set out to explore whether intellectual humility is transmitted from parents to children. Specifically, they examined how different measures of parental intellectual humility related to the intellectual humility of their 7- to 10-year-old children.</p>
<p>The study included 108 parent-child pairs. The average age of the children was 8.2 years, and 55 were girls. Over half of the families reported an annual household income above $100,000, and most participants lived in Texas or Kentucky.</p>
<p>The researchers assessed parental intellectual humility in two ways: through a behavioral task and a self-report questionnaire. The behavioral assessment was based on the Prompted Explanation Task (PET), in which parents were asked to respond aloud to eight science-related questions (e.g., “How do bees make honey?”), as if answering their child.</p>
<p>Researchers analyzed these responses for two key features: how often parents acknowledged uncertainty or suggested seeking out more information (e.g., “I’m not sure, let’s look it up”), and how often they expressed uncertainty when giving an incorrect answer. These markers were interpreted as behavioral signs of intellectual humility.</p>
<p>The self-reported measure of intellectual humility was the Comprehensive Intellectual Humility Scale, which includes items related to openness to revising beliefs, respect for other viewpoints, and a lack of intellectual overconfidence.</p>
<p>Children’s intellectual humility was assessed behaviorally. They were shown images and asked explanatory “how” questions about both common and uncommon animals and vehicles. After each question, they rated how much they thought they knew about the topic. This method aimed to capture their awareness of knowledge gaps, a core aspect of intellectual humility. Children also completed a standardized test of verbal intelligence.</p>
<p>The study found no correlation between parents’ self-reported intellectual humility and their behavior in the explanation task. In other words, how humble parents said they were did not align with how they behaved when explaining science questions.</p>
<p>Notably, children of parents who rated themselves as highly intellectually humble tended to rate their own knowledge higher—suggesting lower intellectual humility. On the other hand, children of parents who failed to express uncertainty when giving incorrect answers also tended to give higher knowledge ratings, indicating a similar lack of humility.</p>
<p>“These findings support that there are links between parent and child intellectual humility, but the pattern may depend on how parent intellectual humility is measured,” the study authors concluded.</p>
<p>The study contributes to the scientific knowledge about intellectual humility. However, it should be noted that the design of the study does not allow any causal inferences to be derived from the results. Additionally, it remains unknown how stable or generalizable the displayed level of intellectual humility is. It is possible that a different set of questions would invoke different levels of intellectual humility.</p>
<p>The paper, “<a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xge0001782">Does Intellectual Humility Transmit Intergenerationally? Examining Relations Between Parent and Child Measures,</a>” was authored by Candice M. Mills, Judith H. Danovitch, and Natalie B. Quintero.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/teen-sleep-habits-may-shape-brain-connectivity-linked-to-behavior-problems/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Teen sleep habits may shape brain connectivity linked to behavior problems</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Aug 14th 2025, 08:00</div>
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<p><p>New research suggests that how well adolescents sleep could influence how their brains function—and might even help predict whether they develop behavioral problems down the line. In a large study involving thousands of youth, researchers identified distinct brain connectivity profiles that were associated with different sleep patterns and levels of externalizing behaviors like aggression and impulsivity. The findings, published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.70579" target="_blank">Brain and Behavior</a></em>, point to the possibility that improving sleep could be one way to support mental health during adolescence.</p>
<p>The study focused on a major brain system known as the default mode network, or DMN. This network is typically active during rest and self-reflection, and plays a central role in memory, planning, and internal thought. The researchers found that teens who got less sleep tended to show a distinctive pattern of brain connectivity—one that was also linked to greater risk of behavior problems a year later. </p>
<p>Adolescence is a period of intense neurological development, particularly in brain systems responsible for self-control, emotional regulation, and internal thought. During this time, changes in the DMN and its interaction with other networks are thought to be particularly important for mental health outcomes. Disruptions in these patterns have been linked to various psychiatric conditions, including depression, anxiety, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.</p>
<p>At the same time, sleep quality tends to decline during adolescence due to biological and social factors. Previous studies have indicated that poor sleep may impact brain development, but little is known about how sleep interacts with connectivity patterns across major networks, and whether these patterns relate to emerging symptoms of mental health problems. The researchers aimed to clarify these links by examining brain scans, sleep data, and behavioral symptoms in a large sample of youth.</p>
<p>“During adolescence, both neural functioning and sleep patterns undergo significant developmental changes,” explained senior author <a href="https://gadevelopmentalscience.com/" target="_blank">Assaf Oshri</a> (a professor and director of the Georgia Center for Developmental Science at the University of Georgia) and lead author <a href="https://www.linhaozhanglz.com/" target="_blank">Linhao Zhang</a> (a postdoctoral scholar at Vanderbilt University).</p>
