This study examined concordance in heart rate (HR) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) in a sample of 104 child-maltreating (CM) and nonCM mother–preschooler dyads (208 individuals). In a laboratory setting, mother and child cardiac physiology was simultaneously monitored via ECG in a 5-min resting period. Mothers ranged in age from 20 to 49 years; children ranged in age from 3 to 5 years. Significant within-dyad (WD) and between-dyad (BD) associations were observed for mother HR and both child HR and RSA, and the associations were moderated by CM status. Only CM dyads exhibited BD associations: Higher average maternal HR was associated with higher child HR and lower child RSA. By contrast, when the time interval was divided into 30 s epochs, nonCM dyads exhibited positive WD (dynamic) associations in mother and child HR, and both CM and nonCM dyads showed negative WD associations in mother HR and child RSA. Further, mothers’ mean HR levels moderated the extent of epoch-by-epoch WD concordance observed in mother and child, such that elevated average maternal HR was associated with lower levels of WD (dynamic) concordance. No BD or WD concordance in maternal and child RSA was observed. The findings suggest that measures of intraindividual variation provide useful, alternate perspectives in the study of dyadic processes in at-risk families.

It is well established that stressful life events (e.g., family bereavements or moving to a new country) are damaging to psychological health and well‐being. Indeed, social relationships are often noted as an important factor that can influence well‐being and buffer the negative effects of stress. However, the quality and source of these relationships, particularly for adolescents, are often overlooked. Using the Growing Up in Ireland Survey, a population‐based study of 13‐year‐old Irish adolescents (N = 7,525; 51.1% female), the current study examines the quality of both parent and peer relationships as potential mechanisms explaining the association between stressful life events and psychological well‐being indices in adolescents. As expected, results showed that stressful life events negatively impacted the psychological well‐being of adolescents. Parallel mediation analyses indicated that both parent and peer relationship quality mediated this association. Further exploratory analyses found that for girls, greater numbers of stressful life events were associated with poorer quality relationships with both their parents and peers, and in turn, these were linked to lower levels of psychological well‐being. For boys, this effect was only evident for parental relationship quality, but not peers. The implication of these findings for adolescent's psychological well‐being, particularly for girls, is discussed.

Purpose. Because symptoms are not immediately visible to others, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is often considered an invisible illness. This invisibility can reduce the social support received from network members and adversely affect the quality of life. In the light of this, social support from formal support groups and from medical professionals can be particularly important; however, literature examining support from these sources is scarce.The purpose of this study was to explore the nature and impact of social support from medical professionals and from support groups for individuals with SLE. Methods.Participants responded to open-ended questions on an online survey administered by Lupus UK and Lupus Group Ireland. Qualitative data from 133 participants (77 % of respondents) were analysed.Results. Thematic analysis revealed three overarching themes: invisibility, inadequate care, and validation. Respondents felt that their SLE was invisible to social ties and to medical professionals. In addition, treatment and organisational factors in health care contributed to the sense of inadequate care. Finally, validation was derived from informational and emotional support from both support groups, and from some medical professionals. Conclusions.The findings suggest that individuals with SLE have mixed experiences in terms of contact with medical professionals and involvement with support groups.Furthermore, low public awareness of lupus appears to contribute to feelings of invisibility for patients, leading to loneliness and isolation. Medical professionals might benefit from skills training in terms of managing the psychosocial consequences of lupus. Social support has been defined as "information leading the subject to believe that he is cared for and loved, esteemed, and a member of a network of mutual obligations" [5]. Timely, appropriate, and effective (i.e., high quality) support can have direct and indirect effects on health. For example, support can facilitate positive health behaviours (e.g., medication adherence) [6], and according to the stress-buffering model [7], can enhance perceived coping resources, reducing the impact of stress. As such, understanding the social support experiences of individuals with SLE is critical to inform patient care. Keywords

Loneliness is the distressing feeling accompanying the perception that one's social needs are not being met by one's social relationships. Conceptual models point to a role for cognitive factors in this experience. Because research on determinants of loneliness is sparse, this study investigates associations between individual differences in emotion regulation (ER) and loneliness. Participants (N = 116) completed measures of loneliness, and a vignette-based measure of adaptive and maladaptive ER in response to positive and negative scenarios. Regression analyses indicated that the regulation of positive and negative emotions explained comparable variance in loneliness, and associations were only partially reduced by the inclusion of social support. The specific strategies positive reappraisal, being present and negative mental time travel explained the most variance in loneliness. The findings are consistent with both the cognitive and the social needs models of loneliness and suggest that variability in ER strategies should be considered relevant to loneliness. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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