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a b s t r a c tIndividual differences in the regulation of positive emotion are associated with psychological resilience and well being. This study investigated the relationship between attachment, self esteem and gender and the regulation of positive emotion. 174 participants completed an online battery measuring attachment avoidance and anxiety, global self esteem and positive emotion regulation strategies (dampening and savouring). Moderating moderation analyses indicated that attachment insecurity was associated with maladaptive regulation of positive emotion. Savouring of positive emotion was predicted by attachment avoidance but not anxiety. Dampening of positive emotion was predicted by avoidance and self esteem and by the interaction of attachment anxiety with self esteem. Correlations between attachment and specific dampening and savouring strategies are discussed. The results are discussed within the broader context of attachment-related differences in emotion regulation.

IntroductionCerebral Visual Impairment (CVI) is the most common cause of visual impairment in children in the developed world and appears to be more prevalent in children with additional support needs (ASN). There is an urgent need for routine screening for CVI, particularly in children with ASN, however, current screening questionnaires for CVI have limited validation. The aim of this study was to evaluate two screening tools: the Five Questions and the CVI Questionnaire. Additionally, the distribution of CVI across neurodevelopmental disorders is unknown. This too was investigated.MethodsAn online survey was completed by 535 parents. The survey was advertised via social media, CVI websites and parent email systems of four schools. The survey comprised of the Five Questions, the CVI Questionnaire and additional questions regarding the child’s diagnoses. Whether or not a child had a diagnosis of CVI and/or additional neurodevelopmental disorders was based on parental report.ResultsBased on parent reports, both the screening tools accurately screened for CVI diagnoses in children. The Five Questions and the CVI Questionnaire have construct validity (as determined through factor analysis), high internal consistency (as determined by Cronbach’s alpha) and convergent validity (as determined by correlation analysis of the raw scores of each questionnaire). This study also highlights that among children with neurodevelopmental disorders, a large proportion have parent-reported CVI (23%-39%) and potential CVI (6.59–22.53%; as identified by the questionnaires).ConclusionThe current study demonstrates that the Five Questions and CVI Questionnaire have good convergent validity, internal consistency and a reliable factor structure and may therefore be suitable as screening tools. The study also highlights that reported or potential CVI is evident in a large proportion of children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

When participants carry out visually presented digit serial recall, their performance is better if they are given the opportunity to encode extra visuospatial information at encoding-a phenomenon that has been termed visuospatial bootstrapping. This bootstrapping is the result of integration of information from different modality-specific short-term memory systems and visuospatial knowledge in long term memory, and it can be understood in the context of recent models of working memory that address multimodal binding (e.g., models incorporating an episodic buffer). Here we report a cross-sectional developmental study that demonstrated visuospatial bootstrapping in adults (n=18) and 9-year-old children (n=15) but not in 6-year-old children (n=18). This is the first developmental study addressing visuospatial bootstrapping, and results demonstrate that the developmental trajectory of bootstrapping is different from that of basic verbal and visuospatial working memory. This pattern suggests that bootstrapping (and hence integrative functions such as those associated with the episodic buffer) emerge independent of the development of basic working memory slave systems during childhood.

Caregivers of a child with a neurodevelopmental disability are more vulnerable to mental health difficulties. These difficulties are influenced by the child’s challenging behaviours, and the caregiver’s coping strategies; factors impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. An online mixed methods survey was conducted on caregivers of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities (n = 43) and children who are typically developing (n = 67). The results showed that presence of challenging behaviours related to neurodevelopmental disability, and caregiver coping strategies predicted caregiver psychological distress during lockdown. Themes that emerged included ‘confusing messages and guidance’, ‘loss of freedom’ and ‘unsupported and forgotten’. The results demonstrate the pressing need for the implementation of appropriate support to protect the mental health of caregivers across the UK.

Developmental theories highlight the salience of attachment theory in explaining vulnerability towards psychosis. At the same time there is increasing recognition that psychosis is associated with childhood trauma variables. This study explored the interaction between attachment and several trauma variables in relation to schizotypy levels in a non-clinical sample. 283 non-clinical participants completed online measures of schizotypy, attachment, childhood abuse and neglect. When five types of abuse/neglect were entered into a linear regression analysis emotional abuse was the sole independent predictor of schizotypy. Age, attachment anxiety and avoidance were independent predictors after the effects of emotional abuse were controlled for. The overall model was significant, explaining 34% of the variation in schizotypy. Moderation analysis indicated that the effect of emotional abuse was not conditional upon attachment. Parallel mediation analysis indicated small but significant indirect effects of emotional abuse on schizotypy through attachment avoidance (13%) and attachment anxiety (8%). We conclude that emotional abuse contributes to vulnerability towards psychosis both directly and indirectly through attachment insecurity.

Accessible summary People who attended a community centre for people with learning disabilities talked to researchers about the centre, their school and personal experiences. The researchers were interested in what the people in the study said about learning disabilities. This study found that people who attended the centre compared their abilities to those of others around them to make sense of who they are. People in the study presented themselves positively by describing their abilities in comparison to other people. Summary Previous research has shown that identities and the attributes from which identities are inferred are negotiated within social interaction and language. The identity of having learning disabilities is commonly associated with ascriptions of lesser abilities than other people, and in turn might be inferred from such abilities. This study examines how individuals, potentially ascribed with an identity of having learning disabilities, discursively manage the ascription of abilities and disabilities relative to other people. Semi‐structured interviews were carried out with eight individuals categorised as having learning disabilities. Interview transcripts were coded for all references to relative abilities and analysed using discourse analysis. The participants displayed three orientations towards abilities, namely (i) ascribing deficits to ‘others’, (ii) resisting comparisons of deficit and (iii) claiming ‘normal’ attributes. For the participants, these negotiations of relative abilities provide ways of managing specific aspects of identities associated with learning disabilities.