<p>“One of the neural networks that has been linked to neuroregulatory behaviors such as sleep and risk for psychopathology is the DMN. The DMN comprises multiple brain regions and is linked to mind-wandering, decision making, and self-referential thoughts. While previous research has highlighted the importance of the DMN, little is known about individual differences in within-network DMN connectivity and its interactions with other higher-order networks. Moreover, it remains unclear how these neural connectivity patterns are uniquely associated with sleep and psychopathology in large, population-based samples of adolescents.”</p>
<p>The researchers drew on data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, a large, ongoing project that tracks brain and behavioral development in children across the United States. For this analysis, they focused on 2,811 participants, with an average age of about 12 years. Each participant wore a Fitbit device for up to three weeks to measure nightly sleep duration and efficiency. Resting-state brain activity was assessed using magnetic resonance imaging, and parents completed standardized questionnaires about their children’s behavior.</p>
<p>To explore brain connectivity, the team examined how the DMN interacted with four other key networks: the fronto-parietal network (involved in decision-making and working memory), the salience network (which helps detect and prioritize important information), and two attention networks that govern top-down and bottom-up attention processes. A statistical method known as latent profile analysis was used to group participants based on similarities in their brain connectivity patterns.</p>
<p>“This study employed advanced multilevel and multi-method approaches and represents the largest longitudinal adolescent neuroimaging study in the United States,” Oshri and Zhang noted. “It is further strengthened by the use of objectively measured sleep data collected through wearable devices to track adolescents’ sleep patterns.”</p>
<p>Four distinct patterns of brain network connectivity emerged from the analysis. The largest group of adolescents showed average levels of both within-network DMN connectivity and connections between the DMN and other networks. The second-largest group had low within-DMN connectivity but elevated connectivity between the DMN and other systems—especially the network responsible for goal-directed attention. A third group showed high internal DMN connectivity and low between-network activity, while the smallest group displayed high connectivity both within the DMN and across networks.</p>
<p>Sleep duration and efficiency tended to differ between these groups. Teens who slept less were more likely to belong to the “low within / high between” profile, a pattern thought to reflect disruption in internal network functioning and potentially compensatory activity across external networks. Those with lower sleep efficiency were more likely to belong to the “high within / low between” group, suggesting that different aspects of sleep may affect distinct neural pathways.</p>
<p>Importantly, brain connectivity patterns also predicted behavior. One year later, adolescents in the “low within / high between” group showed higher levels of externalizing behaviors, such as acting out or difficulty with impulse control. This relationship was not present at the time of the initial brain scan, suggesting that the effects of altered connectivity may unfold over time. </p>
<p>“Four distinct neural connectivity pattern groups were identified,” Oshri and Zhang told PsyPost. “Adolescents with shorter sleep duration were more likely to be classified into groups characterized by low within-network and high between-network connectivity. They also showed higher externalizing problems one year later.”</p>
<p>Demographic factors also played a role. Males and youth from racial or ethnic minority backgrounds were more likely to belong to the “low within / high between” group, which also had the lowest average sleep duration and the highest level of behavioral issues one year later. These patterns echo past research showing that sleep disparities and differences in brain development can vary by sex and race.</p>
<p>But no clear associations were found between connectivity patterns and internalizing problems like anxiety or depression. “The lack of significant findings may be due to the sample, which consisted of early adolescents from community settings,” the researchers said. “Future research could extend our findings into clinical samples.”</p>
<p>The findings support a growing body of evidence suggesting that adolescent sleep habits are tied not just to daily functioning but to long-term patterns of brain development. In particular, insufficient or disrupted sleep may interfere with the internal organization of the DMN, which is thought to support reflection, emotional regulation, and self-control. When this network is not functioning efficiently, the brain may increase its reliance on other systems—perhaps to compensate for reduced internal coordination. This shift in brain dynamics may place youth at greater risk for behavioral problems over time.</p>
<p>The researchers also highlight that not all sleep issues affect the brain in the same way. Sleep duration and sleep efficiency were linked to different neural patterns, indicating that both quantity and quality of sleep matter. By using objective, multi-night data from wearable devices, the study offers a more reliable picture of how adolescent sleep affects the brain compared to past research based on self-reports.</p>
<p>While the study offers new insights, there are limitations to consider. The Fitbit devices used in the study, while practical for large-scale research, are not as precise as laboratory-based sleep studies like polysomnography. The researchers also focused on average connectivity within broad brain networks, without exploring how specific subregions may vary. Future studies could add more detailed analysis of sleep stages, such as REM and non-REM sleep, to better understand their distinct contributions to brain development.</p>
<p>Another limitation is the observational design. While the study indicates that sleep predicts certain brain connectivity patterns and behavioral changes, it cannot definitively show cause and effect. More longitudinal data and experimental interventions targeting sleep habits would be needed to establish whether improving sleep can actually change brain function and reduce behavioral risk.</p>
