Intranasal Oxytocin and Pain Reduction: Testing a Social Cognitive Mediation Model.

Oxytocin is well known for its role in relationships and social cognition and has more recently been implicated in pain relief and pain perception. Connections between prosocial feelings and pain relief are also well documented; however, the effects of exogenous oxytocin on social cognition and pain have not been explored. The current study tested whether intranasally delivered oxytocin affects pain perception through prosocial behaviors. Additionally, moderation of the effects of oxytocin by life history or genetic polymorphisms is examined. Young adults (n = 43; 65% female) were administered intranasal oxytocin (24 IU) or placebo in a crossover design on two visits separated by a one-week washout period. Pain was delivered via cold pressor. Baseline measures for decision-making and social cognition were collected, as well as pain sensitivity and medication history. Saliva samples were collected for analysis of genetic markers, and urine samples were collected to assess oxytocin saturation. Following oxytocin administration, participants reported increased prosocial cognition and decision-making. Pain perception appeared to be adaptive, with procedural order and expectation affecting perception. Finally, behavioral trust and cooperation responses were significantly predicted by genetic markers. Oxytocin may increase a patient's trust and cooperation and reduce pain sensitivity while having fewer physiological side effects than current pharmaceutical options.

Risk factors for traumatic bonding and associations with PTSD symptoms: A moderated mediation.

BACKGROUND: Traumatic bonding, defined as attachment to a perpetrator of intimate partner violence (IPV), offers one explanation as to why many people with abusive romantic partners do not break off these relationships. But what individual-level risk factors make some victims of IPV more likely than others to develop traumatic bonding toward their partners? What is the nature of the potential association between traumatic bonding and PTSD symptoms? PARTICIPANTS: A path model tested the potential roles of childhood maltreatment and attachment insecurity as risk factors for traumatic bonding, as well as the potential association between traumatic bonding and PTSD symptoms, in a high-risk sample of 354 participants in current abusive relationships. RESULTS: As hypothesized, childhood maltreatment and attachment insecurity significantly predicted traumatic bonding over and above the effects of age, gender, and romantic love. In addition, attachment insecurity moderated the association between childhood maltreatment and traumatic bonding, such that at higher levels of attachment insecurity, the association between childhood maltreatment and traumatic bonding was stronger than at mean or lower levels of attachment insecurity. Traumatic bonding was positively associated with PTSD symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the results support the role of childhood maltreatment as a risk factor for both traumatic bonding and PTSD symptoms and highlight the importance of attachment insecurity in these associations. This was the first study to examine a complex model of risk factors for traumatic bonding. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.

Anatomical changes in the male pelvis between the supine and upright positions-A feasibility study for prostate treatments in the upright position.

Treating and imaging patients in the upright orientation is gaining acceptance in radiation oncology and radiology and has distinct advantages over the recumbent position. An IRB approved study to investigate the positions and orientations of the male pelvic organs between the supine and upright positions was conducted. The study comprised of scanning 15 male volunteers (aged 55-75 years) on a 0.6 T Fonar MRI scanner in the supine and upright positions with a full bladder and in the upright position with an empty bladder. The Pelvic study revealed that in the upright position the 1. Position and shape of the prostate are not impacted significantly by bladder fill. 2. Distance between the sacrum and the anterior bladder wall is significantly smaller. 3. Anterior-Posterior length and the bladder width is significantly larger. 4. Seminal vesicles are pushed down by the bladder. 5. Top of the penile bulb is further away from the apex of the prostate. These observed differences could positively impact upright prostate treatments by 1. Reducing the risk of small bowel approximating the treatment volume. 2. Prostate treatments can be done with a reduced focus on bladder fill. 3. Radiation beams for treating intermediate risk prostrate can be made smaller or a larger portion of the seminal vesicles can be treated with the same beam size than typically used for supine treatments. 4. Reducing the average dose to the penile bulb.

