Yvonne M. Caldera

Mindfulness meditation, anxiety reduction, and heart disease: a pilot study.

Summary: Heart disease is the leading cause of death among Americans each year, yet the misperception still exists that cardiovascular disease is not a serious health problem for women. Evidence indicates that anxiety contributes to the development of heart disease. The primary purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of Kabat-Zinns mindfulness-based stress reduction program to reduce anxiety in women with heart disease. Anxiety, emotional control, coping styles, and health locus of control were compared in a treatment and control group of women with heart disease. Post-intervention analyses provide initial support for beneficial effects of this program.

Children's play preferences, construction play with blocks, and visual-spatial skills: Are they related?

Fifty-one preschoolers’ play preferences, skills at assembling block structures, and spatial abilities were recorded in this study. There were no sex differences in children’s visual-spatial skills, and play with art materials and children’s free and structured play with blocks were related to spatial visualisation. Two patterns emerged from the findings: (1) activity and performance representing skills in spatial visualisation and visual-motor coordination; and (2) creativity, or the ability to break set and to produce varied solutions using visual materials. Future research might examine the extent to which children’s play activities and experiences predict these types of skills.

Intrapersonal, Familial, and Cultural Factors in the Commitment to a Career Choice of Mexican American and Non-Hispanic White College Women.

These 2 studies assessed intrapersonal, familial, and cultural factors in the process of committing to a career choice of 91 and 71 Mexican American (MA) and 52 and 76 non-Hispanic White (NHW) college women. Factors different from what previous theory and research have suggested may propel the commitment to a career choice in these 2 groups. MA womens commitment to a career choice was influenced more by their instrumentality and less by their expressiveness or their parents; NHWs commitment was influenced by familial factors rather than by intrapersonal factors in Study 1 and by instrumentality in Study 2. These findings underscore the need to investigate intrapersonal, contextual factors and culture in womens processes of committing to a career choice.

Marital Conflict and the Quality of Young Children's Peer Play Behavior: The Mediating and Moderating Role of Parent―Child Emotional Reciprocity and Attachment Security

Parent-child attachment security and dyadic measures of parent-child positive and negative emotional reciprocity were examined as possible mediators and moderators of the connection between marital conflict and childrens peer play behavior. Eighty parents were observed in a laboratory play session with their 15- to 18-month-old child. Subsequently, at 36 months children were observed interacting with peers at their child care setting. Connections between marital conflict and childrens positive peer interaction were mediated by mother-child attachment security, mother-child positive emotional reciprocity, and father-child negative emotional reciprocity. Connections between marital conflict and childrens negative peer interaction were mediated by mother-child positive emotional reciprocity and father-child attachment security. Parent-child attachment security and negative emotional reciprocity emerged as important moderators of the connection between marital conflict and childrens peer play behavior.

Attachment and Parental Correlates in Late Adolescent Mexican American Women.

Attachment dimensions and styles, parental caregiving styles, and acculturation were investigated among late adolescent Mexican American Hispanic and non-Hispanic White college women. Results showed no differences between groups on dimensions of attachment or distribution of attachment styles. Significant differences were found for parental gender. For both groups, mothers were rated higher on warmth, whereas fathers’ scores were higher for both ambivalent and cold caregiving styles. No maternal variables were associated with attachment security—only paternal variables—that highlights the salient role of fathers. Implications of measurement and acculturation are discussed as well as recommendations for future research into Hispanic populations.

Hispanic Mother and Father Perceptions of Fathering: A Qualitative Analysis

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the ways in which Hispanic (of Mexican descent) mothers and fathers viewed the role of fathers in families. To elicit these views, seven focus group discussions were conducted with 28 spouses/relationship partners. Content analysis of the interview transcripts identified seven dimensions of the fathering role: (a) instrumental providers, (b) disciplinarians, (c) role models, (d) teachers, (e) participants, (f) playmates, and (g) emotional supporters. These findings are discussed in the context of Hispanic cultural mores and past research on fathers.

Mother–child and father–child emotional expressiveness in Mexican-American families and toddlers' peer interactions

The present investigation explored the association of mother–child and father–child emotional expressiveness during toddlerhood to childrens prosocial and aggressive behaviour with peers. Data were collected from 62 Mexican-American families with toddlers (29 females, 33 males) during a home visit. Childrens peer interactions were also observed approximately eight months later at their child-care setting. Observed mother–child and father–child interaction was coded for positive and negative emotional expressiveness, including shared positive and negative emotion. Observed child–peer interactions were coded for prosocial and aggressive behaviour. Data revealed that mother and fathers expression of positive and negative emotion were uniquely related to childrens prosocial and aggressive behaviour with peers. Childrens expression of negative emotion with mothers and fathers was related to higher levels of peer aggression. Mother–child shared positive emotion predicted less peer aggression, whereas mother–child shared negative emotion predicted less prosocial behaviour and more peer aggression. Father–child shared positive emotion predicted more prosocial behaviour and less aggression. The associations between dyadic measures of parent–child shared emotion and peer interaction variables were significant even after the variance accounted for by the individual parent and child emotional expressiveness variables were included in regression equations. This suggests that the shared emotion measure captures a quality of the parent–child relationship that has links to childrens social adjustment with peers extending beyond the individual behaviour of either parent or child. The role that mother–child and father–child emotional expressiveness may play in childrens development of peer interaction skills is discussed.

Infant Child Care and Compliance in the Second Year: A Short‐Term Longitudinal Analysis of Contextual Factors

The present study was designed to examine the relation between infant care and compliance in toddlers in a short-term longitudinal sample. This study also attempted to investigate mother and child moderators of this relationship. Sixty mothers participated when their toddlers were 14 months old, and 52 at 18 months. By 12 months, 20 infants had experienced full-time child care, 20 part-time child care, and 20 exclusive mother care. At both times, mothers were videotaped with their toddler during a compliance task. Part-time infant care children were less compliant with mother at 14 months, but this difference disappeared by 18 months. Maternal instrumental style was most predictive of compliance and noncompliance at both ages.

Assessment Instruments in Texas Alcohol/Other Drug Dependence Treatment Facilities

Abstract This study, based on the view that alcohol/other drug dependence is a biopsychosocial issue, determines the extent to which treatment facilities use a biopsychosocial model to guide their assessment/screening process. Analyses identify the extent to which various facilities follow a biopsychosocial model in their assessment process. Survey results indicate that facilities could expand the use of a biopsychosocial approach in assessing patients.