<p>Still, the results suggest that sleep may play a significant role in shaping how brain networks interact during a key developmental period. This interaction, in turn, appears to relate to the emergence of behavioral issues that can affect academic and social functioning. By identifying sleep as a modifiable factor, the findings could help guide prevention and early intervention strategies aimed at supporting adolescent mental health.Don’t use canvas for this. </p>
<p>“We aim to continue with the research and examine other domains of sleep health,” Oshri and Zhang said. “We are also interested in seeing how the neural connectivity patterns may change longitudinally.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.70579" target="_blank">Latent Default Mode Network Connectivity Patterns: Associations With Sleep Health and Adolescent Psychopathology</a>,” was authored by Linhao Zhang, Charles Geier, Ellen House, and Assaf Oshri.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/traditional-beliefs-can-shift-the-link-between-beauty-and-womens-sexual-openness-new-research-suggests/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Traditional beliefs can shift the link between beauty and women’s sexual openness, new research suggests</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Aug 14th 2025, 06:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study has found that women who see themselves as physically attractive and who endorse more traditional moral beliefs may be less likely to pursue short-term sexual relationships — but this link appears to depend on their overall life strategy and upbringing. The research, published in the journal <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14747049251349052" target="_blank">Evolutionary Psychology</a></em>, draws on two major theoretical frameworks in psychology to explore how perceptions of one’s own attractiveness interact with moral values and reproductive goals.</p>
<p>The study was grounded in Life History Theory, which proposes that individuals vary in their long-term versus short-term reproductive strategies depending on how they allocate energy between self-maintenance and reproduction. People who follow slower strategies tend to invest more in health, education, and stable relationships, while faster strategies favor short-term mating and less parental investment.</p>
<p>The researchers also incorporated Moral Foundations Theory, which argues that people rely on several core moral intuitions, including care, fairness, loyalty, respect for authority, and purity. These intuitions are thought to be shaped by evolutionary pressures and social environments, and they influence behavior even when people are not consciously reflecting on moral decisions.</p>
<p>“I study intimate relationships in the evolutionary context—specifically, human reproductive strategies,” said study author Andrzej Łukasik of the University of Rzeszow. “Reproductive strategies are the ways in which men and women ‘acquire’ partners for relationships and then maintain those relationships. Broadly speaking, these strategies are divided into a fast strategy, characterized by the tendency to engage in numerous short-term relationships, and a slow strategy, which has the opposite characteristics.”</p>
<p>“Previous research has shown that, in women, physical attractiveness serves as a lure that facilitates the achievement of goals typical of the fast strategy. The inspiration for this study came from the question: Are women who follow a slow reproductive strategy also physically attractive—but in their case, beauty serves the preference for long-term relationships rather than short-term ones?”</p>
<p>The study involved 326 college-aged women from southeastern Poland, most of whom were education or nursing students. Participants completed a battery of self-report questionnaires measuring their life strategy, their self-perceived physical attractiveness, their endorsement of moral intuitions, and their sexual desire.</p>
<p>Physical attractiveness was assessed through self-evaluation of traits like fitness, weight satisfaction, and bodily appeal. Moral intuitions were measured using a standard questionnaire assessing the five core domains described by Moral Foundations Theory. Sociosexual desire was measured using items that reflect interest in uncommitted sexual activity, serving as an indicator of short-term versus long-term mating orientation.</p>
<p>The researchers then conducted a series of regression and mediation analyses to determine whether moral intuitions and self-perceived attractiveness mediated the relationship between life strategy and sociosexual desire. In other words, they examined whether women’s moral values and perceptions of their own physical attractiveness could help explain how their broader reproductive orientation—whether geared toward long-term caregiving or short-term mating—relates to their sexual interests and preferences.</p>
<p>The researchers found that women who reported higher investment in long-term development and caregiving (a slow life history strategy) tended to score higher in self-perceived physical attractiveness. Those who saw themselves as more physically attractive were more likely to report stronger moral intuitions — particularly those tied to traditional values, such as purity and respect for authority.</p>
<p>Respect for authority emerged as a key factor: it was the only moral domain that significantly predicted lower sociosexual desire when included in the model. That is, women who viewed themselves as attractive and who also endorsed authority-based moral reasoning tended to report less interest in casual sex. A similar, though slightly weaker, relationship was observed for the purity domain.</p>
<p>Interestingly, self-perceived attractiveness on its own tended to predict higher sociosexual desire — consistent with earlier research linking physical appeal to less restricted mating behavior. But when combined with strong traditional moral intuitions, this relationship shifted, with physical attractiveness instead associated with more restricted sexual preferences.</p>
<p>“An unexpected finding was that women with a slow reproductive strategy who positively evaluate their own attractiveness still show a tendency to engage in short-term relationships—similarly to women who pursue a fast reproductive strategy,” Łukasik told PsyPost. “However, this tendency is modified by moral sensitivity aimed at preserving social order.”</p>
