[Assessment of parental stress using the "Eltern-Belastungs-Screening zur Kindeswohlgefährdung" (EBSK) - association with emotional and behavioral problems in children]. / Die Erfassung elterlicher Belastung mit dem Eltern- Belastungs-Screening zur Kindeswohlgefährdung (EBSK). Zusammenhänge zu Erlebens - und Verhaltensauffälligkeiten beim Kind.

Parental stress is increased in clinical contexts (e.g., child psychiatry) and correlates with behavioral and emotional problems of children. In addition, parental stress can result in a biased parental perception of child's behavior and emotions. These interrelations were examined in a normal (N = 320) and a clinical (N = 75) sample. The "Eltern-Belastungs-Screening zur Kindeswohlgefährdung" (EBSK; Deegener, Spangler, Körner & Becker, 2009) was used for the assessment of parental stress. As expected, increased EBSK scores were overrepresented in the clinical sample. In both samples stressed parents reported having children with more behavioral and emotional problems. Children of stressed parents in turn reported significantly less problems than their parents did. The rating of independent third persons, e.g. teachers, was not available and should be added in future research. Restrictions in methodology and conclusions for practice are discussed.

Alexithymia and script-driven emotional imagery in healthy female subjects: no support for deficiencies in imagination.

Alexithymia is associated with a limited access to inner emotional processes. Furthermore, alexithymia is assumed to be characterized by a limited ability to use imagination. To evaluate the frequently proposed thesis of a reduced imagination ability in alexithymic persons, 25 high and 24 low alexithymic women self-rated their imagination ability. Furthermore, the electrodermal activity (EDA) during script-driven emotional imagination was determined and valence, arousal, and vividness of the respective imaginations were rated. Our results indicate no significant differences between high and low alexithymic women in the self-rated imagination ability, the EDA during imagination and the ratings of valence, arousal and vividness. The study provides evidence that healthy high alexithymic women are capable of differentiated emotional imagination.