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ABSTRACT Previous studies have suggested that maternal childhood trauma (MCT) may influence infant temperament, but the underlying physiological mechanisms remain unclear. This study sought to confirm the involvement of breast milk cortisol in the link between MCT and infant temperament. The study sample included 90 mother–infant dyads recruited from the urban Polish population. MCT was assessed based on the Early Life Stress Questionnaire (ELSQ) and infant temperamental factors (surgency/extraversion, negative affectivity, and orienting/regulation) using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire‐Revised at 12 months of life. Cortisol was assayed in milk samples collected at 5 months of life using the ELISA method. Based on the ELSQ median, the sample was divided into low and high MCT groups. The ANCOVA models with milk cortisol as a covariant were run to check the effect of low versus high MCT on infant temperament. We found a positive association between milk cortisol and orienting/regulation. Surprisingly, the low and high MCT groups did not significantly differ in milk cortisol. Furthermore, we found that MCT was unrelated to any infant temperamental factor. While recent literature on the association between milk cortisol and infant temperament is inconsistent, our results suggest that high orienting/regulation might be an adaptation to adverse environments such as stress. Moreover, the infant's temperament appears to be more responsive to the current exposition to maternal stress than her experience of traumatic stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the results of the first study exploring whether perceptions of tattooed men may be influenced by sexual orientation. We asked heterosexual women (n = 2,436) and men (n = 230), and lesbian women (n = 50) and gay men (n = 60) to rate nine photos of male models with the provisos that at least one image had a digitally added tattoo and participants would not evaluate the same model in both tattooed and non-tattooed versions. Heterosexual men and women rated tattooed men as more masculine, dominant, and aggressive; however, only heterosexual men rated tattooed men as more attractive. While gay men perceived tattooed men as less attractive, more dominant, and more aggressive, no significant differences in perception were observed for lesbian women. We also explored whether sexual orientation moderated the relationship between attractiveness and tattooed men's perceived masculinity, dominance, and aggression. Perceived aggression was related to lower perceived attractiveness among gay men, but higher perceived attractiveness among heterosexual women. This study demonstrates that the perception of tattooed men's attractiveness is associated with the assessment of their masculinity, dominance, and aggression. These associations are influenced by both gender and sexual orientation of participants. Our results suggest that the sexual orientation of participants should be taken into account in studies investigating attractiveness perceptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]