<p>The researchers suggest this shift may reflect a kind of internal brake, in which women who are physically attractive and have developed strong intuitive moral frameworks — particularly those rooted in traditional or conservative social norms — may channel their attractiveness in ways that align with long-term relational goals.</p>
<p>“The first important conclusion is that women who tend toward a slow reproductive strategy indeed rate themselves as more physically attractive,” Łukasik explained. “However, rather than weakening the tendency to engage in short-term relationships, attractiveness actually strengthens it.”</p>
<p>“The second key finding is that in the case of the women studied, their physical attractiveness is moderated by ‘an internal brake’ in the form of evolutionarily shaped moral intuitions. Moral intuitions allow for quick judgments about whether one’s own or another person’s behavior violates moral norms in certain domains—for example, loyalty or human welfare. </p>
<p>“This moral brake limits the use of physical beauty for short-term relationships and instead favors long-term bonding. However, not all moral intuitions play this role. The study revealed that the so-called binding moral intuitions, responsible for moral sensitivity focused on maintaining social order, cohesion, and hierarchy, serve this moderating function.</p>
<p>The effect of moral intuitions was especially strong among women from rural areas. Participants with a rural background showed a stronger correlation between traditional moral values and restricted sociosexual desire. Among these women, those with greater investment in long-term development were more likely to endorse binding moral values — especially respect for authority and purity — and these values were associated with lower interest in short-term sexual encounters.</p>
<p>This pattern appeared less consistent in women from more urban environments, suggesting that local culture and social norms may amplify or dampen the impact of individual traits like attractiveness or moral intuitions.</p>
<p>“It is important to emphasize that the results apply only to young women from a rural, conservative background,” Łukasik said. “Some data from the study suggest that things may be different in urban or metropolitan environments, particularly regarding the types of moral intuitions that act as a moral buffer.”</p>
<p>The researchers note that the rural participants in their study likely grew up in more conservative, religious environments, which may strengthen the influence of moral intuitions tied to social order and purity. Historical data from Poland supports this interpretation, as rural areas in the country have long featured traditional norms and limited access to modern healthcare, which may reinforce moral values that prioritize bodily sanctity and social cohesion.</p>
<p>The researchers also noted that their findings are limited to a specific demographic: young Polish women, most of whom were students from a relatively conservative region. Because many participants were still in early adulthood and had not yet started families, some standard indicators of life history strategy — such as age at first birth — could not be assessed.</p>
<p>Additionally, the study relied entirely on self-report measures, which can be influenced by social desirability or subjective biases. While the sample size was large enough to detect significant effects, further research across different cultures and age groups would be needed to assess whether the observed patterns generalize more broadly.</p>
<p>Future research may also investigate the role of different types of disgust, which have been linked to moral judgments and sexual behavior.</p>
<p>“I would like to explore the role of different types of disgust,” Łukasik explained. “Disgust is an important emotional response that automatically signals whether we can accept someone—for example, as a relationship partner—or whether we reject them. For instance, moral disgust allows for the decisive rejection of a person when their behavior is perceived as immoral, meaning it violates social norms such as honesty, fairness, or those related to sexual behavior.”</p>
<p>“Disgust is not a binary emotion (i.e., ‘I feel disgust – I don’t feel disgust’); it varies in intensity across individuals, which must be taken into account in research. Furthermore, different types of disgust are linked to biological morality and specific moral intuitions. Therefore, disgust and moral intuitions together may function as a moral switch, which in some individuals may trigger a tendency toward short-term relationships, and in others, the opposite.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14747049251349052" target="_blank">Self-Perceived Physical Attractiveness and Moral Intuitions as Mediators Between Somatic-Parental Effort and Mating Orientation</a>,” was authored by Andrzej Łukasik and Anna Wołpiuk-Ochocińska.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/parents-attachment-style-linked-to-how-deeply-they-connect-with-positive-memories/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Parents’ attachment style linked to how deeply they connect with positive memories</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Aug 13th 2025, 16:00</div>
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<p><p>Parents who feel more secure in their early caregiving experiences tend to be better at emotionally engaging with positive memories, according to new research published in the <em>Journal of Social and Personal Relationships</em>. The study found that mothers with secure attachment representations were more likely to savor and richly describe moments of joy—whether those moments involved their children or not—while those with dismissing attachment styles showed a reduced capacity to express positive emotion during those reflections.</p>
<p>Attachment theory proposes that early experiences with caregivers form the foundation for how people relate to others throughout life. British psychiatrist John Bowlby argued that children develop internal “working models” of relationships based on whether caregivers are reliable sources of safety and comfort. These models, which include expectations about closeness, support, and emotional regulation, tend to persist into adulthood and shape behaviors in romantic and parental relationships.</p>
