This issue of Nordic Psychology has a number of really interesting articles to be read during the wonderful Nordic summer. The articles cover important and interesting themes like Maternal Executive Functioning, Rape victims, refugee families, adolescent social anxiety, Misogynistic Attitudes, Eating Disorders and Personality Disorders.
In the first article of this issue “Maternal Executive Functioning is Associated with Infant Sustained Attention, but Not Executive Functioning, in a Sex-Specific Manner” Anniina Karonen, Eeva-Leena Kataja, David J. Bridgett, Tiina Paunio, Katri Kantojärvi, Riikka Korja, Hasse Karlsson, Linnea Karlsson, and Saara Nolvi investigated the unexplored associations between maternal executive functioning and infant executive functioning as well as its precursor, sustained attention. The study showed a modest but robust link between maternal executive functioning and infant attention in girls. There was no association between mother and infant executive functioning in either sex at 8 months. In the second article in this issue “Factors Related to Rape Victims’ Decision to File Police Reports” Isabella Arponen, Julia Korkman, Jan Antfolk, and Riina Korjamo investigated the associations between demographic and individual factors and police reporting in a Finnish sample of rape victims who visited the Helsinki Seri Support Center. The study collected data through an online survey and found some evidence that victims with a university degree might be less likely to report than those with a vocational qualification. None of the other factors measured were robustly associated with reporting. The current study was the first to investigate this topic in Finland. The practical implications of these findings are discussed, and the value of support services highlighted. In the third article of this issue “Strengthening Parenting among Refugees in Europe (SPARE): Initial Feasibility in Iceland and Norway” Margrét Sigmarsdóttir, Anne Arnesen, and Marion Forgatch describes SPARE (Strengthening Parenting Among Refugees in Europe), a trauma-informed adaptation of the evidence-based parenting program Generation Parent Management Training Oregon Model (GenerationPMTO). SPARE integrates core parenting components in GenerationPMTO with skills designed to address families’ trauma experiences. A collaborative team of GenerationPMTO experts in Iceland, Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands have adapted this parent group intervention for Arabic-speaking (Middle Eastern) refugee families who have been relocated in Europe. The study showed that attendance was good, parents reported satisfaction with their experiences in the groups and said that the material addressed important family needs. Parents also indicated the need for more time to deepen their understanding, provide greater focus on age-specific needs, and in Norway in particular, more information about the child welfare system. In the fourth article of this issue “Longitudinal links between adolescent social anxiety and depressive symptoms: Stressful experiences at home, in school and with peers” Maria Tillfors, Nejra Van Zalk, Katja Boersma and Malin Anniko examined the role of daily stressors (peers, school performance, and homelife) in the links between adolescent social anxiety and depressive symptoms. The study showed that depressive symptoms predicted later social anxiety, but not vice versa. Bidirectional links were identified between peer stress and social anxiety, and between school performance/homelife stress and depressive symptoms, respectively. Indirect effects of social anxiety, depressive symptoms, and daily stressors were found, though stressors did not mediate the links between social anxiety and depressive symptoms (or vice versa). In the fifth article in this issue “Exploring the Role of Entitlement, Social Dominance Orientation, Right-Wing Authoritarianism, and the Moderating Role of Being Single on Misogynistic Attitudes” Emma Renström explored individual level factors as predictors of misogynistic attitudes. The results showed that all three predictors (entitlement, Social Dominance Orientation and Right-wing authoritarianism) as well as being single (compared to being in a relationship) significantly predicted misogynistic attitudes. The effect of SDO was moderated by relationship status such that singles who were high SDO expressed most misogyny. The results contribute to a better understanding of who may come to adhere to a more radical view of women. In the sixth article of this issue “Self-Compassion as a Mechanism of Change in Patients with Eating Disorders and Childhood Trauma Receiving CFT-E; a Study of within-Person Processes” Hedvig Christoffersen, Hanna Røed Skårderud, KariAnne Vrabel, and Siri Weider examined the reciprocal relationship between self-compassion and eating disorder and trauma symptoms for patients receiving compassion-focused therapy for eating disorders (CFT-E). The results showed that eating disorder symptoms did decrease significantly during treatment. Furthermore, the analyses demonstrated a reciprocal between-patient relationship between self-compassion and eating disorder symptoms, and between self-compassion and trauma symptoms. The outcome of the current study demonstrated a favourable course for patients with eating disorders and childhood trauma receiving CFT-E in an inpatient facility. In the seventh and final article of this issue “Parental Reflective Functioning in Adult Outpatients with Personality Disorders: Associations with Symptoms of Psychopathology and Interpersonal Problems” Hestbaek, Kretzschmar, Krasnik, Smith-Nielsen, Juul, Væver, and Simonsen examined Parental Reflective Functioning in a sample of adult outpatients with diagnosed Personality Disorders compared with healthy controls, and explored associations between Parental Reflective Functioning and symptoms of psychopathology and interpersonal problems in parents with Personality Disorders. The results showed that Parents with Personality Disorders reported higher levels of pre-mentalizing and lower levels of certainty about mental states compared with healthy controls. Both groups reported high levels of interest and curiosity and did not differ significantly in this regard. Exploratory analyses showed that low levels of certainty about mental states was associated with high levels of depressive and psychotic symptoms and submissive types of interpersonal problems (social-avoidance and non-assertiveness). Our findings provide preliminary evidence that patients with Personality Disorders have impairments in Parental Reflective Functioning compared with healthy controls. The findings stress the importance of assessing the multidimensional nature of Parental Reflective Functioning in parents with Personality Disorders.
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