Mother's attachment history and antenatal attachment to the second baby: the moderating role of parenting efficacy in raising the firstborn child

Molecular and cellular mechanisms of the first social relationship: A conserved role of 5-HT from mice to monkeys, upstream of oxytocin

Maternal affiliation by infants is the first social behavior of mammalian animals. We report here that elimination of the Tph2 gene essential for serotonin synthesis in the brain reduced affiliation in mice, rats, and monkeys. Calcium imaging and c-fos immunostaining showed maternal odors activation of serotonergic neurons in the raphe nuclei (RNs) and oxytocinergic neurons in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN). Genetic elimination of oxytocin (OXT) or its receptor reduced maternal preference. OXT rescued maternal preference in mouse and monkey infants lacking serotonin. Tph2 elimination from RN serotonergic neurons innervating PVN reduced maternal preference. Reduced maternal preference after inhibiting serotonergic neurons was rescued by oxytocinergic neuronal activation. Our genetic studies reveal a role for serotonin in affiliation conserved from mice and rats to monkeys, while electrophysiological, pharmacological, chemogenetic, and optogenetic studies uncover OXT downstream of serotonin. We suggest serotonin as the master regulator upstream of neuropeptides in mammalian social behaviors.

Association between Parent-Child Relationship and Second-Time Mother's Prenatal Depressive Symptoms: The Mediation Role of Parenting Burnout

PURPOSE

The aim of this research was to study the association between the mother-firstborn relationship and second-time mothers' prenatal depressive symptoms before the birth of a second child and the mediation role of parenting burnout on this relationship.

METHODS

Empirical study was adopted in this research. Using a convenient sampling method, we recruited 110 second-time mothers who were in their third trimester of pregnancy. Child-parent relationship questionnaire, parenting burnout scale, and Beck Depression Instrument were used to measure the relationship between firstborn and second-time mothers, mothers' parenting burnout, and prenatal depressive symptoms, respectively. Regression analysis was conducted to test the relationship between variables, and the mediation effect was tested using PROCESS.

RESULTS

Regression results showed that the parent-child relationship is negatively associated with second-time mothers' prenatal depressive symptoms. The parent-child relationship is negatively associated with parenting burnout which is positively related to prenatal depressive symptoms. When considering the mediation variable of parenting burnout, the direct effect is not statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS

Parent-child relationship has a significant impact on second-time mothers' prenatal depressive symptoms, and this relationship is mediated by parenting burnout.

Chinese parents' comparisons of siblings and adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems

Parents' comparisons of siblings have been understudied among sibling research, especially in Chinese societies where the government recently relaxed its one-child policy. This study, using a two-wave longitudinal design, explored how parents' comparisons of siblings were associated with adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems. Study participants were 260 Chinese adolescents who had siblings and completed questionnaires that assessed their internalizing and externalizing problems, as well as their perceptions of parents' critical comparisons of siblings. Cross-lagged modeling analysis showed that parents' comparisons of siblings predicted more internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescents 6 months later. Moreover, adolescents' externalizing problems but not internalizing problems predicted more parents' comparisons of siblings over time. These findings underscore the importance of reciprocal relations between parents' comparisons of siblings and adolescents' externalizing problems and the implication of cultural context in understanding associations between parental practices and adolescents' adjustment.

Chinese Adolescents' Sibling Conflicts: Links With Maternal Involvement in Sibling Relationships and Coparenting

This study explored how maternal involvement in sibling relationships and coparenting behaviors were associated with adolescents' sibling conflicts. Adolescents (M_age  = 12.25 years; 47.8% boys) and their mothers from 542 families in China participated in this research. Mothers completed questionnaires that assessed their strategies of involvement in sibling relationships, as well as their perceptions of the quality of their coparenting behaviors. Furthermore, adolescents completed questionnaires that assessed sibling conflicts. Results revealed that the mother's positive guidance was negatively related and their authoritarian control was positively related to sibling conflict. A significant interaction was also found between positive maternal guidance in sibling relationships and undermining coparenting behaviors. These findings underscore the unique and interactive effects of mothers' direct involvement in sibling relationships and coparenting behaviors in adolescents' sibling conflicts.