<p>Attachment security tends to reflect a balanced view of past relationships, including both positive and negative aspects. In contrast, a dismissing attachment pattern involves minimizing the importance of emotional closeness, often accompanied by vague or idealized recollections of early caregivers. Another form, preoccupied attachment, reflects an ongoing emotional entanglement with past experiences.</p>
<p>While there is extensive evidence linking attachment to parenting behaviors and emotional regulation, less is known about how attachment influences a parent’s ability to “savor” positive experiences—an emotion regulation strategy that involves deeply attending to and prolonging feelings of joy or connection. Savoring has been shown to improve mood, increase resilience, and strengthen interpersonal relationships.</p>
<p>“I’ve long been interested in how parents’ emotional experiences shape both their well-being and their relationships with their children,” said study author <a href="https://www.drjessicaborelli.com/" target="_blank">Jessie Borelli</a>, a professor and associate director of clinical training at <a href="https://faculty.sites.uci.edu/thrivelab/" target="_blank">the University of California, Irvine</a>.</p>
<p>“For the past 15 years, I’ve been particularly focused on testing whether savoring—the practice of intentionally focusing on and emotionally engaging with positive moments—can serve as a brief, low-cost intervention to enhance mothers’ sense of connection and joy in parenting. Relational savoring (Borelli, 2024) specifically involves reflecting on moments of positive connection with others, helping individuals re-experience the emotions and thoughts tied to the meaning of those experiences. Our prior work, primarily with parents, has shown that relational savoring can increase feelings of closeness and positive emotion in relationships.”</p>
<p>“In the current study, we also wanted to understand whether mothers’ attachment patterns predict their ability to engage in savoring interventions—both relational savoring (focusing on a moment of connection with their child) and personal savoring (focusing on a positive experience from their own life).”</p>
<p>Researchers typically measure attachment styles using two approaches: structured interviews and self-report questionnaires. The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) analyzes the coherence and emotional depth of a person’s narrative about childhood relationships. The self-report questionnaire known as the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R) assesses attitudes toward romantic relationships, including discomfort with intimacy (avoidance) and fears of abandonment (anxiety).</p>
<p>The study involved 147 mothers of toddlers between 18 and 27 months old. Before participating in the intervention, each mother completed two attachment assessments. The AAI provided insight into how they mentally organized and emotionally processed early caregiving experiences, while the ECR-R assessed attachment-related thoughts and feelings about their current romantic relationships.</p>
<p>The mothers were randomly assigned to one of two interventions, each consisting of four weekly in-home sessions designed to help them reflect on positive emotional experiences. In the relational savoring condition, mothers were guided to recall moments of emotional closeness with their child—times when they felt especially connected, protective, or attuned, such as comforting the child during distress or supporting their independence. These memories were meant to highlight the caregiving role and evoke feelings of warmth, safety, and mutual connection.</p>
<p>In contrast, the personal savoring condition focused on positive moments that did not involve the child. Mothers were encouraged to choose memories in which they had experienced personal joy or contentment—such as enjoying a peaceful walk, achieving a personal goal, or spending time with a friend. This condition served as a comparison to distinguish the effects of savoring interpersonal memories from savoring more individual ones.</p>
<p>Each session followed a structured format. After a brief relaxation and mindfulness exercise to help mothers become more reflective, they were guided through a five-step process: recalling the memory, describing the sensory and emotional details, exploring its personal meaning, thinking about how it influenced their future, and freely reflecting on any related thoughts. These sessions were audio-recorded and transcribed.</p>
<p>To assess the quality of savoring, trained coders reviewed each transcript and rated it along two key dimensions. The first was positivity, or how much positive emotion the mother expressed during the memory—such as warmth, pride, or joy. The second was specificity, which referred to the richness of the memory’s details, including sensory descriptions, context, and emotional nuance.</p>
<p>The researchers found that the way a mother described her early attachment relationships strongly influenced the quality of her savoring experience. Mothers classified as more secure on the AAI tended to generate more emotionally positive and specific narratives, regardless of whether they were savoring a personal or relational memory. Those with a dismissing attachment style—characterized by emotional distancing and vague recollections—tended to produce less emotionally positive reflections.</p>
<p>Notably, the dismissing attachment style was specifically linked to a lack of emotional warmth in savoring narratives, but not to how detailed those narratives were. This may suggest that individuals with dismissing attachment are capable of remembering and describing specific events but tend to suppress or avoid emotional involvement during those recollections. On the other hand, greater specificity in savoring was positively associated with secure attachment and with older maternal age, hinting that life experience may also play a role in how richly people recall past events.</p>
<p>“Overall, greater attachment security—as indicated by higher scores on the AAI and lower levels of insecure-dismissing attachment—was associated with higher-quality savoring,” Borelli told PsyPost. “This suggests that individuals who are more secure in their attachment, as measured by interview-based methods, are able to engage more deeply in both relational and personal savoring interventions.”</p>