Romantic Duration, Relationship Quality, and Attachment Insecurity among Dating Couples.

For many young adults today dating is not taken as a path to marriage, but as a relationship to be considered on its own terms with a beginning, middle, and end. Yet, research has not kept pace as most studies that look at relationships over time focus on marriages. In the present study, we look at individual differences and normative patterns of dating relationship quality over time. We tested a path model of associations between relationship duration, attachment insecurity, and four relationship quality domains (sexual frequency, commitment, satisfaction, and companionship) among a large sample of dating young adults (N = 1345). Based on a conceptual model of romantic relationship development, results supported expectations that dating trajectories are curvilinear, with unique patterns of accent, peak, and decent for each relationship domain. Dating duration also moderated the relationship between dating quality and attachment insecurity with anxious attachment becoming a more salient predictor of lower satisfaction and lower commitment in long-term versus short-term relationships. A quadratic interaction with sexual frequency indicated that insecurity predicted less sexual activity in new relationships, more activity among relationships between two and four years, but then less again in longer-term relationships. Findings suggest patterns of stability and change in dating relationships during emerging adulthood that complement those observed from the marriage literature.

Experimental data exploring the effects of intranasal oxytocin on young adult social preference and attachment to romantic partners, parents, friends, and strangers.

Experimental studies exploring the effects of intranasal oxytocin are typically underpowered due to small samples. Open access to experimental data and procedures and the use of previously employed measures is critical to building more robust and replicable findings, especially in less studied areas of oxytocin research. In this paper, data is provided from a double-blind placebo-controlled crossover study exploring the effects of intranasal oxytocin (IN-OT: 24 IU) on social preference to romantic partners, parents, peers, and strangers. Young adults (N = 44; 91% female) in committed dating relationships completed three phases of data collection including a screening survey followed by two cmd kwdnextpage ?>laboratory visits. In addition to romantic partner-, and stranger attraction ratings, the data is the first to provide comparisons between attachment and social preference ratings to parents, close friends, and romantic partners under placebo and IN-OT conditions. The data also include differences by situational and life history factors known to moderate oxytocin effects. The detailed protocol, and dataflow can be accessed to verify the analysis and findings or to conduct a replication study. The standardized experimental design and common IN-OT protocol add to the capacity for a meta-analysis exploring oxytocin effects on partner preference and may also be directly ported to existing or future studies with related questions to increase sample size and power.

I only have eyes for you: Oxytocin administration supports romantic attachment formation through diminished interest in close others and strangers.

Animal studies confirm oxytocin's (OT) role in regulating monogamous sexual behavior in pair-bonding rodents; and human studies are beginning to translate how this highly conserved neuropeptide is implicated in romantic attachment formation. A number of studies have shown how OT promotes relationship exclusivity by diminishing interest in strangers and increasing reward response to partners. Less clear is whether these effects are modulated by romantic duration or life history factors, or if OT's social distancing effects generalize beyond strangers to close relationships. We report the results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study on the effects of a single dose of intranasal OT (24 IU) on forty-four young adults (91% female) in different stages of romantic attachment formation (M duration=21 months). Participants completed a screening survey and two lab visits separated by 4-weeks, including a diagrammatic measure of attachment to parents and peers, attitudes related to sexual conservatism and partner infidelity, ratings scales of closeness to romantic partners, and visual attractiveness ratings of strangers. Individual differences were examined by life history factors, including maternal love withdrawal and parental separation. Results indicated that OT administration decreased attachment to mothers, decreased attachment to subsidiary attachment figures, and decreased attraction to strangers. In all cases, emotional distancing was stronger among participants in newer romantic relationships. OT increased arousal to partner infidelity and increased sexual conservatism among participants with negative life history experiences (parental separation and high love withdrawal), whereas the reverse was true for participants reporting a more positive life history. Findings suggest that OT supports exclusivity through social distancing from strangers and close others within a sensitive period of attachment formation. In addition, findings indicate OT plays a different role in mate retention strategies by life history.

