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22 papers
Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples (EFT) is a brief evidence-based couple therapy based in attachment theory. Since the development of EFT, efficacy and effectiveness research has accumulated to address a range of couple concerns. EFT meets or exceeds the guidelines for classification as an evidence-based couple therapy outlined for couple…
Researchers studied adults aged 36–84 from the MIDUS study and found that people who reported a stronger sense of purpose in life (measured about two years earlier) showed better emotional recovery after seeing negative pictures. Recovery was measured by the eyeblink startle reflex (EBR); smaller eyeblinks after the picture ended…
This article explains what shame is, how it is different from guilt, and what research says about its effects. Shame comes from feeling others disapprove of you. It can stop some behaviors but can also make people hide actions, withdraw, or feel badly about themselves for a long time. Studies…
Researchers studied 85 married couples (170 people) to see if worries about close relationships (attachment anxiety) link to stress hormones and immune cells. People with higher attachment anxiety had higher saliva cortisol across three days and lower counts of several T-cell types in blood. The study is observational, mostly white…
This review explains attachment theory and temperament and how they relate to parenting. It says infants need close, responsive relationships with caregivers. Parents who respond quickly and appropriately tend to raise securely attached children. Secure attachment is linked with more curiosity, self-reliance, and independence in childhood and often with greater…
This observational study tested Tibetan singing bowl sound meditation with 62 adults (mean age 49.7). After the session, people reported less tension, anger, fatigue, and depressed mood, and higher spiritual well-being. People who had never tried this meditation before showed a larger drop in tension than people who had experience.…
This review looked at 46 studies about how gender-affirming hormone therapy relates to mental and social functioning in transgender people. Studies consistently reported fewer depressive symptoms and less psychological distress after starting hormone therapy. Results for quality of life were mixed. Some evidence suggested different emotional changes for masculinizing versus…
This systematic review looked at 37 studies (2,006 people) that used gold-standard interviews to measure adult attachment and objective tests of emotion regulation. It found a clear link between a person’s attachment representation and how they regulate emotions. People with secure attachment showed balanced emotion regulation. Insecure or unresolved attachment…
This systematic review looked at mental health in transgender and gender diverse (TGD) children and adolescents by examining 33 studies found in Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science using PRISMA guidelines. It found that TGD youth often have higher levels of anxiety, depression, and other emotional or behavioral problems (such…
This study surveyed 393 Italian adults aged 18–62 (219 in stable close relationships and 174 singles) to see how adult attachment styles relate to psychological well-being. People in stable relationships reported higher well-being than singles. Singles were more likely to show attachment traits such as discomfort with closeness, treating relationships…
This study tested whether anger and aggressive actions are linked differently for men and women. Four hundred twenty-four adults did a behavioral aggression task, and 304 of them also answered questions about their typical anger. Men and women showed similar amounts of aggression overall. However, higher trait anger predicted more…
This study followed people from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth 1979 to see how self-esteem in young adulthood links to depression later on. The authors found that, for men, alcohol and drug use in young adulthood partly explained how low self-esteem led to more depression. They also found that…