<p>“Importantly, this does not mean that only securely attached individuals benefit from savoring. In fact, our previous research (Burkhart et al., 2015) has shown that individuals with higher attachment insecurity—particularly those with higher avoidance—may experience greater gains from savoring interventions.”</p>
<p>“These findings have meaningful implications for clinical practice. Therapists working with insecure-dismissing clients may wish to emphasize the experience and elaboration of positive emotions within savoring exercises, as this may be a particularly challenging area for these individuals. </p>
<p>“Strategies might include encouraging clients to notice moments of positivity in interactions with their child between sessions, assigning written savoring reflections that focus on specific details of these interactions, and using tools such as an emotion wheel or guided elaboration to help clients deepen their emotional reflection,” Borelli continued. “These approaches may enhance the effectiveness of savoring interventions by supporting clients in accessing and elaborating on positive emotional experiences.”</p>
<p>Interestingly, the self-report measure of attachment did not show the same associations. Neither avoidance nor anxiety scores from the ECR-R predicted savoring quality in a consistent or robust way. This difference suggests that the AAI may tap into deeper or more implicit processes related to emotional engagement, which are not fully captured by conscious self-report.</p>
<p>“The stark contrast in findings between the AAI and the ECR-R was both striking and unexpected,” Borelli said. “Although prior research has documented that these two measures of attachment often show weak or no correlation with each other, both are typically associated with theoretically relevant constructs. In this study, however, only the AAI was linked to savoring quality, while the ECR-R showed no such association.”</p>
<p>Although the sample was diverse in terms of ethnicity, it was less diverse in terms of socioeconomic status. In addition, all participants were mothers, which limits the generalizability of the findings to fathers or other caregivers.</p>
<p>“Relying exclusively on mothers from a predominantly middle-class, community sample is a notable limitation of this study,” Borelli noted. “Replicating the findings in clinical populations and among lower-income families would strengthen the generalizability of the results. Moreover, most savoring intervention research has focused on mothers; there is a significant and urgent need to extend this work to fathers. Finally, although we employed a longitudinal design with four sessions, the study was not sufficiently powered to examine whether the association between attachment and savoring quality changed over time.”</p>
<p>Expanding the scope of participants could help determine whether the patterns observed in this study hold true in settings with different cultural norms, economic pressures, or caregiving dynamics. Such work would not only improve the robustness of the findings but also guide adaptations that make the intervention more widely applicable.</p>
<p>“I have been working to better understand how this intervention works—specifically, for whom it is most effective and under what conditions, including participant and intervener characteristics,” Borelli said. “This study is part of a broader program of research aimed at testing models to identify the key factors that shape intervention outcomes. These insights are critical for informing future intervention development and adaptation. My current work focuses on using community engagement methods to tailor relational savoring for members of minoritized cultural groups (Borelli, 2024; Borelli, Zhou et al., 2024) and in different cultural contexts (Ansarifar et al., 2025), building on the findings of earlier studies.”</p>
<p>“Savoring may appear to be a small act, but it holds meaningful potential as a psychological intervention,” she added. “Encouraging parents to pause, reflect, and emotionally reconnect with positive moments can powerfully support both their well-being and their relationships with their children. Integrating practices like savoring into daily routines offers a sustainable and accessible path to lasting change.”</p>
<p>The study, “Adult attachment as a predictor of savoring quality in mothers of toddlers: Results from a 4-week randomized trial,” was authored by Silvia Perzolli, Daniela Arcos, Margaret L. Kerr, Patricia A. Smiley, and Jessica L. Borelli.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/female-killers-in-sweden-show-low-psychopathy-primarily-reactive-motives/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Female killers in Sweden show low psychopathy, primarily reactive motives</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Aug 13th 2025, 14:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14999013251345496" target="_blank">International Journal of Forensic Mental Health</a></em> offers one of the most comprehensive investigations to date of women in Sweden who have committed lethal or attempted lethal violence. The findings suggest that most of these female offenders show low levels of psychopathic traits and tend to act out of reactive, emotionally driven motives rather than calculated, goal-oriented aggression. However, the presence of a severe mental disorder was linked to a more complex mix of both reactive and instrumental features, indicating that the motivations behind lethal violence in women may be more multifaceted than previously thought.</p>
<p>While most studies on homicide and severe violence focus on men, researchers know comparatively little about women who commit such crimes. Understanding the psychological and behavioral characteristics of this subgroup is important for developing more effective methods of prevention, assessment, and rehabilitation. </p>
<p>Prior research has indicated that women tend to commit violent acts in the context of self-defense, emotional distress, or interpersonal conflict rather than for material gain or premeditated goals. Still, there has been limited investigation into how traits such as psychopathy and the presence of a severe mental disorder intersect with the type of violence committed by female offenders.</p>