Temperament in the prediction of proximal versus distal expectancies: An acquired preparedness model.

In the acquired preparedness model of risk, alcohol expectancies mediate the association between personality and alcohol problems. In the current study, we tested the associations between temperament (i.e., effortful control and reactivity) and temperament-congruent expectancies of distal and proximal effects. It was hypothesized that effortful control would be inversely associated with drinking and problems and that these effects would be mediated through consequence expectancies. Alternatively, it was hypothesized that reactivity would be positively associated with drinking and problems and that these effects would be mediated by expectancies of immediate stimulation and attenuated sedation. This article presents data from a multiple group analyses with 483 young adults (76% female) from a university in the Midwest (n = 209) and Amazon's Mechanical Turk (n = 274). The hypotheses were partially supported. Reactivity was associated with expectancies of stimulation, which were associated with increased weekly drinking and problems. Reactivity was associated with increased weekly drinking and problems and this association was partially indirect through stimulating expectancies. Reactivity did not significantly predict sedating expectancies. The indirect effects from effortful control through consequence expectancies were not significant. There were curvilinear effects from consequence expectancies to drinking and problems. Specifically, the effect from consequence expectancies to drinking and problems was positive at low levels of expectancies, but became negative and significant at mean levels and above. Results of the invariance testing indicated that the model manifested similarly across university and MTurk respondents. These implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Adult attachment and drinking context as predictors of alcohol problems and relationship satisfaction in college students.

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that for young adults, intimate partners influence each other's drinking patterns. Therefore, exploration of variables related to intimate partner relationships (such as attachment style) could broaden the current understanding of risk factors for alcohol problems in this demographic. OBJECTIVES: The current study examined the role of drinking context in the relationships among insecure attachment, alcohol problems, and relationship satisfaction. A path model was hypothesized where the relationship between insecure attachment and alcohol problems would be explained via two distinct drinking contexts (i.e., drinking with one's partner and drinking away from one's partner). It was also hypothesized that the relationship between insecure attachment and relationship satisfaction would be explained via these same two drinking contexts. METHODS: Participants were 194 undergraduate students ages 18-25 who reported being in a monogamous intimate partner relationship for at least 90 days and had also consumed alcohol in the past 90 days. The sample was comprised of 76% women and 24% men. RESULTS: The hypothesized direct relationship from anxious attachment to alcohol problems was significant; there were also significant direct paths from both anxious and avoidant attachment to relationship satisfaction. The hypotheses regarding indirect relationships were not supported. CONCLUSION: The results of this study contribute to the existing literature, in that they suggest that drinking in the context of an intimate relationship may not directly affect relationship satisfaction in this population. However, relationship functioning still appears to be an important variable to consider in the prevention and treatment of alcohol-related problems affecting college students.

Family transitions during the adolescent transition: implications for parenting.

This study explored how family transitions affect parenting practices in a sample of 7,000 ethnically diverse students in 9th, 10th, or 11th grade over a period of 2 years. Adolescent perceptions of parental control and parental responsiveness were assessed in three groups: (1) adolescents moving into mother-custody households following a marital separation or divorce, (2) adolescents from stable never-divorced households, and (3) adolescents from stable mother-custody households. The study examined pre- and posttransition data to determine whether adolescents in newly formed single-parent families experienced a larger drop in parental control and responsiveness than did adolescents in stable nondivorced and stable mother-custody households. Adolescents from all family types reported significant declines in behavioral control, but not parental responsiveness. However, the lack of family-type differences contrasts sharply with findings from the childhood-divorce literature. Findings suggest that adolescent individuation may overshadow family-type differences during middle adolescence. As expected, boys reported lower parental control than did girls. Ethnic differences revealed that European American adolescents reported the highest levels of parental responsiveness, and African American adolescents reported the highest levels of parental control. Contextual and individual pathways in adolescence are discussed.