Mindfulness as a mediator and moderator in the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and depression.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been associated with a variety of negative physical and psychological health outcomes. The mechanisms by which this occurs and potential protective factors present in this relationship are understudied. Mindfulness is a cognitive resource that may protect individuals against symptoms of psychological distress.

Psychological inflexibility moderates the relationship between thin-ideal internalization and disordered eating.

Internalizing ideals of thinness has been related to disordered eating. Thus, it is important to identify potential protective factors that may allow someone to internalize this belief without developing an eating disorder. In this study, we explored psychological flexibility and inflexibility as potential moderators of the relationship between thin-ideal internalization and disordered eating.

Not hating what you see: Self-compassion may protect against negative mental health variables connected to self-objectification in college women.

Self-objectification is related to maladaptive mental health variables, but little is known about what could ameliorate these associations. Self-compassion, a construct associated with mindfulness, involves taking a non-judgmental attitude toward the self. In this study, 306 college-aged women were recruited; those who were highest (n=106) and lowest (n=104) in self-compassion were retained for analyses.

Clinical outcomes of enjoying sexualization among lesbian women.

The Enjoyment of Sexualization Scale (ESS) was given to 150 lesbians in addition to measures of self-objectification, negative eating attitudes, and depression. The ESS was found to have acceptable levels of internal consistency reliability with a lesbian sample. Scores on the ESS were lower in this sample than in previously reported research with heterosexual women.

Fathers, daughters, and self-objectification: does bonding style matter?

As women are exposed to objectification and the "male gaze," they self-objectify, which predicts negative psychological outcomes. Given the centrality of the "male gaze," positive father/child relationships may have a buffering effect. In this study, women (N=447) completed a survey measuring paternal bonding (care and overprotection), self-objectification, negative eating attitudes, and depression.

Empowering or oppressing? Development and exploration of the Enjoyment of Sexualization Scale.

Sexualization of girls and women in America is rampant and has many negative consequences. Women, however, often report enjoying being sexually admired by men. Given this paradox, it is unclear whether such enjoyment represents an authentic empowerment of women's sexuality or is related to traditional feminine norms and sexist beliefs.

Cognitive development, memory, trauma, treatment: An integration of psychoanalytic and behavioral concepts in light of current neuroscience research.

The goal of Freud's Project was to place all psychological functioning on a neurological foundation; however, the resources of his time were inadequate for the task. This article attempts to link basic psychoanalytic and behavioral constructs to current neuroscience, specifically the memory paradigm of multiple trace theory. We propose that Freud's theory of early cognitive development, in which primary process is succeeded by secondary process, corresponds to the progression from a noncontextual taxon-based memory system to a locale system (mediated by hippocampal and cortical structures) in which memories are formed within space/time contexts.

Sensory and attention abnormalities in autistic spectrum disorders.

Individuals with autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) often experience, describe and exhibit unusual patterns of sensation and attention. These anomalies have been hypothesized to result from overarousal and consequent overfocused attention. Parents of individuals with ASD rated items in three domains, 'sensory overreactivity', 'sensory underreactivity' and 'sensory seeking behaviors', of an expanded version of the Sensory Profile, a 103-item rating scale developed for the present study.