<p>This study was designed to examine how levels of psychopathy and the nature of the violent act—whether reactive (emotionally driven) or instrumental (planned and goal-directed)—relate to the presence or absence of a severe mental disorder. The research aimed to shed light on patterns that might inform both clinical understanding and criminal justice responses.</p>
<p>“The main motivation for me to pursue this research was that we know less about females who commit lethal and severe violence compared to their male counterparts. Thus, there is a knowledge gap concerning this offender group with implications for our ability to detect potential offenders and victims before crimes are committed,” said study author <a href="https://www.gu.se/en/about/find-staff/karintragardh" target="_blank">Karin Trägårdh</a>, a doctoral student at the University of Gothenburg and a psychologist specialized in clinical forensic psychology, who works at the Department of Forensic Psychiatry, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Rågården.</p>
<p>The researchers analyzed forensic psychiatric records of all women in Sweden who were charged with lethal or attempted lethal violence and underwent a court-ordered forensic psychiatric investigation between 2000 and 2014. This included offenses such as murder, manslaughter, attempted murder, infanticide, and related crimes. The final sample included 175 women, which represents the vast majority of such cases during that period.</p>
<p>Each case was assessed using two key instruments. The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) was used to measure levels of psychopathic traits across four facets: interpersonal, affective, lifestyle, and antisocial. The Violent Incident Coding Sheet (VICS) was used to classify the violent act as primarily reactive or instrumental, and to assess related characteristics such as planning, provocation, emotional arousal, and goal-directedness.</p>
<p>The researchers divided the sample into two groups: women who were found to have been suffering from a severe mental disorder at the time of the offense, and those who were not. This classification is a legal construct in Sweden and typically applies to individuals with conditions like schizophrenia or severe depression, particularly when symptoms impair reality testing or impulse control.</p>
<p>Across the entire sample, most women scored low on the PCL-R, suggesting that psychopathic traits were generally not prominent in this population. The average total score was about 11 out of a possible 40, which is considered well below the threshold typically used to indicate psychopathy. Women with a severe mental disorder had even lower scores, especially on the interpersonal facet, which includes traits like manipulation and superficial charm.</p>
<p>When the researchers examined the nature of the violent acts, they found that nearly all were classified as reactive rather than instrumental. This means the violence was typically a response to a perceived threat or provocation and was carried out in an emotionally charged state, rather than being premeditated or carried out for gain. Most incidents lacked clear planning, and emotional arousal was high.</p>
<p>Interestingly, the women with severe mental disorders showed a somewhat more complex pattern. Although they still tended to act in reactive ways, women with severe mental disorders were more likely to have engaged in some form of short-term planning and experienced very high emotional arousal. At the same time, they were less likely to report immediate provocation, which might indicate a buildup of emotional distress or a perceived sense of threat that was not tied to a specific triggering event.</p>
<p>“The finding that female offenders assessed as having a severe mental disorder exhibited slightly more planning, albeit short-term, compared to those without such a disorder, was somewhat surprising,” Trägårdh told PsyPost. “Coupled with other research indicating that female offenders of lethal violence have sought support (e.g., within health and social services, and the police) prior to the crime more often than male offenders, this suggests we may be able to identify these women more effectively before they commit acts of violence by asking the right questions.”</p>
<p>When the researchers analyzed the relationship between psychopathy and type of violence, they found modest associations. Higher levels of psychopathy were somewhat linked to more instrumental features, such as planning and goal-directedness, but these associations were not strong. Among women without a severe mental disorder, psychopathy scores were more likely to align with clear instrumental motives. Among women with severe mental disorders, the associations were more scattered, suggesting a more nuanced relationship between traits and behavior.</p>
<p>The results indicate that female offenders of lethal violence in Sweden tend to be emotionally reactive rather than coldly calculating, and most do not show high levels of psychopathy. This challenges common stereotypes about violent offenders and suggests that interventions focusing on emotional regulation and social support may be more appropriate for many women in this group than traditional punitive approaches.</p>
<p>“The key point is that the lethal or attempted lethal violence committed by these females was mainly driven by reactive features, such as high arousal, experienced provocation, low instrumental goal-directedness, and low levels of planning,” Trägårdh said. “Additionally, the female offenders of the lethal or attempted lethal violence were characterised by relatively low levels of psychopathic traits. This has implications for both preventive and treatment measures.”</p>
<p>The researchers caution against interpreting any single factor—such as planning or psychopathy score—in isolation. Female lethal violence appears to be driven by a blend of emotional, situational, and psychological factors, and these influences may manifest differently depending on whether the woman is experiencing a severe mental illness at the time.</p>
<p>“I would emphasize the importance of keeping the complexity in mind,” Trägårdh explained. “For example, even if we observe characteristics common to most of these female offenders, we must also recognize individual differences and be open to the possibility that some offenders do not conform to the typical pattern but instead behave in more atypical ways.”</p>
<p>While the findings are based on a robust national dataset, the researchers note that generalizing the results to other countries should be done with caution, given differences in legal systems and cultural contexts. The results are also limited to women who underwent forensic psychiatric evaluations, which may not capture every case of female-perpetrated lethal violence.</p>
<p>The authors hope that future research will explore how these patterns hold up across different populations and settings. They also suggest that prevention strategies could benefit from greater awareness of the warning signs in women who are at risk of committing lethal violence—particularly those who engage with social or health services and exhibit signs of emotional overwhelm or unprocessed trauma.</p>
<p>“I hope this research will contribute to increased knowledge in society regarding lethal or attempted lethal violence committed by females,” Trägårdh said. “If we learn more, I believe we are more likely to discuss these issues in an informed manner, and hopefully raise questions and investigate this further before crimes are committed. In that way, we could prevent such violence altogether and also improve risk management to reduce the chances of reoffending when crimes have been committed.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14999013251345496" target="_blank">Links Between Psychopathy, Type of Violence, and Severe Mental Disorder among Female Offenders of Lethal Violence in Sweden</a>,” was authored by Karin Trägårdh, Malin Hildebrand Karlén, Peter Andiné, and Thomas Nilsson.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/depressed-individuals-have-heightened-c-reactive-protein-to-albumin-ratio/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Depressed individuals have heightened C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Aug 13th 2025, 12:00</div>
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<p><p>An analysis of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that individuals with depression tend to have a higher C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio compared to those without depression. This finding remained consistent across different subgroups, including individuals with a history of metabolic diseases. The paper was published in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.04.084"><em>Journal of Affective Disorders</em></a>.</p>
<p>Depression is a common mental health disorder characterized by persistent feelings of sadness, emptiness, or hopelessness that last for weeks or longer. An important symptom of depression is anhedonia — a loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed. People with depression may also experience changes in appetite and weight, either gaining or losing significantly. Sleep disturbances, such as insomnia or hypersomnia, are also common.</p>
<p>If left untreated, depression can severely impair daily functioning and increase the risk of self-harm or suicide. Unfortunately, current treatments are not effective for everyone, and many cases are classified as treatment-resistant. In addition, many individuals do not seek treatment, and among those who do, a large proportion fail to receive adequate care. Some estimates suggest that fewer than 20% of individuals with depression receive treatment that leads to full remission. This is why identifying new and more accurate methods for diagnosing depression remains a major focus of scientific research.</p>
<p>Study author Jing Lin and his colleagues sought to investigate whether the C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio in blood might be associated with the risk of depression. C-reactive protein (CRP) is a substance produced by the liver in response to inflammation. Its levels rise quickly during infection or tissue injury. Albumin, also produced by the liver, is the most abundant protein in blood plasma. It helps maintain fluid balance and transports hormones, vitamins, and medications.</p>
<p>The C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (CAR) is calculated by dividing the CRP concentration by the albumin level in the blood. It reflects both acute inflammation (via CRP) and chronic or nutritional status (via albumin). Higher CAR values have been associated with worse outcomes in various health conditions, including infections, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.</p>
<p>The authors analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a large, ongoing study designed to assess the health of a representative sample of non-institutionalized U.S. residents. For this analysis, data were drawn from 13,159 participants. The average age was 49 years, 49% were men, and 8% met criteria for depression.</p>
<p>Depression symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), while CRP and albumin levels were measured from blood samples.</p>
<p>The researchers found that individuals with depression had significantly higher CAR values. This association was also observed across multiple subgroups, including those with pre-existing metabolic disorders.</p>
<p>“Our research findings demonstrated that an elevated CAR [C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio] level was positively associated with depression. However, given the complexity of the underlying mechanisms and the need for broader generalizability, well-designed, large-scale prospective studies are imperative to further validate and solidify our current observations,” the study authors concluded.</p>
<p>The study results indicate that C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio could potentially be used as a biomarker of depression. However, the design of the study does not allow any causal inferences to be derived from the results. Therefore, it remains unknown whether a high C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio contributes to depressive symptoms or whether depression leads to increased C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio. Other options for explaining this association also remain open.</p>
<p>The paper, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.04.084">C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio is associated with increased depression: An exploratory cross-sectional analysis,</a>” was authored by Jing Lin, Xiang Yang, Zhiqiang Wu, Jiecong Lu, and Ming Zhang.</p></p>
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<p><strong>Forwarded by:<br />
Michael Reeder LCPC<br />
Baltimore, MD</strong></p>
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